2025-08-21: Black Coffee
- Log: Black Coffee
- Cast: Umie Akabane, Goro Akechi
- Where: Central Street
- OOC Date: August 21, 2025
- IC Date: June 29, 2012
- Summary: Akechi is caught red-handed buying pre-packaged convenience store food. He must dispose of his witness by any means necessary, including having casual conversations about murder and fiendishly drinking diner black coffee in the evening.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
The Triple Seven has become a mainstay in Umie's schedule, despite Umie's attempts at diversifying her array of jobs. She should have found going back to the same place she was attacked coming out of stressful, but life moved on. Somehow, seeing everyone be safe and life continue as normal did something she'd never had happen before: it soothed her. That, and her friends, and delving back into the supernatural.
Another thing that helped, in a strange way, was that letter she got from the Phantom Thieves, though they'll need to find a more secure way of contact. Did it really need a fancy letter calling her honorable? (.... yes it did, damn it)
Today it's just her on the register; she's been trying to make it up to her uppers by taking the shifts no one wants, despite earning some leeway due to the 'incident'.
Umie fights back a yawn; late night showers always make her feel sleepy, despite the store being bathed in blinding, cheery light. All it took was the sliding doors opening and a whiff of that humid night air coming in, and the sound of rain and distant thunder.
Her fingers fiddle with the cat's cradle underneath the counter; she's found the right angle where no one from the employee's entrance or the store entrance would see it unless she was careless, and with no one here and the floors already mopped of tracked in rain, there isn't much she needs to do but occasionally look to the clock.
No adventures into the Dark Hour tonight; just a long soak in a tub. Maybe she could read one of those books she bought? Better than listen to Mai-chan's occasional quips.
Maybe pick up some discounted meal and take it home, too. Ahh, that'd be nice...
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Nobody's in the store at this hour. Or at least - nobody was. Then two people come in at once. The first - shakes off their umbrella and then bags it up front to dry. The second does the same just behind him, as both of them dry their feet.
The first man comes up to Umie and buys a coffee, late night Salary Man after a drinking party, the smell of alcohol on him. He needs to sober up before going home to his wife and kids. He's hurrying out before long, sticking his umbrella out the door before taking the bag off and heading home.
The second figure? He's got his briefcase characteristically, but he also has a beige shopping tote bag with the same circled A. upon it.
He makes the rounds, Egg Sandos... Onigiri with Umeboshi... Nikuman... Karaage... Katsu sandwich... items are taken and then vanish into the tote bag. Just as the man who came in just before him rings up and goes.
Goro Akechi, his Sevens Uniform now a touch damp from the rain finishes grabbing items, as he looks up at the mirrors that are used to watch people all over the store. There's a moment of realization...
... then he decides to commit rather than deal with the possibility that he's already been caught, and trying to play it off. It's better to deal with 'Unknowns' by assuming the worst, rather than the best case scenario. It places it entirely in your control.
Trekking down the aisle, he comes up to the front, a faux affable smile upon his face right away, "Akabane-san... I almost didn't recognize you 'in uniform'." As he places the tote on the counter, "It's quite striking on you. Perhaps even like armor? Even a brutal killer like the 'Old Maid' might fail to look twice and realize you're actually his target."
It's a lightly smug statement, like he understands the Rumor, and who must have placed it. Teasing perhaps even, as he then opens his briefcase, and produces... a phone.
He places it upon the counter, passing it over to her. "An officer Suou contacted me on the matter, so rather than bring it down to the station, I decided to save you time by bringing it directly to the source."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
The door opens, sounding the chime, and like clockwork, Umie says her standard greeting with just enough enthusiasm to not make it sound forced. Efficient, no energy wasted, automatic.
Besides, she gets to hear the sound of rain, and she's thinking about the gyudon beef bowl and how good it'll taste. Maybe the limited addition extra spicy curry bread? Ugh, but she should really eat something healthier...
The Salary Man is given a sympathetic nod and some care, Umie ringing him up with a little in the way of any remarks or chitchat that might anger a potential hangover. Has her Understanding increased just a little these past few weeks? (yes, it has. It's now, drumroll please, at a basic normal level, boo.)
But before long, her attention is cast towards the second customer; while Akechi escaped her notice at first, eventually, he was going to be caught. It wouldn't do to be the clerk who didn't pay some passing attention to every customer that came in.
"... I'm not sure if I buy your flattery, Akechi-san, but I'll take it," she answers with a grin that reaches her gaze; despite the awkward terms they parted on, she doesn't seem to be ready to call him a bastard a second time. She takes a moment to draw back a pale blonde bang from her face. "It wasn't very fun to run around in, I'll say that." The sardonic tone is back, but not at Akechi's expense; she's silently confirming a little of the implications hidden within the detective's words.
"I will say the Sevens uniform suits you far better." It's not as if this is the first time she's likely seen it, being there was a span of time they were at Sevens at the same time.
Her eyes go to the suitcase as he lifts it up, and... produces the phone she's been meaning to get.
".... Really, now..." Umie says, her voice lowered to avoid any stray glances from the back room area. She looks down at it, her hand reading out to take it, but not too fast; she almost expects there to be a catch. "After how rude I was to you? You at least deserve an apology."
She'll create her own catch, thank you very much. "... My shift's almost over. Let me ring up your items--" she could have sworn he was looking through the aisles... "--and if you don't mind a small wait, maybe I can give you a proper apology." She pauses, for emphasis. "As well as information."
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Perhaps that greeting is better than armor, "Aha... my, perhaps that uniform is armor against more than merely bloodthirsty murderers. After all, I can only imagine how many late night customers comment on how fetching you are, or make offers on introducing you to their sons."
Whereas he's not doing the same, not truly, merely commenting on the plight of being a female clerk at a convenience store, as his stance shifts.
"... I can imagine not." He says in a more serious tone, as his stance shifts as well, seemingly contemplating the matter, "Though it does beg the question of who called him...?"
He puts a hand to his chin, "There is the obvious suspect, but almost certainly he's not the one. This feels far more... petty, if you ask me. That's the usual state of mind of those who put in a call to the Old Maid."
His eyes look upon Umie, as if to ask if she has any answers...? But it transforms into a smile, and he laughs like he was brushing it off.
"Think nothing of it. I happened upon it while investigating the aftermath of the attack... and you had little enough reason to trust me, when we first crossed paths."
A single eyelid descends, "I hardly acted like some 'Prince Charming' myself, and if I had, I think it would have put you off more, if I don't miss my mark."
Prince Charming... many might see his actions that way, even have fantasies that are similar, a dashing young man, swooping in to intervene when a woman was having trouble against a Juvenile predator being too pushy.
But he never actually presented himself like that to her, not really.
"... Well, if you insist." He teases again, lightly, before paying for his goods in cash. Amusingly, in exact change. Like he knew how much it would be before he even walked into the store.
"I'd be a poor excuse for a detective if I turned down either."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"...You've got no idea," Umie murmurs, with weary sigh. Akechi is right on the mark, there, and she's happy to use the moment to lean on it. "You think the dyed hair and the fingernails would deter them, but perhaps people in Shibuya are that much more... progressive?" Or desperate?
The rumble of thunder is a comforting note to remind Umie of the rain outside, even if it means she'll be walking outside in it before long. (She doesn't mind. At all.)
However, when coupled with the elephant present in the room, it brings with it a percussive sense of foreboding. She still doesn't mind. At all. "... So you were the person Suou-san mentioned, I assume?" Umie smirks. "I admit, I didn't suspect a thing~ Makes it a lot easier for me, though."
'Ara~ are you sure this is a good idea? You can only offer your heart so many times before no one wants it, Umie-chan~'
Umie's eyes meet Akechi's with that sharp look that sits on the border of delight, would quietly answer Akechi on who she thinks did it.
.... And yet. Akechi is someone who knows a little of Syuusei's tendencies, so, while his theory is a wet blanket on Umie's theory (and indeed, she does seem a little disappointed, though she hides it quickly), she doesn't dismiss it. "Yeah." She lets out a sigh, her lips forming a thin grimace. "I've got no clue, really, beyond him." It never occurred to her, at all, to consider if Syuusei could really *not* be that sort of person.
He may be brushing it off, but Umie suspects it may have been his way of providing a tip. ... That, or introducing the idea for her to ponder over.
"I was wondering if you'd notice. Seriously," she gestures with her left hand, "who believes a report like that--"
Ah. This is the wrong location for this.
"<You are correct>," Umie says with accented English, "it would have. I wouldn't have had reason to trust you." She begins ringing up the items, nodding at a few. "... It's not bad, the deals here. The egg sandos taste better than Satomi Tadashi's..." she adds, with a wry smile, "but don't tell anyone I said that."
Looking up at the clock (appropriately a few minutes after, not long enough to be seen as overeager to please, but likewise not so fast to be seen as lazy), Umie bags up Akechi's items, taking the change. "Ah, appreciated." She definitely noticed.
Does she insist? Her lips curl in an open grin. "I do, naturally." By the time she turns her head, the other self is there: Umie Akabane, normal person. "Give me a second."
Her replacement, a sleep-deprived college student, is strolling past Akechi now. "Augh, Katou-kun, did you even get any sleep?"
Umie has a pattern.
-----
As promised, she didn't make Akechi wait long.
The uniform will have to be changed out of at home; she didn't want to make Akechi wait any longer than necessary. The white raincoat and the yellow umbrella disrupt the uniform's power to compel people to ask her where an item is, at least, and as is the disappearance of the hat, leaving the flattened slightly tousled hair behind, gathered in those two buns near the nape of her neck.
"Like I said, you're correct," Umie confirms, taking a moment to unfurl her umbrella. "But I'm glad you see a little of where it came from. Some secrets are... spring-loaded. They need to be heard, but they hurt all the same."
.....
"..... I guess I should've thought about *where* to go to talk," Umie says, a moment later, turning her head to look at Akechi. "Do you have preferences, Akechi-san? I suppose the Underground Mall'd at least get us out of the rain." (Yes, she did this exact trick with Katsuya too.)
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"If you ask any politician, they'd say we're in the middle of a population crisis, they'd cite birth rates as if the decision to marry and bring a child into the world is expected."
Akechi says, and there's an edge on the word expected like he hates the idea, "To such people, you presenting yourself like that must seem like one last hurrah, before you become an admirable young woman and mother."
The idea of 'I can fix her' must run rampant in Akechi's words, in how people seem to look at Umie.
Was it not only twenty or thirty years ago that this generation's 'housewives' were last generations Gyaru? Sukebans?
"Why yes, it was a little surprising actually, I didn't expect my class mate's brother to call up your phone." Re: Suou-san as he smiles at her, "He asked me to bring it down to the station, but to be honest - items turned in mysteriously vanish all the time, so I considered either bringing it directly to him or to you."
Umie thinks it was Syuusei after all, and Akechi logs this as interesting, because he doesn't think he'd want her dead yet - in fact he's rather certain he doesn't.
Humiliated - certainly.
Still, it's not a bad option for one to guess, "I'm looking into it... though it's hardly easy to investigate. To prove it to a certainty I'd need his phone, or to subpoena the records from the phone company."
And he knows better than anyone no judge is going to want to sign off on that. Even if you can prove someone made the call, can you prove in court they knew it would definitively result in a murder? That they had malicious intent and weren't just trying something out?
Umie's accented English, well - Akechi doesn't start speaking in English back, even if he's quite fluent, because he's not sure she'd understand it...?
"Oh I certainly wouldn't say anything on the matter." He says with a smile, "Such a comparison would be closer to an endorsement to someone in my position... to be frank, I never have time to cook, though I'd appreciate if you didn't let that one slip over the rumor mill."
He says with a smirk, and him bringing up a fingertip to hover in front of his mouth.
Just as her coworker comes in for her shift, "Take all the time that you need."
-=-=-
Akechi himself only sports an umbrella himself, though it's a rather high quality one, only a light mist ever seems to hit him, no matter how much it rains.
"It would be rather empty in the rain... unless you'd prefer to sit down somewhere?"
The Mall - or the nearby Diner, he's willing to go either way, if the Mall then he takes them down to a part of a security grate that marks a closed off area at this time of night.
Otherwise it's a booth at the back of the Diner.
"... Well, as I said recently to someone else I 'pricked'..."
Perhaps his own word, in response to 'Spring-Loaded' "...as a detective, my sole interest must be in uncovering the truth."
He says it so casually, why he tends to ruthlessly grill others, "I do hope that there aren't so many hard feelings on the matter. After all... I feel that uncovering the truth would be to your benefit as well... don't you think?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Expectation is a lazy man's persuasion," Umie comments dryly, seeming to agree with the tone Akechi places on 'expected'. "But damn if it doesn't get the job done. Even Odin had to get down from that tree eventually." She smirks, shrugging off the reference. "The Triple Seven isn't going to grant me divine knowledge anytime soon, but it does have flexible work hours."
Which is fine by her, for reasons Umie isn't willing to divulge to Akechi. It's possible he has a Persona, and conceals it like her, but to make a nod to that is to make a nod that she has a Persona. .... Which he probably knows, if he knows about Personas, and damn it
"Besides," she says, with a twinkle in her eye, and that devilish grin, "isn't 'that mystery' the reason why I likely won't be even able to? Or is that some faith I hear, in your words?" It's a light tease, over grim news. She still needs to ask more about that case, and what happened to that woman, but there's many threads here she wants to tug on.
Oh right. Tatsuya and Akechi, as different as they are, *are* classmates. "Probably for the best. Hate if someone found it and tried to hack into it." ah ha ha ha
"... As for phone records, even if you did," Umie begins, immediately picking up where Akechi leaves off, "there's nothing illegal about dialing in a phone number on the basis of a rumor, or entering a name into a website. It'd be terrible if it was."
Ahhh. Of course Akechi would catch her rumor; he's from Sumaru City as well. "... Ghh. Nothing gets by you." Umie's shoulders sag with a sigh. "Can you blame me? Last thing I want is Amamiya-kun to be next." His name comes up specifically for good reason; he was the one who showed concern for her. Someone like that needs to be protected, even if Umie knows the Joker Killer doesn't work that way. "But good intentions don't really mean much when it comes to rumors, do they?"
-=-=-
If Akechi's aura of perfection is able to ward against the rain, somehow, Umie is the opposite. If there's a trickle of rain that could get past that umbrella (and it *is* a decent umbrella; even if she considers yellow to not be her best color) it does. Never enough for it to be 'supernaturally unlucky', or a sign of disfavor with the world, but enough for her hair to be already clinging to the sides of her head.
".... I think I like the idea of sitting down, yeah," Umie agrees, just as a splash of rain from a passing car projects a spritz of water. She doesn't even seem to notice it; her coat, likewise, is sufficently waterproofed to handle it. "There's a diner open nearby here, if you don't mind some greasy food at this time of night."
Soon enough, they're at the diner in a discreet booth; Umie excuses herself momentairely go to the bathroom, in order to wring the water from her hair. She's back before long, settling into her seat with along sigh. "I don't know how you do it," she says, a red fingernail held up to her own hair to indicate his. "I figured you'd be as drenched as I was."
Orders are placed, and only then does Umie pounce on Akechi's words. "Not every mystery's one that's meant to be uncovered. Someone told me," recently, she manages to not say, "others are painful to keep inside. You're not the first to see it, but you're the first to think of it as something other than some tattoo."
Which is likely why--
"Could you tell me," she says, as if trying to outrun her own imagination over what he'd say, "what happened, to that woman, in that case you mentioned to me that day? I didn't ask you, last time."
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Well naturally, when you're relying upon your Mother to play matchmaker, what else would you call such men?" Akechi says with ease. He understands expectation can be a prison for men too. He lives in one... though it's one of his own making.
But he understands who has it worse than he is.
Her citing Odin does give him some pause, and she might see a slightly strange look in his brown eyes, before he chuckles at that, "My - does that imply you're considering putting in notice at some point?"
He teases, as if to imply Umie herself is saying that this is a lazy form of 'running away' in a sense.
Akechi doesn't comment on whether he has a Persona of course, instead smirking, "Do you really think so?" He plays coy on that one, as if to make her work for his true opinion there, and perhaps to reveal some more of her own.
"Hack it?" Akechi raises an eyebrow, "Do you really think someone would?" It's not that he's questioning the idea entirely, just wondering whether she believes her enemies would.
"Akabane-san..." He says with a sense of chiding her playfully, "...Do you have more enemies than even I suspected? What a dangerous woman you're turning out to be..."
He does nod though in acquiescence, "The police won't even attempt to pursue such cases that they believe have such an element to them... after all, it would be nearly impossible to prosecute such individuals."
His eyes grow a touch wide though as Umie reveals her motive, "My, is that so? You were trying to protect Amamiya-kun?" He does seem somewhat surprised, "Careful... spreading rumors with that motive, it's easy enough for one to think you had a crush."
Or to make that crush reality... on accident.
-=-=-
Soon enough, they're sitting down at the Diner, not necessitating the aura of perfection. The person at the front notes to Akechi 'No outside food' but then he says who he is and it's just a little shopping...
... and suddenly they're happy enough to seat them in the furthest corner of the booths there, far away from other customers.
Akechi just orders a black coffee to start, and gets - mostly revolting diner instant coffee. He's not complaining.
"Haha... at times I have to walk through the rain on my way to an interview." He says with a smile, "After enough times spent with someone fussily holding a blow dryer, you learn little tricks even in how you carry yourself in the rain."
Does that mean his charisma ACTUALLY repels the rain?
Well no, but that'd be funny.
"Oh? And what lips did those words of wisdom come from?" He asks, as if he perhaps would refute that point, but would rather know that one first.
But... Umie asks that question, and Akechi looks at his coffee for a moment. Picking it up, and taking a bracing sip. Then putting it down...
"I said she was burned beyond all recognition..." His eyes slowly raise to meet hers again, "... but perhaps I was trying to spare you from being 'pricked' again."
Being kind is it?
"It's hardly painful for me to keep it inside - but it might be for you to hear it."
He watches her for several long moments, before asking, "You're sure you want to know?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"What?" Umie says, seeming genuinely confused, before she laughs, in a small bid to release some tension. "You got to reference Sherlock Holmes. But no, I'm not going anywhere. Just... acknowledging that a person can't remain suspended forever before they make their decisions. But I don't imagine myself becoming someone's sweet little wife, anytime soon."
That *was* an odd reaction, but not one Umie can make sense of; she merely attributes it to some simple quirk on Akechi's part. Though, it's likely how the imagery of the 'man suspended from a tree' even ended up in her 'prophecy'.
'Do you really think so?' The way Umie tilts her head towards him, the yellow umbrella angled over her head, it'd be easy to imagine those eyes being yellow, instead of a common shade of red-brown. She casually closes one eye, in a lazy gesture towards a wink. "I always appreciate a vote of confidence."
"Isn't that what happens, when you lose your phone?" Umie says then, in a small display of ignorance, and, maybe, paranoia. "Someone may do something to it." A dangerous woman? Akechi's playful chiding brings out that curling grin that narrows her eyes in turn "Maybe some of those mothers? Revenge for denying their sons a perfect wife."
At the mention of Ren, Umie's startled expression could be labeled 'priceless', as flat as it falls. "He's not the only one. Katou-san's bound to fall asleep in the middle of being chased. Besides." Her face relaxes. "It felt like a better solution than trying to grab a bunch of Seven Sisters emblems."
Surely, this rumor hasn't backfired already, right???
-=-=-
"... Huh. That's useful," Umie comments, idly, as they're seated. Akechi's order, meanwhile, draws an eyebrow from Umie. "... At this hour?" She squints. ".... please don't make me start nagging you about sleep hygiene, Akechi-san. I can, and I will."
..... says the person running around the Dark Hour, and working late night shifts, and oh god she's a hypocrite
"I guess I'm just used to dealing with being rained on that I never stopped to think about avoiding it." The words would be meaningful in another context. Maybe even here. Avoid trouble, instead of just letting trouble find you.
Alas, tonight's not that night, as Umie drinks from her soda.
"A wise sage atop a mountain, far away," replies Umie, casually, closing one eye as she sets down her drink.
Umie hears those words, and seems to know *exactly* what Akechi is trying to do. But damn it, does it ever work on her. ".... You should know by now that's exactly what you need to say to get me to ask." She settles back against her seat.
"Then, go ahead. 'Prick' me. It'll be more painful to guess."
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
It's Akechi's turn to be suspicious, of course it's impossible that she understand what she cited has any connection to him, but could it be because of what she has - that damned oracular ability.
"I would expect nothing less." Is his simple retort, delivered so smoothly to the idea of Umie becoming someone's sweet little wife.
After all, those in her position aren't allowed to have a 'happy ending'.
"Well - far be it from me to deny you. ... I'd say you're very good at your job." He says to her with a an infuriating wink, in return for her solicited vote of confidence. Perhaps leaving her hanging in regards to the mystery.
As Umie notes that it might happen, her phone hacking, Akechi laughs richly, "Not so often as one might think... and your phone is protected from modern hackers for the simplest of reasons."
Smirking at her, he offers that answer, "It quite old. Hackers aren't going to bother cracking a phone that's not even a smart phone."
Well... crisis averted, perhaps? But the thought that someone might change Ren with a rumor?
... it sticks with him.
-=-=-
"It'll fall on completely deaf ears~" He says in amusement, "Your coworker beat you to it anyway."
He says as he takes another sip of coffee, seeming not to have a care for it. "My job requires me to stay up quite late, and wake up earlier than most... I need shockingly little sleep to function well, believe it or not."
Besides he knows she's a hypocrite, and won't say anything.
Indeed, Umie is so used to being rained on... it's far too late in his eyes for her to learn habits otherwise.
"I didn't know you were a mountain climber." Akechi replies in regards to her talk about the wise sage, as if to needle her for holding that secret, but...
... indeed he knows, that she'd only ask. And how it'd be more painful to guess. Akechi's fingertips play with the edge of the cup.
"... The Sumaru City Coroner's Autopsy report claims that she died of extensive fourth degree burns. It seemed crafted to painstakingly dismiss what I saw that day."
Akechi's eyes take on a far more serious look as he looks into Umie's eyes, "... And what I saw was..."
There is a pregnant pause, which makes the sounds of the diner more acute, the clacking of dishware in the kitchen, the chatter of waitresses...
... it all hangs spellbound on what he says next, and what he says next...
There's a sudden close-eyed smile, a tilt of the head, "Well! Sorry to disappoint- but it's a mystery I haven't quite solved yet. You see, she was was mostly in a bodybag when I last saw her... and the police were reluctant to let me get that close to the crime scene."
Then he opens both his eyes and that smile vanishes, his tone growing lower, "But there was something not altogether... right about her form. I only recognized her because of the only feature that wasn't charred... a hand, with the same nail polish she wore... and that strange 'Mark'."
He then leans back, looking at Umie with a sense of abstract rumination over his memories of the subject, "It wore the only unmarred skin she had left, but it was so very stretched and strange..."
And it's like his thoughts simply wander off again completely, leaving Umie hanging with that unsatisfying half answer.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
An oracle that can't tell the future may seem the most useless of all to those who hold no secrets, and wish to know more. But secrets can only technically exist in the past and present, for even the knowledge that something is to happen is, in itself, a secret bound to the present.
"I'm not even sure what to say to that," is Umie's sighed reply. "At least you find me entertaining. But it isn't as if the same goes for me, in a way." She'll admit that, at least, though the word 'entertaining' doesn't fit as well, a thing that shows on the young woman's face. "... Well... that word doesn't really fit. More that..."
".... It's fun, to talk to you." There's no blush to indicate some whimsical feeling of attraction, in that sense; just Umie, standing in the rain, with that yellow halo of an umbrella over her head, casting the yellow pallor over her skin and clothing in the faint lighting of night. "Perhaps you'll win this 'case', Akechi-san. Another success story, even if you can't exactly pin it up on your social media. And if you don't... maybe the blame will lie with me, for giving up too early."
If there's something just a little sharp about that smile and her gaze, maybe, that could the hint she's teasing him back.
But then the conversation goes to phones. Umie groans, but the exaspiration is playful as she shrugs. "I guess I should have begged my parents for one instead of trying to make it on my own." Another one of those grins, at that. "Pride is a sin for a reason, I guess."
As for rumors, would this be the second time this oracle has inspired something destructive in her passing? Only time will tell, and Umie can't see the future.
What wonderful sights they will see.
-=-=-
"Don't sound so pleased with yourself." Umie's flat expression could curdle milk, but fortunately, Akechi's coffee has none. But it passes. "... I guess that's that dedication to your job. It'll catch up, though." (Umie, you are literally only two years older than him.) "Ehh. Night's more fun anyway."
Of course she'd say that.
'I didn't know you were a mountain climber.' "I can be full of surprises. Did you really think I only had one?" A lazy wink is added to that. Akechi, however--
Once again, he has her where he wants her to be, the way she leans forward, elbows resting on the table, with a gaze as grim as the grave.
He continues, and--
"Ghhh... you can't just do that!" Umie whispers harshly, hands on her bowed hand in a frustrated tone that may as well be music to Akechi's ears. She peeks up, from her despair.... And sees that pleasant, closed eye smile. "I'll remember this," she grouches. It can't quite sound like a threat, as much as Umie would like it to.
She's already said exactly why, just earlier.
While he could have ended it at that, Akechi's theory, itself, is not subject to the same limitations.
".... I see." She sips her drink, quenching that throat, which had gotten quite dry. "At least that rules out the Old Maid theory." Could the Mark possibly...? No, if that was the case, there'd be examples of it.
She looks at the nail polish on her own fingers; tonight, a lovely shade of dark red, with just enough iridescent violet tint to it to not feel like a repeat of the colors she's worn before. "You're not one to believe in the supernatural," she says, with a small smile, "so I imagine... your answers will be woefully limited."
Almost like a dare, or a signal.
".... But if we were to open the playing field just a little further, what you say then, Akechi-san?"
... with the caveat of it being a simple thought experiment.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Akechi searches Umie's face out out of the side of a single eye as she says he finds her entertaining, but she finds him...
...
... fun to talk to. "Hm." He makes a small sound, as if he's trying to assess, parse that feeling on her expression, then his eyes close, like he's figuring it out.
"If I might put forward one of my deductions..."
They open again, "... You're not accustomed to matching wits against a man." Without them trying to claim you as their own. He might have said.
"It's a kind of game you don't quite mind."
Another success story? Well, he chuckles, "Aha, well... I already know that I'll win. But not all my wins are ones I can... share, so to speak."
The blame will lie with her though? "Well... if I might make another deduction? I don't believe that will be the case..."
A beat.
"Call it a hunch."
-=-=-
Akechi raises a finger as he takes another sip of coffee, waggling it from side to side, then leaning back in a relaxed, casual pose.
"And when it does - I'll be well prepared to rest on my laurels." He holds his coffee towards her, like a toast, as he chuckles, "And ready to declare my successor - perhaps you'd like to disguise yourself as a man and become the third coming of the Detective Prince?"
He teases, and no - in fact he does not know that Naoto Shirogane is a girl, not yet at least.
"Far be it from me to limit any woman from having merely one surprise." He says, as he winks back at her...
But then comes, story time and...
Her frustration is indeed, music to his ears, "And so will I." Remember this, that is.
"Tsk tsk..." He brings the coffee cup up to his lips again, as he waves that finger, "... Did you know he was originally an arsonist?" Akechi lowers the cup, "Or perhaps you wouldn't either... it's not exactly public knowledge."
Wait does that imply Akechi knows who the Old Maid is!?
He doesn't actually say, as he moves on to Umie's other inquiry, "And while sharing a cup of coffee with the Second Coming of the Detective Prince, you decide to ask if he believes in matters that are beyond his logic."
Akechi's closed eyes slowly open again to cracks to look at Umie in a discerning way. "What say I?" He then smiles at her.
"Exclude the impossible and what is left, however improbable, must be the truth."
...
He's definitely quoting some version of an infamous Holmes quote to Umie, "But is the supernatural truly the 'impossible' that must be excluded? I wonder... take the Phantom Thieves of Hearts."
And then, he suddenly asks, as if flipping the question on her head, "What is your belief on how they change Hearts, Akabane-san?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"What, are you disappointed it's not a confession?" Umie teases as Akechi gives her that thoughtful look.
... Only for Akechi to fire that sniper shot from the dark. From the percussive reaction Umie makes with her mouth, it's clear he hit his target dead on.
"... I talk to lots of people, some of whom are men," she says, almost defensively, her cheeks pink as she looks aside. "I just..." Her brain flashes back to her recent meeting with Joker, where she had to keep from openly staring at his showy _theatrics_. "... have different sorts of connections, with different kinds of people," she continues, nearly flawlessly. Nearly.
"Either you're complimenting me, or you feel the odds aren't in my favor, while your overconfidence won't allow you to admit the same for yourself." Umie lightly bounces the metal bar of the umbrella on her left shoulder. "I guess we'll have to see how those hunches of yours work out. I hope they do, Akechi-san~"
------
"God no," Umie scoffs, as she makes a face. "Besides, my hair's fried to hell and back just from bleaching," she sighs, idly holding up one of her long side bangs with one finger. "I don't think I'd even be allowed to register." Is she complimenting Akechi's hair? .... yes, yes she is. "... Though there are some benefits," she continues. "They automatically brought us back here, to this nice quiet, private booth. They must be used to you using this location..." She grins. "... For questioning 'highly suspicious' people, like myself." She pauses. "But I *did* insist."
'Did you know he was originally an arsonist?' Akechi must have access to the same file Shinjiro mentioned; it'd make sense. She should thread that next needle carefully, for Shinjiro's sake at the very least. "... Huh," Umie says, her gaze looking down from Akechi's face. "It'd make sense though. ... When did it all start, then?" she continues on. "The past year?"
No, she knows it's been longer than that; at least to the day Akihiko's sister was killed. Did Sudou hear the voice, back then? The same one that pointed out the connection between Umie and himself? (Thank god the Phantom Thieves didn't catch onto that.)
It leads to a thought she can't quite dismiss, a moment that she can't help but pause on, her eyelashes lowering: is she able to do the same as all of those people have done? The same as in Ebisu Beach and every place that terrible thing had been used.
'Why not find out? Try it, right now. Show him a little taste of what's out there.' The fingers of Umie's right hand curl in, just slightly, then relax.
'... what is left, however improbable, must be the truth.' "That's..." Wait, isn't that...? "... Sherlock Holmes, I'm guessing?" 'But is the supernatural truly the 'impossible' that must be excluded?' .... Damn it.
"Well... It's obvious." Umie holds up a finger, but then waits as the waiter brings her meal: a cheesy rice omelet that was one of the daily specials. She takes her sweet time digging into those first few bites before she even thinks of continuing. "They steal hearts. That's what the rumors say is printed on the card, right?" Well, 'desires', but Umie would only confirm that later. "Even the oldest, most disillusioned man would feel the need to turn over a new leaf and start anew, having felt re-invigorated by the impassioned will of a Phantom Thief." Where was she going with this? Oh right.
"You'd know that for a fact, being it's part of your own job." That smile comes, taking its pleasant time to widen out. "How many hearts have you stolen in broad daylight, A-kech-i-san? Maybe you should turn yourself in." _Payback_.
"... But really, I don't have any clue. If we're saying supernatural..." She takes a bite, and sips some her drink. "... we're going to have to define what the supernatural is, first. Are we talking... ghosts?" (Oh no, Umie could have picked a better red herring than that.)
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Akechi takes the 'W' so to speak on the idea that Umie has problems with men, not digging further into that wound, as sadistically satisfying as that might be.
After all it's not difficult to deduce that she has problems with men, one might say they're the source of so many of her problems.
"They often do." He says smugly, to the idea of his hunches working out.
-=-=-
Back here in the booth in the furthest corner of that diner, Akechi's pose has if anything become more theatrically sensual.
One leg crossed over another, an elbow against the back of a cushioned seat, the back of his hand against his head, as silken locks drape over them.
It's not a pose meant to seduce Umie but it certainly feels flirtatiously so at baseline.
"And are you, a 'suspicious' person? And here I thought I was taking a cute convenience store clerk out for a cup of coffee after her shift... we celebrities must be discreet about such things."
He winks at her, completely unserious in his mannerisms, "But those certainly are suspicions that would suit you well as my successor."
On the subject of how long the Joker Killer has been active though? Akechi smiles at her, "Why don't we turn it into a game? How long do you think he's been active? Just put forward a guess for me... I'll give you three. Each time I'll tell you if the actual number is higher, or lower."
There's an easy smile on his features, "If you get it exactly right, then I'll tell you exactly how he's gotten away with it." He's definitely enjoying this, dangling the information in front of her, but turning it into a guessing game to get more information.
There's a wobble of his hand on it being Sherlock Holmes, "It was used frequently in Doyle's stories by Holmes, but originally it was credited to C. Auguste Dupin, while commenting upon one of Edgar Alan Poe's stories." He's not exactly being pedantic here, he actually does truly like to dig into the truth of such origins.
Umie however, not only says that when Phantom Thieves steal desires, that even the oldest most disillusioned man can change, and Akechi laughs merrily at her comment, "My, do you think so? Perhaps so - except more accurately - they're given to me by their own will." He says with a wag of his coffee cup hand, "And therein lies the difference."
He smiles back at her as she begins her own game, "Akabane-san, you sound like you're trying to lay a trap for me to lock in my definition of the supernatural. Could it be that you know more than you're choosing to say? At this rate you're going to cause me to suspect that a humble triple 7 clerk is a Phantom Thief themselves."
Wait, why did he not say herself? Infuriating...
"... But I would define the supernatural as something that is beyond the logic of the material world."
He says, coyly, as if escaping a rather obvious snare, while also pointing it out, "It's undeniable that they change hearts by an unknown method. If indeed that is beyond the logic of our material world, then does that not imply it must be by some 'supernatural' method?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Guh. Akechi's doing this *on purpose* now. Umie is certain of it. Because there's no chance, he's casually turning up the charm. But hasn't she been doing the same? (... when she's not making faces and sounds like she's been sniped from a moving helicopter, that is.)
"You don't seem like the kind of person who takes out normal convenience store clerks, cute or no, out for a cup of coffee," she remarks. "I can't remember news of you ever accepting someone's proposal." ... Unless her friend Toki had slacked off on her favorite detective prince's dating habits, or lack thereof. (It's possible.)
Successor. Augh. "Fine, fine," Umie relents. "We'll make it a game."
She has to make it plausible, or he'll know something is up. But, with that carrot hanging over her head, she can't afford to be *too* careless... "I'm assuming 'a year' is out. So." She holds up two fingers. "Two years- no, four." Shinjiro said it was ten years ago that Miki died. That couldn't have been the first incident; Sudou should have had some time to lead up to it. But with a Mark, wouldn't that potentially shorten that timeline?
Ten years ago... About the same time she-- "No, not four."
"... Ten years ago," she says, the wheels moving ahead despite its owner's caution. "Thereabout."
Akechi's factoid about the quote seems to leave Umie genuinely surprised. "... Huh. Would've been around the same time, so... I could see someone reading that and liking it enough to incorporate it." It almost sounds like a normal exchange, between normal people. Alas, Umie cannot have nice, boring things. (She doesn't want nice, boring things.)
"And I'd imagine a Phantom Thief," Umie counters, "would say those people were taking from others to begin with. It doesn't make that reasoning *right*, but the trope of the 'gentleman thief' exists for a reason." She ponders over this, eating from her meal. "Maybe that's why they use that trope, instead of 'Hell's Judges' or 'Righteous Warriors'."
From her tone, it may be clear that she's thinking as she goes, coming to that conclusion because someone asked her the necessary seed of a question.
"You *are* the person who kindly made the most of an oppurtunity to ask me about something you managed to find out before I met you properly for the first time." She grins at this, her fork in the air, laden with cheesy egg goodness. "And besides, if I *was* a Phantom Thief, I doubt I'd be a convenience store clerk. Wouldn't it be better to have something that didn't have someone asking you to come in for a night shift?"
"But I guess you're right. Still, all we've done is widen the playing field."
Maybe, she'll throw him a bone, just because she wants to see what he thinks. "I was surprised, when I moved here, that there's a culture of rumors in Shibuya too. Not the same as in Sumaru City, but damn close." She lightly waves her fork in the air. "Like the one where, if you say a word ten times in a mirror at a station, you'll see something scary. Seems like the Bloody Mary challenge, right? But why subways, specifically?" .... of course, Umie hasn't connected that she's revealed she can't use the MetaNav app.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Tsk tsk... are you saying that I'm some sort of elitist and that my standards are far too high? For shame, Akabane-san. I'll have you know that I would always make time for the right triple seven clerk."
Is he saying he's that much of a romantic and is simply waiting for the right someone, irrespective of status?
As she agrees to the game, he indeed makes a motion 'try higher' with a hand as she indicates two-four.
Then she states ten-
"Bravo." He says with a smile, "Yes, he's been active for ten. Arson... murder. His first was quite... gruesome, even by the standards of serial killers. Dismemberment of a child... in a manner that was as thorough as it was ritualistic."
His eyes look somewhat abstracted in that moment, like he's seen crime scene photos of that one, and even he's disturbed to some extent.
"... The reason he's never been caught, is that his - 'Daddy Dearest' so to speak bribes the various police departments for the evidence of his crimes to 'disappear'. Furthermore, to those who remain... 'diligent' in pursuing the matter, he has them framed for unrelated crimes."
And he just says that so casually right here because Umie won a game!?
Well yes...
"Oh yes, quite normal for the era, especially between writers... some were colleagues, others friends... and still others, rivals. Poe's rival wrote quite the inflammatory obituary after his death under a pseudonym."
He says with a sort of simple joy over the very idea of having such a petty rivalry that someone would cast aspersions on you after their death.
He lets Umie work out the ideology of Phantom Thieves aloud, in that sense of coming to a conclusion...
"You're taking quite the leap there, in assuming their methodology can't adapt to 'part-time' jobs." He says, taking a sip of his coffee, "Or perhaps you're merely trying to misdirect me, Oh Phantom of the Convenience Store."
He doesn't seem to rise to discussing about how he found something about her before they even properly met, letting that remain a mystery.
"You're talking about the Mementos Rumor... and the proper number of times you say it is, five." Akechi corrects, but with the tone of 'You made that error on purpose merely so I could correct you.' "Why subways indeed? Why anything? That is the way of things with urban legends and the occult, is it not?"
Akechi leans back, as the back of his hand rests against the side of his head again, "Likely it was due to some Missing Persons cases... ways to explain the world around you such that it is much more fantastic than the reality. Why say they simply got on a train and left for another prefecture, when you could say they were 'Spirited Away'?"
He's DEFINITELY doing this to force her around in circles, again and again.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Your standards don't need to be high," Umie says, with a half grin as she reframes the statement, "just peculiar."
It's not that much of a victory, considering she used Shinjiro's answers to cheat. Akechi honors his promise, casually so.
It's enough to throw Umie off balance.
No, that's... "... It wasn't at...?" Confusion crosses her gaze, muddling her concentration. "It was... no."
A child lies, on the edge of two breaths.
A razor's edge at the sacred junction,
By first snow, the time for change had come and gone.
..... Did she say that, back then, or was that just her imagining she did? No, it had to have happened after-- yeah, it started in 2004, for her. None of her prophecies came true. Or 2003? She was twelve, when...
'Because they had already happened.'
What was the first time when it came out of her without her making it up? She can't remember. Concentrate.
'You're going to lose yourself again in front of Akechi-san, Umie-chan~'
And that Daddy Dearest... oh, that gets her back on track, in the worst way. She has to fight back that spite that leaked through when Shinjiro talked; mentioning the surname of 'Sudou' never went well. "... Sounds like someone very powerful," Umie tries to say, whatever emotion behind those words dampened, artificially so. "He'd have to make his son disappear too, wouldn't he? 'Children are better seen, not heard'." The plate briefly protests under the metal tines of her fork, instead; a crack in a dam can only be denied so much before that pressure finds another temporary release.
"... A complete--" She wants to say 'bastard', but that's what she called Akechi, back in their first meeting. Instead, she goes with "... asshole." And the word feels so much more delicious to say, as she takes another bite of her meal.
She feels better now.
"I guess that was a way to pass the time, back then," she says, seeming to fall back into her old self. "Didn't Poe die pretty suddenly? If your rival died before you could do anything, I guess anyone'd be... angry. Like that person deprived you of something."
"I mean, it's about mystery and mystique, right? 'Phantom of the Operahouse' is a storu, but 'Phantom of the Convenience Store' is just a homeless guy who hides up in the pipes each night, above the false ceiling." She wiggles her red-purple tipped fingers. "And he watches young female convenience store workers each night... and you can hear him... breathing... watching you..."
She is completely pulling Akechi's leg here. And that grin is still there, when Akechi catches her on her 'mistake'.
"Because subways are a junction point," she supplies, her mind still on her memory(?) of that un-prophecy(?). "Crossroads were like that too, in some cultures and religions. The crossing of two paths. Being 'spirited away' is more close to home here, though."
There's only a little bit of her omelet left, now, but Umie waits on it, looking at it like it could regrow itself into a new one if she dared look away.
".... If there was a way to change someone's heart," Umie starts, in a muted tone, "someone like... that person, or Old Maid. Would your Justice prevent you, even if you knew there was no way of getting back what they took?"
She looks back up then, and tries to hold Akechi's gaze, feeling that rawness scraping at her insides. That old man, his smile. She remembers it.
"I couldn't trust myself if I knew how to do it. I'd give in, eventually. Could you do any better?"
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"I prefer the term 'eccentric'." Akechi says, just as casually, to the word peculiar, as if he's not even denying it.
However Umie stumbles through the halls of memory, trying to figure out when she began having those prophecies. And Akechi's expression does not change, despite him watching her quite closely.
He can't see into her brain and know the words of the prophecy of what began it all... except, it didn't actually begin it all.
"Naturally." He agrees to making his son disappear too, and being a complete... asshole, "Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd say it was like you know the answers even better than I." He teases her, like he understands intrinsically what's really going on, but he's not going to press her on it more deeply than that.
"He did... it remains a rather interesting unsolved mystery. But isn't that the perfect way for the father of detective fiction to go? To create a mystery that captivates nearly two centuries later..."
He chuckles merrily on the idea of being 'angry' from jealousy over the matter. "And perhaps for a time he managed to tar his reputation thoroughly... but the genius of Poe lasted. While hardly anyone remembers 'Rufus Griswold' except by his relationship to Poe. Such is the legacy of a rival..."
It doesn't exactly ruminate much on what Umie asked, but it sounds like he certainly thinks about the subject a lot.
"Oh, are you quite experienced in the matter?" Akechi says with a shit-eating grin on the matter of homeless stalkers in the false ceilings, "I'd offer my services but it sounds like your coworkers need an exterminator, rather than a detective."
Umie though clarifies on why subways are a part of the Mementos Rumor, and Akechi considers the matter for a time, before conceding...
"Well, I've never claimed to be an expert in the occult, merely a dabbler... in the sense that people who commit crimes may sometimes have a delusional motive."
But - in a sense, that is Akechi giving it to Umie that he's deferring to her expertise there, but it's also him NOT committing to being aware of the supernatural!%r
But then he asks a question, and suddenly... all mirth just flees him, as he then leans forward, an elbow on the table.
"I believe that changing someone's heart is the worst thing someone could ever do to someone, Akabane-san."
...
"Death would be kinder. ... Even if that too, would be no Justice at all."
Akechi smiles at her in that moment, though it's a wan one... and he checks his phone, "Then it's for the best that you don't know how... don't you think? As for me? I believe it is far greater suffering to spend your whole life in a place you despise because you're incapable of remorse... than to be made to believe it's the place you truly belong, because someone forced you to become someone you're not.."
His smile returns to that more mirthful one, "Food for thought..." He says, with a glance at her eggs, and places a few yen bills on the table, "Unfortunately, I have to head out. The SIU has made me a generous offer of a hotel room for the night, but only if I can get to Shinjuku before last train."
As he stands up, and takes his briefcase, he grins at her, "Until we meet again, my Phantom Successor."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Okay, eccentric, then." Umie laughs. "I can take that." It may have been something she would have objected to, years ago. (She is no longer that person, but the result of that person.)
She's completely lost the lid on her secrets; Umie knows it as Akechi points it out. "... Barely," she answers. "I tend to get really interested in the past of a guy that tries to kill me out of the blue."
Akechi's reply about Poe, and the way it centers on rivalry, makes Umie wonder if the same goes for Akechi himself. Like he's looking for a rival, himself: but does he mean to be Poe, dying young but remembered, or Griswold, living on but unremembered? .... She's overthinking on this. He wouldn't be that sort of person to be either, right?
But a rival... would be someone who'd be able to see what kind of person Akechi is, rather than simply *wonder* at the sidelines, like her. "... You can be a terrifying person sometimes, Akechi-san... I'd be afraid for anyone you decide is your rival." She's teasing, but a part of her holds some level of dread for that person.
Augh, there's Akechi with that grin again!! (is this what karma is like??) "No, that was a urban legend from Sumaru City. I didn't last long in that job, and I wonder why..." She taps a finger against her mouth. No, she just said why.
"... I'm not an occult-type person either," Umie begins, shrugging. Drat it, he keeps dodging her topics! (It's like he's... a detective prince.) "But Sumaru City leaves a mark on all of us." (That, and looking up the possible identities of different demons that occasionally walked into the Satoshi Tadashi branch meant going down some particularly juicy rabbitholes.)
But one question she dangles in front of him...
... it may as well have been like asking her about Sudou.
He leans forward, and puts forth his truth; Umie, sensing that change, doesn't flinch away, taking it in with the patience of a scribe. She doesn't challenge it, not when her own heart is unable to come to a conclusion, wrestling back and forth in deepening circles on a circular track that can never resolve. She can't agree with Akechi completely, but can she agree with the Phantom Thieves? Even if she never asked Joker the same questions, she has a sense of what he'd say.
"I'm too used to people eventually losing themselves to corruption. I can't argue that I'm somehow different, just because I put on a brave face," she says, softly, a weariness in her eyes. "Everyone has a point where they break. But if you're different, then, it stands to reason... I should try to keep up."
She leans forward herself; the distance between them is still a comfortable one, but it makes it easier to not flinch away. "As your 'successor', you'd expect me to hold to my convictions when I set them, wouldn't you? So don't let me down, Goro Akechi-san."
The mood lifts, and Umie steps back from the topic, letting out a sigh. "Whew. That got my blood pumping--"
'Until we meet again, my Phantom Successor.'
"Wait, what?! It was a hypothetical..." Umie groans on the table as he leaves. "... shit..."
(How would it go? 'Sorry Phantom Thieves, I may have accidentally made the guy _who wants to take you in for the sake of his Justice_ think I'm a part of you because we were playing a weird game of Chicken and please do not look at me like that, I swear I am _an adult_. PS this is why I don't want to be a part of you, did I mention I don't trust myself???')
That is, if he even thinks it; he knows calling her his 'successor' ruffles her just enough. (Which makes it even *worse*.)
... Hopefully he's not like this with Ren. .... Wait. ..... nah, he wouldn't look at Ren as his rival, would he?
_Ren has a curfew, Akechi._