2025-09-04: Spotlight
- Log: Spotlight
- Cast: Umie Akabane, Eikichi Mishina
- Where: Sumaru Prison
- OOC Date: September 04, 2025
- IC Date: July 06, 2012
- Summary: Umie decides to meet up with Eikichi and catch him up on the Joker Killer, as well as find out what happened on his side of things during the Kasugayama High attack, while carefully avoiding triggering certain memories. She quickly finds that while Eikichi may lack information on many things, he makes up for it in spirit and determination, and that's what counts, in Umie's book.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Eikichi's bandmates may be the ones to tell him.
Whether it was them or not, it'd be something to the effect of "Oh hey, there was this chick in glasses and a baseball cap that looking for you", confusion over whether or not she was "with that Detective Prince dude", and something about him catching a classmate harrassing a similar girl in a baseball cap and glasses.
The jury is still out on whether it was the same girl in a baseball cap and glasses that's looking for Eikichi, but sources say 'yes', because while it may be a popular look, both of them were blonde, but obviously the artificially achieved blonde, "because her eyebrows".
What terrible fate shall befall Eikichi?!
WHICH LEADS TO:
Yeah, it's Umie at the entrance of the spiral staircase leading down, who is currently taking off her baseball cap and clear plastic glasses as she peers around, looking to see if anyone's in the room, and who. ".... Uh," she starts. "... It's still okay if I stop by, right?" Pause. "... I couldn't actually say *why* I was trying to seek you out, so I hope I didn't, uh, start something."
Another pause, as Umie folds up the glasses and slides them into her purse. "I wanted to compare some notes over, uh, the thing, that happened, a few weeks ago? The... 'gang attack'?"
She frowns, as if disliking how the statment sounded. Has it really been only a few weeks? God, time is flying by.
"So if you're not in a good spot, I can come another time. It's no biggie for me." ... Which is likely why she's at the entrance to the stairs, rather than walking down them.
It's more awkward trying to decide on an approach when Umie's very sure, from Tatsuya's words that day, that she may be touching something she shouldn't. Bbbbut the Joker Killer is a different topic, technically, right?
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
Eikichi has been made aware of some girl looking for him. So he is ready for Umie to come to his home away from home...a run down prison turned into a concert space. As soon as Umie speaks, there is a loud click as a spotlight turns on and reveals Eikichi standing on stage, leaning on a mic stand dramatically. "Well, well." He talks into the microphone, which makes his voice boom through the mostly empty prison.
"It seems we finally meet, mademoiselle~~" Eikichi smirks, watching her descend from his spot on stage. The light makes his white makeup glow ghost-like, his lipstick clad lips the solitary island in this ethereal plain. "Come on down!"
"Gang Attack? You're gonna have to be more specifiiiiiic!!" Eikichi breaks out into a heavy metal high pitched note on the last word, holding it for a moment before he clears his throat. "Specific...Sorry just working on my beautiful voice and thought I could kill two things at once. But Kasugayama is prone to gang attacks so I'm not sure which one you mean. Come! Sit down in front of the stage and tell me what Kasugayama's Death Boss can do for yoooouuu~" A similar sung note on 'you'.
It is probably both intimidating and outright weird that Eikichi was doing the meeting like this.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
No, no, their first meeting involved getting lost in Tartarus with a guy who wore a winter jacket in the middle of spring and a guy in a full getup, mask and everything, so there was nowhere to go but up from here.
Or, well, down, because Umie has to go down those stairs. But before that--
The young woman nearly drops her cap when the spotlight turns on; she stares, feeling a touch awkward, as Eikichi, by virture of this being his domain, reminds Umie of the exact reason she was here, last time. That's right, for a loud *concert*, with a big crowd and lots of loud music. (And then, the next day, all hell broke lose.)
Descending the steps manages to center her back into a mood, a small, lopsided grin on her face. "Probably can't see who I am from the light, can you?" Her tone is a little dry, but nonetheless amused.
And the smile spreads a little more.
Her sneakers make quiet taps as she walks up to the stage, all 5'1" of her. "Man... this place feels really different from the last time I was here. It was so packed I had to flee out once the show was over." She's dressed simply; pale grey rainjacket tied around her waist, a warm brown t-shirt with redorange stripes across the middle, and black shorts. Flopping down in a seat, she grins.
"It's been a while, Mishina-san. Or should I call you Death Boss-san, if we're being proper? I didn't realize you were a rock star when we got lost at Gekkoukan High. Or, well, Tartarus, I should say." She leans forward, wanting to get to the point, but something nags at her.
He's... really happy, doing something he likes. Should she be yanking him back into something that might be traumatic for him?
"... But I think this is the first time we'd been able to properly meet face to face," she says, instead. "Umie Akabane, Triple Seven conbini clerk, ruiner of rumors, ordinary, boring person."
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
"My mind's eye can. You're the woman in the cap and glasses who is looking for me, no?" Eikichi responds leaning forward with the mic. "Though I suppose that puts me at a disadvantage in some ways.."
Eikichi watches the woman come closer to the stage, finally dropping to sit on the edge, kicking his legs over the side. He still has the mic in his hand, leaving the stand to stay standing. He is still noticeably in the spotlight however.
"Heh, oh it's you! Yeah I recall we went into that place together. Been awhile." Eikichi grins. "You can call me Eikichi--We've thrown down together after all. But still I should officially introduce myself." He pulls the mic to his face.
"From a world beyond your comprehension, borne of darkness and beauty. The legendary Death Boss of Kasugayama High School, Eikichi Mishina...Hiya. How ya doin'? There, we are all caught up."
Eikichi drops the mic and launches off the stage, landing in a dramatic pose. "So what can I do you for, Umie? It must be some gang fight if you want to know about it...and now that I think about it, you mean -that- one, right? The one that wasn't a gang fight really?" He looks a little less cheerful but still rather confident. "Kinda sore about that one but I'll give you what I got."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'You're the woman in the cap and glasses who is looking for me, no?' "Yep. That's me."
"Eikichi-san, then." Umie grins. "I was here with Aragaki-kun for your concert, but we had to split afterwards." It was her first concert. At 20. Oh dear god she's having to play catch up
As Eikichi preens himself in the lamplight, Umie has to hide a grin behind one hand; she nods, trying to mask the stupid grin on her face with a neutral nod, as if assessing his 'entrance'.
But alas, the show must go on.
"If you're okay with it." Umie visibly hesitates, but something Eikichi said earlier seals the deal: they've thrown down together. "I was on the other end of it, with a friend. W-.... I mostly saw what happened near the end."
Better to keep that friend a secret if he was telling people not to remember him, as much as she'd want to know what happened. "But yeah, tell me what you saw. I might be able to clarify some things myself, since--"
Again, she asks herself, is this a good idea?
'Doesn't he deserve to know there's been other victims, being a Persona-user and all? Besides, you're the one always on about making sure people don't make the same mistakes as you.'
"So I wanted to know, before I came in, what happened down there, with you. We've seen some weird shit already, so don't worry. Just... if I tell you stop, would you?" Why? Hm. That'll look suspicious if she doesn't say why, right? She holds up her hands. "Because I saw the rest, so, ah, don't need to go over that. At all."
Did the Joker Killer really show up? He had to have, Umie felt it. But she wants to see what Eikichi says, without her awkward prodding.
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
Eikichi shrugs, snapping his fingers and the house lights come on, shutting the spotlight off. It's a rather cool effect that we won't go into how it works...only somewhere one of Eikichi's friends is really killing it with the special effects today.
"What I saw? Hmmm...Don't know if you'd believe a bunch of demons and some asshole with a bag on his head. Kinda like the Jason guy from the movies. Lots of fire too. Besides me, some other guys were there too. Kashihara for one. One guy got very hurt..."
The blue haired punk thinks for a moment. "There was also some sort of...moment that hurts to remember? Honestly, after everything I almost believed the stupid crap they said on TV but I know better don't I? That's the short version." He grins through his dark lipstick.
He tilts his head at the prospect of having to stop. "Alright...Sure, Umie. Just tell me when."
"Oh right, there was also some girl in a gothic lolita dress who led us to whatever all of that was...after her, the whole school became like that Tartarus place. Couldn't tell you how but I've been in two schools now that got all screwy."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Eikichi snaps the spotlights off, and a laugh breaks Umie's nonchalant barrier. "Nice," she says, after a moment. "But... what happens when you have to snap your fingers during a performance, though?" (_Umie, you're getting off track._)
And then, almost immediately, this visit has born fruit. Umie looks shocked, auburn brown eyes blinking in confusion. Then, with a shrug, she grins, almost devilishly. "I mean, who would believe any of us? Though, maybe if they did, there wouldn't have been attacks since then. But yeah, no, it's fine. You just confirmed some suspicions for me."
As soon as Eikichi mentions a moment that hurts to remember, Umie holds up a hand. "Okay, that's the moment that you need to stop on. It hurt my brain too, so don't worry about it." She's not lying, technically; she had moments where she was blanking out, following the event. "So we're on the same page."
Really, it was that easy! All she had to do was establish a connection beforehand with Eikichi and get lost in Tartarus, nearly die a few times, and come out the other end alive.
This red-haired girl... she must be the 'anti-navigator', if that's the term people are going to go with. "I think I can explain here, just a little." Umie raises a red nailed finger. "Remember that girl that was lost in Tartarus, and how she awoke to a Persona during that battle? That group of Persona users call those navigators, because that's what they're good at. I have a few similar skills myself, but I'm more like an inbetween. That's why I was sticking close to you and Aragaki-kun."
Her hand drops to her lap. "Well, okay, I'm more like that red-haired girl, in some ways. You saw me summon my Persona, but, if I'm playing my cards right..." She takes a moment to concentrate, closing her eyes.
.... There's someone with a resonance here now, one that Eikichi has felt before, because it's, well, Umie. The Umie sitting in front of Eikichi, up until this moment, lacked a resonance.
"Sorry," she says, her eyes opening back up. "So, I can do that. But just for me. Some people can do a whole lot more, and that girl's one of them. To any of us outside, it'd be like a muddy maze even if we charged in." ... Umie should really ask how experienced Eikichi is before she just *assumes*. Damn it, Tutor-Sensei is blasting off again! "Uh," she hesitates, for a moment. "If anything sounds familiar, just tell me to stop playing tutor, okay? It's a bad habit of mine."
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
"I mean...huh. You have a point." Eikichi looks a little dumbfounded by the hole in his cool little show.
Eikichi nods. "Got it. Don't think about the...unthinkable..thing." Eikichi nods as he leans back against the stage, watching the 20 something. "Are we? Because admittedly I'm still confused about all of this...I mean I've seen it before but I'm still kinda not used to dealing with weird things."
Girl who was lost? Oh right, her. Eikichi nods as he listens to Umie's explanation, placing a hand under his chin. "I still need to visit that badass. She's probably a boss at Gekkoukan or something. Would have to be....So Navigators guide or something?" Eikichi tilts his head, trying to get a hold of this. "Guide you through weirdness or something?"
Eikichi blinks as he feels resonance from the person in front of him. He lets his hands drop as he just stares like a deer in headlights. "Got..it...so that weird feeling thing you just did was navigating...me to...here? Are we in a weird zone now?" Eikichi looks dumbfounded. The tutor has probably just found her dumbest student.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Ah, Umie, you did it again. You took a cool thing and deflated it, because you could. "H-hey, don't look like that! It can still be cool, you know!" Umie quickly manages. Kasugayama students really are something else...
Are they on the same page? "I mean, like..." Umie waves her hands in front of her. "It's fine. We're all trying to figure things out."
Oh, she so so glad she's being blunt here. "... I think she might appreciate it. If you can get in touch with Aragaki-kun, he might be able to set something up." No, that makes her sound even more like some kind of boss! ".... Oh yeah, uh..." Umie puts a hand to her chin. "How do I put it? It's like... someone who's able to understand the field better than you or I can. They can navigate you through a fight, see things you may not notice because you're up close and personal. Uh."
Pick up that thought and put it another way, Umie. That's what you had to do all the time with Tatsuya, right?
".... So... it's like... someone giving you..." No, just because he's at Kasugayama doesn't mean Eikichi uses a cheat sheet. "... uh. Like... someone... giving you... a map. But there's others who will take that map and rip it up, and then spin you around so you're too dizzy to move."
The explanations can't all be winners. "Oh, yeah, like that! Guide you through weirdness, yeah. See, we're on the same page."
'Are we in a weird zone now?' Oh. Oh no, they are not on the same page at *all*.
"So. There's some things a lot of people with Personas can do, uh. And... that's sensing... if someone also has a Persona. Kind of. I suppose..." Umie thinks again. "... Like... knowing if someone's..." Think, think. "If they... smell, or not..." Her shoulders sag. "A lot of this is hard to explain straight away..."
"Eikichi-san," Umie starts, still having trouble with using a first name, "how long have you been going around with a Persona?"
(Flashback to Umie asking Katsuya a few months ago what a Persona was, when he asked why she had one. She been *summoning* the damn thing for years, and probably even *said* what it was aloud!)
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
Eikichi nods and grins. "Then I'll look up Aragaki and this girl....Uhh I think her name was Yamagishi? That sounds familiar." He does notice Fuuka's boss like introduction, nodding his head. Umie just cemented Fuuka's rep in Eikichi's mind, for better or worse.
"I see. A map to a fight...That doesn't really make any sense but I think I'm starting to get what you mean...I think." Eikichi still has that deer in headlights expression on his face as he just watches Umie as she tries to explain it all to him.
It isn't going perfect but he is trying to pay attention.
The question does snap him to attention. He places a hand on his chin in thought as he tries to narrow down the first time he saw his Persona. "A while? Probably during my first year at Kasugayama or early 2nd year. It's all kind of a blur."
And then right back to bewildered. "You telling me this thing can smell? I don't really want to smell some of the things we encounter. Can I turn that feature off?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Fuuka will never know what hit her. "Yeah, Yamagishi-san." Umie nods.
"... I've... seen Yamagishi-san and others like her figure out things like weaknesses." Wait, no, that's it! That's the explanation! It was right there! "That's what Yamagishi-san was able to do, since those big Shadows kept changing their defenses."
So... "Huh... you played the Persona game too, I'm guessing." _No, Sumaru City is *not* weird_, everyone that grew up here is perfectly normal!
She breaths out a sigh. "It's fine, it's not like I had a manual either or anything... So." She holds up a finger. "That means, you've managed all on your own, for a few years. So, pat yourself on the back."
It's good that she's looking down, at least; if she looked up, she may give something away in her gaze that she'd rather not.
'You telling me this thing can smell?'
"... oh, uh. No." Umie blinks. "I mean, that is... they don't smell? I don't think they do?" Myunghon's can taste, but that's besides the point!
"... The important thing is!" Umie gets back to her main point, as she looks up, "there's been more attacks. Mine happened not too long after the one at Kasugayama did, in _Shibuya_. And recently... Sevens. One of the teachers, Ayame Watanabe. But, for some reason, how he behaved in both was different, and you just confirmed it for me. He can summon, but not always. He can teleport around... but not always." Wait, no, Eikichi never *said* he *summoned* them, but Umie's already forging ahead in her Umie way. "And in Shibuya, thanks to that weird field he projects, *I* was able to use my Persona, but not after he fled."
... She could feed this information back to Tatsuya, couldn't she?
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
"Oh. Like a strategy guide." Eikichi nods, finally getting it, more or less. He tilts his head when she mentions the Persona game. "Yeah...It was a bravery test or something. I forgot when I played it but a bunch of us guys played it once at a thing. Didn't really get it but...that's why I have a Persona? That seems kinda weird. It was just a spooky kids game? Also none of the other guys have one."
Eikichi is just watching Umie at this point, sort of half confused where this is all going. "So the bag guy is emitting weirdness or something. I guess that would make sense but I don't get how a guy could do that. I mean that Tartarus place kinda just happened...Was that some guy also or is that different?" Eikichi cups his chin again, thinking for a moment. He considers all of what he's heard. "Look I might not get all of this but if we're going after the guy with the bag on his head, I'm in. I don't need that guy killing anyone. Plus I owe that guy for almost putting me down. Basically it's pay back now."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Yeah, like... one of those."
Pause. Umie does that little blink of hers. "... Those are... for video games, right?"
"Yeah, I played it too." Ha ha ha, nothing happened for her for REASONS. "I'm not sure what determines who gets one and who doesn't. Maybe... because you're the... Death Boss...?" _Umie, that makes no sense._
Where is this all going?
Oh, well, that's the thing: Umie never thought that far.
"Yeah, it's..." Umie lets out a sigh, her shoulders sagging. "It's a long story, and I have a friend who's... particular on who gets involved in all this. But the more people we have roaming around, ready to try to help, the better off, I say. None of us are victims; we're survivors."
"I can say, though, Tartarus is unrelated," Umie continues, relaxing into her seat. "That's just a whole different moutain of bullshit, and SEES probably could use an extra hand now and then, I bet."
Eikichi, however, seems to sense exactly what's at stake, here, and to that, a sideways grin spreads on Umie's lips. ".... Maybe that's the reason you got a Persona, Eikichi-san~ You don't like backing away from trouble."
She interlaces her fingers together. "So I'm going to tell you something real valuable. There's a place nearby here, called the Cardboard Dragon. Looks kind of weird since you have to go up a fire escape, but they sell, uh, skill... cards?" Umie makes a sour face, not quite seeming to get it herself. "Look, get something that's water or ice. He mainly uses fire, so if you're going to go into any of this, you'll need that."
"And maybe keep a Sevens emblem on you, though..." Umie does another one of those weird, lopsided frowns. ".... I think I... screwed that rumor up when I tried to expand it..."
She did use that as one of her titles.
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
"Yeah for video games...I guess being an adult doesn't leave time for stuff like that." Eikichi considers the rest of her explanation on why he got a Persona. While he questioned most of everything else, he doesn't really question getting something for being the toughest. "Oh, yeah. That makes sense."
"Damn straight. I'm also a fighter and I'll knock out that bag faced prick if I see him again." Eikichi grins, especially when Umie says he doesn't back down. Good to know his brand was working.
"Cardboard Dragon...think I've heard about this place...But I got water already....Maybe Ice would help though." Eikichi thinks about those flames again and his eyes narrow. "This is beginning to feel like one of those Dragon Quest games my friend plays."
"A sevens emblem? A,alright but I don't see what that will do. Isn't that one of those crazy rumors?...I guess some of those turn out to be true but I don't get it." Eikichi is aware of Sumaru's reputation but still tries to logic his way through things. How an Emblem stops a magic serial killer is kinda beyond his delinquent mind. "But I'll get one and keep it on me."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
He called her an adult. Excellent. She's registering as an adult and not a fifteen year old, finally!
(........ why does Umie have mixed feelings on this, suddenly?)
She lets it slide. Focus, Umie, focus!! Though, what *should* she call Sudou, in front of Eikichi? He's been called the Joker Killer, but what if that creates some weird rumor that he can kill Jokers? (nevermind he's also referred to as the Joker.) Old Maid? No, that's the police's name for him, same for #501.
"Yep. Bag-faced prick." Umie does a sharp nod. That'll do.
As for ice?
"<Good>, I saw both work on the guy." Umie considers. "I guess it does follow a sort of logic, huh..."
As for rumors... "I don't get it either. But maybe it's the power of cognitive belief? Er..." She considers, a hand to her chin. "... Like... sometimes, telling yourself something is true can be a way to ensure something becomes true. If a lot of people believe the same thing... Like..."
'.... If a rumor was spread around that he isn't the Death Boss.'
No, Mai-chan, that example won't work at all!
"Well, I guess, it'll be a good way to see how much I screwed things up, if anything else." She lets out a sigh and flops back, clapping her hands together over her stomach.
........ Unfortunately, that may have just made the lights go out, again. "..."
".... Sorry," comes an embarrassed response.
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
"I mean I'm sure you're fine." Eikichi watches her fret over rumors. He blinks trying to put it all together. It is a lot. "So rumor can make things come true...I guess that is something I noticed." Eikichi thinks about it right when the lights go out from the clap.
"Eh no problem. Just need to be more confidant about things and magic will happen." Eikichi snaps his fingers and the lights come on. And he is nowhere to be seen at first.
"The key to all of this is preception and with some perception, anything is possible." Eikichi's voice comes from the top of the spiral staircase. "You'll be fine, Umie-san. However I need to be getting home before my dad kicks my ass so I'll need to continue this another time." Eikichi grins from his spot on the stairs. It is a wonder how he did it but he really is good at this showbiz thing.