2025-09-08: Victim of Fate
- Log: Victim of Fate
- Cast: Tatsuya Suou, Shinjiro Aragaki
- Where: Alaya Shrine, Sumaru
- OOC Date: September 08, 2025
- IC Date: July 08, 2012
- Summary: Shinjiro tracks down Tatsuya to ask him about his relationship with the Joker Killer. He learns more than he should have and ends up revealing his own history, but resolves to help Tatsuya stop him... and to feed him katsudon, of course.
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccqv6dX_MCE
Tatsuya Suou doesn't really come back to a lot of places -- he's always on the move, he's always thinking about something, he's got to investigate and check on one thing or another. The last couple of weeks have been hectic. He's still paranoid about the Phantoms. He's still terrified that Akabane is also ensnared by 'Him'. He hasn't made any progress in Sudou. Ever since nearly sealing the job, Sudou's been so much more careful -- and backed by the Order, he's got more reach than he ever could hope. What does he do?
...
That doesn't matter right now, since he's back here, in the Alaya Shrine. The old woman whose name is pertinent to a sidequest later and thus will not be known now is sweeping the ground, knowing to give him some space.
This Shrine always... ...makes Tatsuya depressed. There's an enormous ache in his heart whenever he comes here, as he feels the invisible roil of flames on that day, Ten Years Ago. He can still picture it happening, right on these steps. ... it never happened here. That's right. It's the first law of thermodynamics...
Because they selfishly wanted to have a happier life...
"... someone else has to suffer," Tatsuya mumbles.
AS: Shinjiro Aragaki has readied for combat as Castor! He is now fully healed! <Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro goes to shrines sometimes, but he prefers Naganaki Shrine. It's closer to his haunt, and it gives him a quiet place to think.
Right now, he's on a mission. He got very hurt last night, but he's alive and out of the hospital, and so, he should close off some of his investigation leads... even if they might get him more hurt. First off: is Tatsuya Suou working with the Joker Killer? If he is, Umie needs to know.
"Tatsuya Suou." says a voice from behind. Tatsuya may or may not recognize it, but he'll recognize the boy even without his red coat. Shinjiro is shivering, dressed in his greyish-black shirt and jeans with his hands in his pockets. "We need to talk."
A pause.
"If you try to run, I'll pursue. Better to get it over with now, right?" For all his words might imply, Shinjiro doesn't want a fight. But he seems very determined to talk with Tatsuya, having tracked him down to here after fishing his usual sources.
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
Tatsuya's eyes widen, without turning. That's Shinjiro's voice. Why is he here? No, he's been seen around Sumaru a lot... it looks like he's looking for the Joker Killer. He's been investigating with another group of Persona-Users, but he hasn't been able to look into that, because every time, some old man's like, 'What're you talkin' about sonny?! I got the best conger eels in the world!'.
He turns around, unable to hide the crushed, despairing face he's thoroughly entrenched in right now.
"Shinjiro," Tatsuya whispers. A pause. He makes it certain that there's some aggression to his voice. "... ... Okay. I won't run." I can't run. I want to run. I want to hide from everything I've done... there's no use. There's no use in the slightest bway.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Tatsuya's face is the first thing Shinjiro sees. That despair... he grimaces, but doesn't tch. It's too familiar to see someone despairing at a shrine.
The first name yobisute is ignored. It's not important right now, neither is respect. But as he says he won't run, and there's some aggression there, Shinjiro tenses. "I don't want a fight." He shivers lightly.
He takes a breath.
"Tatsuya Suou. Are you working with the Joker Killer?" It's not *quite* an accusation, but there's clear suspicion there. "I know you were at Kasugayama when Strega attacked. I don't care if you're Strega. Are you working with the Joker Killer?"
Said twice, for emphasis. Shinjiro's really serious about this.
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
Tatsuya did mess up. He's not on a first name basis here... they were, once upon a time, in another timeline. Then he had to go and die... it was a senseless, cruel death. He's shivering here too. He's still experiencing the same symptoms. It's because he didn't believe in a better world that these things are still happening. Silently, even without thinking about it, he's already blamed himself for Shinjiro's condition too.
"What...?"
The question takes him incredibly off-guard. A frown. "Who told you this?"
He steps forward. At this place, at this time, he can't let a slight like that slip off his back. "You take that back. You can hurl any number of insults you want and I won't care, but asking me if I'm working with--" He has to restrain from just saying 'Sudou', but it's clear that's what's next from his lips.
He has to calm down. Calm down...
"... no. I'm looking to end his life. That's..." Tatsuya wishes he had a lighter to stim with right now. "The only way I can atone. That's my punishment, Aragaki."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro pauses as Tatsuya steps forward, tension building. He doesn't back off, but Tatsuya will better see how injured he is from getting closer. "Relax. I believe you."
Taking a moment to process what Tatsuya just said, Shinjiro's frowning aura is *palpable*. "...Tsubasa Seki. If you talk to them, be kind about it. They're probably afraid of you. I don't blame them."
He rolls his shoulders, an anxious tic. "You saved me, back in Mementos. For that, I owe you. Enough to tell you that if you try to kill him, I'll have to stop you." A pause. "Not because of him. He's a bastard and deserves to die. But someone like you doesn't deserve that weight on his shoulders."
Tatsuya may remember Shinjiro's philosophy. Every killing creates a weight on the person who committed it. Good people shouldn't kill, because they'll stop being good people eventually. So what does that say about what he thinks about Tatsuya?
"...he hurt my friend, ten years ago. So don't take that lightly, either. No matter what punishment you think you're atoning for... I'll get in your way."
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
He's injured... where'd he get injured? No, there's a myriad of reasons why Shinjiro would go to get injured. That's always been the way he is. Self-sacrificing at the best and worst of times... but he's no different either. In fact, it's much worse now, now that everyone's gone.
Tatsuya does visibly relax a bit when Shinjiro says he believes him. And drops a name. Seki...?
There he goes. Shinjiro's decided that Tatsuya doesn't deserve the weight on his shoulders... he remembers that philosophy. Unfortunately, he's had the burden of a lot of lost souls on him. But something that causes a reaction is --
The Joker Killer hurt his friend, ten years ago.
No. No... no no no no no. It's happening again. The colour is draining from Tatsuya's face. Ten years ago. Is this some kind of sick joke? There's no way this is happening.
"... tell me more about it," Tatsuya quietly... begs. Yes, that's the verb -- he sounds like he's at the threshold between begging and not wanting to know about it. His head's lowered, his shoulders receded. "This incident... ten years ago."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro actually got attacked by a random ninja, but Tatsuya doesn't need to know that.
He relaxes as Tatsuya relaxes, but frowns as the color drains from Tatsuya's face. He steps back a bit, considering. And then, he nods to the begging, suddenly worried. Tatsuya is doing a really bad job at convincing Shinjiro to stop bothering him... even if he is getting Shinjiro's guilt to flare up.
"...ten years ago, there was a man. The real Joker Killer." Shinjiro knows his identity, it seems. "He came to my orphanage snooping around. Only one person saw him... they didn't believe him. ...I didn't believe him." A guilty sigh, as he looks away.
"He set the entire place on fire. My friend's sister died. Our home was gone. And all because no one could believe the local brat."
Shinjiro rubs the back of his neck. "That's why you have to believe me when I say I won't let you kill him. It's not worth the pain."
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
He came to my orphanage...
...he set the entire place on fire... my friend's sister died.
SFX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RARotEaobh0
It's happening again. This is your work, isn't it? Just like Miyashiro, you're continually putting people whose lives have been ruined by our mistake. Damn you. Damn you, Nyarlathotep! Right now, you're choosing to be silent, because you know you don't need to say a single thing. I can still hear your cackling in the silent distance...
This isn't the first time he's heard it, so he isn't quite as far *gone* as when Akechi first dropped it on him.
"Then... you were at the orphanage with Akechi," Tatsuya murmurs quietly, but he's still panicking; Shinjiro can see him sweating. He's struggling to keep his heartbeat and breathing in line. His pupils are shrunken. He's trying to hide it, but he's standing too close to Shinjiro to mask it properly.
"I'm sorry. It's my fault..." Oh. Oh, those were four really bad words to say.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Tatsuya's reaction causes Shinjiro to pause. He frowns. The frown only becomes deeper with every passing second, until Akechi is mentioned. Ah. Shinjiro nods once... and regrets doing so.
As Tatsuya apologizes, thoughts *race* through Shinjiro's head, and it's obvious. He's grimacing sharply. What does this mean? Does he know Sudou? Wait, their names are similar, are they the same person? No, that's stupid. But how could Tatsuya have done something? He's only eighteen. Unless he was at the orphanage too, and Shinjiro didn't know? Or maybe he's related to Sudou? Or perhaps...
He cuts the thoughts out of his head. "You're going to explain what you mean by that. What do you know about Tatsuya Sudou?"
No more holding back. He's a decent detective, and he has a hunch, but he's completely out of his element with this guy, completely incapable of guessing any of the important context clues no matter what.
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
Tatsuya takes a step back and stumbles against the wooden porch of the shrine, and ends up sitting on it.
"... nothing I say here leaves these shrine grounds. Okay?"
He can feel him laughing. Nyarlathotep didn't have to do a damn thing and he's already picking at the seams of This Side. You just can't help yourself, can you, Tacchan? Oh, sorry, it's Takkun now! Hyahahahaha!
He looks so defeated. As Shiori once monologued, she reminds him of the golden retriever they once had as a family, who had this adorable look on his face like he wanted to be anywhere else when he got in trouble. Or, no, it could look more like a lion whose pride has been wounded...
"Ten years ago, on July XX, 2002..." That's the same date the orphanage burnt down... "This shrine burnt down. The very one I'm sitting on right now. The perpetrator was... Tatsuya Sudou. On that day, I was locked in here with someone very important to me. I managed to escape because I was small and snuck through the shrine floorboards... and I came face to face with him. I attacked him, but I was only eight years old. He slashed me, and I awoke to my Persona then and there... and burnt out his face."
A longer pause.
"But that didn't happen at all, this time. This shrine never burnt down. That was because... we escaped our fate. Our meeting never happened, none of us... and as a result... someone else had to suffer, because we were selfish. And it looks like you became the victim of fate instead, Shinjiro."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
As Tatsuya stumbles into a seat, and tells him nothing leaves these shrine grounds... Shinjiro nods. He folds his arms, but he's clearly listening.
It's a lot to take in. It doesn't *make sense*. It's impossible. It's frustrating. It's *enraging*. But Shinjiro doesn't believe he's lying, and that makes it worse.
He couldn't have known that date unless he was telling the truth.
"This won't leave here. But I want you to listen to me *before you do*." He has so many questions. But questions don't feel like the place to go. He can ask those later, when it doesn't seem like another boy is struggling right in front of him. Any anger he felt dissipates in the wake of that.
It might pang Tatsuya to realize Shinjiro's the one who hasn't changed a bit, still always caring about others before his own feelings.
"...you can't carry that weight by yourself. Believe me, I've got my own, and I've tried. Eventually, the past always comes to catch up... and you're going to want people you can rely on there, even if you have to handle it yourself." It's hypocritical. But Shinjiro's earnest in believing it for Tatsuya, and that probably makes it worse.
"Let's stop him. Akechi's already building a case. We can make sure he never hurts anyone ever again."
He stops. He breathes. And he ends on something Mitsuru put in his mind. "But going it alone, trying to do something you'll know will hurt you and those you care about... isn't that just running away? If I'm a victim because of you, then face me and let me help you."
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
Sitting here like this, on the porch grounds, Tatsuya is haunted by the echoing laughter of -- the children wearing those Featherman masks. Yellow Owl, Pink Argus, and Black Condor... he can still vividly imagine their shapes, as they pretended to be a Masked Circle of superheroes, each with their incredible and outlandish backstories. It's haunting. He's being drowned by their laughter. They just wanted a bit of peace and happiness in their lives. They're living a happy and peaceful life now-- Jun Kurosu is-- Jun Kashihara is--!!
Shinjiro directs him to listen to him. That's easier than being drowned by ghosts.
He tells him he can't carry that weight himself. He's tried... and failed. The past comes to catch up... and he's going to want people he can rely on. Tatsuya's face just contorts further at that. He does want it. He does want to share the burden. In a way, his confessional's already brought him some of that share. But the more he becomes tempted...
"... I've already said too much," Tatsuya confesses. "The more I explain, the more I reveal... the more this, all of this," he gestures with his hands... and careless as he's being right now, his right sleeve slips down and reveals the Mark on his hand. He doesn't look like he's noticed. "is at risk of unravelling. That's why Sudou's so hellbent on 'correcting' it. He's been ensnared by 'him' too..."
He quietly rises to his feet. What Shinjiro says about how going it alone is just running away. It's true, and yet...
"... here." He quietly hands his phone over, for Shinjiro to copy. This is probably a mistake. But he has a point, and he's twisted him with his own logic. If he's a victim because of him, then he deserves something.
"There was a time I'd wholeheartedly agree with you... but some things really aren't meant to be revealed at all."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro's not prying. As Tatsuya listens, Shinjiro watches his face contort. But even so...
Tatsuya's at risk of unraveling all of this, and Sudou wants to 'correct' it. Him... Whatever's going on is above Shinjiro's pay grade. But even so, as he catches a glimpse of that Mark and commits it to memory (that's DEFINITELY not just a weird tattoo), he's softly frowning, more melancholy. Umie once glanced right there on his arm... is this why she asked him to look?
"Then don't explain. Just do."
Shinjiro does copy his number. He'll text him his when they're done. "I don't need to know shit to help you. Just point me and get back." He doesn't know why he trusts Tatsuya, maybe he shouldn't, but...
Maybe it's because they feel similar. The burdens of the past.
Shinjiro turns. He's not sure if Tatsuya wants him to leave, so he doesn't, just yet.
"I'm making you that katsudon, by the way. If we're going to take him down, you'll need nutrition. Alright?"
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Suou has posed.
"... yeah," Tatsuya nods. Don't explain. Just do. That seems to get him a bit more motivated. "All right." Maybe it'll be a bit better if he works with people away from Eikichi, Lisa and Jun... or is he just fooling himself into thinking that'd be better? They're still the ones who suffered because he didn't believe. ... would it still have happened, even if he believed? He has to. He has to reason him as the culprit behind this, because the pain of knowing Shinjiro would've still suffered even if they all laughed and went their merry way is too much.
Tatsuya starts to step a few ways past him. Then he puts his hands in his pockets. "... that sounds tasty. I'm looking forward to it."