2025-09-13: Perhaps Too Cautious
- Log: Perhaps Too Cautious
- Cast: Katsuya Suou, Yoko Hirano
- Where: Hirasaka Ward
- OOC Date: September 13, 2025
- IC Date: July 10, 2012
- Summary: Katsuya, in Hirasaka once again, is in good spirits, but pauses outside the Cardboard Dragon. He's soon happened upon by Yoko who is here for her own reasons, but why does he feel like there's also a cat out here somewhere? Note: misgendering (accidental).
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
Today is different, even if the work is not.
Today, his heart is lighter, in spite, even, of a better understanding of the shadowy forces at play across Japan.
It's only been a week and change since the encounter not terribly far from here (as the crow flies) where something truly terrible occurred... but where also a terrible outcome was narrowly averted. And it hasn't even been a day since many of the things that Katsuya had suspected were at play had been confirmed to be the true. ...Though, if he's being honest, some of those things Baofu had told all of them, and there's truly only one good reason why he hadn't suggested that they act on them immediately. The rest was just because...
Perhaps he's been too close-minded. Perhaps he's been too suspicious. Perhaps, nearly a half-dozen or more of these sorts of things are true.
And the conspiracy they face off against stretches beyond Sumaru, it reaches even into his own place of work. It's a big thing that they're up against, and that's even before taking into account the assorted other problems afforded them from supernatural spaces... or even just mundane, uncomplicated, everyday living in this country.
And even so, Katsuya feels better this morning than he had felt the other morning, that even so, there's a chance for justice to persevere.
It's back to the Takagi Building today -- or rather, its surrounding area. Some of the officers in vice had turned up some petty crime connections to the victim after all. Technically speaking, the case is closed, but there's still some mysterious circumstances surrounding it, apparently enough so that his superiors were willing to send someone out to chase down any additional leads.
It's probably also to 'get Suou out of the department building', and even he realizes that. Given recent 'work-related tensions' and what he knows now about the corruption of some of his fellow officers (even if he doesn't quite know which officers), that's... acceptable.
So, today will be interviews.
He'd taken a different route than usual, though, which means that he's ended up passing by the Cardboard Dragon. It's not by accident: he pauses a moment, regarding the alleyway, that fire-escape leading upwards. He could--
But he probably shouldn't.
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
There's supposedly a card shop in Hirasaka that has a really amazing selection. Yoko doesn't play any card games, but she likes the idea of carrying an entire gallery's worth of paintings in her pocket or bag. (This will lead to her downfall in the future when she builds a deck based on the pictures she likes most instead of a viable strategy.)
But before she can get sucked into an unfortunate side hobby, she's got to find it first.
Looking again at the directions she's written down, Yoko shifts from foot to foot. It's in an alley, apparently, but the steps had gotten a little vague... well, she has time to find it yet. And she can probably ask for help if she really needs it.
She still hasn't changed out of her uniform, and there's a smudge of something bright red on the edge of her skirt where she accidentally smeared paint, but she can probably get it out this evening. Yoko isn't worried about that.
It's the second alley, isn't it? And up ahead, looking into it, is...
Yoko blinks at him. "Officer Suou?"
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
Katsuya, of course, has never once played a collectable cardgame in his life. ...Though he might have purchased some packets once upon a time for Tatsuya, when the both of two of them were much younger and the situation between them was a lot less complicated. It had taken weeks to put together the money.
He'd played it off like it was nothing at all.
But the use he has for cards these days is far different. It's been a while since he's set foot in Myunghon's establishment, though, and there are other places to get the sorts of cards useful to a Persona-user in this city. On one hand, he'd ought to check in on them, see how they're doing. On the other...
And then his preoccupation flies the subject of Myunghon altogether.
It's more like something scrapes across his awareness. It's more like, something is shuffling about in the recesses of the alley. A cat, some part of his psyche declares, and he thinks, he'd like to at least see the cat.
Then, as he turns his head, he sees her again. Hirano, that girl from the other day?
She's standing in the road, looking somewhat bedraggled (is that paint?) and very much lost.
"Hirano-san...? Is everything alright? You look like you're lost," he says, and he also thinks, isn't she terribly far from her home territory, if she's a Gekkoukan student.
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
Wouldn't it be nice to see a cat wherever you went? Even if it was the same one, somehow, it'd still be entertaining and comforting. Yoko blinks at Katsuya and steps out of the street, because she doesn't want to be in the way or run over.
"I'm fine. Why?" Is he just a worrisome person? Or maybe it's just 'worried'. Yoko's hand strays to the strap of her messenger bag, fingers folding around it. The other hand, the one holding the sheet of paper, flutters at her side. The crackly sound of paper reminds her. "I'm not lost yet," she shakes her head. Her hair's still a bit messy, too...
"Why are you here?" He probably isn't interested in games. He seemed very serious the last time they met...
Actually... thinking about that... Yoko sidles a bit to her left, peering past - or maybe at him? Where's the gentleman cat? Did it follow him? "...I'm looking for a shop," she explains, still not quite looking at him correctly. "I heard from another student that there's a card shop nearby. It has a lot of different games, too. I wanted to look at them..."
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
It might not be bad, to see a cat everywhere he went, because then he'd be able to see a cat. Sometimes he spots them on his way to the police department in the early mornings, skulking around certain alleys in the residential parts of Konan. But not always.
...Still, isn't it a little strange that every time he's run into Yoko, he's had the feeling (or at least the allergies resulting from) that there's a cat nearby? Sure, it's only been two times, but it's still more than expected.
"Oh, my apologies," he says, when she claims she's not lost. "It seemed for a moment that you weren't certain where you were headed," he explains, gesturing with his hands. "...This isn't the usual sort of place for you, is it? You should be careful around here." It's not that Hirasaka, technically, sees the most crime in the city, but... ...neither is it the safest of places for a girl on her own. Still, at least it's light outside yet. It will get to be different after dark.
But why is he here?
"Well..." Katsuya hedges, glancing once down the alley. "I'm out here for my job, today. I was passing by, and I was... thinking, I suppose." Which is one way of putting 'vacillating over whether he should go and check in on an acquaintance or not'. But what about her?
"...Ah." Katsuya hesitates, again. "It should be right down this alley and up the stairs," he says, as if he doesn't know that perfectly well already. "However, I'm not certain if they're open for business. The owner was... indisposed, earlier," he says, deciding he shouldn't explain. Is Myunghon out of the hospital?
...actually, given certain rumors currently circulating, he thinks 'yes'...
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
Some people are just blessed, maybe. She's been watching for the cat that lives at the station in Iwatodai. Sometimes it shows up and seems to expect food. One day maybe it will let her pet it...!
"...I mean, I've never been here before, but it had to be here somewhere. There's just more than one alley and the directions got a little vague." She should be careful, he says, and Yoko's expression shutters briefly. He means it out of kindness, she's sure, but it just feels like... "I'm careful," she tells him, and tries not to look as sulky as she feels. "People are always telling me that. I'm careful."
She squeezes the strap of her bag before letting her hand slip down to the flap and inside of it. Her newest creation is partially furry; Yoko digs her fingers into the soft texture and reminds herself to be calm. He didn't mean it like that.
With one hand still stuffed in her bag up to the wrist, Yoko walks up to the mouth of the alley he's indicated and looks down it. The directions do say that there are stairs. But the owner isn't feeling well, she gathers. That's disappointing. She came all this way. But it's also bad that they might be sick. Yoko tries not to feel too guilty about being a little put out and not as sympathetic as she ought. It's a muddled kind of feeling. "I hope they feel better soon," she says instead, because she does mean it even if she isn't perfect.
"...How did you know it was there? Do you like games?" She starts trying to fold the directions up one-handed, because touching soft fur at the same time seems important.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
"I see... even with a GPS, it can be difficult to navigate these streets if you're not familiar." He grew up in this city and he still can get turned about if he's in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Though, increasingly, those are far and few between. It's really just Narumi Ward that he's not as familiar with, by now.
Katsuya's not that dense, he knows he's touched a nerve. Even so, though, he shakes his head. "It's easy for anyone to walk into dangerous situations without realizing it," he tries to explain. "Over here, it isn't so bad. But..."
But there are other threats than other people on the streets of Sumaru. Not everywhere. It's not always easy for him to tell, just yet, where the places are that possess that supernatural characteristic that lets him summon a Persona and allow demons to wander. But it must be possible for an ordinary person to stumble into them, and if they're unlucky--
It doesn't bear thinking about the potential causes for some missing person cases.
Of course, he says all that and isn't the Cardboard Dragon smack dab in the middle of a supernatural space? ...Of course, here, there will naturally be other Persona-users about, but...
She looks a little disappointed. He... feels a little bad.
It's possible that the shop is open. One of her allies could be running the space: spells or no, he doubts Myunghon is in good enough condition. He could even go and check that fact. But he's also not that certain that he'll be a 'welcome face' at present. "Well... it's possible that someone else might be running the shop in her absence," he says, continuing to unwittingly misgender Myunghon.
But how did he know it was here? That's a... difficult question.
Katsuya fidgets with his sunglasses. Should he lie? He probably should, but... no, actually, wait.
"I came here to ask some questions in the middle of an investigation once," he says, and it's not actually a lie, it's just a gentle realignment of the order in which things really happened.
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
It's a little mollifying that it's probably other people he wants her to watch out for. He doesn't know.
Yoko thinks about the word 'fragile'. He still sees her more like a vase, maybe, than a bomb.
"I don't know. Maybe I should have called first but I didn't think that it could be closed." Of course, it's not like the solution is hard; just go down the alley and see! And then go from there. One crease at a time, Yoko manages to fold the directions into a small square packet and tuck it away into her breast pocket.
If someone else is running the shop... Yoko pauses in her quiet doomspiral because so what if someone else is running the shop? They probably know just as much about the art and the cards as the owner does! People get obsessive over all kinds of unusual things! Just look at beetle collectors or train enthusiasts.
At least she takes him for his word when he explains why he knows where the shop is. Why would anybody lie about that, anyway... "Oh, do you know what happened to her? Is she hurt or sick?" Yoko looks so determined!
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
If she wants to check by herself, then he won't stop her: if the shop's closed, it's closed, but if it's open, a surprise customer would probably go over better than checking in on the owner's wellbeing after what happened. Perhaps they might still trust him, he'll allow, but Ishiba is still his colleague. He wouldn't be surprised if he ended up tarred with the same brush.
She should have called first.
"...That's right, they must have a phone number," he says, as much to himself as to Yoko. What sort of business doesn't?! Granted, all the same, he doesn't know it, but... if he did, couldn't he just call?
"If they are closed, there will be some sign to indicate as much," he says finally, as if to help calm Yoko's inner fears. "The shop will be right up the stairs there. You may as well check, if you came out all this way. Perhaps I am being overly cautious."
She may well have the impression that he often is overly cautious.
Does he know what happened, though? Katsuya nods, and then says, after a moment's pause, "She was in a minor accident. I imagine she will be back on her feet soon."
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
She traveled all this way, on a weekday afternoon. Of course she'll at least look for a sign on the door...!
"..." She's quiet for a moment, staring at him with that expressionless expression again. "You're an overly cautious kind of person," Yoko notes, because. Well. He is! There's nothing wrong with it...
Even if it makes Yoko want to fuss and complain about that kind of treatment.
She withdraws her hand from the bag and straightens the flap. "Then. I'll go check and if they're closed, I'll just go home early and try again soon." That's so reasonable! Yoko turns back to face him properly and sketches a short bow. "Then, thank you Officer Suou. I'm going to go look."
If he wants to come with her, that's fine too! But he seems kind of preoccupied with something. It must be adult business, Yoko surmises, and is glad that she isn't there yet.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
She up and calls him cautious.
If anything, Katsuya seems mildly taken aback, but... "Well, that... I can't deny that," he says at last, his shoulders slightly sagging. "But I am a police detective, after all. It's in my nature to be cautious."
Even if there are some avenues where he ought to be more cautious than he's been. Really, he should start thinking about the possibility that his phone is being tapped or compromised more.
But it's neither here nor there in the moment. She says she'll go and check, and if they're closed, she'll just go back home. Reasonable! He, meanwhile...
"I'm glad to have been of help," he tells her, standing where he is as she heads for the stairs. He watches Yoko for a moment, then a moment more.
Then, shaking his head, he starts for the stairs up himself.
Maybe, he is being too cautious about more than one thing of late.