2025-10-02: The Tower
- Log: The Tower
- Cast: Ayame Watanabe, Yukari Takeba
- Where: Outside A Hotel In Iwatodai, Iwatodai City
- OOC Date: October 02, 2025
- IC Date: Thu July 19, 2012 (Midnight of July 20)
- Summary: The Dark Hour hits in Iwatodai, and Yukari's patrol runs into a woman who knows what it is. She and Ayame discuss Tartarus.
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
Since Ikkaku Watanabe had a meeting out in Iwatodai relating to a school matter (and a nice opportunity to deal with the Gekkoukan faculty), he and his wife Ayame decided to make an evening of it! So, once he got off work and they had someone to watch the kids, they went out to Iwatodai! ...And, because they might as well make a night of it as it happeneed...
This is why Ayame Watanabe is in Iwatodai tonight, as the Dark Hour hits, at a hotel not far from the Iwatodai Dormitory. (A full hotel, not a love hotel, as it happens. It's very nice!)
And...
Accordingly, a young woman in her early thirties (yes, that's young! ...Well, not compared to a teenager...)
Ahem. A woman of a little over thirty is out out front of the hotel, her white robe turned green in the Dark Hour's light. Her pajamas are fancy and comfortable. And...
She is staring out at the tower rising from Tatsumi Port Island.
"What on Earth...?"
She's only just come out, just walked outside, having had to push the automatic doors.
Ayame Watanabe stares out, and her previous good cheer has turned to awe and dismay.
She has a cup of coffee. It's probably not turned to blood.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Well... that's a change."
Perhaps just as unusual is that when Ayame turns, there's a teenage girl holding a bow, and wearing a jacket over a pink cardigan with a Red S.E.E.S armband that seems sleek in that sense that she definitely didn't handcraft it and it doesn't look like cosplay.
She jogs up a little closer. "Uh! Ma'am. You can hear me right?"
Usually by now they can't. "Look, don't panic. I know it all seems really..." What's a good word for it? "... incredibly horrifying, but there's a very good... explanation for all of this."
She pauses, assessing her expression.
"Which... it looks like I'll have to give because you're not out of it already. Wow."
She has to assume she woke up out of a coffin as she's in her pajamas. "Little awkward."
She says, as she shifts her stance. Adults usually don't just wake up out of their coffins without just starting to stroll towards Tartarus.
"Really glad I wasn't in my pajamas when I woke up the first time..."
If she met Mitsuru Kirijo for the first time while wearing them she'd never live it down in her own head.
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
A change? Ayame turns to the sound, both of her hands still on her coffee, and she sees Yukari Takeba, there in some kind of cool uniform. It isn't cosplay, but--
Ayame is so surprised that Yukari has a chance to finish her whole statement before the adult in the area actually answers her. Her expression is at least partly calm. But...
"...It is a little awkward, isn't it?" she asks, and looks down at herself, chagrined. "My husband is upstairs. He's in his 'coffin', I understand. It's... disturbing. I know it's only temporary, but..."
It's disturbing.
"Thank you, but I'm..." She stops, and looks back to Yukari again. "I've heard of the Dark Hour," she explains. "But I'm not usually awake at this time of night."
"In your cool uniform I feel undressed," Ayame admits, and it might seem like she's about to look more cheerful.
But she looks back to the tower.
"But what on Earth is that frightening thing?" she asks. "There was a school there when I last looked..."
She should introduce herself, but it's too shocking for her to remember in the moment.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Oh. You're... taking this better than I thought you might."
Is Yukari's immediate response to some of it, but then she looks surprised as she says it's temporary, and that she's heard of the Dark Hour, "Wait, you have!? Ohhhhh... I see."
She figures by now she's another Persona User. She's probably not someone who has the Potential for just a long time otherwise word probably would have gotten to the Kirijo Group.
It always seems to.
"Ah! Thanks..." She cards her hand through her hair, in a gesture that feels practiced, "... it's alright."
She says, as if trying to either be humble about it, or not say she likes something the Kirijo Group made too much. Maybe both.
"That? Oh that's Tartarus. It's... a really big nest of Shadows. I don't recommend going anywhere near it alone."
Yukari gives her an awkward look, "Kinda a big problem here on Tatsumi Port Island, because people who wake up feel compelled to walk towards it... which, doesn't end well. It's part of why I'm out on patrol."
Pause.
"So... you're a Persona User, I'm guessing? And your husband is... not." Another beat, "That's gotta be awkward if you ever wake up at this hour."
She guesses it might be okay if Ayame is into vampire fiction, but obviously not? She's an adult woman.
Warning 'my-desc' for Ayame Watanabe(#524PenA):
player is missing description
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
She is taking it well, isn't she? But Yukari understands why in a few moments.
And soon, her explanation will mean Ayame understands why, too. Yukari is a very put-together young woman, and that gesture only makes her seem cooler and more professional in the moment--things Ayame would not usually ascribe to a teenager. She won't press the matter, though; she's impressed, not fangirling.
"Tartarus..." Ayame nods. "I see. I certainly don't want to go there," she agrees. "I didn't even bring a weapon with me..."
The awkward look gets Ayame looking back towards her, and she looks alarmed. "People just... wake up and go to the Shadow nest?" she wonders. "Oh, dear. That sounds..."
"Well, it's very responsible of you to look after people that way. Thank you for thinking of me."
She'll introduce herself momentarily. Before that she says, "I am. And... he isn't." She pauses. "It is. Resting next to a giant, cold coffin is very difficult; I tend to have to just accept I'm not getting back to sleep for a while."
She is not particularly into vampire fiction.
She turns and offers a bow. "I'm Ayame Watanabe," she says. "I appreciate your concern. ...And your company, if I'm being honest. I'd... rather not be alone in all this, if you don't mind interrupting your patrol for me..."
She pauses. "I do have a Persona. If there's any trouble I can help!"
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"... Well I'd imagine not. How would you even explain that...?" She says of bringing a weapon on a vacation. She can just imagine the marital conversations.
'Honey why did you pack an actual Wakizashi that doesn't abide by the Sword and Firearms laws?'
'No reason.'
Indeed, as Ayame looks, she'd see a gun strapped to Yukari's right thigh. Though perhaps she recognizes it as an Evoker by now.
"Yeah. It's a real problem. There's no way to predict who will wake up from their coffin or not really. And those who... don't have the Potential to use a Persona are vulnerable to the Shadow's influence."
She assumes it's the Shadows? Though maybe it's Tartarus too? That's a creepy thought?
"Oh! Don't worry about it. It's not like you were in any real danger anyway."
Though she was here to explain things that kept Ayame from getting into worse danger, which is good! She's just not used to receiving gratitude for what she does as a member of SEES.
"Yeah... I think I wouldn't be able to either." Then again, she sleeps alone, but on school field trips, she's definitely hoping to sleep through the Dark Hour.
Then Ayame bows, and Yukari puts her hands behind her back, bow included, and makes a small bow. "Takeba. Yukari Takeba. And well... nobody else seems to be walking around, so it's not really interrupting? I'm just glad you're alright, really."
She can imagine Ayame's husband waking up the next morning to find his wife with apathy syndrome. Not something she wants to imagine, what it'd be like.
"Oh! I couldn't ask that of you, especially when you're unarmed. Though, it's not like I don't appreciate the offer. Though... most Shadows that get this far out from Tartarus aren't a problem for me."
A beat.
"Word of advice though? Don't... be out on the nights of the Full Moon. Sometimes really powerful Shadows can be out."
SEES didn't specifically say it was a secret, so why wouldn't she share it? Besides, so many people showed up in Tartarus that night who aren't SEES! It's finnneeee.
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
"It would be awfully awkward, wouldn't it?" Ayame agrees. She smiles faintly. Though he does know about these things... Ayame decides not to overshare about that part for now. Instead, she looks to Yukari, and spots that 'gun', and Yukari will notice the moment she spots it because she looks very alarmed--before it passes as she says, "Oh. Is that..." She remembers Shinjiro had one. But it's kind of a blur, that memory.
"Oh..." She worries about that immediately. No way to tell? "I see..."
but, apparently she's not in real danger anyway, which is fine. But even so, Ayame is glad to see this girl be so responsible for the people around her!! She does not know much about 'SEES' on her armband, after all.
"Thank you," Ayame says. "I should be the one reassuring you, but I admit seeing someone so prepared makes me feel better."
Still, Yukari couldn't ask it of her, and Ayame smiles. "Then you're capable as well as prepared! I've fought more 'demons' than Shadows at this point... the Shadows in Sumaru are mostly very quiet."
Powerful Shadows... "I hope you don't deal with those alone," Ayame says, and there's a much firmer edge to her voice than before. Capable Yukari might seem, but she is still pretty young-looking.
"...I live in Sumaru, you see," Ayame says. "I've been investigating some of the things going on--mostly the Joker murders--but the Dark Hour is still quite a mystery to me. I was only even here because my husband had a faculty meeting with the local high school, and we decided to make a night of it, and I happened to wake up..." A sigh. "I'm just glad he was asleep. It was jarring, the last time he saw me somewhere different from where I'd been..."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari gives Ayame a look of alarm at first as she wonders if she's going to get the 'Is that a gun!?' conversation, but she seems to take it well. "Uhhh, not sure if you're ever seen one before, but it's an Evoker. It lets me summon my Persona. You probabbbllyyy summon yours in a different way than me."
She doesn't know why some ancient kid's game lets people do that! That's weird!
"Well, uh." She seems awkward again on the idea Ayame should be reassuring her, "I mean, it's not I expect the adults around me to be experts on everything." She says, as if absolving Ayame of that responsibility as the adult on the... sidewalk?
"Or anything... really. Just, the Dark Hour is where we do most of our work here on Tatsumi Port Island, given Tartarus."
Demons more than Shadows, "... I'm still weirded out that demons are actually a thing." She guesses she must be from Sumaru City, but doesn't ask in case Ayame might be the type to lie to cover up- them being elsewhere. Even if she's not sure why.
If there were more places where Demons were around, she'd be SUPER weirded out!
"Oh definitely not!" She says at Ayame's firm tone, looking actually awkward about it again, "It takes everyone to handle one of those. I'd barely even be able to scratch one on my own."
She says, remembering how many it took to take down that last pair.
She makes a face at confirmation, and the Joker murders. "That guy... I've, seen him once myself." She says, looking away, "What a creepy weirdo... I'm ah, sorry that you had to face that, as your first experience with all this. That had to be awful."
Pause... and then she asks.
"Did you ever find out who called him?"
That really is the question, isn't it?
Warning 'my-desc' for Ayame Watanabe(#524PenA):
player is missing description
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
"Is that what they're called?" Ayame says. "I've seen them but they are a little..." She considers. "Well, I suppose having a Persona isn't usual in the first place, so having something strange to summon it isn't so strange." Pause. "I do, I think. I'll... refrain from showing you, if I don't mind. I don't want to draw attention if there is anything wandering around here."
She doesn't expect the adults to be experts on everything. "Oh." 'Our' work. That clarifies something for sure. "So you must investigate that 'Shadow nest'," Ayame reflects. "...Well, I hope whatever's in there it helps to do so."
Demons though? "They're very strange," Ayame agrees.
Still, definitely not? It's charming that Yukari can be awkward--it helps Ayame feel less off-balance herself. "Oh, good," she says. "Not that they're so dangerous, you understand--but I'd hate to think of you going on your own to face something like that. You seem quite good at what you do, but even so."
But--the Joker murders. "I'm sorry," Ayame says, when Yukari confirms she's seen him. "...It..."
She hesitates, and then shakes her head. "No. ...He..." She sighs. "Someone called him on my husband. I suspect it was a jealous colleague... but I can't prove it, and I'm not sure what I would or could do if I did."
"He's an awful man. But the only way my family will be safe is if he's stopped... so I'll use my Persona to help."
"..." She shakes her head, and looks out to Tartarus. "...The Joker acted like he knew me, somehow, though. He said something about 'history repeating'."
"I didn't understand it. ...But I'm not giving up any more than you are."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Honestly until recently? I didn't even know there was another way." Yukari reveals, but then nods, "Oh yeah no, honestly? If I can avoid a fight, I'd prefer it."
She's pretty normal, isn't she? Not like she's a teenager that just relishes this getting into fights.
"Yeah... most of them are like, little kids with no impulse control andddd a body that can tear someone limb from limb in seconds, if they want to."
That's an interesting way to describe it probably, to Ayame, but then again she doesn't know she's a Mother too. Since, she's traveling with the two of them.
"Haha... yeah I'm... not that strong on my own really. Just, the Shadows that get this far out are super weak."
It's self-deprecating, but Yukari right now... just thinks despite her best efforts, she's a damsel. A girl who always needs someone else to protect her, especially a man.
It sucks. She doesn't want to be like her Mother.
"Hmmm... that's strange, especially at a high school." She says, as if thinking about it and coming up short, "The worst we get is sometimes our teachers bad mouth each other a little in class. But I wouldn't know of anyone who wants another teacher dead."
It is strange isn't it? One would think it would have to be very petty. "Uhhh..." When she says 'History Repeating' Yukari gives her a glance, "... Not sure I'd put much stock in what a serial killer who 'hears Voices' says, really. Probably better not to overthink it, you know?"
It's a rather pragmatic perspective, isn't it?
"If you get all wound up about the things he says, he's probably just going to use it to murder you."
She says, hypocritically, as when has Yukari Takeba ever not gotten wound up when fighting murderers?
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
"I'd never seen an Evoker myself," Ayame says. "That nice boy who was helping us had one. But I never saw anyone fighting the monsters up close until after I gained my Persona." ...Which is not the same as 'didn't believe they existed', but Yukari may or may not catch that. She smiles though. "Of course. Who likes fighting?"
Ayame hasn't mentioned her kids yet, so that's understandable. "They are awfully impuslive," Ayame agrees. "And frightfully powerful."
But Yukari... Hmm. "Well, who's strong on her own?" Ayame supports Yukari. Theoretically, anyway. "None of this is something a person should deal with all by herself."
But strange, "...He's up for the vice principal position," Ayame explains. "So I suppose that's why. But it is strange, isn't it? You'd think people would stop short of trying to kill someone. But then, maybe they don't really believe the rumor? They're just trying what they think is harmless venting..."
A sigh. "No, that's too optimistic. Sometimes people really can be that cruel."
Yukari glances at her, and she has a very reasonable point. "...True," Ayame admits. "Letting yourself be drawn into someone's delusions can't go well. You're right!" A smile. It fades, a moment later. "But it's hard to stay reasonable in situations like this..."
She still got such a strange sense of deja vu, though...
Yukari does seem remarkably normal, though. That is nice.
"Still... I'll have to tell my friends about this 'Tartarus'. If only so that they know to avoid the larger Shadows you mentioned."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Nice boy?" Her brow furrows, before she realizes, "Oh you must mean Aragaki-senpai... yeah, he's pretty good about lending a hand."
She's not sure she'd describe him as nice but she'd definitely call him kind. There's a difference, after all.
Who likes fighting?
Yukari gets a sour expression when she asks that, "Uhhh more people than you think, honestly." She definitely doesn't sound like she approves of that, idea.
'Who's strong on their own?'
Yukari's expression becomes quite neutral, as she says that. Of course, a married woman would say that...
Of course.
"I dunno, there's a lot of guys I know who are much stronger than me."
Some nights, she still asks herself, why is she still here?
"Vice Principal position?" Yukari makes a face, "Just because of some stupid promotion? Who would murder someone for that?"
Obviously she knows someone might, but she hates the thought of it. One wouldn't call her optimistic, but she still doesn't like that kind of thought.
"Well you're new to it all, right? It'll get easier. But well - you kinda have to be reasonable with so many hot-headed guys around."
As if she also isn't a bit of a hot head...
"Yeah, spread the word. Oh and if there's weird... stuff going on somewhere a week before the Full Moon?" She levels her gaze towards Ayame, "Thennnn maybe suggest to your... normal friends and family they steer clear? Even if you can't say why."
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
Aragaki! "Yes, that's the one!" Ayame says. "Aragaki-kun. My Ikkaku told me about him. He was there that way."
But who likes fighting? Hmmmm. Ayame tilts her head thoughtfully. "Odd," she says.
But Yukari's neutral expression doesn't faze Ayame. Instead, she mentions the guys, and Ayame smiles at that. "Fair enough," she says. "...But for me it's strange thinking that way. For me... I've never been strong," she admits. "I could never stand up to my parents, until him. My husband was always my hero. But now it's my turn to protect him, and I don't aim to fall short."
Yukari makes a face, and, "You'd be surprised," she says. "It makes for a great deal more stability--it means a difference between a nice apartment for our family and a house we could own. Stability. ...Adult sorts of concerns, I suppose."
But, she is new to it. And reasonable... "True. And hot-headed women, too," she sighs. "Everyone's so eager to put themselves at risk. Suou-san is probably the most sensible, and even then..."
A pause. Weird stuff? Hmmm. "...I'll keep that in mind," Ayame says. "Thank you."
"...You must have a very good reason to be at this yourself," she says. "Finals are very soon, and you're out this late to keep people safe."
"...I wish I could say that we adults would handle it all for you. But even the police can't tackle these things..."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"He remembers him enough to say something about him?" Yukari seems surprised, "That's... unusual for someone who's in a coffin during the Dark Hour."
Like people do remember just... it's weird to know it in such detail.
Ayame though notes she's never been strong. That it took her husband protecting her... and now it's her turn.
"... Right." She says, softly. Like she can get the reciprocation part of it, but... "Well. I'm glad it worked out for you. I guess that's just not how I want to live my life."
Like she's not quite agreeing, but she's being... careful here. Because what married woman wants to hear that that's the last thing she wants to be?
Needing a man to stand up for her, to fight her battles, to teach her to stand on her own two feet and be strong?
She doesn't want that! Why should she need a man for that? She's heard her whole life that a woman is only truly happy when loved by a man, but she's fine as she is, thank you very much!
"Still not a good reason to call a supernatural killer to murder someone." Is Yukari's mild reply, "I can't get people who think like that. Where they see the lives of other people as just... obstacles, or worse than that."
'Hot-headed women, too'. "Not as many, really." She says, carding her hand through the side of her hair, even though she knows a few but the motion stops. "Suou-san? The cop? You know him?"
...
"Don't mention it." Though Ayame notes finals are soon, "Ugh, don't remind me... really the honest answer is that I felt like I needed a break tonight after six hours straight of review."
She looks out into the distance.
"But yeah, it's not like... I don't have a reason though." She then mentions she wishes she could say that the adults would handle it all for you. "Nope. And well. Adults don't really have the Potential? Not that I've seen at least."
That's unusual, isn't it?
"So we kinda have to handle it. It's not like many other Persona Users live here, other than us."
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
"It's not the first time we've dealt with things like this," Ayame admits without particularly trying to hide it. "The difference now is that I can do something about it, instead of relying on someone else. Even when someone's very kind, you want to be able to do something for your own part."
A pause. Soft. It's not quite agreeing, but it's not quite disagreeing. Ayame smiles, despite that, because she does see a bit of it. "Thanks," she says. "I hope you can live yours the way you want to. My parents tried to force me to live it their way... But I'm happy with the path I chose. Even if I think I've been too passive so far..."
But still, "True." Not a good reason. "But that ship has sailed, at my husband's school; the principal was murdered by the Joker Killer, too. ...I wonder, is it something about Sumaru in particular, that it only happens there...?"
Not as man. But the cop? "Oh yes," Ayame says. "He's very reliable."
Still... "...Heh. My mistake," she says with some amusement. "If it helps, good."
Ayame won't pry into what the reason is. Instead, she notices that. "Hmmm. There is an awfully high proportion of young people who have Personas, isn't there? It was like that back then, too. When SEBEC..."
She trails off. "I suppose when you're the only ones who can, you just do. That's sad, though."
"...I suppose," she says, "That's part of my reason, too. Back then... there were these young people who saved everyone. I do want to protect my family. Don't mistake me."
"...But I want to help, too. I don't want to sit back and be rescued. ...That's nice for a story, or a fantasy, but..."
"It's not the kind of example I want to set for my daughters, either."
Warning 'my-desc' for Ayame Watanabe(#524PenA):
player is missing description
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Not the first time... huh?" Yukari says, suddenly interested, "When was... the first time, if you don't mind saying?" Why'd she suddenly get so interested about that part?
Though, Ayame wishes her well with her own way of life, and describes her own. "I guess I have a hard time relating to that..." Is Yukari's response, because in a weird sense.
She's jealous. Jealous of having parents that care enough of to try to tell her what to do, to give her direction.
Ayame turned out passive? Well, at least she had family who cared. She just thinks it's ridiculous that she needed a man to teach her how to be anything else.
"Sumaru City isn't normal." Is Yukari's simple response, "Rumors coming true... bars selling guns- the cops not even caring about it. Demons? It's not normal."
As if Tartarus growing out of her school WAS more normal.
But in a weird sense, she's not wrong. This place is abnormal one hour out of a day, Sumaru City is abnormal... at random.
"... Yeah." She agrees, regarding Katsuya, "Though he's also kind of a weirdo himself. Definitely not normal for a cop. He does strike me as a reliable, sensitive guy I guess."
That's pretty complimentary, but also rather not all at once!
"... Wait, SEBEC?" She says, curious, "Uhhh you were there for that? I only heard... weird accounts on the internet forums."
Young people that saved everyone? Yukari's brows knit a little, "Huh. I wonder where they are now?" She says, as if curious how someone from three years ago as a Persona User even looks now.
"Well... ah." That makes a lot more sense to her, even if she can't understand that it took a man to get her there. "Good for you. Like... I can't say we can't use the help. there's just too much going on... all over."
A beat.
"Though I guess it'll be a little weird too? Most Persona Users I've met are my age, or... in their twenties?"
She's at least not gonna put an age to Ayame beyond that, out loud. "Almost like seeing someone's Mom fighting out there."
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
"I don't mind," Ayame says, but she finishes her current thoughts before she gets to the new thought. So instead she talks about that way of life; Yukari has a hard time relating to it, and, "We have different experiences. That's all right. I know some people who I can't really imagine how they got to where they are... But it's sort of the beauty of life, isn't it?"
But. Sumaru City isn't normal. Hmm. "...I can't argue that," Ayame says with a sigh. "It wasn't always that way, though. At least, I'm pretty sure it wasn't. Maybe I just didn't notice back then..."
She pauses. "...But none of this is normal, is it?" she points out, and gestures to Tartarus.
"Hmmm." A weirdo? "I hadn't noticed!" But she's a big weirdo, too. "He is those things. I like him." If she were available and he were eight or ten years older, he might be her 'type'!
Still, SEBEC. Yukari heard weird accounts. "...Some of those accounts might've been from me," she admits. "I was there, yes. I couldn't say where those kids are now," or wouldn't, "But they saved us. That was the 'first time' I mentioned. I wanted to do my part, but I was very sick..." She looks gloomy, remembering it, and shakes her head.
"Thank you," Ayame says. "There is, isn't there?"
Then Ayame laughs. It's a good-natured sort of laugh. "That's fine," she says. "I'm older than all of my friends with Personas, too. And I happen to be someone's Mom, actually!"
Ayame smiles. "My oldest is still a good bit younger than you." Her expression goes extremely fond as she talks about her. "Your group... They're called 'SEES'?" she wonders. Because of the armband, of course. "I'll remember that you're out here protecting this city."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"I guess so...?" But it's really more that she can imagine it. All she has to do is think of her Mother.
It becomes so easy for a woman to surround her entire existence around a man.
"..." Yukari then looks off into the distance at Tartarus, and... "The beauty... huh?"
Like she's not quite certain what's beautiful about life. Though she doesn't articulate that fully.
"I'm... not really sure myself. I spent some time in Sumaru City when I was younger, not long though."
On Katsuya though...?
"Huh? You really hadn't?" She maybe squints a little at that, "Uhhh, well. I guess some women go for that."
Poor Katsuya.
"Really? You're the one who... posted that up?" She's surprised, "Well if you were sick, nothing you could do, really." Yukari says with sympathy, though also doesn't know what she could have done back then?
She's new to being a Persona User, right?
"... Uh maybe sometime you can tell me what... really happened? I guess I'm curious... about some parts of it."
She'd heard the Nanjo group was involved, which also means... the Kirijo Group.
"Eh!? You actually are a Mom?" Yukari seems taken aback, "Oh, I thought since, you two were traveling..." She clears her throat, "Well, uh. I guess your kids are staying with family or something."
Still a good bit younger? That's a relief, if she was old enough to be Yukari's Mom, that'd be weird, but she knew her mother was older with one glance.
"Uh, yeah. SEES. Technically we're a school club? Very... very technically." She says, as if she understands the weird borderline nature of it. "Well... thanks. It's not really often that we get any gratitude really. Not that... that's what I'm here for."
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
For better and worse, that is very possible to do. ...But there are four people Ayame's wrapped her life up in, and her husband is only one of them.
The beauty! Ayame smiles. She doesn't explain. Instead, she listens, and Ayame nods. "I went off to school in Sumaru," she says. "And of course, I've lived there for a couple of years now."
But, she really hadn't! "He's a very nice man."
But, "...Mm." She was very sick indeed. "My husband was able to help take care of the students who couldn't fight. But I wasn't any help at all beyond the first day or so."
But sometime, "I can," Ayame says. "I won't tell you who the students were--we all agreed that they should be allowed to live their lives as they saw fit. But I can tell you about what happened, back then. You can find me through Seven Sisters High School--my husband, Ikkaku Watanabe, works there."
A laugh then. "Yes," Ayame says, "That's right. Not for long, of course; this was sort of a one-night vacation. ...When you get older, it's hard to spend much time alone with your spouse. I love my children, but I love my husband, too! So it's nice to fit in some 'us' time now and then. This just happened to be that kind of opportunity. Just an overnight stay."
A school club? Ayame lifts an eyebrow. "That's..." Surprising. "Hmmm. You're welcome, regardless." Ayame smiles and lifts her coffee. "...I think the Dark Hour is almost over. It'll make Ikkaku nervous if I'm not back when he wakes up. ...Thank you for staying with me. It made it a lot more bearable. Good luck getting home."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"I'll do that..." Indeed... she will, probably sooner than Ayame might think about looking her up, because... because...
... it's like Ayame says, she has a goal. And she hasn't taken her eyes off of it for years.
What Ayame says about a vacation with her husband. It's a reasonable thing, but it's hard not to let her feelings get into it.
"Yeah... sounds nice."
That her kids don't have either of her parents there with them right now.
Maybe she's suspicious, maybe she's not. It's hard to say. She doesn't trust most parents anyway to have the best interests of their children in mind.
"Yeah it's pretty unusual." She says, as if finishing her statement on SEES. "Alright, you take care. Next time probably... you should put on some clothes before coming out during the Dark Hour around here?"
Is she being judgmental?
"We have a lot of boys in SEES who'd be scandalized by a Mom being out on the streets in her Pajamas... so you're kind of lucky it was me?"
Not really, she's being realistic.
Warning 'my-desc' for Ayame Watanabe(#524PenA):
player is missing description
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
Goals are good. As to her feelings, well...
"It is!"
Ayame may have her issues, but questioning that much isn't one of them. Instead, she laughs, not because SEES is unusual, but...
"Probably," Ayame admits, more amused than particularly offended. "This robe is very comfy, but now that I know there might actually be people around..."
A laugh again. They are, at least, very conservative type pajamas; comfy tops and bottoms and a robe, not... some kind of nightie.
"But I don't think that'll be a problem for a while in any case. I usually stay inside for it. ...I just..."
She looks back to Tartarus.
"I had to see that with my own eyes, I suppose."
"Good night!" Ayame says, and ambles back into the hotel.
...The elevators are obviously out. Did she take the stairs?