2025-10-05: Heart Marks
- Log: 2025-10-05 Heart Marks
- Cast: Yanagi Nagisa, Maki Sonomura
- Where: Hirasaka Ward, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: October 05, 2025
- IC Date: July 21, 2012
- Summary: Yanagi and Maki meet by chance in Sumaru, and talk a little bit about their high school days and how they've each changed since then.
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
Yanagi stretches as she emerges from Tominaga Chiropractic. Her sessions with Mr. Tomi (not Dr.?!) are always so energizing, and the relative lack of pain after vs. before is so striking. She can't help but smile as she steps into the sunlight with footsteps far surer than even just an hour ago.
She still uses a walking stick to steady herself. She's improved, not cured. But the difference is like night and day, even if day is still cloudy.
That's not the only thing standing out to her. During Mr. Tomi's revolutionary massage, Yanagi had noticed... a presence. A certain Resonance, and a powerful one. She doesn't know who it is, but it's so strong that she couldn't help but look up from the table (and get scolded by Mr. Tomi to keep still).
She waited patiently for the session to finish up. But now she can head out into the city to track the source of that presence down. It's moved since then--gotten closer. Yanagi, too, moves out of Kameya Alley and into Hirasaka Ward proper to greet it. It's only a short distance away now...
When she and that presence come face to face, they'll see her dressed in a long shirt that has no sleeves or indeed sides--it's just two sheets of white pearlescent cloth connected at the neck by a cloth choker and the waist by black skintight shorts that match her undershirt. The sneakers seem to imply this is a glow-up of a sports outfit, but the ruffled cloth that waterfalls out her waistband and over her hips does not agree.
Her hair is partially pulled back in a ponytail while the rest is loose; a pair of jeweled pins, beads of pearl and aquamarine set in gold, hold it in place. Matching earrings decorate her ears, and a charm bracelet adorns her right wrist. Her left wrist is looped with Velcro, which attaches to the sleek, polished walking cane she holds.
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
Maki Sonomura had been on her way to Smile Mall, when she sensed a certain Resonance. It was familiar, but she didn't recognize it at all. So she changed her plans. Maki, when Yanagi sees her, is dressed in a nice gray dress with an open white vest, the skirt down mid-thigh with knee-high black boots. She has a purse over her arm, but not the shopping bags she'd planned to have. The beauty mark by her mouth is distinctive; her very short brown hair, also.
But it's the Resonance that shines above all, a golden beacon that can lead the sensitive to her. Maki doesn't bother to even try to hide it as a rule.
....But only a short distance away. Maki has been approaching. And finally, she comes face to face with the other; the other in a beautiful outfit of ruffled cloth and pearlescent white. But the lovely outfit isn't what draws Maki's attention.
No, Maki looks like she's seen a ghost, slightly pale with widened eyes.
"Nagisa-san?" she recognizes somehow.
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
It's been several years since Yanagi and Maki last saw each other, and both of them were in a worse place back then. They were, after all, permanent in-patients at Mikage Hospital. Maybe it would've been better if they'd been sent to a hospice... but that's not how it turned out, for either of them.
Yanagi still wears her hair long, albeit no longer fully loose; now it's held it place by those hair pins (that she made herself). Maki's hair isn't long still, but there's no mistaking that beauty mark by her lips. Yanagi senses her Resonance before she sees her, but when Resonance and line of sight converge, Yanagi's dark eyes widen too.
"...Sonomura-san," Yanagi murmurs, more subdued than usual--but to Maki, subdued is her usual, so that part wouldn't come as any surprise. She offers a small, uncertain smile, and approaches the rest of the way, her walking stick tapping out the rhythm of her feet. Once they're in conversational distance, Yanagi gazes at her, smile gone.
"It's been a long time," she notes, somewhat unnecessarily. She does not note how Maki must have thought she was dead--Maki will surely remark on that on her own. Instead: "So you have a Persona now? ...That must be why you seem in better health, too."
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
Most people would say that Maki was a different person back then--but that's not quite it. Maki still holds the 'face' of demonic cruelty inside her, after all. She knows that better than most. Just because she happens to try to show the 'face' of divine love, instead...
"You're alive!" Maki comments first, and smiles more brightly than before. "I'm so glad."
It has been a long time, hasn't it?
Her smile fades, too, after that. She pauses, for a moment. "I do," Maki confirms. "And so do you. Does that mean that helped?" she wonders.
A shake of her head. "...It's not why, exactly, for me. That's a long story. ...The short version is... I got very lucky."
She hesitates for only a moment before saying, "But I'm sorry."
"I was very unkind to you."
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
Truthfully, Yanagi isn't sure what to make of Maki. She knows her from the hospital, yes, but... they weren't exactly... close. When Maki says she's glad to see her alive, and even smiles about it, she offers her a hesitant smile back.
But she also asks, "Are you?"
They both have Personas now, as Maki observes. Did that help? Yanagi considers this, then nods. It wasn't of immediate help back then, considering she wouldn't awaken for another couple of years, but having a Persona vs. not having a Persona has certainly made a huge difference in terms of her health.
"I see," she replies. "I'm interested in hearing that story if you're willing to share it." She doesn't expect knowing will make a difference in her own situation, but it's precisely as she says: she's interested in hearing. For better or worse, Maki was a schoolmate--and a hospital mate.
There is a hesitation, both for Maki and for Yanagi. She looks at her with clear eyes. "..."
Then a nod. "You were," Yanagi replies with no criticism or malice--merely a calm acknowledgement of the facts. This may become more clear when she continues, "I accept your apology. It's in the past now."
If Maki does go into the story of her awakening, though, the two of them may want to find somewhere to sit down first. Yanagi doesn't offer her own story, but she's not yet sure just how sorry Maki is. You can be sorry for being cruel to someone without actually wanting to associate with them still.
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
It's fair of Yanagi to ask--is she? It could be a pointless nicety, after all. Just one of those things you say to say it. Maki's expression suggests she knows that, chagrined to say the least--but, "I am," she says.
"...Sure," Maki says. But those clear eyes look back at Maki, and she's sure of it. So when Yanagi just acknowledges her, accepts her apology...
"Thank you," Maki answers, and puts her hand up to her heart. "That's very kind."
Maki looks around--and spots a bench, since they happened to be near a park. "Can we sit down?" she offers.
"...The truth is," Maki says, "My being glad is mostly selfish," she says. "I'm happy just because someone you thought died living is nice..."
"But also because I regret how I treated you. The fact that I can apologize in person is something I thought I wouldn't have the chance to do."
"But I'd be happier if you'd let me get to know you, like I refused to back then."
It's in the past... but it hasn't stopped being part of the past, either; the present is shaped by the past.
Once Yanagi sits with her, if allowed, she says, "As to the story... Do you remember the local company in Mikage-cho, SEBEC?"
"A lot happened after you were gone. And my mother and I met a man named Takahisa Kandori..."
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
Yanagi nods once when Maki insists she is. There's no more questioning. She doesn't have a reason to doubt her further. Both of them have Personas; both of them have changed. She'll let that doubt be assuaged.
"You're welcome," she replies graciously, then goes with her to the nearby bench. Her legs feel stronger than usual after her session with Mr. Tomi, so she wouldn't mind walking around, but it's not bad to sit with her, either. Back then, Yanagi had wanted to reach out to Maki, but Maki, too caught up in her own bitterness, hadn't wanted anything to do with her...
"I appreciate your honesty," she says when Maki admits she's being selfish. Because she admits that, Yanagi can smile, if a little, when she goes on to say that she regretted how things were between them back then.
"I'm not the same person I was back then, and it seems clear to me you aren't either. I don't mind if two completely different people got to know each other fresh," she replies. "I'd like to hear about you first, though." She smiles again, a bit more mischievous. "You can consider it part of your apology."
That's a bit of sass that Yanagi wouldn't have done three years ago. She listens to Maki, then nods slowly once. She remembers SEBEC--they had a big presence in Mikage-cho--though she paid little attention to them beyond that. "Mhm?" she prompts, to show she's listening. But also: "Does this have to do with the Mikage-cho Incident? I've heard a bit about that..."
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
Maki doesn't find this to be a very standing up talk to give; it's not a story that she relishes telling. She remembers, though. She remembers very well--that time is etched on her heart.
"Lying about important things... isn't something I want to do," Maki says. She accepts a small smile. And if two different people want to get to know each other fresh... "Hmmm. It has been a few years." She wouldn't say she's a 'completely' different person, but she's not exactly the same as she was, either. So...
She smiles back, at the little sass. "Haha, sure. I can accept that."
"It does," Maki confirms. "...In fact, that incident is exactly what I'm talking about. I was at the center of it."
She's not going to reveal the details of her friends, but this part? This is her story to tell. And Yanagi should hear at least some of it.
"...Well, the part about Kandori is complicated... but eventually, he took me out of the hospital, and hooked me up to a strange dimension-shifting machine. My mom found out, and tried to stop it... But it was too late by then."
"My imagination took over the city. I changed people's lives, readjusted places according to my whims... Though my 'self' was split into pieces, they were all part of me, for better and for worse."
"There was just one part of me who wanted to fix things. ...And she worked alongside some brave people to go through and find what was going on. In the end, they stopped Kandori-san. ...But that wasn't the end of it."
Maki looks up to the sky. "There was another part of me. The same at heart as the one who rejected you--who rejected everything but our own pain. And she wanted to create a world of nothingness."
"...But these people stopped me, too. They freed me from Kandori, they stopped my other 'selves', and I was made whole again. But I know--all of those, from kind Mai to malicious Aki--they were all 'me'."
"So you see... I'm one of the people responsible for the Mikage-cho incident. And in the aftermath--maybe because the reality warping machine worked? A last gift from another me, or even Kandori-san? Well... I got healthier. It took me a while to gain my full strength, but I'm not sick anymore."
"...It was a gift," Maki says. "Whatever the reason."
"So that's the short version. It was covered up, and I didn't argue that part. But I still want to help, like I was helped. So that's what I'm trying to do."
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
Yanagi giggles a bit, head tilting to one side, when Maki accepts her sass with grace. Her humor fades soon as the topic turns serious--when Maki reveals that actually, she was at the heart of the Mikage-cho Incident. She sits up straight and nods once with gravity.
She doesn't so much as blink at the concept of a dimension-shifting machine. They are both Persona Users... is one excuse someone could give, but the truth is that Yanagi is simply extremely open-minded when it comes to mad science. (It's almost like she has extensive personal experience with it.) Her eyes narrow when Maki mentions that Kandori took her out of the hospital to hook her up to this machine, but she doesn't interrupt.
It's a hell of a story. Most of these details are unknown to Yanagi--the NWO only told her as much as they needed to in order to get her to go along with 'no you can't see your family for an endless number of increasingly thin reasons.' All she knew of the Mikage-cho Incident was that it was a huge disaster and that the city was quarantined for a long time--though probably not as long as she'd been told. And this Kandori made it happen, by forcing Maki through such a horrible experience... Her 'self' split into pieces, including one who wanted to reduce the world to nothing.
Kind Mai and malicious Aki... All of them are 'her.' And then, after the incident, her selves merged, and... she became healthy.
"I see," she says softly. "That truly is a blessing, Sonomura-san. I wouldn't call it 'lucky,' though. It sounds to me like you paid for that gift in full. ...even if the currency used wasn't necessarily yours to spend."
In other words, the lives that were lost during that incident. Yanagi doesn't criticize her for that, either. She's made it clear she's plenty grateful for the second chance she's gotten, and she's happy for her, more or less.
"What happened to Kandori-san? And your mother, and the others?" she wonders.
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
Mad science will be mad.
Maki notices the narrowed eyes, but thinks little of it; that's a fucked up thing to do even without having a history of medical experimentation to color one's perceptions.
"...True," Maki agrees. "I did. And so did all the people who died or were hurt there. ...That's right, it wasn't mine to spend. So you see why I'd want to pay something forward. ...And, through that and other means, to make sure I appreciate the gift it is."
Maki doesn't blame herself precisely--but she absolutely considers this matter her responsibility to do something about.
"Kandori-san... died," Maki explains. "The power he'd drawn on in taking over the machine overwhelmed him, and those people put him down. ...My mother survived, thanks to some help from others. And those people lived, too, and moved on with their lives."
"There's a lot of details I haven't gone into," Maki admits. "I wasn't the only one who was at the heart of it--and I wasn't the only danger, either."
"...But there is one more thing. The other 'me', who fought with everyone..."
"She was very brave. And she left me to be 'me', in the end, instead of fighting me for it. ...I'm grateful to her for that."
"...Of course, now I'm going to university, and working part-time. Life is... normal."
"Except for everything going on lately, anyway."
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
"Yes," Yanagi agrees. Maki's truly learned her lesson well. If she was going to get hooked up to a dimension-altering machine and get herself split into several selves and cause massive amounts of destruction and apparently a global mental health crisis, then at least she's better off now than she was before. It would be grim if she gained nothing at all from it... albeit realistic.
Regardless, Yanagi respects that Maki appreciates that gift. Maybe they really can be friends now.
"I see," she says of the fates of Kandori and the others. Her attitude on this outcome is much the same as the other outcome: this honestly feels like the best outcome that could be had given what went into the event. Kandori started all this, so of course he should pay with his life. Her mother and the others did their best to stop it, so it's nice that they came out of it alive and in a position to move on. And Maki and her other selves... including one who fought alongside the others...
"Hmmm," Yanagi hums thoughtfully, dark eyes blinking wide. A 'her' who became her instead of fighting her for it... She smiles. "It's nice that it turned out that way. Not all beings that look like 'you' are so permissive." Of course, that's the point--a Homunculus only looks like 'you' instead of actually being 'you.' She does wonder what would've happened if this shard of Maki had tried to take over her life, though.
Oh well. That's not what happened, so Yanagi only devotes a moment to the thought. She laughs at Maki's last comment. "Yes, it's been getting more and more complicated lately, hasn't it? It's rather exciting!" ...a very normal thing to say! "I'm also working, but I do that full time--after I had to drop out of high school, I haven't been able to return. That's all right, though. I'm happy where I am now."
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
Maki, to be fair, has had not only a psychic awakening wherein she got to discuss matters with some of her Selves, but a few years to come to terms with it all, too. And she works for a therapist! It's not happenstance that she learned the lesson so well, and neither is it entirely good fortune. A lot of work went into it.
Kandori, at least, is definitely dead. Completely dead! That's just the end of that, and Maki will never get closure about it. That's fine.
But... Hmm. A surprise! "It is," Maki agrees. "...It's a gift, too. I don't know what would've happened otherwise. ...I wasn't exactly at my strongest, back then." But not all beings? "Hmm. That's true too." But she doesn't know about Homunculi.
Still, Maki smiles at the laugh. "Some of it is," she agrees. "It means some of my friends are coming back from far away... But some of it's very dangerous, too."
"Oh?" Maki asks. "That's unfortunate about high school. But if you're happy where you are, then that's what counts. ...Can I ask where that is?" she wonders.
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
Getting actual psychiatric help makes a difference! Yanagi wouldn't know. It seems especially useful for something that is dead and gone and will never come back or affect anyone ever again.
Since those other selves weren't Homunculi, Yanagi doesn't bother to explain what she means. Why bring up something that isn't actually relevant. Instead, she nods in sympathy. "Having your psyche torn into pieces... I can't imagine what that must have been like. I'm glad for you that it worked out so favorably. Your friends must've been very glad too."
Yanagi was frequently absent from school before the fall that saw her hospitalized and ultimately withdrawn from high school, so it doesn't immediately occur to her who those friends must have been. When she sees Masao and Eriko again, it'll be easier to guess at least some of the rest.
"The danger is part of what makes it exciting!" she chirps, perking up. "There's a thrill in an adventure that you'd never get to have with a 'normal' life, isn't there? We can both be grateful for that much, at least!"
%TShe shrugs about high school--but the question of her workplace brings a smile. "Yes! It's in Shimokitazawa, over in Tokyo--a boutique called Peacock Silk. I work there as a jewelry maker!" She slips a hand into her sash and pulls out a thin wallet, from which she obtains a business card.
"Here you go!" she adds, holding it out one-handed in the way businesspeople are not supposed to do. Nonetheless, it does have Yanagi's professional contact information, including the address of the boutique. "We have some very special services for clients like you. Please come by sometime, and feel free to bring your friends!"
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
There may come a day when Maki will learn about those, and be very disturbed. But it is probably not this day.
"It was..." She considers how to phrase it. "I don't have to imagine, I guess, but it's still hard to explain. It's not that I didn't have parts of myself so much as they were separated out into their own 'people' too? If that makes sense."
But the danger... "I definitely wouldn't be where I am today if I'd had a 'normal' life," Maki answers. And she wouldn't change it for that reason. ...Even if she'd be a little tempted, on account of all the costs other people paid. She does like excitement... but it says a few things about Yanagi, that she's so excited about the supernatural. Not bad things; just things.
"A jewelry maker!" Maki enthuses. "Oh, wow!"
She accepts the card politely, with both hands, but holds it up to look at it in just the one. "A boutique... That does sound fun."
She grabs her purse to put away the card, and then says, "You mean, Persona-users?" Maki inquires. "Hmm. You know, I do sense that you interact with a lot of them..."
"Well, I'll definitely go. Me, I work at Hiiragi Psychotherapy in Konan; I'm an intern studying art therapy."
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
"It does," Yanagi replies, because even if a Homunculus is not actually you, it is an excellent representation of what it would look like to have an aspect of You around as its own separate person.
Indeed, neither of them would be here if they'd led 'normal' lives. It's what brought her out of her mire of despair; it's what brought her to the people she loves most. Yanagi can only embrace who she is now when it's brought her so much joy--if, admittedly, at the cost of years of suffering.
"Yes! I'm having fun every day," Yanagi enthuses. And, when Maki correctly guesses Peacock Silk's clientele: "Yes! I thought you'd be able to tell. You have a very powerful Resonance--I can tell you're a Navigator like me, too." Her smile turns briefly wistful, but she soon shakes it off.
"Art therapy... That's right! You used to paint those beautiful paintings, didn't you? You still must!" Yanagi claps her hands together cheerfully. "Tsumugi and the rest of us at Peacock Silk, we consider ourselves artists too! Look!" She brushes her hair back to better show off her earrings, charm bracelet, and hair clips. Yanagi already said she's a jewelry maker, so Maki can probably tell what's coming next, but still: "I made all of these myself! What do you think?"
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
Every day! Well, that's very good. Maki smiles. And then, "I thought you'd notice--I sensed you coming closer while I was approaching..." A Navigator! "Yes. After my experiences, I've become very good at sensing things like that--and the variance in dimensional spaces." Wistfulness...
Maki smiles back at the cheerful reaction to her art. "I do my best," Maki says. "I had some offers to start doing gallery shows... But I want to broaden my understanding and skills, so I went to art school. And of course, art therapy is a way to use my art to help people."
But?
"Oh, gorgeous!" Maki enthuses. She noticed them before, but hearing the context that Yanagi made them is a whole other story! "So you all make things?" she wonders. Then, she smiles. "I can really see the skill and passion that goes into them. I especially like the way you fit the aquamarine..."
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
"It's a good skill to have. Extra-dimensional spaces are a very bad place to get lost," Yanagi replies, matter-of-fact. Especially when those dimensional spaces have variances... Like most of the upper levels of Tartarus, which change from night to night. Even a Navigator like her can have trouble keeping up with that sometimes.
But only sometimes. Yanagi is confident in her skills.
"Hmmm... You're waiting until after you're done school to do gallery shows?" Yanagi wonders. "I suppose that's one way of doing it." If Maki's been healed, then she has the breathing room to take her time; she's no longer on a ticking clock until her body breaks down. That's something for her to look forward to, though, and she smiles. "I hope I get to see the first time you do one!"
Maki enthuses back when Yanagi shows off her jewelry and reveals she made it. Do they all make things? "Yes!" she gushes. "Tsumugi sews clothing, Saika makes leather goods, and Pernelle..." She hesitates for a fraction of a second. What exactly does Pernelle make? (Disasters--but Yanagi wouldn't see it that way.) "Pernelle just recently made his debut, and he's so full of potential!" she concludes.
She beams at Maki's compliments. "Thank you! Aquamarine is a lovely stone, isn't it? It complements the pearls well--they're both associated with the ocean, after all." She sets her hands in her lap. "We make all kinds of equipment for Persona Users like this, so I'm sure you and your friends will find them useful as well as gorgeous!"
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
Yanagi seems to have experience with that! Maki looks at her with interest when she says it, but smiles rather than pressing her for details immediately; they have some time for that... probably.
One way. "I've done a little on that front," Maki admits, "But I think if I tried to go full time as a working artist and do school and do art therapy, I wouldn't have any time for a social life. And it's important to me to live what I can." It's not quite the same as doing everything before she can't anymore--but she's still trying to prioritize. "Thanks!" Maki says. "I'll definitely invite you."
But, they all do! Clothing, and leather, and... a recent debut? Hmm. "That sounds great!" Maki says. "I'll look forward to seeing!"
Because of course she's going to go.
"It does," Maki agrees. "I really like ocean thematics--not just because I like by the beach, either." A little laugh. "I'm told my other 'self' had a Persona associated with the ocean, a goddess who looked after fishermen."
"I'm sure we will! ...It's kind of good timing, too. I was going to go shopping today, but maybe I'll save that time and energy for going to this Peacock Silk instead!"
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
"You make a good point," Yanagi concedes. There's only so many hours in the day to live one's life to the fullest. Musical notes and/or flowers blossom over her head when Maki reassures her she's invited.
"You'll love it! I hope. I don't actually know your tastes," she adds, the last part reflexively apologetic even though that's only true because Maki rejected her friendship back in the day. She brightens when Maki tells her she likes the ocean thematics. "Your other self had a Persona of her own? That's incredible! Tsumugi will love you--they own Peacock Silk, and they love interesting people!"
Maki even says that while she came here to shop, maybe she'll go to Peacock Silk instead. "I'm on my way back now! If you like, I'll show you the way," she says warmly. "There are other shops in the area too--Shimokita has so many of them--so if there's anything you need that we don't sell, I'm sure you can find it in the area!"
She rises to her feet with the help of her stick, then offers her free hand to Maki. "Shall we? <3"
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
Maki resolved that she wouldn't wait to live her life--but there are parts she can't do at the same time, indeed.
But 'she hopes'. "We'll see!" She gestures down at herself. "I might not look like it, but I like colors, too!" Since, black white and gray are her palette for today. but then, of course--"Yes!" Maki answers. "Oh, wow! Well, I do try to stay interesting!"
Hmmm. On her way back now...
"Sounds great," Maki answers. Once, she would've had trouble changing her plans like that on a whim; couldn't have gone across another city just because she felt like it.
She's glad that she can, now.
So she accepts Yanagi's hand up. "Let's! <3"
Maki, too, can pronounce a <3.