2025-10-08: Oh. She's Here to TEACH
- Log: Oh. She's Here to TEACH
- Cast: Suzume Fukura, Mitsuru Kirijo
- Where: Iwatodai Dorms, Iwatodai
- OOC Date: October 08, 2025
- IC Date: July 23, 2012
- Summary: Do you know what break time is? Free real estate for more study time! The alternative? Awkward socializing.
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Monday, July 23.
EXAM TIME.
That's right: Gekkoukan is in the midst of exam time. Today the second years had a big block of social science work; tomorrow is mathematics, among other things.
Suzume is pretty sure she did fine at social science and was pretty hasty about getting back to the dorms afterwards. Math is her worst subject and she really ought to be studying it.
And she did... for a while. Until about fifteen minutes ago, when she stood bolt upright from her desk, declared that she couldn't do it anymore, and left. Since she was leaving her room and nobody else was around, it lacked a lot of the drama such an announcement could have had.
So now she's downstairs in the main part of the dorm. She has brought her math book and notes down but is paying no attention to either of them; it sits, lonely and unopened, on the kitchen table, with a sports magazine sitting on top of it, hiding it from view, a pencil tossed vaguely nearby.
Suzume herself adjourned to the actual kitchen. Is she cooking something? Is she using Shinjiro's precious equipment?
...naw. She's just coming back to the table with an instant cup ramen. Spicy beef, apparently.
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
Monday, July 23rd.
The First Day of Doom.
COUNTDOWN TO ULTIMATE DOOM: 6 DAYS
It's exam time, the most stressful time of the year for students across Japan. You'd have to be extremely abnormal to actually enjoy an entire week of exams upon which your future hinges, even if you're good at it.
Which, of course, is to say: Mitsuru Kirijo is currently in her element.
When Suzume left her things at the kitchen table for the forbidden joy that is a fine cup of instant ramen, there was no one else there. Shockingly, blissfully empty, free of any potential distractions from any number of sources even though a good half of them could probably be traced to Junpei. No; just the blissful silence of an empty room.
By the time she returns, the silence remains.
But it's not empty anymore.
She's there, sitting at the kitchen table, on the opposite end from where Suzume's study materials and sports magazine rest, dressed in a white blouse with a high, ruffled collar, tan riding pants and black boots. There is, frankly, a daunting volume of text books now dominating that side of the table, but she currently has a book on Calculus cracked open, royal red bangs spill over her shoulder as she pours over her texts with monomaniacal focus, jotting down complex equations in rapid time.
Mitsuru Kirijo. Looking at her, one wouldn't get the impression of someone who should - rightly - be stressed out at the staggering amount of work in front of them. No -- she looks alert. Focused. -Energized-.
What manner of creature is she, exactly--?
She doesn't look up as she works, and yet all the same, she notes in that distant voice of hers,
"Ah. Fukura. Hello; I was wondering who else was here."
As if she just -knew-, somehow, despite how entrenched in her studies she looks.
Life is often full of unfair things, such as inveterate multitaskers.
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Let's be fair: Suzume is perfectly capable of distracting herself with or without Junpei. It is perhaps not a surprise that she gets along pretty well with him most of the time, at least well enough that she occasionally trades manga with him.
Honestly, it's because they're too much alike. Suzume is wearing a Hanshin Tigers baseball T-shirt *right now*, mascot and all, along with her jeans. Mitsuru might have dressed fancily, but Suzume certainly did not.
It being exam time, Suzume was pretty sure ninety percent of SEES was either holed up in their rooms or in their other favourite study locations (she understands some of the cafes are popular, but they always want her to buy something while she's there and she can't afford to keep buying as long as she'd want to stay). Certainly she wasn't expecting Mitsuru to...
...well, to just *be* there.
Suzume's response is to plop back down in her original seat and very deliberately crack apart her pair of chopsticks before she says anything. It's still a little hot for her to eat even though she generally likes it pretty hot, so: "I hope it's not a problem, Kirijo-senpai." Blunt as she usually is, she can be polite-ish when she wants to. "I didn't expect anyone else to come down and... settle in." That's a lot of books she's got.
She eyeballs the calculus textbook, decides she wants no part of it, realizes she is going to have to have a part of it next year even if she hasn't had calculus quite yet, and lets out a mental groan. Of course, more math. She came here to get away from that!
(So why'd she bring her own math text book down? As cover. She actually wanted to read the magazine.)
A moment later, and then the slurp of ramen. It's fine. That's what's supposed to happen. And while instant spicy ramen is not to everyone's taste, it is to Suzume's.
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
I didn't expect anyone else to come down and... settle in.
At first, Mitsuru's only answer is a lone exhale: "Mm." That sort of distant, seemingly aloof noise offered in lieu of an actual answer that just helps contribute to her outsized presence even when just sitting and pouring over her (unhealthily egregious) amount of academia.
And yet--
"... It's not a problem, really. The living area is for everyone. Sometimes I simply like to station myself here or in the dormitory's lobby," she suddenly adds, about five seconds of awkward silence later. "If anyone has questions related to exam materials or wishes assistance with studying, I would rather make sure I am on hand while I take care of my own work. Au cas où."
Cheekbone propped up on her knuckles, Mitsuru continues to look over her notes as Suzume settles in. It's only as that first slurp comes. That dark red gaze turns towards Suzume, brows raising as she peers at that noodle cup.
A second later, her gaze drops once more towards her books with a furrowed brow and a thoughtful "hm."
Is she judging Suzume's instant ramen--??
(the truth: Mitsuru had not experienced ramen until like a week ago and it's mostly just an open question if she even knows what instant ramen is)
Silence reigns like that for several moments longer, before that calm voice cuts in once more right when one might think quiet would be the order of the day:
"How have your studies been going, Fukura?"
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Oh, she's here to *teach*.
Suzume isn't sure what she thinks about that. On one hand, she really could use a hand with her own math work; on the other hand, she doesn't want to actually ask Mitsuru for help, for several reasons.
Not the same reasons as some other students, though. Suzume just doesn't like asking for help. She should be able to do it herself, dammit.
"Wh - " Suzume has a bit of a mouth full and, honestly, it's particularly hard to talk with ramen in your mouth, so she actually swallows it before she tries again. "Ah, hot," she hisses under her breath, before -
She's being judged. She can tell. Is Mitsuru some kind of ramen traditionalist that doesn't approve of the spicy flavours? Suzume's response is to meet Mitsuru's gaze for the few seconds of awkward silence, not quite challenging but not entirely *not*. And then she takes... another slurp of ramen, very deliberately.
Suzume doesn't know French, either, but she's too proud to ask what 'o ka ou' means, which is what she got out of Mitsuru's brief foray into a foreign language. "Huh," she says instead. She supposes she shouldn't be surprised; Mitsuru is some sort of honour student. Top of her class. Her sister spoke about her -
Suzume scowls for no apparent reason, just before Mitsuru asks her the fateful question.
"Fine," is her response. "They're going fine. Mathematics tomorrow, apparently." She's very definitely not looking forward to that, but if she can keep her nervousness out of her voice... She manages to an extent, though there's definitely some tension there that wasn't there before. "Looks like it's the same for third years."
She has no idea, she just saw all the calculus books and assumed.
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
Is Mitsuru a STRICT, SNOBBISH ramen traditionalist?! Perhaps she goes to hoity toity elite ramen parties where they have ramen taste tests to determine the perfect ramen to be promoted in Japan??
That's what her expression certainly suggests.
THE REALITY: Mitsuru is just quietly satisfied she was -completely correct- about slurping etiquette as Suzume helpfully and deliberately does the deed
She might even ask after the particular recipe Suzume is trying, considering she's so recently been introduced to the wonderful world of ramen (and subsequently be utterly bemused), but her priorities during exam week are phenomenally clear cut. It's a little remarkable, and a lot harrowing, how Mitsuru seems to pare down the outside world and simply focus, relentlessly, on academics, or athletics, or -whatever- task is currently at hand; even now, she seems to barely shift her attention from writing out equation after equation as she talks to Suzume, those moments where her attention fully shifts - like with the slurp of those noodles - few and far between.
But all the same, when Suzume answers her, a small smile touches the corners of her lips.
"Ah, no," she says, after a moment's delay, jotting something down. "English is tomorrow for us. But I'm not particularly concerned about how my performance will be there, so I'd rather take the opportunity to better prepare myself for some more advanced subjects."
It'd be easy to take as a casual brag if it weren't said so simply, so matter-of-factly. Like she really thinks nothing of it; like all of this is just a natural matter of course for her. And for someone who compartmentalizes and plans out their day-to-day as rigorously as she does, maybe it is.
The skrtch-skrtch-skrtch of her fluid pen strokes come to a stop. Suzume might feel the weight of that dark-eyed stare on her again, partially obscured by those royal red bangs, as Mitsuru considers her for a moment.
"... In an extremely general sense, much of mathematics is a matter of pattern recognition," she suddenly asides. "When you can recognize the structure of the formula, your mind can pick up on the steps towards solving it. Repeat those formulae enough, and it can become less a matter of intensive thought, and more a matter of muscle memory. Eventually, you may be able to extrapolate off of that into a broader framework... though in my experience, exams care much less for that."
Is she trying to give Suzume advise? Or just talking in generalities? With Mitsuru, it's hard to say.
"It does help sometimes to see a problem worked out before working through the steps yourself, though of course, everyone's ideal method of learning is different."
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Suzume assumes that anyone who seems as cultured as Mitsuru wants to present herself as (which rubs Suzume the wrong way but whatever) likes snobby foods. And while ramen isn't *usually* in that category, you can make anything extra fancy with enough money and time.
...look, Suzume is *not* fancy or wealthy. Her family is blue collar; her father works in a factory. She doesn't know shit about having money or, as she seems to think rich people prefer even over having money, showing off that you have money. Even here she's pretty broke a lot of the time; the extra pocket money from Tartarus and Mementos makes a small but significant boost to her spendable budget, even disregarding the fact that she buys medicines and skill cards and armour.
(Well, not lately. She got some perfectly good armour from Tartarus, for certain values of 'perfectly good'.)
She *does* understand focus, though. Maybe not to Mitsuru's level, but she does focus on things pretty hard for a while until she loses interest and moves to the next thing. It's just that math is absolutely not one of those things that she ever had interest in.
While Mitsuru is writing equations, Suzume flips open the magazine. The feature article is an interview with a baseball star and she wants to read it a lot more than she wants to do any more studying for the night...
...though Mitsuru bragging about it (and she does take it as a casual brag) and reminding her about the exams isn't helping. Because the other thing Suzume does is worry. Probably too much; she gets in her own head.
The advice, though - that isn't taken well. Suzume feels like she's being spoken down to, whether or not that's the case; she scowls into her magazine even as she listens and will probably remember it later. "Hn," she less says than makes the noise of, and covers that with some more ramen.
"I guess," is her eventual response, because what else can you even say to it? The worst part is that Mitsuru isn't even wrong; she has nothing she can really get irritated with, aside from the tone. "I'm looking forward to afterwards a whole lot more than the exams, though... I can't wait for them to be done with." Not that she knows, precisely, what Mitsuru has in store for SEES...
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
In the end, there's a world's gulf between the circumstances Mitsuru Kirijo and Suzume Fukura were raised in, and it's a fact that, unfortunately, cuts both ways.
For someone who has lived her life in the incredibly narrow lens of her obligations to the Kirijo Group... the world of her peers is a constant mystery for Mitsuru. One she truly has no idea how to engage with. For example...
Mitsuru estimates Suzume to be a person who has a hard time asking for help; she's perhaps not wrong about that, but her approach to try to supply that help in a more indirect way ends up doing her no favors, either. She watches as Suzume buries herself into her magazine, draws up more noodles a touch more loudly.
I guess.
Her head tilts to the right for a few seconds.
"Mm," she finally exhales, and her gaze finally drops back down to her own work.
One arm folded on the tabletop, Mitsuru cups the elbow of her opposing arm in her palm as it plucks up her pen and resumes its scribbling.
"I am hopeful the members of SEES will do well on their exams," she says as she works in the wake of Suzume's own musings on the end of exams, as if completely misunderstanding what the second year is trying to say. "It's a critical part of securing a comfortable future for yourself, after the Dark Hour has finally been resolved, after all."
She says that part, too, matter-of-factly, though that's much less a matter of the confidence it seems like, and much more a matter of stubborn defiance. It's not a matter of if they can resolve it. They have to.
She has to.
"... There are admittedly some I'm more concerned about than others, but most seem to be putting their best foot forward." The scritch-scratching of the pen stops, briefly; Mitsuru allows herself a small, almost rueful smile.
"As much as I enjoy pushing myself during exams, however, I am fully aware that I am in the minority," she concedes in the breadth of that smile. "I know how much everyone is looking forward to their break. The Chairman seems to have some ideas of his own on how to celebrate everyone's hard work... perhaps I'll see what I can do, as well, once grades are out."
she says it so warmly so why
why does it sound so ominous
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
It's true; there's plenty of awkwardness and misunderstandings for everyone.
Honestly, Suzume isn't... entirely unhappy with the advice, but something about the way it was phrased and the attitude behind it put her on edge. Maybe one day she'll thank Mitsuru for it - but don't count on it! The words will come back to her, though.
Even if she only uses them, later, to reinforce anxiety.
And the way Mitsuru follows up doesn't land quite as intended either, though it's closer. Enough that Suzume says, defensively, "I'm doing fine. Don't worry about me." Honestly, Mitsuru probably should, if she's worried about SEES' grades; Suzume's aren't as bad as Junpei's, but she absolutely has been underachieving this year, even before she joined SEES.
She could do better - she *has* done better. But this year's not been her best work, and it's got nothing to do with her extracurricular activity in Tartarus.
"At this rate, even when the Dark Hour's gone, we'll still have to deal with - " and Suzume gestures widely with her (thankfully currently bare) chopsticks. "Sumaru, and Mementos, and Palaces, and all that sort of crap." She's led a group to Mementos, but unfortunately it didn't really teach them anything they didn't already know; certainly she didn't see any signs of a Full Moon Shadow or anything like it, or a Homonculi.
"So we might be at it a little longer," she says, before flipping the page and then going a bit more after her ramen.
God, she thinks. Someone who actually ENJOYS exams. I would have said that was impossible. Her scowl is more for herself than Mitsuru, this time, except -
"Break? I figured we'd just, you know. Have it off," she says, uncertain. "What's the Chairman thinking? Or what are you thinking?"
Because Suzume just *felt* that ominousness (is that a word? well, she felt it). A sinking feeling she doesn't have any logical reason for. Breaks are good, right? So what is she about to be dragged into by the Chairman or Kirijo?
<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
I'm doing fine. Don't worry about me.
"Oh?" wonders Mitsuru. She does not look up from her problem solving. Considering how -frighteningly prepared- and prone to micromanaging the Kirijo heiress is, it's probably the furthest thing from a stretch to say she's well aware of Suzume's grades -- or basically -anyone- in SEES' academic history.
possibly any student in the school, in general
And yet, she continues to work through trigonometric functions, not even so much as looking up as she says:
"If you're feeling confident in your ability, then I won't."
It's a steadfast level of attention on her own work that endures, even as she continues on calmly, "Though keep in mind your work no longer reflects simply on you, but on all of us. That is a part of being a community."
No -- it's only when Suzume brings up the matter of everything -else- awry beyond the Dark Hour that Mitsuru's scarlet lips tug towards a small, pensive frown, and her work stops once more.
"... Yes, that is true," she says within a small sigh. "I suppose some of us will turn our focus elsewhere within the realm of the supernatural, once the Dark Hour is solved. These powers, these things, can be easily abused, as we've already seen in Strega. It must fall to someone to ensure that the people who cannot defend themselves are defended."
A second passes. "Still, no one here truly asked to be saddled with such a responsibility. When our remit has been completed at last, I certainly won't begrudge anyone who wants to simply..." Her brows furrow mildly. "... take the opportunity to live a well-deserved, normal life."
Normal life. ... What would that even look like?
She shakes her head, banishing the thought. It's not something she needs to concern herself with.
"Your commitment is admirable though, Fukura," she instead notes. "I've been impressed with your work investigating Mementos, thus far."
Even if they haven't really found anything new, whatever it may really be? ... It's still is something they need to keep in their radar.
She seems to leave it at that, however, with that simple compliment. Soon enough, she is shutting that book and placing it on the pile with the rest, her notebook soon following suit.
"Who knows what the Chairman could be thinking?" Mitsuru wonders with mild exasperation as she organizes, shaking her head. "I can never quite pin the man down. But he's made repeated mentions of something he has been working on for all of us once exam grades are out, so I imagine we'll find out soon enough."
She stands, here, drawing her pile of texts towards herself. But what about her? What is -she- planning?
"As for me... Hm." She taps her chin, exactly once. "I suppose that will have to depend on how well everyone performs on the exams."
That.
--Really doesn't help for assuaging worries, does it.
"I should prepare for my Dark Hour patrols tonight." As she says this, Mitsuru pushes errant strands of long red hair over her shoulder in a mild hairflip before she scoops up those books. "I'll leave you to your peace and quiet. Enjoy your ramen. It looks quite good." Is she being serious, or--
"And, of course... best of luck on your exams. Bon courage, Fukura."
<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
Over the course of Mitsuru's words, Suzume can feel her anxiety rise. People tend to think that she doesn't care what other people think about her, but that's not entirely true. There's some things she doesn't care as much about as some people... but that doesn't mean she doesn't care about anything.
"It'll be fine," she says, as much to convince herself as anything else. It sounds like bravado because it is. She just hopes Mitsuru chooses not to dwell on that too much.
But she's right. It falls to them and people like them to defend people who can't defend themselves... "That's why I'm here," she agrees, meeting Mitsuru's eyes again - she likes to challenge people with her gaze, and while she'll never stare Mitsuru down, it shows her intensity.
It is, in the most literal sense; after all, she was rescued in Mementos by SEES, while she was trying (and failing, without a Persona) to defend another student. One who didn't have the Potential, when she did, using an Evoker that very day, and so he barely remembers it beyond the day he twisted his ankle, and if neither of them talk about exactly *where* he twisted it maybe that's just a coping strategy.
Suzume joined SEES the next day.
But it goes further than that. In this, perhaps she feels responsibility. Especially with Strega, and Mementos, and all the other things they don't really know about. If there's more to find in Mementos, she'll be there... she hopes.
Mitsuru closes up her books, though, and Suzume looks over at them. Sounds like the Chairman didn't even tell Mitsuru, though she's not sure if she entirely believes Mitsuru doesn't know *anything*. Especially if she has plans of her own.
"It's the spicy one," she says quite seriously. About - oh, the ramen. "I always liked the heat. Have a good patrol. Hope no Shadows run into you that you can't handle."
She doesn't speak again until Mitsuru's out and gone, when...
Suzume leans well back in her chair, tilting her head back and back until she's looking up at the ceiling, her hair falling down behind her. "Dead," she groans. "I'm dead if I can't do OK in math after that." If the other students don't get a reward because *she* was the weak link, she'd never hear the end of it - and they'd be right to not let her forget it.
She straightens up, looks at the magazine again, and grudgingly pushes it to one side to reveal her math books.