2025-10-13: Spark
- Log: Spark
- Cast: Umie Akabane, Myunghon Yeo
- Where: Kurihara Park, Yumezaki Ward, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: October 13, 2025
- IC Date: July 25, 2012
- Summary: Isn't it amazing what secrets the Dark Hour reveal? From revealing your influences to daring deeds, everyone becomes just a little bit more themselves. With that in mind, then, why is it that one secret remains just too dangerous to unveil? Don't you want to reveal your biggest and oldest 'spark' of all, Umie-chan?
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Myunghon had texted at some point to get Umie's opinion on what had transpired that night with Jose.
Umie wants to test her cloaking skills.
It's great when you can doubletask, isn't it? Myunghon, being someone as paranoid as Umie can be, would be a great subject.
Plus, Myunghon knows Umie can do this, so it's win-win, in a way.
>> got a late shift, can meet you in Sumaru, will likely be DH b4 we meet
>> Kurihara Park in Yumezaki Ward, near station?? near swings
(DH, meaning Dark Hour, of course. Umie at least *tries* to use opsec when it's convenient.)
It may seem odd, that Umie'd have a specific place in mind. However, it's been a favorite of hers for a while, being a small park that sports a small variety of obstacles, while also being not as well frequented by demons, due to the casino being the main pull. (At least, that is the theory Umie's come up with.)
The playground is empty when Myunghon enters; if they aren't being especially aware of their surroundings, or focused on the swings specifically, it may be a while before they may notice Umie, hanging upsidedown from one of the pull-up bars on the other side of the playground, legs hooked over the bar. She wouldn't have been there before; there'd be no indication of sound, or movement. There was time Umie was not there, and then, a moment when she was.
Though Myunghon may have something up their sleeves themselves, given their equally unique abilities.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
"OW! Hey, not so rough, gentle now--!"
These are the shouts that echo throughout the eerie stillness of the Dark Hour, as one can take a gender over Kurihara Park and see--
Well, first she sees a whole seven feet of redonkulous matte-black ripped-af bodybuilder muscles glistening in the sick pale moonlight, only tastefully covered by the most minutiae of the Dark Hour's warrants of modesty: a tight (tight!) metal speedo.
Also, a sweet pair of jester shoes, and a pair of armored bracelets. The Shadow has pale gold hair along with a handlebar moustache in a way that might get you into legal trouble if you squint a little too long and realise 'oh, this Shadow's totally supposed to be--' *radio static*. A blue mask embodying the Strength arcana covers its eyes and forehead, resembling that of other Dark Hour Shadows as well.
... being carried by this tower of power is Myunghon, who's currently trying to break free of the Grapple (no save) and finding out that their meager dump stat of a Strength score is, in fact, a bigger impediment than they ever expected it would be. The two pause at the nothingness in the playground, but Myunghon's senses are sharply attuned enough to sense where Umie is hanging in her cloaked form.
"M-maaa, please hold on a moment, my powerful man-friend! Surely you shouldn't be in such a hurry? I just wanted to stop and talk to you about what your protein regimen might be like?! How many reps of steel must you pump, how many sets?? Does anyone even Spot for you? I could be your Spotter! Let me see, mmm, your Adonis physique certainly cares not for Strikes one whit, but I have a sense that you wish to avoid the Dark, lest you be cursed with weakness--!! A ha ha ha ha...!"
Myunghon spares one glance to the playground and is like HELP, PLEASE, UMIE????
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Damn it. *Of course* Umie won't be able to just surprise Munghon. A shadow *has* to intervene, and, because that shadow has Myunghon, that makes it Umie's problem.
"Hup." There's a soft inhale as Umie pivots her body around, depositing herself onto the ground below. Her duffle bag is unzipped in the next second; the now heavy ends of the cognitive kyoketsu-shoge (courtesy of Ixquic) are pulled out in the next, the length of rope looped in one hand.
Under the Badb's shroud, all of this is quiet, even as Umie begins swinging the ring out in ever widening circles...
The coin-shaped ring of the shoge is swung out several seconds later, aimed towards the Strength shadow's right foot. If it lands, momentum will tightly wrap it around that ankle. A sharp tug will do the rest; Myunghon will be okay if the shadow tumbles.
.... Probably.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon lets out a little gasp as the Gigas goes for a little tumble, naught more than a strained cry as it collapses on both its feet onto its knees -- and the Rumourmonger tumbles away in a panicked little moment and calls--
"Kudlak!!"
The Cognitive Coat ravenously tears out and, along with the shoge's ring tightening around it, the two are able to work together to bring it down and it dissolves into little more than a cognitive pile of inky-black goo and vanishes into the nothingness of the night.
Myunghon lets out a weak little shrivelled sigh, before laughing bashfully to say, "I am still-- on time, yes? Slight change of plans, but I still made it nonetheless." They glance around the environs of Yumezaki at this hour. Terribly urban, still, even in this pocket where there's a small children's park, and that unsettles them. The amount of coffins just around the corner are countless at this hour, and below them, with the stormwater drain, it now pours of blood rather than water.
"Thank you for rescuing me, Akabane-san. I *did* nearly miss you. You must be improving still."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
The way Umie follows through in this process can be an exhibit on the experience she's claimed to have: each move is automatic. The heavy ring swings around the leg, the rope wrapping around it in turn; Umie jerks the rope tight, and the shadow goes becomes unbalanced and falls down. Umie moves in, gathering rope between her hands, the bifrucated blade at the ready and thrust in.
"Pretty lucky that your shadow was human-shaped," Umie idly comments, as the shadow dissolves before their eyes. "It gets weird using the shoge on a lion-headed motorcycle wheel, or a floating cube."
Is Myunghon still on time? Umie makes a show of taking out her phone. "Well, look at the time." It's, of course, not working. "I also forgot to bring my egg timer. Last one finally broke." Translation: she was tossing it in the air when Akechi decided to troll her with a *goddamn coffin*.
She really liked that one, too.
"You okay, though? I have bandages in my duffle bag." She points with her chin towards the (thankfully) empty playground. "Can you walk okay?" What is she saying? It's not like she can carry Myunghon, Umie thinks.
Myunghon thanks her and comments on her improvement. Umie sighs, her shoulders sagging as she turns to walk away. "Yeah, and if I had gotten more tied up in trying to *impress* you, you might've ended up as shadow chow. Serves me right."
If they make it back that short distance to the playground, Umie motions Myunghon over to the dufflebag, where she produces a water bottle, offering it out to Myunghon. "Like I said, I have bandages too, but either way, you probably need something to drink after all that, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
There is indeed no small sense of awe as Myunghon watches the ease in which Umie uses a weapon that *they* would just end up hurting themself, moving those chains around and navigating the ring and blade as if it were an extension of their hand.
YOU WON!
XP: 579
Yen: 873
Item: Metal Speedo
Myunghon takes one look at it, and is mortified as whatever automatic looting system nonetheless places it in their inventory and they feel the headache and aches doubling once more. "... lion-headed... motorcycle wheel?" A pause, as they make a note of that. "I will have to make note of that. But Akabane-san, if you ever see a Table..."
Their face becomes more dire. "Do not underestimate the Table. Not in the slightest."
Umie does offer bandages as they move towards the playground, and much like the last few times Umie's seen them, they're starting to really prefer walking on their Cognitive Coat, which effortlessly glides them around like they're extra long, slender, ribbon-like appendages lightly suspending them above the air. That arm isn't getting better very fast. "Mmm. I'm okay, thank you. It does hurt, but it's not something even more bandages can aid with."
They are lightly paranoid that they keep getting grabbed in the arms. It's almost become a phobia at this point. It's like that one movie cliche.
Like the night Jose visited them, Myunghon has opted to create a throne out of the Cognitive Coat, which does resplendently look a little like a vampire's throne from the right angle, especially with all the Shadow spilling out of it like it were fluid. They do accept the water bottle gratefully. "I do. I would be the last to say the Dark Hour is ever safe, but it only takes one bad move and--" they gesture. "The perils of moving solo, I suppose."
But then there's a pause as they glance around once more and then say: "... I want to hear your thoughts on our friend and our new power."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It would not be as cool if Myunghon knew how Umie trained in it, which is to say: 'lots of internet videos, lots of trial and error; scratch that, a whole lot of error'.
Metal Speedo from a Shadow. "Don't think about it," Umie flatly suggests, as she seems to sense Myunghon's embarrassment. "There's a place that'll take it, all the same." SPEAKING OF THAT-- nevermind they cannot time travel.
Do not underestimate tables. Umie shrugs. "Oh those are easier." She taps the ring of her weapon on her own leg. "Four legs. The spinning floating knives, though... yeah. Have to deal with those."
The way Myunghon walks with their coat does bring a frown to Umie's lips, worry collecting in her gaze, a quiet grumble in her throat. "You should probably make sure you're exercising those muscles, Merry-san. We don't need to lose more of you to muscle atrophy."
Meanwhile, there is Umie, standing there, inviting someone to a playground in what is one of the most dangerous times to be just about anywhere. "It's safe for sharing secrets," she remarks languidly, slipping out a water bottle and flipping it around in the air, catching it with her hand in mid-spin. "And that's the most important thing of all, in talks like this. Everyone's allowed to be themselves."
New friend. "New fri--? Oh. Jose." Umie twists the bottle cap and opens it, taking a sip as she sits on the open bench next to her duffle bag. "I was surprised to see him go outside Mementos, but now that I think about it... Mona's like that too." Wait, should she be revealing these names?! ... Well, it *is* the Dark Hour, so it should be okay, right...? "... You met Roger too, right? In the Atelier. The cute talking pig?"
"I just thought Jose was just like them. Someone in the 'other' category. If Shadows exist, and demons exist.. there should be other categories, as well."
As for their power? "For all we know it was a practical joke. We have no confirmation until we actually find a proper Shadow."
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
"Oh, there's a place, all right," Myunghon answers without an indentifiable trace of life within them.
Umie appears to have Tables under control. Perhaps they're worrying for nothing. Myunghon will have to content that Umie appears to have table expertise sorted. Umie does immediately call them out on not using their muscles, though, and something within them immediately regresses a little, taken aback at where those words are coming from. The Coat shrinks and starts to curl in on themself, as if defensive.
"... I---I know," Myunghon quietly autopilots, though it's clear that they haven't been exercising -- especially their arms. Myunghon's almost always having their arms at their sides, never really reached up for anything -- they've always had to ask Umie in the few instances that they need to reach for something on a high shelf.
They sip from that water bottle, and then listens as Umie expresses and equates to how the Dark Hour allows everyone to be themselves. "It's true. The... 'Mask-sans', as you put them -- they have a manner in which they need to sustain their identity, and the Dark Hour is quite the equalising factor in that."
But they asked about Jose, and Myunghon listens to Umie's assessment of him. "Mona...?" they frown. "Roger... yes, I did meet him at Taro Nakata's Atelier. But he didn't believe that he could step out of the Atelier -- he belonged there."
Umie thinks Jose is like those other ones. There's quite a furrowed brow at that. "I see. So your classification is any being that exists within the supernatural space, not our physical realm. Yet perhaps that could describe all of our Personae too. No, I..."
A pause. "I find myself suspicious of the timing. At this time where I have confessed to you mounting pressures of how dangerous my physical life is being, we are giving more of an 'out', a balancing factor, as if our invisible mastermind is unhappy at how the game is faring. Too boring... too one-sided."
They look rather rueful. "Am I being too suspicious? You can be truthful with me, Akabane-san."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
The life-less response causes Umie to lean forward, squinting one eye at Myunghon. "...."
She settles back, eventually, tipping her water bottle back to drink from it. "... Kujaku-san is... eccentric, aren't they? I was there not too long ago, for a commission." Rosy lips curl into a half smirk. "They're the sort of people that make you want to gain their attention, even if you come in there just wanting to look around. People like that..." ... remind her of Mai-chan. "... can be scary, for what they enable. But maybe, for those of us that're always shutting everyone out, perhaps that's the permission we're always looking for? For better or worse."
Umie's frown continues at Myunghon's coat curling in on itself, almost defensively. Hm. Did she say something hurtful? WIth how Myunghon and Umie seem to connect... didn't Tamaki point that out, when Umie talked about their Persona giving them a physical boost? "... I meant," she tries again, "because there are times our Personas can't be there to guard us." She smirks. "Don't worry, I'll still get things for you. It's payback, for all the times I've asked people to get things for me." Short privilege is totally a thing, right??
Or maybe, it's not as simple as Myunghon just refusing to exercise them. "... If there's a reason for it, then this advice is for when you figure out a way around that," she relents.
"Mask-sans are... quite the mystery." In light of what Myunghon just said, Umie's not willing to ask about Myunghon being one herself; she needs to pace these things out.
Roger can't go outside the Atelier. "Maybe it's because the Dark Hour and Mementos may be connected in some way. Or, they need a cognitive 'shield' to contain themselves, similar to how our Personas operate for us in these spaces. Not something that responds to danger, but an idea?" She shrugs. "Something. As for Personas, they're a part of us, so I wouldn't classify them as that, unless there was one operating without a person. Which..." Umie frowns. "That'd be... quite a curveball for those of us who'd think too hard on it."
Myunghon finds it suspicious, especially in regards to how dangerous their life has gotten. "It's possible." She breathes in a sigh. "You saw how Jose had to whallop me twice? It really did feel like something happened the second time, but things like that happen to me all the time. But... this isn't about me, but your own life." She gestures with a hand, dark violet nails appearing black under the green light of the Dark Hour. "Ask yourself this: how did this change your situation? We don't even know how it works just yet. Is it something where we all can grab a card, or only one card will exist at any given time?"
Is Myunghon being too suspicious? "No." Umie shakes her head, and crosses her arms. "You're effectively the leader of this operation. As long as it's not effecting your mental health, being a little more suspicious can't hurt anything. The way I operate is simply how I've managed to survive with my spirit intact. I don't have the same dangers as you do."
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Umie gets a view of Myunghon she might've never expected -- an almost bewildered, innocent startle, as Umie brings up Tsumugi. "W-why are you bringing up-- Tsumugi all of a sudden? Nothing happened," they stammer, already completely outing themself as Umie's gremlin senses inevitably fish out that there truly is something juicy there. "Nothing can happen," they sound a bit more sober a moment later.
But their brain then catches up from being across like eighteen different galaxies, and then they actually pay attention to what she's saying about them. The sort of people that make you want to gain their attention... they can be scary, for what they enable. "... mm..." They glance as Umie's words end up being very prescient. "... that's very true. It doesn't make it hurt any less, though..."
oh what is going ON here
Umie tries to redouble themself with a perceived slight, and that gets Myunghon a little uncomfortable. "No, I mean... you are right, yet..." A deeper frown. "Rehab is very painful," is all they're willing to share at the moment.
Umie theorises about how Roger might need a 'shield' to protect themself. They furrow their brow, wondering about that. "It is possible that Roger has simply internalised not being able to leave not because of physicality, but merely because... that is where he feels he belongs, but that would make sense... a cognitive being needs a shield that 'passes'. ... not unlike the masks we wear in the same physical realm."
The ninja speaks of how she had to be walloped twice. That's true, they were observing it. "I do have ideas. I'm not certain who I'm confident testing it on. But I did research the one that Card belongs to -- he's still fine, it isn't as if Jose caused a Mental Shutdown. But neither do I think that one can act without some equal reaction happening elsewhere, even if we cannot observe it. Loathe as I am to say, this may be a path to deterrence to keep ourselves safe through information. Blackmail, to put a fine point to it."
But then...
"You don't. But..." A pause, as they're about to ask something, then:
"Akabane-san. I'm about to ask something that might be frightful to you, okay?" they first preface. "... who is Mai-chan?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"..." Umie's lips pucker slightly around her water bottle, and as it's drawn away, that delighted, widening smile happens at the scent of something juicy and sinful in the air, like a sizzling plate of Wagyu beef. "It wasn't for the reason you're thinking of, but now you have me quite curious, Mer-ry-san~" She crosses her legs, eyelids crinkling up as her gaze seems to sparkle mischeviously. "... could you tell me more?"
'It doesn't make it hurt any less, though...' Oh scratch that. This isn't the sort of misery she wants to unearth! She wants to unearth the spicy parts, not the regret!!
Umie looks down, as Myunghon reveals exactly why, concerning her arms. "... Sorry. It's too easy for me to assume, sometimes." Her own limits just felt like barriers; it was never painful, just annoying, to be forced to slow down.
For all the times Umie has not apologized for what she's said, it's the times when she respects someone that she finds she needs to hold back.
Myunghon takes Umie's though and gives it another shape, further developing it. "I never thought about it that way. Sort of like that 'cognitive armor' 'Mask-sans' have." Yes, Umie is very aware that 'Mask-san' is going to wear out quickly. (.... it's just so much fun, though, like calling something serious a silly name as a title. Table-san!)
"...." As Myunghon mentions the one who the Card belongs to, something in Umie seems to shrink in on itself, shivering like the night had become wintery cold. "Don't take this the wrong way, but. Should we tell the Phantom Thieves?" Umie folds her legs underneath her, now sitting cross-legged on the bench. "I still remember how it felt. Like... it was the first time that I *got* it. Up until now, a part of me wondered if it was 'controlling' someone. Our desires can get distorted, but removing it from someone, without their consent, still felt somehow wrong to me, unless it was an act of self-defense. Here, it was like seeing the worst case scenario: someone consumed by something that's grown bigger than themselves." She looks up. "Maybe I'm just overthinking it, though. How was he?"
'You don't. But...'
How did
How did Myunghon
How
What, when did she
"..." Umie sits there, frozen in place, as if waiting for Myunghon to reveal it to be some kind of misunderstanding. Maybe she misheard them? Maybe her senses are playing tricks on her, as they sometimes do. Ah, silly Umie, cat statues don't move to stare at you.
'Come, come now. Why don't you let Myunghon know about your bestest and oldest friend in the whole world? Mou... You didn't even let Akechi-kun know about me...'
".... An.... ex." It's about as believable as when Myunghon tried to move on from talking about Tsumugi.
'My, my~ your heart's still mine, Umie-chan~ Not even the Phantom Thieves could steal it from me...'
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon just seems to deflate in that way that they're quite weak, when it comes to Umie's gaze. Umie just has a natural advantage over them, despite both of them being Dark-elemental. "... it is a complicated matter," Myunghon admits very timidly, drawing their head away. "That expression of being like a moth to the flame is particularly apt... I never thought much of it, but to actually experience it -- burns and all, and how painful it is, and yet I cannot draw away."
Oh, there's a WHOLE can of sardines to unpack here, huh.
The spicy part, though, well...
"... it's painful when your first time makes you feel so conflicted." Oh, THERE's the spicy part.
Myunghon rather likes 'Mask-san', really. It feels like owning a little part of what they can't control. "If a Shadow were to just walk out, like Roger and his cartoon appearance, I think that would violate the kind of... 'consensus' our cognitions have. Like how even if you use a Persona in front of someone unawakened, they rebel against it, and don't really remember, right?"
Should they tell the Phantom Thieves...?
"... not yet," Myunghon cautions. "I'd still like to meet them... it would be good for us to understand where we lay in comparison to each other. I have the feeling from what you've said that they're still trying to find their own place, but they've drawn a lot more public attention. I don't understand all their motives, and until then... it would be good to have our own wild cards."
But Umie does have the kind of reaction Myunghon is fearing, and then they gently reach out for her, before realising that they shouldn't do that. But... given that they have experiences with abuse and the kind of reactions people have, it does deter and make them hesitate.
"... ... okay," Myunghon lets them have that out. "You mumbled it when Jose struck you the second time, by the way," because they know Umie and they know Umie'd love to close out that opsec hole. "... I'm not going to press you about it. But Akabane-san? I'm here to share any burdens you may have... you mentioned how I'm the acting leader of this operation. And part of that is looking out for everyone in the group. ... okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
The red-brown gaze can be fierce and unrelenting, even if Myunghon holds Umie's respect by now.
But with a few words, Myunghon manages to throw that gaze behind a veil of heat, as Umie's cheeks begin to burn.
"Ah--" Oh, _oh my_. Umie blushes, unprepared for even that.
Give her a second.
"I suppose it's only natural that it would be," she then says, finally. "Intimacy's... not a subject some of us are able to safely approach. Either we dive in and regret, or stand on the sidelines and agonize in the safety of shadows." Her eyelashes lower. "To be walking in a world where I've long stayed in the shadows, any flame is likely going to draw me in as well, and I don't mean Kujaku necessarily, here."
To illustrate her own point, Umie quietly holds up her right hand, even if what lurks underneath that sleeve is safely covered.
"You know, that makes a lot of sense," Umie says as she touches a hand to her chin, smoothly moving to the next subject. "Until we have some solid examples, I guess we won't know." What *would* Jose look like, under this theory?
As for the Phantom Thieves... Umie nods. "Alright. I'll abide by that if you think it's wise." She shrugs. "Not that I'm expecting to run into them. If you want to meet up with them, we'll have to figure out a way to contact them. Even if I've met them, there's no direct line of contact." Umie grimaces. "Probably for the best, really. Puts a bullseye on my back, considering who else might be trying to contact them..."
Even if she'd like to meet them again, for purely selfish reasons.
"Merry-san... what do you think of them? The Phantom Thieves, I mean. I don't care if you may be biased."
As for Mai-chan? ".... Noted." Don't get whalloped by Josie's mallet two times in a row.
Myunghon is so earnest, it's almost painful to refuse.
".... This isn't something that should be shared."
But refuse, Umie must.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
What Myunghon can't help but take away from Umie's own analogy and comparison of intimacy is how... Umie links it right *back* to the Mark. Which they wouldn't have ever thought of as intimate in that manner. Or perhaps it's just something that draw her attention to it...
But the image of Mai as an important 'ex'. The Mark. Flames, and shadows. It makes them wonder just what kind of space this Mai occupies in Umie's mind -- not as the voice of a cognitive god, but perhaps... someone who haunts Umie, from the past.
They do have their own 'Mei-chan' in turn, after all. "... okay."
But of intimacy... "... stay too long in the shadows, and you're bound to freeze," Myunghon whispers. "I thought myself comforted by that, for a long time. I was a corpse, after all. Then... I was convinced to start thinking differently."
There's a tender smile. "You're one of the people who convinced me to think that otherwise."
Earnestness may very well be one of Myunghon's biggest strengths, as much as they're convinced it's not 'theirs', but part of some other mask. But what does Myunghon think of the Phantom Thieves?
"... ... to have fought alongside them, to have been surprised by that sniper alongside them, to have felt Queen's fervour as I rode with her," Myunghon points out. "It dispels a lot of doubt of the shadows that I was leery of. It does not mean they do not have their own agendas, and we should be cautious ourselves, however... I think there is more to be gained from outstretching a hand of cooperation than to mistrust."
Myunghon quietly rises and looks around. "... I can sense Shadows around the corner. I feel a bit vulnerable after that near-miss... would you mind escorting me back to a safer place, Akabane-san?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"....." Myunghon's words sound rather like something Umie would have said to her.
'You're one of the people who convinced me to think that otherwise.'
Umie's head had lowered, casting her gaze towards the dusty playground, tinted green by the unnatural sky.
"There are some things too scary for me to look at right now, and one of them is having these precious months taken from me," she murmurs, nearly monotone, as her bangs hang over her face. "Or to look back at it all and think it was something I should have never done." To be a coward.
"To think I've inspired someone like you to consider something like that..." She raises her gaze up, brown eyes fierce, as she smiles. "What a terrible influence I've been..." she jokes. "To spark something like that. I do hope you're not the last. If I can be the sort of person that does that to other people? It'll make it all worthwhile. But don't discount yourself, Merry-san. I trusted you with one major secret already, and for a good reason."
Earnestness hits Umie where she's at her weakest, after all.
As for the Phantom Thieves? "Maybe I can tell you another secret, then. Not the one you want, but one that very, very..." Umie pauses, setting her waterbottle down in a swift, decisive motion. "...embarrassing."
Oh god, she's really going to admit to it, isn't she? The thing that she's _all but said_.
"By the time I first heard about the Phantom Thieves, I was spending each night hugging my pillow and being homesick." She throws up two fingers. "The second time, it was like..." Her hand stills, unable to continue the charade of confidence. She shakes her head. "They were just a concept to me, back then, but one that sort of... made me wonder. What sorts of things could *I* do?"
It was also the time Mai-chan made Umie wonder if she'd be next, as a victim; anything Umie attached to had to be tainted, after all.
"For a concept to become something real you can interact with, it means having to realize they're also human beings that can fail, get hurt, or be corrupted." Umie shakes her head. "It's a scary thing, Merry-san. I can't be like Ixquic-san. Still, whatever their agenda is, I can't help but feel some form of gratitude to them, from even before they saved my life."
That's the refined version of the truth, at least, but Myunghon probably can connect the dots well enough: Umie thinks the Phantom Thieves are extremely cool, and somehow, this is a deep, embarrassing secret that she has to guard with her life.
That'd be the comical version of the truth, at least, if Mai-chan never existed, tying everything in Umie's mind in knots of dread.
".... Right." Umie gets up. "Let's get you to safety. Between the two of us, nothing can sneak up on us."