2025-10-23: Who Sent You
- Log: Who Sent You
- Cast: Sojiro Sakura, Ayame Watanabe
- Where: Leblanc Cafe, Yongen-Jaya, Tokyo
- OOC Date: October 23, 2025
- IC Date: July 30, 2012
- Summary: Ayame comes over to chat with Sojiro about a matter she's looking into. Things escalate very quickly.
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
The night crowd in Leblanc has trickled into that one last college student who is on their 10th cup of coffee and has books spread out across a table trying to cram information for a test. Sojiro is wiping down the bar getting ready to close up the shop and begin the nightly ritual he normally would do to close out for the night.
Sojiro's phone dings and he glances at it before rolling his eyes, " I swear that girl and her curry. If she keeps this up....well at least it is a better meal than that instant ramen she orders from the near by convenient store. "
He moves through the cafe, filling random college kid's cup before wiping down the booths.
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
It's been quite a day so far. A monday. But Ayame has some new information, and she figured she was less likely to spook Sojiro than the police officer Katsuya... So here she is to follow up. The college student is there, and shortly, there's a ring at the door as Ayame steps in.
"Hi," Ayame says warmly, looking around. She looks a little... nervous, for some reason.
Ayame tends to wear her emotions a little more openly than some.
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro looks up at the door chime and says before he even recognizes the new patron of the cafe, "We are closing up." That is when it dawns on him who it is, "Oh Watanabe-san. " The grumpy old man softens a little as he moves behind the counter and pours a cup of coffee on the house.
Sojiro doesn't stop moving after the cup is poured, he has pulled down a to-go container that he was going to have to set up anyways. " If you want I can get you a pack of curry for...four? Five? Sorry I just can't remember how many little ones you have."
Still it doesn't matter, Sojiro is already working on a to go order for someone else while he waits for some word of acknowledgement. He also pulls out a to-go cup for coffee and fills it. Even if Ayame doesn't accept the to-go order, she will walk out of here with something warm.
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
They're closing up! "That's fine!" Ayame says, and smiles, when she sees him already starting to work. She takes the coffee in both hands and gets the aroma going. "Oh, if it's no trouble," she says. "Three! So it would be five of us." A pause, "But I actually came to ask a couple of questions," she says.
"If that's all right!"
Ayame smiles. "I just heard from some friends about something I'm looking into..."
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro tosses a thumbs up in the air and begins plating the last of his rice and curry for the night. Ayame's family is going to get extra of all the goodies. He looks up at Ayame and then past her to the college student as he interupts Ayame. "One second.." Grabbing a togo cup he approaches the student, "Sorry buddy but we are closing up."
Without a word he swipes the coffee cup and in a smooth movement pours it into a coffee cup. "Please wrap up and head out. Consider this last cup on the half." The college student looks up and looks at Sojiro as if he was millions of miles away for a moment before he says , "Oh um...ok."
Sojiro then moves back over to behind the bar and gets back to the six to go orders, "Anyways you wanted to ask me something?"
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
Hooray, goodies! The student will get to go, but Ayame waits for that to be handled, only answering when Sojiro comes back. She nods. "I did, but... It's a strange set of questions," she says. "I heard from a friend that you might be someone who knows, but if you aren't, it's just going to sound very strange, so please don't hold it against me."
"Have you ever heard of... a 'Persona'?" Anne asks. "Or the term 'cognitive psience'?"
She doesn't really sound like she knows much about it either, but...
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro is in the middle of scooping curry when he hears the words. Cognitive Psience. Does he know those words, yes he knows those words. The hesitation in his actions cause the curry to start to pour back into the pot. In his head Sojiro is panicking and running through things for a moment, all the scenarios, all it could mean.
Slowly Sojiro sets the ladle back into the pot and moves toward a drawer where he keeps the silverware. Why he would need that for a togo order who knows. "Persona? I heard about it once or twice. A silly kids game if I remember right. Not quite from my time. " Sojiro's voice is different, it's...flavorless. Sojiro's voice always has a flavor, grumpiness, sourness, sweetness, salty, but now, none of that.
Then Sojiro pivots in a single turn and holds his arm out with a Smith & Wesson .357 magnum revolver in his hand point at Ayame. Already his other hand is fishing out his phone and quickly doing things with his thumb as if he has practiced this over and over. "Cognitive Psience though, yeah I know that term. Now, who sent you?" The eyes that stare at her are not the eyes of Sojiro the coffee shop owner, but the eyes of a man who died years ago and long buried. Cold, dead, eyes that do not waiver, do not blink, simply focused on the target for the slightest of movement.
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
Silverware! Ayame doesn't know why Sojiro's voice is different, but she recognizes it immediately. "...?" she starts. Maybe it's the Persona expanding her senses; maybe it's woman's intuition. But she senses something is wrong, just in enough time to not jump at the gun.
"!?" she starts anyway, obviously alarmed; if she's a professional, she sure doesn't look like it. She sees those dead eyes and they're frightening.
"I heard it from Uchida-san, at the Kuzunoha Detective Agency," Ayame says, going pale.
"...We're looking into it because it might be a way to stop the Joker Killer!"
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro watches Ayame, he is looking for anything, a tell, a flinch, just about anything to give her away. His own adrenaline is pumping despite doing the best to remain in control. He can feel it. The texture of the revolver's grip, the weight of the gun, the ingredients that go into the curry, the coffee beans.
His phone is dinging away as people respond to him, he doesn't glance though. Right now if he looks that could be the opening that Ayame is watching for.
"That research should have been destroyed. Lost to never be found again." Sojiro slips his phone back into his pocket, and adjusts to hold his gun with both hands. " That research can't stop a murderer, it doesn't work that way." Taking another moment he steps forward slowly.
"So I will ask you again, who sent you to talk to me, why, and how did you get that."
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
There's nothing other than obvious fear and dismay and surprise, all three strong--but no hint of the secrets he's looking for. His phone may ding, but Ayame is watching for an opening now--her hands are up, and she glances to the door, unable to hide that much.
"I already told you, it was because we're looking for a way to stop the Joker Killer! The reporter, the officer, the others--we're all trying to keep our families safe!"
"That killer already went after my husband once! I just need to find a way to stop him, for good!"
"...It was a private investigator. She gave me the tip."
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro watches the fear, weighing what if she is telling the truth, what if she is faking. He had seen others this well trained, hell he had lost friends from actors this good. Finally he adjusts and softens a little as he gets to the final dilemma.
Option A, remove the threat, set the cafe on fire and then go explain to people why he suddenly is moving overnight.
Option B, de-escalate and go on the offensive to track down the investigator and then find out what it means from there.
Sojiro motions with the gun barrel to a chair, "Have a seat, put your hands on the table and I will lower the gun and we can talk." He doesn't raise the gun right away back to Ayame either, it is an opportunity if Ayame wanted it.
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
Ayame could just be this good. After all, she managed to come into the shop over and over without much trouble. But maybe they only got to her recently; maybe she's just being used by someone who does know.
..On the other hand, a trained operative might've given away less than Ayame has already.
Either way, when he motions to a chair, she considers for a moment, and--
Takes the opportunity. Ayame sprints for the door, with all the speed of someone running for her life.
That... did not go as she was expecting.
Warning 'my-desc' for Ayame Watanabe(#524PenA):
player is missing description
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro stares at Ayame for a moment and gives her a moment to take the opportunity and then she begins to sprint.
Sojiro raises the gun and draws a bead and is ready to pull the trigger, when a thought of kids comes to him. Three kids. Three ...of her.
Sojiro doesn't pull the trigger, but he also doesn't lower the gun either as he walks to the cafe's door and locks it and shuts off the lights. If anyone looks in for the next few minutes they will only see a red cigarette ember as Sojiro simply waits for something that won't come.