2025-11-12: (Don't) Show Your Hand
- Log: (Don't) Show Your Hand
- Cast: Umie Akabane, Ren Amamiya
- Where: Mementos
- OOC Date: November 12, 2025
- IC Date: August 9, 2012
- Summary: Umie meets up with Joker in Mementos to talk over some business concerning the recent meeting with the Cardboard Dragon. When an Orthus manages to surprise them, it leads to a troubling discovery for Umie: she might have a crush on a person she doesn't even know. Meanwhile, Joker makes a far worse discovery of their own, as Umie reveals something she feels the Phantom Thieves should be aware of as their trajectory leads them ever closer to the NWO. Still, many secrets deserve to remain hidden if you're an Umie Akabane, and triply so, if you're the leader of the Phantom Thieves.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
A temporary measure was set up for contact; whether Umie was successful in somehow tracking one of the Thieves down after that meeting, or one of the Thieves handed her a time and place to show up, eventally, it led to here:
Here, being a bathroom in a little used part of the subway system; the 'out of order' sign on the men's side has likely not been touched in a while.
If a casually dressed young woman carrying a small duffle bag was seen walking that direction, no one would give it much thought; with her hoodie up, she may as well not exist. Just a random bird on the field, unpercievable, and unremarkable.
Washing her hands in the sink, red brown eyes peered at the mirror, then closed, listening for signs of people nearby.
It helps the next part come all that more easily; the transition between one plane and the next still managed to unsettle her, for all the times she's done it.
------
The duffle bag is dropped to the ground; squatting down in front of it, Umie unzips it and searches inside. The light material of the hooded jacket is exchanged for its thicker cousin, revealing the thumbsleeves and red sleeveless tee she had underneath. And then...
"...."
A minute passes. She makes a face.
'Just pick one. Oh, wait, not *that* one. It's not done yet! Ah, wait, maybe that one? Oh, but that is totally not your color.'
It's masks. Paper maiche ones, all from the same mold, with random painted colors and patterns, all done by hand. Easy to set on fire, lose, fall off, get dented, soaked, and otherwise be unwearable, so spares are a must.
And Mai-chan is using this moment to thoroughly question each and every choice Umie tries to make.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Joker had left through Cardboard Dragon's main entrance, same as they had boldly entered, and so it would've been easy for Umie to chase after them and the other Phantom Thieves when they left the building--at least, for the initial few minutes, but that was enough. Joker accepted Umie's suggestion (thanks to the fact that they remember the very bathroom she's talking about) and agreed to meet with her again in a couple more days, and then leapt into the night with their companions to be swallowed in the darkness and disappear.
(As long as there's going to be friction between their groups because of all the things The Phantoms aren't telling them, they may as well keep Mona's carhood a secret too--even if not all of them are opting to head back immediately to Tokyo that way.)
A day or two later, Ren heads to the agreed-upon spot. Out of curiosity, they opt not to initiate the Meta-Nav but to see if they can once again follow Umie into Mementos via her method. She may keep her hoodie up--unperceivable and unremarkable--but they recognize it and therefore her. A seeming boy hanging around near the men's bathroom, even one with an out-of-order sign, is itself barely noteworthy, especially one who's mostly paying attention to his phone.
Reality shifts. Ren becomes Joker. The people vanish...
At the doorway, while Umie is rummaging through her masks, trying to choose which one to don, there comes a tap-tap.
"Knock, knock," Joker calls from behind it, tone ironic.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Mona's useful carhood abilities wouldn't be the only secret the groups are keeping from each other, especially among themselves.
Umie has quite a few.
Ren is able to slip by her unnoticed; with Umie more focused on *being* unnoticed, rather than being the one doing the noticing, it was easy enough. The anonymity of city life has its many, many perks.
.... So when that city life is a reality away, the knock on the bathroom door freezes all sounds of movement from the other side of that door, until Umie hears Joker's voice.
She lets out a breath. ".... Just a minute." _Just go with the red one_, she thinks, amidst Mai-chan's cheerful disagreements, as her hand swipes a plain, matte red one and slips it on, pulling her hood back over it.
It's not like the masks are for the people who know her already, as Umie once told Minako. They're for everyone else.
The door opens, Umie letting out a sigh as she shifts the duffle bag over one shoulder. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Red is Umie's color, after all. Joker's a fan too, with those gloves of theirs, though hopefully they'll never get caught red-handed.
They wait for her, standing near the wall with hands tucked in the pockets of their long coat, when she responds. A moment later, she leaves. Joker gives her a nod and steps forward.
"Have you and yours had a chance to discuss things yet, or are you all still processing?" they wonder as the two of them head deeper into Mementos--wherever that might be.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It's been an interesting thought experiment for Umie, in her short time knowing 'Mask-sans': what determines their garb? What makes Akechi's his, and Joker's Joker's?
..... 'But his 'narrative'- so to speak does allow me several useful tricks that aid in my investigations. In his tales he was well known for outwitting his opponents,' Akechi had said, of his Persona, Robin Hood.
And she, in turn, had said--
In the now, Umie shakes her head slightly, keeping her current bout of nosiness in check.
Instead, as Joker moves from the wall, Umie holds up a finger, her eyes now focusing on the tunnels further in. "Hm. Give me a moment. Let me get a lay of things."
Blue light collects underneath her, a prelude to Badb's emergence, seeping from Umie's body like a a transparent ghastly moth from a cocoon. The ends of a grey shawl fly out like large fingers, or the elongate pointed tips of wing feathers; Badb's delighted cupid's bow smile and hidden eyes contrast with the frown and look of concentration on Umie's own, who is unbothered by the clawed hands that trail delicately next to her face.
"Alright," Umie murmurs, breathing in the Mementos air as the Badb fades away again. "Looks like we're in luck, for a walk and talk. Not so much for a crash and dash, though; Badb's more about bloodshed, not treasure."
Which means, walk *away* from the places a Badb would like to go, which Umie does.
"I haven't myself; I need to touch base with a few of them to get an idea." Sneakers make quiet footfalls as she walks, her gaze bending downward.
Shinjiro's words, and how Panther reacted...
'They were never going to accept responsibility! No one was going to make them, or hold them to account, or anything!'
How many times had Umie felt the same, about Tatsuzou? And at the same time, Shinjiro's words...
"There was a lot on my mind as well." She glances back towards Joker instead, masking her own thoughts.
".... You're a good leader, I have to say. You came in through the front door and grabbed everyone's attention so your teammates could sneak in. Then, you had Motor--" She clears her throat. "Queen-san right there if someone *did* try to come at you."
She's being nosy in her compliments, but the smile tells another story; there's things on her mind that she's wanting to say, but something keeps her from doing so just yet. Better to compliment and tap at the web, before stepping on.
There's more than two masks being worn here, between the two of them.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It's fascinating to watch Umie summon Badb and use her power to check the area. Joker has a semblance of such an ability, and it's very useful in its own right, but it's only good for finding hidden things--not analyzing enemies or finding hidden people. Soon, Badb fades away, her work done, and Umie reports that the area is clear.
"What's your opinion on bloodshed vs. treasure?" Joker wonders, letting another note of irony ring in their deep voice. If Badb is another Umie, she's probably not so different.
Still, the two of them proceed and talk. Joker nods once. They're not surprised to hear that; it's only been a couple of days, and it's not like The Phantoms immediately sat down and talked it over either, thanks to their logistics and transportation issues. It seems like Umie's troubled by something too--but when she blatantly butters them up, they chuckle.
"You're quite the flatterer, Umie Akabane. Still, I'll gratefully accept your compliment. To me, being the leader means taking on the lion's share of the risk. I'm not the type to send others to risk themselves in my stead." It's already something she's observed. No point in trying to hide it. "Then, in your opinion, how do Rumormonger Merry and the members of Cardboard Dragon compare?"
They raise a hand to gesture into the darkness. "You all seem like decent folks to me--even if Queen is right and your true desires aren't quite apparent, I do believe that Rumormonger Merry desires to protect the common people." Frankly, Joker and the Phantom Thieves want the same. They aren't as removed from their heists as Joker tries to make it seem; it's very much more like how Panther reacted.
"But I'm concerned by how the one called Shinjiro Aragaki was seemingly prepared to go along with an ideal he didn't believe in--" They slide Umie an unsmiling look. "--and what that implies for the rest of you... especially since you're hiding something as well."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Indeed, how many times has that same smile happened on Umie? "Bloodshed doesn't pay the bills," Umie quips right along, shooting Joker a cheeky grin over her shoulder. "But bills can't satiate a soul. And, when that soul's being stepped on, you reach up, and you shove that foot--"
.... Perhaps she's let a little too much of Panther's passionate words spur that little slip.
".... When failure is not an option, you do what you have to," Umie adds, a touch softer, but the tone carries its own share of conflict. Even if?
The Phantom Thieves do not kill, despite having more and more eyes on them, as well as more danger.
Umie was so ready to choke the Old Maid right there, last time they had met. For Tatsuya, and Shinjiro, and all the other people enmeshed with the vortex of the Joker Killer.
"...." And like that, a simple remark has turned into something else, Umie's eyes glancing at Joker's profile. "... What about you?" She turns and holds up two hands out--
"Bloodshed," Umie says, with her right..
"Or treasure," she continues, raising her left with the red bracelet slightly, the bell chime barely audible.
Meanwhile, the flattery comes back with its own sort of treasure, even if it's one that's readily achieved through simple observation: Joker takes his role as leader seriously.
It's something she may have to give to Myunghon to consider. In fact--
..... It brings a comparison Umie hadn't thought of, before.
"If I were to look at Merry-san as a leader..." Umie considers, "the tactics would differ. They're like me; if we put ourselves directly in front, the battle's lost." _Not that this has stopped Umie_. "Everything has to be a matter of tactics, inspiring and supporting others, placing them into an advantageous position. Drawing an alliance with the Phantom Thieves is in a similar vein, in my personal opinion-- they see a similar sort of drive in your group to protect and strike back, if necessary."
"They're better able to wear their heart on their sleeve, because they don't have to hide. So... on a social sense... they do as you do. The Cardboard Dragon is them stepping out and taking the lion's share of the risk; it's how Kaneshiro happened, and certain sectors of the police."
Joker mentions Shinjiro, and Umie regards the name with a nod. "He's a little like me; a loner up until now. He's found a place of belonging here," and in SEES, Umie doesn't say, "... it's one of the reasons I'm trying to get my own feelings together."
There's a lot she could say to fill in the blanks of why and how Shinjiro acts, but those are secrets she can't give.
"It's also why I'm glad you made that comment, back there. I don't want him to agree for the sake of the group either."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
When failure is not an option...
"...I see."
Joker wonders reaches up and toys with a lock of their hair in thought. Umie had implied before that she'd caused someone's death by accident, in ignorance of how a person dies when their Shadow is killed. That comment just now paints a significantly different picture. And that Shinjiro... His primary objection was that a person who has been forced into taking responsibility isn't truly taking responsibility--but if he believes that, then how does he think people like that, who can't be stopped in the real world, should be dealt with instead?
"... Treasure, obviously," Joker replies, keeping their tone light. "Panther and Queen were the ones to say it, but I stand by it fully: the Phantom Thieves don't kill." Their eyes narrow behind their mask. "Someone who tried to push that as a solution to a problem... I'd have to stop them."
Their thoughts flash back to Kobayakawa's Palace, and how Shadow Kobayakawa had cowered in fear before the one in the black mask and his gun--how the same fiend had been on the verge of running Akechi through with a serrated sword. That's right... Even if it was someone as despicable as their Principal or as infuriating as the Detective Prince, they can't stand by and let a murder happen right in front of them.
"...But I suppose that there are those who think the same of us and our changes of heart," Joker continues, shrugging. "I'll tell you now, Umie Akabane: if that Shinjiro Aragaki is one of them, your group and ours may not be able to cooperate. We take our rule of unanimous agreement seriously."
Still, they listen thoughtfully to Umie's analysis of Merry as a leader. They... do seem rather fragile, comparatively speaking--all those bandages. Honestly, if they were going by just how Merry presented themself in that meeting, they might be suspicious, but they do also know them as a person. Not just a person, but an X-gender person. Ren is (perhaps foolishly) automatically inclined to trust X-gender people. Fortunately, it's not all about them and their personal feelings.
Either way, Umie's description does seem to match what Myunghon said, but then, considering Umie was there too, of course it would. But they remember seeing Myunghon in Yongen-Jaya around when that was happening, and thinking back, they'd looked awfully exhausted... If they were going around trying to figure out Kaneshiro's keywords on their own, that could get very difficult. Even The Phantoms only figured out by sheer coincidence. Even if they're not necessarily at the front of battle, that's still taking responsibility in their own way.
So: "I see," Joker says of Myunghon. And of Shinjiro... they make a thoughtful noise. A 'loner up until now,' huh... "Then that's why he held back at first. Everyone else was in favor. It's very Japanese to not want to rock the boat. It's good he can at least speak his mind when prompted, at least... but it sounded like he was prepared to be convinced against his will by the rest of you."
Ironic, that, considering what he said about taking responsibility needing to be one's own uncoerced choice. Joker shakes their head. "Obviously I don't agree with his point of view, but I respect someone who stands by their beliefs. If he truly doesn't desire this alliance, then I have no desire to make you and yours pick between us and yourselves." They look back at Umie askance. "Just as I would never allow others to do the same to us."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'... I see.'
Umie watches as Joker takes that in, toying with a lock of black hair.
'Your secret's been figured out. You've said too much.'
Grey lies form at the back of Umie's mind, as she studies Joker quietly. Paranoia threatens to bubble and encroach on her thoughts, and in turn her own heart.
'Treasure, obviously.' The left hand closes up; Umie's eyelids betray that distraction, even as she smiles. But, Joker doesn't stop there, saying something else that seems tom draw Umie's interest.
Joker likely would have stopped her, in that fight, if he had been able to.
Her eyelids lower halfway, as she, finally, answers back against that. "So that's the third way." Beyond treasure, and beyond bloodshed.
"Sometimes the only blood that's being shed is your own, as you fight for what you believe in."
The grey words still lie there, in the back of Umie's mind; they'll always been there.
'We take our rule of unanimous agreement seriously.'
"In other words: free will. That's why you don't want Aragaki-kun to feel pressured, or want his opinion to be the one that gets disregarded. That's..."
Admirable.
No, more than that--
"So people like you... really do exist."
They have been walking for a while by now, between the intermittent pauses.
So much so that the quiet of the winding tunnels had masked the simple truth of Umie's powers: they are limited.
A bird's eye can only see so much, especially when something much faster enters that field of vision.
So, as the shocked Umie looks back at Joker, Joker in turn will see something barreling towards the two of them: a mass of shadows, which rapidly collapse and reform into the shape of a giant Orthus as it gets closer.
And Umie, as always, is just a second too late.
Umie's eyes widen. "Shitshitshit runrunrunrun!!"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Sometimes people do say too much. Joker watches Umie just as Umie watches them--and when she reacts to their assertion, meant to make it clear that they aren't going to ally with someone who thinks murder is the answer, she surprises them by calling it a 'third way.' While it hadn't been what they'd intended to say, though... she's not wrong. Didn't Joker risk their own life fighting the one in the black mask to project Shadow Kobayakawa, despite having no love whatsoever for the man, because that's what their convictions demand they do?
(Akechi's different. He might be an asshole and an insufferable prick... but Joker actually likes him. Some of the time.)
Funny how someone can misunderstand or make the wrong conclusion, but still come to the right answer. It's almost like making an assumption based on what someone says about not hurting Shadows, when in truth that information had come from someone else...
The part about Shinjiro is accurate, at least. Joker nods. "He has a right to his own opinion. I think he's wrong, or at best fundamentally misunderstands, but he still has a right to it."
They fall silent, though, at Umie's follow-up remark. It's a little funny to him that Umie seems to have had such a massively different takeaway of The Phantoms from Shinjiro, even though the two of them are apparently peas in a pod, but such differences make the world go 'round. What Cardboard Dragon does as a group is up to them. The Phantoms will come to their own decision.
As the two of them walk through Mementos, though, a dark shape lurking in the darkness spots the two and starts charging towards them. Umie panics and calls for them to run as the Orthrus takes form and charges at them. With just the two of them here, that's not a bad idea.
Rather than panicking and dashing off, though, Joker simply reaches into a sleeve, smirks, and tosses a certain item into the air with a snap of their fingers.
A smoke bomb goes off over the Orthrus's head, sending a dark cloud down to settle over it and obscure their view.
Now they run for it with Umie, because they still need to get out of dodge, but now they can do so without having a heart attack over it. They pull her to one side into a branching passage, and as they run, they can hear the Orthrus continue to blindly charge forward--and therefore away from where they are now. As the two go, they catch her eye on the way away and grin.
"Work smarter, not harder," they remark.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It's a surprise for Umie as well, one that will likely carry because of its source.
'I'm too used to people eventually losing themselves to corruption,' Umie had once said to Akechi. 'I can't argue that I'm somehow different, just because I put on a brave face.'
Akechi had held true to his Justice, even when Umie had placed the scenario of the Phantom Thieves changing Sudou's heart on the table.
And in a way, Joker had just done the same, holding himself to his own Justice.
(How ironic, that Akechi is still somehow on two people's brains at the same time, without realizing it.)
"He's got things he has to answer in his own heart too," Umie says, on the topic of Shinjiro. "It took me a long time to come to consensus of what I felt about a Change of Heart myself."
It's an interesting quandary, when someone looks between Umie and Shinjiro. Just where do the differences lie?
Press either of them in battle, though, and some things become a little clearer.
As the claws and fangs of the Orthrus snap forward, its senses are masked with smoke; a second later, as Umie picks up Joker's lead, confusion keeps the demon circling around in its grey cloud of misery, crashing and furthering the smoke around
Meanwhile, a scant several feet away, Umie and Joker are running.
As Joker glances back, he'll see Umie keeping up, her head turn back, and then, looking forward, as bangs scattering across her mask, Umie catches Joker's eye.
A grin answers Joker's, her lips opening up.
Soon enough, she's laughing as she's running. It just might be the happiest Joker's ever heard Umie sound, either as Ren or Joker.
'My, my. I warned you, Umie-chan. The Phantom Thieves were going to steal your heart.'
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Akechi: more cared for than he thinks.
Umie makes a very fair point where Shinjiro and his takes are concerned. Joker doesn't know his background or experiences that would make him think the way he does--and Joker knows already that Cardboard Dragon has some misunderstandings about Palaces in general based on their conversation the other day. Misunderstandings that no one in the Phantom Thieves corrected. Maybe one day they'll do that, but as long as they're all tentatively feeling others out... they'll have to keep some cards close to their chest.
If that means that people who could've potentially been allies think poorly of them instead, so be it. ...yet at the same time, Joker knows well that it doesn't have to be it. Maybe one day they'll understand each other properly.
And maybe, even after understanding each other properly, they'll still disagree. That's a reality they have to be prepared for.
Shinjiro isn't here right now, though. Umie is. And Umie makes an intriguing remark about how she grappled with changes of heart. Joker glances at her, curious--but before they can speak, Orthrus happens. There is a smokescreen--there is a dash--and Umie grins back, laughing a laugh more heartfelt and free than any Joker's heard from her before, as Joker or as Ren.
And why not? They like her, but they're not that close. Joker's well aware that she's hiding secrets from them, and that's only fair, because they're hiding secrets from her. Even so, they like her enough to be happy to hear her happy. When the two of them come to a stop in an empty railroad-ridden room, they turn to face her. A bit of Mementos debris looks to have fallen on her head while they were running, and they reach out to brush it off her without thinking.
"Then, about what you were saying earlier... how do you feel now, Umie Akabane?"
About the changes of heart, they mean.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
In a way, a lot of things are simpler, when you're on your own. Umie never thought about how to navigate a dynamic of a group, or how to operate as part of a whole.
A younger Umie also used to laugh like this during the Dark Hour.
What locked it away was another card locked tight against her own chest, adding to the deck.
The idea that anyone would have decks like these is feels natural.
Necessary, even.
How do people survive, otherwise?
Hiding away in a room, Umie shifts modes, seemingly, her body taut and straight as she tries to sense any activity lurking nearby.
Which means, for a few seconds, Joker sees the rubble stand out against the ash blonde of her head.
She turns, just in time, as Joker's hand comes over, innocently dusting off the debris.
But how *does* Umie Akabane feel?
All the while, Umie's heart is pounding. "... Just fine," she murmurs, bowing her head slightly. Her cheeks are red, but they've been running.
Her endurance, as enhanced as it is by Badb, has its limits. It always will.
How can he be so gentle?
It takes a moment for Umie's brain to catch up. No, this wasn't about if she was feeling okay.
_Umie Akabane is feeling just fine_.
".... That you were going to--"
'Careful, now.'
Another laugh bubbles up instead, as she catches her breath.
"It's a desire that has become distorted, just as you said, like... a cancer that has taken over, leaving no other possibility, or a runaway process that would have no other way of being resolved."
In her mind's eye, Umie sees a man, bound by something so heavy that he lay in the streets, begging, unable to be anything other than what the growth dictated.
"Kaneshiro would've eventually fell from it, but that wouldn't have helped any of his victims, both in the past and the future. It's... an answer, for people. The third option, between..." She's babbling, but she's having trouble stopping. "... Between giving up, or giving in, to methods, like the Old Maid, or Strega. It's about _the heart of people_."
As opposed to her own heart, right now.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Things are simpler when you're alone.
Simpler is not the same as better.
Joker pauses when Umie answers the wrong question. They don't read into her red cheeks at first, since the both of them were just running, and by the time they're about to correct her on their meaning, she starts to speak, and then cuts herself off. Joker pauses again, then tucks their hands in their pockets and waits.
Clearly she needs a moment. They can be patient. She laughs and pants, and they crook a sideways smile at her. There is fun in the adrenaline of combat. In that sense, Joker doesn't mind bloodshed at all. The kinds of Shadows they find in Mementos and the Dark Hour aren't people; there's no need to hold back against them. And while Joker is firmly against murder, a good hard piece of ultraviolence can be pretty sexy, actually...
Eventually, Umie speaks. She is babbling, but they listen just the same. A third option between giving up and being victimized by scum like Kaneshiro and Kamoshida, or giving in to the idea that the only way such people can be stopped is through murder. The heart of the people, huh... Panther does like to say that she wants to give hope to the people who've been trampled underfoot. Joker is more Justice-minded, but still agrees.
"That's our desire," they reply. "I'm glad you understand."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Untied is another word for alone.
As Joker misses the true meaning of Umie's blush, another crossed signal happens in her not reading Joker's own actions, in the wake of that innocent brush of Umie's hair -- it's definitely not as soft as Akechi's, if there ever was a question of it on anyone's mind, ever -- as him returning to neutral.
After all, when your flirting is used as a blunt weapon, the times when Umie *isn't* flirting can feel suspect.
But it does mean, through that opening, Umie revealed just a little bit more. Even without the feelings of that crush (which definitely didn't come from nowhere), she likes Joker in much the same way as he does Umie.
Stylish, mannerly, a show-off, but kind and gentle when needed. A good leader, brave.
And, most importantly: she has no idea of who they are under the mask.
This... is a problem for future Umie to come to grips with.
The crooked smile is answered back by Umie's in kind, as she hops backwards on a rock.
'I'm glad you understand.'
"You've got no idea how hard it was to get over a few... hurtles," Umie says, propping her chin up on one upturned palm.
The smile deepens, mischief twinkles in the eyes behind that matte red mask.
"Okay, if I share something, promise you're *not* going to use it against a certain someone?"
Does Joker even have to guess, at this point, who this 'certain someone' is?
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It certainly wasn't on Joker's mind, since their only intent was to get a bit of rocky dust off of Umie's head--but in fairness, when they mussed up Akechi's hair that day in the cafe in Kichijoji, getting to feel his hair wasn't the point of the action, but Joker noticed all the same.
Maybe those moments hit all the harder because they aren't meant to be flirting--just an innocent (or in Akechi's case, sinnocent) interaction. All the same, it is indeed future Umie's problem. Joker isn't nearly so dense as to fail to notice someone else's feelings, especially towards them, but she lucked out by blushing right when she would've been red in the face anyway.
Besides which, Akechi might have insinuated that Umie has a crush on Ren, but that is an entirely different person from Joker of the Phantom Thieves.
Umie perches on a rock, and Joker stands nearby with hands in their pockets. "I can only imagine," they reply mildly. There is a pause when she asks for a promise in return for sharing something. She... probably means Akechi, doesn't she? Given context. But there's no reason for Joker to know that Umie and Akechi are former schoolmates or that they have an active relationship now, so they make a show of clutching their chin.
"Hmm... Well, that depends entirely on the nature of the information and the 'certain someone' it could be used against. As a gentleman thief, I would never make a promise I intend to break, and so I shouldn't promise here before I know... but on the other hand, you've piqued my curiosity, and surely you won't tell me without extracting that promise. Hmmm..."
They tuck their hand into their pocket and turn to her. "Very well. I promise, Umie Akabane."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It's all a part of being an oracle of the past: everything will become a problem for the future, as all your mistakes lie in the past, while your self in the present sits at the helm, making them.
Perhaps, a lesson would be learned by Umie if she would open herself up more. But what sort of lesson is that, if it's not written in pain? The crawling chaos that watches from everyone's souls, or, at least, the nugget of him that rests at the seat of Umie's own, is sure that is the only outcome that can happen.
And oh, does it make the piece indelicately known as Mai-chan watch with rapt attention.
Ren, meanwhile, sits as someone pleasant Umie likes, perhaps with a touch of protectiveness. A young friend she wants to be a good example for, who should never know her as anybody more than a boring, normal adult-- a person that is not the exactly named Umie Akabane in front of Joker, right now.
... who has decided to gossip with Joker about Akechi.
Because it is, indeed, Goro Akechi. Life is ever about cycles.
Joker ponders aloud, and Umie allows him the proper stage, watching with an ever widening, ever cheeky smile.
"Go-ro A-kech-i-san," she answers, in singsong. "If I am going to be your go-between, it'd be good for me to put that on the table, wouldn't it?"
"He pondered that the Phantom Thieves would... change me. Make me be the merry wife for a man in Sumaru City right now. You wouldn't know his name; he's still starting out in his political career," she murmurs dryly, her chin balanced on her palm. "But if he had a pretty, demure, sweet wife..."
She shrugs. "Those are my words I'm adding. I'm still pissed off at that guy for calling the Old Maid on me." 'That guy' meaning not Akechi, obviously.
There's a pause, oin Umie's part, as the words settle in the air in front of her. Something... doesn't sit right with them. Something does, indeed, not make sense.
".... Though, Akechi-san did wonder if that was really the case," she adds, a touch more softly.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Umie sing-songs Akechi's name, and Joker can't help but smile. "Oh? Are you saying you can be a go-between for that Detective Prince as well? How fascinating. I wonder if he would let you?" They gesture at her with a twirl of their red-gloved hand. "But do go on."
When she actually relates what Akechi said, though... that smile fades. Akechi thought that? ...No wonder Umie thinks that even Persona Users can undergo a change of heart. At the same time, though, it isn't so strange to Joker that Akechi might theorize that. No, not that specifically, they would never, but that he might not realize that Persona Users aren't distorted and so their distorted desires can't be stolen.
...But why would he suggest to Umie that they'd make her into some politician's trophy wife? There's no way he'd believe that. Unless this was a conversation from before Ren and Akechi met?
"How long ago was this?" Joker wonders aloud. "That your Goro Akechi pondered this, I mean. And why did he think we would do something so vile?"
They pause a moment later, staring at her when she asserts this Sumaru man was the one who called the Old Maid. They frown. "If this man wants you for his wife, why would he call out a hit on you?" they ask. It could be a case of 'if I can't have you, no one can,' but if Akechi also doubted it...
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"I doubt it. He doesn't even know you saved me." Umie's sly smile continues, up until--
'How long ago was this?'
Joker's disbelief causes Umie to reconsider.
.... Wait. No. That's not how it... went. She's misremembering. That's not how it went, at all.
'Are you sure?'
No, she's quite sure, now. That's not what Akechi said.
".... You're right," Umie says, quietly, a touch shaken as her chin dipped low. ".... He didn't say that. At all."
Of course, she *wanted* to believe it was true, that Akechi would be that vicious.
Akechi could be. But his jabs were very specific.
"No, he said... something different. It was to make a point. That *Honjou-san*, the man I was talking about-- if it was him using the power of changing someone's heart, to make me happily walk down the aisle in a bridal gown."
She believed her mistake because it made her feel vindicated.
".... _Not the Phantom Thieves_," she adds, looking up. "You're *correct*, Joker. He never said that, at all. That was me, _misremembering_."
(As in answer to something that refuses to answer at all.)
Why would a man call a hit on someone he wanted to be his wife?
"... Because--" Anger answers, but Umie, her eyes on Joker, closes her eyes. "He wouldn't. He was never that kind of person."
....
A soft, deflating sigh leaves the short young woman; fleeting thoughts of crushes and adrenaline flee like the tide, replaced with the cold reality.
"Truth is, I've been helping Akechi on a case of his. Unrelated to your own. If he gets down to the bottom of it all," she begins, a distanced, monotone falling over each word, like a footstep towards something inevitable, "it'll be something that will help me. It's something that has nothing to do with the Phantom Thieves, and it's something he can't even put on his social media. It'll be an entirely thankless task."
She holds out her hands in front of her, like before. "You should know about it, Joker, if you ever dare decide to take on anyone further into the NWO. Akechi-san may give you confirmation of whatever I say, but." She holds up her left hand, with the charm. "Do *you* want to know?"
The right, she holds out,
But doesn't allude to what that option is.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Umie seems quite self-assured... up until Joker questions her. Then, ever so rapidly, it all falls apart. She questions her memory and realizes she was wrong, all humor draining from her as she bows her head. It's good that she can acknowledge that she was mistaken, but it's also a little disturbing...
They frown as she admits they're right; Akechi never said that, she simply misremembered--or perhaps misinterpreted--what he'd said. And this person who wanted her as his wife? Wouldn't have called a hit on her, actually. Joker watches her sigh like air let out of a balloon.
It occurs to them that she did not actually say how long ago this was. Then again, if Akechi never actually suggested this was the Phantom Thieves' doing, maybe it doesn't matter.
Still, her behavior feels... strange. Even if she realized she'd misremembered or misinterpreted or misunderstood, she seems to be taking it very hard. She's even sharing information about herself and Akechi totally unrelated to Joker, totally unprompted, in a tone as flat as a coffin lid. Nevertheless, what she says is intriguing. A case that will help Umie, that has nothing to do with the Phantom Thieves, that he can't put on his social media. In other words, it's something he has to keep secret. They recall how terrified she was of that group she called the NWO--the implication that she'd run away from them and expected them to be chasing her. Could that be it...?
Sure enough, as soon as Joker speculates about it, Umie confirms it aloud. Says that they ought to know about it, but implies that maybe they want otherwise by asking instead of telling, hands held out as if offering a pair of red and blue pills.
Joker bares their teeth in a sharp grin.
"Come now, Umie Akabane. You can't tease all that and not expect me to be bursting with curiosity. Or, to put it in another vernacular..." Joker hops up to sit next to her and, folding their legs, snaps their fingers thrice in a zig-zag motion. "Dish, girlfriend," they conclude, smirking.
It's irreverent, but not meant to be disrespectful--rather, their aim is to make her laugh again and relax.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It's a confidence built on being in control, but Joker's words carry their own weight with Umie, just by virtue of several coincidences that fed onto one another like dominos.
Umie doesn't know Akechi as well as Joker; the two's relationship is different than between Ren and Akechi, or their alternate selves. However, that relationship has led Umie to appreciate Akechi's sharpness and mind (even if it's at the cost of her blood pressure).
The thoughts were her own; the memories were her own. The blur between the warnings of two people (or 'one person and one Mai-chan') was a natural progression, and one Mai-chan would naturally not care to correct. After all, Umie thinks, it was never in the girl's nature to simply correct what life would naturally correct on its own.
The path that led from saying something that placed Akechi in a bad light winded itself into wanting to give Joker something never asked for. ... And how could he, she thinks, if she's been throwing everything at the wall *except* the thing he *should* know?
Like paint splattered on a wall, she sees all the things she's thrown at the Phantom Thieves, and never the one that may present the biggest danger of all.
..... Except she *doesn't* know that, does she?
To which Joker lays down a winning card: the fool.
As Joker comes to settle next to her, with that charming (umie your bias is showing) lackadaisical air.
*snap**snap**snap*
Work smarter, not harder.
Umie stares at Joker, in that wide-eyed, dumbfounded manner. "... Really," she says, with that flat tone. And she begins laughing, unable to hold it back. "You *didn't* have to do that."
... But it flatters Joker, nonetheless, that he'd seemingly lay down his cool and calm image, just for a moment.
"But I'm glad you did." She straightens, holding her hands out, this time in a shrug, answering Joker with a sharp grin of her own.. "It's not fair that you get to be the one who's cool and dramatic all the time! Sometimes I want to try it out, alright?" It's not entirely the reason, but Umie can't help but poke a little fun at herself as well.
"Alright~" Wait. She just called him Joker. _She wanted to save that_.
.... But it feels better, to tell it like this. Almost...
Her heart races.
(Shit.)
"So," she starts again, mentally gripping ahold of the reins. "That's a yes, right?"
*No wonder* Akechi liked to play around like this with whatever secrets he had to tell her. But still, she'll proceed, at the first sign of Joker's acceptance, and holds up her right hand, and with her left, pulls her sleeve back, revealing that damned thumbsleeve she's always worn. A few tugs, and it'd be off. Secret displayed.
No going back, now.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
In all fairness, it's not like it's hard to put Akechi in a bad light to a member of the Phantom Thieves. The badness of that light should at least be based on the truth, though.
For now, though, Joker does their Z-snap and smirks at Umie. "Really," they say without a trace of embarrassment. They're rewarded with her peals of laughter, and their smirk grows into a grin. "There are many things in life one doesn't have to do, which are nonetheless fun to do."
Especially if they meet their goal of breaking the tension and getting an upset woman to relax. "Fair's fair," they reply. "I certainly don't have a monopoly on cool dramatics."
They do sober when Umie asks for confirmation, and does so with a single nod. She responds by pulling down her thumbsleeve and revealing... something. Joker peers at it, uncertain of what they're seeing--or rather, why it matters here and now.
"Is that... a tattoo?" they hazard. They glance up to meet Umie's masked eyes. "Some kind of mark that says you belong to the NWO, perhaps?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'Really,' says Joker, and he means it.
And it loosens something tied straight in her shoulders. It'll be okay. She'll show it, and then, they can continue, now without that heavy weight.
(That is the only secret. No other secrets are needed.)
It's all a matter of thinking about it in the right context: staring at the Mark while she washes face, or does her nails. Or... when she's flopped over on the couch, the curtains drawn, looking through some reference book she bought from the Cardboard Dragon. Or when the skin there inevitable itches, like it always does, because that's still her skin there.
So, Umie forces that cognitive spell on it, tugging the black stretchy fabric away like it was nothing.
Like a glass jar held over a firehose, there'll always be that split second that someone could be foolish enough to think it'll work, for some reason, like how a foam sword could become something mighty enough to cleave shadows in two.
The black tattoo is there, inevitably, same as the last time Umie looked at it. The skin around it is a little paler, having not seen the sun as much. It'd be the sort that would make sense for anyone to cover up in polite Japanese society, with the coiled, possessive black hand doing Umie no favors in looking anything *other* than something just a little too sinister to be seen on anyone that didn't have something else to match. Added to that is the outline of a shadow, and the three inverted dots, as if there was supposed to be a face there, but something went tipsy-turvy, leaving it upsidedown. The lines are a little too perfect, the black too unnatural. But, through someone's mundane eyes, that's all they'd see; a tattoo, on a blonde-haired girl.
Maybe, that's all Joker will see as well.
"Close," Umie says. "I don't know what it is."
Liar
"... I know... *some* things," she corrects, as Joker's eyes glance into hers.
This... *was* her idea. Myunghon grasped that something wasn't right, to begin with, but that was in the light of the Cardboard Dragon, with her senses as a Navigator behind her.
"They *wish* it was that easy." Umie's mouth curves, lips slightly opening, as she crosses her legs. "I'm just a loose end."
One that very nearly got killed, multiple times, she reminds herself. "But it's been showing up, more and more. Even if I can't *see* it, I can sense it, when it's being used. You would as well, Detective-san."
Her eyes lid, behind that mask, almost feeling just a little *safer* that it's there. "It's why your group came to my rescue, after all. And why we all came to Aoba Park, even if we didn't know Seki-san was in danger until we got there. That same pulse happens when anyone uses its powers, and anyone with a Persona will feel it, if they're close enough. For some reason, the Old Maid has it."
She *knows* that reason, but that's not something she's about to tell, even to Joker.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It looks, initially, like a tattoo. There is something odd about it though. Joker can't quite pin down what. Umie claims she doesn't know what it is, then amends herself that she knows some things. They school their expression to maintain neutrality. Inside, though, they wonder if this is another case of her misunderstanding or misremembering something.
...or, perhaps, having a distorted perception.
Hm.
Making a mental note to run Umie's name through the Meta-Nav later, just in case--it shouldn't work, since she has a Persona, but clearly there's something weird going on with her, so who knows?--they do one other thing they can do at this moment:
They activate their Third Eye.
Normally, this would only be for seeing things that are hidden, which wouldn't seem to apply to a tattoo, but maybe there's extra markings that can't be seen normally. Something like that.
Nothing like that suddenly becomes visible, but... there's a feeling that suddenly flares inside Joker, unexplained and irrational. A feeling of... anxiety? Dread? Like if they keep this up, something horrible will happen. ...It's a lot like the feeling they get when the Old Maid makes those supernatural spaces of theirs.
They drop their Third Eye. The feeling rapidly goes away.
They activate it again. The feeling rapidly returns.
They do this a couple more times to confirm the pattern, then drop it officially because if they keep this up they're going to have a goddamn heart attack. They're sure glad they're already sitting down. It's an active effort to not clutch their chest and have a panic attack. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. In. Out. In. Out.
"...Yes, I remember that," they murmur once they've collected themsef. "So... it's not a mark of initiation, but there are a number of people who have it, including yourself." They grip their chin in thought, studying her. She has something like this, yet she's only a 'loose end'? "I believe you were trying to imply earlier that you don't know where it came from, but I also believe that's a lie." They rest their hands on their folded legs, now deadly serious. "It's time you confessed, Umie Akabane. What is your connection with the NWO--and who are they? What is this power, and why do you associate it with them before the Old Maid, someone who has it too?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It definitely wouldn't hurt. And they could do it safely, after their meeting with Umie concludes.
Unlike this:
There's something hidden, alright. Can Joker sense it? It's undefined territory, the path they're tracing.
Something a person can't put their finger on, touching on the subject like a taps of a bouncing temari ball cast down a red hallway.
Something is there, and it _____ _ _
Even that much may be beyond the point Joker will go, or even can, in this specific set of circumstances.
Umie is clueless, at first, but she still has her eyes, and she's close enough to recognize that something isn't right. She expected Joker'd sense something, she wonders if there could have been a better place for it; the Mark's remained an Unknown in how it interacted with anything, especially Mementos. Or the Dark Hour, even.
Mai-chan should say something, about now, and it's making Umie anxious that she's *not* hearing anything. (Which is, likely, the reason why.)
"Joker, hey." All pretense drops; she doesn't care what she's calling him now. Umie has a crush on Joker, but she's also someone who would, in a pinch, not want Joker hurt beyond what he was prepared to take (or what Umie was prepared to accept for anyone around her). Eyebrows furrow behind the mask; Umie's lips are pursed. It's subtle, but, when she plays back Joker's usual demeanor, even the sight of Joker taking those deep breaths in and out is alarming. "... Are you..." _Of course he wouldn't be okay, it's always been bad news_, Umie chastizes herself. _Take control of the situation_.
"... Hold on." She reaches for the small duffel bag and unzips it, taking out an unopened bottle of water and quietly offering.
It's not dented Joker's analytical nature any. Whether the bottle is accepted or not, she sits there, taking in a deep breath of her own, before continuing. "Call it a reflex; it's not like I can take it off when I'm at the hospital."
What is Umie's connection? In the face of that serious gaze, Umie responds in kind. "Alright." She turns towards Joker fully on that rock, shifting one leg on the rock in a small attempt to make the direct pose slightly more comfortable.
There's no amount of comfort to be gained here, but there's a freedom to be gained too, if she rises to Joker's challenge.
"That's where I got it. Likewise, many of their agents have it, too."
When did Old Maid get his? Was it before or after that fire at the orphanage?
"I've felt it in some other areas as well. There was a carnival, in Sumaru City. Something was there, that felt like it, but it wasn't the Old Maid."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Something is there, and it is terrifying.
What was it that Lovecraft said about fear of the unknown...?
Joker had thought they'd kept it together reasonably well, too, but obviously it's noticeable if someone takes several deep breaths in a row. Umie offers them a drink from her duffel bag--even addresses them by their chosen codename--and they can only offer her a wry smile in return. She's worried about them. They're touched, really. Whatever mistakes she's made in the past... she's a good person.
"Thank you," they say, accepting the bottled water and unscrewing the cap to take a drink. Dehydration may not be the issue here, but hydrating certainly doesn't hurt. That doesn't stop them from calling Umie out in front of... hmm, what are they in front of at this point? Oh well, let's just stick with the usual 'God and everyone.'
"Fair enough," they say of her reflexive lie. She admits that she got this eerie tattoo from the NWO, as did many of their agents. However, the way she talks about 'other areas,' including a carnival in Sumaru... Joker vaguely recalls seeing ads about this, though they didn't go, not being especially interested at the time. However... that only partially answers one of their several questions.
"Why did they give this tattoo to you?" they prompt. Maybe one question at a time will work better. Or maybe-- "If you mean to say you refuse to answer, it's much quicker to say as much rather than to not respond. I'll simply keep pestering you otherwise." They crook a half-smile. "I know that old pony of ignoring a question and hoping the other person will give up."
They use it a fair amount themselves.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Funny, that anyone would think of that author.
Or have a collection of short stories in their *other* bag, now disguised with the book cover of something much more boring sounding. (So-young's sacrifice of having to consider the possibilities just from seeing Umie read it will not be in vain.)
If it had been any other situation, Umie may have missed it; but when one expects something to happen, one will find it, she finds.
It's enough to notice, but enough for Umie to wonder just how much it takes for Joker to ever display fear, or sadness, especially in front of someone else.
(Wouldn't that be another reason, to wear that role, as another mask?)
One question at a time may be the better option.
..... if Umie could help herself to be someone else *other than Umie, right now*.
"You mean, the same thing you have to do, in order to survive?" she chirps straight back. "The other thing I like to do: offer another piece of information instead. If I was particularly crafty," she continues, "I'd never reveal my other wrist, where there's something even worse."
Thankfully, for Joker's health, all that's there on that other wrist, when Umie pulls it off, is bare skin, standing slightly paler against the red bracelet there. "It looks worse when you only wear one."
And if Joker were to think she was going to hold out, once both wrists are covered, Umie speaks.
"Because I told lies." Her eyelids lower behind that red mask, but she keeps her gaze on Joker's. ".... As kids tend to do, sometimes, if feeding into the delusions of adults around them gave them the attention that otherwise was just out of reach."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
How much indeed? For a youth who has been taught by many people over time to be subdued, who is also the leader of an important group, it's important for Joker to remain calm and unflappable at all times, regardless of how they actually feel. People are counting on them. (People don't want to bother with them.) To break the outlook they were raised with, that they believe in however differently in turn... It'd have to be one hell of a blow.
Would Umie be able to wear that mask all the way to the end, or would she give up first? Well... some things maybe are better off staying a mystery.
"Precisely. So you know I understand," they quip in return, as if their conversation were a tennis match. They smile as she remarks on her other preferred tactics. They do wonder for a second about her other arm--but she pulls down that sleeve and shows there's nothing there but a bracelet. They nod. "Sensible. To wear only one would draw more questions too, and you're trying to not stand out."
They think of the non-prescription glasses they wear as Ren Amamiya. The glasses they wear to look more innocent and harmless, to avoid the enmity of those who would judge them based on their reputation... by prompting them to judge them by their looks instead. C'est la vie, unfortunately.
They frown when she replies, telling the shape of the truth rather than the whole story. That's fine. They understand if there are details she can't (bear to) share. "...I see. So this is something adults forced on you," they say quietly, a note of sympathy in their tone... and anger on her behalf. "That's truly abhorrent."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It'd be a troubling contest, one that Umie would likely lose.
The tears are sweeter for some if they take forever to come, after all.
The conversation has become its own sort of tennis match, and Umie finds herself eager to respond.
"Which gets annoying when it's hot like this," Umie admits, her gaze drifting aside briefly with a grimace.
It's funny, how that all works. Ren's looks work on Umie, despite Umie deploying similar tactics on her own, without realizing that Ren's taken it much further than she has. No one would be fooled by her glasses, after all. It's clearly fashion first.
'So this is something adults forced on you.'
"... Just as something was forced on at least one of you." Or maybe just one.
Her eyes close slightly, like a observant cat. "... So you know I understand some of it partially, as well." This reveal, at least, is for Joker's benefit. "Even if I don't know any details."
.... How many times has Umie exploded on someone at the softest mention of Tatsuzou's name?
"I might've stayed in the shadows for a lot longer if I hadn't had enough of it." Her fingers encircle her bare ankle, bended there in front of her.
'So the Phantom Thieves...' What would Joker say, she thinks, if he could hear Ren?
"... Someone told me once, that your group was Justice, and that you saved them." Umie leans forward, just a small amount, towards Joker, the fabric of her jacket rustling. "The first target you went after-- they were one of his victims," Umie adds, using the pronoun to mask Ren's privacy.
From Joker's side of things, if there was suspicion, or a cheeky reveal that she'd figured something out, that particular tennis ball has yet to be revealed, if it even exists.
"What would you say, to that person?" Pause, as she leans back, her poise shifting. ".... I mean, I'm not going to tell them, since, ah." She frowns, rubbing the back of her neck, giving Joker a flat expression. "I'm *not* that kind of person, okay."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Joker gives Umie another sympathetic look as she complains of the heat. They can just imagine.
But she observes in turn that The Phantoms have at least one victim among their number. Joker doesn't respond. Their sober silence is response enough--especially when she uses this observation to point out that she understands too.
...And that, no doubt, is part of why she's in favor of The Phantoms and their changes of heart, beyond the fact that they came to her aid without hesitation or desire for compensation. And so she stepped out of the shadows, into... shadows of a different sort. Darkness is still darkness; it's just more comfortable when you can enjoy it with reliable friends.
Their eyes widen slightly behind their mask, though, when Umie invokes their own words. It's a bit of a shock at first, but this was a recent conversation, right before the meeting between The Phantoms and Cardboard Dragon. It makes sense that it would be on her mind.
She used a 'they' pronoun... Is she just being general, or did she notice...?
They play it cool, either way.
They do chuckle when Umie promises she's not going to kiss and tell, though. "Aren't you? You were prepared to gossip about that Detective Prince with me, after all," they tease. "I wonder how quickly you'll gossip to him in return?" They wink, then shake their head. "I jest. I will trust you to be discreet, Umie Akabane."
'I will trust you' is not the same as 'I do trust you,' for the record.
"To the one you mention, I would say... nothing. I needn't any showers of gratitude or things of that sort." They slip their legs up beneath them, then hop down to the track-ridden ground. They look back over their shoulder at Umie. "Their salvation is enough for me."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Darkness is still darkness. Arsene and Badb are the stuff of dark, but their methods and creed are different. Where the two meet, like any two Personas that draw from the same vein, is probably where Umie finds herself still drawn to helping them in her own ways.
Joker's silence is given its due, Umie not saying more, but communicating with the even curve of her lips and the upward curve of her lower eyelids, narrowing the amount her gaze shows through the holes of her mask.
Her hand's already getting more even, she thinks. One day, it'd be worth it to see if she could do Joker's mask herself, even if it'd likely have to be burnt or otherwise made to disappear.
Nothing is infinite, including time.
A part of her wishes they could just keep talking, in a way.
A part of her still remembers the touch of Joker's hand against her hair. It was a sweet gesture, and could have stemmed from so many things in the moment.
When was the last time, she felt like this?
She shrinks away from so much physical contact, usually, and the rare times she allows for it, it's been to comfort someone who feels like they the've needed it. There's been at least a few, and like how she emphasized with Panther's words, she emphasized with that need to feel that sense of someone caring about them. (No one needs to become a Oracle of Lies for the sake of her attention.)
Meanwhile, Joker's own shock, not expected by Umie at the moment, manages to escape her notice. "What sort of person do you think I am?" Umie laughs. "Ask him yourself, if you're brave enough." The tease is gently placed, with fond tones. "If I let one or two things slip, well. You *do* have dirt on me as well now, don't you?" That smile finally bears teeth, becoming as toothy as Joker's own, if still impish, at least on Umie's face. "I guess I'll have to trust you to not reveal it to the world how terrible I really am."
'To the one you mention....' "Then I'll have to tell them to keep that thousand yen they've been saving up." a ha ha ha she definitely doesn't know Ren is Joker
But, it's time to go. "Right," she says, her voice betraying some hesitation. It's still Mementos, after all. "Last time I enjoyed myself this much, the Reaper showed up," she notes, dryly. "And then, they showed up when I was having a terrible time."
Ah, there were still some orders of business, though, right? Summoning Badb with a breath, Umie walks in the next, though at this point. "Keep calling Old Maid the Old Maid, in Sumaru City, if you haven't already figured out why. As your name gets out among Persona Users, it may interact with the rumors of *his other* name, as well. Just how the city works."
Though, Umie realizes, just saying that may enable it to become true, if Joker chooses to believe it.
"... Secondly," she adds, picking up her pace, "whether the current deal goes through with the Cardboard Dragon, what I do is my own business. As far as I'm concerned, what we feel towards each other--" she clears her throat, "t-that is, groups-- that doesn't need a 'deal' for us to consider each other as people with common goals."
Damn it why is the exit so close?!
"That is to say," she continues, then slows, "you have my support, as Umie Akabane. For whatever that'll mean, in the future."
There's a insipid giggle in the back of her mind, at Umie's words. Don't, she quietly pleads. Don't take this away from me, Mai-chan.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
When was the last time Umie felt like this, after enduring in the shadow of an unwanted fiancé and the paranoia of a romantic partner trying to control her?
Maybe the safest person to fall in love with is someone tall, dark, and mysterious. If Umie doesn't know Joker's true identity--if she doesn't tell them how she feels--then there's no need for either of them to commit. She can just be around them and have fun with the thrill of the unknown...
After all, fear and love are so very much alike. Just look up the suspension bridge effect.
"Hmmm, maybe I will. It would be amusing to see the look on that Detective Prince's face if I swooped into his apartment one Dark Hour," Joker jokes. ...half-jokes. Now that they've said it, they're starting to picture it, and they're starting to actually want to see it... But Akechi lives somewhere in Sumaru, and some things you really shouldn't risk.
Joker chuckles about the dirt, though. "Then I suppose we're in an informational Mexican stand-off. How alarming," they say, wholly un-alarmed. "We'll simply both have to keep that in mind."
Especially since Umie makes it clear that actually, she hasn't guessed anything about them and their alternate identity at all. That's honestly a relief. Joker trusts her a little more now than before, but the fewer people who know who they are, the better. There's already so many people who do, including Akechi himself...
It is time to go, though. They've lingered on this floor too long, and as Umie says, they really don't want to try to two-man the Reaper. As Umie joins them, she offers advice. They nod once. "Of course. We already don't acknowledge that fiend as 'Joker.'"
As the two of them move on, Badb scanning the area for trouble, Umie stumbles over her words. Previously, her blushing was timed well enough for Joker to not read into it, but the way she clears her throat here, right after what she says about 'what we feel towards each other'... Joker glances at her. "..."
...Akechi had implied before that Umie was into them. Ren had scoffed at him at the time, but was this actually what he meant...?
"We'll keep that in mind," they choose to reply. "Thank you for your support."
And then they'll leave it at that. Whether they're on to something or reading too much into it, they have no desire to humiliate her.