2025-12-01: Rebellious Scions
- Log: Rebellious Scions
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Umie Akabane
- Where: Iwatodai - Streets
- OOC Date: 2025-12-01
- IC Date: Sun, Aug 19 2012
- Summary: Tsubasa happens to run into Umie when they take a walk to clear their head, after Ichika's stable enough to step away from. Immediately identifying her as the girl Ichika mentioned, they try to warn her... though their dismal mood makes them a poor communicator. Umie does her best to help and put Ichika and Tsubasa's welfares first in her mind, despite the fears and coping mechanisms in her own head.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Fox's notion that the Unawakened man the unnamed Strega(Or NWO?) operative(?) (ie, Noriaki) dragged into the Dark Hour could, in fact, possibly find himself awake during the Dark Hour again. (Maybe it wasn't in those words, but it still stuck with Umie.)
Luckily, Umie had gotten the man's name. Unfortunately, she quickly found out there were many, many people with that name in Port Island alone, and that was even assuming the man wasn't just some poor tourist.
Thankfully Umie now suddenly has a lot of free time on her hands due to the risk of a certain serial killer walking into her place of work. (... also she really needed something to take her mind off Eiji's Palace.)
Nomming into a curry bun and drinking from her soda as she sits at a park bench from where he works, she gets the confirmation his lax social presence on the internet didn't, when he strolled out of his place of work. She had wondered if she'd have to get closer, but thankfully, the man walks across the street and down the sidewalk, allowing Umie to stay where she needs to be, and allow him to walk by...
... and continue right past her without a word or glance.
There'd be no recognition if his eyes came across hers; she had properly used her mask this time, ensuring his almost killer wouldn't recognize her if they met again during the day. As such, her outfit is one of her usual ones, being a white blouse, white wrist sleeves, and shorts, as well as sandals.
Everything is as it should be; her eyes cast down to the sidewalk.
The wind's picking up; maybe it'll rain soon.
She hopes it does, even if she didn't bring an umbrella.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Umie is OUT HERE BEING A CREEP, but guess who turns the corner to see her sitting up ahead?
It's Tsubasa with the steel chair!!!
Wait, no, they don't have a steel chair, they have a --
"BORK!" Lance barks, happily, bounding up to go investigate the humans. She catches up to Umie, first, and the Tosa Inu wags her tail rapidly as she sniffs at her, ears up-perked.
Tsubasa whistles to her, calling out: "Oi, don't bother th' lady," which of course is the last nail in the coffin of there clearly being a lady right there.
Luckily(?), they can't recognise Umie from the back...
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
A quiet moment of reflection is allowed to hang as the man continues watching on. He doesn't stop and miraculously have some reason to look back at Umie.
Umie didn't sense anything from him, either; while not an exact qualifier for someone being Unawakened, a shrouding ability would mean he was at least adjusting.
The unnamed Strega(?) agent inelegantly named 'Bento-san' will likely strike again, possibly on the same person. She can't be everywhere all the time, but at least here, someone got to go home.
She closes her eyes and takes in a breath, slowly letting it out.
BORK, said the Lance.
Umie jolts upright, then looks down as the Tosa Inu comes right up to her.
"Whoahwhoahwhoah, I don't think a curry bun'd be real good for dogs," Umie laughs, lifting her half eaten curry bun high in the air. "You sure you asked your human?"
Looking over, she sees Tsubasa. "Huh, wasn't expecting you here."
... .... And her mind, despite not seeing Tsubasa's self reflected in the chained flowers in those back rooms, still comes back to Eiji's Palace, due to Tsubasa's connection to Ichika.
... No, neither of them need to know this, either.
She files this away, adopting a casual half grin to cover the wince that wants to be there.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Huh?" Tsubasa blinks, when they hear Umie's voice, and then see her face. "It's you!" That can't be a coincidence...
(It is a coincidence, Tsubasa. You're paranoid. Go home.)
But Umie wasn't expecting to see them here, so it at least wasn't engineered by her. "Hey," they call out, jogging up to her. "Got a minute? Let's talk."
She's in the middle of something? No she isn't. She's just sitting there.
And now Tsubasa is also sitting on that bench!!! They slump over the other side, arm over the backrest so they can turn to face her.
"It's you, isn't it?" They ask, with no preamble. "The girl whose parents are gunnin' for her 'cuz she declined to play nice with 'the conspiracy'. You came up," Tsubasa explains, in their stoic tones.
"In a conversation that fuck Eiji had with his friend, apparently... explainin' how people like me get back in line or beaten into it."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
If it's not a coincidence, it's a risky gamble.
... But there's been many, many points where Umie has been in a spot that is 'inconvenient' for others, especially if she's the one being included in that 'others'.
'It's you!' Well, this is still a neutral greeting, all things considered, but Umie's already speaking. Look at her go. "Yep. You found me," she says, "My park bench camouflage was a complete failure." Considering that the bench is green while no green has been involved in any part of Umie's outfit--
Though Umie is surprised when Tsubasa takes the initiative to jog up to her and ask for a minute of her time. "Sure," she says, crossing her legs. "What's up?"
Maybe it's about Eiji's Palace? But Tsubasa'd have no idea Umie was there... right?
'It's you, isn't it?' "... Depends on the accusation," Umie manages to quip, before Tsubasa...
.... surprises her again. "Wait."
Umie places her hands in front of her in an X formation. "Where did I come up?" Umie says, as Tsubasa mentions the word 'Eiji'.
Her expression changes completely; she tilts her chin slightly, studying Tsubasa's face. Sure, Tsubasa knows some things already, like Personas and the like, thanks to Umie's own goof-ups, but...
"Your source was confused there, if they meant me," Umie finally says, with a sigh. "My parents are playing the 'politely wait for things to blow over' game; not that assholes like Eiji would know the difference."
It's more complicated than that, of course. "They, for one, don't know about the shit I do," she says, carefully. "That organization would have to admit to a lot of things just to get them on the same page."
Her lips are thin, however. How is her name on that man's lips?!
"But I suppose I am that 'you', in a matter of speaking."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah, no," Tsubasa dismisses Umie's bench camouflage out of hand, with all the casual brutality of a teenager.
(Which may just be playing along with her joke, but they sure say it straight-faced.)
They're not much for joking when they sit down, though. "Ugh," Tsubasa plants their palm into their face, groaning into it, when she asks where she came up. "Stupid. Okay. Sec."
They gesture out with an open palm, in some attempt to communicate they're not out to get her. "Uh, I guess she said they were supposed to crush you, not that they were tryin'. Or maybe it's someone actin' on their behalf. Pre' sure that's worse, but whatever." It's not necessarily worse than having parents willing to sacrifice them, but Tsubasa's immediately thinking of what other NWO agents could tell her parents in a clutch moment.
"Anyway. 'Pparently me buddy Ogre went and talked to that fuck Hajime, 'cept, like... I dunno, givin' him a truth serum or some shit. Made him say all his inside thoughts out loud. Somethin' like that." Tsubasa, who isn't supposed to know about the supernatural world, can't just invoke Shadow Hajime like that. Clearly this is just how it was explained to them! "He was sayin' how Eiji were tellin' him 'bout some shit with one of his dad's friends. Like. The one who made th' police try 'n charge me. Ran into him since Eiji thought to go tell th' media I did it, 'pparently. So this guy --"
They lean forward, pulling out their phone to pull up a webpage about Furudate Development Industries. "-- Daichi Furudate," they say, showing her the screen. "Bigshit property guy up in Tokyo. Haven't had no chance to go through edinet yet, but I bet I pull up some mad shit. Wants to buy me off of Eiji, set me straight." They just -- say it. No particular weight of emotion behind it. "But he was talkin' 'bout you too, I guess. Ogre reckoned you were at risk. Not, like, you, to be clear. Some 'girl'. ... but I ain't seen no other creeps jump me in the middle of the night sayin' names they hate hearin' and knowin' too much. An' meetin' you right after... ain't a coincidence, man."
It's still a coincidence. Tsubasa is just paranoid.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
The flat 'no' from Tsubasa draws a chuckle and a wry half-grin as Umie sips from her soda, holding it between two dark apricot-nailed fingers as she replies. "I know, right? Total mismatch."
However, the time for quips is over. Umie's already said her opinion of Tsubasa's mannerisms in referring to themselves before, so she doesn't here, taking a moment to reseal her curry bun in its acrylic sleeve and stow it away in her purse. "I'm not going anywhere," she says instead.
"No, I get it." Umie shakes her head. "I moved out so I wouldn't be everyone's 'problem' anymore. As long as I was under their roof, the pressure would increase. The man in question... from what I've gathered, he's low on the ladder of things. But a woman who refuses a man in front of a crowd..." Her lips twitch.
Like she wanted to yell.
She wouldn't be the maiden, dying while she waited for a prince. The prince had already shown up, and he was rancid.
Instead, she smirks. "If I wasn't so determined to ignore all his efforts to ruin my future, I should really thank that asshole. What was I going to do in college? All my dreams were about just getting *away*." ... It's more complicated than that, which is likely responsible for the confusion; but certain things like 'Marks' and 'loose threads' aren't going to come in conversations like this. ...... Or would they?
Ogre. Hajime. Truth serum? Inside thoughts? "Right," Umie starts. She'll push the discrepancies aside (the truth serum bit feels a bit too much like something *she'd* say to excuse her own misadventures when she was younger); she needs to better understand what information was exchanged, and what Hajime knows.
"Hajime-san's the 'friend' Eiji has, right?" Umie confirms. "Keep going, I need to know everything that was said." Her tone is clear and sober, her gaze concentrated on Tsubasa; there's no doubt that Umie doesn't disbelieve the most important parts of what Tsubasa has to say.
"Daichi Furudate," she echoes back, drawing out a small pad of paper and jotting it down with a Triple 7 pen. Circles are draw, arrows pointing to other spots.
'Wants to buy me off of Eiji...' And then, just when Umie thinks she's in control of the conversation, her haste in confirming something blows it completely out of the water. "... So it's involving you too..." She makes a sound in her throat, grimacing. Even if Tsubasa says it plainly, Umie's feelings on the matter are filled with the image of flower people strapped to beds and the screams of people in pain.
She can't wait for Akechi and Katsuya's Justice. "Have you told all this to Merry-san at the Cardboard Dragon?" she says.
No, all their abilities would do is gain information, at the cost of *knowing* everything Eiji has done. But--
Akechi's words float through her mind. 'I do not believe the supernatural is fully off limits when dealing with criminals such as this.'
That's it. They can gain the information from the *others* named here, right? Just like with Kaneshiro.
She's quiet, for a moment, as she thinks, pressing her hand, holding the pen, to her chin. "I appreciate the warning. I suppose I hadn't considered my name'd come up." But in truth, her mind's concentrating more on Tsubasa, and Ichika.
"If I was someone who believed in luck, I'd say 'you were lucky', but I'd more a fan of calling it an opportunity. I have reason to believe your friend, Ichika Kawase-san, is in danger too, but if you're aware of the danger you're in, I'm pretty sure she knows too."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Must be hard hearin' 'bout Eiji now," Tsubasa at least tries to express empathy over Umie refusing one of their men in front of a crowd, though their tone remains stoic. Of course, they have just assumed that Umie has heard, but why wouldn't they? It's a Rumour. Umie is, well, also paranoid. No way she doesn't keep up with all the conspiracy-laden rumours.
They look distant, as Umie asks who Hajime is. "Yeah."
They wonder if saying that much is enough.
Tsubasa takes in a single, long breath through the nose, as Umie realises it involves them too. "Mm. I'm the stick. He's threatenin' to make me disappear if Ichika," and that instance of yobisute isn't steeped with the loathing they have for Eiji, "don't get back with him. So, yeah, she knows. Though... even if she does, I'll probably disappear, anyway. To clean up their reputations from the stain of gettin' involved with trash like me. He thinks he's sendin' me off to torture... maybe that's wishful thinkin' on his part."
They don't sound terribly convinced, though they are quite certain about what Eiji thinks of the matter.
"... yeah," Tsubasa says. "An' Uchida-san. Up at th' Detective Agency. I been gettin' it out. Jus' gotta make sure it don't go to a rat."
Their gaze is a touch hollow, though, when Umie calls them lucky. "Sure." Lucky their father's trying to appeal to the shadow government. Lucky they're not safe anywhere they go. Lucky multiple people want to kidnap them for torture or whatever else. Lucky they're this broken, savage piece of shit who can't even help their girlfriend beyond being a warm body. Lucky.
For all their thoughts, though, they just accept it.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'Must be hard hearin' 'bout Eiji now.' Umie's eyelids lower, slightly.
"In a sense, yes," Umie admits, softly. "But I'm not surprised, either."
She can't give too much away. Tsubasa knowing about Personas isn't enough to trust them further on Palaces, especially when it would dangle something in front of them that they may try to pursue.
She can't give away how she feels, either.
'The stick.' There'll come a day when Honjou'll find some reason to create a stick of his own, Umie thinks. But that day isn't today; the focus is with Ichika and Tsubasa.
And Tsubasa has been doing things on their own. Wasn't there something about an 'Ogre' mentioned someplace? Maybe one of those 'Mask-sans'.
Of course, the next bit exists in the back of her throat. 'Ask the Phantom Thieves'.
No, it shouldn't have to be on *Tsubasa* to do that, like the Thieves were some clean-up crew.
The hollow gaze is received, and, quietly, understood.
"..... And that," Umie quietly shares, "is why I don't believe in luck. The only thing I can ever see is bad luck."
"You're making for a terrible stick," she murmurs instead, with her own weird sense of humor, "since all I see is a club that's beating him back. That Ogre-san of yours is a pretty crafty friend, but you've been doing the legwork here."
She lets out a breath. "I may be capable of doing a few things myself. I'm more angry about you and Kawase-san than myself."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Sucks." Is that, just... the standard for relationships in the NWO?
Umie does have one stroke of luck, though: she doesn't mention the Phantom Thieves, and so is saved from Tsubasa's can of whoopass opening on her. (That is, today. Or at least this minute?) Instead --
"Ain't beatin' no one," Tsubasa says, quietly.
"The other one. That... Hajime. He was my ex. Learned everythin' from Eiji, I guess, but he still weren't in on his plans. Jus' liked beatin' women an' tearin' 'em down. Real sweet gettin' to know you, real sensitive guy... then he starts sayin' what he really thinks. Vile shit. When Ichika heard what he said, too... he was my responsibility. My monster. I shoulda been the one shakin' him down."
Their fist tightens, resting against the bench.
"Then I couldn't even tell her she wasn't dirty. Couldn't... call her on that. Couldn't even be there for her, paranoid bastard, told her to leave the country an' go to fuckin' Russia, she jus' wanted someone to give a shit... even after we got to yellin', all I could fuckin' do was hug her, too broken to do shit, she needs me an' I'm jus' bleedin' on her..."
Ichika said that's what she needed, but Tsubasa still feels like they've failed her.
"You feel like that?" They ask, looking at the back of the bench rather than at Umie. "Like -- tainted. Try to do somethin' good an' it's jus' -- bad. Try to understand how a good person thinks and you jus' start thinkin' your girlfriend's stupid when she just said she was super upset 'bout feelin' stupid so you're a piece of shit human even thinkin' like that. Fuckin'... it is zero sum, man... everythins' zero sum... shit dies so you can live, even if it's just plants an' bugs an' whatever field mice get caught in th' farm equipment." Tsubasa's thought a lot about where their food comes from and how evil they are for eating it, apparently. "Like -- I'm no fuckin' good, man. Never was. Guess me whole family never was, that's why me dad got in good with those pricks."
So, quick vibe check on Tsubasa's stoicness:
Apparently being stony-faced about all the horrors they literally just heard about this morning is not actually proof that Tsubasa is fine with it.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'Sucks.' Umie's first thought is to make a sarcastic joke, or smirk, letting that smugness overlay the taste of something foul in her throat, even at the cost of someone else's own confidence in Umie's good will. (And would they be wrong? There's better ways of dealing with it.)
It's like using flirting as a tool to push someone away.
Or trying to be the tutor-sensei when you feel in pain.
Or joking when you want to be serious.
Or snickering when you want to scream.
Is that why the Badb shrieks?
"It does," she allows herself to admit, to Tsubasa.
Hajime... was Tsubasa's... ex. Umie coughs on her own spit, her gaze reeling to focus in on Tsubasa. "...." Her nails dig into the strap of her purse. "Was it the outside, that people believed? The sensitive parts, the sweetness..." Umie's mind keeps selfishly those dots, catching like silken long black hair strung across pins on fabric. Just like what could have happened to her, and-- but it's not about her, it's not about her.
There's no knowing what Honjou was like deeper into a relationship, because she refused him straight away; not because Umie had some insight Tsubasa lacked, but because of her contempt for everything to do with the NWO.
'My monster. I shoulda been the one shakin' him down.' And Umie acts before she thinks. "It's not your responsibility to take him down by yourself." This may be the point where the can of whoopass may come. And why not? Umie's being a huge hypocrite here, seeing as she has done the same exact thing, in this very conversation.
Or maybe it will be, after Tsubasa continues.
Dirty. 'Who felt dirty', the critical, hungry side of her mind mind wants to ask, but Umie quiets it. These are sacred, scared words, coming from someone who's had them inside themselves for a good minute, at the very least. They likely meant Ichika.
"You ever thought," Umie says, softly, "that Kawase-san feels the same way? That that bastard Eiji-san is her monster, and that she wants to slay him, as well as Hajime-san?" She adds, quickly, "I'm saying this as a third party, aka 'that girl'."
Does Umie ever feel like that? Tainted.
".... Yes," she lets herself say. "Many, many times. For different reasons, but it leads to the same place."
She holds up a hand, but realizes that a hand on the shoulder may not be what Tsubasa needs right now.
She offers something else, instead.
"You were correct, back then. I didn't know you at all. Not that well. But I saw you as someone that the 'Conspiracy', to use your term, would eat right up. I can't fight them directly, but I can look out for people."
She places a hand over her heart.
"I'm like Tatsuya-san. I have a Persona too. But it's not like his; mine shrieks. A lot. It screamed at Aoba Park. I thought I had called someone's death; but you were okay, in the end, so, I'm glad my persona- that is- that part of me, is just a little overdramatic."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah," Tsubasa shrugs. "But he's different with his friends... that kinda guy."
The worst part is that Hajime was never inducted into the conspiracy.
The New World Order isn't -- can't be -- responsible for all the misogyny, nationalism, and hatred in Japan.
"I know." No whoopass. Tsubasa's out of any kind of fight today, apparently; they're just resigned.
It can't be their responsibility. They're just not strong enough to do it.
"Doesn't matter whether I think it or not if it's true," is what they say to her hypothetical about Ichika.
They're not so dissociated that they don't see her hand raise towards them, though -- and she might catch the way they flinch, jerking back slightly as their body tightens up. Lance whines, seeing their distress, and thonks her chin on their knee; they unlock enough to reach down and pet her.
"Ain't really my term. I'd use their name," they say, "but you'd get mad at me." They've kind of inferred the meaning on that one.
Still... Umie's Persona shrieks.
"... I don't reckon it's dramatic to freak when a guy dies." It's something they say with their I-statements, for some reason. "Even if they were really okay. But even if guys like Eiji can be fought with Personas... this shit is everywhere. Government, police, businesses... well, I heard Personas can't do shit in the real world, anyway. Well, not unless..."
Tsubasa decided they didn't want to kill people, though.
They sigh, shifting back forward and rocking their weight a touch.
"They say you gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to run... still not a hundred percent on me bein' crazy when I said we oughta run. But I sit here much longer, I'm gonna embarrass myself even more... sorry to dump all this shit on you. Well. Thought you oughta know."
They thought she ought to know the shit which wasn't them just leaking core fluid everywhere, anyway. Shitty-ass bear trap can't even keep shut.
"... anyway," they say, as they manage to get themself onto their feet again, reaching up to rub at the back of their neck. "Sorry I blew up on you last time. Guess we're the same. Good luck not poisonin' your dudes, I guess... me, I gotta get my shit together."
They start ambling off, lifting a hand in a loose wave.
"... later."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'Maybe you should give him a chance, Umie-chan.'
'He's rich as hell. He'll get bored and you can just be a rich housewife.'
'Man, why couldn't I get *my* boyfriend to propose to me on my graduation?'
Umie only remembers the people who got angry, or made little comments like that. The other comments just faded to the background, even when her friend Toki admitted she thought it was a little creepy, as time went on.
The NWO can't be the cause of everything bad to do with Umie's life, or Japan. Or Tsubasa. Not matter how much Umie wants it to be, because it gives everything a form she can be angry at.
"It's..." Umie sighs, wincing herself. "It's just... a bad idea, in public." 'People might think you're crazy.' 'You don't want to be shut up like Tatsuzou's kid, right?' 'Who'd believe you?'
She gives a smile at Lance, silently offering a 'good girl', if because she's feeling a little better seeing Lance try to comfort Tsubasa. It was a good call not to reach over; it's not the sort of touch Tsubasa needs.
".... Not by ourselves, no. Just like people. Monsters aren't meant to be dealt with by yourself." She coyly points a finger to herself. "Says, I, the giant hypocrite."
Umie lowers her eyelids, warm brown eyes still focusing on Lance instead of Tsubasa's own face. "Take it from someone who's been 'that girl' for almost a decade: hiding in shadows and hoping you're never noticed is no way to live."
It takes everything in her not to say more, or express more about what's behind the curtain. But for everything it may inspire, it may add more to be afraid of.
"I told you to call me if you needed help, right?" She gives a general wave, instead. "I don't mind. You helped me out, right?"
"So, I'll help you out."
This would be the moment that Umie would have dramatically disappeared the moment Tsubasa took their attention off her long enough for her shroud to register.
Instead, she's still there, evidenced by Tsubasa still reacting to her.
Umie grimaces, in the awkward silence on her end.
"Y-yeah. Later. Get some sleep, will you? A neon sign's gotta get some time off to recharge."
Pause. "Something like that."
THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS WHEN SHE DOES THIS