2025-12-08: Gotta Make the Most of What You Got
- Log: Gotta Make the Most of What You Got
- Cast: Niko Kirisaki, Shinjiro Aragaki
- Where: Port Island Station - Back Alleys
- OOC Date: December 08, 2025
- IC Date: August 22, 2012
- Summary: Following the Yakushima trip, Shinjiro delivers a most appreciated souvenir to Niko. He also gives her his answer to the challenge she posed him: to figure out why she supports the Joker Killer. Despite the both of them knowing well they're on opposite sides, their friendship yet endures... but can it truly last?
(|==================== Port Island Station - Back Alleys =====================|)
-======================================= Iwatodai City/Tatsumi Port Island ====-
The first thing one might notice is the conflict of old versus new. The
businesses here are more run down, but still stand defiantly, signs of rougher
dive bars and hangouts for the folk who don't quite belong in the sunlight of
Port Island. In the day, it's mostly drunks and people with nowhere else to go
who stand outdoors.
At night, the rougher elements of the town congregate openly amidst the rusted
chain link fences and litter-filled streets. Delinquent teens who never made it
into high school hang out, openly ignoring the laws decent people follow. All
who enter here are subject to at least seven pairs of eyes on them, deciding
whether or not someone belongs amongst them.
Better hope you pass muster, or you're gonna risk a beating.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Finding Niko is not a fixed difficulty challenge. She has her common hangouts, but if the whim strikes her she could also just decide to suddenly go to a place she's never been. There are patterns to her behavior, they're just not particularly reliable patterns.
But, when in doubt, there is always the common congregation spot of the Port Island alleyways. If you're looking for anybody the label 'bad news' could be applied to, it's a solid place to start. Like attracts like, as they say. And yet, whenever she's here, Niko is most commonly seen by herself. Perhaps that aspect of the alleyways isn't why she's here.
Which doesn't mean that people don't know of Niko. Questioning the first readily available punk duo right by the entrance is quick to get results (as well as some Looks - they may wonder why Shinjiro isn't hanging around here so often, but they'd never ask). They did see Niko go deeper down the alleys a short while ago, she's probably still around somewhere.
With all the twists and turns back there, it could have taken a while to find one particular person... if it wasn't for the sound of humming coming from deeper in. Placing the melody would be impossible, Niko is making it up as she goes - but it is certainly Niko Kirisaki who's making that sound. If there was any doubt, it is decisively removed when she starts to sing - or speaking English really loudly in time with a melody, to more accurately describe what it's like.
Wait, stop, cease your clowning
Can't you see that you are drowning
Don't struggle - it's all futile
There is an awkward pause, before...
"Uh... shit."
Someone rhymed herself into a corner. At least it's very obvious now what actual corner she can be found standing in, rubbing her chin as she considers how she could salvage that musical car crash.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro hasn't seen Niko in almost exactly a month. He's been busy! But now that he's back from Yakushima, he has a gift to give her, and a challenge to answer... in that order.
Nodding to the punk who points him further in, he's dressed in his red coat and beanie, as he follows the sound of humming once he gets closer in. Singing in English... his English isn't great but he can pick out the intent of the song, at least.
"Hey, Niko!" He calls out as he hears it cease and is close enough to actually be seen. He has a bag around his arm, carrying multiple small objects.
"You seem like you're having fun," he says, clearly in a decent mood. "I brought gifts from a trip to Yakushima." Getting straight to the point, he reveals the bag...
And inside are several jam buns, wrapped in a way that preserves them for a bit.
"They're ponkan buns, something you can't really get out here. Kinda a cross between mandarin and pomelo, I think? Better than any melon bun I've had."
He moves closer to hand them over, should she want them.
"I would have gotten you something tangible but it all sucked, tourist trash, and I didn't want to return empty-handed either."
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
For a fraction of a second, Niko's expression as her head jerks towards the sound of that voice implies that she's about to destroy whoever dared to interrupt her freestyle composition session. It's gone faster than you can blink, replaced by the sort of bright smile that Niko is more commonly known for.
"Heyyy, Shin-chan!" She's quick to help close the distance, raising a hand as she approaches. "Couldn't resist following the siren's song, couldya? That's not usually a great idea y'know, don't you know your mythology?" Niko knows her mythology, and therefore no one has a good excuse not to.
Sure doesn't look like he needs cheering up this time. Maybe joining back up with those friends of his was good for him, after all. Even if... nope, she's cutting those thoughts off there. There's more interesting things to think about. Such as--
"Ooh, gifts!" She blinks, her cheer instantly replaced by befuddlement. "Wait, gifts? For me?" And... food, no less. Even if she were capable of pretending she's not hungry, the stomach growl would have immediately given it away. In light of that, she readily accepts the buns, even if she visibly feels awkward about it.
"Huh. Well, um. Dunno what I did to deserve this, but..." She takes a bun out of the bag. That does look delicious. No point in just staring at it. With a shrug, she decides, "Eh, who cares? Take everything that's given to you, that's my policy." And with that... nom.
If her glowing expression and the way she wolfs down the rest of that bun is any indication, this gift was a great success indeed.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Don't worry, ears are stuffed with beeswax." Shinjiro knows his mythology, giving a small grin. He's certainly in a good mood... though if it's because of his friends or something else is unclear.
Niko sees the gifts, and is confused. Shinjiro sheepishly rubs the back of his head at that, but still holds them out. "We're friends, aren't we? I'm not going to *not* get you a gift just because we're on opposite sides of the battlefield."
SEES would probably be pissed off... but Shinjiro refuses to let bonds he likes go away. He has so little time... he has to cherish all of them.
His smile rises a bit as she wolfs it down. Good call! "Glad you like it," he says.
Taking a lean against the wall, he considers. "I've been thinking about the question you posed me. About why you support him. I've come to an answer."
What he knows about Niko from her own words, mixed with his own experiences and realizations, is sure to factor into it. He doesn't care if he's right or wrong...
Just that he tries to give a proper answer.
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
Nice, so mythology is Shinjiro's beeswax. Playing along with Niko always earns bonus points. Not that it looks like he needed them, if this reaction is any indication then gifting Niko food may be one of the better ways to get in her good graces. And Shinjiro already was to begin with.
'Friends', he says. One of Niko's favorite words. It's impossible for a proper response to happen until she's finished one of those buns entirely, but after that, she's more certain than ever: "Sure is good to be friends!" Being on opposite sides of the battlefield won't make a lick of difference to Niko, but she doesn't expect everyone else to feel the same way about that. She can work with it, either way... but it's nice when people are easy-going like that.
It's plain to see her consider whether to have another bun right now, but she decides against it, closing the bag and holding it at her side. Maybe Jin will get a bite. Or maybe she'll just taunt him with them. Depends on her mood.
"Oh yeah?" she responds with a raise of her eyebrows when Shinjiro starts the next topic. "I'd almost forgotten about that, I'm surprised you didn't." That was a casual lie. She absolutely would have remembered, and would have been disappointed if he forgot about it. But that doesn't fit her image, the image is important too. "Let's hear it then."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro's smile returns a bit when Niko affirms friendship. But as she chooses to not to take a second bun, instead saying she almost forgot...
His eyebrow rises, but he doesn't say anything. He doesn't know if he believes her because either option could be easily true, so he's taking her at face value.
Closing his eyes for a second to recollect his thoughts, Shinjiro nods. "I've done some thinking on what you've said, about being broken, about not enjoying killing yet supporting him, on the way you approach life. Why would someone who doesn't stand for what he does support him in it even so?"
His eyes open, looking over to Niko. "Then I thought about the pills we take. The sheer fact we're Persona users, and the fact that he's been active for a very, very long time." Shinjiro clearly knows *who* the Joker Killer is, after all.
"A belief like yours doesn't come from nowhere. A hedonistic zest even in the face of darkness. It must be personal. He did something, I don't know what... and taught you that there's something about life other than bleakly following the path set in front of you. You have to make your own and enjoy it, right? And even if life doesn't really *matter*..."
Shinjiro exhales. This is the hard part he's been grappling with.
"It doesn't mean you need to be a sadsack about it. Someone asked me if I shattered yet... perhaps I have, perhaps I haven't. But either way, in my short time left, I want to find some joy in life, too. My life fundamentally doesn't matter... lost at eighteen years old, never touched the world. But that doesn't mean you lie down and accept that, just sit there and watch the time waste away. No, you have some fun."
Shinjiro shifts his fingers around, letting blood flow a bit as he speaks. He's clearly had to learn some important things Very Quickly since they last met, but the question is why...?
"You've gotta make the most of what you do got, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
As easy as it can be to read Niko's surface feelings, with how uninhibited she appears to be, her deeper feelings and motivations are anything but. That's by her own design. It not that she doesn't want anyone to know. It's that part of her does, and part of her doesn't. Making a challenge out of it and seeing what happens was never entirely a game to her. Could someone like Shinjiro, who's spent a decent amount of time around her, actually get her, as much as it felt like he might?
If she didn't care about that, she probably wouldn't be so quiet, smile faded into a serious expression, as if hanging on his every word. She does care what he has to say, a great deal. She doesn't interrupt even once, not even for a casual gag. Her atypical silence may even be a little unsettling, given the way she just stares at Shinjiro, expression never changing, just shy of unblinking entirely.
"...Heh," the start of a chuckle escapes her first thing after Shinjiro's conclusion. The smile quickly returns at that point. "Well, I'm impressed. You actually put a lot of thought into it. 's not all of it of course, but, got a lot of good points in there."
She's not going to confirm or deny everything he said. That was never the point. Hearing Shinjiro's personal thoughts was. In that respect, what matters most of all is, "I'm glad you didn't cheat."
She doesn't explain that one immediately, instead she puts her hands behind her back, bun bag swaying behind her. "Sooo, to reward you, I'll tell you the most important thing. Ojisan did teach me something. And he's planning to let you all in on it, too. You don't want to miss his big announcement, or you're going to be very sorry."
As if she said nothing particularly ominous just now, she slings the bag over her shoulder. "I was pretty upset when I saw Ojisan's latest video, he already gave so much away. But I guess you either didn't see it, didn't put two and two together..." Her smile widens, having already decided on the option she believes is most likely. "...Or you decided to give your own answer anyway. I hope you'll decide to take your own advice. I liked it, for what it's worth."
A frown darkens her features. "...Well, most of it. Could've done with a bit less downer elements. Yeah, nothing much matters right now, but even so... you gotta have faith that there'll have been a point to it all. One day."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro is intent, at least, as he explains. He's not unsettled... this part of Niko is nice, too. That chuckle and smile get a smile of his own, as she affirms he did well, and she's glad he didn't cheat.
"Of course not. I know I wouldn't have gotten all of it, but... I wanted to be honest."
Niko gives him his reward. Sudou's planning something... another announcement?
"...his salvation," Shinjiro says, having indeed seen the video. Niko is right that he decided on his own answer anyway. "I'll tell you now. We'll probably be fighting again over this. He... took someone important to me, and even if he's right, he's some savior of a time traveler, I have to do this for her." For Aki, too.
Shinjiro smiles, oddly, despite the topic. "But I'll still be your friend."
Then, he straightens up, gentle smile still on his face. "I'm still learning not to be a downer myself. It'll take some time, if it even happens, but... I want to have hope in that, too."
<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.
"Sure sure, that's fine," comes Niko's most likely expected casual response to having to fight again. Her smile, too, came back in short order. "The truth's a bit of a doozy, sooo... don't expect anyone else to be able to accept it so easily. But, in the mean time... I know what my role is. I'd just be making things even more difficult if I didn't keep playing it. So, Niko will keep doing her best~"
She can sound cutesy when she wants to. In fact, she can and will do anything she wants, whenever and however she wants to do it. That's Niko 101. For many that class is still in session. Even if Shinjiro's already got a passing grade, there's no rush in moving towards the more advanced subjects just yet, no reason to start an argument over differing viewpoints. Or... even explain them very well.
Since, in the end... they're still friends. "And that's what matters!" Niko affirms cheerfully, marking Shinjiro with fingerguns, the bag of buns hanging from one arm. They say the proof is in the pudding, but it's clearly in the buns.
As for Shinjiro becoming less of a downer... "Well hit me up if you ever need a little pick-me-up! I'll show you how to party." Niko is very good at making promises sound like threats.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro nods as Niko says she'll keep playing her role and will keep doing her best. He doesn't know how to feel about her having a 'role'... but right now isn't the time to address it. She can make her own choices.
He grins at the finger guns, though, before straightening entirely, stepping away from the wall.
"I'll take you up on that sometime. I have some errands to take care of while I'm out... I'll see you around, Niko."