2025-12-14: The Supernatural Side of the Gang
- Log: The Supernatural Side of the Gang
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Hibari Aoki, Ichika Kawase
- Where: Aoki Household, Konan
- OOC Date: 2025-12-14
- IC Date: Sat, Aug 25 2012
- Summary: Hibari invites Ichika and Tsubasa over for dinner, after the Palace falls... and in their lingering adrenaline, Tsubasa and Hibari unmask themselves to each other, too.
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
Earlier today was... big.
So big that part of Hibari just wanted to go home and sleep it off, but she was worried about how Ichika was handling things, too. She hadn't been able to stick around and keep an eye on things - Mujina needed to make her own disappearance or give up her secret, which she wasn't willing to do to everybody and anybody.
And even if she had been, Ogre would have had to vanish for the same reason...
So what she did instead was go home and then, on the way, immediately start sending out some texts.
Ichika got one:
> hey!
> you should come over after everything. Dad's out early tonight so I have the place to myself
> I'm going to cook
A pause, then another message came through:
> if Tsubasa is around and you want them to come they're welcome too, just let me know so I make the right amount
The pause was not because she doesn't want Tsubasa there, just because she's not sure how much she'll be able to say in front of them. But even just knowing how Ichika is holding up helps, and she knows Ichika and Tsubasa are close, and she might want her... friendfriend? for support.
(Okay, the one thing Hibari has not yet figured out is what to *call* that relationship. She'll figure it out. At least she's not alone in this.)
Hibari never invites people over when her father is present, so it's pretty rare, but not unheard of. She lives in one of the apartment complexes in Konan; maybe a little older and a little run-down, but not decrepit (it's probably better off than some of the Kasu dorms) and, critically, it has two bedrooms, which is not a guarantee in some of the Konan apartments.
It is sparsely appointed but does have a surprisingly nice kitchen for its size, which is what attracted the Aokis to it originally. Hibari has currently taken over part of it and has just made some asazuke - light pickles, made an hour or two before the dinner they're meant to be served with. She's just putting the small container into the fridge by the time people are likely to stop by.
(Everything else she is planning on takes about twenty minutes tops and you want it fresh, so she's not doing it before people show up!)
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
It was really big. Ichika is still reeling a little, even though she had a chance to talk it out some with Tsubasa. And the prospect of a nice dinner? That definitely appealed to her. She was tired, but more than that she was hungry. So she told Tsubasa about it, and then told her mom she'd be Out, and...
> We're both in. Thanks!
As it happens, Ichika and Tsubasa themselves only recently decided what to call that relationship, so she's doing fine.
Back to Sumaru, and Ichika relies on Tsubasa to run interference on the train, as usual. She's dressed up a little more nicely than before--casual black dress with ankle boots and stockings, instead of cargo pants and a tanktop. She is going over to a Friend's to be Cooked For after all. More to the point, though... She has shorter hair! Still fairly long, but much shorter than it was before, at about her shoulders now. It needs a little touching up. But she can get that done tomorrow.
And so...
"Ready?" She asks Tsubasa, and knocks on the door.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa's the last person who's gonna criticise someone else's apartment, man. And indeed, they're the one body-blocking the creeps on the train -- it's something they're even better at now they have that binder. They've... dressed up...? In an Alice Six t-shirt and some artfully shredded jeans, and their usual high-top sneakers with a half-dozen patches stitched on the sides, proper gang kicks.
Today's hair is blonde and down to their neck in a frightful metalhead frizz. (It's a wig. That's how they manage to change it up daily. Did you know that Ichika got them this one? It's true!) Their fake tan is as obnoxiously orange as ever, with concealer to cover up their scars, but they've done up their cyan and white makeup even fancier for this. Obviously, that means cheek stripes.
And on the way here, they've heard something interesting about the kinds of things Hibari knows about Ichika...
"Ready," they confirm, standing beside her.
While holding a bottle of soda to hand off to Hibari when she opens the door, obviously.
Mrs. Ichika's Mom told them they can't show up to someone's house without an offering, and you don't diss Mrs. Ichika's Mom, man.
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
There is a moment's delay.
And then the door opens, revealing - Hibari! She's re-dyed her hair recently but picked the same colour; the ombre, she thinks, suits her, especially with her recent tendency to wear greens. She's dressed in a green top and dark jeans, which suit her without being fancy at all. (If she's cooking she doesn't want to be fancy.)
"Hi you!" she says, cheerfully, as the door opens. "Come on in. I haven't done a whole lot yet but prep, but with thirty minutes I can change that to actual food. Ginger pork okay? Have a seat - and thanks!" The soda is, admittedly, going straight into the fridge for just long enough to chill it, and then probably being opened for everybody. Teenagers.
"Nice stripes," she adds to Tsubasa, as she makes way to let people in. Ichika's going to get a compliment too, though after she looks at her for a longer time; not quite rude or challenging but definitely an inspection. She's not looking at her hair as much as everything else, including her expression.
Eventually, she decides that Ichika looks as well as can be expected. "And I like what you've done to your hair! It suits you." Shorter, without being really short, which is not a style she can really imagine Ichika in. It needs some tidying, but... Well, Hibari's not sure *she* could have done any better with a sword and no mirror. Probably not even with a mirror.
"Hopefully the train wasn't too bad. I know you're still in Port Island right about now." It's a lot faster when they're all in Sumaru, of course.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika definitely mentioned that Hibari knows who Ichika is--as Ogre--but hasn't shared Hibari's secrets in turn. Not her place. They have an undestanding about that.
And of course, Mrs. Kawase would insist on the polite thing.
"Hi!" Ichika says, and smiles. "Nice, you re-upped your hair. It looks great."
Just prep, but... "Mmm, ginger pork. Sounds great." She'll move towards the seat, but doesn't quite get there yet, talking with Hibari. And as it happens? She's tired. There's no red-eye though but her normal red irises, no irritation, no sign that she's been crying. She looks in good spirits, even has a smile on that probably isn't faked.
"Thanks!" Ichika says of her hair. "I feel so much lighter, right?" A laugh. "I might even go for a color. Not brown, though. I've had enough of brown-black hair on me for a while."
But, "Nah, it was fine," Ichika says. "But soon I'll be back in Hirasaka full-time. We both will. So that'll be cool. Going home was nice..."
"But Hirasaka's kinda home too, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Sounds good," Tsubasa nods, firmly. It's meat, so obviously Tsubasa's gonna like it. Just so long as it's not too spicy...
(They'll pretend like they can cope with spicy food, though. Hibari's SEEN them insist they were FINE, ACTUALLY when the gang went out for Indian curry. It was objectively hilarious.)
"Thanks," they nod, when she notices them. "Gotta be fierce. Y'know. An' Ichika's right. You hella vibrant." Tsubasa is just the kind of guy to throw ten-dollar words like 'vibrant' in between all their swearing and slang, that's normal.
(They look pretty beat, too, but not, like, beat down about it.)
"Yeah, she looks great, huh?" They add, looking to Ichika. Sure, it could be straightened out, but they're pretty sure she's perfect. "Colour'd look good on ya," they add, when Ichika laughs in her own reply.
"... yeah," Tsubasa's a touch quieter -- a touch of regret -- when Ichika asks after Hirasaka. "Mighta been gone too long... been great hangin' with Ichika all th' time, though." And they're calling her Ichika now, not the Boss! So it must have been great.
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
Tsubasa is mostly safe from too-spicy food in Hibari's kitchen. Hibari likes a moderate amount of spice (maybe more than Tsubasa *really* enjoys) but she has very strong opinions of heat for heat's sake, and is much more likely to make something very strongly flavoured than something very spicy, though she has an appreciation for more subtle flavours too.
Still, when *she* gets Indian, she gets rogan josh. Strong and intense, but not that hot. So Tsubasa remains safe.
"Maybe..." Hibari gives Ichika another thoughtful look. "What if you did something with blue? Maybe stripes or streaks if you don't want to do the whole colour... I looked at some of that myself, before I went for ombre first." She may be thinking of complimentary colours to Tsubasa's usual picks.
"But come in, sit down!" Hibari is not going to sit down because she's going to start getting things going; they won't be able to eat immediately, after all. But she can talk while she's in the kitchen; there's not many other places to *be*, it's not that large a place. The easiest spot is probably either on the (single) couch or at the eating table, anyway.
"And thanks. The box I used said it was 'vivid red', so I'll take vibrant any day." And in truth Hibari does look full of energy even though she isn't entirely; it's a bit of a stress reaction, she knows she'll sleep like a rock tonight, but right now she has slightly frantic energy to work through.
This may be the other reason she invited people over...
"Mm. Obviously, I don't live in Hirasaka," and Hibari never has, "but I know what you mean. It'll be nice to have you two back, though. Even if it also means class is back in session," she jokes. Hibari doesn't mind class... too much.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Meat!! Ichika isn't big on super-spicy either--a story she has is she once got really embarrassed by too-spicy food... Of course, one can imagine which friend group did that to her pretty easily, now.
But fierce! Ichika smiles and nods at Tsubasa's assessment about vibrancy. Not that she knows the word vibrancy. Still, "Oh, yeah?" she asks Tsubasa, and then considers Hibari's asssessment. "Yeah, a nice blue might be good..." She looks over Tsubasa thoughtfully.
She does go in and sit down, though, at the eating table because that's easier to keep talking to Hibari at.
"...Sorry," Ichika says to Tsubasa. A look at Hibari, though. "Yeah, I like Sumaru, despite... you know." Sevens and all. "Heh, class... I can deal with that, I guess. But Tsubasa's right--it's been great spending time with them like this."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa bravely endures Hibari's spiciest dishes. Ain't no one said they weren't tough.
"Blue'd be nice," Tsubasa agrees. They have that one blue wig!! (Also a gift.) Their usual preference, though, is for multiple colours; just don't call them a clown, it's one of the leading causes of getting punched around Tsubasa.
They do, indeed, sit down. Of course, they sit backwards on their chair so they can loop their arms over the back of the backrest, but, like: they're a teenager. That's normal. They'll sort their orientation out when it's time to eat... probably.
Besides: this way makes it easier to face Hibari.
"Nah," Tsubasa shakes their head, when Ichika apologises. It's cool. "Sumaru's cool, yeah. Class is okay. It's whatever." Tsubasa actually fucking loves class and is super torn up over their test scores being gutted following their detained hospital stay and stint in lockup. "Gon' be good when everyone gets back, tho'. Uh, tho'... gon' have ta... y'know," they add, glancing back to Ichika again.
"Uh, like... me an' Ichika, y'know... kinda... we goin' steady?" They venture, after getting a confirmatory look from her. "Uh -- I mean, like -- ain't jus' me, but -- uh -- yeah."
All those ten-dollar words, and they're as eloquent as a sloth hitting the wall.
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
Hibari has never once called Tsubasa a clown. Not once! Concidentally, Tsubasa has never needed to punch her.
Installed in the kitchen part, Hibari's first task is setting rice up; easy enough, she could do this in her sleep (and basically has). Miso can wait for the moment because the dashi's done, so her *next* task is to retrieve ingredients and work on the pork.
Or, as it turns out, the sauce; soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, and she then retrieves ginger and onion to grate (and juice, at least the ginger). She talks while she does this too, so it barely holds up the conversation, except when she ducks toward under-counter storage.
Hibari smiles to herself at seeing Ichika look Tsubasa over like that. Yup.
"I know," she says to Tsubasa. "I mean, I don't know all the details, because I figured you two would tell me when you wanted to, but come on. I'm not blind! I don't even need glasses. And I talk with Ichika-chan too, and while she's good at keeping *some* secrets..."
She grins at Ichika. "Sorry," she says, before looking back to Tsubasa. "She told me you two were thinking about things together. And I know it's not a rebound, even with everything." That is directed more toward Ichika, because again, she doesn't know how much Tsubasa knows about Palaces. "I don't need much more of a hint than that. I didn't even get the gossip from someone else."
"Though if you *want* to tell me, that's different," she adds. "So come on, spill..."
... "If you want," she finishes.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika has punched people who've called Tsubasa a clown, too. But never Hibari!
Ichika can sit properly, because she's straight. That's how that works. But she's also facing Hibari more or less, if sideways. And Sumaru's cool, indeed. "Cool," Ichika says. "...Yeah, it will be good."
She sniffs the cooking, and sighs. It smells good so far.
But--Tsubasa says it, and Hibari knows. Ichika laughs softly. "Yeah, I haven't been that quiet..."
"Right. Gotou-kun was cool and all, but I couldn't give him what he wanted, so this isn't a rebound thing." And that's been a bit anyway.
"...But since you want to hear it..."
"We're partners," Ichika says, and reaches over to take Tsubasa's hand. "That's the word we settled on. It kinda took a lot of realizing... But that's what we wanted. We're like, together together, llike they said."
"But there's a boy, too. Ryuji Sakamoto. I dunno if you know him, he's a friend of Ren-kun's. But he's pretty great. Basically..."
"I mentioned I want to be a mom and stuff, right? So I want a husband, kids, the whole picture. But... Tsubasa's different from that. So basically we decided... I can do both. I can love Tsubasa and, when it gets serious with a guy, love him too, and just... have both."
"I know it's a little unusual," she admits, "But since Tsubasa's not a boy... it makes sense to me."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Uh." It's pretty impossible to tell if Tsubasa is blushing by looking at their cheeks, they're behind ten cosmetic firewalls; you kind of have to judge by their deer-in-the-headlights expression, instead. That hardly means it's impossible to figure it out. "T--that obvious, huh?"
Yeah, everyone's going to get back and be like 'NO DUH, TSUBASA, YOU'VE BEEN FOLLOWING HER AROUND LIKE A LOST PUPPY FOR MONTHS NOW'.
Luckily, Ichika's here to rescue them from ramming STRAIGHT into the window like a robin who was dead certain that was a clearway inside, and they reach over to take her hand, squeezing it.
"Y-yeah," they add, actually smiling for once in their life, which is while not impossible at least unusual, their face kind of defaults to a scowl, they're really good at being a thug that way. "An', uh -- I ain't really in no position to have me own kids, so -- figure I jus' help raise Ichika's? Y'know?"
Tsubasa chuckles, their free hand lifting from the back of the chair to fall back to it. "Uh, not that we ain't still figurin' some shit out... l-like, we jus' figured callin' us 'partners' today, like..."
Their fingers curl, into Ichika's, for a moment. "... uh. We was... dealin' with some real, like... you know, Dark Side a Sumaru shit today... with her fuckin' ex an' all. I, uh -- Ichika told me she'd told ya how she's good with those Rumours, uh... thing is, like... uh... me, too?" They pause, shrugging a shoulder. "Uh, can't really tell th' Princess or Shuyo-kun this too easy, they don't, like, 'get' what happens in the weird alleys... but fuck it, man, you gotta know! I stabbed that piece a shit so hard he turned back from bein' a monster into bein' the monster he normally is! Fuckin' A, that's why they call me the 'Phoenix', I always come back, man!!"
Well, at least they're hyped about -- whatever that is. Some weird Rumour bullshit, surely?!
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
Hibari does not need to guess when Tsubasa is blushing.
She gets the sauce ready while she listens, and once she's done with that, begins to cut pork loin into thin slices, making some slits to ensure things stay flat when she fries them in a bit. They sit in a long tray once they're cut, because they're going to get sake and ginger juice poured over them to rest for about five minutes once she's done cutting - but she's not that far yet.
(There's extra pork. She assumes everybody is hungry after that... well, that she and Ichika are, and Tsubasa is hungry because they're Tsubasa.)
And she's smiling, so, you know, good sign. "Partner," she says, a moment later. "Well, I'm going to be honest: It is a little unusual," agreeing with Ichika, "and I don't think it would ever work for *me*. But that doesn't matter; it's what works for *you*. And if both - all three, I mean - of you are fine with it, why not? It should at least make you happy. And no, I haven't met Sakamoto-san."
But maybe she will. It's her perogative to go meet her friend's boyfriend, right?
But then Tsubasa continues...
Hibari has not made a mistake with a knife in years. She doesn't - quite - this time, but she nearly drops the pork loin while she's rotating it to slice from a new angle. It's not really a problem since it's about an inch over where she's cutting it, so all it does is go 'thunk' faintly.
"YOU'RE Phoenix?" She sounds somewhere between startled and - well, okay, no, it's mostly startled. She looks at Ichika more sharply, but then realizes that no, Ichika definitely didn't tell them or they wouldn't have phrased it that way? -
"How long?" she asks, instead. "I had no idea! But I know the rumours - I mean, I ought to! Don't worry, Princess and Shuyo-kun won't find out from me." She pauses, then says, a little forced confidently, "They didn't about Ogre, either," because if Tsubasa's talking about Phoenix in front of Ichika, *she knows*.
And now she's deciding what to say for herself... Hibari, however, actually has a good poker face.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Definitely obvious. Ichika laughs loudly. "It's OK," she tells Tsubasa. "...Just means people can see we're happy, right?"
She looks back to Hibari. And it is! "Thanks," Ichika says. "...Yeah, like... Yeah. It does make us happy." A nod to Tsubasa. "Yeah, that's right. And that means... Well, it means a lot of stuff, but--" She cuts herself off and shakes her head. "We are definitely still figuring things out," she finishes.
But she does want Hibari to meet Ryuji.
Thunk! Ichika looks right calmly at Hibari, and her poker face is pretty good, too. "Right," Ichika answers. "It's safer for them not to know anyway."
Still, "Yeah, you did great, Tsubasa. ...I didn't do bad, either."
She grins. But it fades. "Saw the news, on the way over. Eiji's confessed, turned himself in and all. It's... it's really over."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa can, in fact, be accurately described as 'fucking ravenous' at all times. (At one point they had to wait until they and Ichika were alone to explain that that word doesn't actually mean 'like a raven', even though, frankly, they wish that IS what it meant. Ravens are sick as hell, dude.)
Ichika laughs, though, which just makes Tsubasa blush more, but they start chuckling too when she points out how it's okay. "Heh heh, yeah..."
Oh no, they're smiling like an idiot it's all over.
"It's kinda strange to go steady with two guys at once, yeah," Tsubasa agrees. "But, uh, we figured Ichika's still straight, like? I ain't neither gender, but if I gotta get classified, like, one way or th' other, rather sit with the guys... means I'm still kinda like, a different gender to her, right? Uh... actually, guess that means I'm the one what goes both ways... man, that shit's complicated when ya opt out."
Why would Tsubasa be so occupied with insisting that Ichika dating them doesn't make her a lesbian? Surely nothing which happened JUST EARLIER TODAY OH WAIT HERE'S TSUBASA WITH THE STEEL CHAIR!
"Wait whoa shit you cuttin' that shit fuck --" is what pours out of Tsubasa when they realise Hibari was cutting the pork loin, annnd, thud. "Uh. You cool?"
They look to Ichika for a moment, almost as shocked as Hibari is, before they go on. "Uh, like -- y'know th' Aoba Park Arson? When th' Joker Killer showed up to get me ass, that's when I Awakened... told everyone it were another guy what saved me, tho'. So -- so it ain't been that long, like -- like, a month? Ichika's way more on top a that shit than me, all I got's a sword an' bein' super fuckin' pissed..." And the GIANT HOUSE ON CHICKEN LEGS don't forget the GIANT HOUSE ON CHICKEN LEGS Tsubasa!!!
"H--hey, what's that 'bout not doin' bad, tho'!" They yipe, turning back to Ichika. "You were killin' it, man! Fuck, when that old fuck served us papers you were right on top a settin' everyone up, all I could do was toss, like, one a th' three spells I got on that kickass chick with the tanukis... you got so much more range, man!"
Tsubasa has no clue, apparently. Clearly, Mujina's secret is also safe with Ichika.
"Man, tho'... was a fuckin' relief to hear he confessed already," they puff out a breath. "Thank fuck that's over. We really did it, goddamn!"
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
"Mmm," Hibari says, about the whole gender situation. "I guess it matters more to some people than others. Like... I know I'm straight," she says, "I can't imagine anything but a boyfriend for myself, even if I haven't been dating as much lately." She's had a couple minor attempts at Kasugayama, but neither really went anywhere and she doesn't have one now. "But it can be as complicated as you want it to be. Or as simple, if you want to just ignore the labels."
"I saw it too," Hibari asides to Ichika. "The confession, I mean. That's part of why I asked you here, actually..."
Look, she can be worried and find a way to show it!
"It's cool," she assures Tsubasa. "Hand just slipped. It's fine! Nobody hurt, it wasn't my knife hand, and the food all landed where I was going to put it anyway, just a little harder." She did take a moment before she finished cutting the pork up, though, but she's back at it.
A month, Hibari thinks. A whole month, and she never guessed any of it. Even when she was trying to find a way to help Tsubasa. She'd guessed that Ichika knew some things even though she hadn't put two and two together to identify her as Ogre until she was told. With Tsubasa, she'd never even gotten that far. Maybe it's partially distance; they did spend a lot of the time on vacation. But maybe Hibari just isn't quite as good at it as she'd like to be.
And so they definitely know everything, anyway, Hibari thinks. Everything except...
"I've got something to admit to you, too," she says, to Tsubasa this time. "If I had a sense of drama I'd get something out of my pocket, but, well..." That's unsanitary! "But, well... You know that tanuki girl you were talking about?"
Hibari cuts the last bit of pork, arranges it on the tray, and drizzles the sake and ginger juice on it to let it soak for a moment. Plus, it lets her build a little bit of drama.
"Her name's Mujina. Normally I tell people Mujina is just someone I know - that she's a major informer for me, so that people who talk to me about rumours know she's trustworthy if we have to meet. And that she doesn't want her identity known. But..."
With a last flick of juice from the bowl, Hibari sets it down and gives a little grin, and sketches a (VERY) sketchy bow. "She's me. Ichika knew; that's why she asked me for backup, and why I came as hard as I did."
She wouldn't be so open with it - even now, she's tense, as if it might backfire - except, well. Ichika is here, Ichika knows, and she and Ichika have trusted each other with their secret. And Tsubasa has given her a secret of their own, without entirely realizing...
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika appreciated the heads-up. Maybe her vocabulary is growing...! But not that fast.
"Yeah," Ichika agrees. "I'm just with guys. I guess I'd think about trying it with a girl, but it doesn't like, draw me as something I really wanna do." Which suggests to her it's not something she's into. But, "...Guess so, though. Hmm."
Complicated or simple. Ichika smiles at Hibari. "Yeah," she says. "I like labels... but like, that one's good for me. I like guys."
Ichika laughs then. "I was like, understating. For drama." She nudges Tsubasa. "Nah, I did pretty great. Supporting people in a fight is what I'm best at in Persona stuff. I'm not bad at attacking, but he happened to be weak to my shit, so..."
Pause. "Huh. I wonder if that means anything."
Anyway. But, Tsubasa gets the admission next. Ichika is fine with Hibari not dirtying her hands, as it happens.
"Same kinda cover story I use for Ogre," Ichika says after Hibari's done saying it. "Cool, right?" she says. "...Means we can all count on each other for this stuff."
She isn't going to out the Phantom Thieves yet--but there's more to the supernatural world than stealing hearts, too. "I'd be glad to fight with both of you if shit like the Joker Killer shows up again at school."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"I jus' know I'm happy with Ichika, man," Tsubasa says. "But part a that's havin' somethin' for her to call it." Because Ichika likes her little boxes and Tsubasa will defend to the death her right to have them.
They are at least relieved that didn't get Hibari stabbed.
"Oi!" Tsubasa grins to Ichika, briefly, when she insists she was understating. (That's like, TWICE as weird as smiling?!) "Lemme gas you up, man!! ... but yeah," they add, on his weaknesses, "mighta been somethin'. Like, he was so obsessed with ya you're the only one who could shatter his fuckin' delusions, in the end... can't convince me that ain't how it goes." They couldn't have done that without Ichika.
Still: Hibari has something to admit to them, so Tsubasa turns to pay attention to her again. "Yeah, Mujina," they confirm; they remember how that girl introduced herself. She says she's someone Hibari knows, but...
Hibari bows, and announces that she is she, and Tsubasa yelps: "whaaAAAAATTTTTTT?!" Tsubasa doesn't tend to raise their voice; their smoke-damage-scratchiness puts them closer to a male register when they're speaking at lower volumes, but it becomes real obvious when their voice raises that they've got too much estrogen in their bloodstream. Luckily, Hibari's the one person they've admitted this to (and Ichika's perceptive enough to have guessed), so they're unlikely to get any shit for it in this company. "What the fuck, man! But you're like -- Miss Miss Me With The Curbstompin' Shit! Is that allowed?! Wait fuck, what am I sayin', we're fuckin' gangsters, wouldn't follow no Persona laws anyway -- wait fuck I'm rambling -- but like for real tho' th' fuck? You're -- she -- and you -- and she -- and you -- oh my GOD that's how you know all this Rumour shit you IN THERE call me a fuckin' BRICK."
Thick as, that is; good for tossing into a window, not so much on the thinking.
Anyway, Ichika helpfully explains, and Tsubasa looks back to her. "So, like. Does this mean we can call jumpin' Shadows official gang activity now or." Listen, they're asking the important questions here!!
... they're not going to out the Phantom Thieves either, but listen, most of the Phantom Thieves are in central Tokyo, there's plenty of times where they might be facing Sumaru shit alone.
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
Hibari chooses not to speak for a few moments to let Tsubasa get it out of their system. She is smiling, though.
"I still don't fight a whole lot," Hibari admits. "My Persona power isn't quite the same as yours. The experts call it 'Navigating'. I can... find things, and hide myself, and other people. I can tell - feel? - where vulnerabilities are, and strength. Those little tanuki you saw - they're like extra eyes. Some Navigators do it other ways. I'm pretty sure I know one who can smell danger," that's Myunghon, "and I've heard of some who do it by listening, or watching."
"But me... people talk to me. So it's easiest for me to keep things straight when I've got a little helping hand. I get information online, too. And from demons. And other Persona-users, some of which keep their names more secret than others."
She pulls out a pan, because that pork has to be fried, though she checks on the rice (coming along well). A pot also comes out to warm up the dashi she made earlier; she'll cut some tofu (on her palm!) to get into it once it's a bit warmer.
"That's the first time I've really *fought* as Mujina. I mean, we skirmished a little when we were moving through the Palace, but that's different. To stand, and fight, and know you can't run away, or trick them into leaving you alone... I still don't like it much," she admits, a little quietly, as meat sizzles.
"It doesn't excite me like it does some people. I keep worrying about if I'm going to get hurt, or if someone else is. You both do it better than me. But I'm really good at causing some chaos, and keeping them guessing. Making it hard to tell what's really going on. And I wasn't going to leave Ichika - Ogre... and *apparently* you out there without help when I could give it."
"But yeah, that's how I know." Hibari admits. "There really ARE some rumourmongers who don't - I mean, who don't get involved themselves, and just trade information. Even talk to demons. But I do some of my own recon."
"And we can definitely count on each other," she agrees. "At least, I'd like to think we can!"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika does like her boxes. They're important to her!
An obsession that ran into a weakness, though... "Sure," Ichika says. "Fucked up that even his weird Shadow self was like, metaphysically opposed to me or some shit but whatever."
Ichika also does not interrupt the 'what-'ing. "It's allowed," Ichika says. "Super allowed. Besides, you're right. What do we care about the rules?"
"My sister's got powers like yours," Ichika says to Hibari. "She was there."
She pauses. "Honestly? That's fair. It's scary shit. You can get hurt. But don't worry. You come out with us, we'll protect you. Tsubasa's beat to shit anything that goes for you, and I'll just heal you if you get hit. It'll be fine."
Some rumormongers... Yeah. "Yeah. It's cool."
She smiles. "...Yeah, i think it does," Ichika says to Tsubasa. "It counts. Shuyo-kun and the Princess can't get involved, but we'll just have to protect them."
A beat, "But man, Hibari-chan. That smells great so far."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Super fucked," Tsubasa agrees, with Ichika, on the point of Eiji.
"Huh... Navigatin', huh?" Tsubasa blinks. "Uh, like... yeah!" Ichika explains how Ririka's like her, so Tsubasa doesn't have to guess and piece it together. "Man, sounds like you do some real clever Persona shit... I jus', like, hit shit, real hard."
Being fair: they're very good at that.
"But that's the first time ya fought, huh... sounds like we owe ya," Tsubasa rubs at the back of their neck. "You really pushed yaself for our sake, huh? Glad you're in our corner, man."
Ichika covers how it is scary, so Tsubasa just jumps in to support her, when she assures her it'll be fine, with: "Anythin' jumps out at you, I'll make its face look like its ass, man, jus' like it's always been!" Not that all Shadows have faces, or asses, but that's not the POINT here. "You ever need to go out there and find shit out, we'll cover you!"
They grin, though, when Ichika says it counts. "Chyeah. That's cool. Ain't like Hibari-chan gets in a normal fight like Shuyo-kun does, anyway, yeah? Jus' dividin' skills up." And of course the Princess does nothing except look cute and steal shiny things because that's what Princesses do.
(she's also a fucking MONSTER at airsoft guns, but never mind that. princess got a gun that's normal.)
"'Sides, we don't care 'bout no fuckin' rules," Tsubasa thumps a hand to their chest. Just like Ichika said!
They turn to Hibari's cooking, though, sniff-sniff, when Ichika points it out. "Shit, yeah, it does. How long 'til it's done, man?"
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
"I saw your sister," Hibari agrees, "and I could tell a little bit about what she was doing, but I was trying not to notice I'd seen her, because..."
Well, secret identities are complicated, okay?
"But it's nice to have someone on your side." Hibari knew Ogre was, of course, and that Ogre would guide her other allies to help - but hearing that Tsubasa is in her corner actually feels a whole lot better. She feels releived in a way that she didn't even know she was tensing against.
"And if you need something found, or need to sneak in..." Hibari grins. "Well, I'm here too! Just, please do keep it secret. Hibari's just a rumourmonger as far as anyone knows, and I like it that way... but you've met Mujina, now. If you think I ought to talk to someone, you can always point them at her and let me know."
Rumours and facts don't come from nowhere, after all. There's a lot of strange things in the supernatural community...
Though of course, they bring up that it smells good. Of course Tsubasa's hungry, Hibari thinks, with a mental laugh. That's fine by her; Hibari likes cooking for people. "Not long now," Hibari says, going back to the fridge while things sizzle to retrieve the other cold salad she'd pre-prepped.
And, indeed, it's not much longer before the ichiju-sansai meal is ready: one soup, three dishes, a traditional dinner format. In this case it's the typical miso soup, with some tofu; ginger pork with onion caramelized in the leftover sauce and finished in the pork; a tangy (but not spicy, you're safe, Tsubasa) bean sprout salad with sesame oil and white pepper, with some scallions; and radish and cabbage asazuke quick pickle. And rice. The rice is a given.
"Itadakimasu!" Hibari says, cheerfully, when it's all on the table.
There is extra, because what Mujina said, Hibari meant; cooking is a gift you can share, and right now, well...
She wants all of them to be together, for this moment.