2026-01-12: Collaboration Day
- Log: 2026-01-12 Collaboration Day
- Cast: Maya Amano, Jun Kashihara, Eikichi Mishina
- Where: Hirasaka Ward, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: January 12, 2026
- IC Date: September 09, 2012
- Summary: Maya, Jun and Eikichi talk about the Old Maid and what's to be done about him. Jun doesn't have anything new to say--but Eikichi reveals he's been looking into a way to get the jump on him, so Jun shares what he knows about Strega for Maya to dig into.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
"Jun-kun!" Like a meerkat popping its head out of its burrow in the African savanna, Maya Amano's head bursts out of a crowd of teenagers passing through the gate of Kasugayama High School. She's standing on her tippy-toes when she catches sight of him. When did high school boys get so tall?
Maya cuts a path to him; standing next to him is one of those so-called 'tall boys'. Though they've never met, Maya recognizes him as the lead singer of the band Gas Chamber. (She really should do an interview sometime, shouldn't she?)
But despite never having met him before, she gets a strong sense of déjà vu from him -- just as she had when she met Jun for the first time, too. It tickles at the back of her neck, impossible to ignore. Still, Maya puts on her friendly face.
"Maya Amano with Coolest Magazine!" she says first to Eikichi, not wanting to be impolite. Then to Jun-kun: "I was hoping to run into you. I was doing interviews here today on the Joker Killer case."
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
Jun is at least not as tall as some other high school boys, at 5'6", halfway to 5'7". Stand him next to Eikichi "Death Boss" Mishina, and he looks even shorter.
But Maya is indeed shorter than both of them, despite being a grown adult, and as Jun strolls out of Kasugayama at the end of the Saturday half-day with Eikichi, chatting about getting lunch over at Izakaya Shiraishi, he hears his name called.
"Hmm?" He looks around, and smiles when he spots Maya approaching, navigating the crowd with cheer and aplomb. "Ah, Amano-san! It's good to see you again," he says, raising a hand in greeting. She already introduces herself to Eikichi, but Jun nods to him anyway about it. "Amano-san and I have done some research together before."
His smile fades into a concerned look when he looks back at her, though. "Ah... Unfortunately, I don't have news for you, but if you need a refresher, I'm happy to tell you whatever I can. Eikichi-kun and I were about to head to Kameya Alley for a bite to eat; would you care to join us?" He looks at Eikichi. "Assuming that's all right by you."
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
"Eh" Eikichi is tall enough to watch the strange adult woman dart around the entry way for school. The blue haired punk is even more shocked when the woman seems to know a straight shooter like Kashihara. Was Eikichi about to walk into something scandalous?!
Probably not.
Eikichi listens to Maya introduce herself, stopping everything when he hears that she's with the press. Suddenly, Eikichi's little internal switch flips on and he goes to work. "Well well, Amano-san. If you must know, I go by many names. I am the devilishly gorgeous Michelle. I am the Death Boss of Kasugayama High School. I am the genius behind the next evolution of Gas Chamber......I am Eikichi Mishina. It is nice to see you."
Eikichi looks between Maya and Jun. "So the Joker Killer...heh. I got plenty to say about that guy so lets do this thing...But only if I can tell you about Gas Chamber's new membership"
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
"Sure! We can talk about setting up an interview with the band sometime, too! I've been meaning to do a story on Gas Chamber, so... LUCKY!" She winks as she says the last word, exclaimed in English. Maya is completely sincere here -- it's serendipitous that she not only caught Jun-kun, but also the leader of Gas Chamber all in one go today!
It was probably the 'Big Luck' charm she pulled from the temple last week!
The trio proceed to Kameya Alley and Maya, ever the chatterbug, continues talking again. "I said 'the Joker Killer' earlier, but I'm actually trying to find more information about the people who were rumored to be working with him during the attack as Kasugayama High. Until then, everyone believed he was working solo." Maya included.
"You two didn't happen to see anything, did you?"
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
For one, Maya's a decent few years older than Jun. For another, there's nothing about Jun that's straight.
Jun chuckles when Eikichi flips the "on" switch for Maya. That's just like him. Also just like him: wanting to talk trash about the Joker Killer. Of course he would, after what happened a few months ago.
"You have? That truly is serendipitous," Jun remarks to Maya of Gas Chamber. "Well then, shall we?"
~ * ~
It isn't long until the three of them are at Kameya Alley, almost at the izakaya (in)famous for its banana ramen, the only ramen on the menu. Jun gives Maya a thoughtful look when she brings up the Joker Killer's cohorts, though.
"We did," he says, glancing at Eikichi. There was that redheaded gothic lolita girl, but also... "I ran into several members of that group sometime later. I gave that information to Sergeant Suou--he didn't mention?" He looks back at Maya. "I don't have the notes I wrote on them on me right now, but I still remember them well. I can tell you as much as I can."
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
Eikichi feels electrified by Maya's energy for Gas Chamber. Nevermind that the band has only had one show....or that the current membership only seemed to exist because Eikichi said they did. No Eikichi is just feeding off of Maya's energy, spouting his own very bad english. "OH YEAH! SO LUCKY!"
After they arrive to Kameya Alley, Eikichi is a little more dialed into the conversation, having taken a likening to Maya's likening of his band. "Hmm Anything back then? Eh, A lot of it is from the point of view of someone who being trapped...I got no doubt that they were trying to get me. Just how things go at Kasu."
"Still, Kashihara is right about the Gothic Lolita girl...real spooky one at that."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
"The two of us have both been busy with work..." Maya thinks back over the past month and everything that had happened with Sojiro. "...and other things, too," she adds with a sheepish smile.
"What I'm really interested in, though, is their physical appearance and any combat specialties they might have had." Maya was sure Katsuya had the former part, but wasn't so sure about the latter. She'd explain more about why she was curious about their prowess on the battlefield, but she wasn't sure how wrapped up in the supernatural Eikichi was. It probably wasn't a good idea to overwhelm an interviewee at the start of an interview.
Eikichi's enthusiasm is catching and Maya has to do her best to temper it. Professionalism! "You don't happen to know why they captured you, do you, Mishina-kun?"
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
"Ahh, I see," Jun muses to Maya. "It's difficult being an adult, isn't it..." His mother and father have a good work-life balance, but that wasn't always the case. He had to throw a violent fit before they understood that themselves.
"I'm afraid I have little insight into their combat specialties--though, Eikichi-kun might have an idea into Chidori-san's? That's the redheaded girl I mentioned," he explains, nodding to Eikichi when he calls her 'spooky.' "She was there with the Joker Killer the day they attacked Kasugayama High. My memories of that day are blurry, but I do remember she had an axe she threw on a chain. She nearly killed an underclassman with it... but fortunately, a friend of mine and I managed to stop the bleeding long enough for emergency services to arrive, and he pulled through."
Why had they gone after Eikichi in the first place? Jun falls silent and looks at him. He'd like to hear this explanation, too. Maybe it'll give him insight into his own circumstances, though he is admittedly not very hopeful about that.
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
"Eh?" Eikichi blinks for a moment, genuinely caught off guard by the question. In truth, Eikichi was so used to people coming to start fights that he had not thought about it. "Uhhh, I just assumed it was one of my adoring fans."
"Yeah. My memory of that day is starting to fade too...Like I remember the Joker Killer fought with a lot of fire." Eikichi finds somewhere to sit.
"Like I couldn't tell you who did this because there are so many knuckleheads who'd try something like this without thinking it through. I ain't even that mad about being a target so much as I'm mad about the student who got caught up in it. If you're gonna fight me, fine but you better make sure your fist doesn't hit someone else."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
Maya begins mentally adding this information to her repository of Joker Killer-related knowledge as she takes her seat at the table.
"Until recently, the Jo-- the Old Maid's--" She really needs to get used to using that name instead! "-- attacks have been pretty subdued, at least when it involves the game. But first there was the incident at Seven Sisters, and then this... there has to be a reason for it!"
Maya says the last few words loudly enough that a few of the restaurant's patrons shoot her a disturbed look. Oops.
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
For a group of three, one of the tables off to the side is best. Jun meets Ma'am's eye from where she stands behind the counter and gives her a smile of greeting, but soon returns his attention to his companions as he sits with Eikichi.
"I can't offer much of any insight into the reason, but... Well, let me first explain who I met. On top of that girl, Chidori, there's at least three more members of the group the... Old Maid?... is with. Collectively, they called themselves Strega, and though they're on good terms with him, it seems like they don't fully trust him, either. One member, who had an eerie self-assurance and seemed to be the leader, was named Takaya; another, with an irritable demeanor and seemed to be the group's information gatherer, was named Jin; and the last, a muscular girl with an abnormal amount of cheer who seemed to be the group's bruiser, was named Niko. If they have family names, I don't know them."
Jun pauses. Maya already knows this next part, but Eikichi doesn't. "...They approached me because they wanted to know why that man is so obsessed with me. Unfortunately, I don't know either... though at this point I have some guesses." He bows his head a bit, expression shading. "They claimed the Old Maid had told them, but wanted to know what I have to say. As I said: they don't seem to fully trust him."
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
Eikichi looks between Maya and Jun, trying to learn more about the situation he was in. Though one thing was bothering him. "Why do we call him the Old Maid? Like is it some kind of ghost thing where if you say his name, he shows up or...?"
Jun's perspective does make Eikichi recall the day a little better. He listens, feeling his hands curl up into tight fists as the anger sort of returns. After a moment, all Eikichi can do is add. "You met with those guys again? Geez, dude, you are the last person who should be messing with those guys."
"It sort of makes sense that they don't like each other. They don't really strike me as the comradery type." Eikichi looks up at Jun and Maya. "You just get a vibe that these guys are one bad day from fighting each other."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
Maya's eyes narrow slightly at Jun's explanation and her lips pull into a slight frown. She rubs her earlobe -- a habit of hers whenever she's thinking hard about something. "Why would they work with him if they don't trust him?" she says it more to herself than to anyone else at the table, but she would welcome any theories the students had. "Maybe they're biding their time?"
Still, she doesn't dwell on it for too long (though she will likely later!). "I don't really know why people call him that name in particular, but I think calling him by his... given?" That's not quite right, but that's the best word she can think to use. "...name makes them uncomfortable."
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
"I don't know. They seem like odd people to say the least. My biggest concern at the time was getting away from them," Jun admits to Maya. "The girl, Niko, seemed like she was on the best terms with him from the way she spoke, and the friendliest in general. If you take the appropriate precautions... maybe you could ask her directly? Though I don't have any insight on how you could find her, either."
He shakes his head at Eikichi. "No--just the once, when they blocked me off in an alleyway." He pauses, realizing that's not quite true. "I did run into Niko again later, but that was by accident, and I was with a group at the time, so she hadn't paid much attention to me. I haven't seen her since."
He touches his chin in thought as they discuss the 'Old Maid' vs. the 'Joker Killer.' "I don't know that, either. If I had to wager a guess, I'd say it's a joke based off the 'Joker' in his name, but I don't really know why people call him that, either. I suppose because it's what he calls himself?" He shrugs, then bows his head. "...Supposedly, his real name..." He looks around surreptitiously; no one is close enough to overhear. "...is Tatsuya Sudou--son of Foreign Minister Tatsuzou Sudou," he whispers. "I heard about this from Sergeant Suou and a private detective. If that's true, that's certainly one reason why he's referred to by a pseudonym..."
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
"Hell if I know...I've barely interacted with the other guys but could be a situation where they are both getting something?" Eikichi places a hand under his chin, considering more about Old Maid and his friends at Strega.
"Still, I don't like that they can show up whenever they want. Lemme know next time they hassle you, Kashihara." Eikichi nods, thinking as they discuss the Joker Killer's name.
Eikichi pauses when he hears Sudou's name, narrowing his eyes. "So he's rich...guess that makes sense...Tch." He wants to wring Sudou's neck to be fair. Still maybe with the name, Eikichi could get the drop on the Old Maid after all.
"I went to the Detective Agency to get them to find the guy. I have a feeling that the Old Maid isn't great when you catch them off guard. So I want to flip it on them and see if we can surprise him for once."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
Maya nods. She knows the Joker Killer's true identity already.
"I heard there's people trying to catch him off-guard already," Maya says, tapping her index finger against her lip secretively. "Your wish might come true without you having to lift a finger to make it happen!"
That's the hope, anyway. "I'll see if I can get any info on this Niko from one of my contacts," she says. "But for now, let's order! I'm starved!"
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
"It could be... I doubt Takaya or Jin would share anything, and I didn't talk to Chidori so I don't have a good read of her, but Niko might let something slip. She seemed the talkative sort," Jun remarks. All the more reason for Maya to see if she can track her down.
Rich... Jun can't deny that, but he's also not so sure of that. Then again, Sudou was wearing a suit when they first met. Maybe Eikichi's right. Either way, he says nothing on that mark.
"Kuzunoha? I've been there. Uchida-san's reliable," he remarks. He gives Maya a faint, rueful smile. "Maybe--but knowing Eikichi-kun, I doubt he's satisfied with letting someone else handle it. Not when he could settle the matter with his own fists."
But for now--food! Jun nods in agreement and reaches for his menu, though he's been here enough over the years that he hardly needs it. It comes with growing up a local. "Yes, let's. I'm quite hungry myself."