2026-01-15: Attuned To Danger, Paranoia's Warranted On Both Sides
- Log: Attuned To Danger, Paranoia's Warranted On Both Sides
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Miho Ijuuin
- Where: Hirasaka -- The Shijioka's Yard
- OOC Date: 2026-01-15
- IC Date: Mon Sep 10 2012
- Summary: After posting some concerning comments to the Phantoms' group chat, the person who Lance finds to help Tsubasa when they hide from the New World Order in someone else's shed... is a member of the New World Order, listen, Lance is a VERY good girl but she has NO evil detecting abilities. Miho recognises the sorry state Tsubasa is in, but the help she can offer them... doesn't exactly calm them down, especially when she threatens to kill them if they reveal she's with 'them', too. Still, in a strange way, is she helping them in their efforts to bring down the Order...?
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa was going home -- but they needed to divert their path, after they saw the same (it must have been the same!) black car passing by multiple times. They took a moment to draft up a warning for the group chat, just in case -- and then they turned their phone off.
It's not safe to keep it on. They're pretty sure they can track them.
For instance: because of the same red shirt they see passing by three times, on this new route. (Never mind that it's the uniform of a nearby drugstore, and they're all walking to their next shift -- Tsubasa's never been in there, they just see how it all matches up.) That's clearly unsafe, and so they divert again, down into a residential path. This is the nicer part of Hirasaka, so some people even have gardens... and when a car passes by too slowly, that's Tsubasa's cue to jump over a low fence keeping the back yard from the front in one nice little property to hide out there.
Mrs. Shijioka would have been quite happy to shelter Tsubasa in her house, of course -- except that she's out, right now, taking her mother on a trip to the country. She's left Mr. Shijioka to handle the house alone... and he leaves the house alone, when he's out for work. Luckily, his wife prepared a lot of food for him and put it in the fridge so he wouldn't go hungry...
... but he's a man who has hobbies; and that means he has a shed, out in his nice little backyard. Tsubasa immediately beelines for it, not even registering that they leave poor Lance outside. (She whines, concerned.) Only one window, and it's dusty as hell -- there's a shovel, and bags of mulch, and some plants mid-potting.
They won't find them in here... and if they do, they have a weapon, now.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
As it happes, THEY are here.
Miho Ijuuin does not relish jobs like this, but they are preferable to having to kill someone for the Order, so there's that. The owners of the house are Out at the moment, and for their sake, they should hope that that remains true. It's a nice little property indeed. And...
Lance might detect the presence of a PERSON in the house as Miho accesses the family files. A little searching on the computer; a little searching in cabinets. Miho is masked, of course, but the sort of mask that indicates she's sick, rather than a paper bag or something gauche like that. It will serve to obscure her face well eniough if she's seen.
And of course, she's going to leave a Note.
But for right now, she's just put the finishing touches on obscuring her presence except for said note...
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
'Arooo...'
The Shijiokas aren't supposed to have a dog, and yet, unmistakably, that's the sound of a Sad Dog in the background, with a claw scratching at the door.
'Rouwf!' Lance barks, trying to get the attention of the PERSON inside. And if she comes to quiet the dog, she will find: the Shijiokas don't have a dog. No, a tosa inu with scars like that...
... she's seen it once before, hasn't she?
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
They do not have a dog. Miho checked; indeed, she glances again. No dog dishes, no dog accessories... Nothing to indicate the presence of a canine. So goes to quiet the dog, and--there. She has seen this dog before.
"Well, well," Miho says. "Hello, girl."
"Is your master here?" she wonders. "...Let's find out."
Miho will follow dog.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
When Miho opens the back door, Lance's tail starts wagging, her ears perking up. Look! The house contained a Friend! She's met her before, she's a Friend--!!!
Lance trots a few steps towards the shed, and then looks towards Miho, to make sure she's following. Wag, wag, and she trots the rest of the way to the shed, scratching at the door. 'Rrrrrooooo...'
"Shit-- shh, Lance!" A gravelly voice can be heard, hissing, from inside the shed. "Hang on --"
The handle of the shed rattles, as if being depressed in a queer sort of way. (Well, that's also true, but it's Tsubasa's elbow doing the work.) As the door swings out, there they are, in their green and magenta hair and their Kasugayama boy's uniform, the bottom half of their shirt tied over their binder-clad belly -- green and black, this time.
They're also holding a shovel in their hands like a sword -- much like the way Miho once showed them, incidentally, though they're grasping the shaft rather than the rounded handle.
Seeing Miho, their eyes widen, and the first thing they think to do is to swing the damn thing.
(They've never actually swung a real sword any longer than they were holding Miho's, thugh.)
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Lance! Miho is indeed following with some amusement. It's definitely... a way of beig stealthy. The door swings open, and--a shovel!
Miho marvels briefly at Tsubasa's weapon, but only very briefly. She reaches out and--
Catch.
Miho catches the shovel up the shaft below the blade, and deftly twists it out of Tsubasa's hand, keeping hold of it but lowering it to her side. "Good spirit," Miho says, "And not terrible technique."
"But poor follow-through, and poor choice of weapon. A shovel is better swung as a bludgeon than as a blade."
She is very calm. But here, she also says, "I suggest you stay quiet, if you want to avoid attracting attention. Quiet, but not silent; I'm quite interested in what brings you here."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
And of course Tsubasa tries to keep hold of their weapon; but Miho's been doing this since she was much younger than them, and Tsubasa's overwhelming force doesn't actually mean shit in the real world. Here? Here, they're a scrawny brat left gaping at how futile their assault even was. "H--holy shit --"
They scramble back into the shed, only to trip over those bags of mulch; their back hits the wall, and it's at least out of view of that dusty window. Quiet, she said, and somehow they manage not to scream about it. (Who would come, anyway? There's a reason they didn't go to the community police box, in so much danger.)
"You--you're the one here," Tsubasa hisses out, pointing at Miho. "You're one of them, ain't you?! You been followin' me all mornin'!"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
In the real world, Miho is the one with overwhelming force; six feet tall and muscular, it is no trouble for her to overpower a Youth. And Tsubasa, whatever else they are, is a Youth.
"Hm?" Miho wonders, and tilts her head thoughtfully. "Yes and no," she answers calmly.
"Yes, I'm one of 'them'," she agrees, though she should probably check what 'they' are for Tsubasa. It's true, though. She is definitely one of a 'them'. "But I have not been following you. My presence here has nothing to do with you; I only came to you because I met your dog."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Bullshit," Tsubasa hisses, when Miho insists she's not following them. "It was when I texted everyone, right? Fuckin' knew you pricks bugged me phone!" They pause. "Fuck, but that car was trackin' me before I sent that... an' how you doin' that when me phone's off, huh?!"
They pause. "Wait. Shit. Live audio feed from the damn thing, right? Fuck, I shoulda known -- well you're too late! I already warned everyone!"
They're very suspicious, aren't they...?
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Tsubasa sounds very familiar in the moment. Miho continues to watch them, and... hear them, too. The phone...
Miho shakes her head. "No," she says. "I was here for reasons unrelated to you, and if they are bugging your phone, they did not give me access to it. Though... it shouldn't work when it's off. Do they have that technology...?" she considers that. "No, probably not."
"I'm glad you warned whoever about whatever," Miho says amiably, "But it has nothing to do with me." She pauses. "But you're attuned, aren't you? Aware of the dangers in a way most people aren't..."
"They call it 'paranoia', and sometimes it is. But sometimes it's true."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa keeps eying Miho suspiciously... but now they think about it, haven't they heard her voice before? Even with that mask...
(Hey, that mask...)
They didn't give her access. "So -- so what, they got so many people you can just -- not fuckin' know?" They shoot back to her, sharply, though they're still keeping their voice down.
"Tch..." Attuned to the dangers, is it? Tsubasa lays a hand on that bag of mulch, shifting uncomfortably on the bark shards to try and find a position that doesn't suck quite so much. "I ain't fuckin' paranoid," they scowl, darkly. "They really are out to get me. It's 'cuz a me father, man!"
... and if Miho ever got curious following that first meeting, she'd know that's Hanzou Seki, and that cruel man with friends in the police force is, indeed, one of them.
"They did somethin'," Tsubasa insists, "when they was zappin' me brain an' shit. Musta put somethin' in there while I was out," and if they were unconscious for 'zapping', that's most likely electro-convulsive therapy. "But I know what they did. I know there's somethin' there. They wanted me to forget the numbers, man, I ain't never forgot nothin'. An' you!" They point, at Miho -- at Miho's mask. "You know it's in th' air conditionin', don't you?! That's why you got that fuckin' thing on!"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Yes," Miho answers plainly, because nobody's paying her to not tell teenagers it's a big conspiracy.
"Both can be true," Miho points out of paranoia. "You can be jumping at shadows while the true danger lurks where you don't see it."
She was curious, but she isn't going to share that part for the moment. Not for the moment, anyway.
"Do you think so?" Miho wonders, and then--lifts up a hand and lowers the mask. "No," she says. "I have the mask on to conceal my identity. But you've met me before, haven't you? So that isn't a problem." She replaces the mask.
"There is nothing in the air conditioning. If they had the power to control minds through the air, they would not need people like me to do their work for them."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Fuck." Akechi was right, then. It's -- massive. And this woman, she's --
They look all the more haggard, when Miho points out that jumping at shadows might make it harder for them to see true danger.
And it's a stressed expression which grows shocked, when Miho pulls her mask down, to confirm she's -- "I--Ijuuin-senshu," they stammer out, with the honorific for a professional athlete. "That's right -- you said -- you said you'd know if I went talkin' 'bout you!"
Miho says it's not in the air, though, and Tsubasa looks doubtful. "How do you know, man? How do you know? They got me some way, fuck. Said it was 'cuz me family sucked... but how sick is that! You don't become a monster 'cuz ya copped some shit!"
They look back and forth -- no way out. "An' what ya mean, you do their work for them? Fuck -- you workin' with that guy in th' Black Mask?"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Yes," Miho says. "I did." It was mostly intimidation; because nobody is likely to believe Tsubasa if they say something against such a famous figure, she probably wouldn't actually hear about it. She is not going to give this small piece of relief to Tsubasa, such as it would be.
"You certainly don't have to be a monster to be affected by them," Miho says, though she doesn't quite catch all of the nuance with that one. "But I know because if they were able to control me directly, I wouldn't be having this conversation with you. Of course, the possession of that 'power' does protect you from their influence..."
Hmmm.
Either way. "No," she says. "The Black Mask is mysterious even to us." Do their work for them...?
Well, maybe that's as much as she's willing to say, there.
"You are on the organization's radar. But they don't have control over you, not directly. If they did, do you think you would be able to question them this way?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
And since Miho doesn't disabuse Tsubasa of the notion -- what can they do but presume everything does get back to her?
Still, Miho insists that she wouldn't be having this conversation if she were controlled. "Tch -- so -- what you sayin'? You protected 'cuz you know it's dangerous, too? But you're one a them! You doin' th' goddamn controllin'!"
It's still not clear to them that Miho's just as trapped. Why would it be? She's six feet tall and massive; they don't just feel dwarfed because they tripped over all these bags of bark, either.
To 'us', she says, and that's confirmation enough.
"I knew it!" Tsubasa hisses, when Miho confirms they're on the radar. "But -- look -- it's 'cuz -- 'cuz..." But they falter, unable to find some explanation how direct control maps to the words they're saying right now. "... fuck, man... he said it was, like, vibes an' shit, jus'... how it gon' be that subtle? Gotta be somethin' they doin'..."
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"The organization has many levers of control, some more subtle than others. They control their own members as surely as they try to control others--I am not overfond of them, myself."
But, good enough.
"No," Miho says. "They want to control you, but they cannot as yet. That is where you have 'hope'. So long as you continue being outside their grasp, you may yet be able to work against them."
"It is subtle because it would not work if it were overt. Their tendrils are in many things--but they influence rather than directly control, for the most part. For instance, they hold hostages--and in the process, dictate the behavior of others. In other cases they simply offer advice, or suggestions... and because people do not know their intent, they take them."
Miho offers back the shovel. "You should wipe this down and put it away." She's wearing gloves, of course.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"So you cop it, too, huh..." Tsubasa's eyes narrow. "That what happened to me mom?"
(Only in a certain sense; Etsuko Seki isn't directly known to Miho's organisation. But isn't it more comforting to think it's some faceless Other that's pressuring her instead of the fist enforcing her behaviour? ... they have always been making excuses for him.)
"They want it... tch." Tsubasa scowls, darkly. "Guess that's why me folks are tryin' to get me back onside, right? They couldn't kill me," wait what, "so they want me to play nice? Bet it's real embarrassin' pointin' out I know who he fuckin' is..." And they're right; but they don't know the half of it.
(What was that about jumping at shadows?)
Still... it wouldn't work if it was overt, huh? "Tch," Tsubasa's tongue clicks to their teeth, again. "So who've they got hostage for you?" ... paranoid or not, they're apparently still pretty sharp.
At Miho's silent invitation, they pick themself up standing again -- only to jerk their hand back. "Hang on -- you jus' said that's a trap!" They insist, still suspicious. "Offerin' me suggestions an' shit!"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"It's possible," Miho says. "I'm not completely familiar with your circumstances... though you can be sure what I don't know I'll be inclined to find out, now." It's very interesting now.
Still, "Yes, that is my assumption," she says. "Where the stick fails, the carrot may yet apply."
"I'm not going to tell you that," Miho says of hostages. "Suffice to say that it is someone important. You're sharp, to pick up on that, all the same."
But suddenly--Hmm. "True," Miho says. "You'll have to use your judgement; in this case, I suggest it to conceal your presence here, which would be an inconvenient lead for both of us. I was wearing gloves; my presence is thoroughly disguised. Yours, however, is not."
"Of course, you don't have to take this suggestion; they probably won't search this place for your fingerprints. ...Probably."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"H--hey, fuck off outta my shit!" Tsubasa protests, far too late. "I never said I trusted you!"
They're deeply paranoid, but apparently not paranoid enough, if they're getting more agents of the Order interested in them...
Indeed, what if Miho is the carrot?!
(Tsubasa doesn't know who Miho is the carrot for...)
They scowl, when Miho denies them the information they're asking for. Still: it's someone. "If I weren't smart, I wouldn't see what you people are doin'," Tsubasa insists, a touch defensively. "It's the sharp people what are worried."
Miho suggests using that brain to exercise some judgement, though, and Tsubasa looks sceptically from her to the shovel. "..." They're stubbornly silent, for a few moments, until she repeats that probably --
-- at which point they snatch it out of her hands and rest it by the wall while they dig through their bag for a packet of antiseptic wipes, which is apparently the best they've got on hand for scouring their fingerprints. (They're not a very... practiced sneakthief, are they?) Give them some credit, though: they think to wipe down the plastic bags they landed on, too, since their hands were also touching those.
"I don't trust you," Tsubasa insists, again, though it's slightly diminished by the way their back is turned to her so they can get to scrubbing things down. "But I guess I believe you're bein' forced into it. Tch... if you weren't, I'd be dead already, right...?"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Neither do I trust you."
That's what it's for! But Tsubasa mentions being smart, and Miho nods. "True," she says.
The wipes are nice enough. They are not very practiced, but they do manage to do that. And Tsubasa says that they don't trust Miho...
"Probably," Miho says. "It would be... inconvenient, for me, if you were to reveal my affiliation. The safest way to ensure that you don't is to kill you."
"However, you may yet manage to oppose the organization, and I'd like to explore that possibility. So, here's our deal."
"You don't reveal my affiliation, and I don't reveal the color of your blood."
"While I doubt most would believe you... some might. And I'd prefer not to deal with that complication."
"You can break our deal," she says, "But then I'm inclined to become spiteful. And then it won't matter if we've already ruined things. Yes?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Cool, great, so we don't trust each other." Tsubasa's a touch sulky about it, because they didn't trust her first!
At least Miho recognises they're smart. (It would be safer if she didn't, Tsubasa...)
But there are a lot of things which aren't safe around Miho -- including, as it happens, them. They freeze up when Miho suggests a solution to her inconvenience; the way they gulp down the lump in their throat is audible.
Slowly -- no sudden movements -- they turn, back towards Miho, shoving those wipes roughly into a pocket. And they do not look pale, thanks to their deep fake tan, but their eyes are wide and their nostrils flared to draw in the breath they need with their jaw clenched tight.
"Y...you're way too calm sayin' that..." But didn't they encounter her with a blade, the first time they met? It was clean, but... she just told them to...
"Y--y'ain't gott' do n-nothin' drastic," Tsubasa insists, raising their hands, palms-up, in front of them. "Don't-- don't kill me, man, I -- I won't say shit!"
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
"Indeed."
Tsubasa gets the picture, all right. Wide eyes, nostrils flared...
"That is true," Miho says. "But I am calm doing most things."
"Good," she says of not having to do anything drastic. "That is my preference. Perhaps you'll even strike a telling blow against our mutual acquaintances, in time. That would be... good."
"You should be careful about sharing the things I didn't protect with my threat, though. Only my identity and affiliation are unacceptable to share... But the rest could be dangerous to you for other reasons besides me."
"Good luck," she offers. "Now, I'm going to go. In five minutes after I have, you should go in the opposite direction."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Calm doing most things, huh.
Tsubasa can picture -- quite clearly -- Miho calmly skewering them and hiding the body. Would anyone ever figure it out, or would their girl be stuck searching for someone who isn't even alive any more...?
Even if she wants them to bring down the people she's working for... this chick is terrifying?!
They're struck to quiet, which at least means they're listening to her, a few nervous nods scattered throughout her advice. (Didn't she just say something about the Order's advice?) It's at least... not impossible she really wants the Order to bleed, hearing her carve out that intel. "'Cuz there's -- a lot a ya -- yeah?"
There's so many of them, Miho didn't even know about what Tsubasa said...
Tsubasa swallows, again. "S--sure." And while maybe they should ask how she plans to keep tabs on their opposition, something tells them it's wiser not to ask. "Th...thanks...?"
They don't... exactly know what happened here. Did... the enemy just, like, help them, or...
... Miho can be pretty assured they'll follow her advice, though.
<Pose Tracker> Miho Ijuuin has posed.
Miho is so used to being terrifying that it doesn't always register for her.
"There are many, yes."
She doesn't share much more. Instead, Tsubasa seems to agree, and that's good enough. Miho is assured.
So she turns, mask still on, and starts to walk away. But first--
She crouches down and scritches Lance.
Then she goes.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Lance, waiting outside the shed, is quite happy for the attention. Wagwagwag, goes her tail. Friend found her favourite human! They're not trapped in the tiny house any more!!
Tsubasa takes a lurching step forward, but just far enough to watch the direction Miho leaves. They don't feel nearly secure enough to pull out their phone to time five minutes, so -- they wait for what they're pretty sure is that long, counting the seconds up in their head.
"C'mon," they say, to Lance, voice shallow, as they hop the fence to get out, and so does she.
Off in the opposite direction...
... c'mon, man, what would they even be able to do if they did follow Miho?