2026-01-26: Duty and Honesty
- Log: Duty and Honesty
- Cast: Shinjiro Aragaki, Reiya Aomori
- Where: Iwatodai Dormitory
- OOC Date: January 26, 2026
- IC Date: September 16, 2012
- Summary: Shinjiro and Reiya talk in Reiya's room about what happened with the SEES dorm raid, with Shinjiro revealing the extent of his betrayal and his condition. Despite everything, Reiya still respects him for fulfilling his duty in the face of death. The two discuss the Kirijo Group, and also, fish!
-================================================== Iwatodai City/Iwatodai ====- A large four-story dormitory used by the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, only five minutes from Iwatodai Station. Upon entering, one passes a desk with a sign-in book for guests to find a large carpeted common room that's well appointed for co-ed gatherings. A TV is usually on with the local news or a movie that's been loaded into the DVD player for a student to enjoy. A table for shared dinners, or more often study sessions, takes up the other half of the dorm, as well as a kitchen should one dare to show off their skills to their fellow students. There are two winding staircases on either side. The one on the left simply says 'Boys' while the other on the right states 'No Boys Except By Invitation.' The implicit threat of execution need not be written down for those who violate these rules. The second and third stories are living spaces divided by gender with common spaces that have study areas and bookshelves available. The fourth story is the command center with surveillance capabilities for not just different parts of the city but each room within the dorms. The Chairman has assured all who live here that this capability is strictly necessary. BGM - Dormitory Theme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj-FrFI0qnM
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
It's been a rough few days since the SEES dorm raid. Shinjiro's been quiet, but at the least, he did not fully retreat after the accusation that he's a 'traitor' or after Yukari snapped at him.
He's mostly been in his room or in the city, but today he's ventured out. He's sitting in the second floor boys' lounge, some sort of crime novel in his hand that he's clearly kinda bored with, but is just trying to get out of his room and remember that this is his dorm too, at least for right now.
After a few moments, he finally closes the book, taking a drink of a canned coffee resting next to him and sighing lightly.
He really needs to figure out how to deal with all of this. There's people he needs to talk to, after all...
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
It has been a rough few days for some. Reiya Aomori has goen on largely as normal. School, drama club, secret night-time outings on mysterious missions--the usual. But it is also Reiya's dorm, and he comes up the stairs now, dressed in his usual nice-casual sort of attire. He is calm as ever, his expression neutral, as he rises to see--
"Aragaki-senpai," Reiya greets. Shinjiro would be forgiven nfor not noticing his silennt steps.
"Hello." He comes to a stop. Maybe he also wants to talk to Shinjiro...
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
As Reiya comes up, Shinjiro only notices once he either sees Reiya or hears his voice. For all his observant nature, he's not good at picking up ninja footsteps.
"Aomori, hey." A thoughtful nod, as he takes another sip of his drink before that observant nature *is* good for something.
"What's up?" he asks, curious. He's clearly no longer busy, so it might be a good time to talk. They fought Niko together, and he knows Reiya's likely to have questions based off the dialogue that day.
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
If Reiya were an experienced ninja he'd know to make more noise when he's not doing ninja things. But as it stands, he's just a quiet kind of a guy.
"I was just coming back from an outing," Reiya answers as to what's up. "I am otherwise unengaged for the time being."
He pauses. "I am saying I am free to talk about what happened the other day if you are."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro pauses as Reiya explains. He's not sure how to react immediately until Reiya himself pauses, explains, and gets a very small smile that masks his hesitance.
In the end, Shinjiro needs a second to consider it, before sighing. "Sure. What's on your mind?"
He does take a glance around, though, to see if this is a good place to actually talk. It might be best if they go somewhere more private.
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"Good," Reiya says, and has the same thought as Shinjiro. "Come to my room; that way, we're less likely to be overheard." Reiya leads the way; his is downn the hall, and in the room itself it is... well, sparsely decorated. Assuming Shinjiro steps in, though, there is a computer on the desk, the bed is done in blue, and there is a large fishtank by the wall, filled with tropical fish of bright colors and interesting shapes.
Reiya will let Shinjiro close the door.
"...I wished first to ask how you made Niko's acquaintance."
He pauses. "...I don't object to your friendship. She seems a very friendly person, despite her actions. You performed your duty by repelling her regardless, and that's what would matter to me if it were my place to judge."
"But I am... thoughtful."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro nods, following, finishing off his coffee so he's not bringing a drink into someone else's room and trashing it beforehand.
Once he's inside, he's eying the sparse decor, but it's clearly the fishtank that catches his gaze. He silently marvels at the inherent gap between what he imagined of Reiya and the tropical fish, before turning to respond.
"...it's complicated," he says. Since they're in private, and he's told the story to others, he'll share it.
"I only met her in June. But we share a... sort of camaraderie. She knew who I was and basically declared us friends, because I know Strega."
The words leave his lips heavily, as he sighs.
"People like us frequent the alleyways, the darker sides of society. I feel a kinship, even if I don't agree with her actions as part of their group."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Shinjiro would seem to be very cosiderate!
The fishtank. "I like my fish," Reiya says of the fishtank when he sees Shinjiro looking at it. "I've collected them for some time. They are somewhat difficult to care for, but I have become adequate."
But... it's complicated.
"I see," she says. "She declared that I should call her 'Niko-chan,'" Reiya reflects. "But I doubt she cosniders us friends now."
Still...
"That makes sense," Reiya says. "Because you were on the outside together, you have something in common. ...I also have kinship with people I disagree with," he says.
"But..."
He frowns, then, trying to phrase it. "Are you all right?" he asks.
"I see now, why you said not to rely on you, I think. But I believe that SEES will continue to do so, if you allow us. Even inn the face of what some would consider conflicting loyalties, you chose SEES. ...And for more reasons than just Kirijo-senpai and Sanada-senpai."
"I think, at least. I'm not always good at reading people," he admits.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"They've very cool. Must be a lot of hard work."
But on the subject of Niko... Reiya seems to accept that. Shinjiro isn't sure if he should say more and ruin the moment or allow Reiya to be more in the dark, when he says something that hits him in the chest.
'Are you alright?'
That, followed by the rest of what Reiya says causes Shinjiro to exhale. Sympathy for the devil, huh? He's tense, as he finally settles on an even tone. "No. I'm not."
He glances back to the fish. Peaceful, serene. But their time on this Earth is fleeting.
"...you deserve to know. The reason I know Strega is because I was a customer of theirs. I was buying... I guess you could call it medicine, if you wanted. At first, they asked for cash. I was able to scrounge that up. But then they wanted information."
A pause. "Keep my ear low to the ground, tell them what I heard. I did that, too. It was a neutral arrangement, until Yamagishi was trapped. I made a deal for an Evoker, not... ready to come back, and they requested a favor."
Shinjiro rolls his shoulders.
"They cashed that a week before I came back. They wanted intel on my 'new friends' in exchange for the next dose. I gave them names. What I'd seen of abilities. What I thought about the group and their cohesion. This includes SEES."
A pause. "The next day, I was arrested in Sumaru. Kirijo bailed me out, and I asked her for a week to consider rejoining... and you're right, there was extenuating circumstances."
His hands are shaky, but they often are. His skin is pale, but it always is. He's a little gaunt.
"I'm unreliable for a lot of reasons. I don't know how to ask for help or not hurt the people I care about. That's why I said that."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"Thank you. They are." Work! But also cool? He doesn't specify.
Reiya speaks sincerely, when he speaks; he saves lies for the enemy, not his allies. And Shinjiro answers...
He is not. Reiya watches thoughtfully; there isn't much obvious sympathy on his face, but Shinjiro would know by now that Reiya does not emote overmuch. The transiet lives of fish; the transient lives of people...
He deserves?
"...I see," he says of medicine, and nods.
Medicine itself isnn't his business.
"Mm," he vocalizes at length.
Reiya does't have to read people to know this is difficult for Shinjiro.
"Most of that information is common knowledge," Reiya reflects. "Similar to the things I've given out in exchange for intelligence on potential adversaries. ...Though not all; I would prefer that you not have given them the full complement of information."
"But..."
"I'm more conncerned that Strega can source Evokers than I am that you gave information to former allies," he admits. "and..."
He considers. "Asking for help can be difficult. My mother doesn't like to ask for help, either."
"...Thank you for telling me all that."
"I think regardless of your opinion, though, you have proven to SEES that we can count on you. ...That may not be comfortable to live with, given the reasons you've mentioend, which are significant..."
"But I will either way continue to think of you as a member of the team, until and unless you leave again. If our leaders know your weakenssses, then they can compenstate. Isn't that so?"
He looks down, and frowns. "..I am glad, in this instance, that I'm not our leader. I donn't have to consider the downsides of what you've done in that."
"Can you get your medicine from elsewhere, now, or are you still reliant on Strega?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"...yeah," Shinjiro agrees on the full complement of information.
But Reiya mentions the evokers, and Shinjiro scratches the back of his neck. "I wish I knew. They don't have the SEES logos, but they're clearly our recipe, unlike the ones the NWO has."
But Reiya rejects that as a reason to consider him as unreliable, and Shinjiro struggles with that, quite visibly. There's clearly a lot of self-loathing in one Shinjiro Aragaki.
"...no, I cut contact with most of them when I rejoined. It's... a unique kind of 'medicine', but Kirijo is able to provide it to me. But... it has side effects."
Another breath. On one hand, this is his most personal secret, most personal worry. On the other... Reiya's a kind person. It'd be cruel to hide this from him when he's offering sympathy, when half of SEES already found out due to their digging, just because he didn't pry.
"I'm going through organ failure. I have less than a year in current estimates. Our leader... she's doing her best to help me. But I don't know that it isn't too late."
He sucks in a breath. "Only a few people know so far, and until a few days ago, it was just Kirijo. I've been anxious to tell SEES. That's selfish of me. So far, it's you, her, Fukura, Mandai, Kawase, and Takeba. It's... not an easy thing to break to anyone."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"Mm. And I doubt I can get it out of them..." It's a problem. But, not Shinjiro's problem. Strugglign with his statemennt is. But Reiya stands behind it; he doesn't stop to reassure, but he doesn't back down on it either.
"I see," he says againn. "...There's that, at least. It would put you in a much worse position, otherwise."
But his personal secret and personal worry? This actually gets a slight widening of Reiya's eyes; he is trained, but he is not inured yet to death, particularly of his friends and allies. He knows it's always possible on the battlefield, but...
"So... even with your death approaching, you choose to fight with us."
"I hope that it isn't too late. But to fulfill what you see as a duty in the face of death... It is the highest expression of honor. I respect you for that, Aragaki-senpai."
"...It is difficult to tell people, I'm sure. It is your business how and when."
"But I think..."
"You're right, to decide to start telling. It is the sort of secret we would... regret, not knowing."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Whoever it is, we'll stop them," Shinjiro decides to say.
But Reiya's eyes widen, and he says that he respects Shinjiro. That, too, makes him uncomfortable, but...
"...thank you, then," he decides. "...Takeba snapped at me, for... keeping it a secret from everyone. The worst thing is I need to tell Aki, but... how do you tell that to your own damn brother? With everything he's lost, that he's going to lose again?"
A sigh. "But you're right. I need to talk to Kirijo about... what happened with me and Strega more fully before I tell anyone else what's going on, though. I hadn't given her all of the details."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
He has his composure back, at least. "Yes," Reiya agrees.
Reiya nods. "That... Hmmm." He considers Yukari. "I can see that," he settles on. But Akihiko...
"Yes," Reiya agrees, "You do. I have no advice; my sisters and I already know the sort of duty we have. ...But I hope you can find a good way. I think he is strong eniough to withstand knowing."
Kirijo... Hmm. "All right," Reiya says. "That's important. ...And while I'm glad I'm not the one deciding what to do about it, I am sure you will not repeat those mistakes." Mitsuru needs the details...
"Well," he says. "That was all the questions I had. Unless you had any for me, I think the next sociable step would be to ask you about the book you were reading."
"...I think. Your taciturn nature makes it hard to tell what social cues are appropriate."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"...you're right," Shinjiro says regarding Akihiko. "He's so damn strong."
But regarding Kirijo, he nods. "...I like it here too much to do that," he admits, in a vulnerable place.
But Reiya offers questions to him. He's got one, but first, he laughs abruptly when Reiya says he's too taciturn t know if that's okay.
"Oh, that? Some mystery. It was real boring, prose was amateur."
A pause.
"...but I did have a question. What's your thoughts on what Niko was saying? About the Kirijo Corporation and the Dark Hour. It's... I'll be honest, I don't trust the corporation. But I do trust everyone in SEES." Especially Mitsuru.
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Reiya nods, firmly. Shinjiro would obviously know better than him--but he still thinks so.
"It's nice," Reiya agrees. 'Here'. Even though he has a 'home' to go back to, he still likes it here too.
Shinjiro laughs, and Reiya actually smiles faintly. "I see. I suppose it's better than doing nothing."
But a question...
"I believe that Mother and those she works with most closely are doing their best to correct the misdeeds of the past. ...But I can't deny it's possible that there are bad actors in the company, still. We can only try to root them out as best we can."
"But the Dark Hour.. I think she doesn't realize that the Kirijo Group created the Dark Hour, and I was not about to tell her as much. If man can create a thing, man can logically destroy that thing."
"I don't agree with her about the Dark Hour at all."
Pause. "But for Kirijo..." He sighs. "My mother is very secretive, but she has good reason to be. On the other hand, maybe I could've told more people some of my secrets sooner... there are things I might not have lost, that way."
"But I do believe the Kirijo Group--its leadership, especially--are sincere in what they've told us."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"That makes sense. I have no intention of telling anyone either," Shinjiro says about the Dark Hour, listening to Reiya's thoughts.
"...you're probably right, honestly. I do think her father was telling the truth when we met him. Your mother seemed nice too. It's more likely we have leaks than an active lie, I think."
A wince. Besides him, he thinks.
"...hey, Aomori? Thanks for hearing me out honestly. I'll do my best to not betray that respect."
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"Good."
Leaks rather than an active lie... "That would make sense. It's hard to account for everyone in such an organization." He appreciates Shinjiro thinking he's right, at least. But... Well.
"You are welcome," Reiya answers. "I prefer that we're able to be direct and honest where possible, as teammates."
"...And maybe, one day, as friends."
He nods. "I will assume you will succeed."
Pause. "...Would you like to hear about the fish?"