2026-02-02: Hanzou's Next Move, and Ren's
- Log: Hanzou's Next Move, and Ren's
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Ren Amamiya, Shuyo Hayama, Shuyo's Father, Hanzou Seki
- Where: Hirasaka - Third-Floor Apartment
- OOC Date: 2026-02-02
- IC Date: Wed, Sep 19 2012
- Summary: Tsubasa brings Ren home to disclose something personal to them: the depths of their paranoia, which at least involves a lot of solid research. At the worst time, Hanzou knocks on the door alongside Shuyo's father, with an announcement: they've decided that Tsubasa will be allowed to keep living here. But Hanzou instructs Tsubasa sternly to give up their 'polygamy', having found something new to criticise them about. When Ren insists that respect is earned, Hanzou's forced restraint gives Tsubasa an opening for a more subtle rebuke of his power -- and for today, at least, he walks away without crushing them. But Hanzou says he's the VICE-president, now... and Ren's worried about what that means.
- Content warning: Narcisisstic abuse, misgendering/deadnaming, stalking
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Once they got out of the Kingdom, Tsubasa... was a little awkward. It took a while for them to get around to the point of mentioning that they appreciated the second opinion on their suspicious vibes. It took about thirty more minutes of conversation before they came back to it to admit that there was a lot of shit like that which bothered them, at which point, they invited Ren over, because there was something they kind of figured they oughta be read in on.
Their apartment is on the third floor, and the first thing Ren sees, of course, is DOG, as Lance leaps out to greet them with a tail wagging a million miles an hour. "Yo, Tsubasa-kun," a voice comes from the front of the apartment -- the loungeroom, where a third-year boy with gelled black hair is watching television.
"Yo, Shuyo-kun," Tsubasa calls back. "Called a buddy over, Ren Amamiya. Gon' be in me room."
"Cool," Shuyo calls back. "Got more soda in the fridge."
"Tight." It's a quick trip down the hall to duck into the kitchen (it's an actual kitchen, this is a 2LDK apartment, it's way nicer than anything Ren might have heard about their first place), snagging a couple of sodas and giving Shuyo a chance to look over the back of the couch and salute Ren.
("Shuyo Hayama," he introduces himself, but parenthetically.)
Tsubasa's room is the smaller fit, but it's still a pretty sweet gig. There's a desk with an old computer on it, a Western-style bed, posters of various visual kei artists, a dresser displaying all the wigs they're not wearing, and a closet built into the wall. Opening it up --
There's a notebook open on the half-set of drawers built into it. (Black on white Bearing scars She's always battling Real savage knight Seen her tail rattling, goes a stanza scrawled in there. What's that about? It's probably nothing.) There's also an injection kit unzipped there, next to a small yellow sharps bin. And clothes, obviously, though Tsubasa shoves everything on a clothes hanger off into the side of the closet shadowed by the sliding door.
Thus exposed, it becomes more clear that the back of the closet is actually a cut-down piece of cardboard, spray-painted that off beige all walls are painted to blend in with the back.
"Okay, so, like," Tsubasa says, as they lean in to grab the edge of that and slide it down so it falls off of the drawer to expose the wall behind it, "don't freak out."
Why would Ren freak ou-- oh there's a corkboard set up behind it.
Oh. There's a corkboard set up behind it.
At the top is a picture of Tatsuzou Sudou, the Foreign Minister, with all the most suspicious public details about him listed down. He is connected to the Superintendent-General of the police force, with several pins below him -- and names like Officer Goichi Minero are connected, in turn, to Eiji Kamiya. (His crimes need no introduction. They're still briefed below his image, in bullet points.) He is closer to the other side of the board, where corrupt businessmen live -- connected, in turn, to Daichi Furudate, head of Furudate Development Industries. Printouts of dry reports and database information is pinned beneath his name, with several things which are presumably discrepancies highlighted. In Eiji's same vague twilight zone -- though he is connected to the image and briefing of their father, Hanzou Seki, executive vice president of Kimpara Electronics, through the crimes of being a crooked psychiatrist. Bereft of connections is one Kurou Nagasawa, a political assistant affiliated with the ruling party; in red, one bullet point reads simply, -> HE KNEW.
A section has been devoted to the media, though Tsubasa apparently hasn't localised any suspects there -- their briefs are all on channels they know to have been pedalling misinformation, primarily focused on the outlets who pushed the story that they were responsible for the Aoba Arson. They have connections to Eiji, to Furudate, to Tatzusou and the police -- and several others, besides, though these are marked with a different colour. Blue for conjecture, presumably; it's the same reason why so many of the strings from the top are in blue. The control must be there. They just haven't proven it.
There's a section titled 'ASSASSINS', and a black bar of a marker scrawl where a name was written. (-> If someone finds this, she'll kill me. -> Using fame as a cover? -> Unknown number -> Compelled to service through kidnapping loved ones, blackmail, etc. -> Some are Persona-Users? Coffins = consequence-free. -> Is this what happens to the ones in the pipeline who aren't powerful enough to benefit Sudou?) And, of course, this is where all their data on the Joker Killer lives, though one bullet point still wonders whether he's a man or just a Rumour. Strega has their own entry under here, too... and so does Niko! There's even an approximation of her handwriting, though a note admits it's a rough recollection.
Another section has pinned to it several pages which appear to be hand-written recollections of spreadsheets and data; connected to them are several points about the names and companies associated with the numbers. (-> Kanemizu LTD: Called under false inspection pretenses, no recollection of donation. -> Kawaharaki and Sons: Called under false inspection pretenses, no recollection of donation. -> Nigaya Company: Called under false inspection pretenses, confirmed donation, wrong amount, wrong date. -> Entire donation string's falsified. -> Donations sourced from several shells. -> They know what they're doing.)
It's like... they're building up the hard data to bring down the entire fucking government.
But so much of this is --
It's something you could only make if you feared for your life.
"Tried a buncha ways a hidin' it," Tsubasa explains, "but I work best when I got th' names, so I settled on this shit. Don't matter, anyway, they got half me data when th' cops dragged me outta that safehouse..."
Beat. "Uh." They look away from it, scratching at a cheek, their tone awkward. "I mean, like... this... this is th' shit in me brain, y'know? I see... connections, man. Like -- like -- shit rhymes." (Were those... lyrics, in that notebook? A poem...?) "All this shit happenin' to me, to everyone, it ain't... it ain't no fuckin' coincidence. But I... get in my head sometimes, man... I get freaked out. Like... figured it had to be in the air conditionin', at Shujin, 'cuz I turned me phone off in class back then... but that assassin said it herself, man, how it can't be that blatant 'cuz some a them agents hate their fuckin' job. But that shit -- it, like -- it makes sense, when I get freaked out... hn... so... felt like you oughta know I'm... like that."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren takes Tsubasa's gratitude and dithering both in stride. They're good at that sort of thing. Remembering the posts that Tsubasa made in the Phantoms group chat a while back that indicated a lot of paranoia, they're not surprised that they might be worried about a variety of things right now, even if Ichika had reassured them it was fine. There are legitimately a lot of things to be worried about in general, including Maria.
So Ren goes with them to their apartment. They nod in greeting to Shuyo before following Tsubasa and taking a moment to take in the apartment. It is very nice. They're glad for them. Tsubasa's room is nice too--cool posters, and a lot of colorful wigs. They glance at the closet when Tsubasa opens it up out of curiosity, though they refrain from nosing too much into it; the notebook goes unread, but they do note the injection kit.
...There's something in the back of the closet. Ren squints, just before Tsubasa slides away the cardboard and warns them not to freak out.
There's a corkboard set up behind it. Real conspiracy-theory-like. Ren has never seen one of these in real life before. On some level, they're actually impressed.
Their outward mein remains neutral as they look over it. They don't know what Tatsuzou Sudou looks like, but they did just learn his name from Akechi, so that part stands out immediately. From there, Ren's gaze travels to other photos and names, some they know, some they don't. Eiji Kamiya and Daichi Furudate stand out, but there's much, much more there besides. Connections to those who pushed the narrative that Tsubasa set the Aoba Park arsons, a section about assassins, including the Old Maid and Strega, a section on the data that may well have prompted their likely psychotic breakdown...
When all this sinks in, Ren finds they're mostly surprised that Tsubasa would do this after emphatically insisting they don't want to see their father's Palace, or even see if he has a Palace at all.
They look over at Tsubasa when they speak up. "Seems to matter a lot to you," they observe. Tsubasa has a habit of undercutting themself, they've noticed.
'Shit rhymes.' There's that turn of phrase again. That's hardly the most important thing here, but it does stand out to Ren even without having read the notebook. What's more important in their view is how Tsubasa concludes their explanation by saying I'm like that, like they're coming out. Like this is something they're ashamed of and think Ren might judge them for.
So: "Thank you for trusting me with this," they say. They take a few steps closer to get a better look at the corkboard, hands still tucked in their pockets. "It's probably not air conditioning or anything 'normal' like that. If they've got Persona Users in the NWO, they're probably using Mementos and Palaces and whatever else to get at people." They glance at Tsubasa. "Maybe Ateliers and Kingdoms too. We don't really know what they know."
A beat. They're tempted to ask 'which assassin,' but the corkboard makes it pretty clear this is a name not to be spoken aloud, so they don't. Instead, they raise a hand to point at the bit that wonders if the Joker Killer is a man or a Rumor. "I don't think he's a Rumor. He might be using Rumors, or influenced by them, but I think he's a real person."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Ren -- thanks them, and Tsubasa lets out a breath they didn't entirely register they were holding. "Cool." They're not freaking out, so... it's cool if they get a good look at it, too.
"It was, uh... when Akechi-san were tellin' me 'bout... findin' me Shadow in Mementos an' talkin' to them," Tsubasa explains, when Ren talks about the air conditioning. "An' how th' Black Mask prolly got to them before th' fire, too. He said someone could get fucked up enough to get one jus' 'cuz a bein' closeted an'... havin' a tense family life or whatever, but... didn't make no sense to me," they insist, putting that soda aside on the dresser so they can fold their arms. "Like... seems like ya go from havin' a spot in Mementos to havin' ya own Palace... jus' readin' into what he told me back then. An' all the fucks we seen with Palaces have been total pieces a shit... no way you'd get someone havin' one jus' 'cuz they were gettin' fucked over?"
It makes sense to Tsubasa, anyway. Bad people have Palaces.
Still... the Joker Killer, a real person? "Maybe," Tsubasa scowls, thoughtfully. "But some a th' shit that guy does... don't seem like no human can do that, man. Maybe he jus' got changed by a Rumour, or somethin'... man, but what kinda sicko would do that to himself?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren's eyes widen when Tsubasa mentions Akechi having met and spoken to their Shadow. "When was that?" they wonder--their kneejerk assumption is that it was two years ago around the arson... but Tsubasa only Awoke a couple months ago. It could've just as easily been around June. Nothing suspicious about that.
As they go on about how a Shadow might form and their doubts therein, though, Ren turns to them. "No, that tracks with what Morgana's told us. Shadows show up in Mementos because the person they belong to start holding distorted views. After they get REALLY distorted, they develop a Palace. In theory, you don't have to be evil, you just have to not see things the way they really are." A beat. "But we sure have seen way more rotten people in Mementos than not. It could be rare."
If anyone would have cause to look into the Shadows of victims, though, it's Akechi. Especially if he acknowledges that the Black Mask likely also spoke with Tsubasa's Shadow... Ren bows their head for a moment, eyes narrowing. Then they shake their head.
"Hard to say," they say of the Old Maid. "He's got a Persona, but you're right, he does a lot of stuff I've never seen anyone else do. But maybe that's just because I haven't seen enough." They stare back at the corkboard. "The Phantoms met up with Cardboard Dragon a while back, and that meeting made it clear to us there's a lot going on in the supernatural world that we don't know anything about. That's why we've got to learn more."
What kind of sick would do that to himself? Good question. Ren falls silent for a moment to ponder it. Did he do it to himself? They don't know that, either.
"So, this actually brings up something I've been meaning to ask," they continue, looking back at their friend. "Have you had any luck figuring out Furudate's keywords?" Simply entering his name would confirm he's got a hit--but they still need to know the location and the distortion before they can enter any Palace.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa scowls. "Akechi-san said he, like... inputted the names a everyone in Kasugayama into his Navigator, checkin' if they had Shadows... so it couldn't a been more than nine months ago. An' he did it again, later, an' couldn't find mine after I woke up as Phoenix. But, like, November last year, Akiyama burned down... that was th' old no-hoper girls' school, where they dumped me after I got outta hospital an' shit. Fuckers tried to pin that on me too," they grumble, fingers drumming on their arms. "But start a th' year, fer th' new term, they dumped us in with Kasugayama... before then, that joint were boys only.
"But he reckoned me Shadow woulda been in there way longer than that... since I guess they were real confused 'bout it, but they said someone showed up before I set that fire... jus', couldn't remember what th' fuck happened. He said... that's why he began suspectin' there was a culprit behind it." Tsubasa's grasp tightens, a little. In theory, but... "But before th' fire, my life was pre' normal, man," and there's a threadiness to their tone, as if they're trying to convince more than just Ren. It might be nothing. "So what, I... I was jus' bad 'cuz I'm 'X'? Fucked up..."
They shake their head, with a frustrated noise at the back of their throat. "World's a big place, yeah," they scowl. "Might... figure shit out if I truck with Uchida-san some more. She reckons Phoenix is me 'friend', so I can act like I know about this junk without bein' able to do nothin' 'bout it..."
Furudate's keywords, though -- Tsubasa unpins one of those reports, and goes for a specific page. "See here? This is a financials report," and Ren can probably tell that much because it's dense as shit and twice as boring, but there's one entry Tsubasa's highlighted. "They're funding a 'Magnate Project', came from th' top. Magnate's another word for a real wealthy businessman. Guys like this are super self-absorbed... if he thought to name somethin' that way, I fuckin' knew that's how he's thinkin' of himself on th' inside, too. Weird thing is, tho'... ain't his head office what's th' place. Ain't been able to pin down anywhere more important for th' fuck..."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren holds their chin as they consider this. That's... weird. Everyone in Kasugayama? That feels like it goes beyond what a detective would do. It feels more like... trying to find targets for an organization that wants to make use of potential Palace Holders.
They bow their head a bit, the lights glaring off their glasses. "..."
But then Tsubasa makes an assertion that Ren can't overlook, even for their own suspicions. They hear that threadiness. It's definitely not nothing.
"Tsubasa..." Their dark eyes are troubled as they try to think of what to say; Tsubasa helps them by once again undercutting themself by calling themself bad. Ren shakes their head. "You don't have to be 'bad' to have a Shadow. You just have to 'not see things the way they really are,'" they remind them with gentle emphasis.
Like, say, seeing an abusive home life as 'normal.' Having a Persona should mean that Tsubasa has enough self-knowledge to know better by now--but having a Persona doesn't make one unable to lie.
They don't push more than that for now, though. Instead, they nod at the mention of an Uchida-san and how Tsubasa's using their alter ego as a cover for being in the know. "Clever. But be careful about that," they remind them. They already know why; it was Akechi who showed both of them that the protection their cognitive costumes give them isn't impregnable.
Ren leans in when Tsubasa unpins a report about Furudate. "Uh huh," they say, taking in almost none of the financials report. At least Tsubasa already highlighted the important bits. They focus on that. "Magnate... You already ran that through the Meta-Nav? Good work," they say. But... so they're still missing a location. "Hmm... Maybe we need to get closer to him to figure it out. Not you--that's too dangerous for you." (As if The Phantoms haven't done plenty of dangerous things in the pursuit of a target's keywords.) "Why don't you share your progress with the team so far? We've figured out a lot up 'til now just by brainstorming together."
Read: letting Ryuji or Ann say random crap while the Meta-Nav is active.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
It would be way too fucked up if their parents tried to kill them then wanted to make nice, right? So it must just be not as bad as Tsubasa said it was. Easy.
(They're real good at lying.)
They rub at their arm, looking aside, as they hear Ren speak their name yobisute. "It's cool," they try to play it off, try to cover it off.
But Ren warns them to be careful, and Tsubasa shakes their head. "I know. Can't give th' game away."
They gnaw on the inside of their cheek, as Ren suggests bringing it to the team. "Dunno if it ain't gon' be dangerous for no one to get close to a guy tied in with human traffickin', man... but maybe?" They don't know about Ann and Ryuji's bullshitting powers, man. "Maybe we..."
There's a knock at the front door -- and Tsubasa's is close enough to it that they hear it quite well.
"Shuyo-kun? It's your father," comes a stern voice, behind it. "We've come about your visitor."
Tsubasa looks to Ren, sharply -- like an animal caught in a trap -- as Shuyo walks to the door, opening it up. "Dad?" He asks, and then -- "Uh. Hello, sir...?"
The voice who answers him is not just stern but sharp; a voice which has cut and left a thousand bodies. "Where is my daughter?"
And Ren can pinpoint the exact point Tsubasa's blood runs cold, and the bottom drops out of their chest. "Shit!" They hiss, under their breath, as they scramble desperately to replace the false back wall of the cupboard and slam it closed.
"What do you mean?" Shuyo can be heard stalling, out there -- and then he can be heard having to step to the side, as two men press their way in.
"I know you're hiding her," that voice insists, as one door slide-slams open --
"That's my room, sir!"
-- and he turns to the other side of the hall, shoving Tsubasa's more than a gentle slide. Hanzou Seki resembles Tsubasa, in a terrible way, though he looks like he hasn't slept in a week; in his late thirties, perhaps, a couple of inches short of six feet and possessed of a thick pair of glasses and a fine suit. His hair, though -- it's dark brown, just like his eyes. "Tsubaki," he issues them, scowling. "And with another boy entirely... your mother was right about those loose morals. Go home," he issues Ren, glaring to him. "I need to speak with my daughter."
Tsubasa swallows. "A--anythin' -- anythin' you got to say to me you can say in front a me friends, Father," they insist, though they're shaking.
"Hmph," he scowls. "Fine. Have it your way. He can tell your web of debauchery it's over."
"R--Ren-san's my friend!" Tsubasa insists, their hands tightening at their sides.
"Like those two who stuck their heads in a vat of bleach were your friends, I'm sure," Hanzou scowls. "Even dating girls... you're impossible. Come."
He broaches no argument, as he and Shuyo's father -- another man in a suit, though his hair is black rather than brown -- walk out to the loungeroom. "Sit down," Mr. Hayama directs them, gesturing to the couch; Shuyo and Tsubasa, at least, will follow those directions, as the men stand in front of them.
"We know that you were trying to hide her," Shuyo's father starts. "And we'll forgive a passion like that. But the two of us have been talking," he nods, to Hanzou.
"Father, Seki-senmu..." Shuyo's the one who tries to take point on cautiously interrupting them, seeing how terrified Tsubasa is. "You... knew they were here?"
"Fuku-shacho," Hanzou corrects him, sternly, to the address for the vice-president. "I've been promoted. And I would not lose track of my daughter so easily."
Tsubasa's artifice is the only thing obscuring the fact that they're white as a sheet.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It's cool, Tsubasa says, and it is painful to Ren how much they see themself in them, trying to play it off, trying to dismiss it. Their jaw clenches for a moment, but they let it go. They know they have to pick their battles.
"Yeah, but Furudate would at least not know who any of the others are," they point out instead. Tsubasa responds with a Maybe we--
And then there's a knock, not at Tsubasa's door, but the front. Ren doesn't pay it any mind at first, but hearing that it's Shuyo's father, they look up and over at the door. At first they're puzzled--visitor? How could anyone know they're here? They weren't even planning on coming here before Tsubasa invited them less than an hour ago--but the frightened look Tsubasa shoots them lets them intuit that the 'visitor' is actually them. Ren looks back at them with wide eyes.
There's a second voice. It asks for its daughter. Tsubasa scrambles to hide their board, and Ren immediately moves towards the door--not to leave, but to block the way of who is apparently Tsubasa's father long enough to give Tsubasa time to hide everything.
Good timing. A moment later, the door is shoved open, and Ren is positioned like they were about to leave. They fix that same wide-eyed stare on Hanzou Seki. With those thick-brimmed glasses, it may make them look innocent and, combined with the way they don't move when told, perhaps a bit thick.
Though they keep up that stare, inside, Ren's blood immediately boils. Maybe it's partially conflation with their own father, but between the comment about loose morals, the misgendering and the deadnaming, they immediately loathe this man.
They wouldn't move for Hanzou. Tsubasa, however, follows their father, and Ren does move for them. They follow them and Shuyo to the loungeroom, though they remain standing next to the couch, on the side where Tsubasa sits. Their hands are no longer in their pockets. They hang, closed and rigid, at their sides, as they stand with shoulders squared.
Less than a minute of listening to Hanzou talk explains so much about Tsubasa. For one, that deep paranoia they've got--of course they would be if their shitty dad could just track them down and waltz into their home without warning. They say nothing for now, since Shuyo is taking point, but their mien is as a granite headstone: cold and stony.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Ren isn't pleased to see Hanzou. Hanzou looks at Ren as if they are -- as if he is, in his eyes, surely -- a particularly large insect. Something which the eyes inevitably fall on; something they soon disregard.
"At first, Seki-fukushacho wanted to take Tsubaki home with him," Mr. Hayama explains, calmly. He does not have the aura of seething resentment and rage simmering just beneath his skin which the father beside him does, but neither is Shuyo's father all that gentle. "But as we got to talking, we realised that both of you have certain... youthful proclivities it would be best for you to outgrow before you step into adult life. In short, we think it would be good for both of you if you lived here together. We're hoping you'll both help to sort each other out."
"And none of this -- what is it -- polygamy?" That's not the word, but Hanzou clearly doesn't care. "I don't want to hear another word of you dating girls, in particular! You've upset your mother enough!"
"Don't --" Tsubasa starts, teeth grit to grinding, but Mr. Hayama raises a hand to call for calm.
"Your father is very passionate about your wellbeing," Shuyo's father insists. "You're still young, so you may not realise the harm reputational damage can bring. I think both of you," he looks from Shuyo to Tsubasa, "will come to appreciate the reality more as you progress through your final year."
"Father, does that mean -- you're allowing Tsubasa-san to stay here?" Shuyo asks, diplomatically.
"We both are," Hanzou cuts in, to answer him -- it apparently being vital that this boy know that he was also instrumental to the process. "I've already spoken to the Tokyo police department," he adds, looking back to Tsubasa. "They won't get in the way of me providing for my disabled daughter."
Translation: help's not coming.
And Tsubasa's living on Hanzou's dime, again.
"Then --" Shuyo starts, and evidently starts before he has a full plan, judging by the way he pauses a moment after speaking up. "Is there anything else you need from us?"
"We came to inform you," Shuyo's father replies. "I thought this would be best conveyed in person... it's not an impersonal matter."
"Then, we'd better not keep you any longer, right?" Shuyo goes on. "The law firm's always asking after you, father, and I'm sure Seki-fukushacho is a very busy man..."
"I see you're a boy who understands the value of time," Hanzou allows, sparing a glare to Ren, as he does so. "Unlike her less respectful friends..." He's seen the way Ren's looking at him; he hates it.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Mr. Hayama seems like a better person than Mr. Seki. This is equivalent to observing that a rhino is smaller than a blue whale. It's almost nice for the two of them to decide Shuyo and Tsubasa can remain roommates--almost, but not nearly quite, given their explicit reasons for it. Ren glances at their friend as they try to defend themself, only to be interrupted into silence by the raise of a hand.
That's bad enough. The slut-shaming and homophobia is more than bad enough. The chiding about reputational harm sets Ren's fists shaking in silent rage.
Help's not coming.
Hanzou has Tsubasa under his thumb again.
This is exactly the sort of situation The Phantoms are needed for. However, Tsubasa was extremely clear about this matter, and Ren takes the rules of the Phantoms Thieves very seriously.
The interaction is almost over. They wouldn't say anything. Except Hanzou makes a remark about Ren's disrespect. They shouldn't say anything. Tsubasa's the one who'll suffer the fallout if they make this shithead angry, and they know that. They don't want to hurt their friend.
But the Will of Rebellion that burns within them demands they speak up.
Voice politely cool and even, dark eyes locked on Hanzou, Ren murmurs, "Respect is earned, Seki-san."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"You undisciplined little --" Hanzou's hand curls to a fist, and Ren can see, in that moment, that his first instinct was to discipline Ren himself. He must have realised, though, that Shuyo's father is still right here, because he takes a breath and relaxes himself, quite deliberately.
(And Ren may note, if they look to the side, the way Tsubasa's hand is splayed against the couch cushion, as if preparing to spring up and get in the way. Is that their own Rebellion...?)
"Tsubaki," he says, instead, "surround yourself with people who won't encourage your worst impulses. What happened to that girl, Niijima-san? Even if you rarely showed her off, she was of a better breed."
"She's still my friend, Father," Tsubasa says, and tries to keep their voice level, in saying it. Ren might notice a shift in their own tone -- they can talk without a thousand contractions, apparently. "So is Ren-san. They're both good people. So is Shuyo-kun... I'll stay here with him, just like you said. Are you satisfied with that?" It sounds, on its surface, like something which cleaves to him absolutely.
Even so, Hanzou sneers. "Am I satisfied with that?! You should be beside yourself thanking me!"
"Thank you, Father," Tsubasa says, and their hands are shaking, but they meet his gaze.
And perhaps Ren will see something else, too: they're making a fool of him under his own rules, having realised he's unwilling to lash out in front of a witness with some measure of power.
"... then we'll be going now," Hanzou settles on, seething.
"Call me if you need anything, son," Mr. Hayama offers, to his son, with a nod.
"It was good to see you, Father," Shuyo offers, to him.
"Have a good day," Tsubasa says, in turn.
Hanzou walks out; Shuyo's father walks after him. The door closes, behind them. A pin could drop, in the silence.
... and then Tsubasa sags, into the couch. "Fuck."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren's fine with being called undisciplined. Their own father has said similar things--though, to his (in their eyes) meager credit, he never beat them for it, or threatened to. They don't stop staring down Hanzou, but those glasses are for show, and so they can see Tsubasa's hand splay on the couch arm in their peripheral vision. It's a good thing Hanzou cares about reputational damage; Ren and Tsubasa would have to fight for who gets to protect the other, and that'd get awkward fast.
They maintain their stoic stoneface when Tsubasa's own tone shifts. On its surface, it does sound like they're capitulating to him, but Ren is good at reading between the lines. The willingness to stare a tyrant in the eye is itself a rebellion. They're proud of Tsubasa for staying calm and doing just that.
They nod once to Mr. Hayama in farewell. They do not nod to Mr. Seki at all. The two men leave silence in their wake.
They only break their stoneface when Tsubasa sags. Then they quirk a small half-smile.
"Hey," they say quietly.
Then they offer their fist to them for a fistbump.
"Very cool," they tell them. Their dark eyes flick up to encompass Shuyo too. "Sorry for butting in," they add. "If it comes back to bite either of you in the ass, go ahead and throw me under the bus."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa's gaze lifts, hearing that hey, and they offer them a wavering smile in response, fist coming up to bump against theirs. "He was fuckin' pissed he couldn't lay you out, man... fuck, he said the Tokyo cops couldn't touch him, but he's gotta be a little scared a them if he ain't willin' to drop you in front've a lawyer."
Shuyo puffs out a breath. "Yeah, uh... my dad doesn't like how I live my life, but he ain't the kind of guy who'd just ignore someone punchin' a kid in front of him. Seriously... why'd he buy his shit in the first place? I thought he was smarter than that..."
Tsubasa shakes their head, looking to Shuyo. "It's cool, man. He's... got a real knack fer wrappin' people 'round his little finger, y'know? But don't apologise too hard for givin' him shit," they add, looking back to Ren. "Fuckin' rules, man. He's gonna be mad some brat didn't call him 'Seki-fukushacho' for a week." At least.
"But fuck, man," they add, their knee bouncing as their heel beats the floor, "he got that promotion anyway...? Thought he needed me to quit embarrassin' him first... he figure out some other way after he realised I weren't that easy to kill?"
"That's still so fucked up, dude, you can send a guy to set fire to a park to kill your kid and you don't go to jail for that shit...?" Shuyo doesn't exactly know the details of the Aoba Park Arson, evidently, but he knows one story.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Fistbump: achieved. Now with a full smile, however brief, Ren relaxes into their usual slouch and tucks their hands into their pockets. "I could tell." They glance from Tsubasa to Shuyo. "Good thing your dad's a better man than him."
They shake at the concept that their apology was for giving Hanzou shit, though. "I don't care about that. He deserves shit." Their smile sinks into a grim line. "I care about if he does something to you because your friend mouthed off at him."
The idea that he'll be mad about 'Seki-san' brings a sharp, wicked grin to their lips, though. "Good." Seriously, fuck that guy.
Neutrality returns when the topic turns to Hanzou's promotion, and Shuyo's version of what happened at Aoba Park. Ren looks at both of them, then bows their head in thought. "Probably can't prove it," they offer Shuyo. (You definitely can't prove that someone coerced his wife into calling a supernatural killer, but if Shuyo doesn't know about that, Ren won't tell him.)
It troubles them that Hanzou apparently got this promotion anyway. What's going on behind the scenes with this man? They glance at Tsubasa. There's one way to find out, but... "What's he the vice-president of, anyway?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"He might," Tsubasa sighs. "But if I can jus', like, duck him a while, should be aight... if he went out of his way, he'd be admittin' some rando kid ruined his week, too. Be embarrassin' for him. Nothin' he hates more'n that."
Tsubasa's always someone who's cared about their image. Their rep. They must have gotten that from somewhere.
Oh.
"Yeah, they can't prove shit," Tsubasa agrees, with a nod to Ren. "That's why it's so sick how Ren got one up on him." That's good, apparently. Teenage slang is weird.
They rub at the back of their neck, with a shrug. "Uh, Kimpara Electronics," they volunteer, because it's not like Ren couldn't easily find out anyway. (But they can kind of tell where their mind's going, with investigative questions like that...) "You know, they do, like, phones an' shit?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It's... vexing, how much children get from their parents. Ren doesn't like either of their parents, but they'd be lying if they said they weren't anything like either of them. That's why that oh is where it will stay when it comes to Tsubasa and Hanzou.
They do appreciate the compliment, though. Ren snickers, quite pleased with themself. If Tsubasa feels empowered by that interaction, that's the best possible outcome.
Kimpara Electronics. Sure, it probably would be easy to find that out, but this makes it a little easier. They don't plan on pushing more than that--the way Tsubasa rubs the back of their neck signals 'discomfort' to Ren--but then one detail rings an alarm bell in their mind.
"Like smartphones?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
There's... a lot, Tsubasa gets from their father.
They've struggled with it more than once -- and not just recently.
But... getting to see someone stand up to Hanzou, that's not nothing.
(Did they... do that too?)
"Uh, yeah," Tsubasa shrugs, gesturing with that hand. "All that high-end shit. Me father," otou-sama, they call him that even when he's not in the room, "was always sayin' it were the future or whatever. Like they put out some a them flip phones, but apparently none a their dev-research is there these days..."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
They did do that too. That's why Ren's so proud of them.
Ren already knows Tsubasa speaks respectfully of their dirtbag dad even when he's not in the room. They don't like that, but it's a known quantity.
The fact that Hanzou Seki, a man with ties to the NWO, was just promoted to an electronics company that focuses on smartphones, though...
"Huh," Ren says, poker-faced. They are in mixed company, after all.
It would be incorrect to say they've gotten a bad feeling about this, because they've had a bad feeling about it for a long time now. It's definitely gotten much worse, though.
"Well, enough about that asshole," they say with a shrug. "I know you don't want to go into him." I know you don't want to find out if he has a Palace, in other words. "D'you want to show me the rest of what you were showing me, or should I head out?"
Either way, when they leave this apartment complex, they will enter Hanzou Seki's name in the Meta-Nav. And when it comes back with a hit...
"Shit," Ren will hiss.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"N...nah, man, it's bad vibes," Tsubasa shakes their head. "Can't be gettin' in me head right now. Don't wanna, like..." They don't want to make Ichika drag them out of the deep end again around the time her brother died, but they don't want to say all that out loud, either. "Y'know," they settle on, and Ren probably does know how they got in those panicked messages, at least.
"I'll see ya later, yeah?" They offer, instead.
The 'shit', on their end, is implied.