2026-02-12: Keys for the Cage
- Log: 2026-02-12 Keys for the Cage
- Cast: Ren Amamiya, Hibari Aoki, Ryuji Sakamoto, Yusuke Kitagawa, Makoto Niijima, Ichika Kawase
- Where: Mementos - Entrance
- OOC Date: February 12, 2026
- IC Date: Monday, September 24, 2012
- Summary: Ogre brings Mujina to meet up with the rest of The Phantoms to discuss how to save Phoenix. Mujina explains that she is a Navigator and how her powers can be used to track them down. There is tension when some are too impatient for explanations, but they all work through it in the end.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren got that missive last night about Tsubasa being kidnapped by a ninja. This is as concerning as it is flabbergasting, but of course Ren--or rather, Joker--is going to be there to help rescue Phoenix. Ogre asked everyone who was available to meet her and Mujina in Mementos after school, and Ren decided not to take a shift at Triple Seven in favor of heading there. Umie and her roommate Kurou can wait.
Joker strides down the stairs, long black coat billowing in their wake even as they tuck their gloved hands into their pockets. Mona follows him, an absurd little cartoon cat of a man who nonetheless is as masked as the others. Joker settles in at the entrance after stepping aside to let the others take their own spots, then nods to Ogre and Mujina.
"What's the status?" they ask, jumping straight to the point without the theatrics they usually indulge in as Joker.
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
Hibari has been trying not to skip classes. She's never been as prone to it as some students at Kasugayama anyway - she legitimately works pretty hard at her academics - but she is trying to avoid missing any these days.
Today, though, she showed up in the morning (couldn't be avoided - she had something to turn in and the late penalties would eat her alive) but vanished after lunch, skipping her afternoon classes with an illness excuse.
And then she did some looking around on her own. Tsubasa was more important than attendance marks.
But here and now, Mujina is here with Ogre. Mujina, for those who haven't met her beyond seeing her from a distance in the Palace, is a masked figure; her coat is trenchcoat-shaped in dark colours, and underneath it she has a black top and leggings. Her hair is red too, dyed, and she has a mask. She's on the heavy side, though the billowy nature of her coat obscures it to an extent.
The mask actually sort of resembles Fox's in aesthetics, though it's clearly not the same. It just has the same aesthetic: traditional Japanese, red and white. Except instead of a fox this is a broader shape, with stripes that go up from the cheeks and over the eyes in a wide arc, and wider, more triangular ears with red along the outside; it's a (very) stylized animal that is either a tanuki-ish badger or a badger-ish tanuki. Which explains her codename.
She knew Ogre had pulled the Phantom Thieves' help with Eiji's Palace; they're the ones in the business of the Changes of Heart, after all. She didn't know she'd be able to get them to help with Tsubasa until just now; she may not have been told quite how close they were. (That's good opsec!)
Mujina gives Mona a long look before shifting her gaze to the other Phantom Thieves. "Not great!" she says, with a slightly puff-cheeked sigh.
"So, to bring you up to date: I'm Mujina. Ogre, Phoenix, and I," she's very careful with the names, "were in Mementos for an exploration. While we were here, we were attacked by an actual ninja, one with a Persona of his own. Phoenix identified him as Ryouhara."
"Anyway, to make it short, he took them. Possibly because they have a ninja aesthetic. He talked a lot about what a shinobi was, though I missed part of it because he cut my Persona in half first!" A beat. "He's better now," Mujina says, a little defensively.
"I've been working up a way to find Phoenix since. But this is is NOT a thing we can do alone, given they fought all three of us in the first place..." She sounds apologetic. "And I'm... not as good at fighting as Ogre or Phoenix. But I can help."
"So before I continue: how much do you know about the *other* kind of Persona-user? 'Navigators' - that's what the Darkside calls them."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Skull is feeling a number of things as he descends into Mementos. He is for sure concerned on Tsubasa being gone first of all. He is determined to find where his...what does Ryuji even call them? Partner? Even after their talk, Ryuji still has confusion, another thing that occasionally comes to his mind between worry and drive.
He is also unsure on how he should approach Ogre since there was someone who didn't know them...So there was worry over that.
So Skull comes to a stop next to Joker, slouching in his stance as he gave a cool "Sup?" to Ogre. He hopes barring on the side of caution doesn't bite him in the ass here.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
Fox is quiet as they meet up with the Sumaru Side of the Phantoms, sizing up Ogre's companion and offering 'Mujina' an approving nod as he recognises the style of her mask. He listens carefully to her situation report, folding his arms and tilting his head to consider the matter, letting Joker introduce the team.
"He kidnapped Phoenix because they look like a ninja?" There's the shade of a frown under his mask as he looks down at his own Phantom guise. "Hmm. Something to keep in mind."
It might be hard to call Fox a 'ninja', but the dark jumpsuit doesn't not fit...?
This 'Ryouhara' is apparently pretty strong, though. "What kind of Persona did he wield?"
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
It's quite possible that Makoto Niijioma did not sleep very well last night, if at all. Certainly, based on how much she was texting Ichika for more details, anything. The fact that she was distracted during class and skipped out on a student council meeting- telling the council secretary to handle it- before making for Shibuyra right away.
Normally, Queen is flanking Joker when the enter Mementos. Normally, she's being the voice of responsibility and calm, working as the group's planner and advisor.
oday, Queen is ahead of Joker, with none of the caution and reservation that she usually shows. All that is replaced with fury- fury that masks the exhaustion, and even more than exhaustion the fear. It had been nearly 24 hours- time was running out. If this ninja was following up on plans to sell Tsubasa- how long did they have? Another 24 hours? Tops? Could they already be in the wind?
"Where are they?" Queen's voice is hard, cold and desperate, just barely stopping herself from talking over Joker. Her eyes lock on Mujina- another of Ogre and Tsubasa's associates- and it seems, right now, that Queen has little patience for small talk.
"Where!?" Normally, Queen would ask questions, commiserate, show even a bit of calm, but when Mujina says that Ryouhara took them, maybe Mujina had a location. "Are they in Mementos, the real world? We don't have time to stand around talking about your abilities if you have information!" Yeah. Fear and anger. Her red-brown eyes are narrowed to pinpricks as she stares at Mujina. "If this ninja is working with organized crime, it takes less than eight hours for a girl to be grabbed off the street and into the sex trade- and people like them aren't going to care that Phoenix isn't!"
Cooler heads might need to prevail on this one- after all, Makoto was raised on these sort of horror stories- supposedly as warnings, but, well-
She was almost on the receiving end of the worst case scenario- and so was Tsubasa. The fact that it was coming back after they supposedly got rid of the main danger...
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika didn't skip class this time, but mostly so it wouldn't be suspicious that half the gang was out. She thought about going with Hibari, but Hibari's better at stealth than she is; now of course she's here.
But Joker cuts to the heart--Ogre nods to him and Mona both, and then looks to Skull. "Shit sucks," she says of what's up. She'd told Makoto what she could. But that wasn't really enough. When Queen shows up--
"Hey!"
Ogre pushes off the wall, frowns at Queen. "I'm as fucked as you are about it. But if you don't know what Mujina can do, you won't be able to act on it when she does it. She's been looking--we don't know where they are yet."
"...Besides," she says, "I've run into this guy before. It's not a sex thing. He wants something from them, but it's something about how they can fight, not about... that."
"The trick is, finding him isn't easy; he's ambushed us twice now. So we need someone like Mujina to turn the tables, and we need the rest of us to kick his ass when we find him so we can get them back."
"So we hold up, stay cool, and do it right. I promised them I'd always come for them. Always, no matter what. And I'm not going to fuck it up going off half-cocked."
"...I get it,' she allows. "But we gotta work smart. So, Mujina. You got the floor. You know what to do."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Joker recognizes Mujina; she was there helping in the fight against Shadow Kamiya in his Palace, and they know she's reliable. Ogre implied (or maybe outright said) she knows who Mujina is, too, and Joker trusts her judgment--especially if the two of them were working with Phoenix when this happened. They can only imagine how worried Skull is, given that the two of them were just with Ichika yesterday morning. She must have gone off to join up with Phoenix and Mujina right after they split up for the day.
With Queen, they don't have to wonder at all. She wears her fury and fear on her masked face. Joker understands where she's coming from, but she's acting way too hostile to someone who's supposed to be an ally. They rest a careful hand on her spiked shoulder. "I doubt this 'ninja' took Phoenix to traffic them. If his purpose was selling girls, he had two girls right there to kidnap. But he didn't." That doesn't mean time isn't of the essence, but Joker thinks it's unlikely their ninja would take Phoenix just to sell them off to someone else. (Besides anyone who'd be working for Furudate wouldn't know that Tsubasa Seki is Phoenix.) Ogre confirms this, and they nod to her, slipping their hand off Queen's shoulder (if she allowed that in the first pace) to tuck back into their pocket.
Their eyebrows furrow with the emotional equivalent of an exclamation point popping off over their head as Mujina namedrops the culprit. Ryouhara... Ren just met someone with that name. A Persona User with that name, even--and one who had a weird manner of speaking. Kurou didn't seem like the type who would randomly kidnap someone, but Joker internally acknowledges they're basing that impression off a single conversation.
Fortunately, Fox asks the pertinent question for them, so they can maintain their poker face. Is it better if it is Kurou or it isn't...? Kurou seemed like he could be reasoned with. However, someone who would kidnap someone solely for their ninja aesthetic seems like an idiot. Idiots--especially powerful idiots--are trouble. They glance at Fox when he remarks on it and looks at himself; Joker thinks they have more of a samurai vibe with that katana of theirs, but it's true: that dark jumpsuit doesn't not fit. How much to worry about it depends on how much of an idiot this kidnapper is--and if he is, in fact, an idiot at all.
The fact that Ogre and her friends have been ambushed by this guy twice now is a bad sign, after all. That sounds like someone else the Phantom Thieves know...
"Good to hear," they add when Mujina explains her own Persona is fine. Of Navigators, they say, "Some." Joker can detect hidden things in a room with their Third Eye; Queen can determine a Shadow's weaknesses with her Shadow Factorization; Mona is well-versed in tracking the statuses of both allies and enemies. All of them only have a touch of that talent, though. Their hunch is that Mujina means someone more like-- "Ririka Kawase has a Persona that seems to specialize in support and divining enemy weaknesses. Is that what you mean?"
Past that, like Ogre, Joker gives her the floor.
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
"I don't know WHY they went after Phoenix; I only know what he said. And what Phoenix said. Phoenix seemed to think he thought *they* were a ninja, and he - Ryouhara, I mean - thought he was the 'god-king of ninjas'. Or whatever." Mujina is clearly quoting Phoenix... and it really proves she knows them, because she manages to match the rhythm of Tsubasa's speech pretty well, though not the pitch. "I missed some of the conversation because he kept going after Danzaburou specifically, instead of me."
She does flinch when Queen opens up on her, but she doesn't back down, straightening a moment later to her full height. "I've been trying to track them down; that's what I'm SAYING," Mujina says, raising her voice in response to Queen. "I'm as worried as you are! I've known Phoenix for a while, and anyone who can grab them - "
She lets out another breath as other people speak up. She lets them take the heat; Hibari doesn't especially like the attention on her quite like that and she's relieved for it.
Mujina answers Fox first. "His Persona was a mechanical masked being wearing wind chimes, with a gohei. He didn't summon it by name, and my suspicions as to who it is don't matter about it so we'll leave that for now. Mostly he fought with his sword, and rhythm - he did everything to a beat - and tricks. Ninja tricks, I suppose."
And then she looks at Joker again. A slow nod. "Yeah," she agrees. "I've met her, though we haven't really *spoken*." But they were both in the Palace, and both, presumably, detecting each other. "She does it, I think, by sound. I know another one who can determine things by smell."
She reaches deep into her jacket pocket. "That's what I do. But it's a bit more than just finding weaknesses, though I can do that too. It's... detecting things that most people can't, even most Persona-users. Finding things out. Searching for them. That's what I did before I started working with Ogre and Phoenix. I came down here. I can stop the Shadows from finding me, and I can find my way places. Or in the Palace; I pulled out some papers that got passed on to the people who needed them." They went to Ichika, first, then elsewhere, but it's not her place to say.
Mujina pulls out a silver feather. Very silver, not just 'regular' white - it's too bright for that. "Ryouhara left this behind. I tried to track it; I've been here for hours already. So I can say that he - and Phoenix - aren't in Mementos right now. But I can't - same as your Personas, I can't summon Danzaburou just anywhere. I think I might be able to track him better, but I have to wait for the Dark Hour."
She looks at the Phantom Thieves. "I don't know who you are, really," she says, slowly. "But I'm pretty sure Ogre does. She trusts you, anyway - so I will too. I want Phoenix back; I couldn't stop them from being taken, not even with Ogre. But I don't know what state they'll be in. If I sneak in, I don't know if Ryouhara can spot me when I'm hiding, and I don't know if Phoenix will be in any condition to sneak out with me."
"You won't find them without me," Mujina says, firmness coming back to her voice. "And I won't get them back without you. So. Work together?"
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Skull nods in response, wishing he could comfort Ogre. "Yeah. It does." He says looking over to Mujina. He wonders what this Tanuki chick can do.
Skull sighs when people start to attack each other. "Guys, Come on. We're on the same side here."
He watches Joker handle the actual talking, listening as he finds somewhere to lean. For the moment, Skull is here to be the muscle if things went south....which gave him more time to think about how Tsubasa is possibly in peril. As the delinquent thinks, he finds himself nervously tapping impatiently.
He listens to Mujina explain things, tapping a little more rapidly. Finally when she mentions the stakes, Skull stops and looks over. "I guess thats that then. So whats first?"
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
"Primarily a swordsman?" Wind chimes and a gohei. There aren't a lot of clues there, but Fox asks anyway. "Any insight on strengths and weaknesses?"
Queen's outburst has Fox looking up in alarm, before he remembers that Makoto and Tsubasa are old friends. "I agree with Ogre. This is a situation that is out of our normal wheelhouse; we must act with precision." He looks back to Mujina. "The Dark Hour would afford us the ability to venture further afield, true, even if it's simply using the changes in Mementos to cover ground faster."
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Ogre stepping up to confront Queen does causes her to bristle, and for a second, Queen makes eye contact with one of Kasu's many bosses, as if she's prepared for this to come to blows- but her anger isn't at Ogre, or Mujina, or anyone else here. Indeed, the reality check is necessary, a clear contrast to Queen's catastrophizing. She is silent as Ichika firmly states the situation, even as she clenches her fists like she's ready to throw a punch. Even Skull is trying to mediate and Fox is siding with Ogre. That only seems to make her angrier, and at the sametime, make her feel childish and stupid.
Indeed, as Joker sets a hand on Queen's shoulder, it looks like she's about to ready to grab her hand and hurl Joker over her shoulder- but she doesn't. No, between the two of them, it's enough to remind her that she's not thinking- and that's supposed to be her whole damn job.
Queen takes a long, slow breath. Focus, like in Aikido. Get your head in gear.
"...You're right." She says, after a few tense seconds. "Sorry," she says to Mujina. "Continue."
She steps back from Ogre and Joker, standing a distance away from Mujina, but watching her intently as she tries to take the situation in fully, trying to take in things about Phoenix's attacker- a recurring attacker. Mujina finds things. People. A useful skill that Makoto would have taken on board if she was thinking. Just as another thing comes to mind now that she's knocked back into her lane.
"...Phoenix suspected Ryouhara was a candidate for the Black Mask." Queen adds, knowledge that might be more relevant to the longer serving Phantom Thieves. "Either way, if he can handle three of you at once, he's dangerous." Take in the information, consider it, output a plan. It helps. It's action. It's control, something she desperately needs- but she looks to Joker when Mujina suggest working together. It's the decision Queen would make, but just maybe she's been given reason to not trust her decision making processes right now.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ogre is willing to fistfight with someone she likes if it comes down to it--but she's glad it doesn't, in this case. Queen's anger...
Is something she respects. It shows she cares. She just can't afford to let the anger stay there. So when Queen says she's right, "Cool."
Ichika's worried--and glad Skull is here. But with Joker's level-headedness... She's glad they can help calm Queen down. She nods to them, about how it probably isn't a trafficking thing--Ichika's sure of that.
But Ririka...
"Yeah," Ogre says. "That girl," Ririka Kawase, in context, "has a Persona like that... But I don't want to get her involved."
why? It's fine.
Mujina explains the Persona matter, and the feather, too. Ogre nods. The Dark Hour...
"I trust them with my life," Ogre says of the Phantom Thieves. "And more important, with Phoenix's life. ...and I trust Mujina here the same."
She sees Skull geting agitated, and that itself is comforting. Ogre looks to him, and tries to meet his eyes. "...I'll be counting on you," she tells him either way.
She looks to Fox. "He's weak against Earth moves," she explains, "Srong against Fire. Other than that he's just--really damned fast. Too fast. And he misdirects a lot. You know, like, ninja shit."
But a candidate for Black Mask... "Mm. Could be," Ogre admits. "he's definitely strong. I was able to stay up, but... I'm a healer. Problem was, I can't fight him and keep everybody up. So..."
She shakes her head. "If I can go all-out without having to worry, maybe I can take point."
"...Joker," she says. "I'm not gonna be able to think clearly about this. I'm gonna be counting on you." They're the leader of the Phantoms, after all; this could be Ogres territory, as the Thorn Boss, but...
She's still relying on Joker. And everyone else. She happens to look at Skull again, for some reason.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Mujina describes Ryouhara's Persona. Joker rubs a lock of their bangs in thought. So not a giant skeleton, so not the Ryouhara they know. There's a possibility they have a connection, but Joker won't jump to that conclusion just yet. Even if they do have a connection, that doesn't necessarily mean Kurou is involved in this.
But if he is... then Umie might be involved too. And that's a much, much bigger problem.
At least her problems don't include Queen bending her arm in painful, alluring ways. Joker can sense her tension, and when they retract their arm, they take a step back to give her space. When Queen does likewise, it feels like the correct decision.
For now, they nod once at Mujina and her explanation of her Navigator skills. She does clearly know Phoenix--not that Joker had any doubt, with Ogre here as their liaison--and they have no doubt that she's as worried for them as the rest of them are. They consider the silver feather she produces. Waiting until the Dark Hour seems to be what they'll need to do--and not all of them might be able to do that, especially with tomorrow being a school day.
Still... they glance at Mona, who's been listening with folded paws. Mona catches their eye and the two share a nod. Monabus mode will make sure they can zoom around as needed during the Dark Hour and make sure everyone's back home in time. (Mona's not super thrilled that this is consistently his most useful and thus most used ability, but it is something no one else can do and it is crucial to making sure everyone can do this without having to draw suspicion by skipping school tomorrow. That's a balm to his ego.)
"Of course," they tell Mujina, firm and without hesitation. Ogre weighs in on the trustworthiness of both sides, and she and Queen both look to them for their support and their decision, but even without that, there's no need to confer with the others. The Phantoms don't abandon their own. If Mujina can help them rescue Phoenix, it would be worth it even without Ogre vouching for her.
Speaking of whom, they don't remark on if Ogre knows their true identities or not, or ask why Ogre doesn't want Ririka Kawase involved. They instead hold out a hand to that silver feather. "May I?"
If Mujina hands it over--and even if she doesn't--they'll activate their Third Eye. They don't know if it'll tell them anything new or useful, or if the feather will glow and that's it, but it can't hurt to try. They'll let Skull ask about what comes next and Fox ask more about Ryouhara's Persona.
Queen brings something up, though--something that had slipped Joker's mind. They'd read Tsubasa's erratic missive about Ryouhara, but being worried about Tsubasa themself and if they were going to be okay, they'd forgotten his name and how Tsubasa thought he might be the Black Mask. They look at her with eyes wide behind their mask, but they soon give her a shallow nod. "We'll have to keep that in mind."
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
Mujina actually was not expecting Queen to back down and apologize. Back down, maybe, with all the others speaking out - but apologize?
"It isn't a problem," Mujina says, after a moment. "I know it's kind of high-stress for all of us right about now." Apology accepted, apparently. Hibari's bad habit is to let people push her over sometimes, and while she wasn't willing to let Queen bulldoze her on the topic of Tsubasa, she *is* willing to make up pretty quickly afterwards. The last thing she wants is a fight, either between her and Queen or ... well, anyone, really.
And Ogre is saying she trusts them with her life - and giving Mujina the same credit. Her expression is hard to make out between her mask and being careful to keep it off her face, but she's both touched and a little embarrassed. And a lot curious, but she doesn't pry about the Phantom Thieves further. Yet, anyway.
Ogre has already given the weaknesses to Fox, but: "That's what I detected," she agrees. "And it seemed to work well enough. He likes to balance, I think. Over a river... Cables, cords, bridges... anything to get him off where he's strong." She's had some time to think about it. She apologizes, "It's kind of a *vibe* more than anything else. I wish I could be more explicit. But - yeah, earth works. Fire doesn't, so well. He was at an advantage over Phoenix for that alone, I think."
Mujina does let Joker take the feather. "Just don't break it," she says, "it's the only physical clue we've got right now."
The feather is a feather. But it was part of Shiryuu's disappearing trick. Joker can detect an echo of... something, on it, but it isn't possible to track - either because Ryouhara is not in Mementos, or because Joker isn't experienced enough at that particular skillset. It definitely feels like something that *could* be used to help search, though...
She answers Skull next. "First," Mujina says, firmly, "I'm going to get something to eat, because like I said, I've been in here a while - and I can't do much before the Dark Hour. Once it gets to, say, eleven, I'll go back to Mementos and wait at the entrance for midnight. And then, I guess I have to see where we go from there... I can help fight, too. But it's not my strongest skill."
"But I've got one more question. Who's the Black Mask?"
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Skull gives Ogre a slight smile when their eyes meet. He nods, letting out a sigh as he tries to focus up into being the one who is relied upon...He wonders when he started to get relied upon again. It was a nice feeling.
Mujina responds and he just sighs. "I, I guess that makes sense." Skull admittedly wanted action now but he couldn't fault Mujina for being hungry when they had a particularly hard job. Still, the blonde clicks his tongue. "I guess we wait then..."
"Uhhhhh..." Skull looks to Joker for an answer to the Black Mask question. He scratches the back of his neck.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
Fox nods. "A curious fighting style to describe - I suppose we'll have to adapt on the fly." He glances to Joker as the topic of Ryouhara's weaknesses is clarified. "Can you work with that?"
He looks back to Ogre. "I can join you on taking point, at least - I may be able to keep up with him."
Mujina then mentions getting something to eat, and Fox looks thoughtful. "That might not be the worst idea."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Adapt.. yeah," Ogre agrees with Yusuke. "Totally. ...And cool. I'll count on you, too."
Skull is very reliable to Ogre!! he's stuck being relied on for now.
5rMona seems to be thinking. But Ogre watches Joker with the feather, and considers the matter of Black Mask. Mujina has already mentioned the stress they're all under, but...
"Good plan," Ogre says. "We need you at your best. We can do most of the fighting, anyway."
"Right, Joker?"
Then she considers. Black Mask...
"Uhhh. They know more than I do," Ogre admits. "Real powerful asshole. I've never met him."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Balance... Joker frowns at this description. Truthfully, they doubt Ryouhara is the Black Mask, but it's not good to dismiss possibilities out of hand, and their thoughts did go there right away when they heard about Ryouhara's sneaking and ambushing. However, this doesn't sound like the Black Mask they know. His Persona doesn't sound like the Black Mask's either, though in fairness, it's not like Joker was able to get a good look at it.
For now, they nod at Mujina and then look at the feather. It does glow, and there's a certain something on it. However, as they suspected, it's nothing they hadn't already heard. Maybe once the Dark Hour has settled in... but by then, Mujina will be taking point. They nod again and carefully hand it back.
Fox asks if Joker can handle an Earth weakness. They nod once. They may have paid the Velvet Room a visit recently to upgrade their Personas, but rare fusion accident Ixtab still resonates in their soul. "Leave it to me." And Ogre too, technically, but she'll probably need to focus on healing. When Ogre reassures Mujina she can leave the fighting to the lot of them in general, they nod agreement.
"All right," they say as Mujina says she's going to leave and get something to eat. To them, this is perfectly reasonable. She needs to keep up her strength, as do they all. "Let's all take a break, get our strength up," they say to the others with this in mind. They see that dismayed look on Skull's face, even if he does accept the situation without complain. He'll handle it better if he's got something to do, even if that something is just getting a burger from... well, not Big Bang Burger, ideally. Somewhere. Maybe the Bikkuri Boy; they've got hamburger steaks, at least.
They meet Skull's stare, then look back at Mujina. They now adopt the theatrical cadence they use as Joker to explain, "The Black Mask is a powerful, nefarious Persona User who's able to mask his Resonance almost completely. He tried to kill Kaneshiro's Shadow immediately after we changed his heart, and he ambushed in someone else's Palace as we were caught up in a fight. He's a bloodthirsty madman who almost killed me once before, and we suspect he works for the New World Order. He could easily fight the three of you and win, and he'd cackle his head off the whole time."
They glance at Queen. She's gone quiet by now--understandably so. "We can discuss battle tactics later," they murmur to her, since Fox and Ogre are talking about who will and won't take point. They look back at Mujina.
"Incidentally, we've yet to formally introduce ourselves, haven't we?" Joker remarks, now adopting the "Ogre might have told you our codenames already, but just in case..." They gesture to their companions one by one. "This is Skull--Fox--Queen--Mona--and you may call me Joker. Not all of our compatriots could make it here now; tonight may be another story. We shall see."
After that, they'll all be able to break for dinner and make preparations in their own way, before returning to Mementos close to midnight. After that, Morgana, or rather Mona, will be able to drive them along the supernatural tracks to emerge in Sumaru, and closer and closer still to where Mujina's Persona guides them all...
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
Hibari really has been here for hours. She'd have said she would take a nap if she thought she'd actually be able to get to sleep; as is, she'll have to do something to steady herself but there's no way she's actually going to be able to rest.
Normally she cooks when she's stressed. Today, though... She's not sure that's such a good plan. She'd have to go all the way home, too, and back out again... "Sorry," she says to Fox and Skull, apologetic again. "There really isn't much we can do until the Dark Hour. They're not here," she says, nodding deeper into Mementos, "and I'd rather not use all my energy dealing with Shadows and demons here."
"For what it's worth, Danzaburou can too," Hibari says, about earth magic. "But I've got my own tricks." Raw damage is not her best strategy; she's better off baffling, disorienting, and confusing in a battle, making openings for other people to take advantage of.
She listens to the explanation about the Black Mask. Under her mask, her brow furrows as she looks tense. "Completely hiding Resonance? I can do it, to an extent," Mujina says. "And other people, too. I can stop the Shadows from noticing you. But not completely, and not forever. I can say that Ryouhara wasn't precisely *cackling*, though." So maybe they aren't the same after all.
When Joker gives the proper introductions, Mujina gives a very slight bow. "And like Ogre's told you - I'm Mujina. I know of the Phantom Thieves, of course. I'm pretty well-educated about these things." She hears rumours, after all. She doesn't know who they really are - nobody does - but there are plenty of other things to hear about them. "It's nice to meet you. Maybe we'll be able to have another conversation afterwards; I've got my ear to the ground and I hear some things you might not have."
"But later. Once we have Phoenix back. I'll meet back up you once I've made preparations. Ogre can get ahold of me if something comes up - if that's okay?" That to Ogre, more questioning.
They've got a plan now, though. Hibari feels a lot better about it, even if she's still going to be on edge the whole time until they actually *go*.