2026-03-09: A Lonely Shrine's Secret
- Log: A Lonely Shrine's Secret
- Cast: Umie Akabane, Jun Kashihara, Tamaki Uchida
- Where: Mt. Katatsumuri
- OOC Date: March 09, 2026
- IC Date: October 07, 2012
- Summary: Umie and Tamaki meet up with Jun at Mt. Katatsumuri, to look for an old, tiny shrine to Master Fuyou. On the way, Tamaki and Umie give Jun some tips, but there's something that one of the two is withholding information on...
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
The overcast weather of Saturday has given over to a sunny clear day, making the mountain perfect for hiking. The sanitarium and the immediate surroundings are cordoned off for now, due to the recent 'gas leak', but enough time has passed that Mt. Katatsumuri has become open again, due to it being prime time to see the beginning warm shades of fall.
When Jun reached out to either Umie or Tamaki, word was passed around from one to the other. For someone who has, on many occasions, simply shown a curious person a thing, landmark, or most likely very dangerous phenomenon herself, Umie strangely didn't want to do this one by herself.
So here Umie is, exiting the bus stop, her newly washed duffle bag slung over one shoulder. Her guise is likewise very casual: a pair of comfortable jeans and a comfortble grey heather hoodie, with dark red woven half gloves. Adjusting one of her usual blonde buns, both gathered at the bottom of her head than the top, she taps the front sole of her red sneakers against the dirt path in a nervous tell of her actual mood.
"You'd think people'd be staying far away," Umie quietly comments to Tamaki and Jun whenever they arrive, as some hikers walk by out of earshot. "But I guess having to come across unexpected phenomenona is just part of the charm."
And besides, it's a nice day, as long as you don't get turned into a zombie.
"According to the map, the shrine is about the midpoint; if we had made a left over here..." She points at the unfolded pamphlet, which shows a general layout of various landmarks and hiking trails. "If we hadn't come around this way," she begins, tapping a dark red nail to a point further down, "We would've come across it, looks like."
She looks up. "Shall we go?" She looks to Jun. "Ah, if you weren't clued in by my earlier comment, if we run into trouble, you'll find we'll be able to, uh, summon our 'helpers'--" she's keeping an eye on those hikers to make sure they don't overhear "--but, we didn't have *that* much trouble."
It'd be a good time for a pleasant chat!! Ha ha ha anything but to actually talk about the really creepy connotations this all has ha ha hhaaaaaa
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
It is a beautiful afternoon to go on a stroll through Mt. Katatsumuri. Jun isn't much of one for hiking, being rather un-athletic, but a nature walk is a nice backdrop for the conversation he's about to have with Umie and Tamaki. Hyousuke had advised him to reach out to the latter in regards to gaining experience with his Persona, so Jun had called right after, and that led to an agreement to meet up at Mt. Katatsumuri to research something Umie and Tamaki had discovered--or need to discover--just the other day.
Jun's wearing comfortable shoes, dark slacks and a green pinstriped button-up shirt, light and breezy yet also capable of keeping in warmth with its long sleeves. In his breast pocket, there's a purple anemone. In hanakotoba, it means, 'I will trust you and wait.'
He leaves the bus stop with Umie and Tamaki, looking around at the path ahead of them and at the nearby hikers. "I suppose there's no dissuading some people," he murmurs back. "That's a good thing. We can't progress as a society if we only ever do as those in charge tell us to. I hope they don't get themselves hurt in the process, though."
In other words, it's fine if they go hiking, just don't get too close to the sanitarium...
Jun looks at the pamphlet and the point Umie points out. He nods at her question and at her warning. He almost hopes for trouble. As he told Hyousuke, he needs to gain experience with his 'helper.'
"So, I'm a little unclear, still," he says as the three of them start walking. "What about this shrine did you think would be relevant to me? I'm not a very religious person, I'm afraid." He trusts that there is something, it's just not obvious to him what it would or could be.
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki arrives to the mountain trail in a wine-red long-sleeved blouse worn over a forest green blouse, paired with beige slacks and running shoes. As usual, her rokumonsen choker is on prominent display.
She has some experience in the matter that Umie comments on, and she shakes her head. "There will always be rubberneckers to some degree. Part of rumor control is knowing how to redirect their attention if necessary."
Like keeping a bunch of high school students safely contained in shelter at St. Hermelin. You must have just been daydreaming.
The map draws her gaze. "I see ... shame about the trail signs at the time, then. We had some trouble making our way through anywhere because of that."
At Umie's explanation to Jun, Tamaki nods and turns to the latter. She has a number of burning questions for him, but those can -- and must -- wait. "You are pretty new to all this ... Has anyone given you a crash course on the subject yet? It's a lot to adjust to, and we can fill you in sometime." (Hyousuke's suggestion was right on the mark, it seems -- she didn't even need prompting!) "The two of us are slightly unusual in that we've had several years to get accustomed to it, you see."
As for Jun's own pressing question, she turns to Umie and gives her a meaningful glance. After the events at the sanitarium, "I'm not really a religious person either," says the rokumonsen-bearer. "How do I put this ..? -- You'll see the resemblance soon enough."
Given talk of other worlds and remembering, this might not be the best idea. On the other hand, this may be a chance to cut through delusion ... provided that's even what it is in the first place.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie's eyes look over the purple anemone in Jun's pocket, then up to Jun himself. "Kashihara-kun. Glad you could make it." Is that... hanakotoba? Come to think of it, wasn't there other times he has had flowers on his person?
A question for later, maybe.
"... Mm." Umie's eyelids lower a touch at Jun's words, noting the circumstances. Yes, if he simply did as others told him to, would he have taken ahold of his fate? Or Tamaki, for that matter. To someone who seemingly 'woke up' with a Persona, it's something to think about, to see something from another side of the 'barrier'. "You're right. We wouldn't. But also, maybe it'd be a good idea for me to take a few hikes, now and then, eh?" She bobs her head towards Tamaki, with a half grin, as she halfway folds up her map so that only the panel with the relevant detail is displayed. "And yeah. Most people have Awakened recently, maybe within the past year at most. If you're not one for hiking, or... even if you are, depending on how your Persona is, you may notice a difference as we go up."
Yet, when Jun asks his question, Umie shares that look towards Tamaki, then back. "It's..." Umie's lips turn, distractedly glancing back towards the trail, and back at her map, all for instinctive want of a distraction. "... I'm not... particularly religious, either." Hopefully, this shrine will be small enough that she *won't* feel...
Maihime Amano, Junnosuke Kuroda, and Tatsunoshin Suou. Even if the guide was just having a laugh at their expense... there'd be no way those names would be so similar. Well, except for Junnosuke's, but...
Tamaki comes in handy, in this situations. "Yeah." She begins up the trail, looking back. "Those signs'll likely be a lot easier to see, right now.
..... and further in?
".... Jun, this may be a weird stretch, but... The surname Kuroda. Is it familiar to you, in any way?"
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
Jun always has flowers on him, really. Whether his school uniform or his street clothes, he habitually has a flower of some kind in his breast pocket. Considering how he wielded a lilac as a weapon against Sudou, though, Umie could just be noticing. That sort of thing stands out.
"I've spoken with Suou-san," that is, Katsuya Suou; Jun calls the younger brother just Tatsuya, "and Akechi-kun, and of course you know Suzuki-kun advised me to reach out to you... but we spoke more about Sudou-san and Tatsuya than anything else," Jun tells Tamaki. Well, Hyousuke also suggested he go learn martial arts from Mutou-sensei, which was kind of him, but Jun doesn't really like exercise... not that he wanted to tell Hyousuke that and seem ungrateful.
The news that Tamaki and Umie both have years of experience gets a pair of widened eyes, though--especially since Umie clarifies most Persona Users around have only awoken within the past year or so. "Oh, really? Then Suzuki-kun really did point me in the right direction." He bows his head. "Anything either of you could let me know or advise me on, I'd deeply appreciate. I already know that I shouldn't try to train on my own."
He straightens up in time to see that Look that Tamaki and Umie exchange. His eyes flick down towards the rokumonsen when Tamaki claims not to be religious, but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he nods at the suggestion that he simply wait and see. He understands sometimes things are just like that.
A difference, though, huh... "I'm not much of one for exercising. I prefer intellectual pursuits over physical ones," he says, a touch apologetically. "I've got enough knowledge of martial arts to be able to defend myself, though I wouldn't call myself a martial artist. Beyond that..."
He trails off; this gives Umie time to ask about the name Kuroda. Jun stills for a second, before he moves on. "Not... exactly. But it does sound similar to my mother's maiden name, Kurosu." He pauses. "...Why do you ask?"
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
The first time Tamaki saw Jun, she took stronger notice of his tendency to wear flowers ... but she's seen him often enough to know that the flowers are, in fact, simply a constant feature on Jun's person -- though which one he's chosen today may still be a surprise.
She had sidestepped commenting on Jun's earlier remark about how a little bit of rebellion is good now and then. She chimes in after Umie. "I literally would not be standing here if I had done as I was told." Her tone is matter-of-fact; no, she will not elaborate.
Katsuya, Akechi, and Hyousuke. A bit of a green collection, at least by Tamaki's estimation. "That makes sense. Even without your ... circumstances," meaning the dream that must remain a dream, "this isn't stuff that the average joe should get wrapped up in. Those fights are outright deadly without the protection that a 'helper' affords."
Well ... she may not elaborate more about herself, but she'll talk a little more about others. "Yeah. Five years ago for me. This is the third 'wave' that I've noticed. Myself, then later some of my high school classmates, and now you and the others." After a beat, she turns to Umie and remembers. "Correction: fourth. Akabane-san predates even myself."
Tamaki clears her throat and covers her neck when she realizes Jun took notice of her choker. She covers her mouth and snickers mischievously, knowing she was 'caught' on something. " -- yeah, I know how that sounds wearing this. Do you have something that serves as a focus for your 'helper'? Well, this is mine."
As she was known at St. Hermelin, Tamaki 'Muscle Freak' Uchida grins at Jun's disdain for exercise. "Ahahaha! Aw, c'mon! The physical and intellectual can overlap sometimes! Fencing gets compared to chess, for instance. If you do target practice with those flowers, you're still using your brain when you take aim, aren't you?"
"Well, that's the extent of the resemblance you have to one of the figures in question, so far as I'm aware. If it were you in isolation, this wouldn't be as much of a concern. However ..." Tamaki curls a finger over her chin as she continues walking. "Once is a coincidence. Twice is happenstance. But three times ..."
Tamaki shrugs and decides to see if they're four-for-four. "What about the surname 'Fuyou'? Does that ring a bell at all? In a historical context, mind you."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"RIght, right, but, as you point out, we have Personas," Umie quips over her shoulder, the outermost edge of her smile growing a touch sharp. "And I haven't died yet, so I *must* be doing something right."
FLASHBACK TO: Umie putting her hand in a suspicious statue's open mouth, as just _one example_
SPEAKING OF THAT. "Ah, Suzuki-kun? He's quite the pistol, isn't he...?"
Umie seems to puff up slightly as Tamaki points out how she predates even Tamaki. Is that... pride? (Yes, it's pride.) Given that Umie looks to be the same age as Tamaki at best? "Ehhh. I just have a lot of experience with chatting with demons and being chased by shadows."
At the mention of 'circumstances', however, Umie places a finger close to her chin. "... By the way, Kashihara-kun. How have you been hanging in there, yourself? An Awakening by itself isn't exactly... a walk in the park, you could say," she starts walking up the trail and pausing to look back at the map, "but everything else you went through, on top of that..." Perhaps better not to continue down that path; Jun may want to avoid thinking about it as well. "... Also," she then says, changing the subject, "have you heard at all from Takk- er, Tatsuya-kun?" Maybe also a bad thing to ask, in light of what nearly happened, but concern marks her gaze.
The talk of physical and intellectual overlap brings a memory of Umie's own. "Eh, I was a 'doctor's note' kind of girl, in high school, so sports wasn't my forte either. But during the Dark Hour... different story." An understatement, to be sure. "Okay, here's our turn. Should be coming up."
Indeed-- as Umie thinks about it, the clearer the details become, when she reviews the flowers she's seen Jun wear... and use, even. ".... They... have a meaning, don't they? The flowers." She turns, pointing to the anemone in Jun's pocket.
There's a place she's going with this, aside from 'going further up the trail'. "Areas that you can summon your Persona also relate to how you defend yourself-- you've probably found that out, in the battle at the Sanitarium. The language of the things you use, even if they're made of day-to-day items, will speak louder." Though... Tamaki mentioning her choker as a 'focus'...
".... You mean, for weapons?"
There's a swhish of a breeze through the reddening canopy above, as Umie's eyes stay on the choker, thinking. ".... Oh, right. It's... just up here, guys. I guess, it's just a small place. No wonder that guide was looking for it..."
Indeed, there's a clearing up ahead, consisting of an old sign and a wooden offering box, serving as a sort of small shrine to someone's memory. Theold sign reads: 'This shrine is for the founder of the Gouketsu School of martial arts. Master Fuyou. Master Fuyou's original name was Junnosuke Kuroda, and he served under Tatsunoshin Suou.'
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
Jun chuckles when Tamaki weighs in on not doing as one's told. "Good for you, Uchida-san." He sobers. The reason for his current flower is the same reason why he continues, "Of course, there are cases where it's prudent to do as you're told... It's just something one shouldn't do blindly."
He sighs at the deadly nature of fights without a 'helper.' Doesn't he know it. If Sudou hadn't specifically wanted him alive, he doesn't think he'd have survived everything he's gone through up 'til now to even make it to Awakening.
Suzuki-kun, a pistol? ...Jun thinks he understands what Umie means by that. Not that he was in a place to have broad focus in either of the last two Persona fights he was in, but he did notice that Hyousuke has a particularly violent style of fighting. But then, it's hard to blame him, after seeing the kind of enemies that showed up at the Morimoto Sanitarium.
"Three waves in five years?!" Four, actually, but if Umie Awoke before Tamaki did, it still counts. "That's staggering... I could never have imagined that so many..." He glances around. "Unusual things have happened in places I'd never seen until now." He looks at Umie curiously. "How much experience do you have, Akabane-san?" But first she asks him how he's been doing, and he gives her a faint smile. "Not as badly as you might fear. Awakening to Argeiphontes has helped in a number of ways. I have been tired since then, but... I'm here, aren't I?"
His eyelashes droop at the mention of Tatsuya. "...Not since he helped rescue me from Sudou-san this past Wednesday. But I'm sure he's all right. Sudou-san asked Suou-san to pass a message on to him, so he must be alive and... more or less well." When Umie points out their turn, he follows without remark.
He looks back at Tamaki as she snickers and covers her neck. "A focus? I don't think so..." But even as he says it, something comes to mind. Jun reaches into his pocket and pulls out a silver lighter engraved with the text: The most precious things cannot be seen. If either Umie or Tamaki have read it, it's a quote from The Little Prince. "...Do you happen to mean something like this? It was a gift from my father, and I carry it with me wherever I go. It helps keep me calm. When I was imprisoned by Sudou-san, it anchored me, just the tiniest bit, to sanity." It was still a very close thing by the end... but it might have made a difference by the very end.
Either way, he soon tucks it back into his pocket. He shrugs affably when Tamaki laughs at him. "Oh, I understand what you're saying." He smiles back. "But I'd still rather not get sweaty if I can help it. The scent of my flowers shouldn't be forced to compete." He glances down at his, fingers rising to caress its petals, as Umie points it out. "Yes. It varies depending on whether you're using Victorian or Japanese flower language, but each flower has a secret meaning. In hanakotoba, a purple anemone means..." He smiles fondly as his lashes flutter briefly shut. "'I will trust you and wait.'"
The language of the things he uses... Jun touches his chin. If it were just flowers, that'd be one thing, but if she's applying this to just about anything, he's not sure he follows. He's not sure Umie follows, given her own confusion about what Tamaki means by a 'focus.' He glances between the two and keeps his silence.
Three times... That seems ominous to Jun, and that concern reflects on his beautiful features. At least the next name is new to him; he takes a moment to think about it, just to be sure, then shakes his head. "I'm afraid not. Who is that supposed to be?"
But before an answer can come, the wind blows through the canopy and whispers through the leaves. Jun looks up--it's a beautiful yet eerie sound--but then looks forward as the three of them enter the clearing and approach a small wooden Shinto shrine. His gaze is questioning... until they get close enough to read the sign. Master Fuyou... So that's who he is. But his original name...
"Junnosuke Kuroda... and Tatsunoshin Suou," Jun reads aloud, troubled. Now he sees what Tamaki was talking about. "Sudou-san was saying I should go by the name Jun Kurosu... Is this related to that...?"
But if it is, why is 'Junnosuke' the servant of 'Tatsunoshin'? Sudou always made it sound as though he should be a rabid beast. ...Then again, Sudou is far from a reliable narrator. Jun wonders what Tatsuya would have to say about this...
He shakes his head. "We shouldn't try to ask Tatsuya about this. He wouldn't tell us anyway--no doubt for our own good," he says softly.
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki nods in agreement and smiles at Jun in return, hoping to provide some levity. "You get it, you get it. Hence 'a little bit' of rebellion. In either case, act with intention!"
"Mmm. Suzuki-kun has a good heart, but he's stubborn. Reminds me of someone else we all know, at least in that regard." Whoever could she mean? "He shows up at the Agency fairly frequently to report on defeated Rumor Demons, too."
Mention of Jun's fellow classmate reminds her of something that may put another appearance of hers into perspective. "Ohhhh. Kashihara-kun, by the way: the shelter underneath Kasugayama High? Absolutely riddled with Demons. I hear they come out at night, too." Tamaki holds up a finger and clarifies a further point. "But! Don't tell Marlowe-sensei; he'd be in danger if he ventured in. You might be able to tell who is and who isn't Awakened, there's a sensation that ... often accompanies it."
At least three waves in five years. While she didn't catch what Eriko and Mark had discussed after the fight, she did catch onto the fact that in Sudou's room, Eriko mentioned that Kandori had died ... yet apparently, Nyarlathotep lives on. They might not be as distinct as described.
Umie's description of Awakenings as 'not a walk in the park' causes Tamaki to sputter. "Yeah, mine sure wasn't." To Jun, she offers, "Well, if it helps any, I take it as reassurance that we're not alone. Using your Persona will tire you out, so it's important to get proper rest -- we've got enough hands to give the folks who need it a bit of a break. Give someone else a ring to fill in and they likely will!"
She bites the inside of her cheek at Tatsuya's name. "... Stubborn kid."
yeah that's probably who she meant
Tamaki's expression grows distant and wistful when Jun describes what purple anemone means. Her hand idly clasps tighter around her choker.
"Huh? Eh? Weapons?" Tamaki blinks at Umie in confusion, wide-eyed. "No, those are different." After listening to her explanation, she snaps her fingers and points. "That is true, admittedly. The sword I use is just the sabre I once used in fencing practice for sport. Here -- "
She rummages around in her sports bag to bring out the aforementioned weapon, manufactured by a sporting goods company, blunt under normal circumstances -- while faded, the logo is plainly visible on the underside of the bell guard. (There are some aftermarket additions in the form of pink and yellow stones set on the pommel and hilt, but those surely couldn't serve any practical purpose, right ..?) "Outside of places like this, this won't cut or pierce a damn thing, buuut in here, because it convincingly looks like a sword and people think of swords as sharp, sooooo I've managed to go through suits of armor like it was a hot knife going through butter. The same principle applies generally; for example, model guns, or the confidence you wield your flowers with."
She peers over at Jun's lighter when he brings it out. Her expression remains pensive while he explains, then she nods conclusively when he finishes. "Yeah, if it's that important to you, that, on the other hand, is likely your focus. Mine's ... well, a reminder of a debt that I owe, let's say."
While she has a guess about Umie's, she gives her an out. "For some others, it's their masks. Regardless, an 'anchor' is a good way of describing it."
Is 'Kurosu' related to 'Kuroda'? Tamaki gives a shrug. "Maybe not directly, but it's hard to say at this juncture. Who knows if it's even legitimate?" She presses her hands together and lowers them forward. "How much do you know about how Rumors work in Sumaru City?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Three waves in five years. "Surprised me too," Umie ponders, tapping a nail to her chin. "It would have been easy for me to believe everything was relatively recent. Still, the number of us that have experience going back further than a year is still very small." She directs her gaze to Tamaki. "Except for those Hunters we encountered a few times, but it's unclear how long they've been Awakened, especially when they may be operating under the same assumptions I've made up until recently." goddamn stuck-up snobs, even passing on their self-importance to that kid...
Jun asks a completely logical question, given what Tamaki outlined. Yet, there's a pause from Umie, as she considers, her eyes looking back and pondering the path below the two of them for a moment.
Akechi did warn about explaining too much, but that would be in regards to Gozen, right? This is perfectly harmless, Umie decides, especially if it may explain to Tamaki just why Umie was so surprised to learn that the Dark Hour was a result of something Kirijo Corp did.
"2003," she says, capping it with a casual shrug of her shoulders, though she shoots a wry smile at Tamaki over her laugh over Umie's understatement of how an Awakening can go.
What's important to Umie, however... '... but... I'm here, aren't I?' It's hearing how Jun is handling. The words tick a necessary box for for Umie, whose eyes shine impishly, coupled with an impish smile. ".... Ah. That's the spirit, right there."
Tatsuya, however, is a different matter. "... Damn it... he's laying low again." Jun has faith Tatsuya is well; Umie wishes she could be so gracious. He's the only one with a Mark not under the thumb of the NWO. What the Mark means, and what lies behind it... (Given Tatsuya's comments about 'him', it's easy to assume he, too, has a voice that tells him so many, many complicated, devilish little things.)
As Jun brings out his lighter, Umie's sneakers pad the dirt path, the short blonde coming in for a closer look, managing to read the quote on the side as it catches the dappled forest light. "... What a precious thing to have..."
She wishes she had something like that.
The ugly little envious thought is briefly set away by the power of flower language, as Jun shares, and explains. 'I will trust you and wait.' "The most precious things cannot be seen.' indeed," Umie breathes softly, seeing the way Jun closes his eyes.
"... Then, I'll have faith in him too, then," Umie says, instead, with a soft smile, remembering the potted plant in her own apartment.
Tamaki explains the concept of resonance, and Umie, distracted from her thoughts, nods. "You... probably don't remember my comment pertaining to it way back, Kashihara-kun, but you may notice now, if you concentrate: there's a difference, between me and Uchida-san." Namely, where there is a resonance for Tamaki, there is none for Umie herself. "Some people are able to disguise this 'sense', whether intentionally, or automatically, and even more... like with that Bride that attacked us outside the Sanitarium."
Masks. Umie lets out a laugh, but catches on. "Yeah. It's a bit of a pain, having to make your own, but it *does* mean I get to accessorize." She wiggles her nails close to her face, ala 'jazz hands'. "But I'm not a proper Mask-san-- those people you'll see, every once in a while."
A symbol of a debt owned. A lighter, that centered its owner. Come to think of it, it was the mask that Kurou made for her, and touching the edges of those paint strokes, that centered Umie at the sanitarium. ".... Could it be the bonds that these symbolize..." she murmurs, softly, half to herself, but not caring if Tamaki and Jun overhear.
But the shrine... well, that's another matter entirely. Tamaki, as always, rounds up to the point of the matter: that of rumors. "... There was a third name, that the guide mentioned: Princess Mai-ch-- Maihime Amano."
She opens her mouth--
".... yeah, better to explain, before we go further," she says, instead, with a muted clearing of her throat.
<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
"Ah, he told me about those bounties you offer. I don't have a particular need for extra money, though, so I'll leave them to him--he said he needs to save up," Jun tells Tamaki. "That said, I am interested in gaining experience with my Persona... I don't particularly want to fight, but--" He frowns, expression darkening. Sudou had said that to enforce one's will on others, one needs to have power and the willingness to use it. Not that Jun's generally willing to hear him out, but ironically, he had a point. He won't be able to count on other supernatural menaces wanting to keep him alive, which means he needs to gain the strength to stop them as necessary. "--I understand its necessity," he softly concludes.
His eyes widen at the news about the demons in the air raid shelter. This is both shocking and completely un-shocking. He can only nod at the warning not to tell Marlowe-sensei. "A sensation...? I haven't noticed it yet, but perhaps I'm simply too new. I'll try to concentrate on that."
And indeed, when he focuses on it as Umie instructs, he does sense something from her and Tamaki both--something distinct and unique to each of them. It's a strange sensation... That's something else he'll have to practice with. For now, he nods at the news that using a Persona is tiring--so it's not just him, or the fact that he's so new. He'll have to keep that in mind going forward, too--including how not everyone will give off that sense.
2003, though--that's almost ten years ago! Jun's shocked stare says it all. "Hunters?" he echoes--but then shakes his head. "No, you'd better tell me about them later. For now, I'll accept that there's a small but significant number of extra-experienced Persona Users."
He smiles at her own mischievous approval. Not that he needs it, but it's nice to have. "Thank you," he says of his lighter. He's glad, too, that Umie's faith in Tatsuya is--ignited? restored?--by his own. Hearing that he can have that kind of influence on others just by being true to himself is also heartening. "He is, but I'm sure he has good reason for it. We'll meet again, sooner or later."
He sees Tamaki's gaze grow distant when he relates the meaning of the purple anemone. Is there someone she loves who's far away from her too right now...? Jun's gaze turns sympathetic, but he holds his tongue. The same goes for the 'debt' she references. He's curious, but it sounds like the sort of thing she'd rather not go into right now.
But Tamaki explains more about weapons and how that's separate from a focus, and he considers the blunted saber she pulls out of her bag. "How interesting... I'll have to keep that in mind," he muses. The things he could do with enough confidence... He smiles.
"I see. It does feel right," he says of his lighter being his focus/anchor. But... the bonds they symbolize? Jun blinks at Umie, but doesn't remark. His lighter definitely represents the bond he has with his father... Instead, he echoes, "'Mask-sans'?" He thinks back to his rescue, and something clicks. "Do you mean like those Phantom Thieves?"
As for rumors: "I understand that they will sometimes come true, but I don't really understand how or why. I don't tend to listen to rumors anyway--I'm openly gay, you see, so I've learned to tune them out," he explains. (This might confirm a lot about his behavior with Tatsuya. Stubborn indeed.) "I suppose now that I have the power to do something about it, I'll have to change that."
Umie shares the third name before Jun has a chance to ask. With this one, he immediately sees the link. "Maihime Amano... Maya Amano-san? But why her?" he utters, eyes wide. He does feel very comfortable and at ease around her, and when they first met, it didn't feel like the first time, but...
He suddenly gets a bad feeling.
Is she also involved in whatever forgotten shared past he has with Tatsuya and Sudou? And if she is... He furrows his eyebrows and gestures at the sign. "Are you suggesting that this shrine and the history it references are themselves the products of rumors?" If that's true, what does that mean for the rest of them?
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki nods along with Umie. "I've told Akabane-san here before that I've wanted to be the person I would have liked to have when I was first unceremoniously thrust into the deep end."
At Jun's reply regarding rumor demons, Tamaki slumps forward with a tired expression on her face. "I mean the money's one thing, but it's really ... helping the community ..." Helping lighten her own workload, more like.
As for the Wild Hunt -- well, she gets along with Vivienne just fine! But discussion of them is for later. "I don't know all that much about them ... other than that they've also contributed to taking down Rumor Demons."
She initially remains skeptical about Tatsuya 'having a good reason' to lay low; the look on her face is absolutely dour. Then she remembers the nature of what Jun's been put through, and her expression mollifies. "Here's hoping."
Even if she waits forever, she may not ever be able to pay the debt back. It may be all she can do to pay it forward to others. 'Being the person she could have used' and all that. She very much does not want to get into it, and wordlessly gives Jun a warm nod when he repeats how a focus can represent bonds. Same in her case.
"We do mean the Phantom Thieves by that, yes," Tamaki confirms. "There's more, but they take all shapes and forms. You get the gist for now."
What was it that Tamaki had said before, Umie? To get a song out of your head, replace it with a different one?
She'll get to rumors in a bit, but first:
Jun's gay, but that's something Tamaki knew from his mother's advocacy, at minimum. "... I'm not so open about myself in that regard. I'd all but given up ... but I'm rethinking that after what your mother had said, and as well as ... some other people I've become acquainted with recently, including the Bride and Groom from last night." Tamaki lowers her head. "Poor girls."
Tamaki holds up a finger as she explains. "I mention it only as a possibility. In this environment, it's hard to know what to trust as the product of rumor-made-reality or reality as it originally was." With a grin, she presses her hands together and bounces on her heels. "Unless you were the one that spread it, of course! That's one of the services that the Kuzunoha Detective Agency provides -- " tamaki are you launching into a sales pitch
She clears her throat and returns to a more sober cadence of speech, abandoning her ad copy affectation. "But we had nothing to do with this, so ... I can't say for certain. We're trying to understand why and how." 'And not just trying to make a quick buck' is the unstated promise.
It's something that's long been on her own mind. Can't make a rumor about something if people don't know about it in the first place. Sealed away, preserved in layers of amber. As long as that power exists, however, that still puts it in danger.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Fighting is just one side of the coin," Umie says, with a shrug, at Tamaki tries to defend the Kuzunoha Detective Agency's honor. "A lot is just trying to convince some random demon to stop occupying a standing freezer. You may be just as useful there as in fighting; demons tend to be fascinated by things we may not even consider." She looks to Tamaki. "Life stones are a good thing to keep on you. Trinkets, as well. I... well, kumihimo bracelets have been a useful item for me. Fortune telling, information... trades in general."
Jun may seem a little overwhelmed, but he seems to managing. "We're just eager when it comes to giving information; you're doing good," she says, nodding in agreement with Tamaki. "There wasn't anyone to tell us these things when we Awakened, and these things can be the difference between life and death. We're still learning, as well." She saw that brief wide-eyed look, from Jun.
Jun mentions the Phantom Thieves. Umie nods, along with Tamaki. "Those are the most notable ones, yeah. But don't assume everyone who has such a mask is one. The ways a person can summon their Persona are varied." ..... in many ways.
Jun explains how he's tuned out rumors due to his orientation; it makes sense. "Well, *I'm* rooting for you two." She holds a hand to her chin, considering. "... He needs someone like you." (She only says that, of course, because she knows Tatsuya's feelings for Jun are just as true.)
(She notably also doesn't say anything about herself. Shiryuu can be *her* secret, for now, even if she'll probably blab about it to Tamaki at some point.)
Maihime Amano...
Umie frowns. "... I don't know, but the gist of the story is... Kuroda, Suou, and Amano-- that is, the ones in this story, tried to assassinate a cruel warlord named Kiyotada Sumaru. Amano was killed during the attempt, and Suou ordered Kuroda to burn down the castle, with him and Sumaru still trapped inside. Kuroda regretfully did so, and changed his name. His ghost waits for the day it can get revenge, which... well, that's just the way those things usually go, eh?"
".... It's been my theory that what holds Sudou and Takkun hostage is a something trying to make a story a reality," she says, with a hushed voice, as if telling a deep secret. "It nearly got you, as well. Maybe this is the seed of it, or a branch." Her eyes focus on the anemone in Jun's pocket. "Maybe a flower, to extend the metaphor. But... I don't know. There seems to be a force behind it all, and..."
The trees rustle with a cold, fall wind; while it had done so, many times, passing on the pleasant scent of earth and dry leaves, this wind alone seems to echo in Umie's ears alone.
Like a warning.... or, perhaps, a dare, to say more. After all...
"... We... need to find out what, for Takkun's sake. But we need to be careful, or we'll just add to a fire we can't put out."