2026-05-07: Primadonna
- Log: 2026-05-07 Primadonna
- Cast: Yoko Hirano, Yanagi Nagisa
- Where: Shimokitazawa - Street Scene
- OOC Date: May 07, 2026
- IC Date: November 05, 2012
- Summary: On her way home from Aoba, Yanagi runs into Yoko at the Gotoku-ji cat shrine. Although the two of them have forgotten the other's name, they haven't forgotten their last strange encounter--and this time, Yoko makes it clearer what she means by the things she sees. Yanagi gives her a business card as a result.
(|======================= Shimokitazawa - Street Scene =======================|)
-================================================ Tokyo/Shimokitazawa Ward ====-
Shimokitazawa is a neighborhood of densely-packed buildings near the
Shimo-Kitazawa Station, where the Odakyu Electric and Keio Inokashira lines
intersect. The winding alleyways and smaller spaces for shops and venues have
kept away the big-money chains, leaving space for dozens of small and
independent fashion shops to sprout up, cozily tucked and intermingled with
bars, cafes, live music venues and theaters.
The narrow streets of Shimokitazawa can be confining, especially when there is a
crowd; the shops have colorful signs, and offer a panoply of experiences, each
of them striving to radiate a vision of their own kind of cool. A crisp and
efficient tile-and-straight-edges men's clothier sits across from a
heavily-tagged used clothing shop. The streets stay lively at night, with music
belting out to the lonely hearts of the big city from dozens of hole-in-the-wall
jazz bars and rock venues. In summer, dance festivals trail throughout the
narrow streets, bringing back a traditional vibe... until the next day, of
course.
Local landmarks include the station itself; the Matsuda Theater, a 400-seat
venue that has helped drive the boom in smaller-scale theater throughout the
neighborhood; and the not-too distant Gotoku-ji temple, famous for its vast
collection of beckoning maneki-nekos, each of them enshrined in a place of honor
on the temple grounds.
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
Sometimes you just want to see a few hundred cats at once.
It's not that Enigma at Iwatodai Station isn't enough cat. It's just that sometimes you really, really need to be surrounded by cat energy. And Yoko is starting to think about little Christmas presents for the friends she made this semester, and it would be nice to get a little maneki-neko for Arisato-senpai. He taught her his secret*, after all...
She gets off the train from Port Island after school, today's reading safely stowed back in her bag. The leggings underneath her winter uniform aren't really going to be enough to keep her warm on the walk, so she's got on a coat and a scarf, and just for good measure she'll buy a bottle of hot milk tea to carry with her. The machine's just over here, right...?
*secret cat-attracting technique of 'coax it out with takoyaki'
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
It's true. Who wouldn't want to see such a splendor?
Certainly not Yanagi, who is herself in transit--back to Shimokita from Aoba, where she was earlier to check in again on the cultists gathering at Aoba Park. There's nothing new about their status, but she did get to run into Niko from Strega again, and that was a more affecting experience than most.
So as she walks from the train station to Peacock Silk, she stops at the cat shrine and slowly tap-taps her way around and through it. She already had a nice meal of spaghetti and milk tea earlier in Aoba; no need to get any repast right now. It is chilly today, and she shivers occasionally, but she doesn't mind it. Getting to shiver from the cold is also an interesting experience.
Today's fashion: a lacy dress of marine patterns and matching pale blue flats; pearlescent eyeshadow, lipstick, and nail polish; silver and aquamarine hair clips; a mother-of-pearl cameo choker and matching anklets. And, of course, her polished walking cane with the odd, almost gun-like handle design. She doesn't look up at anyone's approach. She's busy tapping the noses of cat statues and giggling softly to herself.
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
Eventually, Yoko does find the vending machine (it was at the other end of the platform??? why????) and buys milk tea. Now with the last piece of the puzzle, she makes her way to the shrine! It's a chilly evening, but with all of these precautions in place, even Yoko will stay warm.
Her coat is an unwintery spring green, and her scarf is crocheted to look like a striped snake. It gets some loooooks in the school entryway, but fortunately it hasn't gotten any of the wrong kind of attention.
The shrine is beautiful at this time of evening. There are so many things to look at. It feels much better here than it does in her dormitory back in Iwatodai...
There are other visitors of course, even at this time of day. But that's all right. Nobody is ever really alone...! Not in the era of cell phones.
She glances at the other eccentric dresser present at Gotokuji this evening. The style itches at her memory a bit. Shimmery, showy, flowy...
Oh. And a cane that's secretly a gun. "..." Should Yoko say something??
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
As Yoko takes in Yanagi, she happens to turn to hobble down the aisle. It's then that she sees Yoko--or more specifically...
"Oh! What a cute snake! <3"
...her crocheted scarf.
Yanagi approaches with somewhat more speed, that cane tup-tup-tupping as she gets right in the poor girl's face. Even if Yoko backs away, Yanagi will follow, at least for a short distance; if Yoko's really determined to get away, she'll stop, if only because it's too much trouble to chase her.
"I love your scarf!" she enthuses at her either way, those lead-gray eyes turning from the snake to Yoko's face. That sparkly smile fades into a puzzled look. She tilts her head. "Hm? Have we met somewhere before? You look familiar."
If Yoko does say something, now's the time.
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
Ack!! Perceived!!
It's her, yes! The woman from the cafe. The one who spoke about something Yoko didn't understand at all (and can now hardly remember, either). The one whose cane hid a deadly secret. The one who backpedaled so quickly when Yoko had tried to explain that she didn't have whatever the woman was looking for.
The one who's tup-tup-tupping her way towards Yoko right now!
She takes a step back, and another, but the woman (something-nagi? Nagisomething?) is only intent on her colorful scarf. "Eh? Uhm. Thank you..." It's something her mother didn't buy for her. Yoko closes her fingertips on the edge of the snake's doofy face and holds it carefully.
She hesitates for a moment before nodding. "I think... we met at Iwatodai Station once. At the... maybe the Wild Duck Burger?"
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
It wasn't backpedaling so much as losing interest. That's not really any better.
Yoko confirms that the two of them have met before. Yanagi hmmms for a moment... then brightens. "Oh! Yes! You had that lovely little sculpture you made, and you were trying to feed the cat! I remember now!"
She continues to smile brightly. "I see you haven't changed since then. Or have you, and I simply can't perceive it? Some are like that! It's always an exciting challenge to see one of those. I wouldn't have believed it possible, but there was a girl who came by Peacock Silk with goods she had to have collected from demons or Shadows, yet she didn't give off any Resonance at all. Even if she came into those goods from someone who collected them for her, that still stands out!"
Yoko probably didn't understand any of that, either. Yanagi clearly doesn't care.
"That scarf looks handmade. Did you make that too?" Yanagi wonders instead.
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
It's somehow worse!
Her sculpture? It... it was the rabbit, wasn't it? Red resin like a jewel. "Yes," Yoko nods, because now she can place things into the scene, surrounding that touchpoint. The sculpture handed over and admired, then placed on the table between them.
"I... I don't think I've changed." It's true, isn't it? Yoko has gotten a little more skilled, but nothing she would consider to be called changeworthy. Hadn't this person talked about something unseen last time, too? It got a little overshadowed by the gun... "Ah. I bought this one. I've tried to knit but it's hard."
...Demons? "Demons?" Yoko repeats, because maybe that would explain them. The things that haunt some people, hanging around them. Even senpai and his ever-shifting Greek chorus...?
"I think I've seen those demons," she forges on ahead, because if there's an explanation for those things besides psychosis Yoko is desperate to hear about it!! "They hang around certain people. Nobody else can see them."
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
It was the rabbit. That red resin had been exquisite. Yanagi has always loved jewels... But that's not the topic right now.
"Yes, I didn't think so," Yanagi replies. She looks disappointed by the fact that the scarf isn't homemade, but doesn't criticize, just nods.
"Yes. Demons," she says matter-of-fact. She's about to leave it at that when Yoko says something very interesting. Yoko had said before that she sees things--Yanagi had asked her about Personas as a result--but the end result of that discussion was that she probably meant hallucinations. With Yoko restating what it is she sees, though, her interest is rekindled.
"Certain people?" she echoes. She tilts her head, resting a painted nail on her cheek. "Hmmm... Like whom?"
This is a test. The answer should be: like her. Her, and the haunting ballerina pirouetting behind her on catheter needle limbs.
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
She's been trying not to look at it, because it makes her very uncomfortable. Even moreso than Aragaki-senpai's ominous 'knight'. Yoko doesn't like looking at it, at all.
The sudden swerve of Yanagi's focus, somehow, is almost as unnerving! But... but Yoko really does want to know. It can't mean anything, not really, but for just a moment... she really really wants to believe there's a reason! Even if it's a child's foolish hope, she wants to.
Because maybe then Yoko could stop being the sick one.
"They... they're..." Her eyes are wide in her face, the faintest hint of a cold sweat trying to break out on her cheeks even though it's so chilly outside already. Yoko swallows. "There's... one here right now."
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
There is one here right now. Yanagi certainly knows that. But does Yoko really know that, or is she hallucinating after all? She doesn't think she's being dramatic, at least, even though that's a dramatic thing to say; the fear in her face is too real for that.
"What does it look like?" Yanagi thus prompts, unfazed by something many others would and have no doubt been creeped out by.
Maybe there is a reason outside of Yoko herself--one that can be recognized and taught. Maybe Yanagi can be the one to teach it to her. But she needs to prove herself first.
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
Yoko looks away, squirming a little underneath her coat. "...It's a dancer. A lady spinning. In a gown and veil." Her mouth thins, and Yoko looks on purpose for once. "She's made of glazed porcelain and needles." Even the possibility of making eye contact with Giselle is daunting, even if none of these 'demons' have ever moved to hurt or harm Yoko. They're usually some flavor of creepy, isn't that enough?
And now comes the part where Yanagi asks Yoko if she's feeling all right. Or if she'd like to sit still while someone is called for her. Or maybe worst of all, dismisses her with an awkward chuckle and a subsequent avoidance. Or rumors.
It makes her upset... Yoko clasps her hands together on the strap of her school bag and waits for Yanagi to react.
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
Now comes the part...
"Hmmmmm," Yanagi murmurs thoughtfully, staring for a long moment at Yoko.
Then she smiles.
"That's my Persona. Her name is Giselle."
She tilts her head as she shuts her eyes, and her smile all but radiates sparkles. "Congratulations! You're absolutely fascinating!"
She digs into a hitherto unmentioned purse and presents a business card to Yoko. Yanagi Nagisa - Peacock Silk, it reads in shiny peacock-green ink with silver lining on a black background. There's an address and phone number; the address is right near here, in fact. "Please do come by sometime! I'd love to introduce you to Tsumugi and the others!"
Then she pats her on the head and moves to hobble around her and walk away.
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
Her fingers tighten infinitessimally. It's not fair. She just told the truth. Even if she doubts it herself! After all, it doesn't stop being real whenever Yoko stops believing in it...
Yanagi looks at her. And Yoko averts her eyes just a little bit--
Congratulations!
"Huh?" Yoko looks up sharply, a stray lock of tangled inky black falling over her forehead. "I'm..." Fascinating, she said. A hint of color rises on Yoko's face. She looks down at the card Yanagi has given her - both hands extended to receive it.
"'Peacock Silk'." That is not where silk comes from! Yoko aced the unit on silk production! It's from cocoons!
"I'll try. Uh, thank you," she says instead, because Yoko knows a catchy business name and not a statement of fact when she reads it. ...Usually. Paff paff. Her hair sproings up again after the woman pats her a couple of times.
Yoko stares after her. The ballerina moves along with her. jiiiiiii