2026-05-09: Wait and See
- Log: Wait and See
- Cast: Hyousuke Suzuki, Yukari Takeba
- Where: Aoba Park
- OOC Date: 2026-05-09
- IC Date: Tue Nov 06 2012
- Summary: Yukari happens upon Hyousuke's hamfisted attempt at observing the crowd at Aoba Park, and calls him out on it before it becomes an issue. What begins as a simple conversation becomes them musing on the nature of having to wait for the problem to become something they can attack, however, and their feelings towards the situation are laid bare.
(|=============================== Aoba - Main ================================|)
-=================================================== Sumaru CityAoba Ward ====-
To Sumaru's east is Aoba Ward, where fashion and commerce abound. The city's
fire department headquarters is based here too. Ample shopping can be found at
the stores that dot Aoba Way. Past it, Aoba Park is a popular place to walk
around and relax, especially since there's an outdoor concert hall located
deeper within where one might catch a live concert.
Various programs are filmed at Sumaru TV, where famous stars like veteran
actress Junko Kurosu, talk show host Hidehiko "Brown" Uesugi, and popular model
Eriko "Elly" Kirishima might be spotted. Along the way, one will pass Kismet
Publishing, where popular publications like hot teen magazine Coolest are made.
-==== Players =================================================================-
Hyousuke Suzuki [VII] Yukari Takeba [VI]
-=================================== Exits ====================================-
<N> See how the Other Side lives after a walk to Narumi - Main
<R> Head west to Rengedai - Main
<W> Enjoy the atmosphere on a stroll to Aoba Way
(|============================================================================|)
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
A brisk wind cut through the air on that frigid November afternoon. It sliced through the flesh like a knife, chilling those not equipped for it to the bone, stinging at any skin that was exposed. Yet the crowd gathered in Aoba Park - still in the same state as it had been for days by this point - seemed to pay no heed to it. For all of their unified chanting, their shared ideals, and the singular purpose they all seemed to share, however, the crowd might as well have been one homogenous *thing.* An entity that lashed out at those foolish enough to draw near, dragging them in and growing the horde one body at a time.
Hyousuke's first attempt at getting near to the crowd had been something of a disaster. Not only had he failed to gather any noteworthy information, but he had made a fool of himself in the attempt, having had to rely on the attending members of SEES to pull him out of the fire. So it was that, when he returned to the scene of the crime, he - rather uncharacteristically - showed some measure of restraint. He prowled around the edges of the park like a stalking wolf, taking the measure of some threat encroaching upon its territory while staying out of its reach. He watched with sharp eyes, his bag slung loosely over his shoulder, ready to spill a pair of gloves out for him to wear should something supernatural dominate the space.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Hyousuke finds himself having to show a special amount of restraint. Because whenever he comes close enough to get be in hearing range, someone's head inevitably turns.
Even when it's impossible that they could be seeing him.
"Ware the unbelievers. False prophets who would lead us astray." Toshio sounds out, with eerie precision, as his preaching shifts to cover what feels like it can only be him.
Getting any closer would be bad.
And that's when he hears a voice not too far behind him.
"Uhhh, what are you doing?"
It may carry a hint of familiarity, given the number of times they've been around each other. A stylish girl in a Gekkoukan uniform, pink cardigan worn over it and a shortened skirt, Kogal style.
She's carrying a Yumibukuro on her back, the kind of archery bags anyone in a school's archery club might to secure it for transport, since it's illegal for it to be unsecured.
"If you keep acting this suspicious, someone might report you to the cops as like one of those guys who stalk girls jogging in the park or something."
There's a sigh, as she looks off into the distance.
"And well, pretty sure they're not even allowed to touch that cult, or they would have shut this down weeks ago... but you?"
There's an implication there, that they might have no such compunctions if he were caught.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
It seemed that the second outing was to be as much a failure as the first. Perhaps even moreso. They knew his face, they were suspicious of his presence - he was a known factor and something to be repelled, or assimilated. He could see little that would be worth noting or hadn't already been recorded, and anything more than faint murmurs or the echoing chants was out of earshot - unless he wanted to become one of their number. He sighed a little and crossed his arms, pulling a face as he wondered what to do next.
He wished one of his friends were there, or one of his colleagues. They were smart. They would've known what to do.
As if on cue, Hyousuke heard a voice nearby - one he recognised, in fact. It took him a few moments and some sharp blinks, but he realised he knew the girl standing near him. The tension in him faded a little, and a slow breath fell past his lips, before his lips settled into a small frown.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." He said, with the kind of frustration that made it clear he *did* know. "I just wanted to see if there was anything I could figure out about all... this." He gestured a little towards the gathered masses, a little subtler than he might usually have. As though doing anything to draw attention to himself risked drawing more embarrassment than he'd already garnered.
"They've been on my turf for ages now, and we're no closer to knowing what their deal is than when they got here." Hyousuke said, almost sighing the words out. He waited a moment, watching them again, arms crossed and mouth pulled into an expression that couldn't decide if it wanted to be a frown or a snarl. "What about you?" He asked, speaking a little more casually than his look might have suggested. "You trying to investigate them too?"
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari Takeba looks away, further into the park, as if contemplating the situation, here.
"I don't know that there's much to figure out." She finally responds, "It's not like we can really learn something that'd be 'Eureka! Problem solved!'" She observes, with a touch of cynicism, "It's mostly just, 'reacting' if anything happens."
There's a shrug of her shoulders and- she looks away again, "Honestly? It kinda reminds me of apathy syndrome... maybe not quite as bad." She remarks, as if that disturbs her a little, to think on that.
"Which, well- if it really is, then there's only one thing to do, really."
Wait until the day of the Full Moon, during the Dark Hour, she doesn't say- not quite yet. She barely knows him after all.
He asks her a question, and she looks somewhat taken aback by the question, as she considers how to answer it, her expression becoming a little pensive after. "Uhhh... not really? We're observing mostly, to see if there's any change the longer this goes on. We live about an hour and a half away, so... we have to trade off."
She's logging relative crowd size, any changes to the speeches, whether people are looking worse, how many go to the hospital that day- things like that.
If it gets worse as they approach the Full Moon, then that's a telling sign.
"All signs kinda point towards this getting worse before it gets better." She remarks, because in her experience, that's how it has been with these things.
"Honestly, if I were you? I'd just try to stay away for a while... but I'm guessing that isn't something you'd find 'acceptable'?"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke didn't say a word when Yukari doubted there was anything that they realistically *could* do. Not that he needed to. The slight curl of his lips and the glance downwards - as if to try and hide the sudden shift in his expression - made his frustration clear. He knew she was right, but to admit it out loud was another thing entirely. So, unwilling to give voice to his thoughts, he listened intently to hers, though a little of the tension he'd released managed to creep back into his muscles and hold him firm.
When she mentioned trading off, a slight look of realisation managed to flash into his features, before being smothered by consternation again.
"Trade off...? Oh, right, so that's why your friends were here." What he assumed to be here friends, anyway. He'd seen some around with her at various points throughout the year, and as dense as Hyousuke very much was, even he could put together some few context clues. That wasn't the point that he intended to elaborate on and follow through with, however. "...You're right, though - sitting back and doing nothing doesn't feel right."
Hyousuke tensed again, expecting backlash of some sort. Chiding, an insult, maybe even exasperation - disapproval of his choices in the situation.
"I've seen what they do to people. They tried to do it to someone I know." Someone who was very much not a friend, but not quite an enemy. Enough that he didn't want to see her be subjected to *that.* "Sitting around waiting for it to get worse just isn't something I can do. I know, it's dumb as hell."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
It's a frustration she knows well. Years upon years of trying to find the truth- but as a middle school, now high school girl.
She learned just how helpless she truly was, when it came to going up against the reality of uncovering the secrets of something as big as the Kirijo Group.
Even if she found out eventually, it's only because she came into power- and even now. You still keep crashing up against reality during the daytime.
Still she's not the type to share that kind of thing, about relating to the frustration. The powerlessness. She just communicates it in her own way.
"Yep. And well..." There's a sigh of exasperation, "...some of them have more homework than others to catch up on. So, it's me today."
That's just how it is. Doing this part time, you're still a student. You still have to make the grades, take the tests- continue on your path to being a proper adult.
"Well... it's not like I don't agree or anything- that it doesn't feel right. It just is, you know? If we do anything during daylight- we could get arrested, and it's not like the cops will take our side. If we tell them what's really going on, they'll think we're crazy at worst, delusional kids who never grew out of middle school at best."
She looks off again, "Besides, not all of the cops in Sumaru City are... good people. But even if we were on Tatsumi Port Island where the cops are a little more helpful- we can't just go around doing what we want, even for good reasons."
It's a terrible situation, to be unable to do anything. "And even if we could, what would we do? Knock everyone out? Put them in an institution until we settle this?"
There's a shake of her head, like she knows even he wouldn't think that.
It's not impossible she could insult him over this, but he hasn't quite crossed that line yet.
"... Someone you know?" She asks, as if wondering who before continuing onwards anyway, "As far as we know, we're protected from whatever is happening, but it sure isn't healthy to be near it anyway."
Lacing her hands behind her back, she asks, "Well... it's, right now we're wondering if it's because of incredibly powerful Shadows that come out only during the Full Moon."
She grimaces, hating to share, but it's perhaps the only way she can get him to feel like he's doing something. "They won't appear any sooner than that. You can't even find them. Even if we came back during the Dark Hour... that doesn't mean you can't be attacked by it though. Just- not in any way where you'd be able to fight it back."
She means in a mental assault kind of way. How people get drawn into the Dark Hour- even if mostly it's happening during the day.
"So, don't feel like you're not doing anything. It's just that you can't. And I can't- and neither can anyone else. It just- kinda is, you know?"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Just because the words Yukari spoke were true did not make them hurt any less. Every one stung worse than the cold of the breeze, carving away at his mind as much as it felt like they stung at his flesh. Hyousuke wanted to act - he made no attempt to hide it. Even if he'd said nothing, there was a tension in his limbs. They were tight, like the haunches of a hunting hound, waiting for its master to give the signal, or a coiled spring waiting to unleash the energy stored within it.
But there was nothing he could do.
"So we're all powerless." Hyousuke said, the words spoken with a voice that fell somewhere between a growl and a breath. They rumbled from his throat, deep yet soft - like thunder rolling across distant skies. "Cops are probably in on it, or just don't care. We can't do anything 'cause there's nothing we can even *do.* Hell, the Joker Killer was some politician's son. Wouldn't be surprised if there's someone that *wanted* all this to happen." He was only half joking, and made the remark with no small degree of bitterness.
A distant look flashed into his eyes, and for a moment, he was that helpless child again. Scared and alone, a puppet dancing on strings he could never have hoped to hold, or a hound gnashing at a leash he could never hope to break. He was powerless. He was helpless. He was afraid, and he was angry. The muscles in his jaw went taut, and threatened to snap in place as he ground his teeth, but the moment passed and he forced the feeling to the back of his mind. It was something to work out later. For now, he was in polite company, and it would not do to set it loose here.
If she was right, there would be ample opportunity for his fury later.
"Just feels like we *could* be doing something. We're stuck here while this lot keeps grabbing more people, or some freak shows up like the other day, doing... doing *nothing.*" Hyousuke eventually said. He didn't face Yukari when he spoke. it wasn't even completely clear whether he had spoken to her, or simply given voice to an idle thought. "You're probably right." He admitted, though with how a twinge of defeat lingered on his every word, he might as well have said she was certainly right, even if his pride would not allow him to state it outright. "And it's not like there ain't other stuff I've got to take care of. I just can't stand seeing... this."
Not after he'd stormed into Tartarus, chasing little more than a whisper of a rumour. Not after he'd fought at the gallery, risking life and limb to exact bloody vengeance. Not after he'd searched high and low for a lead on a missing friend, and been forced to sit idle while smarter, more capable, people found actionable intel. He felt like he was watching a storm draw ever closer, knowing he could not fight or outrun it, or like a slavering hound leashed to a post while the scent of blood and meat wafted through the air.
It made him feel *weak.*
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
'So we're all powerless'
"Sometimes? ...Yeah. When there's an Earthquake... or a particularly bad Tsunami. You know you can't do anything either, right? Do you really even think about it- or just accept reality?"
That's how she regards the Full Moon Shadows, in the lead up phase. There's not much to be done. You can only just await the storm.
Wait until the Earth is ready to shake.
"... Maybe? It's not like they can predict this kind of thing. Or at least... I hope not."
Yukari looks troubled at that last qualifier, because- well, what if they could? But it doesn't make sense that they can.
"That they're not interfering now though? Well... yeah. It might just be that someone knows that if they tried to do anything they'd get caught up in it too."
Cops are supposed to protect and serve- but they can't do anything against this. They'd just be more victims.
"Be pretty bad if the whole police force came down here to break it up and they all became a part of it..."
It's not that she's disagreeing that the cops are corrupt, after all she suggested it. It's just she thinks the cops are also necessary. That there's more good than bad.
He suggests that it feels like they could be doing something... and...
"Well we are? We're getting ready just in case it really is one of those Shadows on the Full Moon. But- we gotta understand our limitations. It's not like we can chloroform them all, and put them in an institution until this blows over..."
She crosses her arms, disturbed, "... and maybe it doesn't do anything anyway. If it's a Shadow, then the cult isn't... what's really going on. It's just how the people express what's in their heads."
Shadows aren't sentient after all. Especially not these ones. They're just monsters.
"Well. Then don't. It's not really that you can't stand seeing this. It's that you don't want to look away from it."
That's an interesting way to put it, how would she know? "But, you've gotta realize, it's not looking away just to live your life. You're still doing something about it. You just can't right now. So you look. And you keep looking..."
There's a shrug of her shoulders, "... but you've gotta learn that living your life isn't turning a blind eye, you know? You're going to do something about it. Maybe not today, not tomorrow..."
...
...
...
"... but the fact you're going to do something the moment you can, it has to be enough."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Once again, someone proved smarter than him. Once again, someone proved he was simply the blunt object, to be thrown at a problem until it broke, or a hunting hound that was only allowed to slip the leash when a problem needed savaging. Yet the revelation did not draw a reaction any stronger than a slight curling of his lips as he turned the words over in his mind. He looked down a little, silently giving her words thought, and wondered if she knew just how close she'd come to putting his own thoughts into words. It truly was like staring down nature, and waiting for it to pass.
For a little while, the sound of the breeze was all that lay between them. it wasn't as though he hadn't been listening. If anything, his features shifting between looks belied that he had been doing so quite intently, and just needed time to digest it. Even so, the silence dragged on for a little longer than he was comfortable with, and the whisper of a November wind sounded like a gale. When he did finally speak, he still sounded quite frustrated with the whole ordeal. With how he could do nothing but lay in wait, how his efforts at gathering intel were dangerous at best, and how there had been a Shadow-related phenomenon happening that he'd heard nothing about prior to them speaking at length.
"So we're waiting for the chance to do what *we* can, since we can't do a thing now." Hyousuke didn't want to accept it, but the facts were there. He couldn't do a damned thing about the crowd, he hadn't the foggiest idea on who to chase for leads or where to search for them, and the problems his eavesdropping could have caused had been laid out not long ago. "Figures. Feels like waiting's all I do sometimes. But you're right." He hated to admit it, but damn it, she was right.
"It just... feels like we're watching that tsunami coming. There's something big behind this, there's gotta be. And it's gonna hit us at some point. But all we can do is get ready for it." He stopped just short of saying it was something he wouldn't, or couldn't run from. One could fight the supernatural, but literal forces of nature? Not so much. "Speaking of getting ready, this is the first I'm hearing about this full moon Shadows. I've been out doing jobs on full moons and the Shadows weren't any worse than the normal ones. Is it just a thing you guys have over there, like how we got rumours and stuff?" That last point was spoken more with curiosity than consternation. He knew nothing of SEES and the activities associated with the group, but it sounded like a good fight...and an acceptable target.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari would probably say she is smarter than Hyousuke on most days. However, if she were really being honest with herself, it's not that she is smarter, it's that she's more experienced, wiser.
If he looks as if he hasn't really been listening, then she's used to that. It's her own experience that girls have to be the responsible ones, while boys are get to play at having 'hot-blood' and being 'reckless'. They get to play around.
Well, most of them.
But, he at least echoes her, and that's more credit than she can give most boys, that he at least took something in. "Join the club." Yukari says, when it comes to feeling like waiting is all one can do.
"If I wanted to hunt Shadows in the Dark Hour right now, I couldn't do that either? I'd be waiting."
Even for small things, one has to wait. She supposes she could explore Mementos, but even that you can't do all the time. And for what purpose? It's not like they're sure of what's in there or why it exists?
When he mentions there has to be something 'big' behind this. She looks away. What can she say? It's her Dad's fault that this is happening? That he released the Shadows, created the Dark Hour?
No. She's not going to. That would just complicate things.
"It's because it's not the Full Moon during the night. It's the Full Moon during the Dark Hour." She clarifies. "Time doesn't move the same way there, so it's not... in synch, I guess. I dunno how it works."
There's a shake of her head as she answers the idea that it's something we 'get over there'. "Not... really? Supposedly they can happen anywhere in Japan during the Dark Hour. Not just, in Tatsumi Port Island or something. Maybe this is the one here? We're not sure yet."
She looks away, seemingly concerned, "But, I suspect it is. It all kinda fits too well. If it's going in order, this will be the 'Hierophant' Shadow- which, really would explain what's going on out there."
Given that Hierophant is about 'Spirituality' 'Religion', and one's relationship with authority. She didn't know much about Tarot until Dr. Aomori explained how the Shadows correspond.
"Uh- yeah, let me put it this way. It took almost thirty of us to take down the last pair of them... they're really rough. It's just... going to be a thing for a while... until we beat all of them."
Until they clean up her Father's mess, that is.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
The cogs whirred in his head as he listened to her, his gaze shifting around just enough that he caught her out of the corner of his eye. His brow furrowed, his mouth tightened, and one hand even went up to grip his chin a little as he tried to piece together the information she gave him. It wasn't that he wasn't listening - he just needed a moment again. He needed to digest the information and let it settle in his mind, knowing that it was all new and that he had probably missed something along the way.
Whatever train of thought that speaking about the flow of time during the Dark Hour had initiated was brought to a screeching halt when Yukari gave a number to him, however. His head turned slowly, but it was not the gentle and measured action of a person simply shifting their focus. It was the gradual, creaking, groaning turn of someone that wasn't entirely sure what they'd heard.
"Thirty." He repeated, as if every other thought had been pushed from his mind. Philosophising, plans of action, preparation - all of it fell by the wayside when he considered the sheer scale of the battle that must have taken place.
"Hierophant? Is there one of these for every tarot?" Hyousuke asked. Though he didn't look like the sort to be clued in on the occult and suchlike - and, in complete fairness, was not - it'd been several months since he'd gotten his Persona. He at least knew enough to recognise the name of a card when it was spoken. "...And I thought I was in over my head with the zeppelin." The short remark was a blend of emotions. Ruefulness, anticipation, tension, a little fear... and, if one were to listen very closely, the vaguest hint of excitement.
"If this does turn out to be one of *those* Shadows, what's the plan?" Hyousuke asked. "This is happening where *I* live. I'm gonna fight it." It was hard to attribute the conviction in that statement to any one thing. Recklessness? It definitely played a role. Pride? It almost certainly factored in too. But, for once, practicality entered the equation as well, simple as the logic was. The monster might show up at his doorstep, and thus, it was in his best interests to get it to leave.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Thirty." She echoes. "Then again there were two of them. But... I still wouldn't underestimate any of them." She knows times where they were defeated by less, much less.
It's just, she knows those weren't normal.
"As far as we know? There's thirteen of them. They uh- go all the way from the beginning to 'Death'."
Yukari looks sideways at him, at mention of the Zeppelin, "Oh, yeah. From what I heard, that was pretty wild." She says, in the most understated manner possible.
Like, yes it's big, but not so big that she has a huge reaction to it.
"Well the plan is to... gather up that night. We do an Operation on those nights in order to defeat them, so we'll be here. Just- I don't know where we'll be setting up yet. And well, we have to confirm things too? It's possible that... this isn't one."
But she kinda doubts that.
His willingness to fight though? "Well, I doubt anyone will have a problem with you showing up. Loads of people showed up to help us with the Emperor and Empress..." But she just sighs, "Don't get overeager though. We'll have enough of that already."
What a killjoy...
Still she checks her phone for the time, then adjusts her bag over her shoulder.
"Anyhow. I've already finished checking in, so I have to make my way back to the station. Just- don't do anything stupid until that night? Try to live your life until that day. Just... be ready to go? That's the best thing you can do for these people, and for this city."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
A distant look crossed Hyousuke's face at Yukari's tone when she spoke of the zeppelin. The look on his face froze, and something - something unpleasant - flashed through his mind. It was only for a moment, not even as long as a blink, but anyone sharp-eyed and focussing on his face would have seen it. He suppressed it before it had a chance to reveal that he had plenty to say about what had happened that day, however, and simply nodded to acknowledge what she'd said. He even offered smile while he did so. A small and weak thing, more given out of politeness than anything else, but it was there.
It seemed the time had come for them to part, however, so he readjusted his bag and made ready to do the same. It was hardly like there was much else to see at the park, and there were other cases he needed to follow up on - some after the sun had set.
"Just call me if you need me. I'll let you guys know if I find anything out in the meantime." He knew not of SEES, but did know of Yukari's friends. They, he hoped, could get the message across. "I'll see you around. Hopefully without a crowd like this around."