2026-06-28: Information Collation
- Log: Information Collation
- Cast: Hyousuke Suzuki, Shinobu Shimizu, Tamaki Uchida, Julian Marlowe
- Where: Kuzunoha Detective Agency
- OOC Date: 2026-06-28
- IC Date: Sat Dec 01 2012
- Summary: Left with more questions than answers in the wake of the confrontation with Ulala Serizawa, Hyousuke, Shinobu, Julian, and Tamaki meet to try and make sense of things.
(|======================== Kuzunoha Detective Agency =========================|)
-=================================================== Sumaru City/Aoba Ward ====-
The first thing that greets visitors to Kuzunoha Detective Agency is a giant
golden lucky cat statue that, with its left paw raised, bids a hearty welcome to
customers and opportunities alike. Inspect it, and a mewling voice will ask for
donations: 100 yen from students and other children, and 1000 yen from adults.
A pair of dark couches that frame a coffee table have an excellent view of the
massive HDTV and dual stereos on the far right wall. On the far left wall are
shelves upon shelves full of books, none of which definitely can slide to one
side. A large desk with a lamp and computer stands in front of it. This is where
the portly older ex-gumshoe, Chief Daisuke Todoroki, makes his business, as...
blessed... by the agency's original owner. He investigates (and will spread) all
manner of rumors to find out the truth (and change reality), assisted by veteran
Persona User Tamaki Uchida.
The back room is nothing special; it has a stove and a sink, so it's a simple
task to always have tea ready for customers. There's a bathroom there too, but
it seems like it's always occupied. Don't ask who's in there, meow.
(|============================================================================|)
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Gathering information on the men that had been spying on them had been arduous at best. Hyousuke knew it was a long shot - even if the way they dressed stood out amongst Sumaru's usual citizenry, that didn't guarantee that anyone knew about them. Even if they did have a clue about who they were, that too did not guarantee that any of them would even be inclined to talk about them to any useful degree. It wasn't like he could blame people for being cagey. The men seemed dangerous, or at the very least, disconcertingly calm for people in the presence of a possessed Ulala. He could have sworn they had guns as well, and had made an educated guess that they weren't the model ones he and his friends tended to use.
But Hyousuke was a very potent blend of headstrong and stubborn. Mortal danger had never warded him away from a situation before, and the idea that his Persona would not have been able to protect him in the real world against real bullets and real criminals did not seem to deter him much, if at all. So it was that - whether through luck, skill, or simply running out of other options to interrogate - Hyousuke happened upon two rumourmongers with some choice words to say about the men that had been there that day.
But Hyousuke was still a student. A child, in other words. There was precious little he could do on his own, as much as he hated to admit it, and he doubted that Shinobu would have been able to do much more than he. He couldn't speak for Vesper, not having a clue as to what the man's identity even was, but didn't care to gamble on some mystery man being powerful enough to bring their schemes to a crashing halt. Thus, a meeting was organised with Tamaki at the detective agency. If nothing else, handing off the information to someone that might have known how to act on it was a far better plan than just sitting on said files.
Hyousuke slipped in through the door and deposited the appropriate sum without much thought, his arm seeming to move on instinct by this point. He paid no mind the to the clattering of coin, instead scanning his eyes around the agency proper.
"Uchida-san? We're here." He said unceremoniously, still in his uniform, still with his bag slung over his shoulder.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
The fact that men like that were lurking around was... concerning, to say the least. To be able to mobilize that quickly... Did they already have some idea that something was happening? Was their interest in Ulala, or the people trying to help her - or was it a cover for something else...?
There's a lot of possibilities, but the fact is even with the information they've gathered there's still a lot of unknowns. She might know people, but there's a limit to what her connections can tell her... so in this situation, it's better to go to an expert.
Shinobu follows Hyousuke into the Kuzunoha Detective Agency building, drawing out some money and making an offering to the cat following his example.
It pays to be generous when you're asking about something dangerous.
"How've you been holding up after the other day?" Shinobu adds.
She's wearing a long winter coat alongside a pair of nice boots. Her duffel bag is slung over one shoulder.
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
As the lucky cat gives its customary plea to those who enter the agency's doors, she stands up from her chair, spreads her hands, and gives her well-practiced cheery smile as she addresses Hyousuke and the others. "Hello, and welcome to the Kuzunoha Detective Agency!"
She folds her arms, leans forward, and specifically speaks to Hyousuke with a raised eyebrow, "You're putting a lot on my plate recently, but I can't complain about getting more opportunities to work."
Shinobu asks how well Tamaki's been holding up. At least in front of Shinobu and the others, right here, right now, she looks perfectly fine and dandy. (The contrast may be most evident to Hyousuke, who had seen her a couple of days earlier.) When being asked so point-blank about it, her facade cracks, her smile falters, and she avoids the gaze of anyone as she replies, "Better than I was. I'm still trying to figure out if there's anything I can do to make amends for what I said. It ... wasn't exactly my proudest moment."
She shakes her head and moves right along to a subject that leaves her less-vulnerable. "We don't need to dwell on me, though; how about yourself? How's your sister these days?"
Tamaki presses her hands together and bends them forward as she looks at the group. "Alright. Are we waiting on anyone else? What's this about?"
<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
Julian has yet to fully explain his absence at the time, soon after entering the gym. There may have been good enough for it, even aside from that shady-looking group of gangster types. One could theorize something like an attempt to alert the authorities, only to get into trouble for disturbing the peace not long before, leaving him stuck explaining himself. He hadn't exactly behaved himself like the perfect gentleman towards the bystanders while chasing Makimura, after all.
He did apologize like one at least, for not informing anyone beforehand, and pledged his assistence where he could be of help from here. If nothing else, he couldn't very well leave one of his students to handle a dangerous situation on his own. Welcome or not, now the teacher is insisting on being involved with the rest of this, too.
He is however very much the fish out of water here. It already starts once he enters, a short while after the others do. He carries a briefcase at his side, and clearly also came here from school, not that him going around in a full suit is anything out of ordinary for him, regardless of the time of year. But then the lucky cat pipes up. As his first time here, he's surprised to hear a request for 1000 Yen. "My word. Is that truly the customary amount...?" He complies, all the same, though given his pained expression, one might imagine him wondering about the frequency of his visits here.
Overqualified or not, he's a recent hire, and starting salaries are never great in the field of education. Considering the amount of work he does, he's almost certainly underpaid. ...It's not actually a concern, considering his 'side job', but then, he hasn't exactly told anybody about that. And if there's one thing he knows, it's how to keep up appearances. A calm smile is thus back on his features in short order as he proceeds inside.
"Suzuki-san, Shimizu-san. And... Uchida-san. Good to see you again. I hope you managed to find what you were looking for, that time."
Of course that time Tamaki was investigating the Kasugayama basement was far from the most recent time they met, but, keeping up those appearances. He did seem to be aware of some of the more supernatural goings-on at the school... but how much does he know about, really?
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to Tamaki's comment - doubly so since he wasn't even sure he *should* have brought the other case to her. He'd been desperate, with few others he could turn to for such a predicament, but should he have looked harder? Searcher farther? Asked more people? There was little point in wondering about it, he silently supposed. The deed was done, and payment had been promised.
"I think this one's a little more exciting than lost dogs." Hyousuke said, giving Tamaki a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
He remained quiet when Shinobu asked Tamaki about how she was faring. Though he looked between them as the conversation bounced back and forth, he'd already seen how Tamaki had been doing after dealing with Ulala, and had no intention of butting in again. Before he could pipe up and speak on something he actually knew about - the topic of the meeting, in other words - someone else entered the picture. Hyousuke swung his head around to face the newcomer, and with a partially arched brow, he beheld Julian. His expression settled a moment or two after, but not into something that was entirely pleased to see him.
Trust issues regarding the man aside, there was the fact that Julian was very much not aware of the supernatural goings-on with Ulala. He glanced at Shinobu, silently hoping that she had an answer about how they were supposed to navigate the topic with him in tow, but ultimately decided it was best to simply respond to Julian as though nothing was wrong.
"Marlowe-sensei. Glad you could make it." He said, the flash of a smile on his lips once more not quite reaching past them. He turned back, and dug something of his own out of his bag, before placing it unceremoniously onto the nearest empty spot on the nearest flat surface he could find between them all.
"You two remember the guys that were watching us after we dealt with the guy in the locker rooms?" Hyousuke asked, looking to his notes instead of them while he leafed through his notebook. He either ignored how out of place he looked between three adults, or was simply too oblivious to notice it, as he barrelled on through with reading what he'd written down. "Asked around a bit to try and figure out who they were. Didn't get much - most people didn't seem like they wanted to talk about them, *if* they knew about them in the first place. but a couple rumourmongers - Chikarin and Master - came up with something."
He ran his finger down to a hastily-scrawled list in the middle of the page. His handwriting had gotten nominally better ever since he'd enrolled in Kasugayama and actually taken his studies seriously, but it was still far from anything one could call neat.
"They're supposed to be some guys in the Taiwanese mafia acting out of Club Zodiac. Chikarin called them the 'Tien Tao Lien' - said they're involved with all kinds of sh- cra- *things* back in Taiwan. Master said that some guy called Yung Pao's leading them and looking for his brother in Japan, and that we'd know him by the scar on his face, but that's all he had on him."
Hyousuke drew back up and looked between the other three.
"You ask me, this is just giving us more questions than answers. The hell's the Taiwanese mafia getting involved with people like Serizawa-san for?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
She'd never say it to his face, but Shinobu figures it's probably a good thing that Julian had gotten waylaid and couldn't participate in the fight itself. She doesn't doubt that he's capable... but a normal guy getting mixed up with a Joker Killer would never end well. She accepted his apology easily.
"Yup. Nothin' to do but bear with it..." Shinobu replies, as he comments on the donation.
"Good to see you." Shinobu replies with a nod and a casual wave to Tamaki as she greets them. She meets Hyousuke's look - but she shakes her head. Her idea right now? Now to worry about it. Right now, the most pressing issue for them is... the distressingly mundane men with guns. That's something anyone can understand. "And you too, Marlowe."
She sees that crack in Tamaki's facade and Shinobu massages the back of her neck, nodding in understanding.
"...Yeah. I get that. Times like that... I guess the best thing is to be open and honest with your feelings, yeah? Gonna suck, but... rip the band-aid off, y'know." She offers. Tamaki changes the subject, though, and Shinobu doesn't persist.
"Still worried about Serizawa, and whatever's gonna happen next now that we've got a bunch of ticking time bombs, but... other than that, can't complain." She shrugs. She smiles, though, as Tamaki asks about Ayame. "Oh, yeah, she's been doing pretty well. Thanks for asking. ...Actually, she's got another kid on the way now, so she might be taking a step back from... you know, all the excitement."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Hyousuke leads them in - and Shinobu lets him do the talking, since he seems set on it.
"Oh yeah, I remember those guys, alright." She confirms with a nod. "...Yeah, that lines up with what I heard. Even just a description is enough for people to act like they've already got a gun to their head..."
She shakes her head. He has a good question, though.
"Yeah, I mean... It didn't seem like they just happened to be hanging around the gym. Guys like that don't do... casual loitering." She adds with a shrug.
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki chuckles good-naturedly at Hyousuke's response. "'Exciting.' Please, I'm a grinder. Our niche is that we take on the unglamorous stuff. Helps us avoid competing with the good old 'second coming of the Detective Prince', after all!" She laughs a second time -- more openly, but slightly tinged with a hint of bitterness.
Julian may be the proverbial fish out of water here, but Tamaki's reaction causes her to physically resemble one as she remains momentarily stunned with her mouth frozen in an open smile. Of all the people she would have guessed would come in alongside the other two, he wasn't high up on the list. After a few seconds, she regains her composure and stammers out a greeting, "A-ah! Mister Marlowe! It's good to see you, too! And yes, we did find it, so thank you very much for your assistance in the matter."
"You could always ignore the statue, or really, give only what you're comfortable giving." she comments with a shrug as she shakes her head. "It wasn't anything we set up ourselves. It's the darndest thing; a local rumor spread about how donating enough to it would bring good fortune to its benefactors, then it just started talking one day. Neither Todoroki nor myself can make heads or tails of it." This is, admittedly, a bit of a half-truth, but the secret of the statue remains secret ... for now. "Think of it more as a way to gauge someone's intent and character than anything financial."
Like the first two who walked through the doors today, her mind kicks into overdrive to try and find a way to navigate the topic at hand in front of someone ostensibly not involved with the supernatural. Hyousuke's a student, so it's the adults' responsibility to make sure he's safe, but Julian's unprotected when it comes to the supernatural, so it's their responsibility to keep him safe, and -- oh boy, that's a complicated thread to weave. Through the next few moments of the conversation, her eyes are on Julian to gauge how he reacts.
"It ... wouldn't be the first time," she responds to Hyousuke. "They were at the sanitarium, too." Granted, most of them were dead. "Or at least a rumormonger by the name of Baofu identified them as such."
<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
It's easy enough for Julian to tell that Hyousuke has some misgivings about his presence. He's a psychologist, it's his job to see through fake smiles. Also, to not be overly confrontational about the things he can't help but notice, that's rarely helpful. "Of course," is the simple and polite reply of the teacher who came to assist, of his own accord.
His bow to the adults is perhaps a bit over the top in formality, better suited to one of those butler cafes that are all the rage now. Intended genuinely, all the same. "My pleasure, I assure you," is his response, to the welcome and his earlier assistance to Tamaki both.
He laughs politely, at the explanation for the statue. "That's perfectly alright, Uchida-san. If that's the way things are, then far be it from me to deny myself or others good fortune." Just taking that one entirely in stride, huh. Well, one could hardly be in Sumaru for this long, even just for work, and not pick up a thing or two about the rumor culture.
As Hyousuke explains, a study of Julian's expression would show it yet entirely unchanging, nodding along as if he's already heard this story before. Indeed, he clarifies after Shinobu speaks, "Indeed, their appearance did suggest as much. Not that I've had any dealings, of course. But I did do some digging of my own, and came to the same conclusion."
...Which begs the question, who did Julian approach for his intel? He stops short of volunteering that much. The info in regards to the sanitarium is news to him, as he arrived late that time... but Julian Marlowe had not been there at all, of course, so his expression appropriately goes a little blank there. Once there's a pause, he looks about at the others present, then clears his throat.
"Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I somewhat feel as if I'm intruding. I do apologize, if that's the case. I realize this is not exactly my... wheelhouse, as it were. Even so, believe me when I say that my wish to assist comes from a place of true concern, for the safety of my students." He glances in Hyousuke's direction with a knowing smile, as if expecting some kind of protest there.
Still, he continues just as calmly, "Honestly, I have no students in particular in mind when I say this. I've come to realize that Sumaru is a dangerous place, for more reasons than most people know. Perhaps someone like myself has little in the way of ability to change that. Yet, it is my belief that with awareness comes responsibility. Thus, I have decided to do what I can, in that regard."
It's a roundabout way of saying it, but it's his way of suggesting that there's no need to walk on eggshells around him. He'll navigating things from there based on the response.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"They were there for *something.*" Hyousuke said through clenched teeth, agreeing with Shinobu, though not sounding too happy about the fact that neither of them knew precisely what that 'something' was. "Those guys are dangerous, but they were just watching what happened. Didn't step in to stop what happened with Serizawa-san, but they didn't help her either. They were just... there." Hyousuke felt like kicking himself. Again, he'd blundered through a situation with brute force, and this time there was a not-insignificant chance that it had cost them all a vital clue.
He laughed with Tamaki, though it was a hollow gesture lacking any real mirth. A polite response to a joking remark - nothing more, nothing less. Hyousuke didn't care to think about it much further, his attention was instead taken up by Julian mentioning having done some digging of his own. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly that digging entailed, and just who he'd approached for any kind of information. Most citizens had been reticent when he and Shinobu had approached them, and wrangling even a few scraps of useful information from the two rumourmongers had been a task and a half. There was more to Julian than him being a simple counsellor, of that much Hyousuke was sure. But quite what that meant eluded him, and *that* only served to raise his suspicions further.
Then came Tamaki's comment about the sanitarium. He did not respond to it immediately, instead taking a moment to process the memory of it. His arms, crossed loosely over his chest, tightened a little as he remembered the events of that night, and all that he'd witnessed there. Parts of him began to seize, the muscles tensing and his jaw clamping upon itself. His breathing hitched a little, then grew a shade harsher. His gaze - just for a moment - grew distant, looking through Tamaki rather than at her.
Then he nodded, and all returned to normal, save for his fingers clutching his arm a little harder than they had before.
"I remember." Hyousuke said tersely. He paused, trying to figure out how best to phrase what else he had to say. Julian wasn't involved with anything but the most surface-level of events - talking of the undead and Joker Killer and all the other associated supernatural phenomena would have raised some very awkward questions. Saying he remembered being at the sanitarium had already risked blowing his cover more than he was comfortable with. "You think they were looking for something there? I heard they lost a lot of people. Whatever they were doing there must've been important."
Julian's question snapped him out of his reverie, and Hyousuke looked slowly towards him. Part of him wanted to say yes, Julian was out of his depth, and it was best if he went home and forgot the entire incident. Things would be remarkably easier to discuss if everyone there was in tune with the supernatural, after all. The more practical side of him wondered if it was best to let him stay, and contribute any information he'd dug up. Another meeting could be arranged, after all, and it could be one where everyone spoke more openly.
Another, more prideful, part of him wanted to give the protest Julian expected. Though he recognised it was probably not a fantastic idea, he let it slip the reins a little, unable to resist defending his pride.
"Well, you don't have to worry about me, at least. I can take care of myself." He said back, though even with him attempting to maintain a calm and neutral demeanour, it was less an assurance and more a demand.When he processed the rest of what Julian had said - and cautiously chose to believe him in that regard - Hyousuke let out a slow, quiet, breath past gritted teeth. He did not know why he suddenly felt like he'd been wrong-footed, but it was a terribly uncomfortable feeling, and one he felt compelled to correct.
"...But if you want to help keep everyone else safe, maybe it wouldn't hurt to make sure you know what kinda guys're creeping around this place. What's the saying? 'Forewarned is forearmed' or something like that?"
Hyousuke had, contrary to popular belief, actually read the books he'd been assigned during class. He even remembered some of them. Whether he truly understood them was a question for another day.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu cracks a smirk at Tamaki's bitter laugh. The plight of someone who has to take whatever work they can get... For someone who jumps from job to job like her, that's familiar, even if their fields are vastly different.
"I can get that." She replies with an understanding nod.
She looks back toward the lucky cat as Tamaki explans its history, 'hm'ing thoughtfully.
"That so, huh...? I guess all's it takes is the right spark to get a rumor rolling..." She considers. ...Well, that's just life in Sumaru City, really.
She looks toward Julian as he agrees, too. He did some digging of his own... She does wonder just that entailed for him.
Tamaki brings up something that she had forgotten - those men... they were there at the sanitarium, too. Baofu had indentified them.
"...You're right. I hadn't put the pieces together..." She replies with a thoughtful frown. "That time, they were after Sudou... At least, that's what Baofu was saying. Think there's a connection there?"
She looks toward Julian then. Intruding... She listens to what he has to say, and then Hyousuke's response - and then at the end Shinobu offers a dimissive wave.
"Nah. You're not intruding. I mean, you seem kinda straight-laced for mafia talk... But if we haven't scared you off already, not much we can do about that, right? You're a grown-ass man." She comments with a shrug. "...Just think about whether or not this is the kinda stuff you want to get involved in. Some things you can't unlearn, you know?"
She nods toward Hyousuke, then.
"...Kid's got a point, too. This probably won't be the last time they poke their noses around."
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Julian's bow briefly dazzles Tamaki to the point where she forgets herself for a few moments. She won't complain about his manners, even if she isn't used to them.
Tamaki sighs after Hyousuke muses on why the Tien Tao Lien were skulking around the gym. "Well, you did better than me on that front; I saw them, but didn't think to look into who they actually were. It, uh." She awkwardly clears her throat behind a hand, glossing over the other thoughts that had her occupied near the end of the night. "It had slipped my mind. I hadn't realized it was them until you identified them by name just now."
She gives Hyousuke a concerned glance at his reaction to her mention of the sanitarium. Oh. Right.
Shinobu's mention of the name 'Sudou' causes Tamaki to swivel her head towards her away from Julian and visibly startle with a jolt where she stands. Even if she had meant Tatsuya, he shares a surname with the Foreign Affairs Minister. Her nervousness subsides when Hyousuke and Shinobu ask about any potential connection, and her expression grows more pensive. "Well ... what else did both incidents have in common? I can think of one, but ..." Julian's presence stops her from continuing further just yet.
Tamaki gives Julian a long, probing stare when he claims that they don't need to dance around certain subjects with him. After some internal debate, something in her seems to reluctantly relent. Even so, she advises caution: "Some of this stuff goes pretty deep. There are some things that I can't even be candid with around these two." Shinobu, she expects to understand, but she offers Hyousuke an apologetic glance as she admits this. "Shimizu-san is right, there's no unringing certain bells. However, I'll be as ... open as I can be."
Having said this, she continues: "Both incidents involved a Joker of some sort. The first: the Joker Killer himself. The second: a 'Joker' originating from the story that Wang Long Chizuru spread on TV. If they show up around a third, then ... well, twice is coincidence, thrice is a pattern."
<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
Julian's resting calm expression can be intolerably hard to read. Which is the point. Even if disappointing his parents is far from his mind now, he can't change how he was raised. And for all the strictness, he can't deny that there was a good policy at the heart of it. In truth, he's observing reactions, taking everything in from context clues.
Hyousuke is suspicious, but he hardly assumes that's personal. The objection was expected, and is not argued against, which doesn't necessarily mean tacit approval. His final conclusion however, that get him to smile.
"Quite right," he agrees with Hyousuke's use of the proverb, stopping short of dropping into teacher mode by doling out praise for paying attention in class. Even if he may never be able to fully keep things separate in his mind, he tries his best to keep school matters confined to when school is actually in session. Everyone has a life beyond that. Some, a much more eventful one than most are aware of.
Shinobu seems fairly laid back about most things, including this one. He adjusts his monocle at the name drop of 'Sudou', but doesn't comment right away, one way or another. That smile is also directed at her, and he bows his head in acknowledgement, more casual this time. "I do appreciate your caution. Though I rather believe I may have learned a bit too much for that already."
Tamaki seems to be extending a bit of an olive branch, ready to divulge a bit more in his presence. Though is that trust, or a test? "I fully understand," he claims regardless. "Far be it from me to blame anyone for a healthy dose of caution. Hopefully, I'll be able to impress upon you that this is far from a whim on my part, and I have done my due diligence to be as prepared as I can be."
All in all, they took his statement of intent well enough. But it doesn't quite sound as much as if the extent of his awareness has really gotten across. But that's on him, playing it cautiously, not saying anything unnecessary. As is in his nature. But in this case it may be less than helpful. In which case... perhaps this is the appropriate time to take a first step in trusting others a little more, volunteer a bit more than he normally would.
He finds his opening in combining Shinobu dropping the name 'Sudou' with Tamaki broaching the subject of the Joker Killer. "Then, I assume that the Sudou that Shimizu-san mentioned would be Tatsuya Sudou, as he and the Joker Killer turned out to be one and the same."
He continues speaking, not leaving room for immediate interruption. "His attack on a student in the very school building itself is what set me on this path. So long as forces like that exist, students will not be safe anywhere. I cannot simply sit idly by and allow such things to continue."
He doesn't go so far as to specify what he's done in that regard. More central to the point is the current matter at hand. "...Unfortunately, it does seem as if the end of the Joker Killer was not the end of the Joker. If anything, the issue has worsened. And I concur with your implication, Uchida-san. If this group was indeed after Tatsuya Sudou, then perhaps it was not the man, but rather the demon that held their interest."
He looks about, expression neutral. Playing field sufficiently levelled, he hopes, or at least point proven that they're on the same page - the exact same one, including in regards to the elements that fewer people would believe even exist.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke couldn't help but agree with Shinobu, even if it only manifested as a slow and subtle nod when she spoke. Much as he had his suspicions regarding Julian, the fact remained that he was still an adult, and still capable of deciding whether or not he wished to engage with such matters.
"She's right. You gotta figure out if this is the kinda thing you're ready to get involved in yourself - I don't think we can make that decision for you." A lesson he'd learnt one fateful day on Kasugayama's rooftop. A lesson he still felt ashamed of taking so long to learn.
Tamaki's musings on Sudou - a name he wasn't sure should have been mentioned in such a context, given present company - had him twisting his lips as if he had something to say. He had a feeling that he'd reached the same conclusion as her, and had every intention of saying so, but Julian was right there. What was he supposed to say when he was right there? Was any of this appropriate to discuss around him? Hyousuke's face contorted a little as he considered his options, and made it visibly clear that he was deep in thought.
Until Tamaki openly mentioned the Joker Killer, at least.
Though Hyousuke kept his head relatively still, he snapped his gaze between the two, barely blinking as he tried to figure out how things would go. Tamaki had openly mentioned the Joker Killer, after all. Before he could even think to formulate a reaction to that, Julian's response came as the second blow of that one-two punch to his psyche. and Hyousuke was once more left with more questions than answers.
"You knew? Since when? What've you been *doing* all this time?" Hyousuke asked, unable to keep the surprise from manifesting in his features. Seeing Demons roaming Sumaru was not unheard of - that much he'd learnt during the investigation into a certain mirror. But to speak so confidently, and to such an extent...
Hyousuke shook his head a little. There would be time to muse on that later. There were more pertinent matters to attend to before that.
"...But yeah, you're right. If things like this keep happening, everyone's gonna be in danger. We just gotta do what we can about this, whatever that means." Hyousuke sounded a little frustrated, rather than resolved. Like he was lamenting how little they could actually do with what little they actually had, rather than vowing to protect the vulnerable. Like he felt powerless to stop whatever came next.
"Assuming they're connected..." Hyousuke said, having finished with his mini moping session, "...And I *am* assuming they are connected, what're they even getting from this? I'd get it if the people getting attacked were getting in the way of them doing their thing, but Serizawa-san didn't seem like the kind of person that'd have anything to do with that..." He looked to Tamaki as he trailed off, his eyes expectant. She knew Ulala far better than he, after all. She'd be able to correct him if Ulala was actually embroiled in such things, he hoped.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Shinobu openly mentioning Sudou - even if not explicitly saying he was the Joker Killer - was something that had Hyousuke snapping his gaze onto her. The name was hardly an obscure one, after all, given the political ties it held. It was bound to raise questions that he wasn't sure they were ready to answer. Nevertheless, Hyousuke couldn't help but agree with Shinobu, even if it only manifested as a slow and subtle nod when she spoke. Much as he had his suspicions regarding Julian, the fact remained that he was still an adult, and still capable of deciding whether or not he wished to engage with such matters.
"She's right. You gotta figure out if this is the kinda thing you're ready to get involved in yourself - I don't think we can make that decision for you." A lesson he'd learnt one fateful day on Kasugayama's rooftop. A lesson he still felt ashamed of taking so long to learn.
Tamaki's musings on the sanitarium and subsequent events had him twisting his lips as if he had something to say. He had a feeling that he'd reached the same conclusion as her, and had every intention of saying so, but Julian was right there. What was he supposed to say when he was right there? Was any of this appropriate to discuss around him? Hyousuke's face contorted a little as he considered his options, and made it visibly clear that he was deep in thought.
Until Tamaki connected the both the killer and the curse, openly and explicitly.
Though Hyousuke kept his head relatively still, he snapped his gaze between the two, barely blinking as he tried to figure out how things would go. Tamaki had openly mentioned the Joker Killer, after all. Before he could even think to formulate a reaction to that, Julian's response came as the second blow of that one-two punch to his psyche. and Hyousuke was once more left with more questions than answers.
"You knew? Since when? What've you been *doing* all this time?" Hyousuke asked, unable to keep the surprise from manifesting in his features. Seeing Demons roaming Sumaru was not unheard of - that much he'd learnt during the investigation into a certain mirror. But to speak so confidently, and to such an extent...
Hyousuke shook his head a little. There would be time to muse on that later. There were more pertinent matters to attend to before that.
"...But yeah, you're right. If things like this keep happening, everyone's gonna be in danger. We just gotta do what we can about this, whatever that means." Hyousuke sounded a little frustrated, rather than resolved. Like he was lamenting how little they could actually do with what little they actually had, rather than vowing to protect the vulnerable. Like he felt powerless to stop whatever came next.
"Assuming they're connected..." Hyousuke said, having finished with his mini moping session, "...And I *am* assuming they are connected, what're they even getting from this? I'd get it if the people getting attacked were getting in the way of them doing their thing, but Serizawa-san didn't seem like the kind of person that'd have anything to do with that..." He looked to Tamaki as he trailed off, his eyes expectant. She knew Ulala far better than he, after all. She'd be able to correct him if Ulala was actually embroiled in such things, he hoped.
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu meets Tamaki's look as her head swivels toward her. ...Maybe she should've been more careful with the name, but... she needed to set what they know on the table. What else did both incidents have in common...?
She looks toward Julian, then, perhaps sensing the reason for why she doesn't continue just yet. He seems to think it over - and then smiles, bowing his head. Shinobu shrugs.
"Fair enough." She says. If he thinks that, she won't try to stop him... and as he says - he might know too much already. He's given this considerable thought, it seems...
...And he's already put two-and-two together. She listens as he explains why he's interested.
"...So that's it, huh. Yeah... I remember that day. You never bought that whole story on the news, then, huh? ...I can see why that'd move you to action. When someone goes after your own... that's as good as a declaration of war." She comments, massaging the back of her neck.
...And as he says, it's only going to get worse.
She looks toward Tamaki as she admits that there are things she can't talk about around even then. From the look on Shinobu's face, that is, indeed, completely expected.
She listens as she sums everything up. Not the man, but the demon...
"...That's the question." Shinobu says with a shrug and a frown, at Hyousuke's question. "They didn't even do anything. They just... watched. Is it 'cause we moved in too quick for them to act? Or were they just gathering information? On the 'Joker', or the people looking into it... Or maybe both."
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki's olive branch to Julian skews more on the side of trust than test; while he may be subject to the latter, the test isn't for her to administer. Shinobu had already broken the seal on some aspects, and Julian filled in the gaps without further prompting.
"That's all well and good, but ..." she starts.
A conflicted expression clouds her face as Julian proclaims that he can't sit idly by while forces like that threaten students. She feels a mixture of admiration and frustration towards the teacher. She wonders quietly, Why didn't my schools -- either of them -- have anyone like you around? Why was it all left to us when we were kids?
It wouldn't do for her to ask those questions so openly, so bitterly. It isn't as if any of it was his fault. Instead, it comes out constrained, reframed as a cautious question of, "... How long have you been teaching in this country, Mister Marlowe?"
It didn't start with her. It didn't stop with her. It may not ever stop at all. "If that is the case, then you may be at this for quite some time."
"... furthermore, Mister Marlowe, if the situation ever gets immediately hectic, we have ways of protecting ourselves that you very likely lack. Sumaru can indeed be a dangerous place, as you say. When we give the call for you to scramble -- trust us, your life depends on it. Is that understood?"
To Hyousuke's outburst, she quietly suggests, "I'm sure he's been doing what he can." She pointedly glares at Julian and gives a firm nod. There's an edge in her voice as she asks, "Haven't you?"
As to his question about Ulala's involvement with the Tien Tao Lien, Tamaki shakes her head and shrugs. "I doubt she had any direct connection with them -- anything more than you or I." Shinobu asks about what their purpose was and why they had only watched at the time. "We might have scared them off from doing something that night. That's my guess."
"If the new variant of the curse affects those who invoked the Joker Curse originally, then we can start by keeping track of people we know who did just that. We might not be able to save everyone, but it's better than nothing." Tamaki gives a glance around the room. "So hands up if you called the Joker Killer on someone." Her own hands stay staunchly flat at her sides.
"At the very least, I know of a ... was it a Sevens student or a Shujin student?" She snaps her fingers. "Or some broken up boyfriend and girlfriend. Any of you remember offhand?"
"In the meantime, I'll ... go ask some of my other sources about what they might know." Baofu. Matsuoka. Eriko. Tsubasa might be able to find some paper trail. Probably more beyond that ... provided they're still able to be contacted.
<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
Julian would be lying if there isn't a certain sense of satisfaction in taking people by surprise. He can revel in it more openly as his alter ego, but the sensation is no less present here. Or in his counseling sessions, for that matter. Few things satisfy more than opening another's eyes to possibilities not previously considered.
Even so, though he'd decided to take a step towards trust, he should yet be careful not to reveal too much. There are too many advantages to keeping his secret identity a secret - and too many potential risks in the wrong people finding out. For now, he'll try to establish a middle ground that serves everyone's best interests, and see how things go from there.
For now, he considers another overly fancy bow to be no more than appropriate. "Let me assure you that I meant no deception, merely caution. As you have all rightly pointed out, there are risks involved, and my position is a vulnerable one. Yet... I find myself dissatisfied with my inability to make a meaningful difference. Doing so through counselling does not feel enough, knowing of the more direct threats out there."
Even so, he perfectly understands Hyousuke's reaction, having kept up the guileless act right under his nose for as long as he has. "My apologies for keeping you in the dark, Suzuki-san. Let me amend that I have additional, more personal reasons for wanting to stay out of the spotlight. More the fool am I for believing it would be so easy to keep hidden from prying eyes." He shakes his head.
"But never you mind my personal affairs. Suffice it to say that where it comes to matters such as this... I have my sources, which I am not at liberty to reveal. If you wish to keep your sources, you must keep them confidential, as I'm sure Uchida-san will attest."
Though it doesn't seem context clues are enough for people to suspect he and Vesper are one and the same, he suspects the same does not hold true for suspecting they're working together. He did take that possibility into account, before making this decision. But there's no need to get into it now. He'll cross that bridge when he comes to it.
He lets out a sigh, when Shinobu brings up the lack of publication about the Joker Killer's attack on Kasugayama. "I found out through student accounts, myself." One can imagine there were many visits to the counselor following that incident. "Yet when I brought it up in a faculty meeting, I was told in no uncertain terms that 'gang violence' was the truth they had decided on, and I was to convince students that claimed to have seen something else that they were mistaken."
He doesn't bother to hide the distaste in his expression. "Needless to say, I declined. I could not do so openly, but behind the scenes, I did what little I could." Sad state of affairs though it may be, he's not going to sugarcoat the fact that the majority of the adults at Kasugayama will not take the students' side over their own interests. What Tamaki remembers from the past is still predominantly the state of the present. A lot is probably explained by his answer to the question she poses to him.
"Since the beginning of the school year this April. Not long after my arrival in the country, it all ended up going rather fast." In more ways than one, it seems, assuming he had no prior knowledge of the supernatural.
Raising in arms in surrender, he doesn't argue the point that follows. "I'm aware of that also - believe me when I say that I know my limits. I wish only to be of assistance, not a liability."
He can't be of any where it comes to knowledge of people who called the Joker Killer, though. "Certainly not," where it comes to himself, and where it comes to others, "While I am sworn to confidentiality in what students tell me in counseling sessions, believe me when I say that I am not aware of any Kasugayama students that have done so. Which isn't to say there couldn't have been any, of course."
That much wasn't a lie. A student's mother, though... what of Tsubasa's case? Even if that was technically said outside of a session, it would still feel like a breach of trust to tell others about something shared in confidence. What to do? He still has no answer.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke nodded firmly. Once more, Shinobu had said something he couldn't help but concur with.
"Damn right. Someone hurts the people you care about, you can't just let that stand." As soon as the words left his lips, and as soon as he understood how Shinobu's statement related to Julian, Hyousuke couldn't help but feel somewhat conflicted. He was certain the man was hiding things out of more than just professionalism, and the revelation during their meeting had only reinforced such notions. But if he was so dead-set on defending his charges, perhaps such lies were more well-intentioned than he suspected?
Again, Hyousuke felt as though he'd been wrong-footed. His distrust of Julian was not exactly the most well-kept secret, but even he felt bad about the look Tamaki shot him. He himself looked down, pondering just how he'd managed to let that outburst happen. It seemed like exactly the sort of thing that Tamaki had warned him against the other day, but he'd just spoken without thinking for a moment. Something to reflect on later, he told himself. It would not do to get distracted now. Not when they were busy trying to figure out any kind of plan of action.
"It's fine." Hyousuke said in response to Julian, shaking his head a little to try and dismiss that unpleasant feeling in his gut. "I kinda... snapped. I don't wanna pry if it's personal." He did wish to pry, but not because he was nosy or a gossip. He was simply suspicious. Perhaps that wasn't better, but at the very least, it wasn't malicious.
Despite attempts to refocus himself, he couldn't help but fix Tamaki with a quizzical look. The expression she'd taken on while listening to Julian hadn't escaped him, and though he couldn't even guess at the source, he couldn't help but wonder what had caused her to pull such a look anyway. Whenever he saw or spoke to her, she seemed quite composed - more so than he, at least - so to notice such a shift piqued his curiosity to no end. There would be time for pondering such mysteries later, however. Tamaki asked for information, and Hyousuke was dead-set on delivering.
"The student...?" Hyousuke questioned. He canted his head a little to the side, and once more, his face began to shift as he tried to dredge up whatever memories he could of the incident. He'd not been involved at the time - there were other things on his plate, he thought. But even as specifics failed to come to mind and he shook his head, he seemed far from dejected. "I don't know, I can't think of anyone. I'll ask around though, someone's bound to know something about that." If the Death Boss and the Thorn boss couldn't point him in the right direction for someone that knew about such things, after all, who could?
Julian's statement that he didn't know of any Kasugayama students that had invoked the Killer's services only reinforced his resolve to ask one - or both - of his contacts for help.
"I'll make some calls. I know some people that might know more." Hyousuke frowned a little, then stepped back. "First the Joker Killer, now the Curse... God damn it, it never ends, does it..."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Hyousuke receives an approving nod. They're on the same wavelength, there.
Julian sighs, and Shinobu listens as he brings up what happened around that time.
"Yeah... I get it. You try to go against the line, and you find yourself out of a job real fast. It's good that you were able to do anything at all." She replies.
Shinobu listens as Tamaki questions Julian, asking how long he's been teaching and advising him to run if they give him the call to. She nods.
"Yeah. That I'm gonna be firm on." She agrees.
Tamaki assumes that they scared them off from doing something. She frowns. ...She's not sure she wants to know that something is, but they'll have to find out sooner or later if they want to stop it.
"Then we'll have to be on guard. Next time, they might be ready for us." She replies.
The new variant affecting those who invoked the Joker Curse... She can think of a few cases with unspecified callers, and a few that she does know.
"I'm clean." Shinobu replies with a shrug. As for the case she brings up...
"Yeah... Maria Sakurai. She's a Sevens kid - I was there when the Joker Killer went after her." Shinobu confirms. "She called the Joker Killer on her ex, then called him again on herself to try and ask him to call it off. ...I dunno what's going to happen to someone who called him twice, but... she didn't seem like a bad kid. Hope we can do somethin' for her."
She shakes her head.
"I'll keep an ear out on my end, too. I'll see if I can turn up names of anyone else who mighta made a call." She replies.