2026-07-01: When the Fairy Tale Ends
- Log: When the Fairy Tale Ends
- Cast: Kurou Ryouhara, Goro Akechi, Shiryuu Ryouhara, Umie Akabane, Ren Amamiya, Hodai Tabe (played by Umie Akabane)
- Where: Sumaru Pacificos, Narumi Ward, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: July 01, 2026
- IC Date: Sunday, December 02, 2012
- Summary: GiraGiraCon is a November convention that exists as another way for everyone to put on masks and pretend they're something they're not. However, it's no use if you're an Umie Akabane; the past will always come to collect if you're in the spotlight too long. Thankfully, Umie has allies in her diligent roommate Kurou and her 'bond' Shiryuu, as well as the mysterious Lady Umemura and her prince, Akechi.
<Umie Akabane has posed.>
The Pacificos Sumaru is a convention center in the bay area of Sumaru City. Constructed during the History Boom that led to newfound interest (and capital) in the area after the decade long slump that followed the late 1980s bubble burst, its sleek, modern design made it a jewel to adorn Sumaru City's crown.
Two two-story buildings are divided by an open pavilion that sits snug between them. Glass walkways line each building facing the inner pavilion, allowing passage from one section to the next, each end connecting to a glass walkway that crosses over to each building from the second floor.
With two floors and several sections, it could host many events, like the one happening right now, in secton A3: the newest cosplay convention, named GiraGiraCon (or GGC for short). The GGC also has the distinction of being the first cosplay convention.... ever held in section A3! (It is, otherwise, just a cosplay convention being held in November.)
All of this to say that the booths are on the affordable side, and it's only two days.
One of these booths happens to be for the Le Chat Marron.
-----EARLIER-----
Umie Akabane, dressed in a spritely combination of reds and blacks, accented with gold in the transparent puffs of fabric over black sleeves, is the perfect picture of a pretty (peculiar) 'boy' butler. Her ash blonde hair, styled this morning with a curling iron and sprayed into place, is done in a princely ponytail tied with a slender red ribbon.
Umie'd certainly look more the part if she wasn't staring at her phone, but it's for a good reason. "Fuwa-chan says she has to cancel."
"What?!" Toki Murasaki cringes theatrically, her fingers wiggling as she begins to deflate. "She was going to bring it all together for the last day! Fuwa-chan, whyyy....." The tall butler slumps, coincidentally stepping back to flop into the upholstered chair that was going to be used for their 'guest of honor', in order to pull it all together.
"You knew this was going to happen after her modeling career got going." Umie doesn't look up from her phone, her red-nailed thumb tapping away. "You know, I could do i--"
"You're too short," instantly comes Toki's depressed reply. "My vision was of a mysterious dark beauty being served by her adorable boy butler. And I can't do it either, I'm the owner!"
Umie squints, her lips drawn taut as she holds back what she *wants* to say. "I could just get something from one of the booths. I'm sure there's *something* in my size, and we *do* have the wig right here..."
No, this is not in the cards, as fate would decree. Toki's dark eyes happen, at that very moment, to spy a defenseless(?) Ren Amamiya. Toki Murasaki claps her hands together. "You! Your skin is *perfect*! The contrast in hair color, the height, everything! With a few pins here and there, you'd fit *perfectly*."
Umie looks up, eyebrows raised, and looks to Ren, then back at Toki, mouth opening to object, but stops.
... No, she'll let Ren decide what he wants. He'll be in good company if he *does* decide to cross-dress.
And his skin *is* looking great. Why do guys always get the great eyelashes and skin?
<Ren Amamiya has posed.>
Ren Amamiya isn't even supposed to be here today.
That doesn't mean they aren't going to enjoy it, though, unlike some other clerks.
Umie had called them up that Sunday morning to ask if they could help her out with transporting some things--just be a second pair of arms, essentially. When she explained it was for a cosplay convention that the butler cafe she works for is participating in and Ren offered to help with make-up too, she offered to get them a paying role in the whole deal. Obviously Ren isn't going to turn that down, and so that's why they're here today--after taking meticulous extra care with their recently instated skin care regime.
Look. It's a cosplay convention. You never know when you might get a chance to dress up in something cute.
They're cleaning up the make-up station after helping Umie out with her adorable boy-butler cosplay when she gets a call with bad news. Ren glances over at her and Toki, but doesn't speak up. A mysterious dark beauty who needs to be tall, huh... And if she's supposed to be Umie's mistress, her red and black colors would probably match...
Toki glances over their way in that moment. All of Heaven and Earth align.
"Me?" they utter, pointing at their (soft, smooth, moisturized) face.
They glance at Umie, who starts to protest but then stops herself. A tiny smile unfurls on their lips.
It really is gratifying to get recognition for one's efforts. Their eyelashes are one thing, but this great skin is the result of working for it. Ann-sensei would be proud.
It's time for Ran Umemura to shine again.
"Okay," she decides, and stands up. "Where's the dress?"
<Kurou Ryouhara has posed.>
There are times when a shinobi's stealth should be maintained by hiding in plain sight.
Kurou's hair streak, today, is white, the color extending through the length of his high ponytail. This is to match his outfit: a ruffly, white bishop sleeved blouse under a black, fitted waistcoat. This elegant look is contrasted by the daring (lack of) length of his shorts paired with ankle boots.
He wears a soft, but especially tiny fabric crown, situated between a pair of white, triangular cat ears, and a matching tail following behind him. His nails are press ons, painted deep black, and curve dramatically to resemble animalistic claws.
A practical outfit, he thinks: one at home in a cosplay convention, and one no one would expect Kurou to wear. However, it does mean he is occasionally asked to pose for a picture.
"Nyan," Kurou offers in flat affect, his fingers curled in to mimic a paw as he poises it beside his emotionless face.
... He's doing his best.
But at least it makes him able to keep nearer Umie and Ren without suspicion in his vigilance against potential threats. So far, it doesn't seem like there's any issue... Well, except Toki's new problem might become someone else's problem.
Oh. But Ren is smiling.
<Umie Akabane has posed.>
For the record, Ren, Umie definitely did not enjoy having someone else do her makeup, nor does she enjoy playing the straight man to her friend's high-sailing, fast-crashing enthusiasm. (Narrator: she did, and does, and it was obvious each time.)
That doesn't keep Umie from giving Ren compliments for their hard work. "... I think you're better at this than Toki," Umie quietly asides to Ren. "Don't tell her that, eh?" Who knew Ren was good at makeup? Umie didn't. Maybe things are different outside of Sumaru City.
Yet somehow, in Sumaru City, does Umie realize yet another face to her hard-working, quiet co-worker. The tiny smile is all the convincing Umie needs before Umie switches tactics from defender to quiet enabler. Matching Ren's smile with one of her own, Umie nods. "Let's get you set up, then. Perhaps I can return the favor and do your makeup?"
(Hopefully Ren doesn't notice Kurou standing there. Though, Umie supposes, that wouldn't be too suspicious, right?)
---------
And so, the show begins.
Toki has her own gaggle of schoolgirls, presenting a tall(ish, with the heels) profile and sharp makeup that emphasizes her cheekbones and nose. Samples of tea, sweet and savory treats in little cups, and coupons are given.
"Uaaauuaaaa..." "Like a fairy tale princess..."
"We should go there in our outfits!"
"So pretty..." "I want to have a butler like that..."
However, the shining stars remain the dark beauty and her boy butler, as intended, far more than Toki would have guessed. Ran Umemura sits on her plush, high-backed upholstered throne with a tiny table in front of her, set with a place setting of the plate, cup, and utensils used at the cafe over a matching table cloth. Look too closely and you'll see the veneer of the furniture: the chair is not the most comfortable, made to be light-weight and look the part rather than be the part. The table needed to be steadied with a folded pamphlet under one leg.
But the two 'actors' on stage are what is meant to sell it, not the furniture. Umie seems far more comfortable here, playing off of Ran's cues. It's not that different from their shifts at Triple 7, with Umie looking towards Ran and Toki for what's needed, comfortable and confident in her ability to take on any challenge that comes.
"Would you care for more tea, ojou-sama?" Umie says, her voice pitched slightly lower, softer. "Or perhaps a sample of one of our savory dishes will suit you? The flavor profile suits them well, though I have heard those who prefer sweet things to change the mood." A critical difference in Umie's shifts at Triple 7 is Umie seeming present in the moment, rather than donning a polite smile for a cranky customer who's likely just had a bad day. Her expression is serious and wide-eyed in the way an earnest, innocent boy can be, but the twinkle in her eyes shows her enjoyment in playing her role to Ran's own.
There's no denying it: Umie *is* having fun, even giving a few of the crowd some love of their own, delivered in her serious, polite, soft boyish persona (no pun intended).
For someone who is afraid of being seen by the wrong people, the mask is everything, especially when she's among company she trusts.
---------
At last, though, the crowds are beginning to abate.
Umie looks up, her voice pitching upwards to her usual, relaxed tone. "So, Boss, how about a break?"
Toki looks up, her expression changing from the sauve debonair butler to wide-eyed, ditzy Toki. "Good idea! Our star may need a break too, don't you think?"
Umie, full of confidence, dips her voice back to that serious, low tone. "As long as my ojou-sama wills it. Shall we?" She offers Ran a hand. "Maybe we can go to the crosswalks for a little while to air out?"
Oh. Umie's not even going to bother denying it now.
Kurou is given a discreet nod; should their eyes meet, she nods towards Toki's booth, in an attempt to signal Kurou to keep an eye on it.
<Ren Amamiya has posed.>
The fact that it /is/ obvious is one of the fun things about Umie. Of all of Ren's adult associates, she's by far the most entertaining--and considering she has competition with Maya and Ohya, that's saying a lot.
"You flatter me," they still murmured when they did her make-up. "I'm still a novice at this." A novice with an /excellent/ teacher, but still. The fact that Umie would say so makes them happy all the same.
(Ren /does/ notice Kurou there. However, they don't read /too/ much into it. They already know he's an unusual boy with unusual tastes, so it's not strange that he might have gotten pulled into Kurou's interests. He still keeps a discreet eye on them, though.)
So when Umie offers to return the favor, she nods. "That'd be a big help. Thanks."
---
And when Toki shows Ren the dress and its accessories, her dark eyes /light up/.
---
Ran crosses her ankles under her flimsy chair, lips caressing the edge of her teacup. Her back is straight and her motions are thoughtful and graceful. Her make-up builds on the moisturizer, sunscreen, and foundation she was already wearing, with black mascara and eyeliner, smoky Chianti eyeshadow, and maroon lipstick, a dusting of blush on her cheeks. Her long, dark curls (technically a wig, but convenient how they match her natural hair) cascade over her shoulders, a red velvet headband layered in off-white lace and decorated on the left side with a real red rose and sprig of baby's breath holding them in place.
The dress too is red velvet, with the bust down the front in black silk. The sleeves cling to the sides of her shoulders, hugging her upper arms before draping outward at the elbows, black lace ruffs creating volume underneath. A black lace collar wraps around her neck, conveniently obscuring anything inconvenient to the image and matching her dainty gloves, and large costume jewelry drop earrings of faux garnet, diamond and silver dangle from her ears. Black silk ribbon criss-crosses over the bust down to the waist, invisible against its matching background, until it reaches the velvet skirts, which drape elegantly all the way to the floor. When she adjusts her skirts or shifts her legs, one can see shiny black low-heeled ankle boots with silver buckles.
"Ara," she murmurs, voice soft and husky, as she smiles at her adorable boy butler. "What is a lady to do? Well then..." She holds her teacup just under her lips. "Sweets naturally complement tea, but to claim savory would match this bouquet... I simply must sample it."
Where Umie's expressions are earnest and open, Ran's are smoky and enigmatic, with a sultry, self-possessed smile. She, too, is clearly enjoying the spotlight as well as the mask, if that sparkle in her dark eyes is any indication.
---
Umie suggests a break. Ran rises from her seat and stretches, one arm high, the other pulling it behind their head. "I /could/ stand to stretch my legs," they say in their more typical deep voice. She grins at the hand Umie offers her, then accepts it with grace. "Let it be so," she murmurs in her soft voice again. The suggestion gets a nod. "Mmm... That sounds good to me. Anywhere's fine, really."
Are either of them going to try to deny anything at this point, really? (Well, yes. But not about /this specific/ thing.)
Once again, they keep Kurou in the corner of their eye. They aren't expecting trouble, but Umie is a little /too/ comfortable with using him as a bodyguard, they think.
<Kurou Ryouhara has posed.>
What Kurou is mostly trying to obfuscate is that he is a ninja on a critical ('Akabane-san asked') ninja-related mission. What he fails to recognize is that, in this particular scenario, /no one would assume that anyway/.
But if Umie is having fun, and Ran is having fun, maybe Kurou is having fun?
It remains hard to tell, with the face he's (not) making. What he lacks in such acting or in vocal control, he makes up for in motion. It is /not/ difficult for other guests and cosplayers to get Kurou synchronizing in small dance numbers.
The cat's bell at his throat never jingles.
He considers, during this espionage, how skilled Ren (Ran) is at maintaining composure and fluidity in such an outfit. Kurou can nearly hear his mother's voice in his head, enthusiastic with praise for such fine work seamlessly blending into a new environment and role.
The mind's eye apparition lingers. She purses her lips and gently tries to convince a much smaller Kurou to stop indiscreetly mimicking squeaky wheel sounds because a garment covers his own feet, as if wheels might be hidden underneath. She tries to bait his silence with a sour flavored taffy, but he already managed to steal it from her earlier, and she's so delighted by the realization that she forgets what she was trying to teach him.
... He forgot, too.
...
... Amamiya-san (Umemura-san?) is truly an impressive person, and she could have made a powerful shinobi. Umie's made it clear: Ren is to be protected from the world of supernatural troubles. This, even Kurou's own heart would not try to argue against.
As Umie's eyes meet Kurou's, he gives a practiced twirl that has his tail in a graceful, perfect hoop around him for a brief moment before he ends the maneuver in a bow.
Despite not being aimed quite at her, it's an acknowledgment and agreement, discreet for being over the top in its environment.
It makes him uneasy to watch Toki instead of the two of them, but this is his task, and Umie is far from helpless.
<Umie Akabane has posed.>
If there was any lingering doubt Umie still had that Ren was simply going along with things, it was gladly dismissed when she saw the way his eyes lit up.
If there was any iota of any doubt that Ren (or Ran, if Ren told her to call him that) was enjoying himself, it was obliterated by following along with her lady's cues. While Umie has modified her butler 'mask' to suit the needs of her clients, here she deploys an innocent charm, expressing a diminutive fluster to Ran's own confident, smoky charm. (huh, isn't it funny how easy that comes to her. Ren is great at this as well, but that Umie attributes to him feeling comfortable. Perhaps they both do better when there's a veneer between them and the world, which is not surprising.)
As a result, the crowd eats it up faster than the samples Toki is giving out.
As for Kurou, when a cat is used to a bell on its collar, it learns to move without making a sound. Perhaps it is the same for Kurou, though Umie's thoughts would stray to another conclusion entirely. He's always had trouble, it seems, expressing himself, no doubt on account of the unknown events that happened in his past. Still, she feels happy, seeing him like this.
As breaktime happens, and Umie leads Ran out the doors onto the glass walkway, the atmosphere is instantly quieter. With nothing happening in the other building and most people attending various talks being held in the other rooms, the hallway is sparsely attended, most people there for similar reasons or to gaze out the floor to ceiling glass windows onto the open-air pavilion below, already decorated with colored string lights for an upcoming concert.
Opening the doors to the walkway for Ren, Umie goes to an alcove right beside it where a few vending machines sit. "I haven't had this much fun in a while," she laughs. "You're *really* good at this, Amamiya-kun."
--------
Umie the unfortunate oracle strikes again, it seems. She expected trouble, and trouble has reared its head. Kurou may or may not notice the man: average, unremarkable, likely in his mid-to late 20s, with a black hoodie on and jeans.
The hood dips down low over his unusually pale face, obscuring the tips of dark stringy hair, where a pale hand holds it in place. "Excuse... me," he begins as he approaches the booth, with a halting cadence that could be mistake for shyness-- at least, that's what Toki seems to assume. "I am... looking for... someone..."
Toki gives him a polite grin. "Welcome! What can I help you with?"
"Umie... Akabane..." The hand lowers to the lower part of his mouth, fingers splaying over reddened lips. "Said... she was... going to be here... hehe...."
"Oh, you're a fan of hers?" Toki frowns, and shakes her head. "I'm sorry, but she just went on break. Though, that's a great cosplay you got there! Could I get a name?"
"Hodai... Tabe," says the man. ".... We... we used to... hehe... work together... it's fine, I'll go look... for her..."
Toki blinks, folding her arms as she courteously engages the man. "Oh, yeah, I think she went to the--"
--------
"--let's move to the second walkway, on second thought," Umie says, giving Ran a smooth bow, her ponytail cascading over her shoulder. "It'll be a much better view of the harbor. Shall we, ojou-sama?" A pause, as she hooks a thumb to the two vending machines, set up in a small alcove. "They're out of Cielo Mist at this vending machine, after all."
--------
"--the vending machines on the second walkway! Better view of harbor." Toki nods, displaying a wide businesswoman's smile.
"Thannnnks." Without another word, the young man slowly walks off towards the doors, leaving Toki in that pose before she moves, quietly, unintrusively, for her phone.
<Ren Amamiya has posed.>
It's amazing how that cat's bell never jingles. Ren outright wonders if it doesn't have a jingle-part inside. If you want to be silent, that would make more sense than wearing a normal bell, wouldn't it?
Even more amazing is the tail-loop ending in a bow. That's /undeniably/ skill. Joker doesn't have a tail, just coat-flaps, but they've got similar moves themself...
For now, though, Ren (and indeed, Ren told the others to call her "Ran Umemura" for the show) walks with Umie to the glass walkway. She takes a moment to admire the pavilion and its strung-up lights below, then twirls her skirts as Umie praises her, another wickedly delighted smile on her lips.
"I always love to put on a show," she purrs--and indeed, when she's a woman, this is the kind of woman she wants to be. The sultry, limitlessly confident femme fatale, who has taken the man's world and wrapped it around her little finger, using her wits and her sensuality in a razor's edge of an advantage. ...Ren doesn't think they can quite nail /that/ level of confidence, but it's fun to play-act it.
To Umie, it might be surprising to hear, though, considering how quiet and unobtrusive he usually is. Part of that is upbringing, but part of that is also the effects of their arrest trauma. They're not going to go into that.
Instead, she settles into the alcove with Umie. "You love putting a show on too, huh? That must be why you keep doing this kind of work," Ren adds. "I'm half-tempted to ask if there's any openings at Le Chat Marron, but--" She lifts her skirts and rustles them a bit. "I doubt you have /that/ much need for an exhibition 'ojou-sama.'"
Besides, any time she wants to dress up cute for work, there's her kimono over at Crossroads Bar, which Lala continues to keep safe for her.
Her smile is wry now, but also relaxed, closer to her usual muted self. There's no audience right now, and therefore not so much of a need for a performance. She nods and turns with her when she suggests the second walkway. "Sounds good to me. They don't have grape Manta here either." Only orange, and that's /unacceptable/.
<Kurou Ryouhara has posed.>
If Kurou's white, triangular ears were real, they would swivel on his head directly toward Toki and Hodai. Upon hearing Hodai ask for Umie Akabane, Kurou's tail would bristle. Perhaps it is fortunate, then, that it's all merely cosplay.
Instead, only his pupils react, dilating with sharpened senses.
Thankfully, Toki offers misdirection. This buys some time to alert Shiryuu and find Umie and Ren. Even so, Kurou must not and will not hesitate.
(It is still dangerous, isn't it, to think there is time purchased when it is instead being cut short --)
A white cat dances on the convention floor... but one only needs to lose sight of him in the passing crowds, and then it's as if he was never there at all.
<Umie Akabane has posed.>
It's amazing how many secrets quiet waters hold. Or, to be more specific, quiet monochrome kitty cats. "And it was an honor to serve you as your enchanted boy butler, Lady Umemura," Umie says, briefly resuming that lower tone and wide-eyed innocence, before her own lips mirror Ran's grin with a ready, gremlin one of her own. Indeed, it was fun to play-act her own role, and having the freedom of that mask to manipulate and charm others in.
And be able to put the mask down, and just give Ran the accolades Ran deserves as the work senpai, the normal, boring person who has no trauma, and has no dangers she's constantly on the look for. (... But that's just another mask, in the end, much like Ren's own.)
Does she love putting on a show? "... Mmn, it depends," Umie murmurs thoughtfully, looking towards the drink selections. What answer could she give Ran? "It depends," she says again, instead.
Ran's rustling skirts draw Umie back into the moment, and she laughs, equally as relaxed now that there's no audience. "I don't know, you may be onto something. I'm sure we could have an occasional showing of 'Lady Umemura', if the mood strikes you. But I'll leave the ball in your court on that. It's a different kind of work, even as loose as Toki makes it for all the part-timers." Like her.
'They don't have grape Manta here either.' "Oh? I thought I saw... oh, yeah, Orange Manta, nevermind."
--------
It is, indeed, a grand view of the harbor. Drinks in hand, Umie walks further out to get a better view.... including the Nichirinmaru, which Umie has the pleasure of ignoring as if it didn't matter.
She sips her drink, admiring the view, when her phone buzzes.
>> do you know a Hodai Tabe??
Being the taller 'dark beauty', Ren may catch a glimpse of Umie's screen as she slips it out of her pocket.
>> i told him the wrong location tho he was creepy
>> avoid the south walkway towards the harbor
Umie looks up from her phone sharply, looking up and away from the harbor view, Ren will see it if they look as well, towards the glass walkway running perpendicular where they had just walked, minutes ago. Even through the glare of the early evening light, one can see a single figure, notable only through action, rather than appearance. What was a distracted shove here and a rude barrel there becomes increasingly violent, the man taking *glee* from punishing anyone in his way.
Umie's phone beeps impotently with another message from Toki. >> i see now what you mean about weirdos!!
A shiver runs up her spine; she can *feel* whatever it is -- kegare? -- waft off the man as he moves closer. [ansi(+xterm142,{'Someone you hardly know wants you dead. Someone wants to murder you, personally. Someone hates you so much they've become a monster, just to smash you to itty bitty pieces. How does that make you feel, Umie-chan?'})]
"I don't need this right now..." Umie mumbles darkly to open air. Red brown eyes flick back towards the man's approach, noting the distance from the hooded man to the doors the two of them came through.
Then, Umie's gaze collects back on Ren. Frustration and anger drain quickly, quietly replaced by a goal. She breathes, slow, formulating a plan as she brings up Kurou on her phone.
On Kurou's phone comes this message from Umie: 'Herd him to 2nd walkway. going to block him in.' Then what? Alas, that part Umie is not considering.
Umie slips her phone back into her pocket. You have control of the situation, she thinks. No matter what *she* says. "So. Amamiya-kun. We're going to need to move. We're going to go towards the doors at the opposite end," she says, adopting a firmer tone. "Then, I'll need your help moving something in front of the doors to slow him down. We'll trap him on the walkway."
Even if she feels the field change to allow for the Badb, she'd prefer not to summon it right away; there's no telling how Ren will take it. Especially as shaped as the Badb is... (Nor could she use the Badb's veil to try to cover herself and leave Ren to fend for himself.)
She offers her hand to Ren, if needed, attempting to project an aura of confidence to try to assure Ren. "Shall we?"
<Ren Amamiya has posed.>
Time, time, time, time... Time is running out, little shironeko Kurou. Time is running out.
As for masks, well--everyone has masks. Theirs are just more freeing than most others'. Lady Umemura isn't too far off from a female Joker, either.
When Umie doesn't immediately agree with loving to put on a show, though, Ren gives her a curious look. "Oh?" But it's only a one-word prompt; if Umie doesn't go into detail, they're not going to push. They know she has secrets she's not going to share with a 'normie' like them.
"Hmm... I'll have to think about it," Ren replies. "Truthfully, I really shouldn't get another part-time job. I've already got way more than I should." Only some of them actually pay well, at that!
Umie, too, dismisses the orange Manta, and all is right with the world.
Ren admires the view of the harbor--minus that same yacht that had gotten Umie acting weird the other day. His eyebrows furrow as he realizes he recognizes it, and when he glances at her, she is ignoring it. Hm.
Umie's phone buzzes. Being incorrigibly nosy, Ren peeks over her shoulder at her texts. They don't know a Hodai Tabe, but it sounds like...
...uh oh.
Umie looks up sharply. Ren mirrors her to stare over at a lone approaching figure. The 'hey!'s and 'oof's of those he knocks into are audible too now; even without the text, the two of them would've noticed him by now.
Without a second thought, Ren turns to place herself in between Umie and the approaching man. They hear her mutter to herself and hear her text more--no doubt getting reinforcements from Kurou. Maybe even Shiryuu.
Which is bad news for them, considering they can /also/ feel the foul Resonance off this man. Then again, with Umie right there and nowhere to duck away, Ren could hardly make a quick escape only for Joker to arrive a second later.
She says their name. He glances back at her. "...Okay," he replies, not questioning the situation. Then again, clearly he's clocked what's going on if he's moving to protect her. They take her hand with one hand and lift her skirts out of the way of her feet with the other. "Let's."
It's a different kind of showtime, now.
<Goro Akechi has posed.>
Umie Akabane- known ingenue and runaway from the New World Order... has just had her name posted on social media. An opportunity, of sorts, to someone speaking on the phone.
"You've confirmed that Honjou has seen the post?"
"I have. There's no mistaking it."
"That's odd. Our surveillance has witnessed no change in his behavior other than him being in a foul mood today."
"It could be too early in the process..."
"Perhaps... unless..."
There's a distinct pause- as one figure on the line thinks the matter through, the other waiting expectedly.
"... Get me the records for her coworkers at her various places at employ. Our initial assumptions were incorrect." He says brusquely.
"It's doubtful that most local konbinis even have electronic records."
"They still have to submit employment records to the main office. I need them within the hour."
"Yes sir. I'll get right on it."
As he hung up the phone, he began to lecture himself, with a tone of light irony.
"Never underestimate a man's willingness to hate a woman who 'wronged' them at work."
-=-=-
GiraGiraCon has a last minute guest speaker! So last minute that the organizers were stunned by the prospect of getting someone they didn't think they could possibly get.
'Is Truth Stranger than Fiction: On the Investigatory Technique of the Witch Detective.'
'With Guest Speaker: Goro Akechi.'
But that panel isn't until later in the day. After all last minute means they had to push it back in order to accommodate for such a celebrity personality.
He has of course seen Ran Umemura- agreeing with onlookers that 'Hime-sama' might be more appropriate an address than 'Ojou-sama', but has not yet approached, perhaps even he, a celebrity detective might be stunned by her beauty.
No, instead it's Kurou, who gets met with a man nudging into him, just lightly. Enough to try and force the bell at his throat to jingle.
"Oh, my sincerest apologies! I should be more careful to watch where I'm going." He then takes a good look at Kurou, "Though I should compliment your costume first. It's very well done- say, which character /are/ you supposed to be?"
Let us call attention to a smiling Goro Akechi, dressed exactly the same as always, fully recognizable. Save for one small addendum. A black domino mask over his eyes. Could one not say he is then- the one in the Black Mask? Hohoho. Of course not, that'd be ridiculous.
"Would you mind if I took a picture on my phone?"
It's not that he picked Kurou out of a crowd by anything he did /wrong/. It's what he was doing /right/. Being the perfect sentry means his eyes would systematically travel to certain places, and certain people.
Perhaps this coincidental encounter might even distract him long enough to not spy the man acting strangely at the counter.
<Umie Akabane has posed.>
"No problem. I get it." Umie shoots Ren a mischievous little half grin. "You might not be able to see me the same way again, and we can't have that~" But no, Umie *does* get it. She was surprised to see Ren be at the Leblanc after his shift at Triple 7. If anything, Ren could use *less* jobs. You're only this age once.
As for that unassuming boat in the harbor... one day, perhaps, Ren will find out all of it: what happened on that ship, what makes Umie scared of the spotlight when it shines a little too brightly. It will likely not be surprising to them, being exposed as they have been to the crimes delusional adults with too much power are capable of.
For now, they just need to get through today, with whatever flavor of Manta they can get.
As for Umie, she *is* surprised, when she looks up from texting Kurou, to see Ren moving in front of her. "No, it's... no, Amamiya-kun," she says, trying to think of what to say, caught between being impressed at Ren's gumption, and sad for how she can't tell him anything as to why he shouldn't.
For multiple reasons, really.
The doors Ren and Umie came through burst open. "Ummmiiieeeeee-KkkkuuuuuNNNNN!!"
(BGM: https://youtu.be/Odn6kvZeV5s?si=zV8j3dAOSNY_fgoA Garden of Sinners 6 OST: Azaka's Theme)
By this time, fortunately, they're running towards the opposite doors, which has a white piece of laminated paper taped over the glass.
"Eh heh heh... I lost my job because of you, you know." Hodai's voice echoes down the empty hallway as Umie yanks on the doors first, then reads the paper.
'Sorry for your inconvenience, entry into Building B is temporarily blocked for security reasons. Please, enjoy your visit to Sumaru Pacificos!'
"Fucking.... _shit_!" Umie looks over her shoulder and tugs violently on the doors, even allowing Ren to do so if they try to do so as well.
She could use her Persona... or....
"All you had to do was wear that damn mascot suit...." Grunt, grunt. With a whine of metal and sparking wires, Hodai wrenches free the very vending machine Umie and Ren were buying from. Truly a traitorous machine to willingly turn itself on its patrons... "... but you couldn't even do *that* right, could you? *huff* It's *hilarious* how screwed up you are, heheeh!!"
Hodai's not fast behind them; he's thankfully weighed down by his choice of weapon. Plenty of time, Umie thinks, as she looks over her shoulder. She could use Badb to blast open the doors.
Two gloved hands reach up to grab ahold of Ren; with little warning, Umie attempts to push them aside against the matching alcove to their side, against the small space between the vending machine and the walkway proper. "Don't tell anyone about this--" Umie says, as blue light begins pooling underneath her.
Alas.
With a groan of exertion from his run, Hodai *throws* the vending machine through the air with glee, with a delighted shout. "Uuu-mMIII-EeeeEE-kuU~NNNN~~!!"
They're woefully out of time.
There is a second where Badb appears, just before that vending machine is about to clock Umie. In the space of a single shriek and a burst of black feathers, Badb manifests in front, instinctively. Alas (once again), birds are weak against bullets, including giant vending machine-shaped ones.
*TH-DUNK*
It counts for something, that single Persona, dissipating immediately on impact with a painful cognitive clap of air, smoke, and feathers. What may have been a near-fatal impact becomes less so, but at a cost of spiritual pain and the rest of the physical impact left over.
Wracked with pain, Umie's body curls in on itself, mouth sputtering for air with desperate, choked gasps.
'You're so mean, Umie-chan...' In the dimming light and vertigo-soaked hall, Umie sees her: that mirror of her young self, dressed in a silk kosode and standing in the far distance. Pale child's fingers fiddle with a loop of string, pulling a cat's cradle into being. 'Leaving poor Amamiya-kun to die like this, all alone...'
Nevermind that Umie herself is the one in the most danger-- the coy little voice in the back of her mind knows exactly what would be the most painful thing to hear.
".... gh....."
"So hold still... and take your punishment, you privileged little SHIT!! EheheHEHE!"
Who is this man talking to? The lack of discernible features on that white face, aside from that crisply outlined red lipped mouth, make it hard to tell.
He may as well be talking to Ren at this moment, because aside from a fluttering, twitching expression from the body there, Umie is unable to respond.
There's no one to come to Ren's aid right now, except...
<Ren Amamiya has posed.>
Umie shoves Ren to one side into another alcove. Blue fire flares up around her in the familiar Persona summoning, and Badb appears just in time to tank a /flying vending machine/.
"Akabane-san!!" Ren shouts, rushing to her side and picking her up carefully in both arms. She's still alive, thank god--but badly injured, and just cognizant enough.
Hodai screeches about punishment as he approaches with a ghastly face very similar to what Tsubasa recently described to The Phantoms. Ren glares up at him, teeth clenched as they hold Umie protectively close--but before they can undergo a dazzling transformation...
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Jingle.
Kurou pauses to look over his shoulder.
Once, Ren had asked if Kurou was a fan of Goro Akechi, Detective Prince. No, Kurou had said simply and honestly. He has no reason to like him, and no particular reason to dislike him beyond Akechi's connection to the 'law'.
... Which makes his attention on Kurou something to carefully navigate. Kurou points up at himself.
"Have you ever played Condemnation of Witchcraft? There's... something like this..." He doesn't seem quite sure of it himself, the way his brow is furrowed. "... Well, the booth can tell you more... You can get a cat mount."
As for a photo, Kurou diligently poses, as he has been for most of the day.
"Nyan."
It's a subtle and well timed ploy that delays Kurou's attention to the strangely behaving man, and thus his reaction to it. His story about the guild booth holds as he makes his way there in his rendezvous.
But Akechi only needs to delay it all by a moment, because a single moment can mean everything.
--------
An explosion heralds a cacophony of shattering glass.
Kurou slams onto the walkway inside a rain of glass shards, landing like a cat between hunter and hunted. He rises from his four-legged crouch, spinning his wrist to point Soumeiunsatou at Hodai, with the clawed chain attached the tsurugi-style sword gripped in a loop in the same hand.
If those white ears could move, they would be flat.
If his tail was real, it would lash.
But his bite is real, and that doesn't mean the acrylic fangs in his mouth.
There are no words to offer: only violence.
He drops the chain into his other hand and launches into a whirlwind. Swinging chain and dancing blade make a difficult target to track -- and a bigger wall of moving steel -- as Kurou builds the momentum and angle he needs to launch the chain for Hodai.
He means to ensnare him to delay him, if only for a moment... for Kurou still has a moment's debt.
AS: Weapon! Kurou Ryouhara has used the Slash skill Defy Heaven on Umie Akabane! 3 Hits! | Pressure: Kurou Ryouhara gains 1 Limit!
AS: Counter Best! Umie Akabane takes 39 Slash damage from Kurou Ryouhara's Defy Heaven. | COUNTER! Kurou Ryouhara takes 30 Slash damage in return for his attack!
AS: Block Worst! Umie Akabane takes 37 Slash damage from Kurou Ryouhara's Defy Heaven. AS: You have 1 more attack in queue! AS: Counter Best! Umie Akabane takes 39 Slash damage from Kurou Ryouhara's Defy Heaven. | COUNTER! Kurou Ryouhara takes 30 Slash damage in return for his attack!
AS: Umie Akabane has readied for combat as Joker Hodai! She is now fully healed! Ready for 3 opponents! | Atk_Up added to your status!
AS: Kurou Ryouhara has readied for combat as Gashadokuro! He is now fully healed! AS: Weapon! Kurou Ryouhara has used the Slash skill Defy Heaven on Umie Akabane! 3 Hits! | Pressure: Kurou Ryouhara gains 1 Limit!
AS: Counter Best! Umie Akabane takes 56 Slash damage from Kurou Ryouhara's Defy Heaven. Critical Hit! | COUNTER! Kurou Ryouhara takes 44 Slash damage in return for his attack!
AS: Block Best! Umie Akabane takes 27 Slash damage from Kurou Ryouhara's Defy Heaven. Critical Hit! AS: Counter Best! Umie Akabane takes 56 Slash damage from Kurou Ryouhara's Defy Heaven. Critical Hit! | COUNTER! Kurou Ryouhara takes 44 Slash damage in return for his attack!
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"Ah I see! I heard it's been quite popular these days. Are you something of a trend follower yourself?"
Akechi of course, diligently adjusts the camera, takes his time, before, "Haha- just like that. Chizu~"
The flash was set to maximum of course. Enjoy the spots in your vision, Kurou.
All he needs to do is delay for a moment, and as Ren well knows, Akechi always has plausible deniability for his actions.
-=-=-
'Ummmiiieeeeee-KkkkuuuuuNNNNN!!'
It's a bad way to die- but far better than the alternative. As Kurou rushes off, Goro Akechi does not appear to follow, giving time for this little drama to play out.
Perhaps, it will even be two birds, one stone. Unfortunately one of them is the wrong bird entirely. And while she would become a dazzling enough 'fowl' indeed-
And as a cacophony of violence begins their awful dance, to ensnare their prey.
A second figure descends behind the other to capitalize upon it.
"If you were attempting to buy the lady a drink-"
Ran-chan will see the flash of a blade- no not merely a blade. It is more a beam of light, meant to slice through a problem such as this one as if it were Gordian's knot, or tangled hemp, as it might be. It's tip attempting to run the Joker through and through with the scouring light of a four meter long laser beam, in two great strokes, the moment he lands.
"-the traditional way is to ask politely if she'd like one."
A Prince has entered the room. More accurately, Ran-chan's Prince. A band major like uniform, a crimson tengu mask. The blade is 'sheathed' and he steps up to Ran Umemura, holding Umie Akabane's unconscious form.
"But I do believe we're beyond etiquette at this point." He says cheerily, as if to softly chide him for his violence against two 'helpless' girls, "Hime-sama... allow me."
And Kurou will have to watch as the 'Prince' gets the girl. Or rather- the 'girls'. Because he takes Umie from Ran-chan and places her in a fireman's carry over his shoulders, then despite that burden hoists Ran-chan up off her feet in a Princess carry.
Then before either Kurou or bad Joker can react to it, he's already leaping overhead, in what might be viewed slow motion, Shoujo vision, sparkly, with perhaps soft rose petals about. As he lands- on the opposite side of the Joker.
"Beg pardon for not being here sooner." He says, perhaps hesitant to put Ran-chan down, his brown eyes staring at her through his mask. "I'm glad I was able to make it before you came to harm."
Umie he's basically forgotten is on his shoulders. Her weight is already shifting like she might fall off at any moment.
There can be only one Princess in his life after all.
AS: Weapon! Goro Akechi has used the Slash skill Kaito Ranma on Umie Akabane! 2 Hits! | Pressure: Goro Akechi gains 1 Limit!
AS: Counter Best! Umie Akabane takes 103 Slash damage from Goro Akechi's Kaito Ranma. Critical Hit! | COUNTER! Goro Akechi takes 115 Slash damage in return for his attack!
AS: Block Best! Umie Akabane takes 25 Slash damage from Goro Akechi's Kaito Ranma.
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
"Ara ara... we're never going to get a good amount of players this way, Shiryuu-kun."
"It's true. We're getting bullied by the butler experience and the waiting line for the next Detective Prince..."
"But everyone loves Condemnation of Witchcraft, right? And I farmed up so many mounts to gift...! At least my witchy-catty outfit is slaying all the boys~~"
"I don't know if even that will be effective here..."
"Says YOU~"
The Infinity Amarei Guild booth is actually one of the bigger booths set up at Giragi (the organizer hated it when Nahara called it that, but once she tasted blood, there was no stopping her, and she had a sizable chunk of money with her...) The somewhat sprawling booth commanded a good portion of its little corner of the convention, with a few electronic screens set up and a glitzy presentation of the game, modeling the crafted and farmed cat accessories a prospect would get once joining the guild and completing a certain number of guild activities. There is a giant light up inflatable cat being batted haphazardly around the booth by the near invisible black-clad staff, advertising the fact that the mount, which is the top-tier reward, _flies_.
They are also giving away cat headbands, and doing free cosplay repairs for all neko allies. Unfortunately, actual celebrities and boy butlers are a bigger attraction than cat guilds. Who would have thought?
At the very least, once eye contact is made, Mahou Nekomi Nahara's kissy face has a 100% kill rate, which she is absolutely not letting him forget.
Shiryuu is making _such_ a face at her.
At least, until Kurou arrives. "...eh?" Nahara presses her hands together, with glee. "Did you bring us cuties??" "H-hey, that wasn't his assignment..." "That's his Nahassignment! Don't let him be so boring like you all the time!!" "Hey, what was that noise.."
-----------
A few minutes later, the wall in the crossway explodes in.
It's a little bit after Kurou lands, but a little *bwom* sound is heard. Bwom... bwom... whap.
It's whimsical. And almost entirely beneath notice. A full size literal inflatable of the legendary white cat mount bounces in, glowing with a little internal lighting mechanism. It *bwoms* off the opposite glass wall, twirling in the air and tumbling downward, before a set of streamers whips it back into the air.
"A part timer's soul is truly a mysterious depth," he mulls grimly.
He's dressed like a clown. A Taoist clown, but absolutely a clown nonetheless. With a hat and a headress that looks like someone put a party hat on a gravy boat made of expertly cut white hair, it is truly incomprehensible as to which anime that clown actually comes from. He is wielding an ice cream cone staff in clawed paw hands. The giant ice cream cone is triple-stacked with three scoops, and colorful vinyl streamers are coming off of the lead scoop. As he takes in the scene, you can see exactly where his facial expression changes.
"...a vending machine?" His eye focus on the butler/ojou pairing sharply. The ojou seems to have saved the butler. And then the Prince seems to have saved them both? Wait... how badly are they injured? The clown becomes perturbed. As a show, his ice cream's streamers begin to crackle with electricity. The cat lights up from sone internal mechanism when he whips at it again, sending it bouncing.
"what in the absolute hell," the clown grouses quietly, raising his deadly ice cream flogging whip.
In the next second, the air is filled with a hailstorm of electrically charged throwing needles. The floating white neko just barely escapes Shiryuu's wrath, wobbling somewhere past and below the Prince and his retinue, ostensibly to bounce off of another wall and somehow get in the way or bounce again. As long as it's not off the wall Kurou levelled. that one is sharp. ow.
AS: Weapon! Shiryuu Ryouhara has used the Pierce skill Gashin on Umie Akabane! 2 Hits! | Aggression: Shiryuu Ryouhara gains 1 Limit!
AS: Counter Best! Umie Akabane takes 43 Pierce damage from Shiryuu Ryouhara's Gashin. | COUNTER! Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 49 Pierce damage in return for his attack!
AS: Block Best! Umie Akabane takes 15 Pierce damage from Shiryuu Ryouhara's Gashin.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Kurou's instinct is correct; a single moment is all it takes.
One moment for an easy means to net the NWO a Joker Cursed to go awry because SOMEONE had to get Ren Amamiya involved. With the vending machine between the two of them and Hodai, Ren has some time to go to Umie's side and carefully gather her up. She's conscious-- barely so, judging by the way she's looking at him, eyes wide.
'No' is a word with two letters, and in the brain cells still firing in Umie's head, it's all they're filled with. No to things going wrong, no to dying, no to someone else's death being on her hands, no to it being someone like Ren, no to losing now, no to everything. Later, Umie will think to herself that she could have used the Mark and skipped all this mess.
Meanwhile, with another grunt from Hodai, the machine shifts into his oddly capable hands. Drink cans scatter across the ground, dislodged from the impact earlier. As Ren glares back at him, it's difficult to say *what* expression Hodai is having, with that wide, leering grin of his. There's no distinction of eyelids, pupils, or any indicator of eyes, rendering the expression effectively soulless, devoid of the extra context clues to give those words human weight. "... That's right, princess... Show me how ugly you can make that pretty little face of yours, hehehe..." the man coos at Ren (or Umie? Likely both), before his tone shifts abruptly with a yank of the vending machine up in the air. "I'll CRUSH IT INTO THE GROUND LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE!"
There's a punctual spray of glass at that very moment, as Kurou comes crashing in, ever faithful. The next, the shining prince, with his trusty laser sword, meant to slash through the white-faced killer-to-be. It doesn't take much for Kurou's dance of metal and blade to loop that chain around Hodai, delaying him temporarily for Akechi's sword to deliver that crisp blow.
Unfortunately, this is someone afflicted with the Joker curse, and he will not go down so easily. Using the metal of the vending machine to deflect the first of Akechi's blow, as well as to pull Kurou in via his weapon, Hodai laughs. Even as his clothing is slashed and cut, blood weeping from the areas that were cut by that blade, chalk white skin shows. "Figures... say one bad thing about a woman and a bunch of white knights show up..." he sneers. "Don't worry, I'll punish you two as well."
At least Hodai is busy yapping, letting Akechi to dash over and take a princess and her butler, the latter of which is slung over one shoulder.
However, one final explosion is there to interrupt Hodai's day: that being a... sort of... foreign clown? Hodai is about to fire a remark at the ridiculous looking new-comer when the latter attempts to pierce him with a torrent of charged needles. "Ghh!" Hodai steps back, deflecting a patch of them back towards his third opponent, while the rest remain embedded in his skin through his clothing.
He's not stopping, and neither is Umie... stopping her slow descent down Akechi's shoulder. It's fine. "So another? Hehehe... sure, whatever. There's plenty more where this came from, I'VE NEVER FELT BETTER!!"
In a rush of red flame, it comes: that enigmatic Joker persona, floating from the distorted human being. It is a mockery of red and black, with an emaciated, elongated body that shines in the light like tar. Jagged magenta cords cross its chest and down its body, as well as encircle an oily long tail that ends in a crescent, stabbed with unnatural lines. It is a thing of sharp edges and barbs, of perverted symmetry and meaning, openly grinning down with a grim mouth that bears unnaturally white, straight teeth, under a strangely handsome half mask.
"A prince, coming to rescue his precious little princess... But I know what you're *REALLY* AFTER, HAHAHA!!" Clutching at his face, Hodai laughs, summoning the sinister-looking Persona overhead. A line of playing cards circle the group, flipping over... but it's hard to tell just what happened. (Well, they'll find out, when Akechi tries to attack back.)
Kurou and Shiryuu, however, have problems of their own, as a wave of nuclear flame washes over them, bleeding out into the open air outside. Hopefully that floating unicorn won't be attracted into it...
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Old Maid on Goro Akechi! | Pressure: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Goro Akechi takes 127 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Old Maid. AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Fire skill Mafrei on Kurou Ryouhara and Shiryuu Ryouhara! AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Recovery skill Rebellion on Umie Akabane, Shiryuu Ryouhara, Kurou Ryouhara, and Goro Akechi! AS: Block Neutral! Kurou Ryouhara takes 61 Fire damage from Umie Akabane's Mafrei. | Blast (Magic and Block Penalized!) added!
AS: Take! Kurou Ryouhara takes 0 Recovery healing from Umie Akabane's Rebellion. | Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!
AS: Take! Goro Akechi takes 0 Recovery healing from Umie Akabane's Rebellion. | Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added! AS: Avoid Worst! Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 78 Fire damage from Umie Akabane's Mafrei. Resist! | Blast (Magic and Block Penalized!) added!
AS: Take! Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 0 Recovery healing from Umie Akabane's Rebellion. | Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It's only an effort of will to transform when one has the Will of Rebellion. Ironically, Akechi's delays might have meant that a second Joker would have appeared. Ren is fully prepared when Hodai coos at them and heaves that vending machine up into the air. However--
Glass SMASHes, and Ran instinctively turns herself and Umie away from the falling shards, protecting her friend with her own body as Kurou leaps down to bind Hodai with a chain before he can attack Umie and Ren. That interrupts anything Ren might have even thought to do quite neatly--which just as neatly sets up the equally dynamic arrival of a certain Detective Prince, leaping down to slice into the Joker Killer with his light saber while making a clever quip.
It's annoying. Heat rises into Ran's cheeks anyway. She rises to her feet as Akechi approaches, feeling oddly tongue-tied, and silently hands over Umie, expecting her to get the princess carry treatment; when he takes her, she turns to quickly brush any remaining glass off herself. It's a surprise when she goes over Akechi's shoulder instead, and thus a double surprise when he takes her into his arms. She stiffens, right after letting herself being taken; when he leaps, she grabs Umie's side with one arm to keep her from falling off--and clings to Akechi with the other arm clutching his shoulders.
When the two of them land on Hodai's other side, Akechi gazes down at her, and Ran gazes back, heart pounding in her chest. They could of course have defended themself and Umie had neither of these men shown up--but there's something also thrilling about being rescued like this.
Especially since Akechi is slow to put her down. Very slow indeed.
Blinking once with wide, dark eyes, Ran slowly draws her hand away from Umie's side to slip it to the side of Akechi's neck, the backs of her fingers rising to brush through his silky hair, then drawn forward to trace fingertips along his jawline...
"Thank you," she murmurs, shyly even--until she smiles her coquettish smile. "...my Prince."
The Detective Prince and a Hime-sama... Wasn't he always saying he could only be with a Princess...?
Then an inflatable white cat bounces in and a Taoist clown bwomps onto the scene, and that sort of kills any shoujo bubble vibe the two of them might've had going on.
Ren coughs into a fist, now drawn to their red, red lips. "I'll keep Akabane-san safe," they murmur, before glancing sharply at Hodai. Voice low enough for Akechi's ears only, they continue, "If you've heard the rumors about people turning into Joker Killers--that's one of them. Don't let down your guard. He's going to keep coming after her."
A nod towards Umie. Which obviously means Akechi should let them both down so Ren can take her to the nearest alcove, away from the direct line of sight from the battle. Given that Joker Hodai is focusing in on Akechi to mock him for saving his 'princess' and also sic the JOKER Persona on his very soul, he'll need to let them down fast so they can take Umie off his... well, 'hands' isn't appropriate here, but still.
It might of course be smarter to leave entirely. However, there's an entire convention of innocent people who'll get caught up in the fight if Umie makes it that far, considering Hodai's target is her. Plus, Umie isn't quite unconscious, and there's a certain pleasure in watching your love interest fight to protect you... for her and them both. Who is Ren to deny either of them that?
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Umie Akabane's Rebellion. | Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Oh no. Kurou failed his Nahassignment...
MORE IMPORTANTLY
Even within the chaos and brutality, Kurou carefully nudges the legendary cat so that it does not bounce into the jagged edges of his own entrance. Hodai pulls him in, and in is exactly where Kurou intends to be -- unsurprisingly, Soumeiunsatou is often considered a suicidal ninkou for a reason.
But in this eruption of violence of cats and clowns, a prince arrives to abscond with the princess, and with the butler.
"Shihaisha--" Kurou tries to warn, but the Prince has already made his shoujo bubbly vault over Hodai.
Kurou's face does not change, but there's an intensity in his gaze that's sharpening... one that does not soften in the slightest when it flicks past Hodai to the Prince that now stands on the opposite side.
Split attention, unfortunately, isn't a luxury Kurou has. The circle of cards block Kurou's vision -- and put him on edge besides, but the nuclear fire that engulfs him consumes his every sense.
As its light fades, Kurou remains where he was, breath heavier for simply enduring the attack while refusing to give up his poisiton. He reaches his thumb under the collar of his shirt and tugs up a scarf laid flat under his clothes.
"Gashadokuro."
With a decisive tug, the mechanism within makes a hiss, and the garment chokes around Kurou's neck as the atmosphere cracks to give way to his Persona... his colossal skeleton sculpted of skeletons. It opens its jaws, teeth made of jagged, broken bones, and offers a silent screech while its gaze burns.
It descends upon Hodai, seeking to close its mouth around him in a devouring bite and shattering itself with the effort. It crumbles into dozens of skeletons that sink as if suddenly in quicksand grave dirt, grasping and groping to still him.
AS: Kurou Ryouhara spends Limit on Exploit! Kurou Ryouhara can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Kurou Ryouhara has used the Strike skill E A T on Umie Akabane! | Pressure: Kurou Ryouhara gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Kurou Ryouhara has used the Dark skill Skeleton Hour on Umie Akabane! AS: Block Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 42 Strike damage from Kurou Ryouhara's E A T. | Atk_Up removed!
AS: Block Worst! Umie Akabane takes 48 Dark damage from Kurou Ryouhara's Skeleton Hour. Weak! | Spd_Dn (Avoid Penalized!) added! <Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
The back of Ran-chan's hand, is brought up, for the lightest kiss to the back of it, "Anything for you... Hime-sama." Is his reply. A man who once said he could only be with a 'Princess' as the 'Detective Prince'.
For a while, Hodai and all his violence is beneath his concern. A very short while.
It's only once Ran-chan mentions Akabane that Akechi remembers she's on his shoulders, with a shifting of his weight, he presents her unconscious form to Ran. "I see. I'd surmised as much- but it's good to have it confirmed." He says in reply. "Stay safe- we'll have this taken care of in no time-"
The Prince now sees the Clown with the Ice-Cream flogging whip.
'what in the absolute hell,'
"...Funny, I was about to say something rather similar."
Just, not about Hodai. Nope, his eyes are pointedly upon the Clown.
Now, Hodai can mock him at his leisure, as the two move into cover. "Do you? Do you really?" asks the Detective Prince, as he draws his sword again, it's tip tracing a slow circle on the ground. "Well it doesn't take a Detective to understand your own motivations. A coworker who feels wronged by a coworker he was very much attracted to. Now he's lashing out at her as if she were indicative of everything that was wrong with modern women."
His eyes gleam strangely, "Tell me, do you think because you thought you were nice to her that she would sleep with you one day? And because it didn't work like that- you didn't get what you were owed?" Why is he doing this? Antagonizing him? Well, for starters, because he hates this kind of man- but also because he wants to get it out in the open for a Clown and Cat to hear.
It might be useful to make her more of a damsel for them in this moment.
"Do you have any idea how boring that is? ... Persona-!"
Color the Princely figure surprised when what arises out of him is not Robin Hood- but-
https:'www.velvetroom.wikiindex.phpFile:JokerUlalaVersion.jpg
The shock is evident even with the mask, before it becomes alarm as dark fire blooms within the room from the Joker Persona ambushes him. He leaps away, looking livid, "You think because you have a trick like that you have me cornered- you bastard?!" As some of the elegance drops in the face of that hit.
"Persona!"
His knees were bent in a posture like he was ready in case it was the Joker again, to his great relief- it isn't. As Robin Hood appears, spinning around then takes a knee in mid-air with bowstring drawn back and arrow nocked. It fires the golden arrow just above the figure, the arrow shearing a tear in the air, to some space beyond this realm.
And then Golden Arrows fall upon the Joker, trying to spear him this way and that from above. Before they then explode of course. Perhaps with Justice.
Still, the fear lingers that it's in there somewhere. If it is... he'll tear it out with his bare hands if he has to.
AS: Persona! Goro Akechi has used the Almighty skill Rain of Justice on Umie Akabane! 2 Hits! | Pressure: Goro Akechi gains 1 Limit!
AS: Block Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 58 Almighty damage from Goro Akechi's Rain of Justice. AS: >>> Almighty attacks cannot be Countered. AS: Block Worst! Umie Akabane takes 84 Almighty damage from Goro Akechi's Rain of Justice. AS: Persona! Penguin Ninja has used the Almighty skill JOKER on Kurou Ryouhara! AS: Avoid Neutral! Kurou Ryouhara takes 102 Almighty damage from Penguin Ninja's JOKER.
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
He's ... strange looking. Shiryuu spends more than a few minutes staring at the bizarre, raving, chalk-white man. It's clearly no cosplay -- is the intelligence they received correct after all? The boy's mouth, despite his overall cheerful appearance, is locked in a thin pressed line as he watches the brute pick the vending machine back up and use it to parry, deflect, and draw in his assailants. It's completely ridiculous.
Shiryuu is now dressed appropriately enough to say so.
EYes squinting shut in the recompense, the white-haired boy's bizarre ice cream cone-styled lash-wand type weapon comes up as the electric hail scatters in the wake of the massive wall of a defense, pushing Ryouhara back a step as he swings, sending needles spraying all over as the electric fang lights into his outfit, penetrating deep. The effects of the hidden Gashin senbon in the Raikoupon prop is short-lived enough to prevent him from being paralyzed, but not by much, and the little vinyl straps crackle with electric stimulus in their wake.
"....you don't have the authority to punish me," the imperious clown blinks, as he recovers, returning to stare at Hodai.
"It's me alone who has the right to ascertain punishment on the guilty."
The onmitsu's pupils blow wide as that Persona surges into the space within, his eye beginning to ache in its socket. The explosion comes a second later, and the clown leaps. The nuclear blast ignites the tails of his split cape, the little streamers of his ice cream, and more importantly, -him-. It's only when the boy cracks the whip that a sudden twist of wind ripples, and something -- something -- stabs through the open glass.
It's a bridge, as the flame boils away in the storm it kicks up. Little bridges pierce through the corridors ahead like a demented game of cat's cradle at every angle. It gives the boy a chance to recover, and the arrows shot from Robin Hood cover.
What's actually interesting is, the onmitsu's subconscious choice of location is directly between Akechi, Umie, Ran, and the battle below.
He hears Akechi call on Hodai behind him, his eyes straying across to Umie and Ran, and past the other glass, to the convention beyond.
His grim expression ... twitches.
"I am," the shihaisha thinks aloud, "going to authorize dismemberment."
He smiles thinly, and raises his charred ice cream cone, pressing a thumb into the bottommost scoop. "Bonds of Black."
There is an audible *click* inside the ice cream cone, and it breaks apart in a hail of black. Shiryuu draws his black-bladed sword from inside the ice cream, and with it, a hailing tide of black. Space starts to become unreasonably dark, unreasonably fast, cutting off vision for the madman like a curtain.
"If you become derelict," the clown finally thinks to Akechi, as his protective cover falls. It's a tacit acknowledgment of that Persona. Both. "...I'll authorize punishment for you next."
There is an audible guitar in the background. 120 BPM and counting.
AS: Persona! Shiryuu Ryouhara has used the Recovery skill Track 2: Bonds of Black on Goro Akechi, Ren Amamiya, Kurou Ryouhara, and Shiryuu Ryouhara! | Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 45 damage from Stress!
AS: Take! Goro Akechi takes 0 Recovery healing from Shiryuu Ryouhara's Track 2: Bonds of Black. | Cloak (Non-Area Damage Mitigated!) and Eclipse (Weakness turned to Resist!) added!
AS: Take! Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 0 Recovery healing from Shiryuu Ryouhara's Track 2: Bonds of Black. | Cloak (Non-Area Damage Mitigated!) and Eclipse (Weakness turned to Resist!) added!
AS: Take! Kurou Ryouhara takes 0 Recovery healing from Shiryuu Ryouhara's Track 2: Bonds of Black. | Cloak (Non-Area Damage Mitigated!) and Eclipse (Weakness turned to Resist!) added!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Hodai yells. Glass explodes. A still stunned Umie had gripped onto Ren in lieu of actually being able to protect him, or think of a plan. It's similarly like that when Akechi had arrived to take Umie; it's like extracting a confused cat off a tree: no expectations, only *grab*. It'll all work out, right? The prince has his princess (and also the princess's butler, who the princess has to keep a hand on to avoid her just flopping on the ground, but details). All is right in the world.
All is right, as Umie watches her Taoist clown prince arrive. Ahh, Shiryuu, never change, she would have thought, but after the panick moments earlier, as well as being thrown around, she's still confused. Seeing and recognizing Shiryuu makes her claw-like grip on Ren relax just a bit, for now. There's relief. Annoyance. Excitement, most definitely. It seems Ren knows what excites a Badb's heart, and it's the same for them: being rescued like this *is* thrilling. "... he..."
Meanwhile. "Go ahead an laugh, pretty boy," Hodai giggles. "I'm used to it! Being looked down on everybody! Oh, look at the cute cashier, NEVER ME. Even when I was *nice* to her. Made me feel allll good inside, seeing her depend on me... letting me train her to be at least *decent* at her job... AND THEN SHE LEFT!" It's clear. The young man likes to talk. It's probably the most talking he's done in a while on a single topic. All the things he never said, that could have been aired out and properly settled, are now left to rot in the sun, like the sizzling, half melted cans of coffee on the walkway.
Therein, does Kurou have that chance to strike. "I even waited for her to turn twenty, like a gentleman..." The smile is still there, as well as that annoying giggle. "IT'S HILARIOU-" Hodai, glancing up at the massive skeleton, only has a moment to react. "A skeleton crew, huh--" And the skeleton *BITES DOWN*, and crumbles. Skeletons manifest over the can littered carpet, slowing Hodai down.
Alas, Hodai has one trick, and it's just happened, as Akechi realizes what happens when one is cursed. "Heheheh... HAHAHAHAHA! SEE WHERE IT GETS YOU, PRETTY BOY?! You have NO idea what it's like, having to work hard just to get ahead!"
It's an obscene sight, from where Shiryuu is now, as he draws night into day for the man, who looks up. "I get it now..." he mutters. "She put out for you, didn't sh-?!" It probably makes it just a little more satisfying, when those golden arrows of Akechi's tear into the Joker Killer, despite there being no change on that face of his.
He just keeps making sounds, some of which sound like laughing.
The infernal Persona appears again, this time, pointing up towards Shiryuu, aiming to bleed some of that knightly vigor away from him. The vending machine, at least, drops from Hodai's hands temporarily during this, but it's lifted back up as he swings it around, throwing it straight at Akechi, in order to make way towards Ran and Umie. On his way to grab it, he slings a fist straight at poor Kurou, just for being there.
"You ruin *everything* you touch, AKABANE-SAN!" Umie, hearing this, subconsciously strengthens her grip on Ren, mumbling something.
(It's a swear word, but that's for Ren to politely ignore if they choose.)
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Fire skill White Knight Killer on Shiryuu Ryouhara! | Pressure: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Weapon! Umie Akabane has used the Strike skill Bending Machine on Goro Akechi! | Umie Akabane takes 45 damage from Stress!
AS: Weapon! Umie Akabane has used the Strike skill Joke's on You on Kurou Ryouhara! AS: Avoid Neutral! Goro Akechi takes 112 Strike damage from Umie Akabane's Bending Machine. Critical Hit!
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Akechi's lips brush the back of her gloved hand, and for a fleeting moment, Ran looks stunned--before her expression melts into a soft, broad smile, warm as the sun.
Sometime in the future, Goro might think back on this moment and wonder how he ever failed to realize Ren returned his feelings.
Soon enough, though, Ren has Umie escorted to a nearby alcove. Once he has her seated and propped safely against the wall, he gently unhooks her hands from them and peeks around the corner at the fight. The context Akechi is supplying on this creep is indeed interesting, in a 'fuck this guy' kind of way--but when the JOKER Persona rises out of him, Ren too is shocked, grip tightening on the wall as their breath catches in their throat.
...Some of Akechi's mask slips too. He really must've been caught off-guard by that... whatever the hell that move was.
They sigh a soundless breath of relief when Akechi re-summons and Robin Hood emerges properly. The thought does occur to Ren that, with everyone's attention on Hodai, they could still join the fight as Joker, but... Their eyes flick towards Kurou and Shiryuu, neither of whom seem thrilled to see Akechi.
Shiryuu in particular--those needles he keeps spraying out... and his arrogant talk about being the only one with the right to punish the guilty. Between him and the appearance of Gashadokuro, if the leader of The Phantoms showed up now, there's no telling what the two might choose to do. It's better to keep this a straightforward fight.
They slip back to check in on Umie, just before Shiryuu glances back at the two of them. "Akabane-san, do you hear me?" they murmur, looking intensely into her face. "Do you understand what's going on?"
Umie mumbles a swear word. Though the situation isn't funny, Ren has to suppress a smile. Oh yeah. She understands what's going on.
"It's going to be all right. Akechi and the Ryouharas have this handled," they reassure her. "Just sit tight and catch your breath."
AS: Avoid Neutral! Kurou Ryouhara takes 66 Strike damage from Umie Akabane's Joke's on You. AS: Avoid Worst! Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 81 Fire damage from Umie Akabane's White Knight Killer. Critical Hit! Resist! | Def_Dn (Block Penalized!) added!
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Recovery healing from Shiryuu Ryouhara's Track 2: Bonds of Black. | Cloak (Non-Area Damage Mitigated!) and Eclipse (Weakness turned to Resist!) added!
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Where Kurou is not one for words while his own anger boils, the Prince has an explanation to offer in his taunt, and all of Hodai's own bitter giggling does not refute the damning assessment.
"Is that so...?" Kurou murmurs, with that undying fury's bite to better reflect the lack of compassion in his eyes.
But -- hey, that's not a very shoujo bubbly sparkly Persona he's summoning there --
Dark fire assault Kurou from an assailant he wasn't expecting. He lunges into a dash to try and escape it, off position and gritting his teeth as it bites through his body and soul. His gaze snaps to Akechi with fierce attention, and one might imagine the recalculation of friend and foe Kurou's mind is racing through in the heat of pitched combat.
The vending machine goes flying, and Kurou launches after it, only to meet Hodai's fist with his chest. The solid blow slams into Kurou with a Joker curse'd strength, and while Kurou flinches with the impact, his body is not blown back by the force of it.
In all the fighting, his hair has come undone, and hangs disheveled over his face. As his chin tilts up, an eye peeks between stands of hair. It's uncanny the way it resembles Gashadokuro's own burning gaze, the Persona rising up behind him, appropriately like his own shadow.
"... Understood," Kurou says to Shiryuu. His finger twitches to the rhythm as Bonds of Black thrums through his bones, and he feels his heart elevating to match the BPM.
The chain of Kurou's weapon ignites with a cold darkness from another one of Gashadokuro's silent cries.
What follows may as well be the movements of a feral animal, if not for the graceful, expert dance of the chain, as dismemberment is officially authorized. Kurou means to capture Hodai in a flurry of orbiting chain strikes, weaving in cuts from his tsurugi within the violent cyclone.
AS: Kurou Ryouhara spends Limit on Exploit! Kurou Ryouhara can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Tandem! Kurou Ryouhara has used the Dark skill Mayonaka Serpent on Umie Akabane! 3 Hits! | Pressure: Kurou Ryouhara gains 1 Limit!
AS: Weapon! Kurou Ryouhara has used the Slash skill Gekirin on Umie Akabane! 3 Hits! | Kurou Ryouhara takes 45 damage from Stress!
AS: Counter Worst! Umie Akabane takes 119 Slash damage from Kurou Ryouhara's Gekirin. Critical Hit! | COUNTER! Kurou Ryouhara takes 45 Slash damage in return for his attack!
AS: Block Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 63 Slash damage from Kurou Ryouhara's Gekirin. Critical Hit! AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Brace! AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Aegis!
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Hodai tells him to laugh, and he breaks out into a guffaw, "Well- since you insist. Hahaha- I admit- it's rather amusing that you understand just how shallow and pathetic your motive for vengeance truly is. However-"
The smile drops off his face as his tone shifts into something deadly serious, "-you're the kind of scum that's barely worth laughing at."
And as he gets caught by the Joker's blast, Hodai laughs, and laughs at him- having to work hard.
"... Shut the hell up." He whispers, as if that struck a nerve, because he did have to work hard to get where he is- even if he tries to make it seem like his talents are all effortless.
'I am, going to authorize dismemberment.'
He might have smiled- if not for what the shihaisha said next.
'If you become derelict, ...I'll authorize punishment for you next.'
He could try to explain, but- instead, "By all means- if you think you can." The Princely figure in the Tengu mask challenges in a tone that makes the temperature in the room feel a few degrees chillier, despite that black curtain from him falling over him protectively. "There's only one form of 'Justice' that I'll accept."
The one he decides upon himself. Perhaps in that regard, they're alike.
'She put out for you, didn't sh-'
The vending machine is one he barely dodges, as it clips his arm. Robin Hood instead catching it before it could threaten Umie and Ran-chan. He looks in their direction, as if to make certain of that- though his other hand is stretching out already towards Hodai.
What is pointed at him instead is a stylized laser pistol of the kind that might be seen on a tokusatsu show, that he didn't even see the Princely figure draw, whereas Robin Hood nocks a shining arrow.
"Stop... fucking talking you ABSOLUTE- PIECE OF SHIT!"
Why did it get under his skin so much? Because it compares him to his Father. When he pulls the trigger, what fires form his gun is not a laser beam, as one might expect, but a bullet, wreathed in darkness, so too does the Arrow of Light from his Persona.
The two projectiles encircle each other, as if two planetary bodies in orbit. The darkness and the light.
The combination combines, to form something greater, as the two hurtle towards the Joker- but what wins out in the end is always the suffocating darkness that looms over him.
The detonation upon the possessed young man is as merciless as the shadows of the underworld claiming that which belongs to them.
AS: Block Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 24 Slash damage from Kurou Ryouhara's Gekirin. AS: Goro Akechi spends Limit on Exploit! Goro Akechi can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Tandem! Theurgy! Goro Akechi has used the Dark skill Dark Sun on Umie Akabane! 2 Hits! | Pressure: Goro Akechi gains 1 Limit!
AS: Counter Worst! Umie Akabane takes 80 Dark damage from Kurou Ryouhara's Mayonaka Serpent. Critical Hit! Weak! | COUNTER! Kurou Ryouhara takes 43 Dark damage in return for his attack!
AS: Counter Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 66 Dark damage from Kurou Ryouhara's Mayonaka Serpent. Critical Hit! Weak! | COUNTER! Kurou Ryouhara takes 52 Dark damage in return for his attack! AS: Block Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 40 Dark damage from Kurou Ryouhara's Mayonaka Serpent. Critical Hit! Weak! AS: Block Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 55 Dark damage from Goro Akechi's Dark Sun. Critical Hit! Weak! AS: Block Best! Umie Akabane takes 18 Dark damage from Goro Akechi's Dark Sun. Critical Hit! Weak!
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
Is it... the power of a bond?
They reach that tense understanding, him and the so-called second coming -- the Prince challenges a prince, and the boy with the ridiculous hat makes a soft sound with his lips in reply, simply giving a quiet nod of consent. However, the truth is... even the cold-blooded Ryouhara notices the energy that surges between Ren and Akechi, the 'wordless understanding' between the two that is shared when the ojou leaves into the folds of black with her trusty butler. Shiryuu notices this, because the two moving away from his position is the only thing that causes the clown to look away from Hodai, a step taken just out of tune.
It is, in fact, a mistake.
Ryouhara is blindsided by the raving in his ear, the sound of the vengeful man climbing through a literal pile of bones after his quarry. Most of all, the accusation that she's 'put out' for him. That... what?
Shiryuu has just enough time for his eyebrows to lower like an offended cat, looking away from Umie and Ren just in time to be blasted with more fire.
"Kuh!!"
Being engulfed in flame anew, Ryouhara can't fathom just exactly why it is the masked one has such an enmity towards the fucking creep that causes him to go so far and get so angry. Shiryuu couldn't begin to gues, because he's currently being immolated.
Cutting a whirlwind line of black through the conflagration, Shiryuu's hat has been -entirely- burned off in the interim, the faux headress completely immolated to reveal a terrible example of the ingy, grey-headed boy's attempt to avoid hat hair. He pays no attention to it, panting hard against a wall of superheated air that stifles him, tasting like acid. Mimicking his motion, the boy's Persona drops into view as he tightens his grip on his sword. A flat knifehand lifts in a silent order, and Sarutahiko Okami complies, drifting back on the wind until the ghostly mechanism follows the position of Ren and Umie, blue robes and ancient gearwork shading their positions from view in the turbulent black.
Shiryuu quietly pulls his gloves off of his hands with his teeth one at a time, cat paws discarded and fingers interlaced around the hilt of his sword. His eye flares bright blue as the wind shifts around him.
The music's BPM shifts, a staccato beat that warbles and shifts in tune to Shiryuu's spell, the energy flares and whirling blades of his subordinate beginnint to subside on the ground. He invokes a memory. He'll never tell which. And the bridges begin to move, snaking and shifting through the hall until ancient wood planks begin to form walls, and false paths in a labyrinthine crawl forcing space between Kurou and Hodai.
It doesn't honestly matter if the man runs or chases. The music will drag him back.
The boy's sword lowers to his side.
He breathes out, modulating his anger.
"...you're braying like a perverted mule."
He drops the ice cream.
Shiryuu takes one step. And a chain of soft drinks explode between the onmitsu and the so-called White Knight Killer. Before his ice cream prop hits the ground, Shiryuu is inside of that little nest of confused, torturous little paths.
"...and you threw away your weapon like an amateur."
If Hodai doesn't move -- if he doesn't escape the labyrinth of ancient wood -- Shiryuu will just walk into his space and cut him in a breakbeat instant.
AS: Shiryuu Ryouhara spends Limit on Exploit! Shiryuu Ryouhara can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Shiryuu Ryouhara spends Limit on Psych! AS: Tandem! Theurgy! Shiryuu Ryouhara has used the Slash skill Nascent Law of the Shihaisha on Umie Akabane! | Aggression: Shiryuu Ryouhara gains 1 Limit!
AS: You already have one of the three stat-modifying Limit Actions active. (You have Aegis.) AS: Counter Worst! Umie Akabane takes 236 Slash damage from Shiryuu Ryouhara's Nascent Law of the Shihaisha. Critical Hit! | COUNTER! Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 155 Slash damage in return for his attack! | Umie Akabane is unable to continue fighting!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Thankfully, like a startled cat in a tree, once you unhook Umie's hands, it's easy enough to manipulate her. And sure the situation's funny, Ren! Everyone's dressed up, the man who kidnapped one of the Phantom Thieves is here as a *clown* (Taoist), Kurou's helping instead of directly fighting you, Umie's mumbling incoherent cuss words... ah, but you got to be rescued by your prince.
And so did Umie, a fact that she recognizes well enough, despite that slowly puttering urge to go *back out*, like a cat yelling to go outside during a heat wave. She understands well enough.
But what isn't understandable to Umie is how she hears Ren's words, takes them in, and just... trusts them. (It's probably the concussion that she most likely has, if not just straight up 'got knocked aside by a vending machine.) Umie relaxes, her eyelids fall halfway, but it contrasts with how her lips slide back in frustration. "... I wanted it to be... someone else," she mumbles. An odd statement, but one Akechi would understand.
The only one that *doesn't* understand is Hodai, and with the shadow plaguing him, he never will. Akechi is just a pretty face that's had everything handed to him. Ren's not Ren, but another symptom of his problems. Shiryuu is just there for one thing. And Kurou...
"Scum, eh? I'M scum?! People like her MADE ME this way!" Hodai laughs, proceeding to talk, even as Akechi coldly directs him to do otherwise. "So I see her, back in Sumaru one day... walking around with this weird tall kid..." He continues as if gossiping over the counter despite Akechi's commands as he attempts to walk up that poor, poor vending machine. "She was *smiling* and *laughing*. She *never* did that FOR ME, hahahaha, even after all the times I listened to her COMPLAIN about her rich BITCHASS PARENTS, or the time she--" Hodai happens then to glance at Kurou in that moment, the younger Ryouhara now at his most feral. "Waiitt... you're her pet, aren't you... hehehee.... That's why you had those kitty ears!! Hahahaha! That's adorable!!" More laughter accompanies Kurou's dance of blade, darkness, and chain, some of which Hodai manages to counter back, but others hit straight on him.
Everyone is not who they actually are, in Hodai's mind right now. His clothing is torn, likely put on with a half-understood notion of what he was going to do, but in full possession of what he wanted.
It is a curse, and one that cannot be maintained for long, as those cackles and laughter are offset by pants and gasps that increased as Kurou attacked him, and Akechi's bullet knocks a spray of blood -- red on white -- from Hodai's body. Hodai is knocked back a step, body whipped back, lips wheezing.
... When at last, Shiryuu springs his trap.
The possessed man will keep moving, to the last, tenacious in a way he never was before. Umie would have remembered him faintly as a quiet sort, a person who had to deal with her while she worked through what was essentially a crisis of identity, never unkindly.
Now, spittle just flies from that grinning, red-lined mouth as Shiryuu comes for him.
"I'LL MAKE YOU WORK FOR IT!!" is the last thing Hodai says, as Shiryuu's attack lands home.
The thing that resides in Hodai still wants more. More and more and more.
Alas, Hodai's body has no more to give, as it slumps to the ground with a groan, finally still, but alive.
Sirens are heard in the far off distance; security will likely draw nearer, having evacuated everyone nearby.
Decide which mask you wish to wear, in the time you have left, as the tale draws to an end.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Kurou's taking a lot of heavy hits, including the rampage of that JOKER Persona... Despite that, he's still holding his ground. Shiryuu might be the boss, but he's holding his own well for all the damage he--no, all of them are taking. That's strangely reassuring. It means these Joker Cursed aren't significantly stronger than what The Phantoms have faced before.
Akechi keeps up a confident front, but Ren can tell that Hodai bothers him--from jeering at him about hard work, to accusing Umie of having slept around. It's something Ren doesn't expect to bother him as much as it does--obviously it would bother him, but to the point that he outright curses and snarls at him? The bullet of darkness and the arrow of light that he and his Persona shoot seem like an apt representation of that two-sidedness of his...
Shiryuu bids his Persona shield them and Umie, a quiet irony only Ren (and perhaps Akechi) get to enjoy, before creating a musical labyrinth and drawing his sword on Hodai. There's one unmistakable truth about him: as ridiculous as his appearance was when he arrived, his strength is the real deal. This is something Ren already knew about him, but it's good, in a cold way, to get the reminder.
Joker Hodai goes down in the end--but not without throwing out a whole lot of barbs and vicious complaints. Ren narrows their eyes when he calls Kurou a pet--Umie's pet. They turn their attention back to Umie, and that look turns quizzical. Someone else? At least she seems relaxed now.
However, if left to their own devices, the Ryouharas will definitely kill Hodai, and Ren's not sure Akechi is calm enough--or strong enough--to stop them. As the sirens sound, they help Umie up, slinging her arm around their shoulders so they can support her, and emerge from the alcove.
"Is everyone okay?" they call, banking on the idea that the Ryouharas won't straight-up murder a man right in front of someone they think is a civilian. They don't know what they're going to do if they're wrong about that. They pause, lips thinning as they hear sirens in the distance, and shoot Akechi a quick sideways glance. "I'll be fine, but Ryouhara-san, Ryouhara-kun, can I trust you two to get Akabane-san some medical care? She's been hurt bad..."
They'll hand her off with care--if a civilian won't stop them from murder, maybe Umie needing to be taken to a hospital (or, possibly, healed with items once they're out of Ren's line of sight) will distract them from that. They retreat a couple of steps afterwards, breathing a sigh as they settle in next to Akechi. A long tear in their beautiful dress exposes their thigh as they move, but they barely notice. It happened during the rain of glass, but they had other things to focus on, and still do.
Then they look at him, concern in their eyes. "...You've been hurt bad, too," they murmur, reaching out to gently touch his face. "Once they're gone..."
I can heal you, they don't say--but they try to project it through their gaze, trusting that Akechi will understand.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
Is there a bond that sparks between Ren and Akechi? Is it one that mirrors any of the energy of Shiryuu and Umie? Is this something a creature like Kurou can even pick up on? Perhaps or perhaps not. It is not his business either way, is it? No, his business is blades and blood. His business is his shihaisha and that authorization he yearned for.
His business is his roommate and his new friend, and the way Gashadokuro's endless hunger guides his strikes so that the wrong ones do not fill the empty graves that created him.
A pet, he's called. His ears and his little bell. Kurou strikes again and again and again and as a strike pierces through his own 'defenses' -- if such savagery can be called defense -- and it's only once Shiryuu ends everything that Kurou is left in the wake of Hodai's collapse.
Everything is quiet, for a moment, and Kurou remains standing despite his own brutality, and despite all that battered his own body.
"Adorable..." Kurou echoes in a curious murmur, blood on his face, and some staining his once white ears. That's like 'cute', isn't it? Hm.
Ah, but Hodai is still in one piece. Kurou makes his approach. The bell does not ring.
"Is everyone okay?"
Kurou stops, looking up at Ren. His hand grips more tightly around his sword for a moment, then --
It disappears, not via any supernatural means, but merely a shinobi's natural swiftness with hidden weapons. For once, he does not wait for Shiryuu's order before he is already moving to Umie's side. He swiftly passes smelling salts under her nose to try and rouse her.
"Akabane-san... Can you hear us?"
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
There is a tense understanding, isn't there? Even if it is a brief alliance, in this moment at least they want the same things.
Go deeper though?
It gets worse. Every single thing out of this guy's mouth makes him all the more furious. He knows that the theory within the New World Order was that these people would be possessed by their worst emotions. Rationally, he understands this.
It's not that dissimilar from Shadows in Mementos, truly.
Yet, far more difficult is it not to blame the man himself for every single thing he spews. In fact, them being like something from Mementos makes it far worse. Because he's used to tearing those Shadows apart if they mouth off to him.
And here he has to hold back that side of himself, compartmentalize it away.
Still, it takes him a while to lower that gun, raking a hand across his face and through the front of his hair. Sirens sound, and out of everyone here, he's most at home in their presence. Yet they offer no comfort.
It's not impossible that one day they might sound for him.
'Is everyone okay?'
"... Perfectly alright." He says, as the firearm finally disappears, finger on the trigger until that moment, and then they turn to regard Ran-chan.
"But- are you alri..."
To see that slit in their dress, that exposed thigh. More unexpectedly is the touch to his face. Perhaps Ran-chan will feel the abrupt increase of temperature, in that touch. Though it's understandable too, for he was just in an intense battle.
He's used to tending to his own wounds, over years of fighting by himself. So he could simply brush it off, but suddenly he finds he doesn't want to.
His eyes flit down, and that flush grows before he hurriedly keeps his eyes back up, properly.
"Ah."
Give him a moment, his lips are remembering that words are something they can form. He's forgotten Umie still isn't in the best shape, that Hodai's fate remains uncertain and that someone might exact it's end.
"... I, wouldn't think to turn you down."
He got there eventually, good for him.
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
Shiryuu's lip rises, as he steps through Hodai.
There is a moment, in the center of that tumult tangle of bridges that lead all exactly to the same place, where Hodai might see exactly the light in Shiryuu's eyes -- harsh, steel, and limitless. Ren is, for one shining moment, absolutely correct. As Hodai's eyes go wild and wide, Shiryuu seems intent on taking the stalker's head clean off.
'I'LL MAKE YOU WORK FOR IT!'
"--choke."
The planks begin to fall off of the aging hemp, boards dropping to the ground as the music recedes -- first by a measure, then by volume, then drifting off to a tiny heartbeat rhythm on the wind, the electric surge of force's crescendo reached in one sword stroke. Shiryuu makes a soft sound in the aftermath.
".... I thought you said you worked hard..."
His stance softens, the black blade of Bankasoujin lowering as his grip changes from overhand to underhand at his side, the point just barely avoiding dragging across the ground as he kneels briefly to tie him with a curious red rope. Shiryuu watches Hodai with that acid glare for a hauntingly long time, even as he becomes distantly cognizant of the sound of sirens, of the shuffle of officials.
Holding an arm belted tightly over his midsection, he turns towards the others. The edge of Bankasoujin hisses against the carpeted floor lightly as the boy in the hellishly burned clown outfit walks towards them calmly, at about the same time Ren makes their appearance with Umie. "It's gone as well as could be expected," he says. His 'cousin' moves without being ordered, as if on instinct.
"Kurou... a commendation will be entered for you."
Inexorably, Shiryuu's attention shifts towards Akabane, and for a time, he doesn't seem to have enough words to put together between the somewhat conscious three of them.
For that flung second, the boy is awkward, morose, ill at ease and narrow-eyed. One of his eyes is still a mismatched pale shade of blue, though its lustre is slowly going away. He tilts his head in repressed emotion as Kurou tends to Umie. At the very least, the boy seems to be better at ease with his cousin's efforts.
"You don't need to worry about her," Shiryuu replies. "We'll handle things from here."
He looks at Akechi with a deep suspicion, before turning back. That arm remains tightly belted across his midsection.
"...as for the criminal, he belongs to us now. We'll make sure he survives his injuries. He'll intimately understand four hundred years of Ryouhara truth before we see him remanded."
There is a -concerning- amount of blood near Hodai, after all.
Someone makes a bird call in the distance. The call is made. The police are never going to find them.
Shiryuu faces Ren pointedly, the so-called civilian. "I owe you my thanks, part-timer...for taking care of her." The words are not at all easy to admit.
"But.... forget what you've seen here. It's better for you, that way." He glances at Akechi pointedly. Then back to... hm.
Certain things simply aren't his place to muse on...?
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It doesn't escape Ren's notice that Akechi takes a while to lower his gun. After he lost his temper earlier, that doesn't shock them, but it is concerning. Maybe announcing their presence by asking after everyone was good for him, too.
They nod once when Shiryuu says they'll handle it; Kurou's already working on resuscitating Umie, so this is something they're willing to trust the Ryouharas on. Their gaze falls to Hodai with his pale, unnaturally stretched face and ghoulish grin, but before they can think of what to say next, Shiryuu seems almost to read their mind.
Honestly, given the heavy implication that he's going to torture the hell out of him, Ren isn't sure they can be happy about his assurance that Hodai will live. They grimace and shoot another glance at Akechi. ...This might be a mistake on their part.
After all, the heat that flushes in Akechi's face could be attributed to the battle. It could, if Ren were less observant and didn't know him as well. That glance down and quickly back up seals it; they follow it, see the tear in their dress, and have to hold back a knowing smirk.
"Oh."
...Nonetheless, they don't pull their hand away. Rather, it's all the more thrilling to see him rendered speechless, of him getting embarrassed by their exposed thigh. They sway a little closer, performing a sigh.
"I'll have to apologize to Murakami-san later... This poor dress is ruined." They don't regret it, though. Umie's safety--almost any human being's safety--is more important than a dress.
Their eyes lift to meet Akechi's when he finally accepts the unspoken offer. Slowly, they let themself smile as their hand drifts down to settle on his chest. They can't just yet with the Ryouharas still here, but are either of them dismayed about having a moment before they transform and summon a Persona?
Well... first, there's Hodai and the Ryouharas, still. That smile fades as Ren looks back at Shiryuu. "You don't owe me anything. I did what any decent person would do," they reply quietly. They look at Hodai. "I heard rumors about this--the Curse of Joka, I think it was called. I heard it can be cured--the rumors say someone in a room in blue can take care of it. This guy sucks, but I think Akabane-san would prefer it that way."
Hopefully that's enough to make a difference. They glance at Kurou and Umie as they're bade to forget. They aren't, but this is not a point they're going to argue. They can appreciate that Shiryuu is, in his own way, trying to look out for them. "Mm. ...I won't bring it up. Nobody normal would believe me, anyway."
And they'll leave it at that. Akechi might have more to say on the matter, though...
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Today was a strange set of circumstances, indeed, like something out of a fairy tale. Princesses (and butlers), princes, mysterious clowns, ghostly shironekos, and...
A wincing, sick looking Umie, when Ren looks back at her, over Hodai's comments. "... I don't... I'm not..." There's something lost, saddened, in Umie's reactions. Then another part of Umie comes online in real time, and her mood changes from sadness to fury. "... Fucking.... asshole... I'll ruin him... No one gets to..." It's that protective anger, once again, as Ren lifts her up.
It's an anger that wanes, seeing Hodai there, and realizing it's Ren helping her towards it, rather than running away. "... Amamiya-kun..." She wants to warn him to run away, or forget everything.
".... Thank you. ... Better get going." That last part, she mumbles, half out of it.
Of course Ren'd need to leave. Because...
She really, really, really can't stop looking at Shiryuu right now, his hair, his face, and the cops are coming, and her boyfriend and roommate are going to go to jail, and...
Her head hurts, most importantly. "No one tell Toki," she delivers instead. "Got it? I've made damn sure she..." yeah nevermind room is spinning oops
Kurou, though, he's perfect just the way he is, as far as Umie is concerned. "... I'm... okay." Umie sneezes as Kurou waves smelling salts under her nose. "... Thank you." And, also: "I'm sorry. You're not... like that. What he said. You're your own person, Ryouhara-kun."
They all have their issues. Even a prince can't be perfect.
And Shiryuu is definitely a picture of that, standing there as he does, the battle over, the captive won, the day saved with two unlikely heroes. "... I could have resolved this... if I wasn't up my own ass."
She hates it. She hates that she liked it, being the one being rescued. When the Phantom Thieves did it in what felt like ages ago, it felt magical because she didn't even know they were real. This happened because she trusted someone, when she shouldn't have.
She liked being the one being saved, instead of being the one having to do everything herself. And she *hates* it so much she's trying to stand and oops no, bad idea
".... The bar?" Umie says, without thinking. "With the funeral home guy..."
She rubs her face, suddenly embarrassed. "... Nevermind..."
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
"There are far worse things to lose than a dress..." He murmurs, softly.
It takes Akechi's mind a few moments to register what Shiryuu is saying, in light of Ran-chan being right there.
RIGHT THERE!
"You should back up." He suggests to Ran-chan, in a murmur, "My sincerest apologies for what I must do."
And so he looks up towards the... clown. Takes a breath, then. The laser pistol is back in one hand, and the sword reappears. He doesn't do anything so theatrical as to point it at them directly.
"Earlier you warned me against being derelict." He says with a sense of dry irony. "Nothing would be more derelict of me than letting you take this man for- what was it you said? 'Four hundred years of Ryouhara truth'?"
There's a distinctive tension in the room again. "For the sake of my own 'Justice' I can't allow you to do that. Even barring his current state, this man is guilty of attempted murder... and will be tried in a court of law for that under the statutes regarding murder-for-hire."
It's a stretch, and he knows it. For the same reason that 'trying' the Phantom Thieves would be a stretch when it involves the supernatural. However- he doesn't have to try especially hard to stop them.
Indeed, he only has to put up a pretense of resistance, given his current state. Whether they get away while taking the man- or attack him-
-well he figures they're less likely to attack with Umie around and in this state. And if they do? He'll improvise, he always does.
<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.
A commendation. Kurou looks up, a light in his eyes. But then they dip to Shiryuu's midsection, where his arm holds tight against himself. "... Shi...haisha?"
Instinct makes him want to move again. Instinct tells him if he does, it will be worse. Akabane-san must be seen to. Then Kurou can worry about Shiryuu. If Umie is unable to worry about Shiryuu... it will be next to impossible.
Shiryuu thanks Ren, and Kurou bows his head to them in his own gratitude. His eyes do not manage to lift to meet Ren's.
"... And thank you, for the coffee. For trying my tea. For studying, and for listening."
The tone sounds like 'goodbye'. As Shiryuu says, it would be better for Ren to forget. Umie probably won't be pleased herself... that Kurou arrived too late to keep Ren from such things.
He does look up when Umie sneezes. "Akabane-san..." With his face so stoic, his relief must show in the dropping of his shoulders. She says he's not 'like that'. Not a pet. His own person...
... Ah, so... maybe idea of headpats is out of the question...
(Did Hodai's comment really not faze him at all?!)
"Please worry more about yourself, Akabane-san. We will handle this... and take you home."
Kurou touches his finger to Umie's forehead -- careful of those cosplay claws -- and brushes his finger pad over as if there was something to wipe away.
Then he stands up and nods to Shiryuu before facing Akechi. "... If that is what your sense of duty requires, then I will gladly entertain it."
There are two Ryouhara and one Prince... and Kurou beckons Akechi with his fingers, inviting him to take the first shot. Is this his own bluff...?!
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
'It's what any decent person would do.' He seems distantly aware of the lightly standoffish reply, but it truly doesn't seem to bother him. His hand is over his midsection, but he breathes outward as Kurou asks, making a soft sound to quell the notion. In truth, he's not really paying much attention to the world as it passes him by. Shiryuu's attention has an unfortunate 'gravity.' He is doing his level best to manage the situation, to properly foresee everything that could happen, to gauge the amount of 'trust' he should place in his newfound allies of the moment. But it's a sad thing.
The moment Ryouhara's attention even has a second to rest, he returns to watching Akabane, as if it were a natural endpoint for his off-colored eye to rest. Pensive, the grey-haired boy in the weird little cosplay doesn't really say anything to her at all -- even if he tries, even if the sound catches in his throat, even if he lets himself get distracted away too easily.
'I could have resolved this...' ...you brave little troublemaker, he means to say. He thinks about saying it. The sound is in the back of his throat, along with a hundred other things. 'Don't worry about that now.' 'It's alright, that's what friends are for.'
'I'm glad you're okay.'
It's, really annoyingly cool of her...
The words never come.
Shiryuu is forced to merely nod along with Kurou's sentiment, absently being pulled along by the tide until, ironically, Akechi's response raises his attention to far more martial matters. The boy turns to face Akechi with a look of fixed tightness. Sudden steel returns to the grey haired boy's spine, as he remembers exactly what was said by the reprobate, and the thought of a trial in a court of law being 'justice.' The boy shuts his eyes, a watery little half smile shared in that space, so scant and emaciated that it could hardly be said to be a smile at all.
"'Tenbatsu tekimen.'"
The sense of justice that is imbued in a single idea. The instant, terrible punishment of heaven. "The sublunar world has no Earthly right to arbitrate supralunar crimes," the boy thinks aloud.
"If one offends the sky, only thunder will suffice."
The situation is grim for the valiant detective, facing off against even an injured shihaisha and his subordinate. What's worse, Shiryuu and Kurou are not, themselves alone. The black edge of Bankasoujin makes a hollow sound as it grazes over the soft carpet fiber, until it -tinks- against a buried senbon in the ground from the earlier deflection, a smooth length of steel that still sparks when Shiryuu runs his edge over it. The little lit arc crawls across the blade.
"It's like I told 'him.'" Shiryuu replies evenly, sighing just a touch as he adjusts his grip over his middle.
"It's me alone who has the right to ascertain punishment on the guilty," he repeats.
"...and we are not all decent people."
Shiryuu's aim is unerring. With a silent flick of the wrist, the boy uses his sword to send that charged dart right through his floating legendary cat, pinning the inflated mount mid-bounce against the ceiling, where the internal charge of the needle punches through the envelope and ignites the inner gas. The entire thing explodes, in a huge burst of multicolored smoke and black feathers, a chain of lesser blasts cracking the ceiling and sending smouldering black streamers in every direction like a demented party ball. It's enough distraction to drop a curtain of deep, black smoke over the group, enshrouding them almost as swiftly as his own jutsu only a few minutes prior.
There is a flurry of chaos and motion. Absent any intervention, by the time everything is sorted out, the entire area will have been cleaned to the carpet fibers.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
As for headpats... Look, how many times has Umie come || close to ruffling Ren's poor overworked head? It's best not to know what lurks in a mind of a gremlin like Umie Akabane. Either way, Kurou will likely be on the receiving end of such a thing, one day.
Umie almost feels that urge now, as Kurou carefully smudges a piece of imaginary ash to recenter her, much like she did for him in the Sevens clocktower what feels like forever ago... especially as it dawns on her what Kurou means, by thanking Ren. Does this mean she'll have to, as well?
".... It would have happened, sooner or later. Amamiya-kun'll..." Ren went to protect her, even when the danger was more than he could have imagined.
She never explained a single thing to Hodai. Ren is definitely no Hodai, but the meaning of this lesson is still there.
"We'll talk, later."
Akechi's manifestation of that gun and sword, as well as Ren's mention of Hodai, draws Umie's roaming center of attention.
"It's the Joker Curse," Umie murmurs, backing the two up. "It was enough to make a person turn against her closed friend. We definitely weren't that close, but it was... just a really bad time for..." She trails off, as, looking from Shiryuu to Hodai, Umie sees in her mind's eye a small girl, craning over Hodai's body, peering at him like a dead fish left to ferment away. The dark-haired girl then tilts her head upwards to Umie, sending her a coy grin, lips unmoving.
'Really? You know what you *really* want. You've been staring at it this entire time~'
"No... that's not it," she retorts, weakly.
A correction must be made. She needs to assume proper control over this rapidly degrading situation, and be the proper work senpai for Ren.
..... who is... taking all of this rather well--
Shiryuu, however, goes first. "Wait... don't hurt--"
In the swirling smoke, the words disappear, along with Umie, Kurou, Hodai, and Shiryuu.
All that is left is Ren and Akechi, and a situation that likely could be explained away, if someone had some experience in lying through their teeth.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Akechi steps forward to confront the Ryouharas; Ren lifts their skirts and steps back to allow it. Their gaze goes to Kurou as he thanks them. His tone does sound like goodbye; no doubt he thinks that now that they've been exposed to this, their friendship is over.
"Ryouhara-kun..." Their gaze is troubled. It isn't even an act. Umie reassured him that he's no pet, but he seems much more bothered about them than about that.
Umie says they'll talk later. Ren's not sure if she's talking to them or to Kurou, but they nod once all the same. "...All right."
(Hopefully she won't read too much into how calm they are about all this.)
Kurou invites Akechi to take his best shot. Ren tenses, looking from him to Shiryuu, who essentially says that supernatural crimes can't be tried by natural courts. Akechi had mused on that to them before too... Funny that he asserts so confidently now that he's going to take Hodai in to be tried by one anyway, but then, the Ryouharas aren't people one can show weakness in front of.
It doesn't sound like Shiryuu intends on listening to their talk of curing Hodai either, and Ren opens their mouth to protest--but then Shiryuu flicks a needle to pierce the inflatable cat, and streamers and smoke invade the area.
There's nothing to be done about it. By the time the air clears enough that either Ren or Akechi could do something, the others are long gone. Ren glowers at the air, but then shakes their head a little. They can only hope that Umie can convince Shiryuu to show mercy. ...If she doesn't, maybe that's her right.
They turn back to Akechi. The sirens are louder, but not so close that they need to worry yet. "...And those were the Ryouharas," they murmur. "The catboy was Kurou. The clown was Shiryuu."
A hesitation. If they're going to heal him, they ought to do it now, while the supernatural space Hodai created still lingers. But before that... they step closer, raising a hand to Akechi's cheek.
"...Thanks again for the save. It was... surprisingly fun," they murmur, offering another tiny smile. Gently, they move their hand to remove his tengu mask drop it. Settling their hand on his chin, they lean in, mascara-long eyelashes dipping. "I ought to offer you a reward. Maybe a princess's kiss for her prince would do..."
They get close--their thumb brushing over Akechi's lips as if to prepare him for how their breath hits--before their index finger presses on the center of his lips. Ren winks and smiles coyly.
"Just kidding~," she breathes, before dancing a few steps away, a devilish giggle on her breath as she lifts her skirts out of the way of her feet. She twirls into a spin, legs flashing with the motion--
--before blue fire burns the torn dress away, replacing it with a black coat and a grinning youth in a white domino mask. They dip into a half-bow, half-curtsy.
"Did I steal your heart? <3" Joker jokes, right before his mask goes up in more azure flame. Above him, an angelic Persona in green robes and a spiked helmet arises, then showers healing energy down on Akechi to soothe the worst of his wounds.
No doubt both Persona and cognitive costume will fade in another moment once the supernatural space fully fades, and Ren will need to get back to Toki with some kind of explanation before beating a hasty exit before the cops arrive.
For now, though... this moment is the two of theirs.
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
Akechi takes a narrow stance that faces Kurou- his hand holding the laser pistol at his side. "I'd rather not- ...but if I must."
Rather than some quick draw contest, Kurou strangely might get the impression it's more like Iaijutsu.
Despite it not being in some holster. When he pulls the trigger, it will not be a matter of who drew first, and who drew second.
'The sublunar world has no Earthly right to arbitrate supralunar crimes,'
"I would disagree." Despite the true half-heartedness of his resistance, the resolve in these words is unmistakable, "And if the heavens would take issue with my 'Justice'. Then I would tear them down from the sky- and see the gods themselves face the consequences of their hubris."
It doesn't matter what God- or Devil favors him. All that matters is that he uses this power by his own will, for his own Justice.
His words are hubris itself, but is the same not true of someone that believes they are above mortal punishment?
'... and we are not all decent people.'
"So I see this is what counts for honor.
Shiryuu might find it fascinating, the sheer lack of movement that he perceives as the arm is already raised in the direction of his aim in retort, its barrel tracking the dart, a sound reminiscent out of something from a science fiction film emanating as his finger places pressure upon the trigger.
The laser beam flies true, as a flash of light.
And just barely misses the dart, only grazing its side before it strikes its target. It's impossible that he could have missed on purpose of course. Shiryuu is just too fast. His aim too true.
...Right?
The result is the same, of course. The ignited envelope punctures the gas, as smoldering light and black smoke drops over them.
By the time the smoke clears...
"Damn." He swears, though not too loudly- he doesn't in fact wish to complain about the fact he was left alone with Ran Umemura before the police come.
When Ran approaches this time, he seems just- subtly more relaxed. "It was... wasn't it?" He replies, softly. As she then offers a reward- "I-"
He almost protests, almost- it's reflexive. Then-
'Just kidding~,'
His brows contract for a moment, then he exhales a breath to steady his heart that is beating far too quickly, before grinning as if being magnanimous in the face of the other scoring a point.
"Point to you- I swear, you're getting far too good at our little... chess stratagem."
The stratagem in question? Seducing one's opponent- as Ran-chan becomes, Joker. Leader of the Phantom Thieves. "Well-" His weight shifts, a hand upon his hip as the healing energy takes hold, making standing a bit more comfortable.
"-since you had to ask, it means you haven't yet pulled it off- wouldn't you think you think?"
He offers back playfully, the idea of the game they play in the back and forth. To admit defeat, would mean they wouldn't be able to compete any longer...
...but that doesn't mean that Joker hasn't succeeded in stealing his heart, long before today.