2026-07-14: It's Good to See Your Face

• Log: It's Good to See Your Face
• Cast: Umie Akabane, Goro Akechi
• Where: Narumi - Main
• OOC Date:July 14, 2026
• IC Date: December 09, 2012
• Summary: As Umie lies vulnerable and helpless at the hospital following the Mizunagi Incident, a terrible assassin makes his visit to complete the job... with delicious foods from a variety of konbini chains. ALways so helpful, so trustworthy, always providing valuable insight to matters of the supernatural and Justice- what *would* Umie do without a friend like Akechi in her life?

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<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    "Studies show that eating foods rich in-" *click*
    "Oh, look at her go! She's in the final-" *click*
    "Experts can't say why the boat-" *click*
    "A samurai's worth is in his word-" *click*
    "As Prime Min-" *CLICK*
    "You activated my trap, Sato-kun! Now-" *click*
    
    The TV goes black as a chipped red nail presses the power button on the TV remote.
    
    Umie flops her head back into her raised pillow, turning her head towards the window outside, looking out onto a plain view of a chilly courtyard, December having come in full force. At least there's lights strewn through the branches, but with the sun out, they're not on to distract her.
    
    Besides, there's an obnoxious bouquet of white roses, complete with a 'get well' card, halfway blocking the view. It's as if Honjou wanted it to the only thing, other than the TV, for Umie to look at.
    
    With her left arm in a sling, her right wrist bandaged up, bandages over where Ruin's bullet ended up going (thank god), and various other miscellaneous injuries, the blonde's usual means to whittle away the time have been cut back. She can't do anything with her hands.
    
    There's just the beeps of medical equipment, the murmur of staff walking by, dust motes in the sun streaming in, and an urge to look at her phone.
    
    Oh. And nightmares, but that's for future Umie to deal with. Present Umie is wide awake, and is refusing to think about all the mysteries that have spilled out over the past few days.
    
    Or the people left behind from them.
    
    The TV turns back on, and Umie sighs. Maybe, in the five minutes that have passed, something interesting will be on.

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

Hospital Rooms can feel like jail cells when you don't want to be there. Sure, there are no bars, and you have some things you can do, but it feels like you are no longer in control of your life.
 
And just like Jail cells...
 
Knock Knock.
 
One can have visitors!
 
"Why hello there, may I come in? Or would you prefer I leave you to your channel surfing?"
 
Why- there's a familiar voice behind the knock. Assuming Umie doesn't tell him not to come in, because one does not enter a woman's room without permission- he will soon after.
 
"I know that flowers are the customary gift when visiting someone ill..."
 
He places a bag down on a bedside table, and suddenly, he's producing!
 
Konbini snacks. Mostly non-perishable snacks, but multiple sandwiches and cutlets and the like. "... but I felt you might appreciate something else more. Hospital food is- serviceable at best, ergo- I brought you a stash to keep hidden from your nurse."
 
He reaches in and pulls out a cold pack, "Also some long-lasting cold packs, so you don't have to eat the sandos all at once."
 
He hasn't said anything yet about what happened, the incident or the like- but then again, why would he? It's much more fun to play around first.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    How suspicious, Goro Akechi is here! Except, it is not suspicious, by any stretch of the imagination. He's the second coming of the detective prince for a reason, and this happened in the same ward as him! That's practically like being in his backyard. A ship disappeared, a ship embedded itself into the side of a hospital, a person named Umie Akabane was admitted into that same hospital...
    
    It'd be suspicious if Akechi *wasn't* knocking on Umie's door right now, because it just seems like such a perfect situation to socialize in. Umie, lying in bed, unable to move much, and Akechi, able to walk right out at any moment he gets a need to be elsewhere.
    
    All this, and he'd look like a complete prince just for showing up.

    So of course Umie tells Akechi to come in. She's not even going to pretend she's not immensely happy to see him, even! (Well, okay, let's not go *that* far. She'll settle for 'seems moderately pleased to have him here'.)
    
    "Come on in, Akechi-kun," Umie murmurs, with a half-grin. "I will always prefer your company over daytime TV." Such a high bar.
    
    The delighted twinkle in her eyes grows to unabashed delight as Akechi sets down a bag on the bedside table with a familiar sound of crinkling wrappers and hollow plastic containers.
    
    Konbini snacks!!!
    
    "I wonder what hanakotoba says about these..." she quips. "Egg sando.... peace and comforting prosperity, maybe?" Akechi's even thought ahead, with... ice packs! "As a proper detective should," she assesses, nodding once. "We'll have to properly dispose of all evidences of your crime, of course." Experimentally, she holds up her right hand; coincidentally, the bandages happen to cover her Mark, for once. "Quick, one egg sando, before they notice."
    
    She's grinning like an idiot, but that may be due to the pain meds. That is the excuse Umie would tell herself.

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

How suspiciously unsuspicious! After all, Detectives know things. And he's a supernatural one. Indeed, one might wonder what pointed him in this direction- but in this direction he has come.
 
When he comes in, it's wearing a grey blazer so light it's almost tan, a tie- and a button up white shirt, as well as slacks matching his jacket.
 
Of course, there's also black gloves. One always must be prepared.
 
It's a Sunday after all, so he's not in his school uniform, but still something like one for work.
 
"Well, it's good to know I rank above Soap Operas and Talk Shows at least." He grins, "Although I do appear on the latter from time to time."
 
Then Umie asks quite the strange question, and as if he doesn't see the joke, he shrugs, "Knowing Hanakotoba? I'm not all together certain what emotions an egg would represent... perhaps yearning, hope? Likely one would pair it up with conceptions of feelings related to fertility."
 
As Umie suggests that they'll have to properly dispose of all evidence of a crime... he grins, "Please, who do you take me for?" And at the bottom of the bag he produces- a trash bag!!!
 
"All you have to do is hide it in here. Then tie it up and toss it within the garbage. Even if someone fancied searching through your garbage, you'd have already been discharged when your crime was discovered."
 
And of course, he produces- one Egg Sando. "I didn't know which one you'd prefer, so I stopped by several stores. Here's the Dawson's."
 
As he hands it over.
 
"In my opinion, it's the most palatable." Then takes a seat, giving her time to eat. He doesn't force a topic change onto her injuries- yet.
 
Mostly because he doesn't want to put a damper on the mood... yet at least.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    Impeccable timing, impeccably dressed, impeccable hair, too. It's enough to make someone jealous that they haven't somehow prepared, even if their circumstances disallow for proper primping.
    
    "Of course you are." She looks up to the TV, currently marked with 'MUTE', where two actors express themselves over a passionate argument. "Have you ever considered being on the former? I bet you'd be a hit, should you ever get tired of chasing mysteries."
    
    She's mostly joking; she imagines the work would drive someone like Akechi completely bonkers.
    
    Likewise, she doesn't see Akechi using a hidden language of comfort food to send a coded message, but it's a funny one to consider, after staring at those white roses for a few hours. "'I wish you success in your endeavors', then," she muses. "But I suppose, the best example would be, 'I brought you food, stop asking me'." She'd hold her hand to her chin, but instead, that half-smile has to just sit there, naked.

    "Ahh, excellent." She'll have to hide these from Shiryuu, after all. How can a man who has murdered people be so obsessed with her eating healthy??
    
    The questions may be coming, but Umie is happy to simply let them come on their own time, or assign themselves to the realm of assumptions. As a detective, and someone who has dabbled in the supernatural alone, injuries would simply be a part of the whole package It's barely been over a week since they've faced Hodai, however, and now, she's here, with arguably worse injuries.

    .... Umie's glad Ren wasn't there this time to witness those deaths, at least. That's enough to give most people nightmares, including her, despite thinking she'd seen it all. Demons can die in cruel, violent ways, after all... It was shocking at first to her much younger brain, but she had gotten used to it the same way someone would get used to violence on a nature documentary. Even if a demon is almost completely human shaped, they are not bound by humanity, expressing themselves and holding themselves to a different credo that Umie had gotten far too used to.
    
    "All of that, for me?" The question is presented like a quip, but there's a part of it that feels moved by the extra steps Akechi took. And so, when the next words come, they're warmer, unable to hold back as she accepts that sandwich. "Thank you, Akechi-kun."
    
    So much irony, and only Akechi is in a position to appreciate it.
    
    She eats the sando, careful not to overextend her right wrist any, from where Ruin slammed into it. "Mm. Did you happen to have something to drink on you?"
    
    After that, Umie broaches one subject, at least. "By the way, have you heard from Amamiya-kun at all?" She frowns. "I've been trying to figure out what to text him in regards to that day, but I keep coming up blank. Plus, with everything going on..." SHe motions with her chin.
    
    "Which... is another reason I have to thank you, for being there. I think that's why he took everything so well." Obviously.

     Pause. "... You... *were* there, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

"Haha... it has been offered but- I don't think I'd be much of an actor, myself." He says with a touch of good humor and no small amount of irony. "Besides, shows like that have such a rigorous filming schedule, that I'd have to give up being a Detective entirely."
 
Would it drive him bonkers? Perhaps not- after all, he desires validation, acclaim. At the same time, he wouldn't get it for being himself. He'd get it for the role and his talent playing someone else.
 
It would drive him up a wall, because he wouldn't be loved in and of himself, and he'd know it.
 
He shakes his head, snorting at her end result, that half-smile on her face and the 'I brought you food, stop asking me'.
 
How can a man who has murdered people be so obsessed with eating healthy? It's a good question, but Akechi would guess it's because he lives such a rigidly disciplined life.
 
... and Goro Akechi, despite doing so on the surface as the High School Detective Prince, is anything but in many other ways...
 
"Yes I decided to show you my acting skills by playing the role of the doting grandmother." He quips back, "You aren't eating nearly enough, Akabane-chan. Here, have some junk food."
 
When she asks if he has something to drink on him, he brings out a Ramune bottle, placing it in front of her. "Of course I do. Though you will have to hazard not separating your trash for a time."
 
...
 
Then she opens the subject and-
 
"After the incident with your ex-coworker slash stalker, we spoke briefly."
 
Though he won't say the context to protect their identity of course. "But not after- when I heard you were admitted to the hospital, I decided it'd be best if I spoke to you first... just in case."

He crosses his arms, "After all, wounds such as these beg questions from your friends that you may not want to answer."

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    Validation is a tricky beast to lure in, and one Umie is woefully unable to understand in the same way she'd understand loneliness. Of course she wants it, like any young adult...
        
    The same goes for being loved. Her and Shiryuu bonded together with an almost magnetic force, simply because their loneliness played across that gulf of understanding in similar keys. Yet, both have families, and people who are concerned about them. Akechi, on the other hand...
        
    The surreal idea of Akechi being a doting grandmother... Now, it's Umie who snorts. "Sorry, but I can't call you 'grandma'. My grandma would've brought apples or Nanbu crackers. Perhaps you are my caring doting brother instead?" she suggests, chuckling.
        
    Not that she'd know what that was like, outside of media. What would Grandma Rie have thought of junk food...?
        
    Those memories are hazy, like spring night fog.
        
    The ramune soda is offered, and she takes it gratefully. "Don't tell me you didn't get yourself anything after all that running around," she says, one eye closed as she lowers the bottle down. "'Akechi-kun, you're not eating nearly enough. You're skin and bones!'"
        
    ah, how the turns... table.
        
    "... Well-" This is from another incident, she's about to say, but that feels like getting off the subject. "He doesn't need to know *that*. I'm mostly concerned that he's okay. You and I can laugh off a guy attacking with a vending machine, but he saw his co-worker get hurt by some random guy." Not to mention Kurou is convinced he'll have to break ties, but that heartbreak is another matter. "I guess... you've known him for longer, so I was just wondering what you think. Should I just... not say anything next time we're on shift together?" She carefully tips her bottle back. "I've never had this happen before, is what I'm saying. You operate on the edge of more worlds than one, so... I'm looking to you for advice."
        
    Pause. It makes her feel a little too naked, just directly asking him for advice. So, she adds something, a touch impishly: "Afterwards, I might be persuaded to offer some of that information about what happened here, if you're looking for that."

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

Indeed, he made the comparison because it was so ridiculous. However, now that she calls him a 'caring doting brother' his smile wavers just a touch, then, "Well... it would certainly be more apt."
 
He's quiet, perhaps a little solemn on that one. What does Umie think of him? And he tried to murder her. Perhaps it would be a kindness, 'euthanasia' in a sense.
 
But...
 
He manages to come back to whenever she says he's skin and bones. "Of course I ate something on the way." He scoffs at her, "What kind of gift would this be if I immediately went? ... And by the way, I'll be taking half of it."
 
He leans back, arms still crossed, "Besides, I eat more than enough from my TV appearances- do you have any idea how much food an entire production crew has back stage?"
 
Akechi looks away as she speaks about the vending machine, "Well, one person was certainly laughing." He grouses, remembering the incident, before contemplating what Umie says and-
 
"I think some version of the truth that's palatable to a normal person is for the best." He says, and it's certainly ironic, given that Ren Amamiya isn't normal. "Then- if they remember more, you can go from there. After all, if they do, it's a sign they have the potential to become a Persona User themselves, one day."
 
It's a bunch of lies all put together to protect Ren's identity, that alone is amusing enough.
 
"Perhaps- you were attacked by a stalker at the con. He threw a steel chair at you. He's been jailed for now- while the cops investigate his crimes."
 
Reaching up, he rubs his eyes with a gloved hand, then, "Yes... I think I will ask. What did you get involved in after- everything that happened that put you here?"
 
A beat.
 
"And I'll do you a courtesy just this once and not play detective."
 
Surprising. But he does truly feel bad. Ordinarily he'd mess with her and ask questions that outright accuse her just to see how she reacts.
 
He holds up one finger, "I know you were shot by a small caliber firearm, which is what put you here." He holds up a second finger, "And the timing of your admission coincides with that incident involving the research vessel striking the Narumi Memorial Hospital. ... That is what I've deduced already."
 
Such genius detective work, so wow, given that he's the one who put her here.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    "It would be," Umie reflects, a second later, as if realizing a similar notion at about the same time. Ghh... she was never like this _before_, but she also didn't have people she could even mention the presence of the supernatural. Even people like Toki, who would be trustworthy at the very least...
    
    But she actually does feel a bond of trust with Akechi, despite his more eccentric traits, despite knowing him for a far shorter amount of time. And for Akechi, Umie wonders, what lurks beyond his own hesitancy?
    
    Perhaps it's to do with his detective work, she reasons. She's probably being to chummy with him.
    
    She'll just blame the pain killers, like a proper adult!
    
    'By the way, I'll be taking half of it.' "Ah, ah, good. You're growing boy andddd... I'm sorry, I can't continue with that," Umie snickers. "And is that so...?" She ponders, tilting her head. "... So that's your real reason... I see..." She's kidding!
        
    Well, one person was certainly laughing, Akechi recounts. "I guess I lucked out..." Umie idly muses. "All I remember is people coming, and..." That Shiryuu came for her. Kurou, coated in glass, moving so fast it was like he was dancing with his weapon. That Akechi's shoulder felt hard. That she ruined things. That Ren said things, and for some reason, she just trusted it.
    
    That was definitely the concussion talking.
    
    Ren is, of course, a normal person, what do you mean, Akechi. Akechi does bring up a consideration Umie's pondered before, in passing: the potential. "... Doesn't that worry you? Sure, he'd have plenty of people who'd help him, like us, but. Pushing that aside, could you handle him knowing about those sides of you? Or that he'll be dealing with the Dark Hour?"
    
    Not all of this is just about Ren: Umie also wants to know what Akechi thinks about this matter himself.
    
    As for the rest, Umie seems to invite the question. "Go ahead. I can't promise I can tell you everything-- after all, some things are dangerous just to know, right?"
    
    Like disembodied mummified heads. Akechi's words on that are not ones Umie's forgotten.
    
    'And I'll do you a courtesy just this once...' "My, my," Umie's hands jerk again, and she stops them, continuing on, "how courteous of you." Akechi may appreciate the way Umie's arms and body jerk, responding to those impulses to express herself, then immediately declining as ow ow ow ow.
    
    As long as she thinks in abstracts, it's easier to lay quips like little bombs around, and not be distracted by the dark matters that lack coherent shape in Umie's mind.
    
    She'll at least confirm his points. "Mmhmm," Umie says. Augh, she so wants to put her hand on her hands to mime listening to a story about Akechi's day.
    
    The ship. Yes. Her expression stills as her mind touches on it, unable to make sense of any of it.
    
    She gives a sigh.

    "... And what do you think happened there?" she asks. Her eyelids lower slightly. "Then I'll know what I can tell you."

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

Akechi at the very least, doesn't explore the issue. Like so many things, he puts away uncomfortable subjects for later. He's so good at compartmentalizing things. Blood had always mattered so much to him that the idea that there can be the possibility of family without had never occurred to him.
 
Mostly because, without the ties of blood, who would ever want to be around him or be his family?
 
Of course, the moment she knows the real him, it wouldn't matter anyway. And even if by some miracle it were otherwise, soon enough, she'll be gone.
 
He snorts at her growing boy comment, "And you're not a growing young woman any longer. So I have to suspect you only wish me to grow taller in order to reach the top shelf for you."
 
Well he gives as good as he gets.
 
There was definitely a concussion talking. And he certainly didn't contribute to it by just dropping her, nope.
 
If you think that, then your memory is being affected by concussion.
 
"You did. And I just so happened to be in the area." He says, with a shit-eating grin which lets Umie know that he absolutely suspected something was coming and was there because of her.
 
Doesn't it worry him though? About Ren.
 
"Could I handle that?" He pretends to look contemplative, "Yes, I do believe I could. We all have our secrets. Things we keep hidden from even our friends. From interests we'd rather not reveal- to something such as this."
 
It's a step forward that he can even say Ren is a friend now- but Akechi you definitely can't handle Ren as they are right now.
 
"Sometimes these things come out. Whether by happenstance or- artifice. It's best to assume any secret you're keeping could one day be learned by someone in your life."
 
Of course, him being Ruin he finds very unlikely anyone could because he's too smart for it hohohoOHOHOHOHOHO.
 
"Yes, I offer very courteous courtesies." As he quips back her way. "The most courteous, of course." Before he then frowns as he saw that wince, but then settles back.
 
"On that I'm uncertain of the exact details. However... in the aftermath I found an anonymous rumor post in Dark Side of Sumaru that's been circulating for about a week that allows me to make certain deductions..."
 
Goro Akechi steeples his fingers together, "...someone has altered your family history by rumor to tie you to the Ryouhara clan, your family line being the lineage of a mythological Princess named 'Unohime'. Furthermore, they linked that to a research vessel known as the Mizunagi, which was supposed to smuggle recently unearthed artifacts regarding this altered history."
 
He then looks beyond towards Umie, waiting on their reaction, "The manifestation of a rumor can be unpredictable at best. My guess is that- the rumor manifested in a way that the one who wrote it could never have expected."
 
That much is quite true! He never would have expected that to happen.
 
"Somewhere in the incident regarding that 'manifestation' you were shot."

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    Akechi has full confirmation of what Umie would do and act, right there, right? She'd hate him, and even when she asked if he was cursed as well, he'd feel no reluctance in throwing it right back at her, while keeping her in the dark just how doomed she is.
    
    All of his statements could be taken in more than one way, and the truth is beyond what Umie can imagine, no matter what jokes or caustic ponderings she's made aloud.
    ... Or even dreamed.
    
    'And you're not a growing young woman any longer.' Umie tsks. "Rude."
    'So I have to suspect you only wish me to grow taller in order to reach the top shelf for you.' "And what do you think I have Amamiya-kun do?" (As well as other employees, but Ren is most relevant here.) She shamelessly admits to it!
    
    Good for Umie, though, that Akechi is just as shameless, admitting he 'just so happened' to be in the area. "Uh huh..." She takes another bite of her egg sando, switching over to the ramune soda, one eye closed. "How can I ever doubt that radiant smile of yours..."
    
    The subject of Ren, and in turn how Akechi would treat such things in general, is handled with more seriousness. She listens, taking in Akechi's viewpoint, stifling a smile as she hears him indirectly confirm he considers Ren a friend.
    
    "... It's scary to consider." Perhaps, Akechi's secrets aren't as deep, or he's more prepared for them to eventually come to light. "That this is a risk that we have to take, just to engage with other people."
    
    But in turn, because he shares this, he hears an admission from Umie, whether unwelcome or no: she considers him a part of this strange 'grouping' she's made in her mind.
    
    Will he appreciate that, when she has no idea the man who almost killed her is sitting nary a meter or two away from her?
    
    "I'd expect nothing less than the highest courtesies from you," she says right back, unfortunately fumbling over how to continue. To court his courtesies? No, she's not courting him, she's courting the gumpy shinobi who is currently being a terror to his nurse, who is having none of his attitude.
    
    Ahhh, her prince-
    
    ".... eh?" Umie casts a blank look at Akechi. No, she was *not* expecting this at all. So now, with Umie's blessing, Akechi gets to reap his just rewards, borne from the seeds he himself planted. "My wrist hurts when I hold up my phone for that long, and it's outdated, so... I... haven't been keeping up..." Blink, blink. "How."
    
    "How the hell." The Ryouharas. "Uno.... hime...? I'm... what?" no, Umie, your descendant is a princess, not you, silly!
    
    Umie takes a breath. "Wait, no. Rumors can't be *that* powerful. It's just things that are easy to change, like..." Shops selling weapons! Easy. ".... My parents met up north, in Aomori." And there's a Ryouhara branch in Akita... "The Order must be behind this somehow... because... Uh."
    
    The egg sando lies forgotten, in her hand. "... Wait, you're just pranking me, aren't you?"

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

"Obviously you need a backup." Akechi says, of that being Amamiya's purpose. "And one for supernatural shelves."
 
He knows FULL WELL she can 'jump good' when powered up.

"It is." He agrees with her on how frightening it is, "But it is a small price to pay for the power we wield. In a sense, without it- both of us would be helpless to even perceive a whole part of the world we live in, much less do anything about it."
 
He inhales, then shakes his head, "Just imagine what our lives would be like if we were in the middle of this without our powers... or even where you might be right now."
 
Umie however is incredulous when at first delivered the news of the rumor, and Akechi watches her reaction.
 
"You would love it if I said 'Just Kidding' right about now... but no I'm not pranking you." He says with a solemnity, "I'm quite serious. Whoever spread the rumor was utilizing the fervor of those invested in the 'History Boom' in order to make certain it would take hold."
 
He looks up at the ceiling. Then takes a deep breath and-
 
"Honestly, I am beginning to believe the power of Rumors is without limit. The boundaries were never about whether something is easy to change- but whether it is a rumor that remains within the public consciousness. That it continues to live 'Rent Free' in people's heads, so to speak, far beyond wherein they've heard it. The more people you can convince..."
 
He allows that to linger for a time, with the implication obvious.
 
"... It's quite terrifying. However, the more fantastical the rumor- the easier it is for people to dismiss it. As it stands- the idea that you're descended from a Ninja Clan's Princess isn't that difficult for people to accept, since they think it came from the Honmaru Park dig site."

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    ... How is Akechi managing to make something she was afraid of suddenly sound fun? "Supernatural shelves, eh..." She stalls, glancing to the side with a rueful expression. "... Now you have me wondering what a Persona of somebody like Amamiya-kun would even look like." Maybe something like that confident, mysterious persona (lower case p) Ren had during the cosplay convention...
    
    _wait, no, why is she seriously thinking about this_ "... Then, let's agree that, if Amamiya-kun *does* have a Persona hiding inside him--" ha ha ha Umie hasn't realized that Potential had a capital P "--we'll make sure he adjusts just fine." Why does Umie look so serious
    
    And indeed, Umie is quite nimble at scaling up obstacles that would be normally impossible, even for someone who's tall. (... though, Shiryuu found out the hard way that Umie has been doing some bouldering of her own and is willing to use it on him.)
    
    At least she feels better about it. "I suppose. I've had mine--" Badb, that is "-- long enough that it's hard to imagine life without her. Is it like that, for you and yours? Even if it's a shorter time frame, going through Mementos by yourself..."
    
    Where would she be, without her powers? She makes a face, as she considers it. It's a rhetorical question, meant to lead to the obvious answer of 'they'd be dead'. The answer would be the same here, as well; her survival would have depended on another set of events to happen: her heart condition being found out and treated, for instance.
    
    She forcefully glazes over it, turning her attention instead on poor, poor Akechi. "Mm, are you implying that even you would be over your head?" It's a fake question, a diversion from something she doesn't want to think about. A contradiction in her logic, that strikes like a lightning bolt far too close for comfort.
    
    'What if things aren't as random as they should be?'
    
    Like an answering chime of a bell, the next topic hits nearly the same note: a rumor, about her and the Ryouharas, tied to the same burial site that birthed the History Boom in Sumaru City, as Akechi pinpoints. "... So it plants the seed of belief, and spreads from there as the belief is confirmed, like a feedback loop. Just like the stories of Kurosu, Amano, and Suou-- enough to spawn a small shrine near the sanitarium. And then there's Wang Long; Ishigami-san could say anything at this point, and it'd come true."
    
    It's not even about belief, anymore. "Like an information virus. Just you telling me, or me reading it later, makes us a part of its spread. The only way for something like that to properly die would for it to be forgotten, or for the public to move onto something else."
    
    But the fact that she, Umie Akabane, normal boring konbini worker, and the Ryouharas, a family of shinobi that do not interact with the public, makes it suspicious, in a way.
    
    "Do you ever wonder why it's here, in Sumaru City, that rumors can work like that? It's always been a strange city, but Tokyo has its share of strange districts. Sumaru City, though... it's like a 'Mementos' onto itself."

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

"Certainly it would have glasses and an apron." Akechi says cheerfully. "I'm guessing Fire Element, after all, Amamiya-kun devotes so much of their free time to making the perfect cup of coffee."
 
Of course, those are all lies he's curating to keep her away from the truth, since he's not certain if she knows- or what she knows or not.
 
"Of course we will. I've actually introduced several people to this world, believe it or not."
 
Including one of the Phantom Thieves but he's not gonna say that!
 
"My Persona..." Akechi pauses, thinking of how to describe it then, eventually- "I see it as one of my limbs, I suppose. It's been with me for so long that it truly is that much a part of me." As for whether he'd be in over his head without one?
 
"Of course. Does it surprise you that I'd think that? If I can't perceive the supernatural long without remembering it, then there's no way for me to interact with it. Now- that's not to say a Persona User is invulnerable."
 
He strokes his chin in thought, "I suppose that without one, it's not impossible I could take them in a fight, under the right conditions- with preparations, but- how would I know to prepare at all for the eventuality that the supernatural is real?"
 
Akechi does indeed actually have plans for if his Persona powers were somehow sealed. A necessary eventuality given the things the New World Order is coming up with.
 
Umie explains in her own way what he surmised about rumors, and eventually he nods, "The issue is that one cannot predict how it will be spread- or what form it takes within people's minds. In a sense, it's like a telephone game. It's likely that if everyone has different 'conceptions' of the rumor, then it is difficult for it to form."
 
He leans back in his chair, crossing his arms again, "As it stands, there's not much room left for interpretation in the rumor I saw posted- so it likely has become reality. Your family lineage has changed."
 
Then she asks a good question, and he looks right at her, "I think the answer for why it can happen is rather simple, actually. I think some God or Devil has taken an interest in Sumaru City, personally. And perhaps we already know 'whom' it is- given our good friend, Tatsuya Sudou."
 
The good friend part he says with a most sarcastic tone, of course.
 
"You said his name once to me yourself." He prompts, "Though how does one fight something like that? ... That, I do not know."

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    Sureeee, they're lies designed to lead Umie astray, and not just you having some fun, Akechi. "Glasses and an apron..." Umie's expression goes flat. "I'd... think he'd probably like something that didn't remind him of his evening shift the next day."
    
    More bewildering is how Akechi openly admits to helping introduce several people to this world. "What, using the Persona Game? Or you mean help them get a handle on what's going on?" She frowns. She's tried to do the same for the Phantom Thieves, though who knows how well she really helped, once they got past her initial understanding of things. "How do Mask-sans even... become Mask-sans, anyway? Is it just... you have a potential to become a Persona User, and you... just have a mask, instead of... the other types?"
    
    Hearing Akechi describe how his Persona is to him (which is, of course, Robin Hood), the blonde's face relaxes; she breathes, eyes closing. "... yes." No wonder that it's so painful, when it's hit when manifesting.
    
    Does it surprise Umie that Akechi would admit to that reality? Maybe not entirely, as his success comes from somewhere, but hearing him take that question and answer it seriously does allow Umie to feel a mote of respect for him to admit to it. (... _unlike a certain shihaisha_, but it *does* allow a point for her to jab.)
    
    Furthermore... "... So you noticed that too." This may mean Amamiya-kun will forget, perhaps. "At first I wondered if it was just a response to trauma, but given how reliably it happens... maybe it's tied to the way some people develop Personas and some don't."

    "But yes." Umie looks to her forgotten egg sando in her hand, and the bandaged spot where that bullet hit, now covered by her hospital gown. "Bullets still work. If it weren't for my Persona, I likely would have bled out before I got proper care. Blood thinners complicate a lot of things." She tilts her head, giving Akechi a cheeky lopsided smile. "Ah~ oops, I let something slip. Please do ignore."

    Akechi has his eccentricities, and has his own issues with becoming close to people (or whatever private matters that brought Ren to his doorstep), but his forward direction sometimes runs in a similar manner to Umie's own, though she cannot understand what drives someone to have a 'Justice' behind it, whether personal, or something more like Katsuya's own. It makes talking about these bigger phenomena feel like she can get somewhere.
    
    .... Even if it means having to sometimes stare a few demons (of the personal kind) in the face. But isn't that part of looking into a mystery, or trying to reach past that locked door?
    
    "... Like with the Sevens rumor." Umie nods. "You'd have to predict how people would act as a whole, not just logic your way in and hope people appreciate you trying to solve some problem." She takes another bite of her egg sando, finally, switching to the ramune soda. "But who would do a thing like that, I wonder..." She did. Look, she's even closing one eye as she says that.
    
    "Which means... somebody thought it'd be fun to play with my family bloodline. Kind of scary, but I can't even think back to any further relatives aside from my grandma."
    
    As for what? "... a God or Devil, huh..." The ramune bottle is set back on the sidetable, as Umie sits with her thoughts, the intermittant beep of the monitors presenting a constant ticking of some clock. "If it really was something like that, why use rumors, when you could just 'do', if such things exist. But there is definitely something that is being served by all these coincidences..."
    
    "... Nyarlathotep." She remembers Ruin's words. "If it's anything like the thing in the short stories, it feels like something that delights in our suffering. That it's all just a game..."
    
    There's a thread of anger laid underneath those words.
    
    "... You keep trying, is what you do. Over and over. You resist."

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

"Probably, but one doesn't get to pick the look of one's Persona. Not really." He smirks at Umie. He does like Robin Hood, certainly- but he understands that if he could have chosen its look, he would not have made it quiteeee so over the top.
 
As to her question- he shakes his head, "Oh, no, I mean as in having given them an 'orientation' of sorts once they had awakened. I don't try to make it happen."
 
That's perhaps one of his biggest lies tonight, of all of them.
 
"As for that... to be perfectly honest. I'm not certain. Not even the Metaverse is a necessary factor, from my observations. One person I know awakened in Sumaru City."
 
He won't say who of course.
 
"It is a mystery, the combination of factors that are involved- whether there is some 'patron' who determines such, or otherwise. There are simply not enough clues at this time- only patterns."
 
It is easy to admit that if one was helpless- they'd be helpless, even for a prideful person like Akechi.
 
It is after all, only hypothetical.
 
"Exactly. And unfortunately there could be other factors as well. Rumors are after all 'unnatural' and none of us are given a set of rules. It could be certain people possess a 'back door' of sorts to make rumors take hold of more easily."
 
Like say a Severed Mummy Head in a Shrine.
 
"Yes, it is quite terrifying. It's- not impossible that one could use a rumor to change fundamentally who you are as a person. However, as Persona Users we at least seem to have some natural resistance... and well- it is my belief at least that as a celebrity- I'm partially immune to such drastic changes to begin with. Too many people out of Sumaru City know who I am and have a soild conception of that."
 
So being a celebrity at least makes it difficult for someone to suddenly go- 'Goro Akechi is actually a girl raised as a boy' or the like.
 
"However that doesn't mean certain... creative rumors couldn't get around it. Uncertainties- voids to fill within one's past with tabloid gossip... you understand what I'm saying."
 
Nyarlathotep.
 
"The man from Egypt, who has legions of followers. In a sense, perhaps the New World Order is... that, for him."
 
You keep trying, is what you do. Over and over. You resist.
 
"Well, if it were true Lovecraftian horror. One is unable to resist. But- that doesn't mean it has to be that way. One should resist until the bitter end."
 
And burn down the world around you in your fury.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    Umie opens her mouth, as if to object; she then thinks further on it. "... Yeah," she murmurs. "Badb's look changed very little, despite how young I was when I first summoned her." She pops the last bite of her egg sando into her mouth, drinking her ramune. "Younger me probably would have appreciated something more... girly?" But Umie can see something feminine in the cold veined skin, whipped fabric, and nails, a creature of death and violence manifested, confident in her domain, restless when she's not. A devil of broad strokes and pointed fingers, reflecting the smile and chaotic energy of a person whose best plans have as much of a chance to fail as to succeed.
    
    "Yours is certainly more heroic-looking, but like you said, it's through the lens of Robin Hood as the trickster. He had his own justice, separate from the law that made his trickery necessary." That's the fun part, isn't it? Akechi can say one thing, and Umie will fill the rest of the narrative to make it logical. Whether it brushes up against the truth or not wouldn't matter.
    
    Umie wouldn't have any reason to disbelieve that Akechi had an intentional hand in the awakening of more than one person, including a Phantom Thief. "The question is... did that Metaverse app appear on phones before or after a person summoned their Persona? If before, would it be something in the cognitive world responding to something in that person, or is it an intentional 'tuning' of that potential into something else?"
    
    She has her reasons for wondering the latter, having pondered what was similarly 'tuned' by her Mark, and by extension, Nyarlathotep. However, the idea that other 'patrons' exist never occurred to Umie, if her head tilt indicates anything. "A patron, huh... well, I hope that 'patron's' more fun than mine." She grins, eyes twinkling merrily. "Sounds like someone mischievous, to like masks and hiding so much~" oh, Umie, how wrong you are... "But yeah. All we have are patterns. There's just as much indication that there's nothing there but a narrative that gives everything cohesion."
    
    Certain people, having more of a 'back door' to influencing rumor... "But wouldn't that be a rumor to make that a thing?" Umie supposes. "Rumormongers are often seen as more adept because of their knowledge of goings on. To imagine a mysterious person or organization is more adept just because of some hidden reason... that could be a deadly thing to spread." oh she wants to shake her finger so bad ughh "Outside of intelligent debates between two people willing to think of the possibilities, of course." She'll wink at him. That works.

    It *is* terrifying. But, in talking about it, it feels like something she can play with in turn over, rather that broil her mind in endless 'what if's and ruminations. Goro Akechi, second coming of the detective prince, may be more immune, for example... "... While in comparison, 'that runaway Akabane girl' is someone with a lot smaller thumbprint," Umie builds on. "The collective idea of who that person is is easier to edit; that, or reality is just edited around that person. Your background, for example."
    
    Her eyes center on Akechi and sit there, intentionally. What Umie has to determine her theory of what Akechi's background is will be based on evidence as loose as the evidence she had that Akechi was a Persona user, the specifics aren't needed here. "... A rumor can start that you are the son of someone famous. A famous movie star," no she's not going to choose politican after having to stare at that damn bouquet for what feels like way too long "... and that's how you got your start, and where you got those good looks. But it'd have to be a mystery who it is; all the better to construct a story that is interesting, and feed into the image you've projected."
    
    Indeed, Umie understands what Akechi is saying. As for Nyarlathotep... "From what I remember, a lot of it was the protagonist slowly recalling the horrors of what he saw. Like he was a passive observer, unable to affect a greater being's plans," she murmurs, softly. "For the sake of a short story, it's necessary. But for those of us on the chessboard, we make do with what we have."
    
    'One should resist until the bitter end' is a fine thing for someone like Akechi to say. But for the person underneath that pleasant face of his... it means something different.
    
    And for the blonde, with her worries of a possible Dark Hour visit from Ruin, implications of things larger than her rumbling in the details, and a worrying sensation of what may come next... she does what she does best: act like she's not as scared as she actually is, deep inside.
    
    "A boring pawn is disposed of quickly, or when it outlives its usefulness. A pawn that resists your hand... wouldn't that be the sort a being like Nyarlathotep would find more interesting? Even if it will always eventually move according to your wishes... it's the struggle that may be more interesting to see."

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

"Well in a Jungian sense, a Persona is a mask one wears to present themselves to society. In our case, a 'mask' which allows us to face the supernatural on equal terms..."
 
Akechi raises a gloved hand, palm up in a one sided shrug, "... if your younger self didn't equate 'femininity' with agency in such spaces, it makes sense that Badb would not be especially 'girly'."
 
So what does that mean about Robin Hood, then? Nothing, shut up. Akechi for one isn't going to discuss its aesthetics and what they mean aloud.
 
"Indeed so, and just like him- I have my own Justice, which is distinct from the laws of this country, even if I often align with them."
 
He leans back and crosses his arms, "Robin Hood's antagonists were Prince John and the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham... but they were corrupt usurpers of a more just King... Richard the Lionheart in many versions of the tale, whom Robin had pledged fealty to."
 
In other words, it's not exactly a contradiction that Robin Hood follows the law he believes is Just, rather than the current law of the land.
 
"Before." Akechi says to Umie, with a certainty, "Not everyone necessarily notices it, but it always appears shortly before the event in question. Whether it's a matter of days, hours or mere minutes. While I don't have proof of this in every circumstance- I do in a great many."
 
As an example... Ichika. Though he's not about to mention how he knows that.
 
Again, he lifts his arm as a shrug, "While I have no confirmation, I suspect it responds to something known as the 'Will of Rebellion'. Nor can I answer you on precisely what it is- or how it comes to be in some individuals."
 
Placing a hand upon his chin, "If I had to speculate, it primarily seems to be a part of those individuals who have suffered some sort of grave injustice- and do not accept it as simply the way of the world, but as something wrong that must be opposed."
 
He takes his hand away from his chin as they talk about the 'patron'. "Perhaps. But we are speaking of gods and devils. Even the most benevolent deity can be just as much a devil in our mythology."
 
There's a soft chuckle, as he thinks upon it, "I would not bet on the idea that such patrons are necessarily better- even if I doubt they could be much worse."
 
Naturally he hasn't spoken to Ren on this one. Naturally. And has no intention of doing so... even implying he knows something, would give away so much.
 
Settling back and crossing his arms again, "Well, how do you think the New World Order came to be?" He poses this question, in regards to such dangerous rumors, "Do you really think such an organization was built up naturally- when it bases itself in a city where rumors can change the nature of our world?"
 
Indeed it's quite clear that Akechi doesn't think it was. Despite it having began years before he could have possibly been a part of it to know for sure.
 
"Indeed so. The less people know about you, the easier it is to believe such fanciful things as you being a Kunoichi Princess in a Ninja anime." He says with a smirk, "Whereas for me- well, like I said, I understand full well where my past would be vulnerable to rumors."
 
But, that's partially why he stays so abreast, so he can perform counterplay immediately when rumors opposing him begin.
 
Umie however, spells it out, and there's a sigh, and another shrug, "Yes exactly. And people would prefer to believe that I such a lineage, because it's more comfortable within their narrative of how I'm so competent and talented."
 
He looks up at the ceiling, "Otherwise, it would force them to reconsider their narrative of those left within foster care as being the children of degenerates- who will be a drain on their society for the rest of their lives."
 
Yep, he stays right on top of those rumors. The last thing he needs is for someone to change the fact Shido is his father. That would make all his work towards this vengeance moot.
 
"Yes, that's exactly the essence of it. The eldritch- the unknowable, laughs at our attempt to have any sort of agency. But that does not mean they have to be correct..."
 
There's a chuckle, "I actually rather detest Lovecraft's themes. But still- it seems it was worth reading after all."
 
There's a pause at the idea of what he finds the most interesting.
 
"I... hesitate to say that he'd necessarily find them more interesting. I won't claim to understand the mind of such a being as the one we might face. But if I had to guess..."
 
...
...
...
 
It's a terrible memory, staring so deeply into Takahisa Shinjo's eyes. Knowing how small he truly was in comparison. Whether he could defeat him or not, wasn't the question. It was how small he was to what was behind those eyes.
 
"... I would say that they find our attempts to make ourselves more interesting- to resist their will... amusing, at best."

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    TOO LATE, Umie's already looking at Akechi with one of those slightly squinty looks, as she thinks of exactly that, because it's a good point. While Akechi's enamored with Sherlock Holmes, his Persona embodied the traits of a 'purer' hero archetype, signifying a drive for justice than the themes of Sherlock Holmes would directly support.

    The Badb is a gargoyle, meant to scare away all the scary things that could come gobble a delicious little girl up.

    "... Yeah." Umie frowns. "I may have wanted a pretty fairy tale princess then, but that wasn't what I *needed*. And you... it's not about the mystery, but that your Justice is served. King Richard isn't coming back from the crusades anytime soon, and there are plenty of Prince Johns and Sheriff of Nottinghams to deal with. You didn't need a Sherlock Holmes, you needed a Robin Hood."

    Or a Loki...

     "Before," Umie parrots, with a blink. "It's just weird, to have it be because of a manmade device. You'd think a mirror, or... magic words." She tilts her head with a lopsided grin. "You think it gets updates every once in a while? Maybe one day there'll be ads added... Then you'll know it was evil all along."

    The concept Akechi mentions, however... "A... Will of Rebellion? As opposed to A Will of Justice?" She considers, the fingers of her right hand jerking up in a complusive track to her chin before she forces them back down. "Well, no one's going to keep us from theorizing, right? I want to hear what you think."

    She listens, nodding slowly. "With the Phantom Thieves, then, maybe it was a spark of 'rebelling' against people like that school coach-- not that that was their genesis, since they would have had to find each other first." She gestures now to Akechi, with her chin. "And with you... I could see it being your 'Justice'. Just because it corresponds with the law of the land doesn't mean you're less of a rebel, if that's what you're holding in your heart."

    "Is this just a general term you've heard, like how we all call it the 'Dark Hour'?"

    A rebellious means of becoming a Persona user... "Trickster gods weren't the greatest beings, yeah," Umie laughs. "Even a 'gift' of fire can mean the gods suddenly see you as a danger to them."

    Wills of Rebellion and what a 'Mask-san' is is pleasant enough topic, but the NWO...

    No, it's clear from Umie's face that she *hasn't* ever considered the possibilities. "Huh... I guess... there's nothing that *disproves* it, exactly," Umie ponders. "It was easy for me to assume they've just always been there, influencing things. So you're thinking..."

    Her gaze travels out towards the lone window, half covered by the bouquet of white roses.

    The beginnings of snow travel down in light trails, beginning to coat the branches of the trees outside.

    "By first snow..."
    
    ".... It's possible," she concedes, again, as if trying to wrap her mind around it, but finding herself unable to.

    As possible as the reality of all the foster children left to age out in foster homes, looked at as a drain on society.

    Like small dots in the giant monster of society, forced to walk a labyrinthian maze.

    Or dots of frozen ice against an eldritch being, an idle, passing fancy.

    "It'd have to be something born from us though, right? It can't be a true god, even in the kami sense."

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

Has one considered that he's partially enamored with Sherlock Holmes because- and this is true, Sherlock Holmes was kind of an asshole? As are many of the Detective archetypes.
 
But indeed, it is true, that originally he believed that his Persona should embody a certain kind of Justice than that.
 
Children however are wont to believe in fantasies that can never come true.
 
"Well you can be one now for your 'beau' if you'd like." He says with a sense of wryness, when it comes to the Ryouhara. "But, that is certainly true. It is not even that there is an absentee 'ideal' ruling figure. It might in fact be that none exists at all- and because of that, corruption is rife amidst the elite and powerful."
 
He has thought a lot about comparisons of his mindset to that of why Robin Hood, how it marks his beliefs.
 
"Do you truly think it's so strange?" He says, as he keeps his arms crossed, "What of the Evoker? Such things are man made. And in this new information age where social media is on the rise- what better way to represent the 'interconnectedness' of the Metaverse. Mementos... the so-called 'Palace of Everyone's Hearts.' connects one, as social media might."
 
There's a chuckle at the idea of updates, ads. "Well. I doubt it would be so blatant. However- I do not believe the Metaverse Navigator is manmade at all. I believe it simply manifests upon cell phones as being representative of some aspect of the human condition."
 
Akechi then nods- and- holds out a hand. "Unlock your phone and hand it to me. I promise- I won't be searching your texts or mail. I just wish to show you something." He then takes out his very much locked cell phone. "Let us just say this is yours, currently. I have gifted it to you temporarily."
 
Should Umie comply, he taps the phone, then holds it up to show the Metaverse Navigator on her phone. "Because it's in my possession cognitively, the Metaverse Navigator is present." He then tosses it back to her on the bed. "Now, I'll be taking my phone back."
 
And as he does so, he indicates to her. "Now look for the Metaverse Navigator." And should Umie do so, it's gone, as if it were never there to begin with.
 
"It's not some magic trick. I believe it is literally a product of human cognition."
 
There's another small chuckle at the 'Will of Justice'. "Would one not call a 'Will of Rebellion' a 'Will of Justice'- if one is rebelling against injustice?" Akechi asks her pointedly. "Nevertheless, that is what I'm quite certain it is called."
 
And when she asks about how, "I heard it from my Persona, when I awakened." Akechi says quite simply, "It is the only time it has spoken to me. I suppose it's possible it was mistaken, or lying- but- for what reason would a Persona have to lie to me?"
 
Would even Akechi's own Persona lie to himself? Well... some questions are better not dwelled upon.
 
"Indeed so- if corruption is the law of the land, then is not rebellion Justice itself?" Is his simple answer to that idea, before then nodding again, "Tricksters are quite dangerous, in a sense. Many defy the will of the gods. Some are rebellious gods themselves who teach humility to their brethren. Either way- I wouldn't know if I had a 'patron' who is a Trickster. Or whether there is one at all..."
 
He shrugs yet again, "Unlike the dearly departed Sudou-san." He says drily, for calling him the dearly departed, "There has yet to be anyone who has spoken of an encounter with such an entity. ... Whereas Nyarlathotep has had his existence confirmed by a number of beings."
 
When Umie says she hasn't considered the prospect, he nods, "It's understandable you didn't. After all- neither of us has witnessed such a grand manifestation of a rumor. To 'create' an entire para-military organization. However, while there's no way to confirm it- I can't quite discount it either. There are too many strange elements about the New World Order that don't quite fit otherwise..."
 
Umie does concede it's possible, and he considers the prospect of whether it could be a true god, or one created from us. "I don't think- barring new concrete evidence there's any easy answer to that. What makes a 'true god' a 'true god'? What makes a god created by men? It soon enough becomes a 'Chicken or Egg' dilemma... which means we'd only be running about in circles."
 
Scootching to adjust his position some, he leans forward, "Now if you'd like, we can give it a try all the same. But I'll have you know- I would never associate with any girl who lays eggs."
 
He smirks, knowing it's a bad joke, but that she's likely to get it. After all, if man made the god themselves, then they'd have 'laid the egg'.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    'Well you can be one now for your 'beau' if you'd like.'

    ---A WEEK OR SO FROM NOW---

    Shiryuu slips out a knife, debating whether or not to plunge it in the back or chin of the person he sees as someone who has come, as she did with Hodai and others, to bring 'ruin' to his family.

    No, not Ruin, but Umie Akabane, hohoho.

    ---NOW---

    "I don't think he's going to appreciate it," Umie groans. "Besides, I think Amamiya-kun wore the dress better... though..." She hums. "I wouldn't have called 'Ran' a damsel in distress. More like a damsel *of* distress." A pause. "A damsel of 'this dress'."

    You can leave at any time, Akechi. Umie has no ability to stop you, as she is now, as well as properly satiated with food.

    "Double duty... having to be King Richard and Robin Hood all on your own..." she tsks with a teasing air. "What a busy life, to be a Goro Akechi. But..." she continues, gesturing lightly with her unslung hand, "That *is* a part of it, maybe. Maybe not what I meant by my joke, but it seems a Will of Rebellion is about embodying a double identity on top of it. There's plenty of rebellion to go around, from all sorts of Persona Users, but to be an rebel, Robin from Locksley has to shed his identity and become Robin Hood. The cognitive trick to it is far beyond anything I could do, either; my masks barely work beyond certain parameters." In order to survive, she had to know others, and have others know who she is, but also... a literal barrier it presents between herself and the Eldtritch Other, even if it is as flimsy as a child's belief in a fantasy that can never come true.

    "You, meanwhile, just took pity on me, despite my lousy evidence." 'And revealed yourself' is the rest of that sentence.

    'Do you truly think it's so strange?' "... Huh. That *is* true." Of course. Whether a phone, or a strange gun, it's still technology, much newer than a mirror. "There are people who've seemed to discover a similar mechanism, even," she continues. "While the Evoker is special, it seems to be tied with the Dark Hour, and the concept of dying. So, your theory is... the phones have the app because it's reflecting Mementos in a way, like how it itself reflects a 'Palace of Everyone's Hearts'." She considers, her eyelids slipping down halfway as she directs her gaze towards her lap.

    But who's to say that Kurou is in a class all his own, having had to recover

    "It'd explain a lot, if it was true." Still, when Akechi offers, it sparks a glint of curiosity in Umie's eyes. She carefully offers out her red phone, and accepts Akechi's. "Now let's see," she begins to tease--

    Well, *that* was quick. "Holy cow," she squeaks, eyes wide in a raw glimpse of wonder. She then coughs, offering a dramatic sigh as her phone's tossed back.

    "Alas, you did the bare minimum and had it locked." Umie says, as she offers his phone back. Probably was a burner phone, besides, but did it really have to look newer than hers...?

    To rebel against injustice... "Maybe if I hadn't blacked out, I could've been a proper Mask-san," she jokes. "But I guess, in terms of injustice..." The Order did do her an injustice, yet it took Akechi to ask her before she seriously considered taking them down, rather than simply glare incompetently across that gulf of power.

    Is she still there...?

    Her gaze grows beyond Akechi, in that moment, as she considers what is the thing she considers being the biggest injustice.

    A pause, a moment of consideration, before she lets out a performative sigh, closing one eye. "Alas, I just have a powerful manifestation of my true self that I can call on when I need to, as well as know when I'm able to. Oh no."

    Just like Akechi was able to hear the voice of his Persona when he first woke up, and remember it. What voice would Badb have...?

    They are all, in many ways, built on the whims of Tricksters.

    "I can't help there, either. Besides, for all I know, I could've gotten an understudy," Umie comments wryily, on the topic of Nyarlathotep.

    As for the NWO, yet again... "I arrived in Sumaru City about a decade back, but I suppose, even if I experienced a Sumaru City without the Order, I'd might not remember it. When did you, Akechi-kun?" Though, they'd likely both be too young to really be aware, or care about it.

    "Maybe... it's like the historical rumors. The rumors about a ninja princess isn't too dissimilar to the ones of... what was it..." She tries to remember. "Tatsuosuke Suou, Junnosuke Kuroda, and Maihime," pause "Amano."

    Like something trying to manifest a thing that shouldn't be.

    She would be scared, but, with Akechi, she feels less scared and more like it's simply a mystery to plunder for secrets. "It's like a locked door, but... any lock can be broken or surpassed eventually."

    Only, there'd be another door at the other end, and another, after that.

    A girl... who lays eggs?

    Umie cackles.

    "Don't look at me, I just open unsuspecting boxes." She smirks. "Only the finest, gifted to me by the gods~ You should really try it out sometime; sometimes you find hope at the bottom."

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

"You might be surprised at the effect of a Princess dress on a man." Akechi says with a wry note of humor, "And please, Umemura-chan is definitely a damsel of transgress."
 
He quips, both rhyming and punning, terrible.
 
"Ha." He says with a grin, "I wouldn't say I aspire to rule, Akabane-san... much less to be some ideal of Just rule."
 
That much is true at least. He would never want to merely take Shido's place, or to become the worst of all things, which is synonymous with Shido- a politician.
 
"Hm. Yes, I do suppose that is true. I can't say I understand how precisely it works." He says, lying through his teeth, "My being a celebrity I do believe weakened my protection over time. Granted, I didn't go to any great pains to conceal my identity either. I have no reason to."
 
After all, people do believe he's on the right side of the law.
 
"It is almost certainly a trick of cognition, that much is true. When I first awakened- if someone witnessed me with my 'Mask' on- if I left the room, and transformed back- they would not even suspect it was me."
 
He does give her a smug look because the fact is that- "Well I'd say you earned the pity. After all. A half-dozen people who were beside you the day you witnessed me take that form for the first time- had seen right through it."
 
Ouch. Way to rub it in.
 
"In essence, yes, that's it exactly. I can't confirm that certainly, as I don't know where the Navigator comes from."
 
He is certain it must come from someone though, despite it being a product of cognition. In fact, he knows who it comes from precisely.
 
It's just he can't say that he does.
 
"Haha... were you hoping to sift through my fanmail?" He quips, not telling Umie that indeed it's his real phone, and if only she could crack the code, she'd have all the evidence she needs to figuring out he's Ruin- eventually, if she followed the trail within.
 
Alas.
 
At the same time though, it rather sells he's not got anything sinister on that phone if he's just willing to throw it to someone, right?
 
"Perhaps." He says to the idea she could become a 'Mask'. "It is after all, only a guess. For all I know, there's another qualification that I'm not aware of."
 
And he suspects the same. Umie was never out for 'justice' or 'vengeance' in a sense, when they first met. Not in the same sense as Akechi.
 
But he's not about to say so.
 
Instead, he chuckles at her statement of an understudy. "Well if you want to out yourself as a Theater Kid in that way..."
 
Then, Goro Akechi considers the prospect of when he arrived, before eventually deciding upon, "Nine years ago. And the disturbing question is. Even if there were a Sumaru City before the Order... would anyone even remember it?"
 
He places a hand upon his chin, "Even historians are forgetting that Sumaru City used to have a very different historical record. Without a care about whether the new history is real- or counterfeit. After all, why would they have any reason to deny the reality before their eyes?"
 
He does nod slowly at the idea of the connection to the Sumaru legend, "Yes, I would argue that it was specifically crafted to slot nicely into the tale... it is too- 'tidy'- I'd say."
 
A locked door?
 
"My, how larcenous of you." He grins, at the idea of it being broken or surpassed eventually, "And what do you think would be found behind this door?"
 
Then Umie relates herself to-
 
There's a flicker of, something in Akechi's eyes- something inscrutable. "Hope and butterflies..." He says, quietly, to himself, to the idea of Pandora, trailing off as if he were lost in thought.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    Ran Umemura, trans-gress---

    "Iiii think that's up to Amamiya-kun," Umie says, with a wry grin. "But I guess you really can't help yourself, can you~"
    
    However, in here, a rebel gifts a captive forbidden goods, and inflects his Justice on her.

    (Or... would it be more fair to say he's 'infecting' her?)

    "Then why is the outfit a band major? Everyone knows they're a few steps away." Her teasing lightens. "Joking aside, I don't see you as that type. You're.... more the type to put things in motion."

    Like rumors.

    'I have no reason to.' That, Umie seems to react to, giving Akechi a pensive frown. "... Even with the Order?" She thinks on it, offering her own answer, free of Akechi needing to provide any himself. "...Then again... It's harder, when you're by yourself. I got along easily enough because the Dark Hour is a different beast compared to Mementos. At some point, we both had to look outward, even if we both prefer working on own terms."

    She had years, but Mementos threw so much of it back at her and forced her to reconsider the boundaries of these different realities, just like Tartarus did.

    That confidence can only go so far before she's merely acting.

    Ouch. Umie sighs. "Shame on me for trying to keep an open mind," she says, rolling with Akechi's punch. "It just seemed... too obvious?"

    She *is* winking there.

    So much of this is a pantomime of what they know and don't, secret identities hidden within secret identities. Knowledge hidden in plain sight, with Umie nonethewiser, as it passes from her hand to Akechi's.

    After all, who would believe that the same person who landed Umie in this hospital is the same one chatting with her? Umie wouldn't. To consider that possibility would mean seeing an enemy in every friendly face, and to distrust even your own gut instinct.

    Just like, to access the idea of what injustice was done to Umie, it means facing who is at the helm of it all, and just how intertwined Nyarlathotep became in her life, without the entity really having to lift a finger beyond the initial push or three.

    "I've never heard of anyone Awakening a second time, so." It wasn't the Order, but Nyarlathotep. "How can someone get *more* awake?"
     
    "Imagine all the juicy gossip hidden within..." The blonde shakes her head. "A forbidden garden of secrets, and secret admirers. I'll regret giving this phone up so readily..."

    She jokes.

    "Please, I've had to be the perfect daughter for most of my life. That has to count for something." She lets her head hit her pillow with an audible 'paff'. "Just like you have to pretend to be the relatable boy detective next door, always available to all your fans."

    Nine years ago. "So... not too long after I did, really." What caused him to come here, assuming he was part of the same orphanage as Akihiko and Shinjiro? Was he adopted?

    Something in Umie's gut disagrees with the possibility, despite the lack of solid evidence. There is a strange thirst to him, sometimes--

` .... But she dismisses it, like so many other things.

    "I wonder if there's records outside of Sumaru City that could give clues. The Order can't destroy *everything*, and rumors don't seem to travel outside of the city," Umie ponders. "Then again, what would a person do with that knowledge? Seems like a great way to make yourself a target, too..."

    But it's still a Door, and doors must be opened, eventually.

    Even the ones that will hurt the most. "Listen," Umie laughs, "The Dark Hour gives you a lot of time to look at closed doors. It's natural that you'll want to open them, right? Even if there's nothing on the other side."

    Hope... and butterflies. "...." She observes that look in Akechi's gaze for a fair moment, the sound of the hospital machines working away.

    "Akechi-kun," Umie says, as another moment passes by, as she looks at him from her propped up pillow. "... What's on your mind."

     It's a gentle prodding; for once, she doesn't supply the possibilities herself.

     Ren's been a terrible influence.
     

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

"If I can, know that I need immediate medical attention." He quips, regarding being unable to help himself, before snorting at the idea of a band major, "It's not like I designed it, so I can only speculate. It likely has to do with Princely archetypes in the Shoujo of the seventies."
 
Which is, way before Akechi's time. Still he doesn't clarify how he knows them. "Many designs were along those lines."
 
He leans back, crossing his arms anew, "Especially with the Order. For starters- I'm a Celebrity, so they'll be hesitant to kill someone so high profile, but even if that doesn't stop them..."
 
He makes eye contact with Umie, "... it only leaves them further opportunities to create new evidence, in solving the case. I for one say that you ought never to deter your enemy from making a mistake."
 
He's certainly confident, isn't he?
 
He chuckles at the idea it was too obvious, grinning at her wink, before she indicates-
 
"Ah, if you mean in the sense that you could become one now? I have no idea whatsoever."
 
He shrugs, lifting up both of his hands in an exaggerated gesticulation, "It might require that qualification during your first such awakening, or it might not. Who can say? How would one even test it?"
 
'relatable boy detective next door'
 
He smirks yet again, "If that were true, I would have sent out on social media that I was visiting you at the hospital." He jests, in regards to always being available to his fans. "But you do have a point."
 
Another nod, at it being not too long after she did, "Roughly the same time, yes. And I can't precisely know the circumstances of Sumaru City before that point- I wasn't exactly supernaturally aware, back then."
 
When Umie indicates that surely the Order can't destroy 'everything'- Akechi prompts her, "Check your phone. Search online for history of Sumaru City, see what you find."
 
And when she starts, he adds, "It's quite possible some record still exists- but if it does, I have not yet found it. Older editions in libraries and bookstores are gone, now replaced with more 'updated' versions. And Sumaru City is hardly noteworthy enough for textbooks to cover it in depth. No... one must check more niche history volumes."
 
However, when she asks him about what's on his mind, and he lowers his hand, and looks up. "Ah- the reference to Pandora merely made me think of something I read once regarding an unrelated incident, pay it no mind."
 
He finally straightens back up and asks, "So, do you have a time frame on when they think you'll be discharged? And do you need someone to pick you up?"

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    'It likely has to do with Princely archetypes in the Shoujo of the seventies.' "And why your dashing rival looks like he's wearing victorian clothing," Umie prods back, with a smirk. "It matches well; a cognitive shorthand to indicate what an older Persona may not show in itself. But then again, with the Tengu mask..." And it makes sense, why Akechi would know, in Umie's mind. After all, she didn't know about a Badb. "Which makes me wonder... will these outfits change as a Mask-san gets older? It's interesting to consider."

    Someone so high profile...

    "It wouldn't be beyond them to knock someone down a peg or two," she murmurs. Her eyelashes lower halfway, as she considers Akechi right back. "There's more than one way to get something done. Scaring away your clients, or... making it so that you get associated with boring, mind-numbing cases. Opportunities to improve becoming pruned away, until you realize there's just a stump of your former life." She can't be too angry-- university just was what was the accepted trajectory.

    'I for one say that you ought never to deter your enemy from making a mistake.' "My, my, I admire your confidence," she teases. "I'll have to remember that advice for next time."

    The idea that someone could become something different? "Yeah. Who's to say what mysteries the human condition can hold?"

    She pauses on it, for just a second. But not a moment more.

    Whether it was having a Mark that attracted Nyarlathotep, or if Nyarlathotep wanted a Mark to happen, it's a space she's used to. If she was going to die of it, or transform into a distorted god, or whatever the hell would happen, it would have happened already.

    It's just a pretty idea, and pretty ideas are as flimsy as the princes in shoujo manga, or hope and butterflies.

    "I'm glad you didn't. It'd ruin our chat." She considers. "I wish there was more I could tell you about the cognitive space I and a few friends found ourselves in, but it may that you'll have to investigate yourself."

    Ah, right, he'd be here for that, wouldn't he? She got so caught up in simply talking (and eating, let's be real) that she failed to give him anything of substance.

    "All this chatting and I never gave you something for your trouble, eh? What a terrible confidant I am... But being shot..."

    'I wasn't exactly supernaturally aware, back then.' "... Neither was I," Umie admits, with a wince. "Even after Awakening."

    Looking back at her phone, Umie begins to tap on it, and frowns. "Just a cursory search, but... I'm not even sure *how* to search for it, now that I think about it." Her right hand begins to cramp up before she has a chance to type further, so she sets the phone back down. "Point taken, though. It's been long enough. Even something unrelated like the Dark Hour feels like it's been there forever, rather than something man-made."

    But what's on Akechi's mind, specifically?

    An unrelated incident, huh. "Which one," Umie says, with a subdued cackle. "Demons can tell you some pretty interesting things, you know."

    Demons do, but they weren't the ones to tell her about what happened at Tamaki's former school, or St. Hermelin.

    With her next breath, Umie's tone turns to a solemn whisper. "Be careful with that knowledge, whatever it is, Akechi-kun. I'd hate to see you disappear, you know?"

    Finally, as Akechi straightens up, Umie's expression lightens, as if she said nothing at all. "I just have to promise my doc that I won't go lifting weights with my left arm or whatever," she says, closing one eye. "I'm certain they won't be able to keep me more than another day, at most, but with the way I came in, they've been dragging their heels."

    She shrugs. "And most of *that* was just not having Badb with me when I got out of that zone next to the hospital. Blood thinners aren't fun."

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

While he doesn't say too much about the archetype of his rival, there's another shrug at whether his costume might change, "I'm not actually certain. Mine hasn't, in three years- and I'm a very different person from who I was in middle school."
 
Or so he says. There are differences though- the differences between a civilian with rough edges, and a serial killer.
 
"Yes I do suppose it is possible- that they could do that, especially if I were a normal detective." Akechi agrees, "But I doubt it. The New World Order wields a hammer, and looks at every problem like a nail."
 
Every Persona User, he might have said.
 
"So I'm not exactly shaking with terror here. Even should they send that 'one in the Black Mask' at me- he still requires the supernatural. I would be alerted that something is wrong before he had the chance to strike."
 
And after a moment, he adds- "We have had run ins before. In fact, I believe I mentioned to you once that he shot me."
 
Indeed... what mysteries the human condition can hold?
 
"Boundless." He says immediately, "Though that's not to say that they don't abide by a certain logic. After all-"
 
He reaches into a pocket, and pulls out...
 
His ray gun!
 
"-This is merely a model, obviously. If I pull the trigger." Which he does, while it's pointed at the ceiling. "Nothing happens. In the Metaverse however, the Collective Unconscious has a certain acceptance of the idea of 'laser pistols' from media."
 
That's not to say anyone taking a laser pistol in could do the same thing he does though! There's a certain trick to it, and one he's not like to give away soon.
 
"Well... for the Dark Hour at least, if you go on Dark Side of Sumaru, Persona Users can at least give a rough timeline of when it first manifested. Though accounts are- confusing."
 
He admits, "It isn't the same for the history of Sumaru City. After all- most people are under the impression, these are real findings, not the product of rumors. Why would they have reason to think rumors could work on such a grand scale?"
 
Umie though, asks on the specifics of which one, and he huffs out an amused breath, "Heh." Before he quips, "A certain incident at a box factory." He says, unseriously, "I hear all the woes of mankind were released- it's the origin story of your ex-fiance."
 
He then leans backwards, crossing his arms, "Oh I have no intention of going anywhere, Akabane-san. After all, what would you do without my sunny disposition as a part of your life?"
 
A beat.
 
"Still, I'll be careful." He promises, before she talks about her discharge, "Hm, well, understandable. After all, they do have to report all gunshot wounds to the police. ... On that note, what did you tell them?"

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    "Hm. Then maybe not." Akechi would have to be the one who has been a 'Mask-san' the longest, though Vesper could have been at it for longer. It counts for something, especially when his life would have been far more turbulent than Umie's.

    (She had it in her head that Akechi Awakened much later, but still, it may have been a matter of what questions she had asked, and what facts she got mixed together. That could have been when he had found Mementos. So many things to keep aware of!)

    Does he say those things with real confidence, or is it just a front, like she often tries to project? "... A bullet can undo a lot of things, Akechi-kun..." At least, by the point, her concern for Akechi is well-established. But what would she say, if she knew the entirety of who Goro Akechi is?

    Her trailing off is rebutted with Akechi's reminder of his own run-in with Black Mask.

    "Aha, that's right. I guess we have one more then in common now, huh?" Umie chuckles. "I'm honestly half expecting him to come walking up the next Dark Hour, but I suppose... he may be stuck in that dimension still."

    With her gaze turned away by this point, it's hard to wager what she feels. Is Joker stuck there as well?

    "I doubt that'd be enough, to slow him down," she murmurs, softly. "I'm not sure I can forget what it felt like, to have that gun pointed at me. What was I thinking, going after a man's heart..."

    Her chin dips, her eyes narrowing. "Sometimes I question what sort of person I am in those moments. It's ridiculous, to taunt someone so powerful, but it felt like the only way to regain control of the situation." Because he was taunting her. She knows that.

    Akechi doesn't need to know that, she thinks. He would have never done something so reckless.
    
    Looking up towards Akechi's ray gun--

        --she smiles, and then laughs. "I remember when you brought that out in that one Palace. I don't know why, but at the time, it felt comforting."
    
    "I don't think if I tried it it'd work as well, though," Umie supposes. "The way you hold it with confidence..."

    Maybe she's reading into it too much.

    Between the Dark Hour, and Sumaru City... "And even Sumaru City's reputation as being a weird city where weird things happen doesn't help. It's easy to end every sentence with 'because that's just how Sumaru is'." It would be interesting to see if she can search that far, with the Dark Side forum, on that note.... "You think... maybe there's something there about the Order, too. If it's happened within the establishing of the forums, maybe..."

    'it's the origin story of your ex-fiance.' Umie makes a show of an appropriately flat face as she walks into that joke, but not too long after, she cackles. "So *that's* why the man's so boring to talk to. He's made of card-board."

    YOU CAN LEAVE AT ANY TIME AKECHI, THE DOOR IS OPEN

    What would she do?

    "It would be a grey world indeed," Umie says to that, with a fond smile. "My blood pressure'd be a lot better though, you know...?"

    That's called a callback.

    As for her discharge, and what was reported, Umie herself just shrugs. "No clue. I wasn't in the mood to say much of anything at the time. I imagine the ship suddenly appearing on the hospital meant a lot of things got pushed to the side."

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.

His expression sobers as she indicates a bullet can undo a lot of things, "You're absolutely right, but don't you think you're preaching to the choir? After all... I investigate a lot of murders. However, if it puts your mind more at ease..."
 
He taps his brief case. "I'm licensed to carry a firearm for my work, and I can confidently say that I can outshoot any police officer in this country, given how little practice their training allows each year." He locks eyes with Umie, "And that isn't an exaggeration."
 
There's not even a hint of that braggadocio in his voice this time, it's so... so matter of fact.
 
However, the 'police officer' was chosen because it was specifically relevant to Sumaru City- and they both know why.
 
"Indeed we do." He does finally chuckle, "What an unusual turn of events..." A beat, "I wouldn't count on him being stuck in there. He's been traveling the Metaverse for longer than any of us have even been awakened."
 
He looks troubled, on the idea that she might actively be traumatized by the event, but- isn't that the obvious? Most of his targets don't live long after, and those that do, are all traumatized.
 
Every psychotic breakdown he creates ruins so many lives.
 
"I have... a few tricks up my sleeve. While I won't say that I could stop him, I do think I could sufficiently surprise him to get away." He finally allows, rather than address her hurt.
 
How could he? He doesn't have the right.
 
"We do what we have to." Is all he eventually says, of the idea of taunting him. "To survive. Sometimes what you couldn't believe you did in the moment is what needed to be done in the moment."
 
Indeed... it bought Umie long enough time for intervention, so could it not be said it saved her life in some sense?
 
"I don't think it says anything ill about you, specifically. Though I understand why you might take the time after for... self-reflection."
 
Eventually he slips the Ray Gun away at her words, "It's a powerful image, I suppose. Someone brandishing it in a certain pose. The 'cavalry' has arrived, so to speak. I'm glad it gave you comfort."
 
But... he can never really be the hero, or heroic. That is not who he is, nor will it ever be. He has made his choice.
 
For the sake of his Justice.
 
"... But, I don't know. Perhaps try it on for size one day, you may find it to be surprisingly enjoyable."
 
Though he doesn't say he'll teach her that trick of course. Nope. Part of the fun is somebody else figuring it out for themselves!!!
 
"Perhaps." He says on the Dark Side of Sumaru, "If so, it's buried so far that even I haven't found it. The internet has developed so much in ten years."
 
There's a chuckle at her laughter, before he says, with a grin, "Ah, so he's not a woe, but the box itself. That does explain so very much."
 
Though, when she says it was pushed back, he looks troubled, then places a hand on his chin. Pausing. Then eventually stands up.
 
"I don't believe in coincidences like that. While it might in fact be nothing, the moment they're arranging you for discharge, I recommend you have your boyfriend on standby to take you out through an exit they don't expect."
 
He stands up, and takes out his phone, "I'm going to go poke around to make certain it's in fact nothing." Tapping on it, he begins to leave the room, "I'll talk to you soon, focus on getting well and getting out of here for now."

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    If Umie could only fold her arms right now, she would!! "You got a point there. You and Katsuya-san have an advantage there that I don't, unless I want to risk something *else* screwing up." Though, Katsuya...

    ... She briefly makes a face, as she makes the connection to Akechi's choice of words. The Order is likely going to punish Katsuya soon, no doubt.

    She'll file that away for later.

    "I'll take your word for it. Cognition can't smooth over a shaky hand." Anymore than Umie's strikes can fake the level of prowess that Kurou's similar weaponry has, when it comes to going in for a kill.

    As for Ruin... "Yeah. If we could get out, no doubt he can." And Joker... will he be okay?

    A unusual turn of events, indeed.

    As for trauma... Umie tilts her chin at Akechi's gesture of confidence in his future encounters with the assassin, taking in a breath.

    "... That's likely the key, the same as always." While Akechi doesn't address her hurt, the logic seems to circumvent it entirely. "You've probably had to do the same, I imagine. Not just to survive, but for the sake of your Justice."

    Look at how far Akechi's come, that Umie is willing to say that with a straight face, even some admiration.

    Determination and control will always be something Umie finds admirable, as long as it's not being applied to subjugating her, after all.

     As for the cavalry? "I suppose," Umie concedes, at the imagery. "In the moment, it just made me realize a little bit more about you as a person. You might've just gotten it at a toy store someplace, but it was still a choice you made, despite having the 'real' thing in your briefcase."

    Pause. "..... then again that'd be really bad if forensics came in and identified what bullet was used, sooo."

    She should try it, sometime.

    "What, getting a laser gun? And steal *your* schtick? God forbid." She laughs, and ponders on it, red brown eyes narrowed into merry slits. "Maybe I'll make some origami stars and see if they act like real ninja stars. *That* could be fun."

    She'll have to take another look at the Dark Side boards again, it seems, on another note.

    AND ON ANOTHER NOTE, "The pun was sitting right there! I had to," she laughs.

    Akechi's urgency, however, is finally realized for what it is.

    "Uh--" Her eyes widen. OH. POLICE. SUMARU POLICE.

    "Yeaaahhh, you go do that. I'll pass a note to my boyfriend--" hee hee she has a boyfriend and he's acknowledging it, hee hee "--or something." As he gets out his phone, she wiggles her fingers at him. "You need to get going anyway. I can't justify keeping you any longer. Except--"

    She dips her head, once.

    "Thanks, Akechi-kun. I can always count on you."