2026-07-18: Open Up
- Log: Open Up
- Cast: Ren Amamiya, Umie Akabane
- Where: Meiji Shrine, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo
- OOC Date: July 18, 2026
- IC Date: December 11, 2012
- Summary: After the events of the Mizunagi's disappearance (and reappearance?), Umie and Joker finally meet back up. While their relationship has resumed its normal course of being allies, some experiences are worth opening up about, especially on the subjects of dealing with what they both saw. (CW: Indirect references to violent death.)
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It feels like it's been longer than it actually has since the Mizunagi descended. Ren hasn't talked to Umie since, either as Ren or as Joker--at least, not until earlier today, when Umie contacted them through Joker's old burner phone, which they hadn't yet disposed of. They responded on the new one, letting her know of the change, and agreeing to meet with her at the Meiji Shrine during the Dark Hour.
Morgana wasn't a fan of that part, but still, he agreed to drive them there and play lookout--just in case Shiryuu or Ruin decide to drop in. (Playing lookout from hiding also means the two can test if Ruin really can sense Mona or if he was bullshitting.)
So in the land of twilight, under the moon, Umie will arrive at the Meiji Shrine with no one there, not even coffins. (There are no visitors after dark, and the Shinto priests and priestesses will have already turned in for the night.) Seemingly no one there, at least, for after she's passed through the entrance torii and headed on in a short distance, she'll hear a voice at her back.
"Hail and well met, Umie Akabane."
When she turns and looks up, she'll see Joker seated atop that torii, legs folded and giving her a confident half-smile. "You still live, I see. I'm glad." They hook a boot up underneath them, then leap and twirl to land beside her with cat-like grace. Once they rise, they look with concern at her arm in its sling, then meet her eyes. "I trust you and your companions all made it out of that ship all right?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It definitely *feels* longer, but some of that may have been because of Umie's strictly enforced stay at the hospital.
There had been no further messages to Joker on that burner phone, despite Umie being so very tempted to check in again and make sure Joker was okay.
In the end, she had to just trust that he, being a Phantom Thief, would know how to get out of the sticky situation or two.
Now, with Umie out and the exchange and change of numbers settled, maybe Umie can find out a little more about that night, as well as settle her own worries over Jok--
.... wait, Meiji Shrine?
Umie pauses at her unambiguous, confident reply of 'sure'.
Yes. It'll be fine. She'll have her mask on, so it'll be fine.
=====
'Hail and well met, Umie Akabane.'
The concentrated, almost dour expression that Umie had at the gates is gone by the time she looks over towards that voice; the half mask is on, it being a flimsy yen store excuse for even her usual array of paper maiche designs.
"Glad to see I haven't scared you away, Joker." Umie's reply comes out in that automatic, relaxed way thats surprises her, as she keeps her focus to the present.
The cat-like spectacle earns a twinkle in Umie's eyes and a few careful claps of her hand, as Joker straightens.
".... Ahhh. I'm afraid to report that I'm a ghost now." She wiggles the fingers of her right hand for effect.
Following Joker's gaze to her arm, Umie bows her head slightly, with a small nod. "It's okay. It's just a precaution." And a good one, too, considering how she threw herself into another hassle the other day!
Wiggling the fingers of her left hand where they peek from her sling, Umie continues. "The bigger injury was the bullet wound. Though, I'm much more interested in how *you* did. I admit, I was worried."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Joker chuckles at Umie's claim of ghosthood. "Truly? Then I must insist you join us, now that you're a real 'phantom.'" They smirk and wink at her, but soon settle into the gravity of concern. She reassures them, and they aren't fully convinced, but they nod anyway.
"Bullet wounds usually are," they say dryly. Still, from what they know of media depictions of bullet wounds, and that's essentially what an injury from a cognitive world weapon is (is Ruin's gun a model in the real world? Joker should find out for sure), if she can move her hand, she should be fine.
"I ended up in there with Ruin. Little more need be said, beyond that his company is insufferable. Still, he didn't choose to attack me. Small blessings," they state. "Then the Ryouharas two also live?"
They pause at their own question. "Though, speaking of such... That man who accompanied Shiryuu Ryouhara, and died at Ruin's hand..." They bow their head slightly. "What was his name?"
If they're going to have nightmares about it--if they're going to pay the proper respects--then it only feels right to know the name of the man who was murdered that night.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Oh stop it," Umie laughs, as Joker winks. "Being a yurei only makes my troublesome nature that much more powerful~"
However, it's time for business. While the bubble of someone she trusts makes her forget, for a sweet second, that this place is ordinary, the overlay of the sacred and the abhorrence of nightmare threatens to intrude again, the longer she draws out the moment.
Still, Joker wouldn't have been the only one who took a look at that sling. A fractured clavicle was common enough in sports, but the a sling drew more attention than the thankfully hidden and mostly healed gunshot wound under her clothing.
It's still a reminder, even so, how how close everyone was to...
"... You sound like you've stared down a few gun barrels yourself." Oh, if Umie only knew. "So you were brought in too. Just with--" Ruin. _Ruin_.
Maybe Joker will appreciate how wide those eyes get, reflecting the glint of the verdant moon despite the paper mask being in the way. "... ... are you sure you're not the ghost here, Joker?" Experimentally, she pokes the finger of her right hand out, attempting to touch a single messy lock sticking out before drawing it back, whether Joker allows for contact or not.
"He must have felt out of his depth too, to go along with it." Small blessings, indeed.
Especially since they both know what Ruin is capable of, and is willing to do.
"Both of them are well. The nurses who had to deal with Shiryuu constantly trying to break out of his room? Not so much." Umie quirks a small, fond smile, at that. "... He deserves it. Ryouhara-kun..."
The information sits at the back of her throat, her lips willing, but her brain suddenly realizing what she'd volunteer, and has already. "He's fine," she says, with a nod. "As best as I can tell."
Still, Joker has every reason to not even care, and yet, he does, even asking about...
"...." Umie quells a shudder, a winter jacket suddenly doesn't feel like enough. That man's name... Her gaze lowers. "... I don't know. But I can ask, and pass it on."
She didn't even ask about it, Umie thinks. Is she that far gone that she'd refuse to know the name of someone who died like that?
".... Was that the first time you've..."
Her hands settle in her pockets, her breath casting clouds upon the air. "If you... don't mind my asking."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Joker smiles mysteriously and shrugs a bit when Umie speculates on them and gun barrels. They don't precisely appreciate how wide her eyes get, but they do let her reach out and poke them. Given that they've never tried to remove her mask, they trust she won't try that on them, and sure enough, she doesn't.
"He enjoyed some of it. Mostly the parts where he got to be... physical," they reply dryly. "Less so when all those machines swarmed us and tried to carry us off." They don't really know why Ruin chose not to engage them in direct violence, but... he does act differently when the two of them are alone together.
When they have the boldness to reach out and touch him.
Joker isn't eager to see him again, but they do wonder how far he would let them go--a thought they know is dangerous to entertain, but that they can't just dismiss either. It remains the only thing they know will come close to stopping him.
Umie explains how the Ryouharas are doing. What little she says about Shiryuu is illuminating, and Joker notes her realizing it and scaling back on the matter of Kurou. They should see him, too... Though as Ren instead. If he'll see Ren. For now, Joker merely nods.
Umie doesn't know that man's name. They're a little surprised, but only a little. When she starts to ask that question, they shut their eyes and take a deep breath in and out through their nose. Umie has seen someone die before--did it by her own hands, if by accident, if their suspicion is correct. "Yes," they say quietly. "I'm a thief of Treasures, not of lives." They open their eyes to meet her gaze soberly. "Please do," they add, of her asking and passing the name on. "Though not if it will put you in danger."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie's boldness doesn't extend past a curl, for better or worse; she knows Joker is real. There's just the slight depression of a single strand with a single poke of her index finger, and her inner acknowledgment that he didn't move back.
Indeed, Joker is correct: his mask stays on, just as Umie's own remains.
Joker elaborating on the subject of Ruin cures that shocked look, utter surprise turning to sober understanding. "So you saw those machines too... did you see the forge, at all? We barely managed to get there before the place let us out."
She never considered Ruin's safety. "... Did it let the two of you at Narumi Memeorial Hospital too?"
.... Guilt rises in her chest, a constant spectator that seems to naturally follow the topic of death and near misses.
She glances downwards. "If we weren't on a timer of our own, I would have looked for you. So... I owe you an apology."
There's been many things Umie doesn't realize she wears on her sleeve; a demon audience does not train a person on the art of being subtle, especially on the more altruistic of emotions.
He's a thief of treasures, not lives. "... Spoken like someone who'd reach out to help out an ally in her hour of need," she gently observes, with a small grin.
But the Phantom Thieves still feel, as Joker does, as she sees him breathe and steady himself.
What would have been the sort of person she would have wanted, that day? Or *that* day?
.... No, not just that. She has seen a life dissolve in front of her eyes; perhaps that's why a part of her was callous about even asking a name.
But she's not so far gone, she reminds herself, not to notice what's in front of her.
Umie nods quietly, the action feeling so much louder in the still environment.
"... Do you want to talk about it? About... anything."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Yes," Joker replies. "Those machines were trying to drag the two of us to it, I assume to dump us in. However... we managed to escape." They frown. "Something... freed us. I don't know what. Ruin seemed as confused as I was."
Did it let them out at Narumi Memorial Hospital? Joker's eyes widen slightly, and they shake their head. "No. When we escaped, we left through a torii and arrived at Alaya Shrine." They consider Umie for a moment, then add, "And when we arrived, we fell a long ways to a Shinto shrine in moonlight. Where did the three of you enter from? If we never saw each other, we likely fell in at different points."
After all, it was a giant puzzle maze of a dungeon. It seems wholly reasonable to Joker that there's multiple entry points.
They smile slightly at her apology and shake their head. "No need. We each had to trust that the other would be able to handle themselves." They smile, too, at her commentary on reaching out, and shrug again. "You reached out to me, as I recall," they point out, but otherwise don't deny it.
That smile fades, though, when she offers a listening ear. They consider her and bow their head. It... might be good to talk to someone who was there. They don't know how to talk about it, though. They take a moment to sort through it in their head, translate it into how Joker would speak, and then begin to quietly speak.
"I realize it isn't my task to save everyone--especially those who choose to treat with organizations like the New World Order. I expect that man who died has killed others himself; perhaps he was prepared to be killed one day also. My first and foremost priority is to protect the helpless. However... I also can't stand idle when another is in dire need of help."
They lift their head to meet Umie's eyes anew. "The Phantoms don't kill. That's one of our rules. To not kill, and truly mean it, also means to not allow others to be killed in our presence if we can help it."
And... they couldn't help it.
They couldn't do anything to stop Ruin--or Shiryuu, or Kurou, who would have killed Ruin without a second thought had he not had the strength to not only survive but beat them back.
"It... bothers me, that there was nothing I could do."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Those red brown eyes widen again behind the mask, for a brief moment. Ah. Should she tell Joker?
Trick question! She's already talking. "We saw something like a demon or shadow get dragged there and turned into... building material." Her lips fall flat. "... I guess... maybe the place saw you as worthy of letting go? That's what happened to us." Her expression relaxes, as she carefully turns her head, trying to toss a stray strand of blonde hair from over her eyes. "... So Alaya Shrine... maybe there's a connection, but... a hospital and a shrine..."
Where did they enter from? "The side we came in from looked like the Mizunagi. Shiryuu was ready to run in to look for a sick bay for supplies." The strand of hair shifts back over, leading Umie to carefully raise her right arm to tease it back instead. "Thankfully we weren't willing to let him go off and get killed again." She sighs. "... There's a lot of things I don't understand about that space. Did you two see a..." her tongue perches on the words like an awkward bird, unable to find purchase on a steady reed.
There are tons of shrines, like the one they stand in, now, or the one that Joker and Ruin exited through.
"... It doesn't matter. There is another issue: someone's been playing with rumors to connect my family to the Ryouharas, down to the Mizunagi. I can't confirm it since... well, for many reasons. I'm wondering if maybe... something of that... is involved."
"I realize your team is busy, but I'd... appreciate it if some of you can investigate it sometime. If it's a Palace... well." She reflexively nearly shrugs, but stops herself. "It didn't feel like it, however. But if there's Treasure, go for it."
She tries not to think about what she just casually offered.
She doesn't have to, as her focus comes to the state of Joker's own heart-- that is, the feelings he's dealing with, seemingly circling through his head as he falls silent.
"... I did." She offers as a small acknowledgment, and a smile, before doing likewise.
Umie closes her eyes; when she opens then anew, she finds Joker looking at her, his words firm, determined.
It's admirable, to hear Joker reaffirm what he said to her once, now in full. The last few months haven't changed his or the Phantoms' stance.
She is silent, sorting through her thoughts, shifting through her own experiences, even if she can't claim to be as noble.
"... That hurt might never go away, completely." Her words fall soft against the cold grounds, her gaze looking up towards the still sky and its moon.
"... But I think you're doing the right thing. You're choosing to humanize that person, instead of letting them stay anonymous. You've chosen to see the humanity in people who have hurt you and your friends, as well-- both in Shiryuu and Kurou, and in Ruin, even."
Her gaze falls back down towards Joker's own. "Perhaps that's also what it means to be the Phantom Thieves of Hearts."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Joker listens quietly to Umie as she describes how she and the Ryouharas saw something else get dropped into the forge, but no attempt made on them. "Hmm. Perhaps," they say of the hypothesis she suggests. The three of them entered from what looked like the Mizunagi... Joker holds a hand to their chin. "Hmm. And the Mizunagi crashed into Narumi Memorial Hospital, did it not? Perhaps that's the connection--ship to hospital, shrine to shrine."
There's a lot about that space they didn't understand either. They frown at her when she starts to ask a question and changes her mind. "Say it," they state, tucking their hands into their pockets. If she really insists it doesn't matter, though, they'll let it go. Instead, they mull on this rumor she mentions. They'll have to ask Hibari if she knows or has heard anything about it.
"It didn't feel like a Palace," they reply, looking back up. "If it is, it behaves unlike any Palace we've ever seen." Granted, they currently have a sample size of four, which is hardly a large pool, but still. "I've already let my compatriots know about it and warned them to be cautious should they explore it themselves, but I have a few more contacts. I'll see if they know anything about that rumor."
They explain their trauma as best they can. Umie is silent for a moment too, and they wait for her. Her response... helps, actually, and they smile again slightly as they tilt their head in acknowledgement. "Thank you. For both your honesty, and your encouragement." They shake their head. "Don't mistake me--I still consider those three our enemies. However, that doesn't mean I want to see any of them die, either."
They know how relieved they'd felt when Shiryuu kicked Ruin in the head and his neck hadn't been broken. There's really only one reasonable explanation for that, considering what Ruin had just done at that point.
"...What about yourself, Umie Akabane?" they add. "How are you holding up after that experience?"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"I can't tell if it's the same ship. They're not letting anyone close by it, either; entire wing's cordoned off. Another night or two and I'll have to see if I can slip in during the Dark Hour." She states this with confidence; this involves a goal, after all. "
'Say it.' Umie's lips can't help but slide in an impish, lopsided grin, which melts away as fast as it appears. Just one of the subtle movements, like a snowflake falling against one's outstretched hand in an hour that has none.
"... A red shrine, inside a red room." Her expression grows vague, her lips held back in a frown. "Don't let it see you."
She tries to make the warning feel casual, but there were many things there, some of which only Ruin and Joker experienced. "Is there anything else you remember about the insides?"
At least it isn't a Palace. Umie lets out a long breath. "Honestly, I'm kind of glad. I'm not sure if I want to know who'd be helming one like this."
He's already let them know, and will look into the rumor. "Thank you. There's... a lot of unknowns here." Her lips fall into a thin line. "I..." Why does that feel like such a weight off her chest? It's not going to go away until she faces it herself-- all of it.
"I don't know what I did. I thought I knew how this all worked, but I don't. ... I don't like it. The more I look, the more I don't like it." The hitch in Umie's breath would have been more subtle, save for the white puff of air that highlights each word and hesitation like Morse code.
Despite how it feels, to this close to being honest with how she felt, it feels like letting Joker understand a little more.
And he, also, lets some of what has been on his mind as well.
"Of course. I'm glad I could help, a little. I think it'd be good to open up to your teammates as well. They'll probably have to struggle with the same feelings, sooner or later, if you're all following the same path."
The comment on the three gives Joker a surprised cackle from Umie. "You realize you're just speaking their language, right? Shiryuu probably is pissed he didn't get to fight you directly." She shifts to one foot. "You have my permission, by the way. Beat his ass, and then I'll get to dote and annoy him back to health for being an idiot."
It's affectionate! Really.
The smirk flees as Joker turns the question back to her. She breathes.
"... My hesitation." SHe wets her lips, realizing that fragment won't be enough.
"I chose to stay by you and Ryouhara-kun. WIth Ruin distracted, I could have darted in and took him by surprise. You've seen me do it. But it was... Ruin. I chose the easier route."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"I see." Joker thinks it would be damned weird if it weren't the same ship, even if one is just a cognitive version of the other, but they're sure not going to tell Umie not to make sure. "Be careful. I'm sure the NWO is monitoring during the Dark Hour as well."
Though, silently, they have to wonder how much Umie is still afraid of the NWO at this point.
A red shrine in a red room? Joker looks briefly puzzled before shaking their head. "No, I saw nothing like that. Besides the forge, there was a great and ever-changing puzzle box we had t enter. Inside we found a moonlit shrine in a starless night, a battlefield of abandoned weapons overseen by a great metal guardian, a shadow play of whispering, gossiping women, a series of locked gates... and the recurring presence and laughter of a girl. The Mizunagi apparently 'belongs' to her in some way, so if it is a Palace, she must be its Ruler."
To say nothing of the beautiful roll of star silk they found in their inventory after escaping--a consolation prize, apparently, after their escape from the forge. It's happened, though usually after a boss fight. Still, Joker doesn't sound like they think it's a Palace. It's its own thing, created, or perhaps summoned, by... whatever Umie and Shiryuu did together, though they're fairly sure they know what. However, then Umie herself says she doesn't know what she did, and they give her a thoughtful frown.
"Whatever it was you did, Shiryuu Ryouhara invoked what felt like the same sort of power. It was, as far as I could tell, the two of you together that called the Mizunagi into being." A beat. "Was that, by chance, the Mark you explained to me before?" It felt so similar to the Old Maid's power, so if it is the same... that means Shiryuu is also Marked. That might be one explanation for why he's so taken with her, or at least part of it. The seed for his interest, perhaps.
Their dark eyes soften a bit when she suggests they talk to their teammates about what they witnessed. "I mentioned it a bit... but you're right. A passing mention isn't the same as opening up," they admit. That's something they've struggled with for a long time, and they know that seeing Minako continue to keep her secrets made them backslide on that some. It felt like permission to continue to do that themself when the reason they started to try to be more open was keeping up the same behavior that hurt her. That's no reason to shut out their closest friends, though. Some things can stay private, but this isn't a burden they should try to hold all by themself--especially since Umie's right. Sooner or later, it's likely one or several of them will witness similar horrors.
Umie's cackle and her pointing out that those three love violence gets Joker to heave a dramatic sigh. (Truthfully, they enjoy violence themself too, much like the rest of The Phantoms, as the recent fight against Shadow Kenzo underscored for them. They just don't want to do a violence to actual human beings as opposed to Shadows and Demons--not when it might end up a life-or-death conflict.) "I appreciate that," they say dryly of her permission.
Her hesitation. Joker gives Umie a questioning look, and they don't have to wait long for her to explain. "I see." A beat. "No, that was wise. It's extremely difficult to take Ruin by surprise. I've tried it, with Mona's help. He only pretended to be fooled, and we suffered the consequences when he decided to stop pretending." They shake their head. "I understand, though. It's difficult not to think 'what if?' after such situations."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It *should* be the same ship. Logic would dictate it. ,,, But there have been a lot of things that have failed logic, as of late.
It would be logical for Umie to be a little more afraid of the NWO, for that matter.
.... It also helps to have friends and allies you want to impress by looking fearless in the face of danger. "Ehh." One eyelid closes in a casual wink, her lips quirking in a small smirk. "I may not be a Phantom Thief, but the Dark Hour is *my* time, not theirs."
It is there for them every night: a still beautiful night with no stars.
"... A starless..." A shrine? Gossiping women. A metal guardian over a battlefield of weapons. A laughing girl. Something like fear is allowed to peek through in Umie's eyes, that confidence gone. No, it can't be. How?
However, with it, Joker gives a gift: further information, from what they saw. "... So that's why..." The stain of kegare in the air, the bleeding from his right eye.
And so, Umie gives a small pearl of information back. "He's got a curse of his own, in a way, so you're partially correct." Shiryuu *could* still have the Mark, but this seems to fit. "His right eye is special. I'm not sure on the specifics, but I can tell you that, if that iris changes color, or if it starts to tear up or bleed, you need to watch out."
It was the two of them, together. Umie ponders over this with a frown. "... I.... wasn't thinking of escalating things so quickly in our relationship," she says, with a wry tone. "But I guess summoning demons wasn't going to necessarily help me, either, unless one of them could heal me."
That wry line of a frown turns to a sharpening little grin, that only expands as Joker humors her back.
But there's hesitation, as well. Umie's now serious expression lightens as Joker says it was a wise decision.
"It's also... It's... Ruin," she repeats, only this time, she explains further. "With other agents, it felt like the pushback would be only on me, and... that's okay. But Ruin..."
The name fits, for a reason. "... The more I fight back, the more danger I put my family in," she admits, softly. "We're not on speaking terms, and not all of that was just because of a rocky relationship. But eventually, the Order will call my bluff. In one way, they likely have, if they're the ones behind the rumor." They'd know about the connection between her and Shiryuu and Kurou, after all. Of course, when facing him directly, such considerations fell by the wayside, but Joker likely knows a few people like that, in their life...
"That's why they can never find out who any of you are, because then they'll have that power over all of you too."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Joker sees that hint of fear on Umie's face as they describe what they saw in Mizunagi. She definitely knows something. She ought to, if the Mizunagi was created and/or summoned by at least half of her power. However, they choose not to push the matter in the moment. They simply give her a steady, knowing look and let her choose what to say, if anything. Maybe that'll be now; maybe it'll be at some point in the future.
So: not the Mark, but some other sort of curse. Joker had noticed the mismatch of colors in Shiryuu's eyes before, but hadn't thought anything of it beyond that it was unusual. So his right eye is 'special,' huh... Thinking back, they believe they might have seen that during that battle, but they'd been so caught up with Kurou and Ruin that they couldn't pay much attention to it. "I'll keep that in mind."
God. Shiryuu is so chuuni they can't even believe it.
As for demons, they could have potentially formed a wall of bodies to slow Ruin down while everyone else got away--but Joker doesn't say that out loud. They don't see a problem with fighting and killing most Shadows or Demons, since to the best of their knowledge they just go back to the Sea of Unconsciousness or whatever Igor called it, but it feels like a step too far to suggest summoning them just to die.
But Umie explains her fear that Ruin, and the recent rumors about 'Unohime' and the connection between the Ryouharas and the Akabanes, sources back to the NWO--and that they might eventually target her family. Joker nods slowly. They're on bad terms with their own family, but that doesn't mean they'd stand by and do nothing if their parents got targeted--especially if it was because of them. They quirk a faint half-smile at her last remark, though.
"Indeed. That's the life of a phantom thief, though," they reply. "Our justice is one that doesn't play nice with the law. Hiding our identities is part and parcel with that."
In that light, it's no wonder negotiations broke down with SEES, a group very much about organization and rules. Oh well. At least they tried. Now the ball is in their court.
"I'll leave it at that for now, then--unless you have anything else you wish to say," they say pointedly as they take a half-step away.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It's like two forces: that need to say more, to include Joker in on what is there, and the need to keep things secret, and let them exist on separate platforms.
To acknowledge those locks, those locked doors, means infecting others with her delusions.
'I mentioned it a bit... but you're right. A passing mention isn't the same as opening up,' Joker had said.
'I'll keep that in mind.' Yes, Joker. Shiryuu is *that* chuuni. But it's part of why Umie finds him so adorable.
... As well as the deep wells of strength, flaws, and complexity Shiryuu shows beneath those quirks.
Every single person, so full of mysteries and locked doors. Things facing outward, like masks, protecting what's inside... Much the ones Joker and Umie wear now.
"Ah, so selfless," Umie murmurs with a mischievous tilt. "It must so difficult, being fashionably mysterious at all times."
But... there was a moment, when that mask (not the literal one) broke. He had called her Akabane-san, even Umie, if maybe just because of that shorter time to speak.
"I think another 'thank you' is in order, don't you think?" Umie says, tilting her chin, as Joker takes a step back. "I'd treat you to a meal, but I'm afraid there's nothing open at this time of night. I suppose... you'll have to do with my gratitude."
But is that all she wishes to say? Her eyes are on the half-step Joker takes.
If there's anything she wishes to say, Joker had said. He's already deduced that she hears something, on account of her Mark, much like how Sudou did.
"... She calls herself Maihime, but... I've always called her Mai-chan. Since I was little."
To say the name is enough of a risk. She have expects something to come running down at them, or some type of punishment she could feel
"... Letting people in on what you're dealing with is hard for you, isn't it?" Letting her gaze rise, Umie offers a skewed grin. "I guess... it's like that for me, too. But it'd be terrible for me to give advice like that... and not take it myself, wouldn't it? To that end, I think it's a good idea, opening up to them. Even if it's hard."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Joker chuckles. "Ever so difficult, alas, but I make do." They regard her as she offers another thank you. "The thought alone is enough for me. You're welcome, Umie Akabane."
It is different now. The fact that they'd called her Akabane-san, called her Umie, does hint that they way they act here and the way they think inside aren't the same. However, it's as she thinks: masks upon masks. They're back to 'Umie Akabane,' that way of addressing others by their full names.
"..." They're silent when she names the voice inside her head. It's... strange, to think that such a thing has a name. Stranger still that Umie understands some of what they're going through--though knowing what they do about her, it really shouldn't be.
"It is," they acknowledge quietly. "I thank you for your trust." They turn fully away. "Then may we both follow that sage advice of yours."
In a blur of motion, they leap up, springboard off the torii above, and vanish into the night. A smaller smear of darkness might just leap up out of the woods to join them, but from this distance, it's hard to tell for sure.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It's perhaps a necessary thing, given what Umie just said. Little rebellious 'runaway' or not, Umie is connected to the Order in a direct way, through Shiryuu and Kurou.
If Ruin had found out, Umie considers, he'd take advantage of that without a second thought.
.... or would he, if he was willing to move through that maze with Joker? Just like when she underestimated Ruin's anger when she taunted him (not her smartest moment, considering she was scared of him before), how much does she really know?
Well, with luck, Umie won't have to ponder any further than she has to, nor will Joker.
"...." A maze of corridors, locked doors, walled off sequences, whispering, gossip, without a single soul in sight.
She could say a million things to try to tailor that possibility of Joker's view of her being blemished, but Umie takes a mental step back and lets the 'detective' do his own assessment.
Isn't it strange, when you find those little similarities?
Or how two words is enough, to acknowledge it, without having to say any more.
There's a relieved grin at Joker's back when they turn. "Good luck."
Ah, that's not a great thing to say, considering Umie's own, but she lets the sentiment behind those words stand.
She does, however, add three more words: "Take care, you."
Watching Joker depart, The blonde waits, a gremlin smile as she sees what she suspects to be a second blur-- always suspect at this hour, but she chooses to believe it to be one thing. "... You too, Mona," she says, mostly to herself.
She takes a breath, letting it flow through her lips as she turns away from the forest and towards the torii gates. Taking a step forward, she walks through it, and towards the massive main shrine.
She'll fail, and rush back to the entrance, but it's a little further than she's gotten, before.