2026-07-27: Of Feathers and Bones

• Log: Of Feathers and Bones
• Cast: Umie Akabane, Kurou Ryouhara
• Where: Umie's Apartment
• OOC Date: July 27, 2026
• IC Date: December 16, 2012
• Summary: Oyakodon is on the menu as Umie makes another home-cooked meal for her and her quiet roommate, Kurou Ryouhara. The two unpack some of the events that have happened in the past few weeks, as well as discover some similarities between them and their Personas, as well as some differences Umie is determined to fix, for Kurou's sake.

---

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    It seemed like a good idea, after the past few weeks.
    
    Besides, Umie was in the mood for some oyakodon, even if she knew it likely wouldn't be as picture-perfect without the proper oyakodon pan.
    
    The chicken was on sale when she picked it up, and Umie still needed to pick up some green onions, just in case there were none at the apartment. The eggs were another thing she needed to buy, having used up the ones she had on some tamagoyaki that didn't turn out that well, but were at least still edible.
    
    With Kurou on hand to help, it goes smoothly; Umie's sure she would have been more lax in her prep if not for him right there.
    
    A portion of the yellow mixture of egg, chicken, onions, and green onions is laid atop each bowl of white rice, which is carried over to the table. The TV is set on mute, playing an evening variety show.
    
    Outside the frosted window, snow is likely falling, if any manage to get into the alleyway.
    
    "Anything you feel like drinking, Ryouhara-kun? I picked up some soda for me, but there's still some bottled water and some juice." Would juice really work well with oyakodon? Probably not, but she's tried weirder combos before." Umie sets the table with chopsticks and napkins, placing a can of soda for herself.
    
    Taking off her apron and setting it on the hook, she sits down to her meal, just about to pick up her chopsticks--
    
    ah, yes. She needs to be a good example. She puts her hands together.
    
    "... Itadakimasu."
    
    The chicken is a little chewy but still savory, but the eggs are just right: not too chewy, not too runny. "That went a lot better than the last time I've made this. I'm glad we weren't out of mirin."

<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.

Kurou proves to once again be a diligent helper, and this time he doesn't end up threatening property damage. While Kurou, as always, has his Kurou-face, there is still a sparkle in his unmoving eyes as he watches eggs crack and cook within the brothy chicken mixture.

Somehow, that expressionless glimmer is still amplified once the meal is in front of him and he gently runs his chopsticks through the golden meal.

"I am all right for now, thank you." The way he's eyeing that soup, perhaps he's not interested in washing away the flavors anytime soon...

Juice will still be there once it's done, after all.

Normally one to wait for Umie to begin eating, Kurou has nearly forgotten himself in a homemade oyakodon trance. But Umie sets an example that is cuttingly effectively. Kurou mirrors the hand press, and echoes the sentiment in his usual monotone.

"Itadakimasu."

He manages to wait a polite moment further before beginning to eat, his chopsticks lingering at his mouth after the first bite. Some have tried to insult him by declaring him akin to a pet, but... it's difficult not to nearly see a metaphorical tail wagging in this moment.

It has not been an easy past few weeks.

But as the frost on the window makes being inside feel warmer, perhaps the comfort of this meal, too, holds more meaning. It is one of the unbelievable, wondrous treasures of 'this world'.

His head tilts a little at the idea of Umie's food not turning out well. "So you practice...?" Kurou looks back into the eggy chicken bowl. "That must be why Akabane-san's meals are the best kind..."

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    To Umie, it may be Kurou's lack of emotion that amplifies the slight colors of those small gives in his expression: the twinkle in his eyes, the dilation of his pupils, his dedication to watching how each egg is cracked open and emptied over the bowl. "... If you crack it like this," she says, with a small smile, "it makes it easier to get the yolk out cleanly."
    
    It will always be overshadowed by the quiet violence of his motion in battle, but that seems to be a given for both of them, each in their own way.
    
    Umie's life as a Persona-User began a violence done upon the soul; the Badb is a part of her. She delights in it, when she becomes committed to the flow of a fight. Every yolk will have a piece of shell in it, no matter how carefully she cracks the egg.

    "Alright." Sitting down and saying thanks, Umie catches how Kurou waits, as well as how those chopsticks linger in his mouth.
    
    She's half-tempted to reach over and muss his hair, right then and there, due to the accumulation of cute aggression.
    
    However, in this case, she is merciful.
    
    'So you practice?' "Nothing like that," Umie admits, with a lopsided grin. "My parents got out of the habit of family meals by the time I hit high school, so most of the time, I was on my own meal-wise." She opens her soda and sips it. "We had a much larger kitchen, though... I admit, I miss having everything I needed right there. But..."
    
    She didn't have anyone to cook for, she admits to herself.
    
    "I don't think it was nearly as fun back then," she says, instead. "How's your meal?"

     How are you holding up, she nearly says, but holds off on that question, for now.

<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.

Kurou nods slowly, taking mental notes. A clean yolk. He watches with a keen interest in every domestic maneuver, despite that he is still the same boy that thrust his blade for Ruin's throat as if he'd have felt nothing if he'd hit his mark. Or maybe it's because of it, that his moment is what it is.

Gashadokuro hungers. For blood. For violence.

For life.

But in this moment, Kurou is oblivious to the mercy he is granted and the fate he nearly fails to escape.

His demeanor turns thoughtful through Umie's explanation. On her own since high school, without family meals... "... Oh. Then... we are not too different." Though Kurou had no access to a large kitchen, like she did. Or maybe much of a kitchen at all.

"It is delicious. Thank you, Akabane-san."

He eats another bite, pausing. Where she holds off, Kurou's own guilt begins to set in with the silence. To be able to enjoy this warmth...

"... Ah," he begins, unsure how to begin beyond a single utterance. But all things must begin with a single utterance of one stripe or another, mustn't they?

"... I should apologize. While you were away, Ama -- that is, Ren came to see me."

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    Umie went into the struggle for the Dragon Line being angry. While she dressed it up as being irritated over her shift being ruined, in truth, it was fear of the supernatural intruding into the mundane. Seeing Toki feel compelled to close down her business for the evening as patrons likewise moved out felt unnatural.
    
    Worst of all, Toki was doing exactly what Umie would have wanted in a case like this; it wasn't like her friend was being mind-controlled, either. It was just a natural reaction to the very thing Umie kept a secret from her, proving that Umie should never let her know anything about it.
    
    Umie's anger transitioned to malicious pride when the fight leaned in her 'sides favor, and when she landed the last blow on a robot that looked at the Bride (or Groom?) as her mother, Umie took pleasure in it.
    
    Like the large shadows in Aoba Park and in other cases, there was always a sense that Umie was not supposed to be there; that her presence was unnatural. Sinful.
    
    No wonder she could see kegare, now.
    No wonder, that Umie looks at Kurou and feels protective; she can't stop herself, when she sees someone who has been hurt by something or someone.
    
    The Badb hungers for blood and violence, and most of all, it hungers to be heard, and acknowledged for what was done to that voice.
    
    'Then... we are not too different.' Umie considers this. "Because your mom was in prison, or...? I realize... the Ryouhara family's a complicated one." Even without rumors, hohoho
    
    Kurou thanks her, and Umie grins. "Thank *you* for helping me," she says in turn. "It's pretty nice, having a helper. SOmeday... you'll have to show me how to make tea."
    
    'I should apologize.' "Mmn?" Umie sounds, through a bite of her meal. The first name is noted, with a bit of a prideful thrill for Kurou.

    "He did, huh?" Umie's chopsticks slow for a moment out of mild, if pleasant, surprise. "That little rascal. Catching you off guard~" She takes a sip of her drink. "I know you had complicated feelings about it... I take it things went well?"
    
    After all, it's Ren. He's determined.

<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.

He has been raised for violence, and he is comfortable within it. Yet where and how it is aimed... Shiryuu has been Kurou's only lifeline in that regard.

And, even so, he cannot guarantee where his blade will next be pointed.

Kurou nods as Umie asks after his situation. "Yes. She is not... particularly domestic," he ventures, and his eyes glance as if he expects she might hear him in this moment and take offense. "But without her, there was... no eating together. With anyone." He rests his chopsticks against the edge of his bowl without relinquishing them.

"... Complicated," he repeats, slowly nodding again in agreement. "It is not easy to remember those times."

Or the ones before. Was it just him and his mother for family meals, without ever even having a guest? That does not feel correct. Now the experiences and memories are vivid. This one sinks hot into his brain through the warmth of each mouthful, and the texture recorded with each bite of his teeth...

Receiving gratitude himself, there's a look back at Umie that almost qualifies as shy, if one didn't know better -- and maybe 'knowing better' means knowing that may be the most accurate description after all. "If you like, then... whenever you may like."

But at Kurou's own confession, Umie seems surprised, but not --

"... You are not upset? I... was not sure it was a good idea..." Kurou looks down, voice quieter. "I told him as much. But Ren is... someone with strong convictions."

And in the case of whether or not they should stop being friends, theirs proved stronger than Kurou's.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    'She is not... particularly domestic,' Kurou says.
    
    In truth, there is a kneejerk flattening of Umie's lips, but the timing of Kurou's glance lands a critical hit, as expected of a Ryouhara. Umie finds herself laughing, instead. "I mean, there's cooking because you want to, and then there's cooking because it's expected of you."
    
    'But without her...' "... Mmn." She settles back in her seated position, her gaze thoughtful. "Do you have any idea when..." When she's getting out.
    
    Does Kurou want her out of prison? Umie's never got the idea that he disliked her at all; in fact, she gets the sense that he does love her.
    
    .... It just... feels like there's something she's missing here, and that it may not be as simple as Kurou's mom getting free. After all, she doesn't really know that much about her, or if that lack of corrospondence is due to the justice system being what it is.
    
    As well as... what she's there for, in the first place, and whether it has anything to do with the parts of himself that Kurou wants to change.
    
    "Then... remember this meal, until then." She takes another bite of her oyakodon. "And if I can teach you how to make it, then maybe..." He could make it for his mother.
    
    Again, she feels like she's introducing a false hope in Kurou, no difference than the many delusions she leaves behind, just by existing.
    
    If that thought was going to go down a dark path, it's diverted by that shy glance. Stifling the need to just audibly fawn over that rare little wisp of expression, Umie manages a nod. "Maybe after your exams," she says.
    
    At the topic of Ren, Umie shakes her head. "No. We can only do so much. If Amamiya-kun went out of his way to do that, then..."
    
    Ahhh, Ren. No wonder he's grown on her so quickly.
    
    "I had a talk with a friend of mine that made me think better of it," Umie admits. That friend being Akechi does not matter at all!! "If Amamiya-kun has the potential to manifest a Persona, it'll happen. And when it happens, we can make sure he has the help he needs. And if he doesn't..."
    
    She thinks of Ren again, on Akechi's doorstep.
    
    "I think pushing him away would be worse." She breaths a sigh. "Did he remember anything? It's possible that his mind might fail to remember things after the fact."

<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.

Kurou blinks a few times with the flatness turned to laughter. He is, unfortunately, a little dense when it comes to certain social expectations given his own were so unusual, both in his mother's care and after he left it. "... There was... a lot of grilled fish. She said... food tasted better when it still had a face."

Just what kind of person is this woman?

But Umie almost asks as question, and Kurou follows its trailing silence into his own wordlessness. His grip on his chopsticks begins to tremble, clinking into the edge of the bowl before he rests it there, holding it forcibly still.

"... Never," finally says. "Not with... what she was framed for."

He lets out a long breath, near silent, and then begins to eat again. Remember this meal. "Mm," he agrees, closing his eyes and letting himself relax into it. After a moment, he looks back into it. 'Than maybe...' "She would like it, I think," Kurou muses. "She would say... a mother should get eaten if the child is."

That might be the most telling thing he's said about his mother so far. It is also telling that Kurou said his mother is never being released, yet speaks as if he might still make her tea and oyakodon.

He just has to learn, first. Oyakodon from Umie to Kurou, and tea from Kurou to Umie.

But the talk of Ren has Kurou more ill at ease, tension in his shoulders. Ren awakening to a Persona...

"Akabane-san would be a very helpful person, in that case."

Could Kurou be? He had already mentioned it to Ren: his own help isn't always what someone deserves. Yet Umie saying not to push him away is like a stone pulled from Kurou's chest, making him lighter.

"He claims he doesn't." Is that skepticism? There is no world where Kurou simply sees through the Will of Rebellion (not that Umie knows about it either). "But he is perceptive and quick thinking, so I think he senses more to it."

Kurou's gaze drops to his meal, idly stirring.

"... I hope that is all it is. Or that he would tell us if he were experiencing things like the Dark Hour without Persona."

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    For better or worse, it's not that all of Umie's reactions are necessarily 'normal' when she's relaxed in this twilight self: neither the 'normal, boring adult' she jokes she is, or the Persona User that is everything she asks herself to be, wants to be, and needs to be in order to survive. And yet, she is both.
    
    And Kurou...
    
    Who is Kurou, in this moment?
    
    '... food tasted better when it still had a face.' A devoted son?
    'Not with... what she was framed for.' Someone who was wronged?
    'She would like it, I think.' A boy, longing for family?
    'She would say... a mother should get eaten if the child is.' Someone whose idea of family may have been irretrievably distorted, perhaps through the memories that are beyond his reach.
     
     "Ryouhara-kun..."
     
     Umie thinks of her own mother: a businesswoman, who seemed more interested in that role than one of 'wife' or 'mother'. Not cold, but forever expecting more of her daughter, never one to express warmth naturally. Umie could never say that she got the sense her mother hated her, or didn't love her.
     
    If Kurou said the same, would it be because if what he wanted from her, what he thinks she'd be like, or from what he knows?
    
    ".... I can only hope, if it came to that. But it'd mean he'd probably learn about my Mark," she says, looking down at the dissected yellow yolk among the chicken. "I'd... want someone like Amamiya-kun to not see me as..."
    
    She struggles for words. "I guess, I could still keep that a secret. Not many Persona Users know about it. So... he could still see me as his work senpai. Just, also a Persona User."
    
    She makes that compromise.
    
    "But he'd also need someone like you. Someone closer to his age, who isn't going to talk his ear off," she says wryly, with a smirk. "I'll have to reach out to him, either way, so I'm glad he's reached out to you."
    
    But what if Ren already has one? Someone as perceptive as he is just might.
    
    "It's possible, if he can mask it from my senses." She considers. "It's not that difficult; I'm not as powerful as Navigators are."
    
    Umie looks down at her bowl, a thoughtful frown on her lips. "As for hiding... that's possible too," she concedes. "But I only say that because I hid for a while before I revealed myself to anyone." She looks up, picking another piece of chicken with her chopsticks. "It was a lot easier, a few years ago. Not as many around."
    
    "But if he was hiding... it'd be because he has a reason to." She looks up to Kurou. "... Like I did. Maybe he doesn't want to feel like he's a burden on people. Or maybe, he just wants to be able to remain in his normal life."

<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.

Kurou does not remember much of his father. It is one of the few things he struggles to remember that he does not miss. His mother is remembered as a mother, but not at all as a wife. As a boy, there are gendered expectations that Kurou is privileged to be oblivious to. As Kureha's son, there are different ideas of what a mother should be like in its place. As Kurou... there is static where information should be.

Even if Kurou thinks himself a simple person, there are layers, some buried and beyond sight from others.

Even if he thinks Umie easy to understand, she has many facets, some he may never see.

This is something he knows, and yet... for a moment, he does not understand her hesitation.

"As...?" he ventures as Umie trails off. "... Everyone is entitled to their secrets," he says instead of prying further.

As for Ren, Umie makes good points, even Kurou does not fully grasp every point she makes about peers. In this matter, he's willing to take her word for it. Umie would know much better than he would.

"Ren seems to believe more in 'this world' than 'that world'... So... hopefully that is enough to keep him from ever getting stuck in 'that world', even if he sees parts of it..."

Even this heavy conversation does not keep Kurou from taking moments to enjoy bites of his meal, his eyes lighting up slightly each time, like he's forgotten how good it would taste.

"... It was easier back then," he agrees, belatedly.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    Umie would be the last person to ever say Kurou was a simple person, and it wouldn't be said just to reassure him, either.
    
    ... Nor would Umie consider herself easy to understand, especially when she has trouble understanding herself.
    
    "It's not that it's a secret," Umie says. "There's a lot of things I don't know about the Mark. Or what happens to people. When I brush up against weird things I don't know about, like those giant shadows that have popped up in Sumaru, or other things, it's like there's something about it, and about me, that is not welcome. And with this thing that happened-- I realize Shiryuu used his powers, but I did too." That much was confirmed by Joker. "And what the other Marked have shown themselves capable of."
    
    She had told Joker 'she didn't like it'.
    'I don't like it' is just another way for Umie to admit 'I'm afraid'.
    
    But fear is a forbidden emotion, opening her up for attacks from beyond, and disabling her own capacity to remain in control. "... I'd like him to see me as... someone he could go to, if he needed help."
    
    Believing in 'this world' than 'that world'. "You mean the Order's world? Or just... the supernatural world, in general." Or maybe the 'world' that the Mark seems to compel people into believing?
    
    It was easier back then. "... Yes. But it was also lonelier," Umie admits.

    "Setting the topic of Amamiya-kun aside..." she begins, before taking a drink of her soda, "what I also want to know about... is you."
    
    Coming at this directly may not lead to the results she wants, but all the same, perhaps she could take a cue from her young co-worker and just ask.
    
    "I've chatted with Shiryuu a bit on how he's feeling, though I haven't gotten back to him over that weird rumor that's cropped up. You, on the other hand... You've had to deal with a lot."
    
    She leans forward, placing an elbow on the table. "If there's anything you need to talk about, or think over, I'm here. That goes for... uh, questions, you may have for me." She clears her throat. "There's... certain things that I've managed to figure out, from talking to Joker-san."

     Her eyes look low. "... He asked about you. I didn't say, since I wanted to respect your own privacy. And, well, I don't want to get into a habit of it."

     Kurou *is* still an enemy of the Phantom Thieves. "Ruin is still out there, as well. So... watch out for that."

<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.

The world is a terrifyingly complex place... and yet one Kurou often distills into strange simplicity when it comes time to act, for better or for worse.

Kurou falls silent again, listening to Umie's explanation with such attentiveness that he fails to eat any of his meal while listening. "... I see," he finally says, and there's a gravity to it, like he might actually understand something. "... But... to have something like that... and still help others... Doesn't that make Akabane-san even more capable...?"

Afraid or not afraid, Umie helps. Mark or no Mark, Umie helps.

"The supernatural one. Things like the 'Dark Hour' or Mementos, or Tartarus..." And other spaces that appear from time to time. "The world where demons are real and death hunts you, if you take too long."

Kurou's eyelids fall halfway in something approaching discontent, if he did not almost look sleepy. "...Though, the Order would be bad, too."

Rather than Ren, Umie turns the topic to Kurou. He sits up a little straighter. He's not been sure yet what to make of the rumor. Shiryuu is the one who usually thinks of such things, and how they should handle it. And if it's Umie's feelings they're waiting on, then Kurou will give her time for that.

What he might need to think about is a far more foreign question. Kurou blinks once, and then does not blink again for a long moment.

"... Akabane-san and Shiryuu-san and Ren are all right," he says, using Shiryuu's name only so it's clear who he means, and because he does not think Umie will find fault in it. "So... I do not think there is much to talk about."

Kurou hesitates, trying to think on how Ren navigates conversations. Listening a lot, but asking the right questions. It's difficult to emulate, even thinking on it now...

"I am curious to know what Joker asked, but I have no interest in compromising your trust with your contact." Kurou taps his chopsticks to his lips. "Ah, but -- Akabane-san, too... can ask questions. Or. Talk."

Ruin is still out there. Kurou's head hangs a little. "... Mm. I missed..." He nods some for her warning. "I will."

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    'Doesn't that make Akabane-san even more capable...?' The comment is said like it was an undeniable truth.
    
    To thoughtlessly deny it would be denying Kurou's own trust in her, Umie realizes, no matter how much she wants to.
    
    "I'm honored that you think of me that way," Umie says instead, quietly. "I'll try to live up to those words." The words feel heavier than she would usually use, but they seem to fit, given Kurou's own demeanor in this moment.
    
    Even more surprising is Kurou's view of the supernatural, especially compared to how Shiryuu would color such concepts so elegantly, using the moon as a metaphor.
    
    "Have you ever talked to Shiryuu about this?" Umie wonders aloud. "I can see what you mean, though. It can be freeing, but one mistake means you die. It's hard to think how close I've come, back when I was still learning." Her eyes look down towards her meal, once more. "I've... made mistakes, and seen things people weren't supposed to see."
    
    "But when I heard about SEES wanting to try to find a way to end the Dark Hour, that and the Dark Hour wasn't supposed to be there, it felt like a threat."
    
    The last piece of chicken is plucked, along with some rice. "So... I can see your side too. We'd want to spare Amamiya-kun all of that, wouldn't we?"
    
    Even now, she's turning something Kurou is saying into something through her own lens, Umie realizes. Her eyelids lower. "But if he finds the Dark Hour is the spot to be his true self, I will help with that as well."
    
    She eats that piece of chicken.
    
    'Though, the Order would be bad, too.' Umie cackles through her closed mouth, and drinks her soda. "Now that's an understatement."
    
    'Akabane-san and Shiryuu-san and Ren are all right.' Umie looks fondly on Kurou, reaching out and, if Kurou doesn't shrink away, lightly mussing his hair. "You're too precious sometimes, Ryouhara-kun."
    
    As for Joker? "He asked if you were still alive," Umie says. "Shiryuu too." As well as the name of the person who died, but that she'll need to ask later, to make sure it doesn't get connected with Joker.
    
    It's probably hard for Kurou to relate in terms of feelings, given his unsteady connection to his idea of 'self'.
    
    Maybe, that's where she can start. "How long ago was it, that you awakened to your Persona, Ryouhara-kun?" A moment passes, and Umie adds, "You can ask me a question too, you know."

<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.

Kurou is not completely blind to Umie's careful wording. He digests her quiet response, but something about them does not quite settle in him right. "... Akabane-san needs to only live as Akabane-san. That has been... important."

He is not sure how else to articulate that. Maybe Umie's efforts are part of what make her Umie, though.

But indeed, Kurou has a grimmer view of the supernatural than Shiryuu, it would seem. For all its haunting beauty, he would treat it like a deathtrap first and foremost. Kurou shakes his head. He's never discussed it with Shiryuu openly.

"No, but... I believe he understands my position." It's why even a subordination like Kurou had been asked to act as a judge under the light of the moon.

"Once you have a Persona, it is much easier to see the better parts of it." Kurou says this as if it is a given, and not a strange suggestion in itself. The average Persona user surely does not experience much of it before their Persona manifests? His own thoughts have already moved on to concern for Ren. "... Not deciding what is best for him..."

If that is where Ren's true self is... as Umie says, even Kurou cannot try to protect them from that.

When she reaches out, Kurou remains steadfast, hair mussed. He does not move from even his own breathing, but his eyes... they are starting to sparkle...

Focus returns as the conversation returns to business. So Joker wanted to make sure Kurou lived. That makes sense, given what he knows of the Phantom Thieves' operations. "I see. He saved my life. It is not an easy debt to repay given our circumstances."

Yet it will not be a favor Kurou forgets he owes -- likely whether Joker acknowledges the debt or not. For Kurou, such thoughts are simple things, easily spoken at dinnertime.

So is the matter of his Awakening.

"Sometime within the last year, I think."

That would put him among the recent Awakenings, and not with someone who talks like he know about 'before'. It does not fit with someone who speaks as if he has been running Dark Hour errands for his clan before Shiryuu came to lead it.

But it might fit a Kurou who, when asked about his own life experiences, struggles to remember
A Kurou who suspects Ren might have seen more than they let on, even without a Persona.
Or a Kurou who, until very recently, did not seem to exist in civilized society, defining life as 'this world' and getting stuck in 'that world'.

It might, if one could swallow the idea of such an incongruous premise.

"... What about Akabane-san? How long has it been... lonely?"

Trying to figure out these things on her own.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    'That has been... important.' It's an odd sensation: a mixture of pride, happiness, but also, a tenseness as Umie reminds herself that she's the adult here.
    
    "The same goes for you, you know," Umie relates, with a skewed grin, raising a red-nailed finger. "It's important that Ryouhara-kun gets to live as Ryouhara-kun. Even if you're still figuring out who 'Kurou Ryouhara-kun' is." Which may be a difficult thing to ask of any teenager, really, but to make sure Kurou understands it's a question he can ask? That is important, to Umie.
    
    What's also important is hearing Kurou's opinion on Shiryuu: that despite not having told Shiryuu this, Kurou feels Shiryuu understands his position. Umie's eyelashes lower, feeling a slight flush of affection for Shiryuu. In spite of how Shiryuu talks about himself behind closed doors... Kurou still feels that trust.
    
    "... I guess so. I don't think it's necessarily universal." Yukari had mentioned her disagreement at Scion over fighting; coming into things as a member of SEES likely throws a different view on things. "What is freedom for someone like me could be a weight for someone else. ... And my relationship isn't exactly typical, either..."
    
    Not deciding what is best for Ren. "... It's a hard thing to remember," she says, softly. "That a person usually doesn't become a Persona User because they're a blank slate." Akechi's words helped form that understanding, but Umie also saw where Ren seemed to respect it when she didn't treat him like he was somehow unworthy of being taken seriously.
    
    ... unlike what Umie is doing here, by lightly mussing Kurou's hair. She gives him an embarrassed grin despite the hint of a sparkle in his eyes, as she retracts her hand.
    
    The conversation turns to the business of what happened. Umie nods slowly. "... I was so focused during it all that I didn't realize." SHe lets out a sigh after eating the last bits of rice, setting her chopsticks down. "What do you think Joker would expect of you, now?" It's an exercise set before for Kurou, but also, Umie wants to see what he thinks.

    As for Kurou's Awakening... "So longer than some here..." she assesses, thoughtfully. "Was it... hard, on you?" It seems like it would be, but it's not like a Persona can truly signal those circumstances, operating on a logic more intrinsic to the unconscious.
    
    A hungry ghost is not that much different from a hungry crow.
    
    The conversation goes back to Umie, who leans on one hand. "I see Amamiya-kun's had a influence on you," Umie teases (mostly for her own benefit). "But I did offer to answer a question." She doesn't seem to mind, especially since there's nothing she needs to hide, in this case.
    
    "I think I was eleven, or so. So far, I've only met a few people who've possibly had their Persona as long as me, though... they probably don't realize it. The only one who does know is now dead." That being Sudou, the one known as the Joker Killer.
    
    "It hasn't been... truly lonely," she starts with an slow carefulness. "There was... someone, sometimes there. But looking back, I don't know if it was... any better." If Mai-chan has been somehow haunting that strange space separate from Umie, it may be time to open up a little, but only so far.
    
    Umie risks inviting her, otherwise.
    

<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.

    
Kurou might hesitate on that idea. Umie as an adult, or Shiryuu as an adult... Wouldn't that mean he would be, in two years time? There's so much in the world he doesn't know. Two years isn't anywhere near enough to know it.

It probably isn't even enough to know who 'Kurou Ryouhara' really is, as Umie hopes. But she's right: it's a question Kurou doesn't directly ask himself. He is, but what is he ising as? And is it really so important, for someone who doesn't know...?

Kurou pinches his brow together, trying to consider it. "I will... try to remember."

Because it was Umie that asked. Because Ren had also said something like that. Because even Shiryuu, his shihaisha, attempts those small nudges. And what was it Niko-chan had said?

"To... find a song... 'Kurou Ryouhara' would want to belt out..."

Maybe what he should remember to give context to those kind of metaphorical statements. (Even if he means it literally, too.)

Accidentally flustering Umie leaves a moment for Kurou to happily (obliviously?) eat more of his meal. His own trust for Shiryuu is ironclad, naively or not, and he doesn't realize it might be anything for anyone to ever question in the first place.

But Persona... "There are some who did not ask," Kurou muses gravely. "Regardless, everyone does have their own conviction. That is part of what makes the future interesting, too."

What kind of Persona would someone like Ren Awaken to, Kurou finds himself wondering. Someone like that... seems like they would have a deep sea of the soul. Kurou nods slowly. "Everyone... should have the right to choose how they meet the future."

That's the future Shiryuu is fighting for. Kurou should not let his worries get in the way of it.

Kurou's own Awakening may well be coloring his thoughts on this. Yet to be asked such a direct question makes him stop to truly consider it. Being alive had been so difficult before that moment.

"A haze had lifted. Everything that was once fuzzy sharpened into view. That meant all of the pain and starvation, too. And all of the... anger. But... maybe it was also like... finally coming up for air."

From under a layer of grave dirt.

"... And I was able to maintain consciousness further beyond the Dark Hour again, so... that was a little easier..."

That's what worries him with Ren. If Ren sees too much, won't they need to Awaken, to not get trapped...? Kurou has no idea that he's talking a situation so rare that it's hard to follow what he means.

Eleven. Kurou watches Umie carefully at her mention of loneliness, sensing something sensitive there. He cannot imagine a Mai-chan, but more mundane cruelties are easy enough to picture.

"... Sometimes it can be lonelier with the wrong people than fully alone."

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    Unfortunately, the one thing that changes when you are 20 is that you are legally an adult, whether you feel like it or not.
    
    When a majority of Persona-Users have Awakened in their teens, it's particularly difficult... especially when you find those teenagers seem so much more powerful than you ever were. Is that a product of the bonds they share with each other?
    
    There will come a day when Umie will have to severely debate who is responsible for who 'Umie Akabane' is, but in this space and time, Umie simply looks at Kurou and wonders what she can do to help Kurou along. "... Have you ever tried karaoke?" He probably meant it as an analogy, but it *did* bring up a thought. "I've never been much for it myself, but the rooms are soundproof."
    
    She didn't dislike the sound of her voice, at least. "I bet you'd have a little fun with that." She *could* offer to join, but that may influence the songs Kurou'd want to sing, instead of looking through them himself.
    
    'Everyone... should have the right to choose how they meet the future.' Umie is silent, taking in the words. She nods. "... That's what I believe, too." She would have never thought she'd hear someone who was technically an NWO agent say such a thing.
    
    But the world's far more interesting than she could have imagined.
    
    "..." Umie listens intently on Kurou's words, almost with a hunger she couldn't quite understand or place. It's very dissimilar to what she went through, but some threads pluck a harmonic chord: anger, most definitely. But more importantly, it seems to scrape at the mystery of who Kurou is, and what made Kurou Kurou, as opposed to one of the other Ryouharas Umie's encountered, Shiryuu included.
    
    "Was the time before this the time you can't remember much of?" she asks, instead of asking for specifics.
    
    And Umie... "Yes. She... looked like me, at the time. We were like twins. But as more and more time passed... the more it seemed like that face was the one I lost, that day."
    
    "And like you, I was... also, very angry. But the events during and after it were hazy. My heart liteally couldn't take it." She frowns, tapping a fingernail against the table. "So far," she says, with some humor, "I'm the only person I know whose heart just gave out because they got a Persona. The jokes write themselves."

<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.

If Kurou stopped to think of it, he'd realize they've both been fending for themselves far longer than the law says they should have to, regardless. To say nothing of the supernatural world they must fend for themselves in, beyond any reasonable expectation, child or adult.

At the mention of karaoke, Kurou shakes his head. "No. Niko-chan invited me, but... her song was very meaningful. She said mine should be, too. But I do not know many songs." His head tilts to one side. "Maybe if I try it, I'll find one..."

He knows he can't force it, but he also has to expose himself to music for it to happen at all.

Niko-chan also has a Persona. It's a similar feeling to Ren... an idea that stirs a concern in Kurou. But if Persona is a power that allows one to proceed with conviction... then he needs to pierce that feeling through and discard it.

(Process. The word you're looking for, Kurou, is process.)

Kurou nods to Umie. "Yes. Everything from..." He glances down. "... I should not speak without the shirogarasu's permission," he considers, when there is a greater than zero chance that Shiryuu would say it's Kurou's story to tell. "But after the occurrence..."

His eyes go hollow as he sinks into those memories, gaze unfocused.

"'This world' did not make enough sense after that, and they had taken my mother away, then. Maybe that's why... Even if time in the Dark Hour is hard to remember... I remembered here even less. ... How long did Akabane-san know about the Dark Hour before Awakening?"

There's something more important, for a moment: the face Umie had lost. His chopsticks begin to audibly crack under the strain of Kurou's grip until he opens his hand before he can make the mistake of snapping them in half.

A familiar anger takes flame in his chest. Who does he punish for that? Who's neck does he drive Soumeiunsatou's blade through?

Kurou looks up with enough abruptness to read as startled as she speaks of the consequences of awakening. "Your heart...?"

He places his hand over his own chest. No. Kurou, of all people, understands how both can be true. Even if the situation has far different timing. Umie cannot separate the thought of it from Awakening.

"... I would silence anyone who would make those jokes. It only means it was all more than a human heart was meant to hold, yet you are here, and hold it now."

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    People who are used to fending for themselves take what they can get. Perhaps that's why Strega is the way they are, though Umie's not ready to inflict her sympathy (or empathy??) on them just yet.

    "..." It's hard to imagine Niko being any other way than what she was like when Umie's fought her. "She said that, huh..."
    
    Is this the power of Kurou?
    
    "Maybe, uh..." Is Ren into karaoke?
    
    ... She shouldn't just suggest that if she doesn't know. "All the ones I know are more for just information sharing, so I can't say if they're that great song-wise."
    
    Kurou almost volunteers that information, but stops. Umie nods. "It's fine. I don't want to land you in hot water with any of the Ryouharas." Especially after finding out that not all of them necessarily see her involvement with Shiryuu as a 'good' thing.
    
    'This world'. So that's why Kurou divides them up the way he does. "I didn't know about any of it. The Dark Hour, Personas, demons, none of it. I didn't even know the terms people used; I just thought of the Dark Hour as 'the 13th hour' or 'Demon Hour'."
    
    A pause. For him to ask that question. "... Did you know about the Dark Hour before you Awakened? Or... did you experience it before you Awakened?"

    Was Kurou pulled into the Dark Hour?
    
    For all the anger that Umie was so comfortable with feeling for herself, seeing Kurou's fingers against those chopsticks is alarming, even if Umie was equally concerned by the way his gaze seemed to hollow out moments before.
    
    This is a Kurou, as well.
    
    "Yeah. My heart. It wasn't specific to developing a Persona; it just was very stressful, from what I was told, later. Or, well, what I gathered from research."
    
    It's rather endearing that Kurou would make those threats, but it's also pretty alarming, if Umie wasn't prepared for Kurou by virtue of him being a Ryouhara.
    
    It seems to come with the territory.

    "A-ah haha, I was just making light of it," Umie states quickly, holding her hands up. She places her hands down on the table, and relaxes. "I have Rheumatic Heart Disease; they had to install some metal heart valves. It honestly was a godsend to always have that as an excuse to get out of gym class, but the bloodthinners I take for it are why I bleed more than normal when I cut myself."
    
    She relaxes back, smirking. "But when I have Badb, I don't have those limitations-- not that I have that many, unless I slip on my cardio."

<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.

If Kurou has any power over the hearts of others, it would be news to him.

And if Kurou encountered a Niko who needed to fight him with the full force of her cheerful violence... well, he'd probably be fine with that, distressingly.

"Maybe Ren..." Kurou finishes in Umie's place. It isn't strange for him to say it. They've both got a quiet demeanor, so it can't be weirder for Ren than for Kurou. Right?

The other Ryouharas... Kurou is quiet, then nods. It's a sensitive subject within the clan. It may be a critical part of understanding Kurou, and yet, needs to remain something that is a family secret.

"I don't remember if I knew either," he confesses. "The Demon Hour is more fitting..."

Umie's point blank question gets, mercifully, a point blank answer. "Mm. After the incident, I woke up in the Dark Hour. And then it was like that for..." He tilts his head. He can't remember the exact number. "... a few years, until I Awakened."

He says it like it's nothing. Like it isn't the entire reason Kurou is Kurou: a boy that seems almost alien to the world of humanity, even for a Ryouhara shinobi. Like there isn't reasons for his own anger within the experience -- the same anger that seems him ready to use violence.

Right now, he has oyakodon, and it is very good. Right now, Umie explains her heart condition, and that feels much more important.

"... I see," Kurou says, demeanor losing some tension without a target to focus on. Then his eyes widen a fraction before relaxing. "... Then when Akabane-san was shot..."

It was even more dangerous than they originally imagined. His complexion is more ashen for a moment, before he shakes his head. He must prevent such a thing with more vigilance in the future.

"We will... have to make sure to train often."

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    'Maybe Ren...' Thankfully, Kurou thinks of the same. Umie nods. "The worst he can do is say no, and... I think it's a little easier, that he knows a little about who you are, whether he remembers or not."
    
    Kurou may be right; maybe Ren remembers more than he's letting on. There's cases like Yoko's, after all.
    
    But, if that's the case... they'll have to trust Ren to know that he can talk to either of them.
    
    Out of all the things she regrets that night, shoving Ren aside, whether he was going to be in danger or not, is not one of them.
    
    (... That... *did* happen, right? For some reason she remembers Ren blocking that blow, but if that happened, he wouldn't be alive, and Kurou would've seen it... right? She's going to have to ask Ren directly now, isn't she... damn it...)
    
    'After the incident...' "... Wait, you... didn't awaken to a Persona then, but later? Or was that when you got your... scarf, Evoker thing?" The thought came as she spoke; maybe that's how it is for SEES? Perhaps Fuuka's case wasn't an outlier that happened due to Tartarus's warped logic. "If that's the case..." She taps a finger to her chin. "No wonder you see the Dark Hour that way. You saw the supernatural side of things, but had no way to defend against them. Demons can be negotiated with, but Shadows..."
    
    She always had Badb, right from the start. "Ryouhara-kun... you've been through a lot. I can see where your concern for Amamiya-kun comes from. Are you thinking he's experiencing something like that?"
    
    She hums. "... I'll meet up with him at some point. He might still try to hide things, but he'll at least know a few places he can shelter if he's caught by it. With curfew, it's not as likely, but... it's good to know your options."
    
    At it'll maybe make Kurou feel better, too.
    
    Dark hour, demon hour... "Yeah, but if you look at it literally, demons only happen in Sumaru City... and Mementos, I guess," she adds, "though... they do act different, when you look into things." Like that strange bullet. "I was surprised, when I was in high school... we had a school field trip one year, and I thought that maybe the Dark Hour wouldn't happen there. I was kind of excited, just to see what that was like." She leans her chin on one of her hands. "But no, it was the same thing, just... quieter. No demons."
    
    Coffins, wherever you went.

    Kurou connects the dots, and Umie nods. "Yeah. It's why my condition seemed to take a turn for the worse once we got out of that place, despite me being stabilized before that."
    
    If they had exited through the Alaya Shrine like Joker and Ruin did... would they have been able to her her to the hospital in time?
    
    "You and Shiryuu helped me, though. There was no way I would have properly stablized with just Badb at my side and my first aid supplies. She's... not the type that heals." None of their Personas are,

<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.

Kurou waits on Umie's response to that, as if she might take back what she said earlier. She does not, of course. That's not a very Umie thing to do, regardless. Ren made their own case, too. It's better to keep in one another's orbit.

Or is that selfishness...? Maybe so. Either way, he must act with a heart clear of doubt.

(Listen, Kurou was late and breaking a lot of glass at the time.)

Kurou scratches his cheek, eyes wandering around the room as he searches his memories. "Jurinshin Hagoromo?" His scarf. "... No, I had it for a while, but I did not think to use it..."

They gave a boy a scarf meant to inject poison into his neck. Did they even know it worked as an Evoker? Or was it the only real 'defense' if he failed to sneak past the demons and was caught without a Persona?

Maybe it's best not to think about it.

"You cannot let the Shadows see you. Otherwise... Only the end of that 13th hour will save you." He pauses. "... And it is not always an 'hour'."

He hesitates while his mind brushes over the difficulty he might have faced. "Yes. If Ren remembers too much, then maybe it is too much like that." But as he said, it could simply be that Ren is exceedingly perceptive. An instinct tells Kurou that's probably more likely, but worry is worry.

Yet past worry, Umie has a plan. It does make Kurou feel better. "... Thank you. That is the kind of thing I cannot offer so easily." A Ryouhara safe house is not something he can tell Ren about, for Ren's own safety.

"No demons?" Or Shadows, as it were. But Kurou turns that thought around in his head. "So there are places like that..."

Thankfully, Umie is still here to share meals with Kurou and have her talks with Shiryuu. (Sure. Talking.) But it was far closer than Kurou liked, and even closer than he originally thought.

"Gashadokuro..." Kurou taps his chopsticks to his bowl. "... But... there's the painter..."

Kurou nods to himself with whatever thoughts don't make it into words, and nibbles at the last of his oyakodon.

Unescaped comma in final arg of ANSI by #457. This behavior is deprecated.
Unescaped comma in final arg of ANSI by #457. This behavior is deprecated.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    "Jurinshin Hagoromo..." Umie echoes, realizing Kurou meant his scarf. "Did they know it'd do this?" If Kurou wasn't a part of the NWO, she'd ask him to maybe take it to SEES, to see if they'd give him further insight. However, besides the NWO being a part of it, there's the Ryouhara part of it, as well.
    
    "... It just reminds me, of the Evokers SEES and Strega uses. The way you look, when you're using it." Nonono, Umie, don't say Strega!!
    
    You cannot let the Shadows see you. You can't let it see you. Don't let it see you.
    
    "I only survived because of Badb abilities. She sees where Shadows and Demons are. It must have been similar for you too," Umie relates. "Your abilities, as a shinobi."
    
    Umie's offer *does* make Kurou feel better, at least. "We'll see what happens. If he turns out to be like you, maybe you can help him."
    
    Umie nods sagely. "No demons. I would know: I worked night shifts in Sumaru *and* Shibuya. One had demons coming in and asking for ice cream. The other, you made sure the doors were blocked."

    It helps that Umie has had a full week or two to settle into the idea that Ren had been exposed to the supernatural, through her actions.
    
    .... nothing has exploded. Yet. Ren even sought Kurou out.
    
    'Why did Amamiya-kun go to Ryouhara-kun, but not you, hm? Maybe...' No. No. Umie can't start that, now. if Ren blames her, or if he was going to reject her...
    
    That'd probably be wise. It's been established that she ruins things--
    
    No. No, that's not fair, to anyone who came to help her. No one hesitated. Even Ren. Though, maybe that was her memory being jumbled up.
    
    '... Go on. Ask yourself. Be realistic.'
    
    Umie rubs her face, and gets up, her face looking slightly pale. "... I need to get some water."
    
    Walking to the sink for some water, she clears her throat and leans on the counter.

    There's the painter, Kurou says, as she drinks. "The painter..." Pause. "Oh, you mean the painter, at that blue bar place."
    
    That may need an explanation. She turns. "... well, that's what I thought it was, as a kid. Scared the shit out of me, thinking I was going to get into trouble."
    
    She chuckles, at the thought, her earlier malaise temporarily forgotten. "Here, you want seconds? You're still growing, after all."
    
    Kurou'll always have seconds. Umie will make sure of it.
    

<Pose Tracker> Kurou Ryouhara has posed.

"I'm not sure," Kurou says. "This type of device is usually meant to shoot the needles outward. So... I don't know why I thought to do anything else... To use it on myself. I just thought... 'I already died. I cannot die again unless I live.'"

Sometimes, strange instinct is the nature of Awakening. But who knew about it, if anyone, is a mystery even to Kurou.

"But Niko-chan doesn't like it if I say I died."

He's still not grasped that one fully, only that he has to remember not to say it in front of her. And maybe also try to think of it differently... he's working on it.

"Yes. Without my training as Ryouhara, or access to our clan's tools... I do not think I would have survived the first night." He pauses as he tries to reflect on the nature of Umie's Persona, but the memory that comes to mind is looking at that panel that threatened to awaken a terrible fear, and his vision becoming shielded by a figure... "I am glad there is Badb..."

Umie mentions ice cream, and Kurou's gaze threatens to go dark. "So that's why that fairy..." No, no that has nothing to do with anything!!

But while Kurou contemplates the nature of demons who want ice cream and the conspiracies therein, Umie goes pale. Kurou looks up with another one of his blank blinks. "Ah..."

He nods slowly as she talks of the 'blue bar place', which also seems more descriptive than the Velvet Room, and perhaps Kurou should not be allowed to ever name anything. Maybe with the help of the painter, it would be... less frightening next time...

That is an action for later. For now: seconds.

"Yes, please," Kurou says, bright eyed.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    A weapon, used to shoot needles outward...
    
    'I already died. I cannot die again unless I live.'
    
    A death response? It made as much sense as Umie naturally calling on Badb the moment a doorknob jiggled on her hospital room door.
    
    A wry smiles spreads on Umie's lips. "... She didn't particularly like it when I joked anout the Reaper showing up once, either." At the time, it fed into Umie's own narrative of 'ruining' things, but now, she sees a different perspective of it.
    
    The smile disappears as Kurou mentions being glad there was a Badb.
    
    The Badb in literature and folklore was not a traditionally 'protective' creature, any more than a wildfire was protective of the trees it burned through, all while serving a valuable, cleansing roll.
    
    The Badb, when viewed through Umie, looks on the deepest reaches of fear and despair, and laughs back as much as it laughs with it. In that way, it is a shield for Umie, and... for the soul that Umie has come to deeply care about protecting, whose response matched Umie's own in that moment.
    
    "I am glad there is a Gashadokuro. Gashadokuro is a good, powerful skeleton." The blonde makes a point of looking at Kurou directly. "And I am glad there is a Kurou Ryouhara-kun, who came to rescue me that day, and helped me, Shiryuu, and Joker-san, on another day."
    
    As for ice cream...
    
    "That fairy...? Pixies do like ice cream sometimes, but--" Oh. OH. Umie makes a face. "Yeaaahhh, Trish has always been like that. My parents always thought I was being so irresponsible with my money, but in reality? It was Trish and her damn prices."
    
    "But, unlike her..." She takes Kurou's bowl with a proud smirk. "I won't let you go hungry, Ryouhara-kun~!"