2026-08-16: Options

• Cutscene: Options
• Cast: Katsuko Yoshinaga, Hiroyuki Yoshinaga
• Where: Setagaya, Tokyo
• OOC Date: 2026-08-16
• IC Date: Thu Dec 20 2012
• Summary: Following the events of 2026-08-05: A Fault in the Ice, Katsuko weighs her option son how to deal with Shinichi's Homunculus, and protect herself from it at the same time.

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Katsuko's options were limited.

Shinichi - or, rather, the Homunculus that had take his body - needed to be dealt with, but such a thing would come in due course. Until then, its actions had to be countered, and its desires needed to be kept in check. As she stalked through the halls, taking care to watch her back and keep an eye on the shadows in case Shinichi showed up again, Katsuko began to weigh what few options she had available. She could find an authority figure at the school and beg their assistance, she could try and provoke her peers into action through seeding gossip and rumours, or she could seek the counsel of her father.

The teachers were the first option to be dismissed. Shujin's faculty was, to put it bluntly, useless. The vast majority of them seemed too concerned with their own personal glory to care too much about what one particular teacher did, or were determined to keep their heads down so that they could, in turn, keep their jobs. The few that actually seemed like they cared enough to step in if a student was being harassed had little power, and if she was to be frank, she doubted the Homunculus would have listened to them much beyond what was needed to get them off its back.

The students were equally worthless. Their reactions had all been mixed, of course - that much was typical of any large gathering of people. Some saw it as an example to be followed, praising its assertiveness and its treatment of certain rogue elements in the school. Others saw it as dangerous, and were determined to stay out of its way, hoping they could make it to the end of the school year before they had a chance to draw its attention. Others still were drawn to it, and his efforts at seducing them were welcomed with open arms. But none, save perhaps for the delinquent and the mop-haired criminal, seemed in any way inclined to rebel against the common sentiment. Any efforts she made would have been snuffed out before they had a chance to gain traction.

Then there was her father - an option that became much more apparent when she stepped through the door to her home, and announced her arrival. Her father rounded a corner to meet her, moving as quickly as his injured legs would allow. The smile he gave her was as warm as a summer breeze, twice as soft, and the single most genuine thing she had ever had the pleasure of beholding. His eyes twinkled with that selfsame expression as soon as he saw her, and he made no attempt to suppress the warmth in his voice as he greeted her.

"Katsuko-chan, there you are. You're home late - did the literature club keep you long?" She shook her head a little. Raven locks drifted with the small gesture, and although she did not return his warmth as openly, she wore a smile for him that - while smaller and weaker than most others would have, even in polite neutrality - spoke volumes when compared to how different it was to her usual stony exterior. "A little. I needed to ask for advice with my exams as well." "Ah, finals. I still remember mine... I don't envy you. Well, you don't need to worry about that right now. Come and sit down, before your dinner gets cold."

Perhaps, just this once, it could help to ask him for help. To pull some strings, at least - she didn't expect him to get involved directly. She didn't need much, just enough pressure on the faculty to actually do something, and keep the Homunculus suppressed long enough that she could conduct her investigations without being interrupted. Surely, she could ask him for just that - safety in the knowledge that she wouldn't be hounded down and hurt when she returned to school, or forced to undergo some humiliating ritual to satisfy a monster's ego.

She slipped her blazer off, ready to head upstairs and change so she could eat her meal in comfort. But her father saw marks on her wrist, and before she had a chance to hide them, he strode forward. "Katsuko-chan, your wrist." He said, a little quiet, a little forceful, and quite notably concerned. "Did something happen?" She shook her head again, a little more firmly than she had when greeting him. "I bruised it during gym. It'll be fine." She said, stood still in the doorway while he looked to her with slowly-mounting worry.

"Katsuko-chan..." He looked sympathetically at her, yet there was no denying the firmness in his eyes. Hard and flint-edged, his gaze was twice as sharp as hers on her best days, and thrice as unyielding. He would not force her to say - she knew that. Or, at least, she trusted that he would not. But the concern he showed her, unrestrained and unabashed, disarmed her in the kind of way that no taunting from a demon or honeyed words from other manipulators could hope to do. But she knew that man better than anyone living, she thought, and knew what total honesty would bring.

Because she could see the subtle tells that others might not have. The furrowing of his brow, the firming of his lips, the way his knuckles whitened just a little as he gripped the table's edge a little harder at the sight of even a slight injury on her. He knew it was no accident, and she knew it was useless to try and insist otherwise. But to speak to him with total honesty would be to invoke his wrath, not his assistance. All too quickly did she remember that, and with a heavy heart did she imagine what he would do if he knew the full extent of what had happened.

"It's nothing. I've dealt with it." She eventually said. She straightened as she answered, more in an attempt to firm her own convictions than to sell the idea that she was completely well. Not that it would have worked. The tells grew stronger, and there was small - yet no less present - edge to his voice. It was a razor's blade, unassuming but wickedly sharp. "...Alright. But even if you can't tell me what this is about, will you at least let me know if I can help?" It was a difficult thing for her to reconcile. The fires of restrained fury crackled alongside abject concern, and addressing either was difficult enough. To attack both and quell them... Anyone else, she'd have negotiated a solution or brushed them off. But this was her father. He had no ulterior motives *but* to help her.

But he was a charismatic man with no shortage of connections, and no moral compunctions about using them. If he learnt what had happened to her, and who had done it, she had no doubt 'scorched earth' would be underselling what happened to Shinichi and his family. And while it was one thing to negotiate a agreement with people, deliver punishment to those who deserved it, or manipulate people to extract information from them, it was another thing entirely to attack someone that could not control their actions and get their family caught in the crossfire.

"...I will." She said, offering him another smile, though much weaker than the last. Her father didn't seem particularly happy about the response, but nodded anyway, his own face pulled into a small - but accepting - smile. "Alright. I'll be here whenever you need me." With that, he held his arms open a little wider, and she took the invitation quickly. The hug was short and simple, but the affection between them was as clear as day. "Just say the word, okay?" Katsuko nodded. "Okay." "Thank you."

Before another word could be said, his phone emitted a shrill tone, and he excused himself to answer it. The conversation was short, but it was spirited to say the least. Her father's voice did not get excessively loud, but the venom with which he addressed the person on the other line had Katsuko feeling like she should have been flinching backwards. That was not to mention the way his demeanour changed. What had once been a relaxed - if nevertheless worried - countenance contorted into snarling anger, his muscles tensed, his knuckles whitened to the point where it looked like he would snap the phone... and then he just let it all fall away the moment he hung up. Like flipping a switch.

"Katsuko-chan, I... have some bad news about our trip." Katsuko blinked, and what happiness she'd had began to shift to worry. Still subtle, but to her father, it was extremely evident - his own expression began to soften and shift in return. "I won't be able to make it. I'm sorry, but work needs me. Something big's come up, and if I don't go in now, I-" "It's fine." Katsuko said sharply. She did her best to maintain a calm and placid expression, even smiling a little to try and reassure him. But they both knew the truth of the matter.

Her expression wavered as her father tried to think of something to say, but in the end, all he could really do was pull her in for another lingering embrace. She returned it, but she was ashamed to admit - even privately - that part of the reason was to hide the look of disappointment, sadness, and outright anger that plagued her. "We'll go another time, Katsuko-chan. I promise. So just wait a little longer, alright?" "I..." She looked at him when he pulled away. If she insisted he stayed, would he? If she reminded him of how many times he'd said that before, would he change his mind?

"...Okay." She said, nodding. It was all she could bring herself to do.