2026-09-16: Mama Murderer
- Log: Mama Murderer
- Cast: Yua Ijuuin, Shinobu Shimizu
- Where: Aoba - Penthouse
- OOC Date: 2026-09-16
- IC Date: Thu Jan 10 2013
- Summary: Yua invites Shinobu over after realising she's too tired to stay out... but amidst the cookies she's gotten for her, she ends up cracking and confessing to the murder of Natari, alongside managing to say her name for the first time. Shinobu can't find it in herself to condemn it, when she hears just what Natari DID.
- Content warning: Discussion of rape, murder
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
This morning, a transmission...
> Do you want to get afternoon tea later??? I got you cookies!!
... and around lunchtime, another transmission...
> The Yua became tired... do you want to visit me at home instead? The cookies also came home!
... and so, we come to the penthouse. The top floor of Pyramid Plaza is occupied by a single home -- plus or minus Eiko's apartment, which was refurbished into a separate living space and is technically indicated by a 'b' in the mailing address so she can receive her own mail -- sprawling out over the tip of the pointed building. There's an outdoor garden with its very own beehive because there aren't many insects ten stories up; there's also a pool on the upper deck. It's rich rich.
And there, Shinobu is greeted not by Miss Rose at the door -- wait hang on wrong track. (There is a nameplate with both <3 Yua Ijuuin <3 and Miho Ijuuin out front, though.) It's Eiko Ikeda who receives her, who is dressed in a maid's uniform, but a modern one: a sensible uniform polo shirt and slacks, thank you, much easier to move around in. "Welcome," Eiko smiles, as she reaches out. "The Gentle Mistress is expecting you, Shimizu-san. I'll fetch her now. Shall I take your coat..?"
Yua isn't out to greet her, as it happens, though...
"Hey! Shimizu-san! How's it hangin'?!"
There's a dark-skinned girl with a ferocious grin venturing in from the sliding glass door leading to the balcony, instead. "C'mere!" She beckons her, with a waving hand. "I wanna show you my fish!"
THEY INSTALLED A KOI POND ALONGSIDE THE POOL HOW RICH ARE THESE PEOPLE
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
A transmission! Shinobu usually gets up pretty early, so it catches her as she getting ready for the day - and, conveniently, before she's made any plans.
> hard to say no to cookies. sounds good! i'll be there.
And then later...
> yeah, i'm good with that. don't work yourself too hard, you hear?
And so, Shinobu arrives at the penthouse. ...Coming here is intimidating every time. She's made many deliveries to this place, and this isn't even her first time going inside rather than dropping something off... but there's still a part of her that feels very out of place in a place that screams 'money' like this.
You could probably fit her own apartment in this place with plenty of room to spare...
She arrives at the door, and Eiko greets her. This isn't unexpected. ...It's still wild to her that they're rich enough to hire a live-in maid.
"Hey, Ikeda-san." Shinobu greets, offering her a smile back. Eiko reaches out and Shinobu nods back, shedding her winter coat and handing it over to her. "Cool. And, thanks, I appreciate it."
She enters. She is, indeed, expecting Yua - but instead...
"Hey, Tyrrha-chan." Shinobu replies, with a wave. She nods casually. "Not too bad, not too bad. How about you? School starts up again for you soon, right? ...Or has it started already?"
Her eyebrow raises at the mention of 'fish'. That is, indeed, the question that runs through her mind.
"Sure. Lead the way." Shinobu replies, moving to follow as she beckons her.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Oh yeah, it's started! But I fell off my bike," that's not a very nice thing to call Noriaki, "so I got to stay home!" She sounds pretty jazzed about it. To be fair, Tyrrha sounds pretty jazzed about most things...
She was definitely coached on how to explain her absence from school, though. 'I got super-mega-stabbed in this big fight', while secretly amusing to Miho and making Yua giggle a little more openly, is unfortunately not an appropriate explanation for most people.
Even if Noriaki is SO COOL, YOU GUYS, HEY MAMA CAN I HAVE A MACHETE --
(Tyrrha is not allowed to have a machete. It's part of her operating instructions.)
Up the stairs to the upper deck of the balcony, and there's the pool, and the deck chairs, and then... a koi pond running along the edge of the fence! It has an artificial waterfall and they're growing water lilies and stuff. "I'm teachin' 'em how to do tricks!" Tyrrha enthuses, as she taps the water, and the koi swarm up to investigate. "See? Oh, but now I gotta give them another snack..."
Luckily, Tyrrha is definitely motormouthed (wait a sec every part of Tyrrha is motor powered) enough to occupy Shinobu while Yua picks herself up out of bed and wriggles into people clothes and heads on out. (The blouse she puts on is much more modest than some of her inside blouses, with a cardigan on top, presumably to ward the chill; the black tights she's wearing beneath her knee-length skirt, though, are definitely the same dancer's tights she wears with her outdoor clothes. YOU DIDN'T EVEN GET UNDRESSED PROPERLY BEFORE UNCEREMONIOUSLY COLLAPSING DID YOU YUA.)
It's a few minutes until --
"Shimizu-san...?" Yua calls, from the lower balcony, by her roses. Strangely, for once, her hair isn't up in a tight bun -- instead, her teal hair falls down to mid-thigh in an excessively long braid which raises questions as to what kind of magic she uses to compress it every morning. "Tykko, are you up there?"
"Yeah, mama! I'm showin' Shimizu-san the fish!" Tyrrha grins, as she comes up to the fence fencing the pool in. (Safety first!)
"That's great, sweetie," Yua smiles, and... does not try to climb the stairs up, tellingly. "Can I borrow her for a bit?"
"Sure, sure! But I gotta keep workin' on these fish!" Tyrrha calls back.
"Remember to be gentle, okay, ucha?" That's also the word for cookie... in Okinawan!
"Right, right~!" Tyrrha salutes, merrily, as she returns her attention to training the fish. "Okay, fishies! It's all about DISCIPLINE...!"
Good kid. Bit weird.
Yua smiles, as she beckons Shinobu back inside. "Thankyu for your waitie-wait!" She says, as she reveals that she's fetched her nice little basket of cookies for Shinobu (a hand-made basket, as it happens, they're one of her favourite new craft projects). She didn't fetch the filtered, chilled water in two cups on the coffee table, though, or the jug filled with it plus a few fresh lemon slices -- that's all Eiko, who effortlessly helps Yua to sit down, steadying her as if it were second nature. "Thankyu~!" She chirps, to Eiko, too, smiling up to her as she settles down. "We'll be okay, so don't worry too much about us!"
"Of course," Eiko smiles. "Just call if you need anything."
".... I really did want to thank you," Yua adds, as she turns her attention to Shinobu again, leaning forward to grasp that basket and offer it to her. "I think I was so overwhelmed I imagined some stuff, but I definitely remember you helped Mimi rescue me the other day...!"
Yua, as it happens, still has no Resonance... even if Shinobu might have gotten a spark of something from Tyrrha, up there, while she was excitedly dumping Fish Facts on her. (Fish fact #1: Tyrrha loves fish. It's okay to hunt them! But not these fish. These fish are PETS. You can't hunt pets, Shimizu-san. Did you know that?)
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Tyrrha explains that she fell off her bike, and Shinobu winces sympathetically. Nothing seems off about that explanation to her - she takes it at face value.
"That sucks. You healing up alright?" She asks. ...Then again, with how cheery she sounds, maybe she's just happy to have an excuse to take the day off of school...
She follows her up the stairs to the balcony... and, indeed - there's a pool and also a koi pond. It's a nice little koi pond, too - Shinobu appreciates
"You can do that? I didn' t know you could teach 'em stuff." Shinobu replies, impressed. She watches as the koi swarm up to investigate the tapping on the water, and she's happy to watch the fish and be engaged with Fish Facts and ask questions about them in turn until she hears Yua calling for her.
"Oh, there's your mama." Shinobu acknowledges, looking back. Yua and Tyrrha call back and forth and Shinobu stands back. She nods toward Tyrrha, then. "Alright then. Good luck with the fish, Tyrrha-chan."
With a wave she turns to head back down the stairs.
"Hey, Yua-chan." Shinobu greets, once she's come into view. ...And she's struck, briefly, by just how long Yua's hair is. She doesn't think she's seen it outside of a bun before... She knew it was long, but that long...? She wonders just how much effort goes into maintaining it. She shakes her head as Yua thanks her for waiting, though. "It's all good. That's a nice little pond you've got. Tyrrha-chan seems pretty taken with the koi."
Thankfully, Eiko is here to help Yua settle in. Shinobu sends her a grateful nod, too, and it's only once she's sure that Yua is situated that she takes a seat, too.
And Yua thanks her again - this time, it seems, for the other day... She says she was 'overwhelmed'.
"Hey, no problem. I wasn't going to stand around if there was something I could do about it." Shinobu assures. "How are you and Ijuuin-san holding up? That must've been pretty stressful for both of you."
She isn't sure how much either of them remember... She's sensed Resonance on Miho before - and it seems Tyrrha has something, too - but she, as far as she knows, doesn't have a Persona... and neither does Yua.
And Yua offers the basket, which Shinobu gratefully accepts - and takes a peek inside.
"Hey, these look great, Yua-san. I'm looking forward to 'em." She says with a smile. "This basket's pretty nice, too - did you make this?"
She didn't see a label or anything on it while she was looking.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Yup yup!" Tyrrha answered that question with more cheer. "Dandy man fixed me up real good!" ... perhaps one must presume Tyrrha's pediatrician is one of those young, hip, modern doctors...
Definitely not the world's gayest hacker.
Definitely not.
Tyrrha's idea of tricks, at least, seem to largely be getting the fish to come when she plays with the water... but who knows? Maybe that's just stage one of her master plan, and eventually she'll have them swimming through hoops!
(The secret to maintaining Yua's hair, meanwhile, is that it's a two-person job.)
"Ahhh, aren't they so pretty?!" Yua bubbles, when Shinobu compliments her pond. "After a bad thing happened, Mimi got them for us...! Did you see the gold fish?! She's gold like a medal!!" Indeed, one of the fish was solid gold -- and another one was solid, glittery black...
There are, of course, also the classical three-point koi, orange and white and black and dating back to the samurai era.
"Mimi was really tired," Yua shares, "but I was too, so we went to sleep early that night. Oh, but we went to Dr. Matsuhashi's office first! She's Hiroki's doctor," Yua adds, informatively. "But it seemed like I was okay... luckily, it wasn't too hard on me! Mimi's doctor said she was okay, too," Yua adds, because of course it wasn't just her and Hiroki who needed a check-up.
"It was really stressful, though, yeah," Yua sighs, glancing down at her knees as they press together. "I was scared I was going to disappear again... ohhh, but when I realised that horrible little man wanted to get to Mimi, I was so mad!! Then he put me in a basket, which is no fair!"
And lo -- cookies! Tyrrha and Eiko have assured Yua that they are very good. And speaking of baskets, the reason why that might have offended her is revealed when she regains her cheer to chirp: "Mmhm! I picked it up pretty recently.. it's like weaving, but different! I like doing it when I'm watching cartoons or shows or movies when I'm here on my own! And sometimes it's nice to have something to really focus on... plus, everyone's so impressed when they get snacks in a special basket! When they smile, I'm happy, too!"
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Cool, glad to hear it." Shinobu replied with a nod. ...She hasn't heard anyone refer to their doctor quite that way before, but they must be on pretty good terms, she figures.
"They really are." Shinobu agrees with a nod as Yua enthuses. "Oh, yeah, I saw that one... I didn't even know some of them could be gold like that. Or so shiny, too."
Miho was tired, Yua shares, and Shinobu nods in understanding. Anyone would be, after that.
"Oh, good... That's a relief. I was worried about you." Shinobu says with a sigh. "Ijuuin-san, too. I'm glad you're all alright."
She nods again, in sympathy, as Yua says that it was stressful. She was scared she was going to disappear again...
"...I'm sorry." Shinobu offers, massaging the back of her neck. "Sounds like it hit close to home... I'm glad that didn't happen, even if it sucks he used you against her like that."
She seems pretty mad about the basket thing... but it does make sense when she explains. Using her hobbies against her... For shame.
"Oh yeah?" Shinobu remarks with interest. She nods along as she explains - and smiles, when she says that she's happy too when others smile. That certainly sounds like her. "That's a nice thought. I like that."
She leans back, setting the basket back on the coffee table for now.
"It's nice, isn't it? Having something to keep your hands busy... or your mind, if that's what you need." She comments. "I do some woodcarving, and it's kinda like that, too."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"The breeder told us that a lot of times, people try to get really vibrant colours in their koi too early, so when they grow up they end up dull," Yua says, because apparently Fish Facts run in the family. "But he was really patient with his fish, so he had beautiful, sparkling adult koi! I think they cost a lot of money, though..."
It was assuredly more than Yua is even envisioning, but since it made her and Tyrrha happy, it was surely worth every yen.
"Mimi's so strong," Yua sighs, smiling, "I was so impressed...! But she said that even though she's that strong, she wouldn't have been able to win if you hadn't been helping her... I'm impressed! You must be really, really strong!" Yua sparkles, as she compliments her, and from a certain perspective -- she's comparing the courier Shinobu's street strength to an actual gold medalist Olympian, so of course it makes sense to see Shinobu's strength in the context of Miho's...
She must not have been able to remember the actual magic power ghosts that meant Shinobu would come out on top against a normal person, huh?
"Mm," Yua hums, contemplating Shinobu's apology. "I got disappeared once before... and for a long, long time... and I'm scared my friend's been disappeared now, too." The language is kind of cutesy, but... what she's really describing is...
Oh yeah, basket! Yua likes talking about basket. Nice, safe basket. And from basket, there is -- "Oh! You whittle!" Yua chirps, brightening up, as she leans forward to take her glass of water. See, she's hydrating!! Don't worry Mimi!!! (Does Yua think she can psychically beam reassurance to Miho while she's out? I mean, probably, yeah.) "There was an obaa back home who loved whittling driftwood! She made the most beautiful things! Dolphins dancing through the water, and fishies, and clams half open, and all sorts of things! She said the driftwood was softer under her knife, because it was a little bit like water after spending so long in the sea... hey, hey, what kind of wood do you like carving most?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Shinobu listens thoughtfully as Yua explains, picking up her own glass and taking a sip of it.
"That makes sense... You can't always rush things. You gotta give it time." She considers with a nod. Costing a lot of money, though... "Yyyeah, I can imagine..."
...She probably shouldn't think too hard about it, though.
A smile crosses Shinobu's face, as Yua sighs about how strong she is... but she's surprised when Yua turns around and compliments her.
"Ah, well..." Shinobu starts awkwardly, massaging the back of her neck. "I live on my own, so I've gotta know how to look after myself, y'know? Just in case something happens."
It's not even a lie, but that's really the only half of the story she can actually tell...
"But, yeah, Ijuuin-san's really something. I mean, I knew she had to be skilled, but it's another thing to see it up close, you know?" Shinobu comments.
Her expression softens as Yua says she got disappeared once, for a long, long time... She says 'disappeared', but she can tell it's hiding something much heavier than that.
"That's... horrible. I'm sorry, Yua-chan." Shinobu offers. ...And she's scared for a friend. "...What happened?"
Whittling, at least, is a safer, nicer topic to talk about.
"Mm-hm." Shinobu confirms with a nod. She listen as Yua recounts the story of the obaa and her creations...
"Yeah, I bet she was able to make some real nice things out of that... Driftwood's handy like that - there's a lot you can do with it." Shinobu replies. What kind of wood does she like carving the most? "Well, let's see..."
She 'hm's to herself thoughtfully.
"Something easy to work with is usually pretty nice... but I think the wood I really like are the ones that are kind of stubborn and hard to work with, but have really nice patterns on the inside. Kind of feels like a reward for keeping at it, you know?" Shinobu replies. "I like a good challenge."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
It's okay, Shinobu. Yua also gets dizzy when she thinks about the dollar amounts she's living with these days. She still has to get Miho's help to figure out what a good price to pay for nice steaks is, because Yua's idea of a good deal on nice steaks really doesn't apply to the kind of nice steaks they eat now...
"Ahh, you're being modest!" Yua insists, when Shinobu brushes off her strength. "I bet Mimi would say you were amazing, too! Clap clap! Eep --" Yua realises she's holding water midway through going to clap, finishes having a drink, puts the water down, then claps. "... clap clap!!"
Is it really that important to narrate it like that...?
"Mm, mm, Mimi's really special," Yua smiles, all warmth and heart bubbles. "Did you know she can pick me up really easily, even now Hiroki's this big? See, that's a good up!" Yua is very discerning about her ups. Not all up is created equal.
It's also so saccharine that even the performance seems turned to eleven, but... maybe there's something dark all that cheer is covering up. "Kotoba... um, Hana Fukami, the TV woman?" Hana...kotoba. Flower Talk. YUA -- "Did you hear the terrorists took her when they attacked the TV station?" It wasn't terrorists, but never mind that. "They... they found her because we got into an argument hiding in the bathroom," Yua admits, slowly. (It's almost the truth, if you tilt your head and squint. A lot.) "I tried to follow them and see where they were taking her, but they said they'd hurt my baby... so I had to run away, you see? I had to! Since then, she's been totally, one hundred percent, completely gone... and I'm just really worried, um... what if she's gone for years and years? I don't want her to know what that's like..."
It's just -- the strange thing about Yua's sad concern, there, is that she's talking like she knows what that's like. There are rumours, floating around, that she was a victim of trafficking herself...
Yua is, at least, much happier to talk about wood. It's better than bad, it's good!
"Oh!" Yua exclaims, as she hears about Shinobu's wood feelings. "Like kabazaiku!" That's the art of fashioning woodworks like tea boxes out of cherry wood -- which is rather hard -- though the name literally means 'birch craftsmanship'. Perhaps it's not surprising to hear Yua anchor onto that angle of understanding it, given how kabazaiku is an old, traditional art... "Oooh, that gives me an idea!" She chirps, excitement building. "Do you take commissions, like Mark-san?" Is that the one way to defeat Yua? By already having a cute nickname???
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Just one of those nice steaks probably costs more than her entire food budget for the month. The rich really do live a different life...
Shinobu laughs sheepishly as Yua insists that she's being modest. She massages the back of her neck as Yua applauds, complete with narration.
"Ah, well... Thanks." She offers. "We'll say we were all pretty amazing."
She can't forget that she had help, after all.
Shinobu smiles, as Yua agrees that Miho is special. ...She has, in fact, heard that Miho can pick her up really easily... but, like, who could blame her for bragging about that?? Shinobu sure couldn't.
"Damn. That's mighty impressive." Shinobu remarks. "You're real lucky... A good up for sure."
But Yua starts to explain, and Shinobu listens. ...It'll only be later when Hana's nickname clicks for her and she does a double-take. For now, she's too focused...
She didn't know she knew Hana. 'Terrorists', though... That's right, that's the story going around.
"Yeah, I heard about Fukami-san... but, shit, you were there?" Shinobu replies. That's a surprise - she didn't see her among the people the Legionnaires had abducted. And they were arguing... It's - a little surprising to hear that, too - especially arguing loud enough to attract attention. Just what happened between them...? It feels a little rude to ask that right now, though. And the 'them' she's referring to - the Legionnaires? She's surprised they let her go...
Shinobu frowns - a deep, thoughtful expression crossing her face. Yua does seem really worried - but it's not like she can tell her that Hana is still there, actually, just stuck in another world beyond a door most people can't see, without her memory...
"Hey, Yua-chan..." Shinobu starts hesitantly. "I'm sure... Fukami-san will be just fine. It was pretty public, so... I'm sure people are doing everything they can to find her and get her back."
...'People', of course, being herself and people like her rather than the authorities, but it's easier to put it like that.
"I'm sure she's going through some tough battles of her own right now, though, so... she's gonna need people there to support her when she gets back." Shinobu says. "I don't know what happened between you two, but... can you do that?"
On a brighter note, though, woodworking!
"Yeah, something like that." Shinobu confirms with a nod. "I mostly do figures and stuff rather than containers... but that's basically it."
And Yua has an idea! 'Mark'... That's not a super common name, so there's only one Mark that comes immediately for her. Commissions... Shinobu is torn. On one hand, that'd probably pay pretty well, but on the other...
"Ah, well... I'm not a pro like Inaba, so I usually don't? I don't want to put myself into the position of making something I do for fun feel like a job." Shinobu explains. "...I don't mind doing things for friends, though, if there was something you were looking for."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
THEY'RE REALLY EXPENSIVE STEAKS, NOBUMIZU! A LOT'S AT STAKE CHOOSING THOSE STEAKS!!
"Mm, mm!" Yua adds, brightly. "There was Takeba-kun, too... she's so strong for a young lady! Oh, and that scary lady I'd never met before... I guess she just wanted that mean guy's sword, but she still helped!" It's okay, Remi. Yua will sell your cover story.
She giggles, when Shinobu affirms Miho's strength as a good up. "Yup yup!" That must be where Tyrrha got it from...
"Mm... I know the police are looking and stuff," or at least that would be the story, though she at least knows Akechi is looking into the cockatoo, "just... what if no one knew who'd really taken her, and..."
Yua swallows, and leans over, cupping her hand to whisper: "They weren't really terrorists, I think. They weren't scary like humans are scary. Maybe... she got spirited away...? By a scary galah..."
That's the kind of pink cockatoo Akechi said he was looking for, and why would Yua disbelieve him??? He's a nice young man!
... but if she tells Shinobu, maybe she'll figure out what to look for, and... and no one can blame her for that! Jerri's not one of theirs! She doesn't need to protect her, not one bit!!
"Mm... well... she was right," Yua says, of what happened. "But it's the kind of thing where even though she's right, I still can't make it right... some of it's honour, and some of it's stuff I can't live without, and some of it's that I'm a wicked woman, so..." She shakes her head, sadly. "... I don't know if she'll want to see me if she gets back to normal life, but... I don't want her to hurt. I don't know if there's anything I can do... but maybe there's something? Mou... she has special friends that work at TV Tokyo, you know? Emisa Higa and Miyako Akimoto... and her boyfriend, Teruo Shinoda, too. I was bringing them cakes and stuff... you know, like cookies? I gave Yakoaki some of today's batch, even... that's kinda what tired me out this morning."
Kinda. The horrible ordeals before the cookies certainly contributed.
"Oh, that makes sense!" Yua nods, when Shinobu shares why she doesn't want to get paid for her passions. "Mm, mm... I heard that a lot from artists! But I was just thinking, you know... it would be really nice to give Father a tea box made by the woman who rescued me!" Yes, she really does call her clan-father chichi-ue, like she's in some kind of old-fashioned samurai movie, who talks like that. "It's like... it's art, but it's also a testament to the strength of my friends! I feel like he'd like something like that... and Mimi thinks it's really important to patronise the arts, she's been doing that ever since we were kids! So that's why I thought of a commission!"
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting to see her there, but I'm glad she was. Takeba's pretty reliable. Kid's got a good head on her shoulders." Shinobu agrees with a nod. She can't exactly say that she counts on Yukari's magic healing powers, but things might've gone pretty differently without them. As for Tsurugi... a complicated look crosses Shinobu's face, but she nods. "Yeah. Can't really trust her further than I can throw her, but... it would've been rough if she didn't show up."
She grins, at Yua's enthusiastic agreement.
Yua knows the police are looking, but it seems like she has another suspicion. Shinobu frowns - and leans over as Yua whispers.
...Does she remember it, then? At least, part of it. But what's more, a galah...
She doesn't know a whole lot about birds - but that is a type of bird, she's pretty sure. A pretty specific type of bird. It's hard to imagine she'd just pick that randomly...
"You think so? That sounds pretty serious..." Shinobu asks. "Well... I know some people. I'll ask them to keep an eye out. They might be able to think of some things the police won't."
It could sound like she's just humoring her, but... she takes it very seriously.
Yua does explain, at least a little. Hana was right about what they were arguing, it seems... but it's more complicated than that. Shinobu listens, frowning.
"'Wicked' is kind of a strong word to use for yourself..." Shinobu says gently. She remembers some of the concerns she voiced before... are they weighing on her that heavily? Or is this about something else? But Yua continues and Shinobu listens. About how she doesn't know if Hana will want to see her, but she doesn't want her to hurt... and about Hana's 'special friends'.
She's met Emisa Higa already, but the others... they work at the studio, too? That... feels like it might be a relevant piece of information to keep in mind.
"I think... that's a good start." Shinobu offers. "They must be worried sick about her. Having someone to think them and make sure they're still taking care of them might be the best thing you can do for Fukami-san right now."
Yua says it makes sense that she doesn't take commissions... but then she explains what she wanted. A tea box, for Father...
...It's kind of an intimidating prospect - making a gift for the head of a traditional family like that... But the idea behind it makes sense, though. Shinobu frowns thoughtfully, and nodding...
"Hm... I've never tackled something like that before, but... I might be able to do that." She considers. "What does he like? Any particular designs or colors? Things that'd really wow him."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"It's probably nothing," Yua demures, on the bird, though it's certainly not nothing.
... but when Shinobu says wicked is a strong word, and tries to support what she can do, Yua shakes her head. "I... I'm worse than you think I am," she says, quietly. "Even trying to help Kotoba's friends today, I... just a few days before, I'd... mm," she shakes her head, and she is afraid.
For a moment, at least -- she tries to focus on Father, instead. "... he likes traditional things," she volunteers, uncoiling a little. "His favourite is the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki," these being the two oldest historical-mythological accounts of Japan, "and all the art people have made about them... oh, and he's got a lot of art of the White Hare of Inaba, too! I asked him once... he said his mother lived in Inaba, so... oh, and his favourite colour is purple!"
She smiles, though it's still a touch strained. "Sorry, Ayawata did tell me a couple of things, so I guess it must sound weird for me to be so fond of an authoritarian man... but he's just stern, you know? He's not cruel... even when he couldn't adopt me onto the register, it was just because he has to think of their reputation and everything... he still worked out a way for me to take Mimi's name, even if it wasn't Mimi. And that's... pretty normal, for me, you know? My Grandmother's the priestess for our village... everyone looks to her for advice, so of course she's the one who decides what happens for my mother's family. And Father's an understanding man... he can see that I respect him in my heart, so even if the words I say don't match his tradition, he's always been very permissive with me. Oh, I guess that sounds bad, too...? But it's more stuff he has to balance, with how everyone sees him and stuff..."
She sighs, as she looks down at her hands. "I wonder what he'd think of how dirty my hands are... mm... well, maybe it would be okay, since I faced it..."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Yua insists that she's worse than she think she is. Shinobu looks at her consideringly. Just a few days before, she... doesn't elaborate. Shinobu leaves it at that - for now - as Yua tries to focus on the other topic at hand. She nods consideringly as she lists out the things he likes. Mythological figures... and the color purple.
"Let's see... I think I can work with that. I'll sketch out some ideas out and text 'em to you, see what you think. Show 'em to Ijuuin-san-" She pauses, then clarifies, "Miho-san, too."
Yua smiles - and Shinobu laughs sheepishly, as she comments on how it must sound weird for her to be so fond of him. So Ayame told her a bit about their parents...
"Ah, well... Yeah, I can't say I get it," Shinobu admits, massaging the back of her neck. She'd probably hate him if she met him. He sounds like the kind of person that'd rile her up pretty quickly - but 'tradition' is something that has never really set well with her. ...Maybe it's because it feels like there usually isn't a place for her and people like her in it. "...But it sounds like he's done a lot for you, and that's what matters."
Shinobu looks at her quietly, then, her expression softened. She'd kind of glossed over it before, but... She feels like she has to ask, when it's clearly weighing so heavily on her.
"...What happened, Yua-chan?" Shinobu asks.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
And is there a place for Yua, in that tradition? In her tradition, certainly... but the mainland's customs are not theirs, despite efforts to assimilate.
... even so, she's tried her best to fit into Miho's life, and Miho has made every effort to carve space for her in turn.
But there are things she could say, about Kimitake's view of her position...
She could. She will not.
Instead: she is glad, to include Miho, though her wordless noises shift sympathetic with that awkward hand at the back of Shinobu's shoulder. "I'm really speaking French to you, huh? Ce n'est pas ma tasse de thé!" ... her pronouciation of that French is remarkably good. "You know, 'it's not my cup of tea'... they say that in the West when they don't like something! Don't worry," she assures her, then, having intuited her discomfort from her body language alongside those easygoing words. "He's not the kind of man you'd run into, I don't think."
Takashi isn't embroiled in that dark conspiracy, after all. It's really a matter of contention in the ranks of evil -- they're a powerful, old family, and they haven't been properly subverted yet?
That just can't stand. Between Miho and Kimitake, it won't.
(And Yua? Yua's the object of the sentence, not the subject.)
But that conspiracy still weighs on her, even if she's a piece more than a player. She falls quiet, again, as she looks at her hands. Can Shinobu tell they're dirty...? She's sure she can...
'... what happened, Yua-chan?' She hears, without looking up.
And she hears, with a slightly more pointed cadence -- though Shinobu won't hear a thing -- what sounds to her so naturally like the next sentence out of Shinobu's mouth: 'What have you done?'
"Ah--!" Yua gasps, as she looks up to her, then, eye widening. "You can tell...? Oh... of course you can," she shakes her head, those hands lacing together. "I don't know how to wear it like -- like some people, I've never, um..."
She takes another breath, as her shoulders sink. "... a woman was injured in front of me," she relates, her tone going a touch dull. "She fell down, and cried for help, and so... I took my knife... and slammed it into her chest... and it didn't work, a lot of times it didn't work, it was too tough, but her belly wasn't as tough, and then... the twelfth time, when my arms were getting tired... it glanced off her chest, into her throat, and I guess that's how it would work, that's how we're supposed to put the kaiken in if we're dishonoured... but it wasn't in my neck, it was hers, and... there was a lot of blood, and... she died."
Yua swallows; her whole body has gone rigid.
"... she really, really deserved it," she says, quietly. "But I still... with my hands... I'd never, not once. Not even when they stole me... when I met her there... now she's dead. She has her own children... and she's dead..."
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Yua comments about speaking French - and then actually speaks French, quite impressively. Come to think of it, she and Remi are friends... Shinobu looks impressed - and then she laughs, as Yua explains what it means.
"Yeah, that's a good way to sum it up..." She replies with a nod. She's a little relieved that she doesn't take offense to it. She nods again, when she says he isn't the kind of man she'd run into. "Yeah, I mean... he's probably got, like, legions of guys on hand he can call if he has anything he needs done. He doesn't need to hire someone like me."
She says it matter-of-factly, and doesn't seem offended - because it is true - but she seems to have taken it differently than might have been intended...
Shinobu is briefly surprised by Yua's sudden reaction to her question. 'She can tell'? She isn't sure what it is she's supposed to have been able to tell - and then Yua talks about not knowing how to 'wear it' like some people...
...And then she explains what happened, in a lot more detail than Shinobu expected.
...How is someone supposed to react when a friend tells you they killed someone? Not just killed them - but stabbed them, repeatedly, at least twelve times? It... provides a lot of context to the way she's been acting, the way she's been thinking about herself.
Shinobu's been through a lot - but that's one of those things life usually doesn't prepare you for. Surprise and disbelief crosses her face.
"I... Shit, Yua-chan... God, that's..." Shinobu starts, fumbling for her words, a hand going to her forehead. "Are you... No, I guess you wouldn't be okay, huh... Does anyone else know? What... what even happened?"
...She stabbed her twelve times. What could she have done to make Yua think she deserved it?
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"You'd be reliable if he did!" Yua encourages Shinobu. "But don't worry... it's just Mimi and I relying on your work!!"
The things they ask Shinobu to deliver to and fro, as it happens, are all legal and above-board; Miho's expressed before how good help is too valuable to set up for failure.
Yua, it seems, has enough failure all on her own.
"Mimi knows," Yua says, sadly. "Recchi knows. And, um... Ryouhara-kun, too, so... Shishi probably heard." If she's talking about him like he's one of her students, she must mean Kurou, which would make 'Shishi'... Shiryuu?
"She..." Yua takes a shuddering breath, shaking her head. "... she was raping me," she says, in a continuous tense which suggests something more than a single event. "And not just me... she said she'd hurt other women, too. She... she was a doctor, or something," a psychologist, but Yua's not good at keeping track of that sort of thing, "so she said she was fixing our deviance, but... she wasn't fixing anything. When she got hurt, I... I mean, I heard her calling out and, and I really did go to her to help her, but... but then I saw her there, and... and I'm not strong, Nobumizu, I couldn't do it without taking advantage of something, and I realised that was 'something', so I just..."
She trails off, but she's already said what she just did, didn't she?
Twelve times...
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"Thanks. I don't mind having dedicated customers." Shinobu replies with a small laugh. She definitely appreciates having consistent above-board work, too. She does try to vet her jobs - the last thing she needs is legal troubles.
Yua explains who all knows. Miho, Remi, and... Ryouhara-kun? That's a surprising name - and so is 'Shishi'... Shinobu nods - and then, with some effort, Yua explains.
...She was raping her. And not just her - other women, too, claiming to be fixing their 'deviance'. She catches the implication - that this was an ongoing thing..
Shinobu's expression shifts - surprise and disbelief giving way to anger and disgust. She clasps a hand over her mouth, briefly.
"That's... disgusting." Shinobu replies with a shake of her head. Her hands settle back onto the table, clenching into fists. "Nothin' about you needs 'fixing'... the hell kind of doctor was she?"
It's... a pretty stark reminder of the way some people think about them. Shinobu shuts her eyes and exhales, looking at Yua again.
"That's... I think anyone'd see red, if they went through that." She replies quietly, shaking her head. "I don't think... it's a matter of 'strength'."
Should she say that she shouldn't have done it? That she shouldn't have killed someone who was calling for help? ...Maybe she should have - but she's always had a tendency to give into her own anger. And when that someone's been hurting you, hurting who knows how many unknown people...
...'Right' and 'wrong' go out the window.
"Just... God, Yua-chan... You didn't deserve any of that." Shinobu shakes her head.
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
At this point, if Shinobu had legal problems, she could probably call Miho and Yua and get them sorted out...
... though, is that something of a deal with the devil?
Yua might not look like a demon, but...
"A talking doctor," Yua says, miserably. "Even before she was able to hurt me like this... she made me tell her all about my relationship. She kept telling me to add more details... um... I think that's when she really got obsessed with me. She said that I was the one who showed her this sort of thing was even possible... like it was my fault she was awful."
Yua swallows, as she supposes: "But... if I was the one who inspired her... it means it was my responsibility, and... I had to stop her. That's the kind of thing I thought, I guess... though I wasn't thinking too much at all, just... that she was in pain, and I hoped she'd be in more pain, I wanted her to be in pain..." ... 'right' and 'wrong', right out the window, huh?
"Mimi says it's not my fault," she adds, "but I keep thinking about it. How it was really hard, but when I slipped into the way to do it, it was actually very easy... how Mimi helped me get rid of the body... how I'm different now. I killed another human... even if she was a bad person, that's not supposed to happen, right...? But I couldn't go to the police, um... she wasn't someone they'd investigate fairly, even if Kimi-san really tried, so..."
'Even if Kimi-san really tried' is doing so much heavy lifting in that sentence.
"T-thank you," she says, with a touch of a sniffle. "I'm sorry... it's too much to hear about someone, right? If you need to tell the police, I understand... but I think Kimi-san will probably make sure that investigation's dropped before I bring more shame on everyone. I just... I hope you won't be afraid of the cookies," and her voice crumbles, a little, as she speaks on them. "They're really fine, they're not poisoned or anything, I don't just kill people, I'm not a murderer! I'm not! I -- uh -- I don't want to be," because of course she is, "I never wanted to be this sort of person...!"
(She's right, as it happens. The cookies are so not poisoned, they in fact restore 20 HP a pop.)
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
A 'talking doctor'... Shinobu grimaces. It's awful to think of someone like that taking advantage of their position. It only deepens when Yua continues.
"...It wasn't your fault." Shinobu insists. "Of course she'd frame it like you were responsible... She'd do everything to pin the fault on everyone but herself, to make it seem like she was right."
...And ultimately, that pinning of blame lead to her death. Shinobu sure isn't going to mourn her.
"...Well. She got what was coming to her." Shinobu exhales, shaking her head. "Just wish you didn't have to be the one to do it... but I'm not gonna blame you for taking your shot."
In her shoes... She probably would've done the same.
It is... a little chilling, though... to hear the way she talks about it. How Miho helped her get rid of the body, and how Kimitake would shut down any investigations that arose because of it. Is it just because she's, on paper, his wife? Or was there something more to it? It feels like something's going on here... but she can hardly ask for answers right now.
"...It's not supposed to. But... what happened to you isn't supposed to, either. It's just... all messed up all around." Shinobu replies, shaking her head. She studies Yua for a moment.
"No, look, it's... fine." She says. ...Well, it isn't fine, nothing about the situation is fine, but it is 'fine' in the sense that she's going to tell her she shouldn't have said it. "...I'm not gonna go to the police. Don't worry."
...Like she says - Kimitake would make sure the investigation got dropped, and Shinobu isn't exactly the most trusting of the police right now, anyway... It'd likely just be painting a target on her own back if she did.
There's other people she'd go to, first.
And then Yua says she hopes she won't be afraid of the cookies, assuring her they're fine - that she's not a murderer, she doesn't just kill people - or she doesn't want to be, and that hurts her heart a little.
"...Hey, it's okay. I'm not afraid of the cookies." Shinobu assures her. "...No, I don't think you did. ...It sucks that's how things ended up."
<Pose Tracker> Yua Ijuuin has posed.
"Mm..." Yua hums, and repeats, slowly: "It... wasn't my fault. When... when... Natari Konishi did those things..." It's the first time she's said her name since she began her assaults, and in the struggle of naming her Yua isn't really thinking deeply about the potential ramifications of Shinobu having that information, "it's 'cause... she wanted to. Mou... saying that feels weird, but... b-but I should practice, I guess...?"
She takes a breath, and affirms: "She got what she deserved."
Still, that's a very... particular way of expressing that sentiment.
She nods, mutely, when Shinobu says it's messed up, and looks to her when she assures her not to worry. "O--okay. Thanks..." ... if Kimitake did have to hush up an investigation, she'd probably regret it, she thinks.
But she can't say that.
"It really sucks," she sniffles, reaching over to grab a tissue from the table and dabbing at her eyes. "And -- and it sucks more 'cause -- I got these stupid baby emotions -- and I cry even when nothing is sad and this is super sad!" It is, at least, a bit of a return to her normal way of speaking...
... and it reminds her, in turn, of baby. (Getting kicked in the stomach helps.) "Mouuu, but I don't want to invite you over just to be sad," Yua insists, tucking the tissue away. "Hey, hey... I told you we commissioned Mark-san, right? Do you wanna come and see what he did for us?"
She'll take Shinobu's help getting up, and so lead her to...
... the nursery! With sea creatures and a happy beach scene splayed across the walls, all in Mark's cheerful style! By now, there's a bunch of equipment in the nursery, too, and Yua's mood brightens as she shows Shinobu all the cool toys and gadgets they've prepared for Hiroki.
She shares, as well, that she's scheduled to go into hospital for monitoring soon...
... but if all these terrifying things are happening to her out here, maybe in hospital is the safest place for Yua to be right now?
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
'Natari Konishi'... Shinobu will remember that name. She won't repeat it here, though.
It takes Yua some effort - but she's able to say that it wasn't her fault. That she did it because she wanted to.
"That's right. It's not your fault." Shinobu assures. Yua says she should practice, and what she practices saying is... 'she got what she deserved'.
...That definitely has a different vibe. She wonders if she should be worried about that...
She nods back when Yua thanks her - and again, when she agrees that it really sucks. But, ah, baby emotions... She knows a little about that from her sister. Shinobu offers a small, sympathetic laugh.
But, she doesn't want to invite her over just to be sad.
"...Sometimes you just gotta be sad." Shinobu offers. "But I'm not gonna say no to that. Let's go take a look, huh?"
She will indeed help her up, and let her lead her to the nursery.
It's very cute - and when she points out all of the cool things they got for Hiroki, Shinobu will ask questions! And, when she finally shares that last bit of information, wishes her a safe trip.
...It probably is the safest place for her right now - even if it might be difficult for her.