2026-09-27: Unknown History
- Log: 2026-09-27 Unknown History
- Cast: Ichika Kawase, Morgana (NPCed by Ren Amamiya)
- Where: Central Street - Main
- OOC Date: September 27, 2026
- IC Date: January 16, 2013
- Summary: Morgana and Ichika happen to run into each other in Shibuya. While Morgana is wary at first, Ichika's un-aggressive desire to talk convinces him to stay--besides, he needs to give her a proper apology.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Shopping in Shibuya is different from shopping in Rengedai or Yumezaki. ...Besides; it lets Ichika clear her head away from 'home'... which might stay home for longer than this, if things work out with the school she's hoping to get into. Ichika's not in uniform anymore, having adopted something a little more fashionable; a green top with a band logo on it over a tight, long-sleeved black shirt, a short black skirt over tights, and some spiky boots. That and her bleach-blonde hair and her height make her easy for people to spot. And she has a couple of shopping bags already.
...But just this moment, she's a little hungry, and she's just finishing the transaction to get a chocolate crepe at the stand. She is pleasant enough to the worker, but as soon as she turns away she looks thoughtful again.
She has a lot on her mind.
<Pose Tracker> Morgana has posed.
There's a lot of things to be on people's minds right now. For example, one Morgana happens to be on Central Street at the same time Ichika is. He visited that same crepe shop not too long ago with Ren and Ann, and even had a bite or two of crepe with them. He hadn't thought of Ren as a crepe guy, but they are open-minded, and it was tasty with the dark chocolate coffee flavor...
That's what he's thinking when he pauses as he passes by on the busy street to look over at the shop. It's a bitter memory, just like that crepe was, and for a moment he's lost in his own thoughts too.
Then Ichika turns around, and he realizes he knows that bleach-blonde head, and he freezes up.
Look, when you are small and there's a crowd, it's a perfectly legitimate instinctive response! Cats are in the middle of the food chain! Not that Morgana is a cat!!
As Ichika turns, though, there also just happens to be a gap in the crowd passing by. If she isn't spacing out with her own thoughts, she'll be able to spot him. Morgana's small but also pretty distinctive with those white tips, yellow collar, and intensely blue eyes. Whether she wants to talk to him or not is another matter.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Situational awareness befits a Phantom Thief!
...Well, it also befits someone who doesn't want to get pickpocketed or groped. Ichika is not so lost in thought that she doesn't spot Morgana, and indeed, that gap in the crowd prompts, "Morgana!" from her, before she even has a chcne to say much else.
She brings the crepe with her. "Thanks," she says over her shoulder to the crepe stand, and then starts walking Morgana's way with quick steps.
"Hey--"
She does, as it happens.
<Pose Tracker> Morgana has posed.
Freezing didn't work. Morgana grimaces when Ichika's eyes lock on him and she calls his name--but when she hurries over his way, he masters his instinct this time and parks his butt rather than dash away. He can at least be dignified about this, as also befits a phantom thief, instead of some scared little pussycat.
"Ichika," he says once she's close enough. He's not as good at poker faces as Ren is--indeed, the twitch of the tip of his tail is an obvious tail that he's not as cool and collected about this chance encounter as he'd like to seem--but at least he's still her.
"I suppose you're still mad at me," he then says, because why wouldn't she be? Even if that hadn't been his intention, he did insult her--and it had been fully his intention to insult her boyfriend.
And, both of those things aside, he's still assuming things about how she feels.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika looks down at Morgana, and comes to a stop. Nobody's probably paying much attention to them, which is how she prefers it--and that would be different if she kneeled down to interact. At the same time...
"No," Ichika answers him. "I know you didn't mean it to come out like that, so I'm not mad." For Ryuji, well... That's different, anyway.
"But I do want to talk." She tilts her head over to the alley nearby, the one leading to Untouchable and an entrance to the Velvet Room.
"Can we?"
<Pose Tracker> Morgana has posed.
It's normal enough for a girl to approach a cute cat on the street. At best, people might glance at the cute kitty too before hurrying along their way; it's cold out, after all. It's still not a great idea to talk out in the open where everyone can see, since there's lots of Persona Users around, though, so when Ichika tilts her head, Morgana slowly looks towards that alley.
He's not sure he believes her, but if she wants to talk... even if she says she's not mad about the insult, he does owe her a proper apology.
"Fine," he says.
He doesn't try to hop up onto her shoulder or anything; he does use her legs as a shield while weaving through the crowd towards that alley, though. If a small girl with an eyepatch perched upon a blue door stares at him and Ichika both as they pass by, it's not like he can stare back. Once they're both out of sight and earshot of the main street, he sits again.
"...So, what did you want to talk about?" he says, a wisp of wariness tinting his attempted neutral tone. He plans on apologizing, but... he ought to let her have her say first, too.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
It's true, to a point; she would be mad... if she weren't worried, and didn't have mixed feelings about the whole thing that outweigh it.
"Thanks."
Ichika doesn't notice the small girl with the eyepatch, herself; the Velvet Room's attendants to her are the pianist, the singer, and the artist.
"...Well, first," she says.
"I'm sorry. I tried to get you to swallow your feelings, even though what we're about is the opposite of that. I'd be really mad if someone told me to just calm down and take it... so I won't do that to you, either."
"...There's more, but it's kind of complicated. So I wanted to say that part first."
<Pose Tracker> Morgana has posed.
"...."
Morgana really wasn't expecting an apology. It makes him feel... conflicted. On the one paw, he's kind of relieved to hear it. On the other paw, it's clear she's got more to say too, and it also makes him feel guilty about having blown up at her in the first place. Morgana likes Ichika, even if he doesn't like everyone she's dating.
It does make for the perfect segue, though, so:
"I'm... sorry, too," he says, ears sinking. "I know you said you weren't mad and you understand I wasn't trying to insult you, but I want to say that first too. I still hurt you, and that wasn't what I wanted to do."
Flick, flick, goes the tip of his tail. Now that he's said that, it's Ichika's turn again, and he's betting it's going to be something about Ryuji. Who wouldn't want to defend the person they love, after all?
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Thanks," Ichika says. "I said I wasn't mad, and that's true... but it did sting. I'm used to that kind of thinking from most people, but not from my friends." Pause. "OK."
Flick, flick. "...There's a lot i don't know about you. And there's a lot of dynamics in the group that I just kind of accepted as there, because I got here late. Like you and Ryuji-kun fighting. I told myself... it wasn't my business, since you two have known each other longer than I've known either of you."
"But I think that's just looking away to make things easier. I mean, ont he one hand, you two can fight your own fights. It's not really my place to put myself in the middle."
"...On the other hand, part of why he got so mad was he was defending me... so I'm not sure what I feel."
"Does that make sense? It's kinda... all really complicated stuff. So I'm not here to argue on his behalf or whatever. I'm here because I like to think that you and me are friends."
<Pose Tracker> Morgana has posed.
Morgana really wasn't expecting that. That's reflected in how his ears point up as if to drag his head along with them, letting him stare at her. His eyes slide away when she admits that Ryuji at least partially went as far as he did because he was trying to defend her.
And... wasn't Morgana just letting Ichika off the hook for basically the same reason? He's always had a contentious relationship with Ryuji, it's true, and pretty much none of the others try to tell either of them to not argue, at least most of the time. After a certain point, it just became natural. Considering pretty much everyone came in 'late' compared to Ren, Morgana, Ryuji--even Ann came in a little after those three did, if they want to split hairs--maybe that's why. It's just how it was from the start, so they accepted that it was 'natural.'
"It does," he murmurs. "And... I think you and I are friends, too. But... I guess I assumed if it ever got really bad between him and me, you'd take his side. Tsubasa, too--even if they weren't there that day. Both of you are a lot closer to him than you are to me."
Indeed, Ichika may have noticed that Morgana's backed down on squabbling with Ryuji in the past because of either her or them saying something. If Morgana thought it would damage their friendship if he didn't, maybe that only makes sense.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
When he stares, Ichika doesn't stop talking. ...She hesitates a little, sure, but...
It did seem natural.
"Morgana..." Ichika listens, and her eyes grow a little more distant as she thinks through what he says. Whether she likes it or not, when she's thinking her expression tends to get a little softer; at least some of the roughness of the Thorn Boss is active defense more than nature. Still, after a moment, her eyes focus.
"It's fair to feel that way," Ichika says. "I guess most people would. ...But no, if he's wrong, he's wrong. Our relationship can survive some arguing, you know? At least, it better be able to."
"Maybe if it'd gone differently I'd be having a conversation like this with him, instead. But it didn't."
"It's like that with Tsubasa too, though--they're all about what they think is right. We all have to be, to do what we're doing. And I don't like how that all went down."
"...Like I said, it's complicated. But I know I'm not going to laugh at you. If you ever actually want to talk about... you know, what you were feeling before it all went really bad--Well, as your friend, I'll talk with you."
She can't quite share everything she feels; does it respect him, to tell him to come back? She isn't sure. But at least she can say this much.
<Pose Tracker> Morgana has posed.
It's true: everyone in The Phantoms is all about what they think is right. Some of them are just more brash and bullheaded about it. It really reassures Morgana to hear that Ichika wouldn't blindly take Ryuji's side no matter what, though--something he can believe this time because she's clearly demonstrating it by talking him through her feelings. The way her expression softens helps, too.
It does make him think for a minute, though. Their relationship better be able to surviving some arguing, huh... Morgana sees what she's saying. He can disagree with Ren, and has done so before, often while acting as a sounding board to their thoughts, but... when it comes to Lady Ann, he always just tries to get on her good side, huh...? If she doesn't feel anything for him, maybe that's why...
(Morgana still doesn't get that Ryuji was saying she's a lesbian when she said she'd never be with a 'guy' (man) as opposed to a 'guy' (human). This is a truth Ren already knows too and has not had the heart to tell him. That's also part of the problem, really--but that's for him and Ren to work out at some point.)
So when Ichika makes the offer to be a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on, it doesn't take long for him to make up his mind. "...Nah," he decides--quietly, but with conviction. "I'm not going to put you in the middle, Ichika. This is between me and Ryuji--no," he corrects himself. "He just got me riled up when I was feeling extra-low. It's really... between me and Lady Ann."
It isn't even between him and Ann. It's between him and his insecurities about his place on the team. Morgana hasn't yet searched his heart well enough to know it to be true, though.
"I really need to talk to her," he continues. "I just... need to work up the nerve, first."
He's sure she must be mad at him after hearing about what happened, and he doesn't dare say so out loud; he doesn't want to hear Ichika either confirm it or force herself to lie to spare his feelings.
"...Anyway, thanks for talking to me. I'm glad you're doing okay." Morgana rises to his feet. "I should go, though. I've got things to do, and I'm sure you do too."
Part of him does hope that Ichika asks him to stay as he starts to walk off, but... he left the team. Torched that bridge, really. If he's not going to make her get in between him and Ryuji, he's sure not going to make her choose between him and the rest of her friends.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
It didn't really occur to Ichika that Ryuji would assume or realize Ann's gay, either. And Ichika's pretty emotionally intelligent!
Nah, he decides. "I respect that," Ichika says. "OK, cool. Then you do wht you gotta do."
Work up the nerve... Ichika nods. "It's not easy," she says, "But I'm sure you will." Instead, though, he thanks her, and she smiles back. "Thanks too," she says. "You helped me figure out how I feel, too. ...And likewise."
But he's gotta go. "Yeah, I do," she admits. "I'd like to talk more sometime, though. Whatever you end up doing."
No, she thinks; it's not her place to just ask him to come back, any more than it's her place to fix his and Ryuji's relationship.
"See you around, Morgana. Take care."
She turns, and starts to go, too.