2026-10-03: Comeback Kid
- Log: Comeback Kid
- Cast: Hana Fukami, Tsubasa Seki
- Where: Kichijoji - Main
- OOC Date: October 03, 2026
- IC Date: January 19, 2013
- Summary: Tsubasa comes to check on Hana at the TV station. Wait, that's not cool. Tsubasa /happens/ to run into Hana at the TV station. They talk about differences and what to do about them.
(|============================= Kichijoji - Main =============================|)
-========================================================= Tokyo/Kichijoji ====-
When people list their most desirable places to live in Tokyo, Kichijoji nearly
always tops the list. Minutes away from scenic Inokashira park, the district
itself feels warm and inviting with its billboard of a chibi mascot happily
dining at the entrance to Sanpo Road, the main thoroughfare.
People line up here for a quick lunch with quality street food and/or finer
dining at the cafes alike, while shuttered alleys light up at night with open
air bars and izakayas. Entertainment is easy enough to find here, as businesses
eschew aggressive barkers for more welcoming signs, drawing people in. More
discerning customers know exactly where to look for some of the more hidden gems
among the clubs of Tokyo.
Even the monks outside the local Buddhist temple seem part of the experience,
offering people the opportunity for quiet meditation away from the rat race of
daily life.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Hana Fukami
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Work is finished for the day! This time, it was a lot more than just filming the show; Hana had to stay after for various discussions, setting up another guest, talking with Kiki, doing some paperwork... All in all, it's late afternoon before she actually leaves the studio, despite filming wrapping much earlier. It's fine; Hana is still settling back into being here, and this Friday is the first time she's been on since her ordeal.
Now, she has her coat on, and is walking in her heels out of the studio. They clack nicely against the pavement. She's bright-eyed today, in a good mood. And she's just broken off from a colleague she was talking to!
The chill air of the afternoon in January is bracing, and Hana? Hana is braced.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Perhaps it's a good thing filming went so late; Tsubasa's school is WAY far from here. Despite that, they've made the trek out to central Tokyo, because it's been a few days and there's someone they oughta check on.
Strangely, they didn't see Hana escaping while they were protecting the hall from the Legionaires... but that hardly means she didn't slip by. It's not like Phoenix can be described as situationally aware when the rubber hits the road, unless you're referring to their strange, canny ability to respond to attacks in an eyeblink.
They are NOT in heels; high-top sneakers with all the requisite gang patches, thanks. A grey and pink hoodie probably isn't doing enough about the cold, and it hides a shock of magenta hair and loud blue cargo pants. This, as it happens, is not the kind of fit that lets you into Tokyo Studios, even if you insist you just gotta talk to someone man c'mon.
So they're chilling out here at the bus stop, suitably slouched in to stop the busses from bothering them, until they spy...
"Yo!"
Is Tsubasa a nascent detective or a nascent paparazzi? It might be an open question, as they jump up from the bench to hurry after Hana when they sight her.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Very far! So it all works out just fine. Hana, of course, remembers seeing Phoenix holding off the Legionnaires during her battle... but not Tsubasa. And she will be glad in a few moments that Tsubasa didn't try to get into the studio.
Now, though--
"Ah?" Hana stops short and looks around, prepared for a camera. instead of a camera she sees a HOOLIGAN.
And brightens!
"Seki-kun!" she says.
"Hello," she says warmly. "What brings you out here?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"I heard -- you was airin' again," Tsubasa says, and says it with a kind of a huff huff characteristic of someone with atrocious lung capacity having just run up, though of course they try to play it off like it's nothing, straightening up after a moment's sagging to rub at the back of their neck. (It pulls on their hoodie, a bit, which pulls on their wig, a bit...)
"'Cuz... you got... kidnapped or somethin', right?" Tsubasa of course isn't supposed to know this, so they use their foolproof cover story: the grapevine. "Always talk in Sumaru... y'know." They wave a hand, dismissively.
"But I thought -- uh -- you good?"
Flawless execution.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Hana knows if she expresses concern for a TEENAGER then Tsubasa will shrug it off, but she can't help but show a little. Still...
"That's right," Hana says, slightly taken aback to have it brought up so... eloquently. "Oh, I see. Sumaru does like its rumors, doesn't it? Officially we're trying to spin it as illness, so as not to alarm people, but yes, that's correct."
They thought...?
"I'm all right," she says. "No lasting harm. ...Quite the opposite, an experience like that... sometimes teaches you what you really value in life."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah?" Tsubasa asks, direct as a freight train. A glance around the street reveals a bike rack beside them; they surreptuously step aside to hop up on it, like it's a SEAT, even though it's a SEAT FOR BIKES!
It's not cool to sit down unless you're sitting on a curved metal rack, though. C'mon. This is basic image shit.
"What ya figure?"
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Direct! Hana turns towards the bike rack, and just stands. She's an adult. It's fine.
"...That living as I choose is more important to me than fitting in, mostly. I was already out, whether I liked it or not. Now..."
"Well, i'm more willing to rock the boat, I suppose."
"I have a lot of things to figure out, but that's the upshot."
"...That, and standing up to people who try to push me down. The world sees a lot of injustice..."
"I don't have to just accept it."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
I mean, it's pretty impressive if she's doing that in heels...
(Tsubasa only really knows that from second-hand accounts, though. Even back then, they really weren't a heels kinda guy.)
"It's like that, huh?" Tsubasa rubs at the back of their neck some more, only to give up and pull their hoodie down so it doesn't yank on their shock of magenta hair until it comes off. (The massive scarring, as it happens, is only mostly covered up by makeup.) "Man... wonder if..."
If conquering someone's Kingdom helps them to fight back against the world even if they don't Awaken, they were going to say, only to catch themself at the last minute.
"-- uh, I mean, jus' wonderin' if that's the shit we all gotta get to one way or another," smooth, Tsubasa. Smooth. "Like... by those guys," they jerk a thumb back at the studio, "we're fuckin' freaks. I was wonderin' if there was a way to be respectable 'bout it with your kinda shit..."
Tsubasa shrugs a shoulder, as they say, "guess not."
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Hana is good in heels.
"Hm?" Hana wonders about the wondering. Hana likes the magenta, incidentally. "Oh..."
"To a point yes," Hana says, and she's sympathetic about it but as blunt as she's likely to be. "To some of them, we'll always be freaks. ...But to most, if we work hard, and play by the rules, they'll pretend to tolerate us."
Pause. "...But to the right people, we can be accepted, even loved, and largely left alone by the rest."
"...I'm respectable," she says. "And all I had to do to get there was encourage other women to color inside the lines, too."
"I'm going to get less respectable, I think. But more honest. And I think that counts for a lot."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Workin' hard is a drag," Tsubasa complains, folding their arms. "As if I'd bother... don't give a shit 'bout them rules, neither. Cool you catchin' up, tho', uh..."
They pause, a touch awkwardly. "Sorry, uh... like, you was figurin' it out? Shit sucks. Not tryin' to be an ass or nothin'. But, uh, cool ya ain't gon' tell women to shut up an' look prettty or whatever..." Why would their mind go to that when they think about colouring within the lines?
Tsubasa's pretty mum as to their sources, though. (Read that sentence twice.)
"You oughta be able to say shit," they say, instead.
[OOC] Tsubasa Seki says, "blu-ray *pretty"
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"I don't mind hard work," Hana says. "There's a lot of things it's worth doing for. ...But not so much that." Catching up; Tsubasa, of course, already saw it...
It's awkward. But when Tsubasa apologizes, Hana smiles. "I knew once, I think. I just... forgot. In all the everything, it seemed so important to play by the rules."
"No, I'm not. There's enough people giving those lessons."
She ought to be able to...
"...You know, I used to be more open about being different."
"But I wanted to be taken seriously..."
Hana looks up to the sky. "I was afraid. When I showed my 'difference' before, I was hurt for it."
"...But that makes it all the more important."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Ehhh," Tsubasa shrugs, disaffected. "Lame."
They say it's lame, but they keep finding themselves going to the effort...
... but isn't it kind of embarrassing to get really intensely into solving a problem? Like, that shit freaks people out???
(Tsubasa, as it happens, still isn't taking their pills. The person giving lessons -- well, one of them -- keeps calling, but they're just not all that interested in attending their psych appointments. 'Play the game'... yeah, right.)
"Forgot, huh..." Tsubasa sounds a little sceptical, but it's more because they're thinking about how unlikely it is they'd ever be able to forget something like that. "... but ain't no one really takin' ya." Seriously, that is. "Can't bargain guys into takin' ya serious. You gotta make 'em."
They shrug, leaning back on the bike rack, fingers curling around the loop. "Hidin' it hurts too," they float, as they think of Ren's efforts to fly under the radar.
"May as well scream."
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Teenagers.
Tsubasa sounds skeptical. "You never know," Hana says. "Some things, even important things, can be difficult to remember when you're in the midst of so many other things." But...
"Well, that's the problem, isn't it? You can pretend they are, if you don't rock the boat. ...On the other hand, you can learn who really does, if you do. And those people are worth remembering."
Can't bargain...
"Hmm. Well, that's certainly sometimes the best way. ...To do what you'll do, and let them deal with it how they chosoe."
But hiding...
"It does," she says. "Well. I don't need to tell you all of this, do I? You're living it, too."
"...But thank you, for checking in. It was... an ordeal, that's the best word for it."
"But I'm back with the people I care about. And I'm going to be the person I want to be."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Did you know that babies grow up into teenagers??? ARE YOU PREPARED FOR THIS TO BE YOUR LIFE, HANA?????????
They shrug, though, when she says it can be hard to remember. "Yeah... guess so. Glad you figured out who gives a shit, anyway. Y'know?"
Rubbing at the back of their neck, they say: "Jus' reckon you oughta issue more demands an' less requests. Like, uh... bullyin' a Chinese joint." Tsubasa's trying to express being a bull in a china shop, but their English just really isn't very good...
"But yeah, uh, I guess," they add, on living it. "Why I wanted to, like... whatever. I mean, it's not like I was stalkin' you or nothin', I was jus' waitin' for th' bus, no big deal..."
Shrug. Shrug!!! "Anyway. Cool ya got people. Uh, fuck, I said that already... whatever, y'know, it's good you doin' ya own thing. Cool. Ain't that many of us out there... oughta give like, half a shit."
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Babies become teenagers!? That can't be science.
"Yes," Hana says. "I did."
And Tsubasa mentions demands rather than requests, and Hana is thoughtful about that. "You know," she says, "Even 'before', I was never really the demanding type. ...But I admit, it feels really good to put someone terrible in his place." She thinks about Matsumoto. Yeah... that felt good.
Pause. "...Oh!" She gets it, after a moment. A bull in a china shop. "Break some more dishes..."
"I understand," Hana says gravely. "It's fine. Maybe one of these days we'll meet intentionally, even."
Then, "...Yes," she says. "But... you'd be surprised how many of us are out there, just... not feeling like we can show it. It's why people like you and me who have to are important, I suppose."
"...I suspect you give more than 'half' a shit, too."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah, man," Tsubasa says, gesturing to Hana. "Do that." Put terrible people in their place, they mean. "Break dishes. Make noise."
They shrug, as they approximate: "Maybe, sure. If you're into that. Uh -- but not like that..." Tsubasa, sweetie, Hana is way out of your league, she definitely didn't think you were asking her on a date, you're five years too early and she knows you're taken.
(Look, it's awkward, okay?! What kinda guy hangs around with adult movie stars or whatever???)
"Ehhh... not that surprised," Tsubasa shrugs. "Met a couple already. Guess it's good thinkin' like that, tho'. I jus' figure... world's not cool with me? I ain't cool with th' world."
But then -- the shit they were giving!!
"Uh, y'know, it'd be a bit crap not givin' a shit 'bout a chick got grabbed, so..."
That wasn't a 'no'.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"Right!" Hana smiles.
And then--Oh, dear. Hana smiles, but it's a different sort of smile. Wrong idea entirely kind of smile. Still, "Right," she says. "it'd be nice to have a new friend. Since you came all this way."
But not that surprised. "It.. varies, for me. There are parts of the world that are much more okay with me, and parts that would be, if they gave me a chance. ...And then there's the parts that i'm not cool with in the first place. I want to be the one deciding it--the one to say whether I accept something, or not."
"I suppose it would be at that," she says. "But on the bright side, they do tell me I'm fine. So there's that."
Hana won't press too hard at this CARING TEENAGER, but she is a little concerned...
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Don't bother me none," Tsubasa shakes their head. "Had to get more meds, anyhow. Me doc's out here." The one they actually trust, they mean. (The one supplying them with testosterone despite that being illegal for another two years, they mean.) "Jab meself every Sat, so."
Still, Hana emphasises her autonomy, and Tsubasa nods. "Yeah, man. It's like that. It's your call." They're definitely thinking that solving Kingdoms helps people to fight back even if they don't develop Personas...
"Cool," they nod, sternly. "Good you're okay. Uh, here," they pull out their phone. "Get ya me number... in case there's more shit goin' on." In case that cockatoo shows up, that is. ... Tsubasa still isn't, like, one HUNDRED percent sure the occkatoo is evil...
But... are they okay?
Don't worry about it, man, they're here to make sure Hana's good. That's totally how this interaction is orientated, they're the one checking up on her.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
More meds! That's important. "Ahhh. That makes sense." Jabs themselves! That's something, too. ...Probably they're not strictly legal, but Hana is not a narc.
And, "Yes," she says, and it might still be a strange visual, this fancy lady talking to rough-hewn Tsubasa. Still...
"Thanks." Their number! Hana sees this, and is willing to go with it. Just because she's willing to rebel doesn't mean she doesn't know how to be subtle when it's warranted. "I appreciate that," she says. "Thank you."
She smiles, then. Are they okay?
"Take care, Seki-kun. ...Unless you're hungry?"
She can feed a teenager. That's an option.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Hey, technically the T ain't illegal, man. Just some stupid shit about how you gotta be an adult to do anything to fix your stupid wrong body and their body's been deemed incompetent because they won't go to their stupid rigged psych appointments. Did you know that 18's an adult in, like, a bunch of countries?! So it's basically not even a crime!
(Time would vindicate Tsubasa, if only they had a time machine...)
"Cool," they nod, sternly, when she takes their number. "Then..."
Tsubasa hops off the bike rack, as if to fuck off, only to pause when Hana offers food.
"... maybe," they say, suspiciously. "You buyin'?"
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Hana remembers that well. Indeed, time would vindicate them... but not for a while, yet.
But, Hana takes the number and then--
"Yes," Hana says. "I need to pick something up for on the way home anyway." So it's not even out of her way!
"...Come on, there's a good stand up the street from here. I used to order lunch from there all the time, until our catering got better..."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Oh, yeah?" Tsubasa asks, as Hana mentions picking something up on the way home. "Cool. Would do that more if me job paid better... uh, not that I hate it or anythin'. Jus' can't do any real work 'til I'm five years out from me legal shit, it's like, regulations an' shit..."
Which both means that a) Tsubasa's encountered legal trouble in the past (a shocking revelation) and b) they're part-timing at a job which cares about that.
They are, at least, now ambling alongside Hana up the street, hands naturally shoved in their pockets.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"I see," Hana replies. "It is nice to be able to do--I remember I had to be a bit more frugal on a student's budget." But no real work until... five years out? "What sort of work are you looking to do?" she wonders. That regulations are relevant.
Shocking!! ...Well, not that shocking. Interesting, though.
Hana continues along, adjusting her hand on her purse strap at her shoulder.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Uh, like... detective shit," Tsubasa shrugs, hands still buried in their pockets. "You know, diggin' shit up an' whatever... ain't pig shit, but you gotta pass security clearance for a licence anyway. Got some shit pinned on me few years back, so... 'til then, I can only really dig through public reports an' shit."
They frown, as they look up the street. "... dunno if I might have to be more realistic or whatever, tho'. Got uni comin' up, but I can't leave me dog, so I can't board on campus... might need a better job."
Pause.
"Or... call me father, or... whatever. I'll figure somethin' out."
They're still pretty casual, and their expression hasn't changed all that much from stoic in a kind of pissed off way this whole time, but for some reason the background music cuts out at those last lines anyway.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"Oh!" Not the police, but a private detective. "I see. Yes, I can imagine where legal trouble would run you into difficulty there..." Pinned on them; Hana, especially in the wake of what's gone on lately, is entirely willing to believe that. Besides, "Hmm."
Realistic...
"If you do," Hana says, "I have some experience with job hunting. I could give you some advice," she offers. That's the easiest thing she can offer, though right now...
Well. If their family is their last option...
"You do at least still have some time to think about it. Do you know where you're going, yet?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah," Tsubasa says, though they say it with a bit of a sigh. "I guess."
It's not cool to just come out and admit that they like working at Kuzunoha. Even with having to bribe the cat every time they walk in...
They shrug, shoulders hunched forward, as they walk. "Dunno. Applied to UTok," the University of Tokyo, which really doesn't fit their present presentation, "but, uh... mom had a real public episode few days before, got... shipped off, so... it's whatever, might still get into PIC."
If they're saying they 'might still' get into Pleione, a university with high international regard and the results to attract students from all over the world, as if it's their safe backup option...
... what does Tsubasa mean when they say they're digging into public reports? Is this really just some shoplifting punk?!
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Hmmm. Well, maybe they won't have to! Hana can't exactly solve their problems herself, though.
But...
It surprises her that Tsubasa even applied to the University of Tokyo, considering. Then.... their mother. "Ah, I'm sorry." Pause. "...Mm. I see."
PIC as the safe, reliable option...
"Well, if those are your prospects, then at least you're in good shape to get the knowhow you need to pursue that job."
Digging into public records, is it...?
"...But from the sound of it you're already pretty good at this detective business."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa shrugs. "It's whatever. She's like... sick, I guess." A beat, and they mutter, under their breath: "Sick with him, or fuckin'..."
Whatever. Whatever!!
"It's not like it's hard," they shrug, then. "Like... this is clown shit. Companies put out financials 'bout all th' shit they did... when they fuckin' wrote down their dodgy accountin', literally th' only thing you gotta do is actually have th' will to read their borin'-ass disclosures, cross-reference, put some shit together. Like, you know guys who post photos of cars they stole online an' jus' hope no one's lookin' for that? That." They lift a hand out of their pocket and gesture, vaguely. "Jus' scaled to millions a yen."
They shove their hand safely back in their pocket, as they add: "... not like th' point's accountin', tho'. But if someone's doin' one chunk a shady shit, more like they're down for more. That's kinda past me level, tho'. Y'know... I still don't know shit."
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Sick... Mm. Hana knows there's more to the story, but she doesn't pry. A picture is painting itself, though.
"That... makes a lot of sense." Hana can imagine. "Yes, I've heard of that kind of guy. ...Hm. And it's just out there, if you have the patience to find it."
That could be useful.
"That's true," Hana agrees. "I know some people who are likely up to that kind of thing. ...My old boss, for one. I've got him off my back, but..."
IT wouldn't surprise her if he went after others."
"Sounds like you know enough to know there's more there."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Bunch a shit out there," Tsubasa says. "Not even jus' in reports... ain't jus' dodgy selfies people post on th' Dark Side of Sumaru." It's just Dark Side, but Hana's from Central Tokyo, Tsubasa's gotta dumb it down a bit so she can find it for sure.
If she doesn't lurk long enough to realise that adding 'of Sumaru' to the end will get her flamed off the thread for being a newbie or out of town, that's kind of on her.
But then... a guy she threw off her back. "Yeah?" Tsubasa asks, glancing over to her, sidelong. "I heard that if there's someone who always gets missed when the cops are harassin' foreigners, postin' on th' Phan-site can get them to straighten themselves out... fuck, what'd he call it...? Oh, yeah, 'Phantoms Aficionado'. Jus' be careful with that kinda shit... there's this other site, right? 'Revenge Request'? An' on the surface, it sounds kinda similar, helpin' people with shit like that... but I heard those Revenge Request freaks fuckin' kill people."
Tsubasa's expression darkens. "Yeah, you hear some weirdos callin' 'emselves Strega... fuck off outta there. That gang ain't foolin'."
Well, this, at least, is advice it makes sense Tsubasa would know. Look at all their sneaker patches!
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Dark Side of Sumaru... Might be something to look into. But, well. "I see..."
Hana looks over at Tsubasa, too. "Hmm. The Phantom Thieves..." She nods. "They do good work," Hana says. "News is mixed on whether they're up to something more sinister, but personally..."
"I admire their pursuit of 'justice'. If I should need help finding some, I'll definitely keep them in mind."
But Revenge Request makes her frown. "...I see. That's ghoulish."
"This Strega..."
She shakes her head. "Well, it's nothing we should mix ourselves up in if we can help it, I suppose."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
HEY GUYS THE MOVIE STAR LIKES US!
Luckily, Tsubasa doesn't have to try that hard to keep their face stoic, when they hear Hana speaking well of them.
"Cool," they nod, instead, as if it were just a rumour. (They've gotten advice from Hibari on gossiping, they're on top of this shit.)
... but at least Hana won't get wrapped up with that Niko and the rest now, they think. (What? Both they and Niko are giving wild 'one child free to good home' vibes? Pretzels is the same???)
"Guess you prolly saw some shit," Tsubasa shrugs, because they're not supposed to know her kidnapping was more complicated. "Sorry to remind ya. Don't worry... ain't th' kinda thing folks jus' run into most times."
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Luckily.
Pretzels are also delicious. As it happens.
"I have," Hana admits. "Both then, and... at other times. But it's all right. Running away from our memories dones't prepare us to face them later."
"...I'm glad that's true, though. Still, I'll keep an eye out so I know to avoid them. Thank you."
But the stand approaches...!