2026-11-09: Emotional Check-In
- Log: Emotional Check-In
- Cast: Haru Okumura, Ren Amamiya, Morgana
- Where: Shujin Academy - Classroom Building
- OOC Date: November 09, 2026
- IC Date: Wednesday, February 06, 2013
- Summary: Morgana watches over Haru's gardening, and a question about caring for plants during the winter leads into a discussion on recent events and the difficulties they've been facing in their lives. Friendship is reaffirmed.
(|=================== Shujin Academy - Classroom Building ====================|)
-==================================================== Tokyo/Aoyama-Itchome ====-
Shujin Academy is split between its main classroom building, which faces the
back streets of Aoyama-Itchome, and its practice building out back. The
classroom building is a grim concrete building with sleek glass doors, three
stories tall, with classrooms for the third years on the ground floor, second
years on the second, and first years on the top. The faculty office is on the
second, and the student council room and the library on the third. Vending
machines dot the hallways here and there, and the bathrooms are kept clean. Its
front gates are wrought iron with a circular design, and a stylized clock on the
eastern wall informs students just how late they are.
The foyer is lined with glass cases proudly displaying trophies earned by its
top students, and just past them is the school store, though the yakisoba bread
there is almost always sold out. Billboards across the school announce various
articles and notices of interest. Past there, the walls are gray and white, the
floors are wooden, student lockers line the walls, and the sliding classroom
doors sport diamond windows. The classrooms themselves are rather more sober,
with simple desks and chairs for the students and a taller desk at front before
the chalkboard for the teacher. The windows to the outside seem simple, and even
have yellow curtains that can be pulled shut, but are lined in a diamond pattern
to prevent shattering. We wouldn't want our students to escape, now would we?
There is a fenced-in roof, but the door to it displays a sign stating students
aren't allowed. Despite this, it isn't locked, so nothing stops anyone from
hanging out there anyway--at least, not until they get caught. Oddly, there's
also several small planters there too for growing flowers and vegetables.
<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.
The rooftop garden is filled with the scent of flowers and fresh soil. The work is never done - especially in the current season they require periodic care and attention up to the harvest, and even after that the cycle begins all over again. Some might consider this thankless work, but Haru finds it relaxing. Meditative, even. A part of that may be due to the fact that until last year she's found better company among plants than among people, but her love for it can't be denied.
Consequently, she's easy to find - her schedule is fairly consistent due to not attending any clubs, so if one's looking for her one needs only go to the roof. She's there now - tending to the garden in her gym uniform, where a variety of flowers and vegetables is growing at a good pace.
A set of fairly large bags are piled up next to it. They look fresh, so she must have hauled them up herself fairly recently...
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Fairly recently--perhaps even just now. Ren and Haru had previously made a deal where they'd help her out with her gardening and she'd give them a cover reason to hang out on the roof for some privacy when they need to, and often that ended up being helping her carry fertilizer and such up to the roof. There's three flights of stairs and there's a good number of bags, so it's just smarter to get help when you can, whether you can carry them on your own or not.
However, Ren's got plans after this--perhaps Haru does too with a certain other Shujin heiress--so once those bags were dropped off, they couldn't stick around. The same doesn't apply to Morgana, who even tells them he shouldn't go with them for this thing, and so Ren waved farewell to him and Haru both and took their leave.
Which means Morgana's left with her, perched on the edge of one of the planters with his tail curled up behind his back. "I'm impressed that you can keep things growing in the dead of winter," he comments, looking out at the flowers and vegetables. "Is it something about the fertilizer? Or are these seeds extra-hardy against the cold?"
He doesn't know much about gardening himself, but Haru's one of his protegées, after all, along with Ren and Kasumi. He's got to figure out how to tie this back into phantom thievery for her!
<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.
It's a convenient deal for both of them. Haru packs a lot more lifting strength than one would expect... but that's a lot of bags and a lot of stairs, so it really does just make sense.
Besides, the work goes faster when you have someone to talk to.
Haru has plans but she has a while yet before she has to get ready to leave, so she bids them farewell in return as she attends to her work. Ren might be gone, but Morgana is still here - and though he might not know much about gardening, she appreciates that he's interested enough to ask her questions.
"Thank you, Mona-chan. It's a bit of a learned skill!" She replies, looking up from her work over to him, then nods. "Mm-hm. It's a little of both. The right fertilizer helps, and so does picking the right seeds. Different kinds of plants handle the cold better than others. Some vegetables are even tastier after they've weathered the winter weather, in fact!"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Huh, who would have figured!" Morgana declares of those tastier winter vegetables, blue eyes bright. "But now that I think about it, it makes sense. People are the same way, aren't they? Some come out stronger for it after they've gone through adversity. Like I did after that fight I had with Ryuji and Ren recently."
It's still embarrassing to think about to some extent--but now he's at a point where he can talk about it normally. It helps that he confessed his feelings to Ann and got those out in the air... even if she ended up turning him down. Considering what Ryuji had said, however casual the cruelty at the time, he couldn't be shocked.
"Speaking of which... I should thank you, Haru," he adds, sobering. "You came along with Ren and everyone else to Mementos to try to talk me into coming back. It..." He starts cleaning his face, licking a paw and rubbing it along his maw. "It meant a lot. S-so don't think Kasumi's replaced you or anything, all right?"
He's got no reason to think Haru would think that--but he knows it'd make him feel insecure if their positions had been reversed. And obviously Haru would feel exactly how he'd feel! (Morgana still has trouble properly thinking about other people's feelings. It's a work in progress.)
<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.
Haru smiles when Morgana responds to her plant fact so positively - an expression that softens when he relates it back to his own recent experiences.
"Yes, that's exactly right." Haru agrees with a nod. "At times, it might seem like too much to bear... but we can get through it stronger on the other side. Even if sometimes, it requires a little help..."
She's glad he's able to talk about it, now. He moves on, then, thanking her. She pauses, to give him her full attention.
She can tell it isn't easy for him to say - but the fact that he still does means a lot to her, too.
"Of course, Mona-chan. I wanted to be there for you." Haru replies. "...And thank you, for worrying about me."
She laughs, softly and gently.
"Don't worry, I know you have a lot of room in your heart." She assures.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Haru's positive reaction makes Morgana set his paw down and beam at her. "Of course! It's as wide as the sea and twice as deep!" he boasts, even though this has historically not been the case. His whiskers quiver as he looks at her more seriously. "...But I know I'm usually with Ren, so I haven't been teaching you like I was at first. Of course, you joined The Phantoms pretty early on, so you've been able to learn with everybody too! But considering you started out with just me, I wondered if you might've... felt slighted when I went off with Yoshizawa.
"And I just want you to know, even if I might've had a problem with a lot of people, I never had a problem with you!" he adds quickly. "Maybe in another timeline, where we didn't run into each other that Dark Hour, I'd've left the team to form a partnership with you. Hah, can you just imagine? Mona and Noir, tearing up the Metaverse with our deadly combo!"
His tail undulates. "...After all, just like we haven't gotten to figuring out what happened to my memories, we haven't gotten to your father's Palace, either. Of course, that's because you weren't ready for it back when you joined... but still, if you've felt at all like you can't speak up about it because there's been so much else going on, I don't want you to keep feeling like that, okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.
Morgana boasts, and Haru beams back. She knows he might be exaggerating a little... but it's nice to see him in a good mood. But when his expression turns more serious so does hers, giving his concerns due consideration. Did she feel slighted? Maybe if it had gone on longer, but...
"I think... at the time, I was too worried about both of you." Haru admits. She smiles, though, as he says he never had a problem with her. "Thank you, Mona-chan. I appreciate that."
And she laughs at his vision of a possible future.
"Mm-hm, I can see it now. We'd make quite the dashing pair, wouldn't we? Why, I'm certain we'd have even given the others a run for their money!" She replies brightly... but her expression saddens as he continues, assuring her that she can speak up if she's felt like she can't. Her father's Palace...
She goes quiet for a moment.
"Mm... I thank you for worrying about me, and keeping it in your thoughts... but if the fault lies with anyone, it's me." She admits. "I still..."
She hesitates for a moment, resting a hand over her heart.
"...Can't quite muster up to the courage, I think. When I think about confronting him, it's like ice grips my heart." She says - but then she smiles. "...Still, thank you, Mona-chan. I appreciate you thinking about me."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
That's honestly a relief to hear. It's a good thing Morgana's falling out ended up getting patched up before too long. And it's all because they wanted him to come back and took the pains to make that happen... His tail undulates again. It really feels good to be wanted and needed. Haru ought to feel the same way too--it's what she deserves!
So when she goes quiet, he looks at her with worried eyes. Cats don't have the facial muscles to be expressive like humans are, but Morgana can still fix his gaze on her until she gets her thoughts together. When she admits she can't muster up the courage, he looks down.
"I... get that a little, I think. For the longest time, I couldn't bring myself to admit to Lady Ann how I felt about her. Maybe, deep down, I knew she didn't like me back, and I didn't want to face that reality." He looks back up at her. "It must be even tougher for you. He's your father and all. I don't really remember what it's like to have one, but even Ren gets messed up when it comes to their parents, and you know what a cool customer they usually are."
Her cheering up helps cheer him up too. "You're welcome, Haru! We're not just a team... we're friends. It's only natural for us to look out for each other!" That's something he agonized about for the longest time--if he and the other Phantoms were really 'friends' or not. Getting to confront that was also worth the blow-up. "So take it from me: you don't need to rush it... but you really will feel a lot better once you screw up the courage."
The white tip of his tail flicks up. "So until then, I'll just keep looking out for you!"
<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.
Even if his face can't be expressive, Haru appreciates that he's trying with what he has. She makes her admittance - and he says that he gets it. She listens as he recounts his own experiences, how he was afraid to admit his feelings.
It's tougher for her... and even Ren gets messed up.
"...Yes." Haru agrees quietly. She tries to think of the best way to put it. "When you're confronting your parents... you're not just facing the person they are in the present. You're facing who they were to you, as well. It's... difficult."
She smiles, though, as he says they're friends. It feels nice to hear him say that, and to be able to mean it.
"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." She replies, and laughs lightly. "I know I can count on you, Mona-chan."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Morgana beams at Haru and her confidence in him as only an inexpressive cat face can--and in his case, he can make do pretty darn well, even in the real world. Emotional check-in: check!
"Right back at you!" he cheers. "But let's not linger on gloomy stuff for too long. How about you tell me more about what you're growing here? Ren's diet's gotten a lot better over the school year, but they could still use some good advice on tasty vegetables!"
And clearly Haru should explain it all to Morgana so he can guide them accordingly, as a good friend and mentor should. It's all coming together!
<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.
Haru smiles as Morgana echoes her confidence back at her, and gratefully accepts the off-ramp to a less emotionally-heavy topic.
"Yes, of course! Let me walk you through them..." Haru replies - and will in fact do just that, stopping to answer any questions he might have about any individual crop. A good diet is important!