Talnora: Fuuka was /very/ good in this scene.

2026-01-10T15:11:45Z

Fuuka was /very/ good in this scene.

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*'''Log: A Wolf in Discounted Clothing'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Fuuka Yamagishi]], [[Kazusa Motojima]], [[Koh Katsuhiro]]
*'''Where:''' Paulowinia Mall, Iwatodai City
*'''OOC Date:''' January 05, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' Wednesday, September 05, 2012 (Afternoon)
*'''Summary:''' ''Back to school sales are in full swing at Paulownia Mall, and it's drawn students from all over. Unfortunately, this also means from Shujin, and Koh and Fuuka run into Kazusa's Homunculus. Despite knowing the danger, Fuuka still attempts to reach out.''
*'''Content Warning:''' Kazusa's Homunculus radically agrees with/endorses the abuse of Kazusa's father.

----

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>School is back in session, and to celebrate this(or, perhaps in apology to the unfortunate teenagers who now find themselves back in the grind), many of Paulownia Mall's stores are hosting special sales. Word has spread far, so it's easy to spot in the crowd students with uniforms from other schools.

Fuuka isn't much for crowds... but it's hard to pass up a good deal, and the Kenneth Arnold had some albums in she wanted to have a physical copy of.

She emerges from the store now, a bag dangling from one arm containing her newly acquired goods. She pauses for a moment to double-check the contents.

Fortunately, she's enough off to the side that she's easier to spot, or she might get lost in the crowd.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
There are uniforms from all over, including from as far away as Tokyo! One girl in particular is here from Shujin, identifiable by her polo shirt, dark plaid skirt, and suspenders. This particular girl is 5'2", with long straight black hair, a pink hair band and matching socks.

She wasn't wearing the hair band the last time Kazusa and Fuuka met at Paulownia, and Kazusa's silver braclets are also gone. Kazusa, of course, wasn't wearing them at the convention, since she was in ''cosplay''...

An excursion taht ended horribly for Kazusa.

But you might not know it to look at her, humming to herself as she walks through the throngs of people in the mall, a bag of clothes in one hand, as she heads for another clothing store. She looks altogether more... ''pleasant'', too.

Unfortunately, she also feels ''wrong''.

It might be hard to pinpoint what, exactly, is wrong, in this sea of people, but for those gifted at sensing resonance, there is something of a beacon in the crowd. And should one follow it, or happen to run into it, there is one, single, unmistakable conclusion to be drawn from the smiling, browsing girl from an upstanding Tokyo academy:

''She is not human.''
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
<poem>
Sales are important for most teenagers and Koh is not an exception. He would probably be at the mall anyway though. The crowds of students don't bother him much; they make for good people watching from the benches near the fountain.

He must have been in relatively early, because he's already acquired one of Chagall Cafés famous coffees before the line formed. That and headphones are keeping him occupied for the most part.

At least until the uneasy tingling that creeps across his neck. A peek up through the crowds reveals little about what's making his stomach twist, and after a brief search he spots a familiar face.

"Hey, Fuuka-san." He greets, heading toward her. She'll be better at determining if something is wrong, certainly. "Is everything okay over here?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>It creeps in gradually. It's hard to pinpoint when. At first it's like vertigo - Fuuka feels dizzy as the world suddenly begins to feel ''off'', a pervading sense of wrongness that causes a spike of fear from somewhere deep within. Fuuka draws in a deep breath, shutting her eyes and putting a hand to her forehead as she tries to steady herself.

A familiar voice cuts through. Fuuka opens her eyes, looking up at Koh to offer him an uneasy smile.

"Oh, hello, Koh-san..." Fuuka replies. And hesitates for a moment before admitting... "...No. Can you feel it...? There's something here. It doesn't feel hostile, but..."

She shakes her head.

"...I think we should investigate." Fuuka decides. She'll feel much more comfortable if she isn't looking into this alone.

She starts off, trying to narrow down her search. Diving deep into the center of that unnerving Resonance to determine the source, to figure out who or what is causing it.

Sure enough, she's able to follow it to the source. And the one at the center of it all is...

"Motojima-san?" Fuuka says. It's as much a greeting as it is a surprised intonation of her name.

Neither of their meetings had been pleasant ones - though the second was wholly not Kazusa's fault. But still, she's keenly aware that she wasn't like... ''this'', before.

All smiles, and humming to herself - and with the thorough sense at the person before her is not human.

They were certainly not friends, but this isn't something she would've wished on her - on ''anyone''. Fuuka swallows, and shoots Koh a subtle warning glance - one to warn him where the danger is, if he hasn't noticed it already himself.

Every part of her is telling her to run - but when she knows something is wrong, can she really just leave like that?

"I'm surprised to see you. It's... good to see you again." Fuuka says. It's a lie. It really isn't - it might not be even under better circumstances - but she's trying to be polite. "Is Oosaka-san with you today...?"

She feels the need to learn as much as she can...
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
It is not often that something supernatural teases at the senses of the supernaturally aware in broad daylight, outside of the Dark Hour or any other supernatural space such as those created by the Mark.

And the fact that not a lot else is wrong may both make KAzusa's presence that much more unsettling and yet that much easier to track.

While Fuuka may be the full-fledged Navigator, once they ''reach'' Kazusa, even Koh can get the sense, just by looking at Kazusa, that what he is seeing underneath that smiling, humming facade isn't human.

When Fuuka utters her name, Kazusa pauses, turning her head to look at the other girl with a look of confusion. "Yes...?" She stares at Fuuka for a moment, seemingly uncomprehending.

And it is the face of an utterly inhuamn monster that lights up with delight and recognition a moment later. "Oh! Yamagishi-san, right?"

Does the fact that this monster still knows Fuuka's name make things better or worse?

She'd been looking at a blouse and quickly puts the hanger back on the rack, stepping over closer to Fuuka and Koh. The bright cheerful smile seems, somehow, not to be artificial. "It's so good to see you, too!" She gives a small shake of her head. "Oh, Waka-chan had to go do something else tonight," she notes with a small pout. "But I just couldn't miss a sale!"

She looks to Koh, giving him a cheerful smile. "Is this a friend of yours?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
<poem>
A nod is given to Fuuka from Koh. "I feel a little...sick," He acknowledges. Whatever it is has him worried enough that he's pushed his headphones down around his neck. When Fuuka goes searching he follows, noting, "If it's dangerous, I'll handle it."

Not that he's well equipped to, but it seems like a nice thing to say.

But when they discover the source of the problem and Fuuka's glance confirms it...

"Oh, hello." He seems, momentarily, taken aback. Like he'd expected much worse. But a mostly natural smile is offered soon to cover the surprise. "Uh, yeah. Koh Katsuhiro. Nice to meet you." He casts a glance over at the other member of SEES before he asks of Kazusa, "You're...from out of town, right? I don't think that's a uniform I recognize."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>He feels sick...

"Yes... I feel the same way." She replies. He says that he'll handle it if it's dangerous, and she nods. "Okay. Thank you. I'll keep an eye on our escape route..."

Fuuka greets Kazusa, and Fuuka stares back. Does she not remember...?

...No, it just takes a moment - and that ''delight'' that crosses her face is... so strange to see. Fuuka offers an uneasy smile in return.

"Yes, that's correct..." She confirms. She knows her name - but that smile doesn't seem ''fake''... She meets Koh's glance briefly as he introduces himself and looks toward her, and then nods as Kazusa confirms that Wakana is elsewhere. "I see... Could you tell her I said 'hi'? And, um... how are you doing, after last time...?"

That disastrous run-in at the convention... everything seemed to be going so well, until her father appeared.

Koh comments on her uniform, and Fuuka goes quiet to let her answer.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
"Koh Katsuhiro... nice to meet you, Katsuhiro-san!" Kazusa says brightly. "I'm Kazusa Motohima--yes, ''that'' Motojima," she says with a playfully put-upon sigh. (That would be Motojima Corporation, maker of consumer electronics and video games, but Kazusa seems to want to just breeze right past that fact.)

But Koh doesn't recognize her uniform. Is she from out of town? "I am!" Kazusa steps back to do a slow spin--she's in the summer version of the uniform, of course. "This is the uniform of Shujin Academy. ''Very'' prestigous."

But she steps back again. "And you both go to Gekkoukan High School, right? I looked into their art programs a couple of years ago, so I recognize the uniforms from that." She looks to Fuuka. "Plus I remember the jackets and the cute bows on the uniform!"

Fuuka asks, and Kazusa beams at her. "Of course I will!" But after the last time...

Kazusa seems to deflate some at that, letting out a long, slow sigh. "I'm ''so'' sorry you had to see that, Yamagishi-san. It was really sweet of you to stand up for me, but I was the one in the wrong, and I shouldn't have dragged everyone else into my mistakes." She offers Fuuka a bow.

"But," she says, standing up straight and brightening again. "I've got my priorities straight now!"

This might be... an ''alarmingly'' fast rebound, to put it mildly, from how Kazusa was when she was being taken away by her father--fearful and crushed at her father discovering her activity.

And she doesn't seem to resent her father in the slightest for it, which might be the most horrifying part.

... but then again, this isn't really her.... right?
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
<poem>

"Gekkoukan." Koh confirms helpfully. "It might be prestigious. I think I saw something about Shujin on the news, ...maybe? I don't visit Tokyo that often, even if it's pretty close. But it sounds like a nice school. Why are you here in Port Tatsumi?" He maintains his conversational tone despite the twisting in his gut.

The conversation, though, at least seems normal. He tries not to give Fuuka another sidelong glance; if it weren't for his extra senses he might think Kazusa is just a normal and pleasant girl. The benefit of ignorance, likely.

He waits politely for Fuuka to answer Kazusa's apology, not wanting to pry into whatever happened...yet.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>Kazusa offers the Motojima name so readily, as if it's a joke... but Fuuka remembers how she reacted when she first brought it up, almost accusatorily.

Kazusa explains that it's the Shujin uniform, and she recognizes theirs. There's no point in lying - even modified, the Gekkoukan uniform stands out.

"That's correct." Fuuka confirms with a nod, as Koh does the same. "The bow ''is'' cute... Red doesn't work on me, unfortunately."

It clashes with her hair, so she typically doesn't wear it on her uniform unless she has to.

She'll listen for the answer to his question - it ''sounds'' like she's just here pursuing sales, but maybe there's more to it than that...

Fuuka nods as she confirms that she'll tell Wakana. She watches Kazusa as she seems to deflate. After what happened it's to be expected, but -

- what she doesn't expect is to receive an ''apology''. Fuuka steps back, looking a little startled. For a moment, she's at a loss for words. She has her 'priorities straight'. It's... uncanny, in a way that's hard to watch, from how prideful she seemed before - and afraid, when she was discovered.

"That's..." Fuuka starts, unsure. And then, she shakes her head. "Motojima-san... You were doing something you enjoyed. In a place established for it. You didn't do anything wrong."

She hesitates for a moment - and then looks away.

"...But I know how difficult it can be to go against your parents..." She admits quietly. Maybe she shouldn't be showing that kind of vulnerability in a situation like this, but... she can sympathise.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
It might be prestigious, Koh says. "It is!" answers Kazusa. "In a different way from Shujin Academy, of course." There might be a subtle implication she thinks Shujin is ''more'' prestigious, though... now she's leaving it unsaid so as to not be impolite, rather than to quietly gloat.

"Oh, I'm here because of the back to school sales!" Kazusa says cheerfully. She holds up one shopping back already filled with clothing items.

Fuuka confirms the bow is cute. "Right?" But Fuuka says it doesn't work on her, and Kazusa gives Fuuka a serious, scrutinizing look. "... it clashes with your hair, huh?" she says, with a pitying, sympathetic tone. "Have you tried... an orange ribbon? I bet you could find a shade that looks close enough to the school's uniform, but give you a nice little pop of contrast!"

But something she enjoyed. Kazusa just shakes her head, frowning. "No, but don't you see? My father was right, I really ''was'' squandering my talents. I caused a huge disruption and inconvenienced everyone... it was such a selfish thing to do."

"But don't you see, Yamagishi-san?" says Kauzsa, taking a half step closer. "I don't want to go against my father." Specifically her father--not her parents as a whole. "I know now if I listen to him everything will turn out for the best."

Fuuka and Koh might not have ever run into Taro's Homunculus out in the real world, but they were both there to fight the Homunculus. This strange feeling, the sudden, inexplicable personality shift... surely, this can only be the work of another Homunculus, right?
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
<poem>
"Oh, yeah, I guess Paulownia's got stuff you can't even find in Tokyo, huh?" Koh asks. After all, someone like Kazusa would probably have the money if they were available elsewhere.

"Orange..." Koh muses. "I think you could pull it off." Where he might ordinarily have appreciated a chance to flatter, it comes out more awkward than he'd like in an effort to continue very normal and safe human conversation.

Kazusa shifts closer to Fuuka and Koh makes a subtler shuffle to do the same. Just in case.

"Sorry, it's not my business," He notes, "But, I'm sure Fuuka san is right. Don't work too hard."

He'll let the other navigator take it from there.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>Fuuka hears the unsaid implication, but she doesn't it out. ...But of course, even if she didn't have her suspicions about what had happened to Kazusa, she probably wouldn't have been able to confront ''that'' bit, anyway...

Kazusa suggests an orange ribbon, and Koh thinks that she could pull it off... though she notes how he seems a little awkward.

"I'll keep that in mind..." She considers. From any other source, maybe she really would.

Kazusa insists that her father was right, that she was squandering her talents. Fuuka frowns, at that. Something about it resonates with her in a way that hurts. For one's hobbies to be seen as wasteful, a squandering of talent...

Kazusa takes a half-step closer - and Fuuka, subconsciously, takes a step back, as Koh moves in close defensively, too.

"I don't... know about that." Fuuka replies. "I still don't think it was right of him to yell at you like that..."

This close... She can definitely feel it. It's hard not to put the pieces together, with this drastic shift. If there was any doubt before, her insistence about her father feels like proof.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
Kazusa definitely doesn't need the sale, no. But sales are fun, and... "That's right!" Kazusa chirps to Koh. "Of course, Shimokitazawa has practically everything you could want, but there are a few stores here that carry some nice brands." She giggles. "And the sale is a nice excuse, don't you think?"

Koh agrees, and Kazusa either doesn't notice or ignores the uncertainty in his voice. "You think so too?" And Fuuka will keep it in mind. "Great!"

Like with Koh's uneasiness, if Kazusa notices the way Fuuka takes a step back, she doesn't seem to call it out.

Beyond even the glaring changes to her personality, there might be a lot of little subtle indicators at work, too. This Kazusa doesn't seem to have the force of will her counterpart does, is maybe a little less aware, her priorities are certainly different...

"I deserved it, Yamasighi-san," says Kazusa with a mournful look. "He works so hard to provide opportunities for me. , and I wasn't being very considerate of his efforts."

This... might be an uphill battle. The fact of the matter is this ''isn't'' the Kazusa that was enjoying herself at the convention, however disguised and in-secret she had to be to do it. And whatever script this Homunculus is using, it seems to be convinced that what happened... was the correct choice of action.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>Shimokitazawa... That makes sense. Fuuka has heard Natsuki talking about its stores from time to time. Fuuka nods as she says 'Great!', and watches her carefully. The tells are certainly there - even for her, who hasn't known her very long.

Kazusa, though, insists that she ''deserved'' it, and that feels like a knife to the heart, too.

It's not like she hadn't found herself thinking that before. Fuuka swallows.

There's a part of her that wonders if this is worth it. She's been taken over by a Homunculus. Is there any point in engaging her? Will that help Kazusa herself at all? Not to mention the potential danger involved. Maybe her time would be better served elsewhere...

...But she can't do that. As difficult as it is to push back, she feels like she can't leave this alone.

"You... You didn't." Fuuka insists, with a shake of her head. "There was nothing wrong with what you did. He should be more supportive of your interests."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
It may hit Fuuka in the heart, but... ''she'' has something to protect her from the intrusion of a Homunculus that Kazusa lacks, sadly.

Maybe it just got too much for Kazusa to bear... it had to have been one of the worst days of her life.

It really wont' make a difference. But luckily for Fuuka, the Homunculus won't take any (intentionally) aggressive action against Fuuka unless she does something to actually threaten its existence.

That's what Taro's Homunculus wanted, after all, wasn't it? To just exist?

Still, it says a lot about Fuuka that she makes the attempt. It won't matter to the Homunculus, but hopefully, someday, maybe she can say it to the real version of her.

Fuuka insists, and Kazusa just looks at her for a moment, before slowly shaking her head. "That's okay, Yamagishi-san. I know you don't get it now, but maybe someday you will." She says this brightly, as if it is ''aspirational''.

"Oh, but--" Kazusa pulls out her phone--it is a ''smartphone'', branded with a Motojima Corporation logo. It must be either brand new or a prototype, but it isn't a flip phone. "I'd love to keep chatting, Yamagishi-san--" Even despite this impasse they're in? She seems sincere as she says that. "--but I really should be going. I'll tell Waka-chan you said hi, okay? Have a nice day, Yamagishi-san. And you too, Katsuhiro-san!"

And with that she'll take her bag of purchases and leave, taking her awful Resonance with her.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
<poem>Kazusa shakes her head. Is she... pitying her? Maybe someday she'll get it...

...She already gets it, at least somewhat. That's why she's trying so hard. But before she can say anything, Kazusa pulls out her phone.

"...Of course." Fuuka replies with a quiet nod. "Thank you. You... have a nice day too, Motojima-san. Please take care."

Kazusa leaves, and that feeling of wrongness leaves with her... but her heart feels no less heavy for its absence.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2026-01-05: A Wolf in Discounted Clothing - Revision history

Talnora: Fuuka was /very/ good in this scene.