2026-01-25: Imprimatura

• Log: Imprimatura
• Cast: Hyousuke Suzuki, Tamaki Uchida
• Where: Kuzunoha Detective Agency
• OOC Date: 2026-01-25
• IC Date: Sat Sep 15 2012
• Summary: Hyousuke interrupts Tamaki's impromptu training session to bring her news about the Joker Killer. Neither of them are sure about what's happening, but all involved agree that the looming art show is to be treated with suspicion.

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<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.

        It's a Saturday afternoon at the Kuzunoha Detective Agency. Chief Todoroki is absent today, but who knows what he gets up to when he's not here? Definitely not Tamaki. The lucky cat silently waits at the entrance, as per usual, cajoling any who enter the Agency's doors for donations.

        Tamaki is here, though without her boss keeping as close of an eye on her, she's standing closer to the middle of the room in the classical fencing stance, her sabre drawn. She constantly takes steps forwards and back, occasionally glancing downwards to see the position her feet are in, and on occasion, she springs forward to lunge or slash at the air.

        ... Is this really the best time for her to do some training exercises? Surely she could be doing something more closely tied with her profession, like compiling information about the Joker Killer or any other number of cases she's responsible for.

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.

The train back from Iwatadoi had, as always, gotten him back swiftly and safely. Under normal circumstances, Hyousuke would not have thought much about it. However, 'normal' did not quite describe his circumstances. There were a million different things playing on his mind, each one clawing and scraping at his brain for attention, and he would have gladly welcomed a few more quiet moments to organise his thoughts and figure out what he was supposed to say to Tamaki. There was no small amount of information to pass on, after all, and he couldn't afford to have distractions clouding his mind.

With how often he'd walked through those doors to pick up or turn in a bounty, handing over the asked-for sum to the cat by the entrance had become an almost instinctive movement. His hand rifled through his pockets for the exact change, deposited with practised - almost surgical - precision, and he didn't have to even look down to make it happen. Some distant part of him was glad that he'd had that practice, as the sight of Tamaki swinging a blade around outside of a fight was one that had him tilting his head a little.

Knowing full well how it felt to be interrupted in the middle of training, Hyousuke was loathe to put an end to what he thought to be a flow state. However, the information he had was important, and he didn't much fancy waiting around for her to finish the routine, or to notice his presence.
"This a bad time?" He asked, head still canted a little. With his blonde hair shifting slightly from the earlier motion, he might have resembled some perplexed hound, were one to squint a little.

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.

        Hyousuke's swift gesture catches the cat's plea midsentence, and it interrupts itself as it's instantly mollified. "Nya~ nya~ nya~! Inse -- Thank you, nya~!"

        It's been a slow day, so maybe Tamaki can be forgiven a little for goofing off. While Hyosuke himself doesn't alert her, the cat's cries do, and she leaps up with a start and scrambles to hide her weapon behind her back -- fumbles, more like, as it jumps from hand to hand as she tries to regain her grip on the handle.

        Hands behind her, Tamaki breaks out into a wide, nervous smile. "HI! Ahem. Hello, Suzuki-kun. It's a good time, don't mind me. I was just, uh. Getting some practice in. I have a session scheduled with a practice partner who scares the piss out of me." Defeating the purpose of her efforts to hide it, she pulls out her sword in front of her again and gestures to it. At least in this non-supernatural context, the blade is perfectly blunt, incapable of piercing or cutting all but the most fragile of material.

        She sets her sword back over on her desk and takes a moment to straighten out her clothes, then turns to Hyousuke. "How was your trip to Tartarus? I see you came back alive, at least."

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.

At her mention of a formidable training partner, Hyousuke's body shook with a slight laugh, and his lips curled into a matching smile. It wasn't a mocking gesture, however. Rather, it was a sympathetic one, coupled with a small shrug.
"I know the feeling." he responded, taking a moment to glance quizzically over the blade before returning his focus to her. He didn't know much about swords - or blades in general, beyond those used in the kitchen or to separate one piece of wood from another - but he still seemed interested in surveying it.

That interest was quickly pushed to the side, though. There were other things that needed his immediate attention, and as pleasant as he found Tamaki's company, he'd not come there for a social call.
"Rough." Came his response. Terse as it was, it trailed off just enough to indicate that he had yet more to say on the subject. Telling her that he'd decided to go in alone, and it was only by luck that he'd found backup, was not included amongst that. The last thing he needed was an earful from her. "I think the Joker Killer was in there."

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.

        A wry grin spreads onto Tamaki's features. "Don't we all? Our own little series of trials and tribulations." She gives Hyousuke a friendly wink. "This is just for sport, though, none of the supernatural stuff. I like keeping in touch with the purely mundane aspects of life; I find that it helps keep me anchored."

        Tamaki's choice of weapon is a fencing sabre intended for modern-day competitions, where referees or electric sensors judge on the validity of a strike. It is an entirely bloodless affair, as the flexible blade often bends before it can puncture anything. (Accidents do rarely happen, but they are mitigated by protective gear -- you know, the kind that makes the fencer look like some kind of swashbuckling beekeeper.) This specific one she owns was manufactured by a sports equipment company, and its faded brand logo is visible underneath its bell guard, now more prominently visible as it remains on the desk. Unusually, the sword's hilt and pommel are inlaid with a variety of pink and yellow gemstones -- that part must have been custom work.

        Tamaki raises a quizzical eyebrow at Hyousuke's report. "... In Tartarus? I'm surprised he would have made his way there. Who was his victim, if you know?" His mention that it was rough does cause her to scrutinize Hyousuke more closely. She jerks a thumb towards the back counter, where they keep a stockpile of first aid kits. "Do you need any patching up?"

GAME: Save complete.

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.

Hyousuke shook his head lightly at the offer of a first aid kit, and by all appearances, he was - for once - telling the truth. There was some bruising here and there, some scabs on his knuckles that hadn't quite fully healed, and some subtle signs of exhaustion creeping into his features, but there was little to indicate that he needed anything more than a hot shower and a long rest.
"I'm fine, I didn't get hit too bad." He said, speaking a little quicker than usual to try and dismiss what he perceived to be niceties.

Hyousuke diverted his gaze down for a moment so that he could scroll through his phone. A few short gestures later, he came to the picture he needed, but didn't hand it over to Tamaki - not quite yet, anyway.
"Nobody's died. Not yet. But there was this artist in there..." He very much regretted not spending more time rehearsing what he needed to say, especially in the pregnant pause that followed him trailing off. Then, he decided to start over, his train of thought not so much grinding to a halt as it did completely derail.

"You know that feeling in the warehouse? The weird one, where everything just felt *wrong?*" He didn't much like bringing the warehouse up. Even after getting everything off his chest to Ichika and Tsubasa, a twinge of tension crept into his expression at the thought of that night. His muscles tensed for a moment, as if recoiling from the very thought, though the moment passed quickly and his movements were slight at best - nearly imperceptible, if one was not paying close attention to him. "I felt that in Tartarus, and I went after it."

He didn't give her much time to digest that part of his story. He was well aware of how reckless that decision had been, and had no intention of lingering on it for any longer than was strictly necessary.
"But he wasn't there. There was this giant squid Shadow, and it had this dome on top of it that had an artist inside. I don't know if he was controlling it, if it was controlling him, or what, but I think he'd made a painting of the Killer. And *that* was what kept putting out that weird feeling."

He meant the Mark, of course, but hadn't the knowledge to describe it as such - only past experiences to compare it to.
"Some ninja guy and his friend cut the painting up, and that stopped things feeling fucky, and we and everyone else there kicked the Shadow's ass after. But the artist in there, he... he kept talking about some art show, and painting something big. Even after he got freed, he was talking about being forced to paint something." Hyousuke shook his head, letting out a noise that sounded somewhere between a grunt and a sigh. "There was... there's a lot going on."

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.

        Tamaki had guessed as much that Hyousuke was in good enough health, but still felt the need to offer out of habit -- maybe there was something she couldn't see. Satisfied with that answer, she shrugs, not as insistent as before.

        She narrows her eyes at the mention of 'that feeling' -- the Mark. "I'm familiar," she offers. Before he continues, she interjects, "Are you certain it was the Joker Killer, though? Others have that Mark, like the pair at the warehouse, but he wasn't there himself," but nods after he answers in full.

        Hyousuke may find it strange that Tamaki doesn't chastise him for his self-perceived recklessness in going after that feeling. Recalling it is enough to cause herself to tense up in agitation, and she knows very well that it is a clarion call that compels people such as herself to answer. In fact, she even says as much: "Good on you. I believe that was the right course of action."

        She remains eerily quiet as he finishes the story. Shadows are well outside of her expertise, and she doesn't initially know what to make of it. Something quietly scratches and scrabbles at the corners of her memory, but it doesn't manage to burrow its way to conscious thought, as if it had run into solid concrete instead of earthy loam. Whatever that was, it's gone just as quickly.

        In its place, she pulls out a Skill Card from her jacket pocket and peers at it as she turns it over, alternating which side she views. "I think I know of the art show you're talking about, at least. Dimitri Tachovsky, correct?" As she ponders the card further, she adds, "So he captured the Joker Killer's essence in a painting?"

        He isn't sure if the Shadow was controlling the artist, or if the artist was controlling the Shadow. Why does that cause a cold sweat to start to form on the back of her neck?

        At his last comment, Tamaki gives a shrug and gestures at a mountain of binders on her desk. "You're telling me. There's no way I can take everything on myself, so I try my best to pick my battles. If it's too much, try to find someone else to tag in while you take a breather."

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.

Hyousuke was a little surprised that she'd not admonished him for recklessly barging in. He supposed that her opinion might have changed were she to be informed that he'd done so alone, and had had no expectation of assistance, but he was in no mood to test that theory. He did, however, display a momentary look of surprise at her telling him that it'd been the correct course of action, before continuing on with his story. It was only when he'd finished, and she'd raised a few other points to be addressed, that he elected to offer answers.

"I'm sure it was the Joker Killer. The picture was of him, and the feeling... it was the same as that art show in the park. The one where-" He cut himself off, hoping not to inadvertently reveal any information that might have clued Tamaki in on who precisely Phoenix was, and partly to suppress his own unpleasant memories and feelings. He considered his next words carefully over the split second that followed, before following up with something he hoped was innocuous enough to keep secret identities secret. "-Where the Killer started setting fire to everything."

He fished around in his pocket for his phone again as the topic shifted to the artist himself, and began to go through the process of unlocking it once more.
"He must've done something with Tachovsky." Hyousuke's pronunciation of the name was slow and stilted, with each syllable having to be sounded out so that he could be sure he'd said it right, but he barrelled through regardless. "Made him do some ghost stuff with the painting, put his essence in it or something like you said. But that ain't the end of it."

He turned his phone around to show Tamaki the screenshot he'd taken of the forum - more specifically, a set of posts talking about how the artist had gone missing.
"They're saying he's not gonna be showing up to his own event, and the client's gonna be presenting it instead." He placed it on the desk, turned around so that she could survey it while he expounded upon his point. "Artist goes missing in Tartarus and starts spouting off about shows and a weird painting. A painting that *feels* like that fucker shows up next to him. And now *this.* The Killer's planning something, I just... I don't know what..."

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.

        Judging from Tamaki's prior experiences, Hyousuke very likely wouldn't have been alone. That sensation is a goddamn Persona-user magnet and it'll garner the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

        Now, other actions he might have taken after he got there? Those could possibly be grounds for admonishment.

        Tamaki curls her lip in disdain as she continues flipping the card in her fingers. "Yeah, at Aoba Park. I'm familiar with the incident." While she is completely in the dark about the truth of Tsubasa and Phoenix, she does know this: "Seki-kun was his target then, right? I've seen you and them together sometimes, like at that carnival on the beach -- the one with that clown running the show, if you remember. Are you two good friends?"

        There's no way Tsubasa can be Phoenix, though: there's no way someone with Tsubasa's frame can wield that massive sword of Phoenix's. Furthermore, their approaches to matters are way different: Tsubasa's sharp as a tack and wily when it comes to picking up on minute out-of-place details where Phoenix hasn't yet demonstrated the same level of cunning in front of Tamaki, just raw berserker fury. No, they're just two separate people who cooperate, brains and brawn. She's a detective, and she's assured herself that her instincts are obviously correct on this.

        She narrows her eyes in suspicion of Phoenix, though. "I haven't seen Seki-kun in a bit, but Phoenix told me they're cool now, despite the latter joining with the Phantom Thieves. You know them both, right? Do you know if Seki-kun is really okay with that, or did Phoenix feed me a pile of bullshit?"

        Hyousuke's confirmation of of the painting and essence causes her to glance more meaningfully at the card again, and she uses it to point at Hyousuke. "If you've got time sometime, I've got a couple of people to ask about that particular matter. Masao Inaba's an old classmate of mine, an artist and Persona-user himself. I think Seki-kun's met him before, too." She punctuates a pause in her suggestion with a shrug. "Maybe the Demon Painter in the Velvet Room knows something, too, but he's a pretty enigmatic guy and might just be all business and no conversation. Couldn't hurt to try."

        Tamaki leans down to peer at the phone and nods. "Yeah, I've seen that thread already. I'm aware." She jerks a thumb back at her computer. "We also serve as information brokers in some sense, so it's one of the places we keep an ear to the ground." She stands upright, folds her arms, and pulls a hand up to curl a finger over her chin. "Still, it helps a lot knowing your first-hand account of things -- lends it a lot more credence."

        "I've got some people I could notify about it, they're definitely interested in bringing the Joker Killer down." She stands there for a few more seconds before doing an about-face and making her way to the massive cabinets behind Todoroki's much larger and more impressive desk. "Well! Looks like I've got an art showing to attend soon. What to wear, what to wear ..."

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.

Hyousuke's expression remained still when Tamaki brought up Tsubasa being the Joker Killer's target, even as he nodded in confirmation. His quick, affirmative, grunt didn't really give much of a clue about his feelings on the matter either - at least, he hoped it didn't. The last thing he needed was for Tamaki to clock that he knew more about Tsubasa than he let on. However, he was quick to affirm a few other things about them, once he was sure there was time to address such matters, and did so with slight emphasis in his voice.

"Tsubasa-san's a good friend." He said, as quickly and as casually as one might have assured another that water was wet. Their arguments aside, Tsubasa had his back, and that meant a great deal more to him than he cared to express at that very moment. What he wasn't so casual about answering was Tsubasa's relationship with Phoenix. Though he was vaguely aware that the Will of Rebellion provided some protection - even if he wasn't aware of the specifics - he was still loathe to let loose any information that could connect the two.

"...I trust Phoenix." Hyousuke said flatly, after having mulled the words over in his mind. Was that vague enough to not let on that he knew more than he said? He hoped so. He'd never have heard the end of it if it turned out that he was a key part of revealing people's secret identities. "If they say Tsubasa-san's cool with them, then that's how it is. Tsubasa-san seems fine with them, but they'd probably appreciate you asking about it personally." Though he did not care to presume people's feelings, he felt relatively safe in suggesting that, for reasons he hoped Tamaki would not inquire about.

"Speaking of contacts and the show, I need a favour." Hyousuke didn't bother to wait for a response. The only reason he paused, even for a moment, was to slip his phone back into his pocket - he didn't much care to reveal to Tamaki that his latest attempt at carving a bear from a chunk of wood was amateurish, even for a beginner. "I'm going in there too, and so's Ogre and Phoenix. If you figure anything out about this, you gotta let them know too. They promised they'd help, and I don't want anyone going in blind."

There was a great deal of emphasis on the word 'promise,' and a slight tensing of his jaw as well, but all of it only lasted for a moment.
"I'm gonna ask around, see if anyone else knows something that'd help. Might go ask the Velvet Room guys too. Igor creeps me out though..."

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.

        For all the careful and anxious verbal maneuvering that Hyousuke's doing when it comes to guaranteeing the Will of Rebellion's protection stays intact, it doesn't seem to be much of an issue in Tamaki's case. Her mind's already gone on to more important matters, like the appropriate dress attire for an art showing that'll blend in while still being combat-ready in case something Mark-powered shows up. "I wonder if Elly-chan has any suggestions ..."

        Somewhere, something akin to a Security Level meter representing Tamaki's suspicion drops from an already empty 0% into the negatives to -2%.

        She pulls out a clothes hanger with a top to inspect it. After Hyousuke reaffirms that Tsubasa's a friend and that he trusts Phoenix, Tamaki gives an absent-minded nod. She lets him continue with the rest of his request before she responds. "Good, good. Phoenix actually came by here during the Dark Hour one night and we had a chat. Figured I'd ask while you're here, but I'm a busy girl, and I just haven't gotten a chance to ask Seki-kun themself yet." She returns the article of clothing to the cabinet, then turns back to Hyousuke. "I'm just taking a temperature reading by asking you, you know? I'll get in contact with Seki-kun again soon enough."

        She inhales a sharp intake of breath at Hyousuke's insistence that she contact Ogre and Phoenix. " I mean -- I'd love to, but as far as I know, only you and Seki-kun are my only ways to get in contact with them! How am I -- " Midsentence, she pauses and blinks several times before she turns her head to the computer monitor on her desk. " -- I suppose I could post something on the Phan-site, but that's about the best I can do there. Tell them to keep an eye out there, and I can pass on what I find out there. We got a deal?"

        Tamaki fishes around in her jacket pocket again. "While you're at it, this could be educational for you. If you hit up the Velvet Room, take this with you." She pulls out another Skill Card -- kind of. This one's entirely blank. "At least you can make use of their services with this. The Joker Killer's not the only one with an artist on their side."

        She looks over at a pile of binders on her desk. "You want to look at more requests that have come in? There's one from Rengedai Ward that ..." Either they can peruse the new series of hunts together, or Hyousuke can get going -- she offers, either way.