2026-03-05: Forest for the Trees

• Log: Forest for the Trees
• Cast: Umie Akabane, Tamaki Uchida
• Where: Katatsumuri Forest Trail
• OOC Date: March 07, 2026
• IC Date: October 05, 2012
• Summary: On their way to the sanitarium where Sudou is, Tamaki and Umie take on the Katatsumuri Forest Trail. On their way up, the two catch up, and Umie shares her theories on the forces surrounding the two Tatsuyas. Tamaki, ever the detective, is unsure, and wonders where the self ends and the Mark begins.

---

  -==== Round 1: Did Anyone Bring a Map? - Challenge Level 1 ==================- 
 | Approach Options: Academics or Proficiency                                 | 
 | Conditions: Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1 and Stupor - Academics Down L1    | 
 -==== Challenge =============================================================- 
                                                                                
   Here in the forest on Katatsumuri Mountain, the trail walk allows people to  
  get well away from the hustle and bustle of Sumaru City. It's quiet here,     
  the sound as you start on the trail punctuated only by the sound of birdcall  
  and the wind rustling through the boughs. Perhaps it was the rumors that      
  brought you to the mountainside: story has it that there are spirits and      
  other creatures in the woods. Perhaps you have your own reasons. Perhaps      
  you're here for perfectly innocuous purposes.                                 
                                                                                
   As you walk up to the first fork in the path, a problem makes itself plain:  
  time and weather have done a number on the signposts! They're covered in      
  moss and are entirely illegible! Perhaps you can figure out where you want    
  to head on your own, or perhaps you can clean or fix up the signposts in      
  some way?                                                                     
                                                                                
 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|) 

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    >> at the katasumuri entrance, road's closed
    >> *nervous cat emoji*
    >> we could sneak in the back, right?
    
    Never has Umie ever had a reason to come here. She's not much of a nature walk person, and coming here during the Dark Hour, even to train, is a terrible idea. The forest is easy to get lost in even on a good day

    If and when Tamaki shows up, Umie's already ready for business, thinking aloud as she pulls her rain jacket over her small dufflebag. The day is cloudy and a light mist is falling over the woods, filling it with a certain appealing mystique, if they were here for a pleasant hike.

    "Nnnh. We're going to have some trouble in the forest." Umie squints at the forest proper. "But, according to what I saw online.... maybe... yeah, the forest trails get close to the back entrance of the sanitarium, I think..."

    If Tamaki's not fast enough, Umie's liable to just walk in.

    And, almost immediately, they're getting close to being lost. "We're able to use our Personas, at least. According to Badb, the entire mountain's buzzing with activity. No Mark needed here."

    The short two-bunned young woman looks at the signs. With what she's just said, it sounds like she's about to use her Persona in order to properly navigate (as much as she is able to).

    "... hmmm."

    Umie unzips her dufflebag and gets out a pamphlet from the entrance, unfolding the accordion folded piece of paper to reveal a simplistic map. ".... We go left, looks like." She smirks, folding her map back up. "Unless you want a scenic view of the city that we likely won't get, with the weather and all."

MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Academics toward Did Anyone Bring a Map?! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.

    Tamaki is one for nature walks; she took one behind Alaya Shrine on the way to Mt. Iwato just a few weeks ago. That's more preferable, honestly, the other trail isn't so close to a sanitarium.

 >> as good of a plan as any
 >> *ninja emoji* *grinning cat emoji*

    Rather than her usual office attire, Tamaki has shown up in a sneaking outfit -- something tight but stretchy, consisting of a dark green material, just a few shades lighter than black. As she arrives to meet Umie, she retrieves a domino mask from her own sports bag and places it on her face. "Mitsuhide-san."

    " -- We can use our Personas here?" Tamaki raises an eyebrow at that. "Oh, that's ominous." Try as she might to sense things with Arianrhod, it's a no-go. From what she knows of herself, she's always been more about stifling, obscuring, and silencing than listening. In fact, the now-illegible signposts strike her as something she'd do.

    Something she did, even. There was fog, then, too.

    Tamaki retrieves her notepad from her bag and starts taking down notes. "We can try that. It's a good starting point, though ultimately, we should rely on our own observations. I'll keep tabs on what parts of reality line up with the pamphlet and what it doesn't say."

MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Piece Together toward Did Anyone Bring a Map?! Automap!

 (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) 
 -==== Did Anyone Bring a Map? - Round 1 =====================================- 
  Tamaki Uchida        Academics                              Success           
  Piece Together       Automap                        Fatigue: 0                
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Umie Akabane         Academics                              Success           
  Academics            Base                           Fatigue: 0                 
 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- 
  Starting Conditions: Clumsy-2 and Stupor-2                                    
  Final Conditions: Clumsy-1 and Stupor-1                                       
 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- 
 -==== Reach: 1/6 |=    |  ===================================================- 
 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|) 
GAME: Tamaki Uchida sets her stealthy desc!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    'Mitsuhide-san' sounds so much cooler when Tamaki's doing it, Umie swears.

    "Ah! Right." They're sneaking in, that's right. For someone who hangs out with ninjas and thieves of various types, Umie could really stand to *remember* that outside of cognitive arenas. While the short blonde's leggings and half-gloves are black (as is the long-sleeved shirt she wears underneath), it's about the only think that *is*, as her pale jacket and red scuffed up sneakers are not. As Tamaki gets out her mask, Umie rummages around and takes out one of her own: a black and white number with a kaleidoscope of colors, sprinkled with some gold dust.

    Slipping it on and adjusting the ties, she looks up and around, making sure she can see out the holes, then gives Tamaki's own a thumbs up.

    "Like a pair of proper Phantom Thieves, eh?" she jokes. (No, no one will mistake them as those, thankfully.) "Wait, what do I call you, again?" Did they ever decide on that?

    "Mmnhm," Umie answers in the affirmative, to Tamaki's question. "Maybe due to rumors. Badb can sense these things. Once I get a feel of the place... maybe I can get a good bird's eye view. But until then, it'll be a real 'forest for the trees' situation, no pun intended."

    Tamaki's tip causes Umie to nod. "Ah! Good thinking."

    They continue on their merry way.

    Speaking of thieves and callsigns... "Hey. By the way. It's... okay if some people know the callsign for me, right?" People like the Phantom Thieves, Umie means, though she doesn't directly *say* it. "... I had to... use it, once, already."

MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has drawn a new Challenge!

 (|==================== Monad - Katatsumuri Forest Trail ====================|) 

(|==================== Thu Mar 05 17:34:43 2026 / Fri, Oct 05 2012 Part 1 ====|)
 -==== Round 2: THE HULA OF MISFORTUNE - Challenge Level 3 ===================- 
 | Approach Options: Guts or Charm                                            | 
 | Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Boss - Add 1 Fatigue on failure.,    | 
 | Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, and Stupor - Academics Down L1               | 
 -==== Challenge =============================================================- 
                                                                                
   The pleasant sounds of bird-song is intruded upon by an eerie reedy          
  cackling.                                                                     
                                                                                
  Something green and short zips by, gremlin-like in its general body shape     
  and disposition. Another pass of the creature and the sharp-eyed among you    
  may notice that it has a dapper black top hat, a tiny blade as a weapon, and  
  little bat wings.                                                             
                                                                                
  The Picollus gleefully laughs, and disappears; if you're unlucky, you just    
  might find your funds slashed in half. Even worse, if it chooses to suddenly  
  die in front of you, you may find one of your party members acting just a     
  touch... strangely.                                                           
                                                                                
  (Note: The halving of funds and/or the possession ailment are optional,       
  regardless of whether or not you succeed or fail this challenge. Likewise,    
  the possession is temporary, largely resulting in one character doing         
  something mischievous in nature.)                                             
                                                                                
 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|) 

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.

    'Like a pair of proper Phantom Thieves, eh?' Tamaki laughs at that. "Well, I'm not in the business of stealing hearts, and I'm not sure if it'd be wise to experiment."

    She re-affixes her mask and flashes Umie a confident smirk. "Just my name is fine for the time being. This is more 'camouflage' than 'costume', like one of those old stagehands -- I'm dressed like this mainly to avoid being noticed in the first place, not to conceal my own identity."

    As for Umie's concerns of people knowing her callsign, Tamaki shrugs. "Whoever you're comfortable with knowing. Its purpose is to just keep me from calling you by your real name in public -- like that time in Mementos."

    While they're calmly having a chat in the middle of the forest, a green blur zips by them both. The strange top-hatted creature giggles mischievously and dangles something in the air above it, tauntingly. It waddles close again and peeeeeers up at them while grinning widely ...

    Tamaki's wallet feels lighter.

    At first, her reaction is all fire and fury. " -- HEY!! Why you little -- I need that!" Rent! Groceries! Tuition! Tailoring bills! "I'm going to wring your miserable little -- "

    ... paying off her most unusual contacts for rumors!

    She pauses, then clasps her hands together as her demeanor switches to menacingly saccharine. "Ah, you wouldn't want to upset another Demon I've made a Pact with, I hope? I wonder, I wonder, would she like how you taste ..?" She tilts her head and smiles sunnily. "Please give it back, and I'm sure we can all get along just fine. Right?"

MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Demon Friends toward THE HULA OF MISFORTUNE! Friendliness and Patra!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    Umie's smile turns just a little sharper at Tamaki's comment. "What, stealing hearts is easy," she says, raising an index finger, "and if you're good enough, someone won't even know~"

    Unless you're Umie, and the other person is Shiryuu, and the heart stealing is somewhat accidental and accidentally mutual. Very complicated business, do not recommend, he is a good kisser, she does not need rescuing, leave them to their mess.

    "Right, right." Umie winces slightly at the memory. "Sorry about that." Umie hissed! But she hisses all the time! ...

    "... It's... not like the Order doesn't already know who I am, it's just a matter of priorities," she says, a touch more softly. That last agent they sent... they left no room for doubt that they were there for her. "But they want me to be scared." Umie just wishes it wasn't punctuated with someone's life.

    Speaking of life, what about one's _life's savings_! (Umie uses a bank for that, buttt...)

    "...!" As the demon goes for Tamaki (and Tamaki reacts), Umie seemingly has disappeared, simply gone the space of a glance back and forth.

    .....
    
    It's Umie. Umie is the demon.

    The hoop end of the kyoketsu shoge whips out, intent on wrapping around the little gremlin as Umie suddenly is there, coming in with a bifrucated blade slid right up close. ".... I could go for a nice meal," she murmurs, the smile becoming a proper, open-mouthed scythe across her lips.

MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Bird's Eye View toward THE HULA OF MISFORTUNE! Automap!

 (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) 
 -==== THE HULA OF MISFORTUNE - Round 2 ======================================- 
  Tamaki Uchida        Charm                                  Success           
  Demon Friends        Friendliness and Patra         Fatigue: 0                
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Umie Akabane         Guts                                   Success           
  Bird's Eye View      Automap                        Fatigue: 0                 
 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- 
  Starting Conditions: Annoying-2, Boss-0, Clumsy-1, and Stupor-1               
  Final Conditions:                                                             
 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- 
 -==== Reach: 2/6 |==   |  ===================================================- 
 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|) 

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.

    Tamaki rubs the back of her neck. "I was good at doing it on accident in high school, apparently. I think I've lost my touch since I got engaged, though." Her expression grows distant. "Even that didn't pan out, we had to break it off, anyway -- "

    A beat. " -- Hey, now! Wait a second, I'm getting off-track. I meant how they persuade their targets to confess!"

    She waves at Umie dismissively and smiles gently. "Water under the bridge. It's been ages since I've had to cooperate with someone." That's something she's been ruminating on lately. "... I should really apologize to Suou-kun. Telling him that he should rely on others and spread the burden when I wasn't practicing what I was preaching."

    "The Order and ... the Joker Killer himself, too, from what it sounded like the other day." Tamaki looks over at Umie with concern. "I'm curious about that one, but I expect it to be similarly one-sided as it was between him and Kashihara-kun." She curls a finger over her chin. "Meanwhile, I'm fairly well-known, but they don't seem to go after me so directly. I'm not quite sure why that is, but I have some guesses. That's why I'm okay with using my name; it might actually provide me with some measure of protection."

    ...

    While the Picollus is busy taunting Tamaki (it gets SUCH a good reaction out of her, she's fun to tease! More! More!), it remains blissfully unaware of Umie's disappearance and falls prey to her pincer attack. "You're bluffing! Keeheehee!" It totters around in its dance, then raises a hand to its forehead as if it were growing faint, all the while with a mischievous smile plastered on its face ...

    'I could go for a meal right now.'

    "AAAAIIIIIIIEEEEE!" Its eyes bulge at the sound and sight of Umie's cheshire-cat grin, and it leaps back upright. It rapidly shakes its head and places its arm in front of it, wordlessly pleading for its life with incomprehensible babble before it tosses the stack of bills from Tamaki's wallet, leaving them entirely forgotten in its retreat back into the forest.

    Tamaki stares at Umie in awe, then glances away. "Goddamn. I'm glad we're on the same side."

MONAD: Umie Akabane has drawn a new Challenge!

 (|==================== Monad - Katatsumuri Forest Trail ====================|) 
 -==== Round 3: Get Ogre It - Challenge Level 1 ==============================- 
 | Approach Options: Charm or Proficiency                                     | 
 | Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Box - Add 1 Item/Money/Gear., and  | 
 | Skillful - Proficiency Up L1                                               | 
 -==== Challenge =============================================================- 
                                                                                
   The thundering feet and loud bellows announce a sizable group of red and     
  green-skinned hominids with wild black hair, wearing ripped clothing and      
  wielding some rather bloody looking cleavers. "Looks like we got ourselves a  
  group of adventurers here!" says the first one, who seems to be the leader,   
  as he strides up, his fellows quickly surrounding your group.                 
                                                                                
  "Don't worry, we're pretty agreeable!" says one.                              
  "...as long as you got the goods," finishes another.                          
                                                                                
  "So take our your wallet or put up them dukes," says the last, a muscular     
  ogress, who folds her arms.                                                   
                                                                                
  What will you all do?                                                         
                                                                                
 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|) 

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    Tamaki's confession normally would have been given a quip of 'see how easy it is' (if in regards to getting someone to confess), but the melancholy tone causes Umie to think better of it. "Maybe it's the same thing that makes you good at being a detective." Well, apprentice, but it's not as if Umie'd be able to appreciate the difference the way Tamaki can.

    What Umie *is* good at, however...

    'AAAAIIIIIIIEEEEE!' ... is making a demon truly scared for their life, *despite* her general demeanor otherwise.

    "... Continuing that thread from earlier-- it's the same for me, really. Learning to work well with others, that is." Umie grins as she hops up to her feet, holding out Tamaki's wallet. "You'd think I've be used to it by now, but..." How long has it been? Since June, roughly, thereabouts? "Those who've dealt with it know it when they see it, in someone else." She briefly looks away. "And admitting to it... that's half the battle, isn't it? I can't imagine Takkun doing that anytime soon."

    "Oh hey, it even gave me another wallet!" Umie realizes, as she feels the second one underneath Tamaki's. Excitedly, she opens it up, but only gets some spare charge in return. "... Not even enough for the trip back," Umie grumbles.

    Speaking of Tatsuya... "I don't think it'll be over, when Sudou is dealt with. I've thought a lot about what you said, about Persona Users often appearing before something's going to happen..."

    "Well lookie what we got here! Maybe that little green goblin left somethin' behind for the all of us!" says a much taller, much more muscular ogre, wielding a cleaver.
    "We'll take whatever you got left," says another, smaller one.
    "... Or we'll take your lives!" says the third.

    "Auuuuh..." Umie sighs, as she grabs out.... the wallet from earlier!! "Take it!! I don't have much, but take ittt!! There was a monster that scared that goblin earlier, and we barely got away with our lives!! Hurry! Hurry! It's coming fasssst!"

MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Can you do this? toward Get Ogre It! Specialty!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.

    "A good detective?" Tamaki shakes her head. "I'm alright, but that doesn't come so effortless to me. It's a grind that I have to push through." The words may sound like a complaint, but her voice sounds excited. "If I want something, then I go for it with all I've got. I like the challenge in it."

    Maybe that explains her current-day plight. Without a clear goal to shoot for, she's inert. She's coasting, just trying to return to a normal, uneventful life.

    Tamaki gratefully takes back her own wallet as tears stream down her face (maybe not so much literally, but the animation sure portrays it that way). "Thank yooouuu ..." While she doesn't carry her entire life savings on her person, she's in the habit of holding enough cash for any disruption such as this to make a sizably significant dent. The other wallet sparks her interest momentarily, but news that it's barely got anything in it causes her to deflate. "Aww, mannnn ..."

    As for Tatsuya: "Took me years to admit it. Hell, I'm still figuring stuff out to this day, even after that time we force-fed him cake. It's unreasonable to expect him to turn around within days. It's always pained me to watch someone else struggle with what I'd already gone through; I think, 'I know the answer, it's this!' and try to tell them, but -- I think I suck at effectively getting my point across."

    Tamaki lowers her head as Umie says she doesn't think it'll be over after Sudou. "Yeah. I think ... I haven't really made my peace with the possibility that this will just keep going and going. Not yet. It's funny how all of these little individual conflicts and stories pop up, but when you step back and look at the bigger picture, there seems to be something else overshadowing them all." She sighs. "Or maybe that's just the pareidolia talking."

    Then a group of Ogres accost the two of them. As Umie offers the empty wallet from the Picollus, Tamaki glances down at her own in a panic and hastily hides it behind her back to drop it back in her sports bag. Ignore the shaky smile, Ogres, she's totally not trying to conceal anything at all!

    (What does a demon even need money for anyway?! Tamaki figures that Nekomata likes the shiny appearance of metallic coins, but others like these Ogres are still a puzzle to her.)

    Tamaki retrieves something else from her sports bag and presents the gang with a cheerful smile. "Here!" In her splayed-out hands, she holds a small collection of Life Stones. "It isn't quite money, but here! You guys like these, right?" (for some inexplicable reason)

    To help sell Umie's spun narrative, Tamaki nervously adds, "P-please do it quickly before that thing shows up again. The longer we wait -- " She punctuates this with a loud gulp and a glance behind her. "Well. Y-you know."

MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Demon Friends toward Get Ogre It! Friendliness and Patra!

 (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) 
 -==== Get Ogre It - Round 3 =================================================- 
  Tamaki Uchida        Charm                                  Success           
  Demon Friends        Friendliness and Patra         Fatigue: 0                
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Umie Akabane         Proficiency                            Success           
  Can you do this?     Specialty                      Fatigue: 0                 
 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- 
  Starting Conditions: Bothersome-2, Box-0, and Skillful-2                      
  Final Conditions: Bothersome-1                                                
 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- 
 -==== Reach: 3/6 |===  |  ===================================================- 
 -==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================- 
  Items: 1, Money: 1, Gear: 0                                                   
 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|) 

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    Umie seems to appreciate Tamaki's gusto, giving her a slow nod and a half smile. "Mmhm. That's the spirit, right there." LIkewise? Umie would be the same. A chariot furiously moving in a circle, refusing to budge from the deepening tread it's leaving behind.

    The topic of Tatsuya, however, leaves Umie thoughtful, her lips pursing as she lifts a knuckle to her mouth. "... I don't think..." She hesitates. "... I'm sure we're both helpfult to him, just in terms of being older. But the thing he struggles with the most..."

    Just come out with it, Umie thinks. Put your money where your mouth is.

    "You... know I have a Mark like his, right? I never said it outright, but it'd be really dumb to deny it now." Her right hand drops to her side, the half glove covering any evidence of any marking on Umie's own wrist. "I think I'm the one who passed it to him. The timeline isn't quite there, since he only started about the time I moved, not back when I tutored him my senior year, but neither do the events he thinks happened. The Mark's... it's about delusion, and spreading lies. The ones that the Old Maid and Takkun were spreading... nearly spread onto Kashihara-kun, as well. I think... that's what this is all about: making everyone believe something is true that isn't. I just don't know why."

    "The Old Maid was the first to have one, by my estimates. Maybe, all that he did was to make everyone scared enough that, when he emerged again, everyone would be afraid of him." Umie frowns; to say more may put Tamaki in danger, however; Umie's talk with Akechi reminded her of how easy it is for share what is potentially very dangerous information.

    The way she pauses, her words falling still, may signal that hesitation to say any more on the matter.

    Also, there's ogres here, and that's a great way to avoid talking about a subject she technically brought up!

    Pareidolia, huh...

    '--before that thing--' "h-hey," Umie grits, as she steps in the very story she herself established. "That thing is also really, really cool!" she insists, quickly. "She'll totally--"

    "A she?! Holy crap, she'll eat us alive?!" says an ogre excitedly.
    "Sis, aren't you still in that situationship with--"
    "Shaddup, I *appreciate* a demon that can beat my ass!" exclaims the leader, as she takes all of Tamaki's offered Life Stones.

    Umie stares. then, looking back towards Tamaki, she points in the opposite direction. "... Better go get her!"

    .... Well, with that settled...

    "..... Let's go before they figure it out..." Umie gulps, before running up the trail.

MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has drawn a new Challenge!

 (|==================== Monad - Katatsumuri Forest Trail ====================|) 

(|==================== Thu Mar 05 21:01:34 2026 / Fri, Oct 05 2012 Part 1 ====|)
 -==== Round 4: A Face Only a Mother Could Love - Challenge Level 2 ==========- 
 | Approach Options: Guts or Academics                                        | 
 | Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Box - Add 1 Item/Money/Gear.,      | 
 | Educational - Academics Up L1, and Scary - Guts Down L1                    | 
 -==== Challenge =============================================================- 
                                                                                
   As you follow the forest trail, you come to a strange statue. It has a       
  visage somewhere between a Shiisa and a gargoyle, with huge yet indistinct    
  claws that are clutching a well-worn, lacquered wooden box. Its eyes are      
  deep, recessed pits. And yet, its mouth -- despite being filled with          
  oh-so-many sharp teeth -- is stuck in a perpetual expression:                 
                                                                                
  :D                                                                            
                                                                                
  The box does not have a latch on it. Perhaps, inside, is some manner of       
  wondrous good or helpful supplies. And yet, do you trust this face?           
                                                                                
 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|) 

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.

    Tamaki knows Umie has a Mark. "Yeah. You rolled up your sleeve the last time he was in the Agency's office." Aside from that comment, she remains quiet as she listens, but near the end, she has one question:

    "It's good that you're concerned of the possibility, but if I were in your shoes ... I'd want concrete proof one way or the other. What evidence do you have which suggests that you passed it to him?"

    All three of them -- Tamaki, Umie, Tatsuya -- have blamed themselves for the misfortune of others. So caught up are they in their own individual stories that they fail to see the forest for the trees. "For the longest time, I thought things had started with me. It wasn't until the last few months that I learned about how you'd been Awakened for far longer. Tartarus supposedly sprang up ten years ago. My advice is to step outside of your own perspective for a bit and try to see how big this really is."

    After that, she shrugs. "Though given what I just said about myself earlier when it comes to the kind of advice I give, take it with a grain of salt."

    'It's about delusion, and spreading lies.' Tamaki narrows her eyes at that line. Everyone struggles with that to some extent. "Do those delusions originate from the Mark, or does it just amplify something that's already in us all?"

    Tamaki boggles at the Ogre leader's excitement for a few moments even after they leave, then shrugs. "I can respect that." She did say that challenges excite her ...

    Turning to Umie, she adds, "Apologies, I didn't realize you were referring to your bird. What would she 'totally do?'"

    Further up the trail is a statue, tightly clutching onto a statue with its mouth, protected by rows and rows of sharp teeth, its frozen expression ominously twisted upwards in delight.

    It reminds Tamaki of a different statue located within her own office. She muses, "Is it some kind of offering box?" as she's already reaching into her bag to provide it with something. "We made it this far easily enough, so maybe we can leave something behind to help others who haven't been so lucky."

MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Piece Together toward A Face Only a Mother Could Love! Automap!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    "Oh, right." Umie laughs, her head bobbing slightly with the motion. "I'm already forgetting who knows and who doesn't."

    Proof. When Tamaki asks for it, Umie blinks, as if the concept of needing 'proof' was something new to her. Can't Tamaki see the proof in front of her?

    But, Umie *did* think about it, many times, and likewise, could never come up with a definite answer. "I... don't have any. All that know is, he had none when I was tutoring him, and he didn't get it the same way as I did--"

    Move quickly now, from the natural question of 'how did you get yours'...
    nevermind that it's the same retreat they all do, reaching out to one another and withdrawing, back and forth...
    ...until...

    "... Ten years..?!" Umie sputters, looking back at Tamaki, eyes wide. "But that's... no, it's always been there! As long as I've... even when I was..." If it's not been as long as 'forever', that can mean it can be reversed. . She doesn't want that. The Dark Hour is hers. Are they going to take it away from her?!

    'My advice is to step outside of your own perspective for a bit and try to see how big this really is.'

    "... Mmn," lies Umie's committal answer, a hand to her lips.

    But she's listening, at the very least, her eyes on Tamaki with an air of someone who was just caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

    Tamaki's right.

    Umie's next answer is likely the cruelest one of all, when said so plainly, but thanks to Tamaki's own guidance, it's far more direct than Umie may have said otherwise.

    "I don't know. I'm like you, there: you just think these things for the longest time..." she begins, a slow, spritely half grin perking on her lips, "because there's no one to go 'hey, why not look at it from this perspective'."

    They may be back at square zero, but it's better than going in a circle.

    "My.... bird?" Umie's red brown eyes blink once, twice... and she laughs. "Badb? No, no, I was just. Well. A little vanity is good for a young woman, eh?" She raises her chin towards Tamaki and shrugs. "Since I was 'the demon'. But it worked out, right? I wish I could have saved you from giving up those life stones, tho."

    It's like Umie's coming to an understanding, and growing past her inability to putter on full speed.

    .....

    "Nah, nah, you stick your hand in its mouth. See?"

    Annnnd Umie does just that: sticks her hand in the statue's mouth.

    Chariot vs. Temperance, everyone....

MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Guts toward A Face Only a Mother Could Love! Base!

 (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) 
 -==== A Face Only a Mother Could Love - Round 4 =============================- 
  Tamaki Uchida        Academics                              Success           
  Piece Together       Automap                        Fatigue: 0                
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Umie Akabane         Guts                                   Success           
  Guts                 Base                           Fatigue: 0                 
 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- 
  Starting Conditions: Bothersome-1, Box-0, Educational-2, and Scary-2          
  Final Conditions: Educational-1 and Scary-1                                   
 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- 
 -==== Reach: 4/6 |==== |  ===================================================- 
 -==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================- 
  Items: 2, Money: 2, Gear: 0                                                   
 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|) 

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.

    "You don't have any," Tamaki repeats. Her own mindset's informed by her recent set theory and criminology courses: everything has to be fact-checked. The logic has to be laid bare, she has to show every minute detail of her thought process.

    'Ten years.' Tamaki shrugs again. "It's what I've heard, at least. I don't know how accurate the theory is in reality, but my source believes that it came about as a result of a Kirijo Group chemical lab explosion."

    It had a definite beginning, so it can have a definite end. Still ... "Makes you wonder if there's anything else supernatural that predates it. Tartarus may be a small speck in a larger constellation."

    'I'm like you.' She purses her lips and smiles in return. "Weeell. We're both here to give each other perspective now, right? Better late than never."
    
    Umie clarifies she was the Demon. "Ohhh. In that case, I was trying to be vague to get them to look somewhere aside from you." A beat. "And yet, specifying your gender is what made them try and chase the fictional 'you' down in earnest."

    As for Umie's apology, Tamaki laughs. "Nah, nah, the Life Stones are for bribing Demons with." She pulls out a Satomi Tadashi Pharmacy-branded first aid kit. "This is more practical. At least for me. Given my budget." She swings her arm in a show of faux enthusiasm, but deflates partway through. "Gotta ... use that friends and family discount somehow ..."

    o` The eternal ally of those who fight! o`

    They're both right -- someone has to fill those boxes with something. Give a penny, take a penny. Give a first aid kit, take a ...

    ... small stack of curse papers! And a handful of Zionga stones!

    Tamaki glances down at Umie's find and another shiver crawls up her spine as she averts her eyes from the curse papers. "I don't know what else I expected."

MONAD: Umie Akabane has drawn a new Challenge!

 (|==================== Monad - Katatsumuri Forest Trail ====================|) 

    Chariot vs. Temperance, everyone....
 -==== Round 5: The Fork in the Road - Challenge Level 2 =====================- 
 | Approach Options: Charm or Understanding                                   | 
 | Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Educational - Academics Up L1,     | 
 | Hard - Understanding Down L1, and Scary - Guts Down L1                     | 
 -==== Challenge =============================================================- 
                                                                                
   You've reached the end of the forest trail. Ahead is a fork that will take   
  you back towards the entrance if you want, or, if you ignore the signs here   
  that state that ahead is private property and that you absolutely shouldn't   
  tresspass, you could potentially take an approach that would take you right   
  up to the back of the Morimoto Sanitarium.                                    
                                                                                
  Assuming, that is, that's somewhere that you want to go.                      
                                                                                
  But tresspassing is a crime, and there are plenty of stories that, true or    
  not, suggest eerie things take place in the sanitarium. It's quiet here. You  
  can't even hear the birds. There's nothing for you but the sound of the wind  
  in the branches.                                                              
                                                                                
  	Do you have a good sense of your group's mood and whether this is an         
  adventure you want to chance? Or would you prefer to bolster their spirits    
  and urge them on ahead?                                                       
                                                                                
 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|) 

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    "Not a single one," Umie reaffirms, slipping her hands into the pockets of her jacket. "Just a lot of nights trying to understand it all." Tamaki gains a point, as well as yet more of Umie's respect, given how Umie relents without fear. Be it nine years or a few, the experiences they've went through make whatever length of time it was feel like useless numbers.

    What's more, what Tamaki has to say next throws Umie completely off guard.

    "... Kirijo Group...?!" Umie's face contorts in open shock. "The same outfit behind SEES..." In turn connected to Mitsuru Kirijo, and Shinjiro Aragaki, who then is connected to the orphanage fire started by... "... I wonder if the Old Maid remembers a time without the Dark Hour," Umie murmurs, still dumbfounded. That, or one of those snobby Hunter types, if they're truly as experienced as they purport themselves to be... "He was Marked about ten years ago, give or take."

    It's great what a little bit of collaboration can do, isn't it?

    Umie waves a hand. "The Badb, the Umie, it's all the same in the end," she says, with a impish, prideful smirk. "It's funny how that works, though, eh? I guess love is a tricky mistress."

    "Huh, you worked at one too?" (No, that'd be an employee discount, Umie.) Umie's hand withdraws.... a bunch of curse papers. "Oh, huh. Nicceee." Stuffing them into her duffle bag, she signals Tamaki along. "Let's get going before I get that song stuck in my head again."
 
    Which leads to... a fork in the road.

    Umie's fingers touch the half mask against her face, running its fingers against the texture of the brush strokes, a recording of the person who made them weeks ago. Kurou may be the enemy of many as a Ryouhara, but he protects her, here, with this mask he made with her that one sunny afternoon. She closes her eyes.

    Shiryuu Ryouhara, in turn, is determined to make his name a cursed one by all those he puts to the test.
    At the same time, he threw himself against the Joker Killer, and lost a part of himself that he can't put a name to.

    "Uchida-san, you ready?" Unlike the time (_mere moments ago_) when Umie stuck her hand into that device, she's gazing at Tamaki with a solemn gaze, lifting the bottom edge of her mask up to glance back at Tamaki.

    "Even if it may not put an end to the entire nightmare, maybe we can put an end to this one. No more victims. No more calls. If we can get the delusion to lift, he'll just be like me or Takkun: powerful, but fallible."

    How, though. How.

    Well, disrupting this part of the established set piece has got to work, right?

    "The Badb's restless. Let's get going before the party comes to us instead."

MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with String Theory toward The Fork in the Road! Focus and Find!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.

    Tamaki sighs at 'a lot of nights.' "We've got that in common with our respective experiences."

    "The very same." She shakes her head. "It's strange how in all that time, I hadn't even heard of Tartarus until a short while ago. I didn't even know for sure if it was real until you brought me there, yet all this time, it was right under my nose." Tamaki winks at Umie. "Certainly sounds like a corporate cover-up job, doesn't it?"

    A sardonic smile twitches its way onto Tamaki's face. "Love is a tricky mistress, indeed." Given how her luck in that department swings wildly like a pendulum, she's at least a little bitter.

    Worked at one? "Uh -- no, my ex-fiancé was -- nevermind, it's not important!" oh god she's said too much

    "You know, a good way to get a song out of your head is to replace it with a different one," she offers. "Just start humming something else."

    Something with less painful memories, something like --

    (BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GVwJRGc5BA Gymnopédie No. 2 - Erik Satie)

    -- no, that's still retreading old ground.

    ... Maybe that's what she needs in this moment, though. The things that Nameless had taunted her about, her tendency to try and mute her own wayward thoughts ...

    Tamaki looks back at Umie, then towards the sanitarium as the gears start turning in her head. "Almost. Before we head in, can you ... elaborate some about the Mark's 'lies and delusions?'"

    If she managed to knock Umie's loose a little bit, there may be an angle she can work with -- half-formed and ill-thought-out as it is right now.

MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Understanding toward The Fork in the Road! Base!

 (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) 
 -==== The Fork in the Road - Round 5 ========================================- 
  Tamaki Uchida        Understanding                          Success           
  Understanding        Base                           Fatigue: 0                
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Umie Akabane         Charm                                  Success           
  String Theory        Focus and Find                 Fatigue: 0                 
 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- 
  Starting Conditions: Bothersome-2, Educational-1, Hard-2, and Scary-1         
  Final Conditions: Bothersome-1 and Hard-1                                     
 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- 
 -==== Reach: 6/6 |=====|  ===================================================- 
 -==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================- 
  Items: 3, Money: 2, Gear: 1                                                   
 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|) 

 (|==================== Monad - Katatsumuri Forest Trail ====================|) 

(|==================== Thu Mar 05 23:28:36 2026 / Fri, Oct 05 2012 Part 1 ====|)
 -==== Round 6: Finders Keepers Losers Weepers - Challenge Level 1 ===========- 
 | Approach Options: None                                                     | 
 | Conditions: Revelation - The best result.                                  | 
 -==== Challenge =============================================================- 
                                                                                
   You've made up your mind, and you know what you're doing next. From here,    
  it's straight shot to the Sanitarium: you think you know how to make your     
  approach to mitigate any chances you might be seen by security, automated or  
  otherwise.                                                                    
                                                                                
  You take one step forward to make your approach then and nearly trip over a   
  small chest that heretofore had been partially hidden in the underbrush. It   
  opens easily: inside are some Medicines that can be used to heal yourself     
  from the damage received in a fight and a single shiny piece of obsidian.     
  The right person could turn this into a potent accessory. Was this a demon's  
  horde?                                                                        
                                                                                
  Right now, it may be the least of your concerns. A present is simply a        
  present, however it comes into your possession.                               
                                                                                
  Final Loot: 3 Items, 3 boxes of Money, and 2 Pieces of Gear!                  
 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|) 

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

    "That we do," Umie says, with a small grin. "A lot of thoughts, and a lot of wisdom, ever if we might go in different directions about it. But that's what it means, to... 'be the people we wish we had'." Yet another thing Umie took from Tamaki, for better or worse.

    Tartarus. _OH OF COURSE_. Umie whaps herself gently. "Ghhhh. It was *right there*, but I didn't even make the connection...!" A coporate cover-up job? Umie laughs. "Welll. It's pretty easy to hide something in a time that no one knows. Hell, I used to call the Dark Hour things like 'the Green Time' or 'Spooky Time'. But that was more my sense of humor than any unique insight I had..."

    As for love... "Ah, love," Umie quips wryly, folding her arms. "Don't worry, I'm just as terrible. I'll probably have to crash on your couch and whine about my own bad choices sometime." (well, once she's sure Shiryuu won't hear about it and try to challenge Tamaki to a duel for the fatal mistake of engaging in the time-honored tradition of girl chat)

    Some songs sound similar because they are, and others... just need to be heard. "... Well..." Umie begins, on the topic of the Mark--

    "Ah, excuse me, but did you happen to come across an old shrine?" An elderly guide with a gentle face approaches the two of them, right at that point.

    Umie, tucking the mask under the cowl of her hood, discreetly waves Tamaki on, clearly intending to distract him. "No, sorry," she says politely as she shakes her head. "I didn't even know there was one here."

    "Ah, yes, though it would make sense, not knowing about it... it's a rather small one, belonging to a humble but honorable man, named Master Fuyou..."

    "Mmhm," Umie says with a sort of nod. "Master Fuyou, huh... how long ago was this, then?"

    (Tamaki will be rewarded for this pause by... nearly clipping over small chest. A demon's hoard? Maybe luck is on her side!)

    The old man smiles pleasantly. "Long ago... The Warring States period, in fact... Back then, however, he was known as the ninja master Junnosuke Kuroda, a loyal servant to the samurai Tatsunoshin Suou, vassal to Lord Kiyotada Sumaru."

    Tamaki will see it, if she looks up at that point: Umie's spine suddenly straightening, her eyes, unburdened by that mask, widening minutely, a knuckle tucked against her lips. "... Right," she says, quietly.

    "You may know that man as the founder of what would become Sumaru City, but back then, he was a cruel but effective warlord, as many were in those days... Kuroda-san worked with his master, as well the beautiful Princess Maihime Amano to end the warlord's reign... Sadly, the warlord fatally wounded Princess Amano with a spear, devastating her lover, who ordered his faithful servant to burn down Sumaru Castle. The ninja master did as he was bid, trapping his master and the dreaded warlord in the burning building as he fled into the night... though his spirit is said to still haunt those grounds, waiting for his reven-- ah, young miss, are you alright? You look pale..."
    
    Eventually, Umie politely sees the man away, joining with Tamaki. "..... let's go," she says, weakly, taking her mask down and fitting it into place. "... It's just... all coincidences... pareidolia...."