2025-12-15: Little Sister
- Log: Little Sister
- Cast: Umie Akabane, Tatsuya Sudou
- Where: Triple 7, Shibuya, Tokyo
- OOC Date: December 15, 2025
- IC Date: August 26, 2012
- Summary: Umie bravely attempts to do a night shift in order to see if the Joker Killer will appear. He does, but what Umie quickly finds out is that she was more prepared to fight him than she ever was to just *talk* to him.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Diamonds may be forever, as well as a girl's best friend, but madly selling them off with no regards to how it looks will mean Umie Akabane will gain unwanted attention.
This among other reasons, is why Umie is here, in her hot pink and lime green uniform, at the Triple Seven.
Aka, a night shift. Ha ha ha, something may go wrong!
.... She hopes something will go wrong, in fact.
If she were to pinpoint what strengthened her resolve to face what may be the inevitable, it would have been the events of the last few days: Phoenix and Ogre roaring their resolve as they faced down Eiji (likely for reasons similar to Umie's own, if Umie were to guess), Katsuya holding true to his Justice, Kurou's quiet determination, Vesper's speech, Joker clinging to that treasure, wholly devoted to his cause. Maria, holding a sword as she faced the Joker Killer, despite her sins being displayed so openly. It seemed like a crime, that she didn't gain some previously unexpressed power right then and there, but when have Personas been like that? They're not boons, granted to the worthy. They're a defense.
Shiryuu, taking on the Joker Killer himself. So stupid. He should have listened to her.
Or maybe, if Umie had taken the initative to not just hide, like a coward...
The dufflebag lies at her feet under the counter; at 11:59, it would have nothing alarming: a match of string tied to a large foam coin and a sword; just props. Some smoke bombs. Things meant to help her get away with her prize.
The prize being information, if Sudou's pattern holds true to what happened at the Cardboard Dragon.
Red fingernails tap nervously on the countertop, in time with each second that ticks by.
Surely, he'd be here. She just has that sort of feeling, deep in her gut.
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
Somewhere a clock is showing the time...
11:59:01
11:59:37
11:59:59
The door chime goes off slowly dying as the time rolls over to the dark hour and the power stops, ominously welcoming the new patron. The patron moves with purpose through the shop. First through the aisles with the instant noodles.
Drinks are selected next along with a large bottle of water.
The sound of the patron pouring the water in and then the microwave door is heard opening and closing. The patron makes a buzzing sound for a couple of minutes as he watches the noodles.
Slowly but surely the patron approaches the counter, two sodas and two cups of instant noodles nice and hot. How did he cook them without a microwave, best not to ask.
The patron's paper bag tilts for a moment looking at Umie, before finally...
"AKABANE-CHAN! I was hoping it was you tonight!" The Joker Killer rather excitedly speaks as he pulls his wallet out and puts some money on the counter. "Are you able to take a break? I got you noooodles." The killers energy is matching that of an excited puppy seeing one of their favorite people. "Come on, share a meal with me. It will be fun."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Another night and Umie would have ran out *immediately*. If she couldn't time her reentry back into the store without getting yelled at for it, that was better than *being dead*.
And so, Umie waits there, still and as expressive as a stone, as her sacred Dark Hour solitude is, as predicted, interrupted by the Joker Killer.
Who is completely spoiling the mood by *pretending to use the microwave*, complete with sound effects. (Tatsuya Suou's sound effects are so much better.)
What is this man up to?
He's bringing his food to the counter.
He has two of each item.
Oh god no. OH GOD NO. NONONONO.
Umie's expression goes flat. Dare Umie take a chance on breaking bread with a guy who has killed many people, ruined lives, tortured others on camera, may be a space alien for all she knows, with irradiated food?!
........ okay, Umie can work with this.
It is time to put on the most Konbini Clerk role to have ever conn'ed a.... meanie?
".... Ha ha ha, that's Akabane-*san*," Umie says, through gritted teeth and a rictus smile. "I'll.... save it, for later. My stomach's not being agreeable, right now."
The tip of one of her sneakers taps against the tile flooring, wanting so desperately to break into a sprint far, far away from here.
".... You have less than an hour." Umie slides over an egg timer, and twists it.
"After that, you are to leave the premises, and stop harassing my friends. Deal?"
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
Sudou shrugs his shoulders at the mention of the noodles being saved for later, and listens to the deal offered for a moment before he tilts his head and looks off at nothing but a shadowed corner. "She's not laughing at me, she said she has stomach issues. Pay attention! " He turns back and shakes his head, "Don't mind them. As you know they like to get under your skin. "
He produces a pair of chopsticks and picks up the noodle, and, the paper bag eats the noodles. After a couple of bitees, with the fish cake stuck to the outside of the bag. "To be fair I don't have a list of your friends, so I didn't know you knew her until you showed up to save her. Would you like me to ask permission before every job? I mean that feels like extra paper work."
Sudou sets the cup of noodles down and opens the drink but just holds it, " So do you just stay here the whole hour? Do you get overtime for the extra hour? " Sudou appears to be attempting what the normal people may refer to as...small talk. Looking back over at the corner he yells again, "RUDE! SHE CAN HEAR YOU!" Taking a moment he looks from the empty corner to Umie, "You can hear them right?" There is a bit of pleading in Sudou's voice.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Yes. Stomach issues. Why would I laugh at you?" Umie leans forward, her elbow positioned on the countertop, her other, covered by the wrist sleeve, is placed palm down. "You could slice me in two at any moment. Not very funny, from my perspective."
Truth is, her stomach *is* about ready to flip out; her heart is beating like a jackhammer in her ears.
Oh, but isn't she being so brave, right now? She doesn't need anyone to save *her*, she's taking care of things herself.
'I mean that feels like extra paper work.'
"I thought," Umie begins, stringing the beads of theories and thoughts together, "you could just do whatever you wanted. You teleported everywhere when you came after me. Not to mention, you summoned demons."
The best source for answers for all the mysteries surrounding Sudou would be Sudou himself, assuming he could answer reliably. Small talk is exactly what Umie was hoping for!
..... now, if her blood pressure could behave...
".... Seeing as everyone here is unaware of the Dark Hour, it's basically an hour long break," Umie says lightly, shrugging.
The sudden shout makes her flinch back from the counter, hands in front of her.
Breathe in, breath out. Yes, just like that.
She won't answer his question with a direct answer; she simply supplies her own.
"Where is your Mark? They threw you in front of Gozen, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
The Joker Killer laughs, "Yeeaaah~ I really could. Then again you might get lucky and take somebody parts in the process. However little sister, I didn't come to do that. " He gets tired of standing and sits on the floor in front of the counter and leans against it watching the entrance. He doesn't answer anything for a moment before saying, "Thanks for not laughing."
Reaching up with his long arms he grabs his cup of noodles and takes another bite. Finally he says, " I do that as part of the job. After that Maria fiasco I have been put on administrative leave while they determine what to do with me." More noodle slurpin' is heard before the shuffling of the bag is heard and looking at the noodles for a moment. " So you know what does one do when they are in trouble at work, they go eat instant noodles and drink with someone who they think will understand them."
Another couple of slurps before Sudou replies to Umie's question by raising his left arm, letting the sleeve fall down and shows the mark. " Gozen? Gozen who? I don't know any Gozen." Another moment of silent from the killer before he asks, "So how many years has it been for you? "
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'Little sister.'
The sound of those words send a shudder down Umie's spine, for so many reasons.
In a way, she is. She's younger than Tatsuya Sudou, and so far, Sudou could only be the one who could have--
No, it's possible he got it later, because....
'Thanks for not laughing.' Oh, but isn't she a laughable sight, right now, she thinks.
Seeing the Mark on the arm confirms it. Umie manages a wan smile; she doesn't bother to show hers in turn, but by the way she clasps her fingers around her right wrist, it's clear where hers is.
"So. Who is your.... boss?" The last word is delivered in a limp attempt at something light-hearted.
'Don't listen to 'Him'.'
'Gozen? Gozen who? I don't know any Gozen.'
"Gozen. You know. Gozen. The mummified head." It's Umie's turn to lose control of the conversation. "On that boat, decked out like a shrine." Is he like Tatsuya Suou? "Your dad threw me--" No, he just led her, a willing lamb, to the altar.
Her stomach is practically doing gymnastics at this point, as a murmur of another kind whispers sweetly in her ear.
Coaxing, unrelenting, unshakable. How long as she been with Umie...?
Fingernails dig into the counter, sending flecks of red paint.
"You tell me first. Was it before or after the orphanage fire that you got your Mark?"
.... Yes, because He was there in Umie even before, wasn't he?
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
Sudou hmms at the question, "You know this conversation is going to take twice as long if any time I try to ask a question you ask me the same question without giving an answer, but since you asked...." Sudou picks up one of the small pack of gum and throws it at the corner like he is trying to get someone's attention. "Hey, how long have you been bothering me."
The paper bag nods up and down before he gives Umie her answer, " They say it's been since this timeline existed, in that weird cryptic way they speak. I don't think it's been more than 12 years at most, 13 I guess if you count months. " Sudou then looks at the thrown gum, "I'll pick that up before I leave."
A few more moments, a final slurp is had before he sets the cup aside. " Mummified head on a boat? I honestly have no clue what you are talking about. Also what does my dad have to do with any of this? Wait..." The paper bag peaks up from the other side of the counter and tilts looking at Umie, fishcake still on the bag.
"Just who do you think I am? "
BBS: New BB message (2/112) posted to 'Announcements' by Junes: New Group: In Unizone
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"You haven't done yourself any favors in trying to kill me and spreading my name--"
Umie calms herself. Think, and remember yourself. You're serving not only as a means of information for Maya, but Jun as well. Think about Shinjiro, and how you managed to put in that final puzzle piece in a particular mystery as to how he gets in and out.
Still, all it takes is Sudou to say yet another thing before Umie's trying to punch holes in his answer. "I'm pretty sure I remember being older than 12 or 13." Her eyes narrow. "I was only eleven when it happened to me, after all. You can't tell me what happened before was a lie. I refuse to believe it."
No matter what everything tries to tell her... "_this is the only world there is_. There is no pure, sinless world; that's just your dad's delusions!!" She pounds her fist in the counter once.
'Also what does my dad have to do with any of this? Wait...'
Shit. Shit. Shittyshitshit. Umie let her mouth get ahead of her brain.
".... You tell me, since the police are so eager to clean up after you. You *have* to be someone important!"
There. Umie didn't mess up. Not at all.
"You're refusing to answer any of my questions as well, might I point out..." Sweat collects on her forehead.
Giggling echoes down the aisles behind Sudou; it's a sound for Umie's ears alone. "Shut up!!"
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
Sudou sighs and stands slowly and tilts his head at her one way and then another. Finally he raises his marked arm, before saying, "I humbly promise to swear on Him, that I don't know about any mummy named Gozen or a boat. Nor have any idea what my dad, has to do with anything involving you, Umie Akabane. " Sudou gives a moment before he settles back down on the floor.
"The other world, I have been told about the other world. I know about it because I was told by the only voice in my head I 100% trust." Sudou says as he looks at the corner. The shut up is shouted and Sudou already knows, " Do they still listen to you when they say that? " A couple of beats are given before he adds, "Just wait. There will come a time when you miss their voice. " He sighs heavily after saying that as he tries to remember when that happened.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'Nor have any idea what my dad, has to do with anything involving you, Umie Akabane.'
"_Bullshit_." Umie's fist *pounds* the counter once again, causing a nearby display to fall over pitifully. "I can accept you not knowing who Gozen is, or your dad's ship, but you do *not* get to disavow your dad's hand in what was _done to me_. I was just a kid, telling lies to get my parents to..." _Why is she telling Sudou this_?! "They were lies. They were lies, all of them!! All this shit about... sleeping dragons, or... suns..."
She's deflating in real time in front of Sudou, as if the stress of the memory was squeezing her down with every breath.
They started off as lies.
"_Shut up_," Umie now says, this time to Sudou. "The only voice I need in my head is my own!"
Liar.
She continues to lean on the counter, shoulders sagging. "Answer my question: when did you get your Mark? Was it when you set fire to that orphanage?"
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
As Umie deflates the Joker Killer offers Umie a paper bag. Not his paper bag but a paper bag, the intention was in case she needed to breath into it. "Lies I know all about. My father told me lies, truly a horrible person. The life I live is a lie, not the one I was suppose to have. People tell me lies all the time. " He opens the second soda he had purchased and slides it towards her. "Sometimes, when the clock has stopped and the moon is waxing, I am not the villain of this story, little sister."
A sigh is given as he mimics her body language across the counter, "You think I am Tatsuya Sudou, like the others. Perhaps they convinced you, well I won't argue it. So if the question is when did the mark appear, was it before he did those terrible things, yes. I had the mark before then." Sudou answers the question casually.
" I did not know about you until that guy called. They didn't tell me, the mummy didn't tell me, not even whichever father you think I have. I also didn't know, about you and them until very recently. Whatever elaborate plot you think you are a part of, I can honestly say it is not a plot I am involved in."
A pause is given for a moment before he adds, "They say that I am required to give full disclosure, that I also lie. Usually because the truth is boring."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
It feels insulting when Sudou offers that paper bag; Umie looks up from her slouched position, tempted to swat it away.
Instead, she balls it up into the fingernail she digs into her palm.
It makes no sense. "To be clear." Umie rises up, drawing in a breath. "I am not angry at you for your father's crimes. You wouldn't know who I was."
He's not Tatsuya Sudou? No, it *has* to be a lie. Shinjiro recognized him at that carnival. But was that Sudou?
Who is Tatsuya Sudou? Who is Tatsuzou Sudou's son? Who is the person in front of her?
The sweet voice in her ear refuses to say anything direct ever since her meeting with Joker-- the 'fake one', as Sudou would have called him.
".... If you were the first, then... as far as I know, I must have been the second to receive it."
She looks towards the egg timer, ignoring the offered drink. Such niceties, from someone she tried to kill... and look at how sympathetic he's trying to be. Maybe, he'll tell her who called him to kill her.
It just feels empty, instead. Is it a lack of sleep, or a lack of clarity? Yellow highlights the curve of her gaze, cast by the moon through the glass windows.
"... Tell me what happened to the silver-haired young man, then."
Her eyes watch the seconds tick down. Only minutes left...
"If I'm the reason he came to you, I should know how he died."
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
Sudou wonders that, he truly wonders if he was the first, or if... Not important for right now. His eyes follow the timer and he picks his drink up and sips it. The magic of the paper bag allowing him to drink through it just as he ate instant noodles through it.
A minute left, Sudou finally speaks, " The silver puppy . At first I thought he was a boy friend and then perhaps a crush. Turned out he wanted to be the one to kill you, I think. Dude was nutes and not in the gentlemanly manner of myself, so... "
The timer goes off and power comes back on.
Sudou grabs his almost empty soda and takes his trash in his other hand. "Long story short, he called me thinking he could kill me so he would be the one to kill you. He tried to bring down the house on me. Sadly his well liad planned fell through. The silver stalker is no more, and if somehow he did live. You should finish the job."
Sudou waves to Umie, "A deal is a deal I won't bother to try to kill your friends, if I know they are your friends. " A casual wave is given and The Joker Killer walks out of the store. He stops outside the shop for the moment and wonders if Suou is her friend before saying outloud, "Nah he doesn't have those here." He then wanders off fro whence he came.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Shiryuu wanted to kill her.
Umie sighs, rubbing her temples. "Right." Perhaps, that's all it was.
She touches the tip of one red sneaker to the floor.
What a terrible assassin, to keep sneaking in to your apartment and then loudly refusing to do the job...
'... if somehow he did live. You should finish the job."
.... Who does Sudou think she is? ..... ah, yes. Someone that tried to kill him.
She sees the offered food and drink, the mini display that currently rolls wanly on the darkened counter, and her clenched fingers fanned out on the counter, skin stained green from moonlight, the beds of her nails shifted to a muddy dark brown.
"Sorry, but."
Just a few seconds left on the timer.
"When it comes to advice, there's only one Joker I'll take it from."
*DDDDDDING*
The Dark Hour ends, nearly on the dot. Umie stands there, frozen in that pose, until--
"Uhhh." The person on staff, a young man in his 20s who is rather sleep-deprived. ".... You okay? You look like you're about to throw up."
Umie mumbles a quick apology as she leaves the counter, running to the back.
The other worker looks down, seeing the food, opened soda, and, most disturbingly, bright red flecks of what thankfully turns out to just be red enamel on the counter.