2026-04-02: Not A Victory March, But
- Log: Not a Victory March, But
- Cast: Tamaki Uchida, Umie Akabane
- Where: Karukozaka Road - Outside Karukozaka High School
- OOC Date: April 02, 2026
- IC Date: October 18, 2012
- Summary: When Tamaki had admitted that she's still looking for someone, Umie offered to help try and search for in her own capacity as a Navigator, so now Tamaki's taking her up on that offer. It's a fool's errand and neither of them can sense anything -- the five-year-old trail has long since gone cold -- but they spend the rest of the time there exchanging a few secrets with each other.
(|======================= Kagurazaka - Hillside Street =======================|)
-===================================================== Tokyo/Shinjuku Ward ====-
Kagurazaka, Tokyo is a small neighborhood in eastern Shinjuku, straddling
Chiyoda. Home to a large swath of French expatriates residing in Tokyo, it has a
pleasantly warm atmosphere, a cozy little piece of Europe abroad. Part of it is
on the banks of a Tokugawa castle's moat, now a canal that provides comfort
while walking alongside it.
The main heart of the neighborhood is Kagurazaka-dori, a street that starts on a
soft incline before moving further towards a succession of restaurants and
shops. The buildings are low and the sidewalks narrow, with pleasant greenery
alongside the walkways, and road traffic is occasionally prohibited at certain
times, providing a gentle walking experience for the tourist and resident alike.
Of the shrines, shops and restaurants that line the streets, a few stand out
more than others. Zenkoku-ji is a classical Buddhist temple that worships
Bishamonten, a warrior god associated with good fortune. On the other end of the
spectrum is the Akagi shrine, a Shinto shrine that was renovated over the past
few years to possess a more modern outlook, with glass and wood as principal
pieces of the shrine's aesthetic.
For drinking and dining, one can visit Fleur de Lis, a bar and bistro themed
after classical Parisian bars, complete with a piano player during the daytime
hours and special events during the night. They can also visit the Patisserie
Kurayama, a French-style bakery owned by one Marie-Chantal Kurayama, a local
Rumormonger.
Entertainment may bring one to Le Cinéma du Monde, a single-screen movie theater
renovated to be similar to an old-style French theater. Here, one can find
movies old and new, as well as a charming vintage aesthetic. Kagurazaka is also
a Geisha district, and one can find traditional restaurants where the draw is to
watch one perform.
The sick and injured can visit the Clinique Lovelace, a side-street clinic that
treats both mundane and supernatural injuries thanks to the Awakened proprietor,
as long as they can withstand the somewhat-shady atmosphere. Several letters on
the signage are both missing and broken, giving a clear idea of what to expect.
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Some time ago, in their climb up the tower in Kazusa's Atelier, Umie had offered her assistance to Tamaki to help find 'someone.'
While Tamaki does greatly appreciate the gesture, she can't help but feel that this is a fool's errand.
She stares at her phone and strongly considers her wording. While she doesn't have to grapple with the "Other Side" to anywhere near the same extent as the likes of Jun or Tatsuya, she does have her own set of memories which are risky to expose to the outer world.
The risk thankfully does not involve reality-shattering stakes. Her reasons are completely selfish. To her, the events of what transpired are sacrosanct, not to be warped and defiled by the perception of a public who wasn't actually present.
Especially --
especially,
-- not with the transmutative power of capital-R Rumors in play. That's why she's so eager to wheel and deal in the Rumormonger circuit: to understand the exact mechanisms behind how they work, then unravel them by any means possible.
Thus far, her resolve to keep her secrets actually secret is what had caused her to retreat from the world of the supernatural, away from the crossroads between mind and matter.
To fade back away into the background of the narrative, serving as nothing more than a stagehand instead of an actor with a more prominent role, such as when she stayed behind at Mikage-cho and let the likes of Eriko and Masao deal with whatever plagued Maki and Ms. Saeko.
To settle for what seemed like a conventional life, if a mediocre one, by marrying while she was still young to a milquetoast man. He was fine, just ... he was unexciting when 'unexciting' was what she had wanted at the time.
The thing is, now Tamaki isn't so sure that she needs 'unexciting' anymore. After years of sitting at the table and doing nothing but folding and refusing to play, after losing piece after piece of her leverage to the small and big blinds which come around every so often, maybe it's time she gets over her disdain for card games and ups the ante.
She's already told a few people about what had happened, but they're people who share her own sense of secrecy for different reasons, her fellow St. Hermelin alumni Eriko and Maki. Telling Umie, on the other hand, is a bit more of a gamble, swayed as she is by the Mark from time to time.
>> about the favor you mentioned >> let me pay you one first >> fleur de lis, my treat?
She scrunches her face up at this first series of already-sent texts. The longer she gives herself time to stew in her feelings, the more likely she is to bail and cut out early. This has to be utilitarian, not something she can savor, so she regretfully adds:
>> might have to get it to go >> or somewhere else on kagurazaka >> something quicker, not sit-down
As it turns out, Kagurazaka and Karukozaka Roads run in parallel to each other. The former contains a number of upscale restaurants and boutiques and houses a sizable portion of Japan's French population. The latter historically served a less glamorous and more functional role in shipping goods arriving to and from the Kanda River which runs alongside the two-way street.
Whatever they actually decide to eat, Tamaki remains uneasily quiet and tense, agitated and full of nervous energy both at the venue and along the way. "It's, uh, nothing you did," she might explain to Umie. "Being around here kicks my anxiety into high-gear."
Every so often, she peers cautiously at the river, opting to walk on the far side of the road from it. She keeps moving onwards until, finally, they stand in front of a high school, about as unassuming and mundane as the rest of the boxy transport logistics and warehouse buildings along the road.
Even now, this late in the evening after the students and faculty have gone home, she can still hear the usual Monday morning assembly school song involuntarily bubble its way up from her memory, painfully absent of the one voice dearest to her.
(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG60D1lYlEU Karukozaka School Song ~ Ending - SMT if... OST)
With the bare minimum amount of enthusiasm she can muster, she sweeps a hand in the school's direction to indicate for Umie and flatly announces, "Well,"
"Here we are."
Tamaki's sneer fades as her expression mollifies. Against her better judgment, hope finds a foothold in her heart as she looks at Umie expectantly. "... Can you sense anything?"
In all likelihood, she won't. Maybe she can find faint traces that something once occurred here a very long time ago, but even that would be a tall order. How easy is it to find someone who, for example, was left behind in a collapsing cognitive space, roughly comparable to a Palace with a dethroned Ruler and stolen Treasure? Once that happens, the door's locked for good, right?
At least as far as Tamaki can discern, nothing but a memory remains.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
In a way, it is a fool's errand. Umie's abilities, while they seem grand for someone who doesn't seem to be a navigator, are laser-focused to the narrative of the Badb, as well as her childhood trauma. For how little she remembers the actual moments of when she recieved her Mark, the trajectory of Umie's abilities have been steered by a few simple rules:
1. To know when something is coming to get her
2. To hide from the thing from getting her
3. To find the battlefield and call to the wounded and fallen
4. To delight in the exchange of blood and glory
5. To be the one laying the curse instead of the one woefully cursed
Simple! Really, everyone should trust in Umie Akabane. Umie Akabane always has things under control.
Looking down at her phone as the first set of messages come through, Umie is barely able to begin formulating a response when a second set of texts from Tamaki happen.
What was going to be 'it'll be a bit, I'm in Shibuya' becomes 'sure', given the route to Kagurazaka is an easier one than to Sumaru City, being half the distance.
In the bistro where they decide to eat, Umie studies Tamaki with a raised eyebrow, but keeps quiet. Being a fellow hoarder of personal secrets, there's some empathy here for the nervous agitation Tamaki may be feeling, rigtht now.
(Though, given the trouble she's given Hyousuke and Phoenix to certain degrees over Shiryuu, it does feel good to know this isn't related to *that*.)
Given the Badb's senses, Umie doesn't downplay the possibilities just yet, though it's admittedly out of a selfish need to see a little bit of Tamaki's own past, and what brought her into the world of Personas in general.
Shifting from the fancy French trappings of Kagurazaka to the warehouses of Karukozaka, the short blonde takes it in, quietly adjusting the hem of her pink windbreaker. Soon enough, she'll have to start wearing something thicker...
Or maybe, it's the chill of something that may be lying in wait, a clue to something that should have laid forgotten.
.... It isn't, no. When they get there, the school in front of them is as normal as they come, aside from Tamaki's flat announcement. "... Your first school, before you transferred to the second one, I take it?" Umie asks, drawing some strands of hair behind an ear.
Does she sense anything?
Umie looks to Tamaki, then, drawing her hands out of her pockets, she concentrates.
.....
.... Nothing supernatural.
She concentrates, holding a hand up.
... Nothing.
Nothing.
Not a single whiff of something Umie's own senses can detect.
Umie sighs, and turns to Tamaki, genuine remorse on her face. "I'm sorry."
Her face angles lower. "I got your hopes up and everything, but... if there is anything left here, I can't detect it. It feels no different than anywhere else."
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
For good or for ill, Tamaki trusts in Umie Akabane! That is why they are here in the first place.
Tamaki's choice of meal is a croissant ham sandwich, to go. Quick, holdable, filling enough -- she's not in the right frame of mind to savor a meal as much as she'd like.
First, Umie asks if it's the first school Tamaki attended. "Yeah," Tamaki confirms, "the site of yet another 'gas leak explosion.'"
Then, Umie apologizes for not being able to sense anything. Tamaki gives her a plaintive smile in return, and she rasps, "Nahhh, don't be. That's about what I figured. It was sweet of you to offer, but ... you get it now, right?"
The seeming impossibility of it all -- the kind of thing that caused her to feel a distant sense of commiseration with Tatsuya. No matter how much Tamaki wants to help him with what he's dealing with, she can't. No matter how much Umie wants to help Tamaki in this regard, well ...
Not that Arianrhod had anything to do with the specific situation that the pair are dealing with right now, but it certainly fits her method. Arianrhod's own 'gifts' stand in stark opposition to Occam's Razor -- she relieves her students of the tools they most frequently rely on and hopes they discover new talents by seeking unorthodox solutions.
Her gaze drifts down to the river next to them. Of course it couldn't be that simple.
(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Loz-sYc3D7g Deja Vu - SMT if...)
More and more memories start coming back to her. " -- does distance come into play? The main site was in the gym. That's where -- uh, I'm still not exactly sure what the guy did, but it's where he did it."
That much, she isn't being evasive about. She genuinely doesn't know. Maybe if she lets Umie in on the story, they can figure out where to look /next./
With a chuckle, she stretches her arms and asks, "If it does but you're not up for breaking and entering -- I know I'm not tonight -- then I can tell you about what happened."
"Long as you take it to your grave, though."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'Gas leak explosion'.
Munching on her own crossiant ham sandwich (hey, it sounded really good!) Umie looks up, sipping from her soda. "Never gets old, does it? At this point I keep thinking every gas leak is a cover-up, but it's used for a reason."
'You get it now, right?'
Finishing her sandwich, she tosses the wrapper in a trash bin nearby. "... I mean, yes, but... no. Not exactly."
To accept that something is impossible means laughing at the possibility of freeing yourself from your own inescapable fate, whatever it may be.
... Even if the two things being compared are completely different.
As such, Umie takes this nugget with a look on her face, like she had just bitten into something bitter. "There's nothing wrong with trying. A lock is just a barrier with a cheat code called a 'key', after all..."
Easy enough to slap it on any situation Umie has, but what about falsely applying it to Tamaki's?
Tamaki isn't the only one that sees a piece of herself in Tatsuya.
'But it's where he did it.' Did what, exactly?
Instead of asking, Umie says, "Show me the gym." Even if she's sure her answer will be the same.
Umie'll let that suspicion show on her face.
In the end, it's a means to an end, in order for Tamaki to offer--
.... oh. Well.
"I mean, we can wait until tonight, but." Umie shifts her head back and forth, as if seriously debating the pros and cons, before ending with a simple, ".... nahhhh." She waves a partially covered hand.
No, that's not what Umie was banking on, but thankfully, Tamaki goes and offers it-- as long as Umie takes it to her grave.
What's one more secret Umie can't tell anyone, ever?
Umie's lips spilt in a smile. "Deal. Maybe I'll share something in return." She pauses. "Not that I know of anything quite like that~"
That is Umie-ese for 'complete and total bullshit'.
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
"From what I can tell, most of them genuinely are," Tamaki comments regarding gas leak explosions. "That's probably why it's an effective explanation."
The key word in 'seeming impossibility' was 'seeming.'
'There's nothing wrong with trying' elicits a grin from Tamaki. "Never said there was. I just mean that it's not going to be as simple as scanning the place."
As for the second part of that regarding locks and keys, she continues, "And, well, we're not exactly dealing with a barrier or door here -- the building collapsed. We're dealing with rubble and debris where structure once used to be."
Tamaki narrows her eyes and scrutinizes the outer walls of the school as she covers her mouth with a hand. "... I'd rather go in there legally, or we wait to go in during the Dark Hour or something. Still preferably legally."
This high school, at least, doesn't turn into a giant tower at night. She'd know. She's checked.
"Maybe as a former student offering to talk to the kids," she quietly muses before shelving that train of thought for now.
'Deal.' Tamaki slowly exhales. Here goes.
She starts mournfully. "There was ... a boy here. His family situation was ... complicated. The other students bullied him relentlessly for his father's poor reputation. The faculty looked the other way. From what I understand of it, some of his teachers belittled his work even though he had a keen understanding in scientific matters."
Or knowing what she knows now, would that be 'psientific'?
"To be honest, Tatsuya Sudou reminded me a lot of him in several respects." She shakes her head. "Except Sudou at least had comrades in Strega. He had no one."
That covers Hazama's motive. Now for the means. "He disappeared for a few days. People didn't think anything of it at first, but soon enough, the school's doors wouldn't open. The outside world was frozen in time and Demons started making their way through the hallways through some kind of portal originating from the gym. The boy, now proclaiming himself as the 'Deity Emperor', had decided to trap all of us in a hell of his own making."
"Another student and myself put on sporting equipment that we borrowed from the various clubs and lacking any Personas of our own, we died."
To a swarm of Pixies, no less. Pixies!
Tamaki watches for Umie's reaction to that last sentence. She reaches a hand down to her rokumonsen choker, her own focus which she had explained the purpose of to Jun. "Temporarily, obviously. Death was too good for us; this Deity Emperor wanted to torment us. Time rewound our bodies to before we had met our demise, sure, but in the process, she and I came back Awakened."
Who is this 'she' that Tamaki's mentioned, though? "The other girl with me was -- I said his family situation was complicated. They were siblings, even though they had different family names. She was a member of the music club and had a great singing voice."
She angles her head down slightly. "My contributions to Aeolia-chan's design were, admittedly, inspired by her."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Exactly. And in most cases, it would be, especially outside of Sumaru City." Are there other areas like Sumaru City? What makes it unique?
As for the school itself? "Not literally," Umie says, shaking her head as she holds up her index finger, the nail color now apricot orange. "It's something I tell myself, when I'm up against something that seems impossible. I imagine there being a lock, and that I need to get around it. It transforms something I may not be able to get my mind around into a matter of logic." She rubs her neck, her left wrist jingling from the red lucky charm bracelet. "It... makes more sense in my head."
"For example, if this school was rebuilt over the ruins of the old one, maybe that association was disconnected too, assuming we're dealing with cognitive space."
But Umie would need more information, especially as it dawns on her that the old school actually *collapsed*. "... Wait... if it collapsed, how... that'd require something incredibly powerful..." Reddish brown eyes widen. "And besides that, you'd need to create a space where people could even do that. The only way that could happen is..."
Just how big is this logical lock?
As Tamaki explains, Umie nods slowly, angling with her chin to motion to a bench nearby as soon as Tamaki's tone changes. "... Hey, let's go sit over there."
Whether they do so or not, Umie listens. A bullied student with a complicated family life. No help from faculty; teachers even belitted his genuine efforts.
"We don't know what sort of person Sudou was, before he became the Joker Killer." Umie considers, her hand pressed below her lips.
Whatever she considers, she pushes aside for the rest of Tamaki's story. "A cognitive space, coming into reality... Uchida-san, you've read that cognitive science paper that was leaked online, right?" The one that Tamaki herself leaked, though Umie doesn't realize that just yet.
Demons...
Umie's other hand creases in the plastic of her soda bottle, just slightly.
"... Wait. Did he have a Mark of any kind? Like..." Umie's accidental reveal aside, she quiets as there's more.
Pixies. Ah. No wonder Tamaki made that face when Umie related her earlier trials and tribulations of growing up. ".... I see. The cycle of death and rebirth... He meant it as a punishment, but instead, it created an unique venue for you and your friend to Awaken--"
Aeolia-chan. Umie's eyelashes lower. "... And you had to deal with Aeolia-chan attacking us. ... That must have hurt harder than it should have."
Fresh from Jun's conversation merely a day or so ago, it feels poignant. ".... This is the person you're trying to find, I take it." She frowns. "What happened to that student? The one who became the Deity Emperor."
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
"That ... makes more sense to me than you might think." Tamaki cranes her head back slightly. "The solution just isn't the most obvious one. I think you and I are on the same wavelength."
Tamaki scratches the back of her head. "I wasn't speaking quite so literally, either. The school itself was left intact, but -- the cognitive space it was connected to, the portal where the Demons came from, that's the 'door' and 'building' I was talking about."
That's still an incredible undertaking. It'd be like shoving all of Shujin into a Palace, or all of Seven Sisters into a Kingdom, or ...
Making an alternate version of Mikage-cho.
'We don't know what sort of person Sudou was...' "Sure." Tamaki briefly glances to the side. "His last anguished cry about his loneliness is mainly where I saw the parallel between the two."
The paper -- Tamaki coughs and sputters. Her response is a little bit too excited, too nervous, and she pointedly avoids meeting Umie's gaze. Behold the poker face of Kuzunoha's finest, everybody. "Y-yeah, I've seen it!"
She is well aware of the implications. Furthermore, that does remind her of someone. "... one of the teachers who initially belittled the Deity Emperor for writing what he thought was nonsense suddenly became his biggest fan. Wonder what became of him."
Tamaki shakes her head when Umie asks about a Mark. "None that I could tell. I can ask around about the Mikage-cho incident, too, but my understanding is that an advanced device caused that. I'm ... not sure if I'm at liberty to speak more on that at this moment."
Her unique avenue for Awakening. "It would not be the last time we died in there. Removed from the Deity Emperor's space, I suspect that avenue is no longer open to anyone."
Good. No one else should go through that.
Tamaki slowly nods to confirm that she is, in fact, looking for her old teammate. As for the Deity Emperor ... "They're together. Finding one sibling will mean finding the other."
Even more mournful than before, she adds, "As a way to make up for how everyone had mistreated him thus far, she stayed behind with him. She'd be his companion to fill the void in his heart, moments before, well -- before the door closed for good."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Tamaki seeming to get what Umie was getting at draws the latter to grin. "Mmh. Veteran's insight?"
And indeed, it was Umie that was thinking too literally. ".... I see..." Umie blinks.
No wonder Tamaki transferred. There wasn't even a way to pretend that the school was different; it would have been the same everything.
It would all be frequent reminders of an event where you had to look at each and every survivor and wonder just how they contributed to their mutual torturer's own misery beforehand, as well as their acts during their 'imprisonment'.
".... Those voices separated Sudou from everything. His actions where his, but..." No, Umie can get where Tamaki is coming from, now. "Did everyone escape from there alive?"
Well, aside from two people.
Tamaki's response about the paper is strange, but Umie lets that slide, for now. Maybe, she's responsible for the leak.
... which would make sense why she'd keep that a secret, as well as--
"... oh." An advanced device? Umie blinks at Tamaki's choice of terminology. "... What, is this a court case or something?" A smirk slips across her lips. "What, don't tell me there's some kind of Persona Law Unit that's been running around this entire time~ Katsuya-san would be a natural fit if that's the case, don't you think?"
But ultimately...
"... So you want to somehow reconnect with her." Umie's expression grows serious. "You know that would mean opening the door to her brother as well. It may not end well."
But, can she really deny Tamaki what she wants?
Besides.
.... A secret for a secret, just to make things even. Very few know, and indeed, it may be only Shiryuu, Akechi, and maybe one or two others that know what Umie may say next.
"You may have intuited, but," Umie begins, lifting up her covered right wrist, "some of the things Sudou was about to do, I can do as well. Not everything, obviously, but namely, I can summon demons. I've only done it once; I was very lucky it didn't turn out worse than it did." Incredibly lucky, in fact, given the circumstances.
The circumstances being that she was a lonely girl who wanted a friend.
And then, Umie shifts topics, as if to keep Tamaki from thinking too deeply about the possibilities. "What would you say to that friend of yours, if you managed to make it happen?"
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Finishing the remainder of her first year was uncomfortable for exactly those bitter reasons and more.
Funnily enough, however, the actual impetus behind Tamaki's transfer was her father's new job at an advertising firm where the commuter town of Mikage-cho happened to be a better location. One of the firm's clients was a local pharmacy chain with modest plans for expansion, then one thing led to another, and ...
...
Well, as a result of her failed efforts to return to a life of normiedom -- characterized by empty consumerism, catchy corner store jingles, canned coffee logo designs, and magazine sweepstakes entries -- Tamaki was once engaged, but now all she has left from that relationship is a stupid 'friends and family' discount at said pharmacy chain.
'His actions were his.' Tamaki stretches her limbs before she finally acquiesces to taking a seat on the nearby bench. After she folds her arms and crosses her legs, she replies, "Don't get me wrong, the Deity Emperor's actions were ... excessive. It's good that she and I stopped him. It's just ..."
A shiver runs down her spine as she recalls that eerie taunt she and the others heard during their descent from the Zeppelin to the ocean. 'The Joker never dies.'
"The Deity Emperor wasn't the root cause. His rise was a symptom of more systemic issues."
'Did everyone escape from there alive?' Tamaki narrows her eyes and stares at the river in recollection. "I believe so. Everyone else mostly suffered memory loss, like how the un-Awakened typically don't remember the Dark Hour."
'... What, is this a court case or something?' Tamaki allows herself a sensible chuckle at the mental image of Katsuya running around as he tries to wrangle a clowder of Nekomata cat burglars, but she shakes her head at Umie. "No, no, it just -- it isn't my story to tell. I don't even know all of the details, either."
How would she even start to talk about Maki's spell of omnicidal nihilism from the distance she kept -- how could she, without asking her beforehand, when Maki told her this in confidence?
The 'device', though. That's far enough removed from the more squishy interpersonal parts that she feels more free to talk about it. "Some kind of SEBEC technology was at the heart of what happened at Mikage-cho. While it was active, an alternate version of Mikage-cho temporarily existed alongside the real one. I do not find it a coincidence in the slightest that the initial flurry of cognitive psience activity in academia happened in the months after that incident."
Tamaki is loathe to re-use the words of one of Karukozaka High's science teachers, but as she repeats them, she can't help but fear of a potential link. "'There's no scientific basis for it,' they said during peer review. While respectable circles have largely regarded it as pseudopsience, you and I know better. The Deity Emperor knew better. Whatever SEBEC bigwig was responsible for the Mikage-cho incident knew better."
She falters in her calm and collected explanation and slowly deterioriates into dazed laughter as she trails off. "Whoever leaked that paper m-must be in some deep shit, y-you know? G-getting a visit from a c-c-cleanup crew by some man in blllgh -- black masked -- blahaha haaauuugh -- "
In her delirium, she goes silent and vacantly stares at the river for several long moments as she remembers just how perilously close she came to her own demise, once and for all.
oh god she was just a few inches away from getting got herself, why didn't he just take the shot and get two birds with one stone ... he can do it at any time. That sword of Damocles has been dangling over her own neck for months. Why doesn't he?
It's to keep them scared. Isolated. Separated. It even worked on Tamaki, and she had halted any further investigation into the topic for the time being. Part of her still held onto hope that she could disentangle herself from this world, to turn a blind eye and let everyone else take care of it. Yet, as she looks on Umie now who was on that Zeppelin with her, she figures they're both in for a penny, in for a pound.
She buries her head in her hands and mumbles as she admits, "I don't know why they just haven't killed me for it already. Dead men and women tell no cautionary tales, maybe."
'So you want to somehow reconnect with her.' Umie's statement serves as a splash of cold water to Tamaki's senses. She reflexively scrunches up her face. "Sort of? It's complicated." She'll speak more on that in a few moments, but first, she has thoughts on re-opening the door to Hazama. She gives a single gentle nod. "I'm aware of that, but I'm willing to bet that he's been satiated by the connection he's formed with his sister. Ultimately, he got what he wanted."
"I know of -- another similar instance where someone's turned out alright in the end." She means Maki. "Sudou's fate was on one extreme. The other 'similar instance' lives happily ever after today. I think the Deity Emperor currently exists in limbo," as does Reiko, Tamaki thinks to herself, "but I'd like to believe that he can make more connections beyond just his sister."
The conversation turns to what Umie can do with her Mark.
At first, Tamaki responds with confusion. "Isn't that -- isn't that just a Persona?" No, there's a distinction and she very well knows it, so she backpedals.
"Wait wait wait no, anyone can form a Pact. They don't obey instructions to appear or fight, though; the one I've got an agreement with just lazily sits around all day -- " She claps a hand over her mouth in panic as she's about to let loose a closely-guarded trade secret of the Kuzunoha Detective Agency, but it very well may come across as horror to what Umie has just intimated.
That horror genuinely settles in as her shoulders droop and she lowers her hand from her mouth, revealing her somber expression. "... So that's why you asked if the Deity Emperor had a Mark."
Tamaki had deliberately skipped over Umie's earlier statement about how it must have hurt for Aeolia to attack her. In one ear, out the other; it's too painfully poignant to feel at a conventionally conversational speed if she lets herself linger on those thoughts. Umie now turns the same gambit back onto her and keeps the conversation moving back to something else, revisiting the topic that Tamaki had earlier elided several times now.
(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8AWFf7EAc4 - Jeff Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah)
What would she say to Reiko Akanezawa?
Tamaki leans forward and rests her chin on her hands. Prefacing her response with a heavy sigh, she starts: "That's a good question. At the time, I did manage to tell her much of what I had wanted to. I confessed that I was in love with her."
She gives that admission a moment to sit. 'Was,' past tense. Tamaki had her own life to live, and she had moved on romantically.
"I didn't get a direct verbal answer about how she felt." With some bitterness, she gestures to the air. "I think I got a response, anyhow. Even if she did feel the same way, it didn't outweigh what she felt like she had to do."
"In the years since, however, I've come to want to tell her ..."
Some deep-seated frustration rises up from within her and finally boils over. "... that she could stand to be a little bit more selfish, for starters! She didn't need to -- sacrifice herself, she didn't need to cast herself on her sword for her brother's sake."
Tamaki leans further forward and slides her hands to grip the back of her head. "I want her and her brother to come out of that limbo." Still holding her head, she looks up from the ground, back to the Kanda river before them. "Even if it really just means I finally find their corpses."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Like I told Hyousuke recently... It's a matter of more than one thing being true at once. There are people who'd look at this Deity Emperor and swear off anything and anyone that has to do with looking at him in a light that wasn't fully negative." There's an element of bitterness to Umie's voice. "The tendency to want things clean-cut, black and white, win or lose, lacking sin... A person who simply feels that way because they were a victim, or someone close to them was affected, I can understand. But eventually, a person has to come to the realization that they can't force the world around them to fit their demands."
"That is how a person becomes a 'Deity Emperor' all their own, if they come across something that enables it." Umie pauses, adopting a more casual mein as rolling her shoulders. "But maybe that's just me doing that exact thing on your situation, eh?"
While Umie may not realize it, she and Tamaki are thinking about the same thing, at that moment, as the blonde sits there, regarding the unassuming school building with a soundless, neutral expression.
As for the survivors? ".... Huh, I guess that'd make sense. Were you and your friend the only ones that Awakened that you know of?"
And the 'court case'... Umie nods. "I get you. Sometimes I forget that these incidents happened to people who remember, if that makes sense." When everything feels like a puzzle or a lock to undo...
Sometimes, the cost of that knowledge, or the means to connect the dots, is your own life, and if not that, your sense of safety.
"Uchida-san." Umie looks at Tamaki with a concerned frown at the fellow veteran's numbed laughter. "If you're in trouble..." The Black Mask... could Umie be needlessly careless herself, offering her help? He knows her family, and where she comes from. She may not have the best relationship with her parents, but she doesn't want them to *die*.
He likely knows Umie's secrets as well, just not with the motivation to *reveal* them.
Whether or not Umie would have found the means to make that useless offer, Tamaki comes out with it, and Umie, sensing Tamaki's need for some stability, fills in the role, with the thoughts that have plagued her.
'Dead men and women tell no cautionary tales, maybe.' "Right. It's enough to make a person scared," Umie says, unwittingly picking up on Tamaki's own thoughts. "Then, you become a vector of that fear. If people disappear and no one passes on the knowledge of why, they're just disappearances, which will lead curious people to look into them, creating more disappearances that need to happen."
Then why was Umie herself...? It's likely a matter of time, now that she's become active. "You know what will happen, and that's enough. Just like how that contact died, not too long ago. It was never about whatever information he had; it was specifically meant to cow *me*. I was the target, the entire time." She sighs. "And I nearly died because I felt I needed to fix the situation myself."
It's likely why she's so protective of groups like the Phantom Thieves, Umie thinks. If the whole of NWO decided to exterminate them, they'd be annihilated almost instantly once their identities were found out, or even before.
Hazama got what he wanted: a connection, as did this other person Tamaki refers to. "Sudou isn't quite the same, either, to further your point." She stops there, as Tamaki continues. "So you think he and Reiko'd be okay, after all this time?" Or... in limbo. "I see," Umie says, eyelids lowering halfway. "Stuck the same way, you mean? Or more in a spiritual sense?"
'Isn't that just a Persona?' ..... oh no, Tamaki, don't make this harder than Umie was initially thinking it'd be like "W-well... wait. What?" Red brown eyes widen at Tamaki's revelation. "You mean... w-well, anyway!" She shakes her head. "That secret's not going anywhere, of course, but-- h-hey, don't look at me like that!! I only did it once, okay?!" Umie says, backpedalling just as wildly, until Tamaki's expression settles into something more genuine, and, to Umie at least, more expected. ".... Yeah. I'm not entirely sure how it works, but I do know, when I did it, it felt the same way as Sudou, when he used his. There's a number of agents of the Order who have the Mark as well, but none of theirs, or mine, compare with Sudou's."
Maybe, because if they did, they'd end up like that woman Akechi was investigating: death, possibly assassinated by the Order.
Talking about Reiko is far more pleasant, in comparison, if melancholy. "I see." She considers, tapping her nails, apricot orange, along her knee. "You wanted to continue the conversation you never got to finish, sounds like, even if there's nothing to talk to."
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki angles her head down and peers up at Umie. "Yeah. There's a big reason I don't tell others about what happened. Especially when cast against someone like the Deity Emperor, the story can get ... warped. An individual person has an easier time understanding that nuance than a whole crowd does. I don't think he was a villain, through and through, but -- " She sweeps her hand out in front of her. " -- the rest of the ward sure did. I don't want her sacrifice to go to waste, you know?"
If Tamaki's being honest with herself, the temptation to 'force the world' to fit her demands is always there. Send a secret, spread a rumor, under the table and told in confession ... It'd be so easy.
But she doesn't do that. This is a power that shouldn't exist. There are plenty of other options she has yet to explore. "I think you and I feel the same way about that, at least. You're right, though; it's -- good for anyone to be cautious, myself included."
Did the Deity Emperor's reign over Karukozaka High leave anyone else Awakened? Tamaki folds her arms as she strains her memory. "Maybe? It's entirely possible. There were a couple of other movers and shakers, but none of them agreed with each other. Neither of us agreed with them. Past that, there were a few others who did, but after they died several times, they just sunk into a catatonic state."
"... if you do want to know more about what went down at Mikage-cho, Kirishima-san or Inaba-san are the people to start with -- the other two I was with when we faced off against The Groom at the sanitarium." She hesitates to bring up Maki, but does so. "I -- don't know if you know Sonomura-san, either. She very much wants to help out with whatever's going on these days."
'If you're in trouble...' Flatly, Tamaki interjects, " -- I got a visit from a PSIA agent and then The Bride somehow found us trying to hold a meeting at a bar. Yeah, I'm probably in trouble."
Up until recently, Tamaki thought the list of people who The Black Mask could leverage against her was limited to her dad and a few un-Awakened people like Tsubasa. She had discounted Reiko and Hazama for obvious reasons, and figured that the other Persona-users could at least defend themselves. That might have been true a few months ago, but as she's gotten more and more entangled, the weight on her shoulders has gotten heavier.
The other day on the Zeppelin -- and her front-row seat to the hole in Sudou's chest -- also handily disproved the notion that being Awakened is a sufficient defense on its own.
Tamaki cracks a slight smile through chattering teeth as Umie tries to stabilize her. "I can -- I can put on a brave face in the moment. It'll definitely hit me later, like it did just now, but when he's staring me down? I'm not going to be a fear transmission vector, I'm as stalwart as they come."
That being said, there was that contact who died. Tamaki nods somberly. "It's a hard lesson to learn. I ..." She narrows her eyes and affixes her gaze to nothing in particular as she experiences the vertigo that comes with deja vu. " -- I don't remember when, exactly, but I had to learn it, too."
Does she think Hazama and Reiko would be okay? "Honestly -- and this is all speculation -- " Tamaki frowns and gives a shake of her head. "I fear the worst. I think that's the most likely scenario, that they're just outright annihilated and nothing's left of them."
As for what she meant by 'limbo', it's a bit tricky. "Closer to literal than spiritual. His fate isn't entirely decided yet. Provided he's still alive, once unsealed, he could turn out like Sudou, or he could turn out like Sono -- er." Disappointed with herself after letting that much slip, Tamaki exhales and hangs her head to the side opposite of Umie. She opens one eye to look across the bench and adds, "That's really not my story to tell."
and now it's time for another rapid-fire volley of misunderstandings between these two dorks
" -- You know, some Demons I've encountered have shown up as someone else's Persona! They draw from the same pool!" Don't think she hasn't noticed how Maya's been able to summon that Pixie Persona of her own, oh no.
"Oh, no no no, I wasn't judging you, I was about to let the cat out of the bag -- augh! Forget you heard that!" In Tamaki's case, the 'cat' in question is literally a cat.
Then finally, she nods. "I see. I've only seen their agents create a supernatural space, so knowing they can manifest Demons is ... helpful. Given the other contexts I've seen them show up, I don't think it's limited to people with the Mark, but there might be some common thread between all of them."
Back to Reiko. Tamaki squints at the river again. "Something like that. Getting closure, if nothing else. Breaking whatever hold she still has on me. Even if she did feel the same way, it would, admittedly, be greatly difficult to live our lives together once we were back in the mundane world."
"... and if that's the case, maybe she chose to remain with Hazama rather than struggle out here with me."
"But I don't know if that's the case." Tamaki scratches the side of her cheek. "You heard how I was with Sudou. I wasn't convinced he was dead until I saw him dead with my own two eyes."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Oh, does Umie definitely understand what Tamaki means. Giving her a lopsided, but well-meaning grin, Umie pops a hand on Tamaki's shoulder, before letting it fall. "... Yeaaahh. Chances are, you may see my own version of that soon, if Suzuki-kun gets to warning you. I don't blame the kid, but, it's kind of insulting that everyone involved either wants me to be some innocent victim or some temptress who had a direct hand in things, you know?" She stops herself, and sighs. "And there I go again."
The lure of power is a sweet one. So many situations would have been better solved with a demon at your beck and call, but all Umie could really do is mark the choice as already made. She can't, therefore she won't.
Demons are still demons, and those who control demons...
Even having a Persona wasn't enough to protect your psyche from the damage of dying multiple times. "That's grim..." Umie reflects, with a wince. No wonder Tamaki feels like she has years more experience than she technically does- she's been through much more than the minute night to night conflicts Umie had satisfied herself with for years.
"Oh, hey, I know those guys." Umie blinks. "Not especially well, but they seem to be good folks. Inaba-san especially. Sometimes he seems like he's the most down-to-earth person in the room in any situation."
"PSIA?" Persona? Private? Private Supernatural Intelligence Agent, maybe? Private Security Intelligence Agent? "Damn it... we're going to need to look into more secure arenas. While I can detect Persona Users, that depends on their resonance not being masked. The Bride can get around that pretty easy with her powers. However, if you've noticed..." She frowns. "She's pregnant. It won't be long before she'll need to be taken off the field for a while."
It feels wrong, to talk this way, but it also brings up another point: "... so be aware of that. I hardly know any agents that particularly like the Order, and I doubt she has a choice in the matter if she's made to go out. Just because her handlers are shitheads doesn't mean we need to be."
The Black Mask is a real danger; no matter how brave they are here, he could threaten any of them with a single reference. 'Prodigal daughter'... was that in the literal sense in the word, or a reference to the Biblical story, of a son who came back... Umie'd be impressed, if she wasn't also angry at the same time.
It is a field of blood, and if that is the case, then that is where the Badb would thrive, wouldn't it...?
"We're all under the same threat, so remember that before you hold yourself responsible for the safety of everyone around you," Umie murmurs coolly. "Half of his threat has to be the real fear that he *will* do something, and the knowledge that he can. Remember my question to him, and add this onto it: if he could kill Sudou at any time..." She holds up a hand, gesturing loosely. "Why didn't he, until then? Because he needed an audience. Sudou wasn't just any normal mark for him, he was a feared serial killer. By killing him... the Black Mask inherits the mantle of that fear and adds it to his own."
However, Umie may know exactly how he did it, and it's that knowledge she brings now. ".... Any bullet can stop a Persona User. For someone like Sudou..." Her eyelashes lower smugly. "You need to seal off the thing that enabled Sudou. That's why the Black Mask did. I just don't know what material he used for the bullet."
It may be little comfort, but at least the mystique can be hand-waved.
As for Hazama and Reiko... "Expect the worst but hope for the best, huh... probably the best tactic to take." Umie sighs. "Freshly sealed like a glass jar... not sure if I like that thought any more than them being aware of all the time that's passed." She stops, when Tamaki mentions the first part of a surname. Sono... mura, most likely. ".... I see. So you have evidence that the opposite can happen, in a sense." Umie places a hand over her heart. "I'll pretend like I heard nothing. I'm a stranger to them, after all."
Tamaki points out something that draws a confused grunt from Umie. "Wait, no, our Personas are a facet of ourselves! The pixie looks like a pixie because Amano-san saw a pixie, that's all!" .... Umie's really not willing to give up on that part. Badb is *hers*.
.... but it makes some... other elements make more sense, but that specific element is one that is likely to cause a lot of psychic damage on behalf of anyone who learns about it.
Ie, 'if Umie lets that cat out of the bag.'
Umie slowly turns her head in an intentional manner, her lips sliding into the sharp curve of a sickle. A hand raises, mimicking the stereotypical beckon of a cat. "Nyan nyan~"
As for the subject of a supernatural space and demons... "Yeah. Come to think of it... the Bride seems to be able to do it without demons being involved. From my own experience, it may be less that one is a consequence of the other. I doubt a demon can exist without one, or else we would have seen it by now. That, or they create it by virtue of being there."
In essence... Tamaki wants closure. "Maybe she wanted to protect not only him, but you," Umie says, solemnly. "So you'd have a chance to choose what you wanted out of life, even if it meant not having her in it."
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
As Tamaki recalls her own conversations with Hyousuke, her expression flattens. "Yeah, he can be a bit single-minded. I'll vouch for you." She reconsiders for a beat. "Or at least point out that the truth's more complicated than one might think."
When Umie confirms she's at least acquainted with them, Tamaki breaks out into a wide grin. "Elly-chan and I were in the fencing club together! I didn't keep in contact with her for a while after graduation," or anyone, for that matter, "but we reconnected a while back. I'm actually glad that she twists my arm into digging into weird stuff. Inaba-san's definitely matured, you're right, but he's still Inaba-san." Her expression falters as she contemplates the last of the trio she'd mentioned. "I ... don't have as much of a basis for comparison for Sonomura-san. I just know that she's doing well these days."
Almost, but not 'private.' The opposite. "The Public Security Intelligence Agency." Japan's equivalent of the USA's CIA. "G-men." Probably not surprising given Sudou's family.
The Bride being pregnant is news -- no, wait, she does faintly remember Yukari yelling something about that, but her attention was primarily on trying to not get skewered by The Groom. The thought that the NWO would send someone in her condition to fight causes her to scowl. "I see. I couldn't tell from the distance I was at. She didn't seem to be in good health when she found us at the bar ..."
This detail gets filed away in her mind alongside the notes she's taken on what the Bride has said in their encounters. Much of it has to do with eyes, she's noticed: 'Shall I take your eyes to renew your innocence? Hush, see no evil...' 'Mine eyes were long since carved!' 'Do not blind the seers, else the men behind them will consume them whole. ... Curse me not to the haruspex's readings!'
While she is not made alert and aware at this present moment, her suspicion is now primed. As it applies to Tamaki, the Bride's cognitive shield remains intact, but as precariously as it can be without falling.
The corner of her mouth twitches upwards as Umie provides her with a reminder to be kind. "I know. I gave The Groom some help when they had already lost and were just trying to escape."
Even back at the warehouse where they fought the Ferryman and Tsurugi, Tamaki's priority was in getting the living client to safety instead of getting in some vengeful parting shot.
And about not letting the 'men behind them consume them whole': "That might not even be enough. If we really want to help them, we have to figure out how to do it without arousing their handlers' suspicions. We might have to put on a show for them."
Umie's words of reassurance lift Tamaki's own spirits considerably. She nods. "I think you're right. did feel like something wasn't right, yeah. I couldn't exactly pin it down at the time, not under that much pressure, but when he was presenting the two options of 'obey or everyone dies,' I didn't want to buy into his framing and started looking for a third."
'Any bullet can stop a Persona-user.' Oh. Funnily enough, Demons don't tend to use guns, so this hasn't been much of a concern for her. "You mean like -- a real physical gun, and not something a model that conjures up cognitive ammunition, right?"
Several moments pass as she remembers her St. Hermelin friends and their tendency to pack heat. "I-I see ..."
'The thing that enabled Sudou.' Tamaki levels her gaze at Umie. "Nyarlathotep, you mean? Elly-chan mentioned that name back in his cell ..." Some part of her wonders if it's the same source of the voices that Sudou heard and which Umie likely continues to hear, herself.
Especially when Umie comments on Maki's well-being serving as evidence that the opposite can happen. "... For now. But don't actually forget, okay?"
On Personas and Demons, Tamaki nods. "That's true, too. Consider this, though: I didn't have the faintest idea who Arianrhod was when I first got her. I believe that it's as if something felt like she was the best fit for me." She hums in idle thought, then adds, "... I've had several different Personas. They often changed when we died in the Deity Emperor's realm. Nakao-chan's Janus is much different from the Janus I had at the time. Maybe we should think of them as where the individual intersects with the collective."
At Umie's teasing imitation of a cat, Tamaki rears her head back with a fearful look on her face. She visibly shivers, then narrows her eyes in defiance.
she knows too much (or so Tamaki fears.)
She doesn't remark on that and lets the conversation continue onto discussion of the Mark. "Your Persona doesn't create a supernatural space; you need to be in one to summon it. It'd make some measure of sense if Demons and Shadows followed the same rules that we do."
A thought occurs to her, and she curls her finger over her chin before she looks back at Umie. "... don't actually do it, but do you know if you're able to create such a space while not manifesting any Demons?"
Tamaki chews on the inside of her cheek as she considers what Umie suggests Reiko's intentions were. "That could be. You know, I admire her a lot for what she did. You remember the thing I told you about wanting to be the person I needed when I was younger?"
She has no idea just how much that stuck with Umie. "Reiko was that for me, to be clear. That's where that's coming from. I wanted to follow the example she set for me. To demonstrate compassion and understanding to the misunderstood and isolated."
Tamaki idly swings her foot and kicks at the dirt beneath the bench. "You might be right, though. If I emulated her exactly ... I wouldn't have pulled back from the embrace. I'd have died with Sudou-san."
"So maybe it's a good thing I'm myself and not entirely like her."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Tamaki says she'll vouch for Umie. Umie laughs. "I mean, I don't need blind faith here. It's... a complicated story. But I appreciate you sticking your head out for me anyways. But... yeaaah. He means well, but you can't just judge everything on the basis of..." She sighs, shaking her head. "Anyway."
"Inaba-san's the only one I know that well. I really appreciate him trying to keep things level. Kirishima-san... ah, wait, she's that model, isn't she... no wonder she looked rather impeccable in spite of the places she's stuck her nose into." Umie ponders, tapping an apricot orange colored nail to her chin. "I bet her hair and skin routine is killer..." Somomura, meanwhile... that'd have to be the other young woman of that general group.
To be someone who did something 'wrong' (though Umie's not entirely sure of the scope or details here in regards to the Mikage-cho Incident), and to try redeem yourself through your own acts... Umie can understand that feeling a little too well.
Tamaki lays out what PSIA means, and Umie nods slowly. "Aaaahhh. God, I just must have never heard it said aloud or something; you'd think I'd know that..."
"I'd be careful, either way. Just because someone is trying to get away from the Order doesn't mean they're necessarily 'a good person', is it were," Umie warns. After all, Shiryuu is there, and he exists, and he's just stubbornly attached to trying to make things as difficult as possible, it seems.
(..... why does Umie have to find that attractive??? What the hell is wrong with you, Umie, do you not like nice things and uncomplicated people???)
"But, that aside, if it comes down to it, the biggest hurtle may be the Bride's mindset. It sounded like, from the way she was talking, that she had already consigned her child to the Order's clutches." Umie may be the one being unfair here, but it was irritating in the moment trying to untangle all that talk while trying to undo the Bride's hold on the field.
But compared to the Black Mask... "He was giving hints to several people that he knew where to hit them where it hurt. Rather efficient," Umie says, with a sardonic edge to her tone. "Several birds with one stone and everything."
'... I didn't want to buy into his framing and started looking for a third.' The remark earns Tamaki a blackbird's smile from Umie. "Theerree we go."
However, that moment of 'encouragement', if that's what it is, is lost when brought back to the simple matter of the fragility of life. "Yes. Our Personas make us hardier than we would be, but." She mimicks a gun with her hand and points it to her head. "If a Persona doesn't intervene, a well-placed shot is as fatal as any from the right weapon." Her hand drops to her side. "But it's not like I'd tried it out for myself, or anything. Katsuya Suou-san'd be a lot better judge than me."
Nyarlathotep. The name alone draws a sharp breath from Umie. A moment passes before she dips her chin in a short, reluctant nod. ".... If that is what the force is going by, yes. It's probably okay to assume the same about this force being what Takkun is referring to when he says 'him'."
'But don't actually forget, okay?' "Or course not," Umie says, not at all seeming like she's being a chaotic force of nyanture at that moment.
Tamaki reveals she's had several Personas, which is enough to draw Umie from her feline satisfaction. "Wait, so..." But just in that realm, it seems. "Was your friend like that too?" As grim is it is to remember your friend dying with you, likely each time. "... I see. But not since then, right? You've just had Arianrhod." That is, the one that felt the best, for her.
At what point did Umie realize the same for her and Badb? Would it change, if she changed?
Tamaki reasons out how Personas need a space to be summoned in, like Demons; Umie nods. "Aha... yes, just like that."
What would Umie be capable of? "It's hard to really say, since it was so long ago. I guess it's like trying to make an omelett without cracking an egg; if there is, I don't know." And the Bride isn't going to tell them, either.
Does Umie remember? "...... Yeah." Oh, does Umie ever remember that. "I've picked that up myself, actually, as what I want to do as a Persona User."
'To demonstrate compassion and understanding to the misunderstood and isolated.'
'Umie Akabane.' That's the name I like the most.'
"....." Umie's lips purse as she glances towards her hands in her lap. ".... Someone who stands for broken things."
That's what started so much of this. Things that are broken, lost, forgotten. She is imperfect, of course; Umie's choice on how she handles the Bride differs from Shiryuu and Kurou, but still, she's been quick to still be protective, in her own distant way.
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki holds up a finger as she replies to several points at once. "I'm not giving you blind faith, and I'm under no illusion that the NWO must be good people underneath. I don't think Sudou was. I don't think the Deity Emperor was. They were both still very much human. I'm not swinging from one extreme to the other here." She glances to the side. "Even the worst people deserve some small measure of grace, you know? The crowd can be more cruel than they need to be. I'm just an advocate for fairness."
(... oh no, it seems like Tamaki and Umie share a common taste in what kinds of people they find attractive. Tamaki likes being challenged and arguing with people.)
... conversely, she feels disappointed in people when they take an easy way out. She said that she 'was' in love with Reiko. An older, wiser Tamaki felt that Reiko had given up when it was possible -- and may still be possible -- to both ease Hazama's pain and remain in the larger world.
Hearing how the Bride has seemingly thrown up her hands in exasperation evokes a similar feeling in Tamaki. (Maybe not as extreme as what Tsumugi had expressed as they and and Hyde clawing at a Homunculus, but -- something along those lines.)
"Suou-tantei, I trust with a gun." She goes tense and doesn't elaborate. She greatly enjoys Eriko's company, but America and its penchant for guns seems to have rubbed off on her. And that unnerves Tamaki at least a little bit!
Umie confirms Nyarlathotep's name. "If that's the case, then both of us should get Elly-chan and Inaba-san to explain what they know about him. I knew some details about what happened in Mikage-cho, but I hadn't heard that name before the sanitarium."
Reiko had other Personas, too. "She was like me. Everyone was, in there. Your new Persona was a reflection of your mindset when you died. The people who went catatonic after dying over and over succumbed to despair. They were ... demoted back down to nothing, so to speak."
It's no coincidence that Tamaki suggested wings for the vessel which ended up being Aeolia. Aniel, six-winged angel of love and victory, starkly stands out in Tamaki's memory as the most prominent of Reiko's Personas.
Tamaki snorts when Umie accurately points that she's just had Arianrhod since then. "Yeah. I've been out of the Deity Emperor's world for years, though. I have to wonder if I'm just stuck like this now."
Still, Tamaki being more like herself and less like Reiko is what ended up saving Tamaki's own life.
'Someone who stands for broken things.'
Umie's words leave Tamaki silent for a while.
"That's a good way of putting it."
She's quiet for several more.
"Thanks for coming out here and trying to help. It means a lot."
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie laughs, as Tamaki succinctly takes on several points at once. "I get you. I just didn't want to seem like I was misrepresenting the situation."
As for Suou? Umie laughs. "Same, but I'd trust Katsuya-san with a lot of things. He has that energy, you know?" An energy that somehow hasn't yet gotten demoted, but that may be a thing in the future.
'I knew some details about what happened in Mikage-cho--'
Long, sea wet black hair drapes itself over the bench, coming from a source that Umie can't quite see. It infests everything in the bench, skirting mere centimeters past touching Tamaki herself, who sits pristine, untouched, in another world.
Because it's a delusion.
It drifts into Umie's ears, her nose, her eyes, whisper thin.
-but I hadn't heard that name before the sanitarium.'
"It's... a name in Lovecraft's short stories. The Crawling Chaos." A mouth that should be choking on hair speaks perfectly, Umie's expression held tightly neutral, like a scream would erupt at any second if Umie didn't carefully maintain her composure.
None of this is seen by Tamaki, nor should she; it's all in Umie's head.
Demoted back down to nothing...
"... To Awaken, and then watch your despair slowly take over your sense of self..." A hand hurriedly clamps against a slithering strand of black hair that shouldn't be there, and isn't, as far as Tamaki is concerned.
"That's... terrible." And Umie means it. To be unaware of your oncoming despair is one thing, but to see your Personas being whittled to nothing...
She always had the Badb.
"Arianrhod's a good fit for you, though." Little fingers tap against the bench; Umie steals a glance towards them, which only encourages the rap tap tapping to continue, louder.
But if she focuses on Tamaki, on her friend... the sounds dim, for a little while, just because she's not focusing solely on being a picture perfect self.
This is Tamaki.
....
"Someone I care about... said that. Maybe, you'll meet him some day, but likely... in a context where he's calmed down enough." She smirks. "He's... a little much. But anyway."
Tamaki is *thanking* her, and the shock is enough to make the hairs and the taptaptapping fingers crack like sunbleached plastic. "Oh, come on. I didn't do *that* much. I think it's worthwhile though. Maybe, if you keep looking for Reiko, though, you may find something. So I don't think the search is futile."
Anymore than Umie's search for a sort of 'freedom' is, anyhow.