View source for Logs: Tying Up Loose Ends

<center><b>Okina - Okina City - January 21st, 2010. IC Time: 6:00 PM.</b></center>






(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Okina City. At about this time, it is probably the busiest, due to folks getting off from their daily jobs, or due to shift changes. Whatever the case was, there was tons of people everywhere. Lines for public restrooms, station travel, restaurants, you name it. All packed as if it was a massive anthill. A great example of progress in motion. Of course, some people aren't heading anywhere, sitting around, taking in the sights, or perhaps enjoying a much needed day off from work.

Among these crowds, a lone teenager finds himself once again at the small park area near some shopping outlets and offices. He appears... agitated at something, possibly something that happened not too long ago that affected him. In his new black winter jacket, he strolls down the walkway in the center of the park, glaring at random things, but remaining cheerful to those he looks at. The boy in particular is Yoh.

Earlier in the day, he had come across some folks picking on an elderly person. Of course, with Yoh's nature, it broke into a fight getting him involved. The police arrived on scene, and unfortunately they thought he was the wrongdoer, and they had arrested him. Of course, the street thugs got away when no one was looking, and he almost got taken to jail, had it not been for the old man beating on the cops with his cane yelling at them. Well, once matters were resolved, he was let go of course, and the elderly man thanked him, but he as still ticked at the blues. Always jumping to conclusions.

If one could see Yoh's face, the bruise he had acquired from the concert was almost gone at this point, barely noticeable; a battle scar to a very memorable moment in his life. The only casualties in that brawl were his favorite white jacket and scarf though, but were easily replaced. The boy had also recently found out that there was a video clip circulating about the internet that showed the incident, as well as the two guys he sent spiraling across the stage. Every few minutes a smile would appear on his face as he remembered it. It was a small claim to fame.

As Yoh neared the center of the mini-park, he stopped at a crossroads there, wondering where to go next.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
A Yasogami student, his coat buttoned all the way up in the cold, emerges from the direction of Okina's train station. Shou Hamada looks weary and somewhat pensive, still carrying his backpack with him, weaving and following the other people emerging from the train at this busy time of day. He stops, periodically, and seems to be looking for something or someone. He gradually gets closer to the center of the park, but has yet to spot Yamagatani.



(((Tohru Adachi poses.)))<br>
It's probably for the best that Adachi, just to look at him, doesn't look like a cop; he looks like some guy in a suit. More specifically, he looks like some guy in a warm-looking winter jacket with a tall, faux fur-lined collar (although he was only so-so about it when Enoha gave it to him for Christmas, Tohru has since changed his mind; this is the /best/ Christmas present) doing a little light shopping in the Okina City strip mall. He has no idea that Yoh's had a bad day, and that it's a result of gross incompetence of basically everyone around Yoh (why didn't the police round all the kids who were fighting up before arresting anyone? Why did the old man wait until after the punks had run away and Yoh have been arrested to start beating on the cops with his stick? Why didn't the old man just *say* something instead of instantly resorting to violence? It probably would have been a hilarious show to watch on TV, but good god, where's the common sense here, man?), so when Adachi happens to glance over at him, all he sees is the bruise on his face. Huh.

He comes to a stop at a bench in the mini-park (if you can call a fountain in the middle of a strip mall a "mini-park," anyway) and sits down, relaxing and watching the kid--as well as the kid in the Yasogami uniform who's heading this way and seems like he's looking for someone--as he pulls out a steamed meat bun from one of his bags and starts munching on it.



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
As the boy begins to relax, he peers around him. While spotting Tohru and other people, It didn't seem to be anyone he knew. It seems like he is waiting on someone almost, possibly a friend, or a business associate. Yoh just kind of kicks lightly at the ground. He seems a bit disappointed in himself, if anything else.

As Yoh waits, a nearby lamp post attracts his attention. He appears to fool around with it for a bit, pushing on it, flicking it with his finger, and lightly tapping it with his foot, as if testing it. After performing this for a bit, he actually begins to wail into it. Not terribly hard, but noticeable. While from a range this make make him look like some sort of street punk, wanting to put /the man/ down with rebellion, it was actually mere martial arts training. As a Goju-Ryu Okinawan style Karate student, he specialized like everyone else in the art into body conditioning. The art was designed to take the hits needed and strike very hard and precise. As such, he was often found doing stuff like this, kicking and punching unusually hard objects various ways.

Now, unlike the thin wooden post at the flood plain (which he splintered, making it break and made him pay for it), this one was steel, and hitting it not only made his fists red, but didn't leave a mark on it. Of course, this made it a prime target.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Footsteps stop for the Yasogami student, (as they presumably do for a number of other people wandering through the area) and Shou's head turns to face a rising, ridiculous sounding clatter. Was somebody doing construction work? Nailing something to...something else? 

Ah, no. That's the person he's supposed to be meeting up with. With a sigh and a grumbling stomach, Shou fixes his glasses. He almost wishes he could just walk away, but he's no jerk, and he reluctantly steps up to Yoh, giving him a wide berth. He grimaces as he raises a hand in greeting, and tries to speak over the noise. "Y-Yamagatani-san..."



(((Tohru Adachi poses.)))<br>
Adachi watches this random kid start beating the crap out of a lamppost. Naturally, he inevitably wonders what his problem is. It's kind of interesting to watch, though, and as he munches on his meat bun, that Yasogami student he noticed earlier walks over to Mr. Imma Beat On This Lamppost and addresses him, and apparently none to enthusiastically. Huh! He wonders what's going on there.

Might be worth it to keep watching for now. Out of the corner of his eye, as it were, so it's not immediately obvious to the two kids that anyone nearby is paying attention. Adachi thus regards a Yuumemi ad poste--wait, Yuu-memi? He squints at it. No, isn't that Risette?

His phone buzzes in his pocket then, and he pulls it out to see that a text has arrived. Click, goes a button, and he reads the message contained within. Huhhhh. Well, nothing he can do anything about right now. The detective slips his phone back into his pocket, eats his meal, and eyeballs that poster while keeping Yoh and Shou to one side of his field of view.



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Yoh eventually pulls his fists away from the post, his fingers turning red. he shakes the pain off as he winces. Sure, it seemed mindless to punch a post, but over time, they would harden, and be able to take some serious pain, not to mention break things easily. He remembers what the Grandmaster did in some of his demonstration videos: smashing a cinder block into pieces with only two fingers.

As he stopped, he heard a familiar voice address him. Yoh turned to see Shou, just the person he wanted to see. "Hey, Hamada-san." He shakes his hands off a bit more. "Heh, conditioning. Sorry. Now, you called me? It sounded important." The boy takes a seat up against the pole he was just sitting, and pulls a canned drink out of a jacket pocket, popping the tab and listening to Shou.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Shou manages a polite little smile. Yamagatani's lack of practically is almost charming, though embarrassing at times. His body relaxes a bit when Yoh stops wailing on said inanimate object, and he shakes his head. "No, that's...fine." He wanted to have a discrete conversation, so the situation is a bit ironic, but anyway. "Looking healthy as ever, Yamagatani-san."

Shou pauses for a moment, and furrows his brow a bit. "What you were talking about the other day, I...believe you." He tries to keep things vague, as Sekigawa made clear the severity of the situation. He then showed Shou a freaky headghost, so Hamada's inclined to believe him. "I saw something similar. And I'm sorry again for giving you a hard time about it..."



(((Tohru Adachi poses.)))<br>
Nice. It's pretty easy to hear them from this distance, too, though it's not so close that Adachi can't just tune them out if it turns out that they're just discussing normal guy things that are completely boring. Since Shou is being smart enough to not go blabbing all over the place HEY GUESS WHAT I SAW A PERSONA AND IT WAS SUPER-FREAKY AND DON'T YOU THINK IT WAS FREAKY TOO or something equally ridiculous, Adachi hasn't cottoned on to the real cause of Shou's distress. Not yet, anyway. For now, he's just eavesdropping out of sheer nosiness.



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
"Oh, haha. Thanks! Got to stay in shape, after all." Yoh takes another sip of his cola while Shou talks, quirking a brow at a certain point. Huh, so Shou now believes him all of a sudden? Maybe something happened to make him believe. Who knows? Either way, it made him feel that much better inside that he apologized.

"That means a lot. I appreciate it." Yoh raises his can up as if making a toast to the boy for a moment. "Yeah, I am surprised how many people I have met are suddenly involved, believe it or not." The boy then glances about in front and behind him before continuing. of course, Yoh isn't all that bright, as his eyes pass right over Tohru but it doesn't register at all that he may be listening. Same for several other people nearby, of course they weren't paying attention. Since no one was detected on Yoh's radar (which was clearly busted), he continued. "I have learned something though. apparently people without 'it' are left alone, for the most part, unless you get directly involved." He takes another sip of the drink. "Apparently they are all trying to hide it, and doing 'it' openly always opens a chance for it to be revealed, which they do not want." Of course him saying 'it' with such emphasis would point out what he meant. Of course he did not have a word for it. Magic? Voodoo? Curse? Beats him.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Shou returns a grin when Yoh responds to the greeting-compliment, then nods and shifts facial expression a bit as Yoh gets to the interesting stuff. He has half a mind to look around as well, but knows that would be too suspicious, and simply keeps focus on Yoh. Not that he would notice the detective, anyway. 

He simply continues to nod as Yamagatani speaks. It doesn't seem like he's anymore in on it than Shou is, and the more Yoh reiterates the point that involvement is dangerous, the more Shou gets nervous about speaking in a crowded place. Yeah, hiding in plain sight and all, but... If Sekigawa and everyone else is to be believed, the stakes are so high.

"That's...what I heard, too." With a small sigh, Shou resigns himself to small talk. "So how's...school going, Yamatagani-san?" It's a clumsy and obvious attempt to change the subject. He wants to talk about his experience, about all the things he's read and the research he's been doing since, but he gets so anxious when Yoh reminds him about getting involved. 

And, Shou thinks, it's not like Yamatagani is the sharpest tack anyway...



(((Tohru Adachi poses.)))<br>
'It' could be any number of things. With no specific names dropped and nothing more specific stated than 'there's a lot of people doing it and they're all trying to keep it quiet so it's best just to stay away,' as far as Adachi's concerned, they might just be talking about--hell, *he* doesn't know; underage smoking in public restrooms or something. Since it sounds like they're changing the subject to school--or at least the nervous-looking kid is--and Adachi is almost to the end of his meat bun, he figures that's enough of that, and gets up, hefting his bags and smoothing out his jacket. Then he starts to amble on to his next destination. Coincidentally, this means he'll have to get closer to Yoh and Shou before he can get further away.



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
And coming from the other way is Shirou Sekigawa, who hasn't seen Adachi in about one or two months now, and has seen quite a lot of Hamada and Yamagatani in the previous two weeks. It was getting rather... ridiculous, actually. Fate was trying to tell him something, obviously. 

Not that he's often listened to Fate. 

His resonance is out there as usual. Not that anyone /here/ can feel it. Right?



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Yoh continues on for a moment. "We are considered normal to them, apparently. The magic-users do beli--" He cuts himself off. Someone appears to be walking in their general direction, whether passing or otherwise. At about that time, Shou mentioned something about his school. Glancing between the two, it was like the perfect lineup, so he bit the hook, which would probably seem really weird.

"Well, they go well, so far. Save literature, anyway..." Even Yoh himself was caught slightly off guard by the subject change, clamoring for something to say. "...I was going to talk to that teacher I keep running into, Ichikawa-san, about helping me in that area." He takes a big gulp of his drink. "I saw her last night. It looked like visiting her cheered her up a great deal. Looked liek she was stood up by someone near the train station to Port Island."

Well, that worked out. All was in the clear it seemed. Of course, he didn't see Shirou coming. He really needed to talk to him, as last attempt was foiled by another clumsy Reki moment, and some crazily-dressed goth girl.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Yamagatani's liberal use of the word "magic" sends a shiver up Shou's spine. He only saw his first Persona two days ago, and it was probably one of the freakiest ones out there, so he's a little bit on edge. He shakes it off. Any normal person would think they were talking about an MMORPG or something. Right? 

He breaths for a second and nods, "Ichikawa-sensei? I have literature with her, actually." He hmms. "Suppose teachers have personal problems, too." He shakes his head for a moment, trying to smile a little, "I could help you study sometime, if you want, Yamatagani-san."



(((Tohru Adachi poses.)))<br>
Adachi's forte is not exactly sensing Resonance, though he is capable of it if it comes down to the wire (he's used it enough not to lose it, anyway); however, it does prompt him to glance Shirou's way before he actually comes into view. It gives him a couple of seconds to mentally prepare, anyway, and he smiles when the Yasogami first-year comes into sight. This also gives him convenient excuse to stop when he hears Yoh say 'magic-user,' which narrows the field of what they're /actually/ talking about by a massive margin.

"Hey, Sekigawa-kun," he calls around the last bite of meat bun that he shoved into his mouth (isn't he so genteel and elegant?), waving his now-empty hand his way. If that one kid, Hamada, goes to Yasogami, and he's involved in Persona stuff, then chances are pretty good he might know Sekigawa--which means calling him over will clinch it one way or another, once Adachi sees their relations. Outwardly, he remains just as friendly and clueless and sloppy as always, though. "Long time no see. How's it goin'?"



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
Ahha. Adachi. A man of infinite Jest, though Shirou sometimes wonders whom the joke is on. He was there for his rather... interesting reaction to Masumi's dress at the Festival. But that doesn't matter right now. 

He gives Adachi a wave, smirking just a little. "Yeah, long time no see. It goes, as it always does. How have you been, Adachi-san?" He's still rather polite and formal to him, even if he... well, isn't. 

He hasn't noted the other two kids in the area though, as he walks on closer to the detective, his ponytail swaying a bit more, having grown down even more so since Mikage-cho. "Been keeping busy. School. ...extracurricular activities. You know."



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
As the stranger comes closer, he tries to focus more on Shou. He nods to Shou's offer. "That would be nice, actually. I could possibly help you with a subject you are not good at? Well, if you have one I mean." The last sentence was added hastily, to cover any chance he was trying to imply something. He didn't want to insult someone whom shared his problems, after all.

Yoh leaned his head sideways as it sounded like the man nearby stopped walking. It sounded like he called someone. Anf the name was quite familiar, but he dared not look for fearing he would look suspicious. Of course, that was until he heard Shirou's voice, then he was sure who it was. He stood up, crumpled his can, and looked over, waiting for a time to walk over without interrupting anything.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Shou laughs a little, kinda forced, at Yoh's statement. "We'll figure something out." He doesn't really know what to say; none of the subjects at school give him pause, but c'mon, school's not everything. Then he clearly hears Adachi's call-out.

And Shou does take the bait, the called out name causing both a small sense of elation in its familiarity and an equal sense of dread due to their prior interaction. His head whips around to look, and he turns to face Sekigawa, but, like Yoh, doesn't move to interrupt, instead waiting for a chance to move in, or waiting to be noticed. "Ah, it -is- Sekigawa-kun," Shou says idly to Yoh.



(((Tohru Adachi poses.)))<br>
One might argue that the joke is on Adachi himself. ...but he's been having quite a lot of fun with his own little jokes, anyway. "The same as usual, here. Work's... well, the same as ever," he replies after swallowing, giving the teenager a half-hearted smile. "At least it's been pretty peaceful over in Inaba lately, right? Although that means we're not getting any clues, either..." Adachi's eyes roll up as he purses his lips and rubs the back of his head; then he shakes his head and looks back at Shirou. "That's good. Schoolwork's important! That's how you get into good colleges and get good jobs! And oh yeah. It's always good to have something to do after school, too. Keeps you out of trouble, hey?"

He talks in such an easygoing enough manner that it'd be easy to think that *he*, at least, knows nothing about the reality of Shirou's 'extracurricular activities,' though when Yoh and Shou do in fact react--the latter rather moreso than the former--Adachi turns and looks at them, blinking wide-eyed. He looks in particular at Shou's uniform, before he gives him a lopsided smile and looks back at Shirou. It's at this point that Shou *might* recognize Adachi as that durpy detective who runs around Inaba after rather more universally feared detective Dojima. "Oh, were you coming to meet with some friends, Sekigawa-kun? Sorry if I got in the way."



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
There's a wry smirk on Shirou's lips as he looks over to Yoh and Shou. "Would you believe me if I said this wasn't intentional... yet I'm not surprised at all to see them." He gives a wave to the two, walking on over, getting closer to all involved. 

"Yeah... peaceful. It won't last. Just as soon as someone shows back up on TV..." seems like it's /his/ turn to say something cryptic and plot-important without meaning to, as he rubs the back of his head. "Shou-san, Yoh-san... what brings you two out here tonight?"



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Yoh waited there with Shou, waiting to be spotted. Eventually thye were, and they both seemed to look back. After a bit, it looked as if Shirou was coming over. The boy bows to Shirou, somewhat pleased to see him. "Greetings, Sekigawa-san. It is good to see you again. Sorry to pull you away from your friend," he says, glancing to Tohru with a face that pretty much said 'sorry'. Yoh did hate it when he intruded upon something.

"Well, uh..." The boy began. It was going to be hard to word this. Part of him wanted to ignore the fact he needed to talk to him about Thora, as he did not want to include Shou or in anything he shouldn't have to be in. The other part did want to bring it up, as it was rather important, but he did not want to pull Shirou's friend into this if he did not know. "Well, me and Shou were just talking... about stuff." He was hesitant there, which may lead to questioning.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
Shou, for better or for worse, isn't aware of Adachi at all having only been in town about three weeks. He returns a tired, unsure grin to Sekigawa, not giving any mind to Adachi beyond a polite nod for how benign he seems, and also not reacting to the TV remark -- Shou has only heard vague remarks about midnight television once, and nothing about it being related to murders or crime or anything.

"Hey, Sekigawa-kun. Doing good, I hope." Shou nods, and simply backs Yoh up, "We were just chatting." He fakes a grin...there are things Shou, as well, wants to bug Shirou about, but.



(((Tohru Adachi poses.)))<br>
"Oh, really? I just figured they were classmates of yours," Adachi tells Shirou, blinking. Well, Shou's obviously a classmate--Yoh is... obviously... not. His uniform looks like the St. Hermelin one from over in Lunarvale. Either way, he aims his lopsided smile their way too. "Hey, it's nice meeting you kids! Are you new to Inaba? I don't think I recognize either of your faces..." This is followed up by an embarrassed laugh. "Friend? Well... I dunno if we're *friends*. I just look after Sekigawa-kun every so often. Er. Sort of... thing." It's complicated, okay!!

Talking about 'stuff,' eh? Adachi looks from boy to boy to boy, debating. Should he give them some space...? Hahahaha, naaaah. He'll see how things unfold if he sticks around. "Oh, I almost forgot," he adds, smiling again. "I'm Detective Adachi, from Inaba. If you're from around there, you'll probably see me around a lot more!"



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
"Ah, yes, where are my manners. Adachi-san, this is Hamada-senpai, a second year at Yasogami, and Yamagatani-san... from I think St. Hermelin? Out in Lunarvale." He shrugs a little more, chuckling. "They're ...recent friends, I suppose you could say." 

Seriously they show up /everywhere/. "And yeah... Adachi-san's cool." He says, in a vaguely conspiratorial way. The skinny teen boy hikes up his messenger bag a bit, rolling his shoulder a touch.



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Yoh nods, and bows to Tohru politely. "Nice to meet you, Adachi-san." The boy pauses for a moment. "So, a detective, eh? Sounds like fun stuff! Is it what it's cracked up to be?" The boy was still quite miffed at the police, but Tohru didn't deserve his scorn. After all, he wasn't there, so how could it be his fault?

He looks back to Shirou. The way he said that last statement seemed... odd. Maybe it was a sign it was okay to talk about certain... things? Wait, how would Shirou know? For a moment he combed his mind. Well, from the last Okina city meeting, he recalled talking about a meeting? Maybe then, but still... He did need to talk to him about Thora. There was no telling if he knew. Though, either way he did need to be informed if they were as close as what it seemed like. Hum, what to do... He looked at Shirou, eyeballing him for a moment. Was it okay to talk about it? Especially around Tohru? Did he know already? Ugh, so many questions. Yoh just kind of holds his head for a moment.



(((Shou Hamada poses.)))<br>
With a slight smile -- this Adachi guy seems like an upstanding fellow -- Shou nods, and bows a bit, to the detective. "Hamada, Shou, Adachi-san. It's a pleasure to meet you. And yes, I just moved to Inaba this month. I...look forward to seeing you around," he says, congenial enough, then turning to smile at Shirou as he addresses their relatively frequent run-ins.

As Yoh's talking, and Shou looks at the speaker, an alarming little jingle sounds in the kid's pocket. He pulls out a fancy looking smartphone and grimaces as he peruses a text message. 

"I'm really I have to run so soon, Yamatagani-san, Sekigawa-san, but I forgot that my mom was cooking tonight," he grins sheepishly after that. Usually his dad cooks and his mom stays late at the office, so this is kind of a special occasion...One that he can't get away with skipping. "Nice meeting you, Adachi-san!"

Shou starts jogging away immediately, giving little chance for goodbyes. "See you guys around!"



(((Tohru Adachi poses.)))<br>
"Thanks, Sekigawa-kun!" Adachi grins at Shirou, before he nods at the introductions. "Nice meeting you two, Hamada-kun, Yamagatani-kun," he adds, then laughs when Yoh goes 'detectiving, is it awesome or is it /awesome/?' "It's not as glamorous as they make it out to be on TV, I can tell you that! But there's always a real sense of satisfaction once you've cracked a case, or when you're hot on someone's trail. It's really fun on those days!" The other days, it's /boring as hell/. But watching Yoh kind of look between him and then at Shirou and then hold his head as steam comes out his ears, even the boring days can be fun, too.

"Oh, leaving already? Well, have yourself a safe trip back home, Hamada-kun!" the detective goes on when the Yasogami second-year hurries away. He gives him another friendly smile and a wave--you really wouldn't think he was a cop from the way he acts, would you?--before he looks back at the other two, giving Shirou in particular a curious look. "So what d'you mean, recent friends?"



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
Shirou gives Adachi a relatively coy look before shrugging, turning to look to Yoh. "Seems like wherever I roam about, Fate conspires to set this man in my path. I swear, Thora's going to get jealouse after a while." He deadpans, his usual sarcastic tone returning to his lips as he takes a deep breath of the cool city air. 

"Seriously, I've seen him... four times in just over twice that many days..."



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Yoh wishes Shou good fortune and waves to him, then turns back to the other two. He looks to Tohru before speaking. "Al, well, at least it is still rewarding to complete a case and such. It would be a shame if it didn't. Though I know TV shows kinda hype it up some." He smirks some. He figured it would be, but it didn't hurt to ask. Who knows, being asked that may have made his day, in some form.

Afterward, he looks to Shirou. "I know, right? We keep bumping into each other for some reason, same with Shou as well. It is almost creepy." The boy pauses for a moment, then appears to remember something. "Speaking of Kobayashi-san, I do need to talk to you about her... eventually. Seems like something always happens when I am about to bring it up."



(((Tohru Adachi poses.)))<br>
<i>Fate</i>, huh? Adachi gives no especial outward indication that he's cottoned onto that coy look, but his expression does take on a thoughtful cast. He laughs after that, though. "I really don't think Kobayashi-san's going to get jealous over a *guy*, Sekigawa-kun," he points out. "But wow, that really is a lot of running into the same guy! It'd be one thing if he was from Inaba, but..." He looks Yoh over again. "Judging by your school uniform, you're from Lunarvale, right? I've been over that way a few times on business, so I've met a couple St. Hermelin students before." Actually, it's mainly just Maki and Tomomi--no actual guys. Whatever!

"Huh? What about Kobayashi-san?" he adds, when Yoh asks Shirou about her. Adachi looks between the two, before he adds, "You know, come to think, I haven't seen her much in town lately... Is everything okay with her?" Not that he especially cares, because in this timeline, Adachi never got attached to Thora, but he figures he may as well keep abreast of the conversation.



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
Shirou remains rather tight-lipped when it comes to his beau. Mostly because, well, she could kick his ass without much of a thought. Hell, she could break him over a knee if she wanted. "...She's doing alright, think she's having some old issues get drug up..." He says, shrugging just a bit. "And she's got more then her fair share... but you gotta question, Yoh?" He smiles, tilting his head a bit to his friend as Adachi is basically allowed to listen in



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Yoh listens to the two talking for a moment. Hrm. What should he do? He was a detective after all. Maybe it would be all right. Well, hopefully. Might as well. Better yet, maybe he could hint around at it, maybe it would show if they knew or not, after all.

Well, looks like they were inquiring, so might as well give it a shot. "Well, uh..." The boy rubs the back of his neck. "I erm, saw Thora fighting someone I met before, named Kandori. It was a uh, interesting fight to say the least." He figured taking the roundabout way was the best, may help either letting him know that it is possible that they know about magic already, or ease the blow, either way.



(((Tohru Adachi poses.)))<br>
"Woah, Kobayashi-san was fighting Kandori-san?" Adachi utters, black eyes widening. Now *that* is interesting! He hadn't heard about that, which makes it even *more* interesting, given as they're all in KNOWS together. The only notice he got was that Thora was on 'vacation,' and for some reason the door to her room was... blasted to dust. Knowing about *this*, though... That makes the picture make a lot more sense. "By 'fighting,' I assume you mean 'brawling,' not just 'yelling at each other a lot'?"

He turns a curious look over at Shirou. Old issues, huh? Just what does he know...?



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
He flinches at the mere <i>mention</i> of Kandori's name. While in this time stream... wait, with Yuuka's key gone, he was back on Kandori's list. 

Crap in a handbasket. 

He grunts, pinching the bridge of his nose a bit. "Interesting. Yeah. I'm sure. Listen, Yoh. 'm sure people have been giving you a lot of warnings lately... but <i>anything</i> that has to do with That Man" Maybe it's a side effect of being Death Arcana, but Shirou was getting good at Selective Capitalization in his voice, "is bad news. I'm serious. Alright?" He asks, concern written on his face... 

Adachi's curious look is missed, even as Shirou reveals he probably knows a bit too much. He still hates Kandori just about every fiber of his being still though.



(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))<br>
Walking alone like a woman with a great deal on her mind, Shiori kept a hand resting lightly on the pouch at her side, feeling the weight of the Evoker. It was a reminder that she needed it, and she still had it; she was no longer Shadow-Possessed, because she had never been. The Shadow-Possession had taken place in another life, in a dream. A bad dream. Or maybe it had taken place in the real world, and this one was the dream.

That there were changes to reality, Shiori knew. Why and how was a different matter; Shiori had never managed to hear any explanation, even when it seemed everyone else in the world knew, simply because she had been unlucky enough to have turned Shadow-Possessed (and thus untrustworthy) when the big reveals had been done.

The doubling, and in some cases tripling, of mutually-inconsistent memories was all the more maddening for the gaps. Shiori remembered her time spent with Hitoshi, and all she had done with her Shadow. But she also remembered Hitoshi being Yuuka's boyfriend, not hers; Yuuka, the friend as close as a sister, except... she was just a fellow SEES member, not particularly close, and Shiori respected her no more or less than any other senpai... or she was Yuume-mi, superstar idol singer...

Not anymore.

How much did people remember? Shiori had apparently always been sensitive to the changes; she remembered feeling like the entire world did not fit quite right, especially when she had been closer to her Shadow. She felt it now, and with what little she had managed to find out, this meant that there were yet more changes that had happened.

But what?

Shiori froze momentarily, as she saw Shirou, Yoh, and... Shiori stared for a moment, before memory turned up a card. Adachi, a policeman from Inaba. Had the Potential, at least, and was a SEES ally. That was probably about it... (Hadn't Adachi been in Mikage-cho? Had he? Shiori couldn't remember. The memory slipped out of her grasp, even though it was so close...)

What would Shirou and Yoh remember of her? Would they remember her Shadow-Possessed teasing and hinting of the truth? Or would they just remember the timid, nervous Shiori who had never left SEES?

Time to face the consequences. Shiori walked up to the group with an awkward smile and a little wave. "Hi," she said nervously.



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Whoa, saying that seemed to spark interest in the detective. Apparently he must know something as he recognized both individuals. He took a deep breath before speaking, as there was... really no turning back at this point. "Well, yeah... they were brawling... among other things." Yoh began to grow visibly tense, though not <i>nearly</i> as bad as the other times he spoke of it.

He turns to Shirou, which game a very familiar warning he has heard from about four or five people. It was clear that Takahisa equals bad news at this point. After a moment, he calmed down, letting the tension fall. "Yeah, don't you worry, Sekigawa-san... after what I saw them do, I will definitely avoid him. I am debating avoiding Thora as well, to be honest." Now, that last part may not have been smart to say; it may insult Shirou. But if you saw someone summon a huge figure, and punch someone with a massive conjured fist, you may avoid them too!

At about that time, Shiori walked up. Now something itched in the back of his mind about her that was different than usual. His experiences with the girl while the shadow held here were nearly gone. Instead of the open-ness that she had provided once to the boy, she now just provided comfort in his time of stress, rather than revealing what she did before. As such, rather than regard her as a creepy person, he thought of her as a rather kind soul, and was actually fond of her company. "Hibiki-san! Good to see you!" the boy syas, catching the sight of her out of the corner of his eye. The turns and gives her a friendly wave.



(((Tohru Adachi poses.)))<br>
"Sekigawa-kun's right," Adachi adds, looking over at Yoh. "Kandori-san... He doesn't come off as a bad guy, but it's better if you don't get too involved with him. He's... he likes to draw people in." Shirou might recall that Adachi's also a member of KNOWS; Yosuke posted about it and how he was less than enthusiastic about it (or at least acted that way) ages ago. Will Yoh actually listen to them? Good for him if he does, hilarious for Adachi if he doesn't. There's nothing like people who don't listen to sound advice when they get it, isn't there, Mae-chan? It looks like he'll be listening, though... so yeah, good for him.

There is a mouse squeaking nearby. Adachi turns to stare at Shiori, whom he doesn't recognize at first; eventually, it's only because of the SEES member files that he's studied that he remembers her as that girl, whatsis whatsis, who's on the team. Hibiki! That's right. Good going, Yamagatani, you remembered for him! "Hi," he tells her simply, smiling.



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
"Thora... mmmph. She's actually rather nice, once she gets to know you." And if you can navigate her dialogue tree without her link reversing. So far Shirou's guile seems to be up to the challenge. "Just gotta be careful, she can be... aggressive." He states simply, but there's a wry little smile on his face that seems to imply that it's not necessarily a bad thing. 

And then Shiori walks on up. Shirou actually has a few good memories of her left in there, of the night he helped save Yuuka and seeing her in the SEES, of talking and comforting each other not only in Mikage-cho but afterwords as well... mostly from 'this' timeline, though he vaguely remembers the more assertive if a bit more teasing and shadow-possessed self, in a foggy manner. He gives her a broader smile though, nodding to the Priestess. "Evening, Shiori-san... 's nice to see ya. How ya holding up?" He asks, concerned for her in his voice.



(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))<br>
"Yamagatani-san," Shiori greeted him, relaxing somewhat. Looked like he didn't remember her Shadow-Possession. But did he remember what she said in that reality? The memories were... fuzzy. "And, uh, Adachi-san. Good day."

Adachi wasn't really all that familiar to her. Just another grown-up, this time in a position of authority, which earned him quite a bit of institutionalized respect. Don't piss off the police, and all that. Then again, Nanako spoke glowingly of him, so he was probably a really nice guy. Heck, he /was/ a really nice guy. Maybe Shiori could get to be friends with him.

"Sekigawa-san." Shiori's smile was grateful, slightly apologetic, and most of all relieved. "I'm, uh, fine, thanks." A brief moment of uncertainty, quickly replaced by forced confidence. Shiori had retained her memories of the other side, of the path of good intentions leading to the shadows. It had been exhilarating, joyous, and liberating.

It had also alienated her from all the friends she had made, in this reality or another. Shiori was determined not to let it happen again.

"Just procrastinating on a few loose ends," she said, a slight waver in her voice betraying her cheer. "How about you?"



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Well, he has stalled enough. Even with Shiori's presence it did not change what he was about to say. He remembered Hitoshi being at the food court, explaining it vaguely. Shiori was there, she she must know something about it. Though she didn't talk much besides backing up Hitoshi's warning. He waited until there was a pause in the exchange of words to get his in.

"So uh, guys?" He began. "Did you know they fought, y'know... the way they do?" Well, that was vague in it's own right. Maybe they would catch it, but he would hate to have to go into detail. maybe they will catch on, maybe not, and maybe Thora won't hear of him talking about it again to tan his hide. Another aspect itched in the back of his mind. Why in the hell was he talking about this?! He did not want to get involved. He did not want to know about this stuff. Why was he asking these questions? It was as if he was compelled to do so. Huh... compelled. Upon thinking that word he thought about the strange dream a few nights ago, where he was compelled to say his name to... Nngh, he forgot who it was. Bah, was just a dream, Unimportant. Well, hopefully bringing this up didn't put Shirou on the spot, or he would feel terrible.



(((Tohru Adachi poses.)))<br>
Thora's pretty great if you can manage to traverse the treachery of her conversation branch without her slamming a ham-like fist into your face, it's true! Adachi has managed it <i>somehow</i>, though in this timeline that's nothing more than a source of mild amusement. "Yeah, Kobayashi-san's not a bad girl. She's just misunderstood," the detective thus agrees brightly. "Though, uh... I can get that you'd want to steer clear! She *is* pretty intimidating somethings, ehehe..."

Adachi is friend to all Persona-Using teenagers! Unaware of Shiori's thought processes, though, he just gives her a slightly wider smile, then lets the other teenagers talk to her. She's not really his type, heh--though he might have to reconsider that, seeing how hard she's pushing herself. That could be interesting to poke at. Following this line of thought, he adds, "Is everything okay, Hibiki-san? You seem kinda nervous."

A look back over at Yoh. Adachi understands what he's getting at, and he rubs the back of his head as he considers this. Hmmm... Give the kid a break, or needle him? Pfft, as if he had to ask. It remains hilarious to him that, despite the fact that Yoh /just said/ he'd stay away, he's still asking after what happened. Adachi *knew* it. "The way they do?" he repeats.



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
"Err....Yoh's in on 'the game', Adachi-san... you know..." He looks to Shiori before puts a finger gun up to his head and pulls the 'trigger', complete with 'pwhoosh' sound effect and his other hand making a ... complicated sign that isn't brain-matter splattering but rather brain-matter turning into Head-Ghost. There's some odd finger wiggling in there. 

"Err, but... man, Yamagatani-san... you just said you were gonna keep mostly out of this. Perhaps we can talk about this later, alright?" He was kinda creeped out about talking about it in public this much /anyway/. 

Shirou nods a bit distractedly to Shiori. "We'll have to catch up soon then. Things are... kinda crazy right now but you probably know that."



(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))<br>
Shiori glanced at Yoh with some worry. "Yamagatani-san, didn't you say you were going to forget all about it? I mean, it /is/ dangerous to be involved, since you've, you know, seen what happened..."

She trailed off, as she did a slow double-take. Her eyes were unfocused, and she cocked her head to the side slightly, listening intently.

"... Yamagatani-san? You..." Sounded different. He <i>sounded</i> different. It was just a tiny little niggle at the back of her mind, but Shiori tried to focus on it, refusing to let it slip away, now that she knew what it would have meant if she was better at this resonance thing...

But Shirou had just gone into detail with the whole Persona and Evoker thing, and Shiori suppressed a sigh. Well, what's done was done, and Shiori braced herself for more uncomfortable questions.

Or hey, maybe Adachi the policeman would be able to defuse this situation. He's a detective, he has to be good with words, right?



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Yoh looks between all the members present. it was obviously complicated, and was beyond his grasp at the time. Far beyond. But he wouldn't let it concern him anymore. All his tasks were done, and he had no reason to pursue this further. "I suppose that my opinion was biased due to stress over the situation." He looks back to Shirou. He mentioned something about a game. Didn't Hitoshi say that too? He looked to Shiori for... well, he didn't really know, maybe something to make him feel better. Doing this he missed the gesture Shirou made to her by a tiny margin, looking back as it finished.

The boy looked to Shirou. He had a point, he did promise that, but he felt he had a duty to tell him. "Well, I heard that you and Thora were close, so I figured if you didn't know, it would be best to let you know. I guess it was common knowledge already." About that time Shiori asked the same thing of him. He looked at one, then the other. "It was a loose line I had to tie up." He let out a sigh of relief. "Don't worry, I have no more reasons to pursue this subject any further. I just had to pass the information on, that is all." As he finished, he swore he heard Shiori say his name. he turned around with a smile. Clearly the whole magic issue was almost completely off his conscience now. One could almost see it dissipating from his thought process. "Yes?"



(((Tohru Adachi poses.)))<br>
"Oh. Oh! Errr... right! I knew that!" Adachi tells Shirou hurriedly, followed by a nervous laugh that trails off. ...Wow, those really are some complicated hand gestures. "...uhhhh. Sekigawa-kun, you... probably shouldn't do that in public again. ...It's *really* embarrassing."

He rubs the back of his head again, considering. Well, Shiori ignored him, but he can give as good as he gets. He checks his watch--hmmm, he really should get on with what he's doing here anyway. Looks like Yoh and Shiori are going to talk between themselves for now, so it's not his business anymore. "I'm gonna have to get going," he announces. "It was nice talking to you kids again. Stay out of trouble, y'hear? Well, g'night!"

And with that, the detective moves to head on his way.



(((Shirou Sekigawa poses.)))<br>
Shirou smirks a bit. "It's a well known fact that we Sekigawa boys have very little concept of embarrassment or shame. Just ask our father." He says with a dry laugh, as he bows to Adachi. "Take care, Adachi-san, say hi to Shion-san if you see her before I do..." 

He stifles a bit of a yawn himself, nodding to his friends. "Franklly I gotta run too guys, sorry. Didn't expect to run into anyone... something I'll have to correct next time I make plans." He grins, and bows again. "And... yeah, I'm dating Thora, Yoh-san. Never made a /huge/ deal about it but... yeah. I heard." He shrugs a bit. "So, I'll talk to you two later, alright?" He grins, getting a hold of his bag and heading off in the direction he was going... which is likely also away from Adachi.



(((Shiori Hibiki poses.)))<br>
Did you have any strange dreams? Did you meet an old man with a long nose that is really quite distracting, making it more or less the only thing you remember from his portentous conversations? Did you know you can now summon mythological beings from your head to cast magic? ... there really was no way for Shiori to raise the subject, was there.

She blinked, as Adachi's question finally registered with her. "Oh! I, er, it's nothing, Adachi-san. I'm fine. Really. I'm, uh." What was the description she'd heard used about her? "Just kind of easily-worried by nature. Sorry. It's absolutely nothing," she repeated, mugging hopefully.

Shiori remembered her time as a Shadow-Possessed. Being so close to the part of herself that had the ability to sense anything and everything around her was... fun. She could see the world with new eyes, listen to secrets whispered through the ether, know things that she would never have suspected before. And all that, without even going into her Shadow form.

And now it was all reduced to tiny little nudges, doubts, and suspicions. Shiori was going through withdrawal like a particularly weak-willed addict. Shiori shook her head at Yoh. "It's nothing, Yamagatani-san. Just..."

Dammit, she /had/ to, or she'd never be able to live with herself afterward. "Just remember what we said about Kandori-san, all right?" Shiori started backing away, bobbing her head in farewell. "And, uh... stayoutofPortIslandatnightpleaseokaybye!"

Flee. Oddly enough, Shiori's hands were over her ears, as though she was trying not to hear something.



(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))<br>
Huh, strange, everyone was leaving all of the sudden. As they leave, he bids them good fortune, and bows to each. He would make sure nextime he met these people, that this magic nonsense would not be brought up. Though ti was strange hwo Shiori took her leave. For some reason, he thought she would say and do something different... Oh well, it isn't a big deal anyway.

Well, it was his usual time to head to the Lunarvale Shrine to have some alone time before going home. He had quite a bit to meditate upon, and for once, it wasn't about a stressful situation. A wonderful reprieve to the teenager. As he walks off, he punches the post one last time. Rather hard. He looks back to the spot he hit.

A scuff mark! He's getting better.