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Spring Clean; [Sayako]
Topic Started: Aug 7 2017, 12:44 AM (92 Views)
Nonsequitur
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Yellow Bubblegum
The email she sent to Sayako was simple enough. She had a question for Sayako and had asked her if she could have made it to her place in order to ask in person if she could make it as soon as she was able. That was the easy part. Making sure her apartment was presentable enough for guests was another matter entirely.

She was hardly a slob, but she had been falling somewhat behind on housecleaning between work and having next to no energy. Of course she realized this fact well after she'd already sent the invite and far too late to delay that part until she'd already made sure that her place looked up to snuff.

So she was left organizing things, dusting, sweeping, and every other thing that she'd all deferred to for a later date. It was probably how she was going to spend one of her precious off days anyways, but the sense of urgency that required it all got taken care of at once wasn't entirely welcome.

She wiped the sweat from her brow and seemed approved that her place would have passed a serious inspection. All that was left was for her guest to arrive. In the mean time, the casually dressed Maki decided to help herself to a well-deserved bottle of diet soda while she awaited her arrival.
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
Sayako hadn't been expecting Maki Yamada to contact her again so soon, much less for something other than recreational purposes. Yet the police detective had a question for her, and one that she felt compelled to ask in person, no less. Sayako had said that she would be there soon. But she had not gone directly to the address stated. Instead she had taken a bus to the ball, meandered about the video store as usual, and when the opportunity presented itself, she had slipped into a group of chattering teens and disappeared into the crowd, making her way quickly back to the bus stop and arriving (as planned) just in time for the next bus. It would take her to the Maki's neighborhood, and there would be no chance of her being followed. She didn't know if her family was watching her, but spending a bit of extra time taking precautions could only be a good idea.

So she arrived a little later than she would have liked, stopping in front of Maki's apartment door and raising her hand to quickly knock. She was confident that no one could have followed her, as there had been no time for anyone but her to board the bus that had passed that particular stop. She stood there, a bottle of lemonade from a mall vending machine in hand, half-full and coated in cold condensation. She sipped it as she waited, wondering what her friend might have to ask. If it was in person, it might have to do with either her family... or the "Persona" things they had discussed the last time they'd talked.
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Nonsequitur
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Yellow Bubblegum
The redheaded detective answered the door in a slate gray and well-worn Rokujima University athletics department shirt and black tights both lightly peppered with errant dust particles. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she smiled warmly as she saw Sayako. It was a far cry different than the usual steely gaze, serious posture and professional demeanor she wore when she was working. It all probably suggested that what she wanted to speak to her about wasn't dire or tied to some looming threat.

”Ah, do come in, please have a seat.” She stepped aside to allow her entry. ”Can I get you anything? I hope that request didn't sound too ominous.” She spared a glance in the hallway behind her. There was little reason for her to be followed, in the grand scheme of things but there was no such thing as too many precautions when dealing with safety, after all.

It was probably best to get to the subject at hand as quickly as possible, but she supposed a preamble to it didn't hurt. She closed the door behind her before she spoke. ”Sayako-san. I'd like your honest opinion on something. I'm going to ask you if you're interested in meeting someone. Though there's obviously no obligation to do so if you're not interested.”
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
When the door opened and Sayako saw Maki standing there dressed casually and looking a little bit dusty, she couldn't help putting her hand to her mouth to stiffle a giggle. She stepped inside when Maki welcomed her in, and looked around. She'd noticed Maki looking past her, so she laughed, turned to face her, and said:

"If anyone was following me, I shook 'em off at the mall. I was able to sneak into that hideout the other day for a reason. No one's tailing me anywhere without me knowing!" Then: "You rushed to clean up before I got here, didn't you?"

She reached over and brushed a bit of the dust from Maki's shoulder. But then she let her smile fade away as she considered the implications of what Maki was asking. Asking if she wanted to meet someone? Sayako stepped back, considering what it could mean. Her answer probably came as a surprise to Maki:

"...Is this about my family?" she asked. "Or... that prediction of my death, that Aizawa-san told me about?"
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Nonsequitur
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Yellow Bubblegum
”More or less.” She admitted to the delayed cleaning. ”I probably shouldn't have put it off so much. My mother probably would have been mortified if she'd known I'd did that.” That had quite a bit of levity to it.

The question of tails being a necessity in a friendly conversation did not. ”Be that as it may, I may be considered a known quantity in at least two dangerous groups and possibly more. I like to take extra precautions in case they are monitoring my home.” She didn't think either was bold enough to try striking at her directly, but if they were keeping track of who went into and out of her place that could have been nearly as bad.

Sayako had more or less guessed why she had been summoned there. Maki nodded. ”Indeed. As it so happens, part of my job is protecting a cousin of yours and her own family. The Morinagas have seen fit to make attempts on their lives in the name of bloodline purity.” It really all sounded like something out of a children's manga. That there was an entire family of people that took it seriously enough to kill for was equal parts depressing and infuriating to Maki. ”There's a degree of risk to both of you in this meeting. But you also both deserve to know some family not bent on something monstrous if you so wish to.”

She wasn't exactly surprised that she knew of the prediction despite her refusal to partake of bedlam. It was possibly interesting that she learned of it from who she assumed was Natsumi Aizawa, though. Her father owned the bar that was to be the staging area for another convoluted family-centric plot, wasn't it? ”I wouldn't worry about that prediction. They are not infallible, and I have no intention of letting anyone die if I can prevent it anyways.”
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
So, it wasn't the prediction. Maki actually wanted to introduce her to her relative in this city. It wasn't exactly sudden, but Sayako still didn't entirely feel ready for it. She turned to walk further into the apartment, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear as she considered the prospect, biting her lower lip as worry after worry crossed her mind. Oh, there was no mistake that she wanted this. But she had refused to expose herself to much of the Persona-related things happening in this city for fear of the information eventually finding its way into her family's hands... could she be any less careful about the location and identity of her cousins? This question felt so complicated that it actually succeeded in driving the death-prediction completely from her mind.

"May I sit down? I think... I need to think," Sayako admitted, her face and voice both obviously troubled. "This is... I don't know what to think!"

And she turned around and flopped onto the nearest comfortable seat without waiting for Maki to actually grant her permission. She bent down to remove her outdoor shoes at this point, realizing that she'd forgotten to do while she was at the doorway. While she was occupied with this, she looked up, frowning at Maki.

"Wait, you said that my family has made 'attempts' on their lives," said Sayako slowly. "As in, they failed. One of my cousins went missing not long ago... we haven't heard from him."

A pause.

"There was a death," Sayako said, without feeling the need to ask. She sat up, surprised at how serenely she was able to come to this conclusion and to voice it. "One of these relatives of mine was attacked, and used a Persona in self-defense."
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Nonsequitur
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Yellow Bubblegum
”Of course.” Sayako didn't wait for permission, but Maki didn't mind. She understood that what she offered was not a thing to be taken lightly, after all. There were far more wrinkles in the situation than there ever should have been. And it wasn't the only major issue that had to be addressed in that.

Maki nodded. ”As I understand it, yes. I was called to look into that after the fact.” The full truth had a bit of recursive quality in regards to these matters in general. ”Actually, not long after that I had to assist this relative I'm offering to introduce you to into remaining out of sight and harms way. Though that can't be done indefinitely. It's hard to go into hiding and live your life simultaneously, after all.” If she guessed that much, it shouldn't be a large leap of logic to puzzle out why Maki hadn't mentioned this relative by name yet.

”The issue of the Morinaga family's actions in general haven't been resolved to satisfaction, yet.” And until they put away the older members and see to it the yougner ones aren't left in such a toxic family environment, it probably won't for some time.

”I know it's not an easy choice I'm giving you, but it is your choice to make and you've been left in the dark about things long enough. You don't have tn answer me now, just consider things carefully and come back to it when you're ready.”
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