wipingallout

"I know, I know...I have been looking into aloevera as you suggested," he remarked before directly in- slurping down on the noodles with ease of a professional or that he barely had any breakfast. "Mhm! Delicious!"

For a minute or two he focuses mostly on his food and drinks but keeps up with some small talk.

"I am getting to the swing of things. Cycling, walking long distances...maybe I will even pick up jogging. A friend of mine really enjoyed doing that and I have all the time in the world now so," he set the chopsticks aside to drink more soda- letting the warmth settle in with the drink's sweet tanginess.

"Did you often come here?"

"I sure did! This was a favorite spot for two of my senpai, and my friend Junpei and I would come around from time to time. I was either here, or in Wakatsu for the seafood special, or on the ground floor visiting the old couple that ran the book store," Hamuko reminisced fondly, face flush from good food, cozy steam from the broth, and lovely memories.

"Jogging is SO nice - I like to run with Koromaru in the morning or evening. We usually go to the shrine from the dorms, I'll rest for a bit and he plays with all of his animal friends in that area, then we head on home. Did you ever have a dog, Maruki-san?"

Man, she was a busy soul. "You vaguely remind me of Akira-kun's schedule- I was almost mind boggled when I asked him what he's planning to do through a day and you don't seem any different." He paused for a moment to chow down on the egg. "What impeccable time management skills- I am always impressed by it-!"

Which in conclusion basically meant he couldn't even fathom how sometimes.

Ah, Koramaru was the dog who was also a persona-user, wasn't he? That animal fascinated him so much just as much as he would have love to pet him if he gets the chance. He sounded just as adorable from what Hamuko described, making Takuto smile just so.

"Alas no, I never got the time to take care of one. One of my friends in my hometown did when I was really young but never after that. My research ended up taking most of the time," he rubs the bottom of his nose with an index.

"That said- I do always carry pet food on me. Especially for the stray dogs or cats I find on my way from work."

"Oh my god, me too! Hehehe, there were always strays around a couple of the stations... Theo even asked me once to make sure one of the kittens was fed, and I had already been working on getting her comfortable enough to approach when I had cat food!"

It was funny, sometimes, how much they shared in common. Maybe that's why she saw the best in him, and wanted to try and bring it out.

With an amused hum, she ate one of the eggs in her ramen.

"If you're jogging, there's no better jogging buddy than a dog, I swear. Especially one as smart as Koromaru - he's the best listener I know! And I swear he definitely understands Japanese... then again, Aigis could talk to him and a lot of animals, so animals in general are probably way smarter than we give them credit for."

"You just have to make sure they are comfortable and you aren't scary enough that they will scratch you if you push them too much," he shook his head fondly as he gazed down and caught hints of some scars left by a kitty for almost...ages ago. It's still pretty noticeable through his dress shirt that he had rolled up to his elbows paired with the usual pair of trousers.

"What if I told you that a quite a lot of animals, especially dogs are known to mirror how you feel?" he points out, literally with a pair of chopsticks aimed her way. "If you are excited, they become happy and if there's a negative emotion involved, they whine. Kind of like a 2 year old child."

"That said...I have seen and heard of the general group of phantom thieves but your group looks so much diverse. I don't want to pry at Aigis's situation just yet but I have to ask- what exactly prompted Koromaru to awaken? I only have distinct theories about awakenings so far so it makes me curious."

Edited 2025-05-28 00:37 (UTC)

"Koromaru used to live at the shrine I'll be taking you to... he used to belong to a priest, there. He kept guarding the shrine even after the priest had died in an accident, and the neighborhood regularly took care of him - one night, he ended up fighting during the Dark Hour and defending the shrine from shadows. We think that's how he Awakened - Akihiko-senpai was there to catch the tail end of it and fend off the shadows before Koromaru was overwhelmed."

She pauses to pick up her bowl, tipping it to sip at the warm, cozy broth.

"I'm not surprised about the mirroring thing... I bet a lot of social animals work really similarly, just like us humans. And dogs have evolved and changed to understand us so well, too - if there was ever going to be an animal awakening, I would've guessed a dog, too. They're the closest to us, with cats coming in a close second."

A dog standing by a priest's side and then guarding the shrine when the time comes. It sounded like something out of a story but perhaps he really shouldn't underestimate how loyal dogs can be. There was the dog in Akira's neighbourhood he remembered petting and his owner had in a grievance admitted that their dog had fallen ill. His gaze drifts, a solemn look passing over his eyes as he tried to recall how does he remember all of that. He simply does. He remembers another passed away pet that a young employee in Kichijoji grieved for. Or even one of his neighbours...

He slurps down on more noodles, mind slightly distracted as he looks at Hamuko to focus on her.

"...by that logic wouldn't a dolphin be able to awaken to a persona as well? They connect really well with humans after all or those who walk on land simply have more of an advantage," he jokes as he goes for his glass of soda.

Wasn't Akira's cat a persona user? His expression lowered again as he remembered the little gap where...didn't he wish to be human? Morgana- he knew what his wish was.
That certainly isn't something an animal would wish for.

Where is his mind going to?

He keeps his confusion concealed to the best of his ability by regarding Hamuko again. "Do you get along with the Koromaru here?"

"I do! Maybe because he comes from a world where another 'me' was his leader, so the scent is probably the same. We go on walks all the time," Hamuko laughed fondly, resting her cheek on her palm.

"You know, maybe dolphins and orcas do have Personas... maybe they're having deep-sea world-saving adventures that none of us have any idea about!"

"Hmmmm, you might not be too far off with that theory. Only 20% of the ocean has been explored so far and seeing the extent to which a cognitive location can exist- maybe the reason why we can't explore beyond could be more...supernatural rather than the scientific answer that you are being crushed by of the pressure." He grinned teasingly, entertaining her thought.

"It sounds more fun anyway. I haven't looked that deeply into animal cognition- mostly because a lot of animals fail to pass the mirror self-recognition test, which basically pinpoints recognizing your own identity-"

"You think Igor would let us deep dive into the Pacific? That is- if we end up avoiding me not becoming a sea snack."

"Do you think Igor has a secret contract with some humpback whales? Do they know the tarot and use fusion to unlock new Personas, too? Is there a dolphin Wild Card?"

MAN... it was getting funnier and more fantastical to think about by the minute.

"But maybe he wouldn't tell us because he's respecting utmost secrecy for his dear aquatic guests...!"

"Maybe the reason we can't meet them here is because they are all underwater-!" Maruki tagged along with being more silly- logic out of the window.

Sometimes, it was fun to indulge in flights of fancy - and even this flight didn't seem THAT unattainable, to Hamuko, who was so deeply familiar with Koromaru.

"Heck, with Koromaru proving Personas, there might be wild animals out there all over the place that are fighting against the shadows from their 'world' of thought. Or maybe because humans have taken over pretty much everywhere, they're fighting all of our shadows!"

Maruki couldn't help but shake his head at the sheer ridiculousness of their conversation, eyes crinkled as he focused on more of the ramen. His skin almost feels like...its glowing? Interesting.

"I can't imagine lasting before a bear in a 10 metre radius...and you are telling me I need to worry about a bear having a persona? No thanks," he shook his head. "Sign me out of that."

"Still, that point aside- I am glad you and Koromaru are getting along. I was worried that the dog would be in that...boy's team. I am not sure how the alternative universes work just yet- I believe there is a Makoto and a Minato, yeah?"

"Yup! I bet even if Koromaru's 'Leader' was Makoto or Minato, he'd still get along with me. Koromaru is extremely friendly with people."

She'd been saving one of her eggs until partway through the soup... now was the time to strike. Ah hah, delicious egg...!

"I've been keeping an eye out for them. Because I think, well... in some universes, he might be my brother. Maybe in some universes, in that car fire, I'm not the one that makes it out of there and he does instead. So... I wonder if I might get to see what my brother might've grown up to be like."

Idly, she stirred at the broth and noodles still in her bowl, staring into it in thought.

The doctor feels an unusual tug in his heart as he regards her and her body language after she struck upon that egg. He remains quiet, reaching for his soda and taking a quick sip of it but never allowing his eyes to leave her.

Maybe in some universes, in that car fire, I'm not the one that makes it out of there and he does instead.

"Ah...the incident," Maruki recalled from the first day when Hamuko admitted about her family's death before Thanatos and now the mention of it again. Her brother...the thought of it made his expression become sombre.

"That's only natural after all," he nods- letting her stay with her thoughts but offering ripples of direction. "Were you two close? Back in your world?"

"As close as seven year olds can be, I think. We didn't really fight, we were both quiet kids... I remember our parents praising us for being so well-behaved."

It's an old loss, over a decade now, and... while it does still have its ache, it's not as fresh. The nightmares would sometimes make it feel raw again, but she bounced back faster from them more and more.

After a beat, she lifted her bowl and sipped down more broth. It was warm... comforting.

"I was quiet for a long, long time after that, too. It really only was once I moved to this area that I thought... this time, I'm going to actually talk to people. I'm not going to be the gloomy girl disappearing in the back of the class - I want to be the kind of girl my parents would've wanted to see me grow up to be. So... I want to see how different that my brother would've grown, too."

Seven...how young. Maruki's attends to his ramen so that their interaction remains informal. This isn't counselling, he's just hearing her out. As a friend. He's careful about this and he wants to help her in every way he can to get her out of the crisis but they are still eating out. He needs to remember that.

I'm not going to be the gloomy girl disappearing in the back of the class-

Her need to push herself past her hurting. To reach out to others even when her heart ached, surely it did now, didn't it? Now that all was said and done and she was brought here amongst ghosts, scientists, criminals and the ordinary. "What you went through, Hamuko-san...I understand all too well. Loss has its tendency of seeping into the very cracks of your psyche and sometimes, getting up from it can cause those cracks to dig deeper."

"I hope you get to see your brother here some day...I believe he will be proud of how far you've come. Now for what you've done for the whole world but the steps you have taken to take care of yourself as well."

"I just hope you aren't being burdened by your own expectations. It's okay to process that gloom and move past it at your own pace."

Edited 2025-05-30 14:39 (UTC)

"Yeah. There's gloom, but at least it's not just gloom, you know? There's... hmm. I'm really excited to see him, I'm excited this place is giving me the chance."

That was definitely true, definitely genuine. Oh, it was probably going to be SO awkward, but that's okay... she was curious anyway. What does he look like? What music does he listen to? What's his favorite food, these days?

"Even if getting up might mean deepening the cracks, it also means finding a warm hand to hold. Maybe two, maybe three... I hope my brother in other lives got to feel that, too."

Even if it isn't just gloom, does it even matter in the long run? The pain will always be there, its roots latched onto you until your being is enslaved by the horrors of your own past. He won't try to bring up any of those points like that just yet- there is no reason to dwell on it just yet.

Not when Hamuko is hopeful. And excited in a different way than he's usually seen her- mellow. Genuine.

"A battle feels easier when you are not fighting it alone, isn't it?"

"The bonds that you forge... the deepest, most meaningful ones... they make life worth living."

With the last of her ramen eaten, Hamuko sighed in some satisfaction, pulling her glass of water close to sip at it and refresh.

"What does he think of everyone in SEES? Did he date any of them, too? Is he also a complete sucker for Mitsuru, or is he the kind of boyfriend that Yukari would've wanted? Maybe he liked boys like how I also like girls, and he also dated Aki. Stuff like that."

Edited 2025-05-30 20:18 (UTC)

Maruki went back to pick off the last of the ramen left in the bowl- watching the conversation sober up to a more relaxing topic. While he slurped at the last set of noodles, the things that Arisato mentioned was well..

How can he say it?

"...do you have multiple partners, Hamuko-san?"

"Ehehe, well, not here I don't..." Hamuko giggled, cupping her cheeks in her hands. If there was more leg room, she'd be silly and kick her feet a little. "Just one girl here. But back home, I was dating Shinjiro-senpai, Akihiko-senpai, Mitsuru-senpai, Aigis, Ryoji..."

A little sheepish giggle.

"I have always gotten crushes on people super SUPER easily... boys are so cute and funny... girls are so pretty and dignified... I kind of stumbled into confessing to all three of my senpai at the same time. I've never felt like I liked any one of them 'more' than the other or anything, I love all of them so much..." she sighed a little wistfully, sipping her drink.

Maruki's eyes widened by a fraction at each mention of a name. Not two, nor three...but five!! "You're kidding!"

He hummed in deep thought as he clasped his chin and considered her point of view. The idea of multiple partners and her affinity to have a crush on others- sure enough, he supposes. ~~He can't even begin to imagine loving anyone beyond Rumi, not with his research that needed his undivided attention.~~

"Hahah-! That's really intriguing!" he can't help but chuckle, smile sincere. "I remember back in Shujin Academy where I spoke with a few students about relationship problems. I wouldn't say names but man...high school life. There's so much cheer and brilliance in those years..."

"They're the most meaningful first dates, and the most painful first breakups!! It's something special," Hamuko giggled in delight.

"The girls around here are so cute, too... I got to flirt with a cute girl at the cherry blossom party, and I've been going on dates with Sumi... oh, the one that goes by 'Violet', I mean! She's so pretty, and so quietly clever..." she practically swooned, delighted. "And she even lives in the dorm with us, too, so it's easy to catch her and tag along for a walk or go exercise or get ingredients to cook together!"

Once he was done with his bowl, Maruki set it aside and rested his chin on the knuckles of his palm- staring at her all too carefully while he listened to her gushing about her memories. How sweet...and reminscent of his time in Shujin. He missed the students there who consulted with him about their problems despite everything he's ever done to prevent that pain from affecting them ever again.

As he goes for his glass one last time to finish the soda, what Hamuko starts gushing about next catches him off guard.

So much so he ends up choking on his drink, hacking up heavy noises as he puts the glass down to cover for his coughing which only seems to come down in successive waves-!

Sumi... Sumire Yoshizawa? That's who she's dating here?! And she's here, having lunch with him- what's her play here? Does she even know about the treatment?

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tw: mentions of animal death in head

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