the emperor's omen

[putonagoodshow]

Who: Ideo Hazama and open!
Where: Sagittarius, generally
Summary: Ideo's a little frustrated after a certain network post went up. So, he's off to work off stress!
Warnings: Ideo being broody as usual...???

It had taken him a good ten minutes to literally pry himself from his computer in R&D. He'd left Ceu in charge of the lab, made his way through the building's fluorescent lights, and braced himself for the strong winds. The weather was predicting clouds tomorrow, and with how blustery it'd been, he could easily believe it.

He hadn't bothered to bundle himself up however, just stepped out on to the street with his lab coat flapping. If he got a cold, it'd sort of be a welcome relief- he hadn't realized how tense he'd been lately until that post. Maybe he was working too hard?

Or maybe he was just overly worried...it was sort of the season for him.

Ideo didn't really have a destination in mind; he just walked the streets with his shoulders hunched, waiting for his nerves to calm down enough that he could return to work. But he didn't realize how far he'd walked from the building...

Comments

[drakenguard]

Yamato was in the Sagittarius ward to mostly browse the weapons selection in the area. Although he normally used magical attacks, rather than physical, he still preferred to stock up on weaponry in case worse came to worse.

And who should he run into but - ah, the man, Ideo, he believed. Yamato hadn't spoken to him until he applied for the job at the labs - he understood he was on hold until the red tape was cleared, but the silence had been so long...

Well, it wasn't as if Yamato was doing much with his time.

So yes, have Yamato come walking down the street towards you, Ideo. He's hard to miss.

[putonagoodshow]

Ideo looked up after counting about fourty-five squares of pavement, checking to see if he was about to walk in to the middle of traffic, before smiling wryly at the familiar teen.

"Hotsuin-san!"

Of course, there was some odd trace of guilt in that call, considering he'd still not been able to get the proper authorization to get Yamato hired, but he was...working on it.

Sigh.

[drakenguard]

"Hazama," Yamato greeted once he was close enough not to raise to his voice to be heard. He slipped his hands into his coat pockets, inclining his head toward the other man. "Have you just left your laboratory?"

Still in your lab coat...unless you wore that as casual wear as well...

[putonagoodshow]

What is taking off his lab coat ever???

"I needed a breather." Ideo kept his head hunched in to his shoulders, giving a weak sort of laugh as he looked back at the building in the distance. Whoops, he sort of...went really far away. "I guess I got distracted..."

[drakenguard]

Yamato stared down at Ideo a little, frowning at how he was hunching into himself like some sort of shy turtle. "Is there a problem?"

[putonagoodshow]

"...not really. I'm just, ah, wound up." Ideo pulled one of his hands out of his pockets, ruffling his hair with an actual sigh. "That thing on the network, the teleportation mishaps, small politics, and I've been working overtime these past two weeks. I guess I just needed a break."

Ideo sort of, awkwardly pursed his lips, before tilting his head strangely. "Actually, I do have something to discuss with you about your employment- do you mind if we step in somewhere for, I don't know, coffee? So we can discuss it?"

[drakenguard]

All of that sounds like small potatoes to Yamato. He had juggled just as much for most of his life, but he just makes a small, non-committal noise in the back of his throat in response. Not everyone was trained to handle so much pressure for a long period of time.

At the mention of employment however - ah, his interest is clearly snagged.

"Certainly. I have time."

Right. Coffee shop. It was the industrial district but surely there's one for the workers or something nearby.

[putonagoodshow]

"There's a shortcut down the side-street, here..."

Luckily, it did seem to be nearby- but the walk was oddly silent. It was only after a right turn and some more trekking that Ideo finally unhunched himself, pushing in to the small coffee shop. Most of the staff, oddly, seemed to be demonic- though Ideo wouldn't have come here if he hadn't figured his company would be okay with that.

He almost immediately slid in to a specific booth by the window, 'burrr'ing off the cold for a second before picking up a pad of paper off the table, writing something down.

"Do you want anything while we're here? I can cover you, in exchange for the wait on your employment."

[meaningdies]

Naoya had been exploring the city more as he was responding to the post. He needed to see something new, and so he headed to the Sagittarius district, since he hadn't explored that district much.

... The boy in the labcoat caught his eye, and he followed along behind him. Not close enough to make him nervous, but not so far as to lose sight of him.

If nothing else, the reaction might be interesting.

[putonagoodshow]

It wasn't hard for one as paranoid as Ideo to notice someone persistently behind him for more than a block. Truthfully, he would have done this for anyone, but there was a familiar enough nagging in the back of his head to make him sure this was a persona-user.

Thus, Ideo only let the walk continue like that for about two blocks, before abruptly sighing and shaking his head as he stopped in the street.

"Do you have a question, or are you bored?"

[meaningdies]

"The latter, mostly. Though your Persona is... quite interesting. I wonder what could have caused that to be a reflection of your self."

'Demon King', indeed. The one who had a Persona like that with them was someone worth watching, for obvious reasons. As to how rude that statement probably was? He didn't care.

[putonagoodshow]

Ideo seemed to tense at that, hardening his face as much as he could. He was silent as he sized up Naoya, not moving aside from his eyes. He was probably scared, to be quite honest. Even if he were a stronger persona user than most guests...

"An old mistake that I would like to leave in the past." ...he knew the power of rumors. Not to its full depth, but more than most- and he couldn't risk one spreading about such things. "What does it mean to you?"

[meaningdies]

He could see that fear, and. Well. It was entertaining, to say the least. He'd had to push things so carefully at home - and it wasn't as if he wanted to cause so much chaos on a widespread scale, but pushing peoples' buttons was usually a good time. He grinned.

"Someone I know quite well has that title as well. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

[putonagoodshow]

That had an odd effect- Ideo both seemed to relax, and also grow more suspicious.

"Makai has taken a new "emperor", then? I'm surprised- I thought I would have heard about such sooner."

[meaningdies]

"Ah... perhaps not the one connected to your world. The one connected to mine, though... yes."

He'd gotten relatively comfortable with this multiple worlds thing pretty quickly.

[greyerrant]

A ghost, if a ghost can be 8 feet tall and clad in battle plate, trails after Ideo as he goes through the rather dangerous streets of the Sagittarius. He watches him, eye-slits red.

[putonagoodshow]

Ideo's shoulders remained hunched the entire walk as he turned down street after sidestreet, eventually stopping short in front of one of the weapon shops. His gaze lingered an oddly long time, before he eventually seemed to sigh, and duck inside the store.

Follow?

[greyerrant]

Loken will continue to follow, ghosting after him with interest behind his eyeslits.

[ghost_shield]

False alarms are always such a pain in the kiester. What had been thought of as a ghost turned out just to be a few rats in a pipe, and so all Nick could do was charge a minimal fee for calling him out in the first place -- and recommending they call an exterminator instead.

He sighs as he steps out of one of the factories, taking his glasses off a bit to polish them. He stops, noticing the kid in the lab coat. He seems young to be a lab tech. ...then again, thinking of some of the people he knows back HOME...

Nick isn't sure if he's the best person to be engaging in conversation right now after that little disaster. Still, he does find himself watching the guy. Maybe it's because he's the most noticeable person on the street.

[putonagoodshow]

Ideo seemed like he wasn't going to notice the man at all- until the situation itself seemed to come in to perspective. Someone leaving that factory, apparently with Potential if his senses are keen enough, and...

"Oh...did they call you?"

Ideo struck up a conversation himself, stopping awkwardly to look up at the building.

"That factory, I mean. Are you the spirit medium I spoke with on the COMP?"

[ghost_shield]

"Huh?" Oh hey. "Yeah, that's me. It was a false alarm, though. Apparently they have an infestation of the sort that's out of my job description." Bleah. "Ah, you're..." He DID kind of speak with a lot of folks via COMP.

[putonagoodshow]

"Ideo Hazama, I'm one of the Seven." He gave an awkward laugh up at the building, shaking his head.

"They called me last week- they thought it was a demon infestation. I told them there were rats, but they wouldn't believe me. I guess they moved on to you after...sorry about that."

[ghost_shield]

Ah ha! "I see! So you were the one who was helping new folks out a while back. I'm Nick Reeve. A pleasure." He holds a hand out to shake.

He rubs the back of his neck. "I guess in an atmosphere like this, you get a bit jumpy, huh? I can't really negotiate with rats, though. I, uh, don't speak the language." He pauses. "Unless squeaky squeak means something."

[putonagoodshow]

Ideo doesn't seem to mind shaking his hand, but immediately adjusts his silk gloves the second the shake is over. "Likewise, Mr. Reeve."

He actually gave a small little snort at the squeaky, shaking his head again. "I only wish. Some demons can commune with animals, but I sure can't either."

[ghost_shield]

"Is that so? I have to admit, I haven't dealt too much with demons back home. Most of my dealings were..." He tries to think of a diplomatic term. "Kinda unpleasant."

Putting it super mildly there, man.