- 0 - The Fool
- Minako Arisato: Insert Shakespeare Quote Here
- Quotes:
- Originally introduced to her by Mai, Minako exhibits a perpetual effervescent spirit that Naomi has come to admire and envy. While their encounters have been sparse and brief, the Spencer heiress liked her instantly, and is perhaps the only person she humors tacking a -chan to her name. Even after the disastrous public kiss she shared with Tatsuya at the charity function, even now Naomi couldn't hate her due to her innocence and well-meaning personality. She will, however, always associate her name to that heartwrenching moment.
- III - The Empress
- Mitsuru Kirijo: "Take that life, beseech you, which I so often owe; but your ring first, and here the bracelet of the truest princess that ever swore her faith." -- Cymbeline; Act V, Scene 5
- Quotes:
- "There are two kinds of dreams. Those what we wish for and those that we create. Even if acceptance is nothing something we will not see, it is still something we must strive for. We have to give those who come after us a foundation with which to build upon."
- "I would not call it throwing away our lives. We risk them every day by simply being out there, facing the dangers that we do. This... I would consider this more a precaution. There is never anything wrong with being prepared, even if the eventual apocalypse never happens."
- Once upon a time, there were two princesses who spent most of their early childhood together. Some would say that Mitsuru was the first "real" friend Naomi has ever made in her life, and vice-versa. They went to the same educational institutions, rubbed elbows with the same elitist constituents... they were even in fencing club together when they were old enough to wield foils safely. Naomi made her laugh, while Mitsuru did her best to encourage Naomi's independent streak (within reason) and dragged her to every high-class French restaurant within ready access. With tragedies assailing both Kirijo and Spencer families within precious few years of each other, the two girls have fallen out of touch, but never forgot one another. Now, with Mitsuru being the figurehead of SEES, and Naomi being a high-ranking member of KNOWS's Daybreak Squad, will their fondest memories of one another survive the strain of being on the opposite sides of the line? Covertly, they have been seeing more of one another lately, in hopes of rekindling the degree of sisterhood they have lost. Her recent departure from KNOWS has only steamrolled the re-development of their lost kinship, culminating into a night of drunken shenanigans in Tokyo and later on an impromptu sleepover at Naomi's penthouse. While Mitsuru still considers Naomi as one of her kouhais (and in fact her first one), given their one year age gap, they talk to one another as equals. Mitsuru has recently confided in her some of the darker aspects of the Kirijo family history, circumstances that are dire enough that she was initially afraid Naomi would turn her away after hearing about it. However, the other ojou remained by her side and reaffirmed her promises to the Kirijo heiress that she'll always be around when she needs her. The two ojous have more recently collaborated on a years-long plan, dubbed the Dante Initiative, in a painstaking effort to prevent Persona-users from being outed into public awareness, or if/once outed, establish measures in place to deal with such a devastating fallout. They have continued, since then, to keep in constant contact with one another, further rekindling their lost sisterhood. Naomi has recently advised her, in the rare moments in which Mitsuru shows anyone her more youthful side, that "indirect kisses" are a myth.
- V - The Hierophant
- Shinjiro Aragaki: "He expressed no regret for what he had done which satisfied her; his style was not penitent, but haughty. It was all pride and insolence." -- Pride and Prejudice; Chapter 36
- Quotes:
- "...maybe you'd like to tell me what the hell you were thinkin', walkin' through here. This ain't a place for you, 'jousan."
- "You might as well just come with me. No one'll fuck with you if you're with me."
- Quite possibly the only person who can effortlessly knock Naomi's signature calm off-balance by his sheer presence (or, to be more accurate, impressively oppressive resonance), Shinjiro is a mystery wrapped in a puzzle wrapped in an enigma. His dichotomous nature has many a time forced her to backtrack and question her own perceptions of him...and even during the same conversation. This does not, however, keep her from calling him out on certain truths and being "troublesome." She has also noticed distinct similarities between him and Tatsuya Suou, though they fall short from declaring them pure counterparts of one another as she has also observed one very important difference between them. His dapper appearance in a suit with the stylish and beautiful Ran Itoh on his arm nearly caused a cerebral meltdown thanks to the sudden incongruity between this and her prior outlook on him. Recent confrontations have marginally changed her earlier first impressions; while he's still an uncouth and rough-mannered delinquent, she has seen other sides of him that mark him deep down as a caring and decent individual, and more prone to his own brand of mischief than meets the eye. She has also teased him for being devastatingly attractive, because he is, much to his chagrin and flustered frustration. It's easy to come to the conclusion that Naomi has a bit of a crush on Shinjiro, given his attractiveness and the passionate, rakish nature she glimpses now and then, and if asked, she would freely admit it. Regardless of that, however, she has high hopes for him and Ran in the future, desirous to see Shinjiro finally letting himself have something worth keeping for once in his life. She likes it when Shinjiro calls her "ojou-chan," and teases him constantly about it and is prone to doing this in tandem with Mitsuru, much to his undying chagrin. An encounter with him in an isolated and secluded Port Island area nearly killed her, which spurred a further conversation regarding his past and the accidental death of Ken Amada's mother in his hands. While the Spencer heiress told him that the act was inexcusable, she is gratified to see him undertake active efforts in seeking atonement for that past crime, especially when he was never prosecuted in a court of law for it. Their friendship developed further when the two of them were taken by Russian mercenaries and scientists connected to Shinjiro's year-absent father; an event that propelled the both of them to support one another during their captivity. These days, Naomi shares a cozy and comfortable friendship with him, and they occasionally see each other to catch up. Normally, she is the first person Shinjiro calls when he needs help with a certain redhaired ojou.
- VIII - Justice
- Kai Nakamoto: "In that day's feats, when he might act the woman in the scene, he prov'd best man i' th' field, and for his meed was brow-bound with the oak." -- Coriolanus; Act II, Scene 2
- Quotes:
- "It's fine, but...I'm just wondering what that would say about me."
- A first year when he should be a senior, most of the circumstances regarding Kai's situation continues to mystify Naomi given he was far from a simpleton. Nevertheless, she is presently tutoring him so that he would be eligible to take an acceleration test so he could skip a year and join his age group. While intimidating due to his sheer breadth and stature, she found him to be surprisingly shy and friendly. Recently, she proposed the idea that the both of them learn sign language to ease communication between them, and while hesitant at first, a single question from her prompts him to change his mind.
- Ichiya Chigiri: "Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent; for beauty is a witch against whose charms faith melteth in blood." -- Much Ado About Nothing; Act II, Scene 1
- Quotes:
- "Most of us don't think about it, but we all hide something, just as we all hard our darker sides from public view. Very few show their true selves out in the open."
- Unbeknown to her, Naomi already met him; as his alter-ego, "Fox," a masked individual who aided her group's efforts in Mikage-cho and who taught her a few bare-handed techniques in exchange of a few fencing lessons. As handsome, college-aged mechanic Ichiya Chigiri, he was recently contracted to see to the upkeep of the Spencer household's vehicles. He seems to have taken a shine to her and has asked her to address him by one of his nicknames. She has recently discovered that Ichiya Chigiri and the mysterious Fox are one and the same, though she has yet to react outwardly to this revelation. His lavish White Day gift has clued her into the depth of his feelings for her, and Naomi wasted no time returning it and gently rejecting him, hinting without explaining that her present situation prevents her from carrying on romantic connections with anyone. While saddened, fortunately, Ichiya understood.
- XIII - Death
- Shirou Sekigawa: "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?" -- Hamlet; Act III, Scene 1
- Quotes:
- "I promised her. That if he tried to take her away from me... I would tear the world down around his ears."
- "I'm a survivor at heart, Naomi. Kandori has gotten the best of me, but I hope that I've shown him that... well, I play to win."
- Despite their first accidental and largely inconsequential meeting, this hardworking Inaba country boy became the first among her newest acquaintances to address her by her first name and is one of the few who she sincerely liked instantly. Their friendship during the Mikage-cho incident developed quickly, and while she sensed a degree of awkwardness from him around her, she wasn't quite certain as to why. She worried about him constantly while she stayed at Fort Junes with him, given his tendency to work his fingers to the bone at the expense of his well-being, and made conscious efforts to ensure that he got the rest he needed at Thora's or Yosuke's absence. A few run-ins has her confiding in him as to the circumstances of her awakening and vice-versa, becoming better and closer friends in the process after they parted ways. Most recently, he has asked for her help in tracking down a British journalist named David Goddard, Shirou's biological father.
- Seiichi Miyamoto: "I stand accountant for as great a sin - but partly led to diet my revenge." -- Othello; Act II, Scene 1
- Quotes:
- The only son of Naomi's ex-piano tutor, Takeshi Miyamoto, Seiichi came barreling into her life anxious to repair the damage his father has made to the Spencer family. His intentions, however, are skewed, and unbeknown to himself, Seiichi is more like his father than he thinks despite his well-established loathing of him. While Naomi sees some good in him, she remains wary - those wounds remain open no matter how many years have passed. She is constantly worried about Mitsuru's burgeoning romantic relationship with him, and while she has made a more concentrated effort to get to know him and see past the visage of his father's younger self, something about him nags at her. No matter how hard she tries, she can't trust him completely. In an unexpected twist, Naomi has prevented him from killing his father, Takeshi Miyamoto, a man who has leveled much torment and misery on the both of them. The conversation that followed dealt mostly over Mitsuru's position in Seiichi's life, albeit Naomi was far from forgiving when he brought up the possibility of joining Kandori's organization. While hardly friends, the two have proven that despite their connected pasts that they can commiserate with one another when circumstances necessitate it. This is hardly the case now, however, after his confession that he was the Masked Man that had been targeting her friends, threatened her mother's grave and maliced her whenever the opportunity arose. Unable to take a certain degree of vengeance at that moment, Naomi left his presence and maintained very little contact with him until recently when he arrived with the rest of the SEES contingent in Kyo Enda's TV dungeon, having seemed to recover some of Mitsuru's trust back. Things between them, however, remain unresolved, and it is questionable that Naomi would ever forgive him for running on the same path his father did.
- XVI - The Tower
- Takahisa Kandori: "How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees? Thou know'st we work by wit, and not by witchcraft; And wit depends on dilatory time." -- Othello; Act II, Scene 3
- Quotes:
- "Fear. That is what you can taste in those bowls. A single drop, distilled for each of you from the collective fear of so many broken souls, carried with each of us like an emperor's cloak after battle. Fear. The blue phial contains love. I did not use it, it is so scarce. But one drives the other, as pollen creates the honey, and the crucible needs much more at the starting end than it gives you at the end."
- "You have a skill for asking the difficult questions."
- Naomi met SEBEC's infamous CEO by chance, coming across him with Himeru cooking breakfast in Mikage-cho's version of St. Hermelin and promptly engaged him in a deeply intellectual conversation about food (as well as the preparation of) standing in as a metaphor for the human condition. While content with the idea that she would never speak to the man again, she was surprised to receive a sword forged by his own hand the next days after thanks to Tohya's request for supplies, and then later in Okina where he imparted on her certain truths about Sumaru City. The growing consistency of his interactions with her may or may not be one of the main reasons why she agreed to join KNOWS. The controversy regarding the DVA System has prompted both Tohya and Naomi to leave KNOWS, with the latter departing its ranks rather than subjecting herself to Kandori's disciplinary review. The last report that he requested from her served as her formal resignation letter. The state of affairs between them is largely unknown, but Naomi knows that this will not be the last time she would hold communications with SEBEC's CEO. A more recent string of events have landed Kandori in prison, and Naomi is currently struggling between the decision to sever all ties with him completely (bolstered by the fact that the SEBEC figurehead is a touchy subject between herself and Tatsuya) and the desire to visit him while he languishes behind bars. She did end up visiting him, accompanied by Tatsuya who was unwilling to let her go alone, and witnessed Kandori expend nearly all of his spiritual power to reverse the prison lockdown and send Masquerade agents running through the facility in a killing spree. This has unwittingly brought them into crossing paths with Tatsuya Sudou, whose connection to Tatsuya, while unknown for now, proves to be dangerous extremely quickly. Naomi only learned of his death recently and is secretly conflicted about it, having a certain difficulty in reconciling his generous treatment and mentorship of her with the scheming, dangerous and immoral man that she also knew him to be.
- Thora Kobayashi: "As I told thee before, I am subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer that by his cunning hath cheated me of the island." -- The Tempest; Act III, Scene 2
- Quotes:
- "Well this new arrangement has me learning from him. There's nothing /I/ can do right now besides go with the flow."
- Fellow Daybreak Squad member and Shirou's girlfriend, she was, for the longest time, the only Persona-user who she has known about through the power of her sheer and infamous reputation. Now that they are in the same group in KNOWS, Naomi has met Thora on several occasions. It is perhaps due to her friendship with Shirou that she unabashedly reaches out to Thora, and finds herself occasionally envying her for having no qualms showing what she is feeling on her expressions. Naomi has recently found out what sort of information Kandori is holding over her and is appalled by the motivations surrounding Thora's conception and birth. Strangely enough, Naomi has found herself in the position of "Girly Stuff" counsel for her fellow half-gaijin. Naomi is currently doing what she can to help her assist Shirou in the mystery surrounding his vanished, British-born father....who disturbingly appears to have some connection with Takeshi Miyamoto. After a series of excursions together, especially after Thora's involvement with her rescue from the Dreaming, and her continuous regard and respect for Naomi's capabilities and counsel, the two girls have struck an unlikely friendship, underscored by a strange sort of camaraderie that can't help but be generated between such disparate creatures in terms of looks and personality. Familiar with Thora's own aspirations for the future, Naomi has promised to support her however she can. These days, they are the most unlikely of friends, occupying the extreme opposite sides of the spectrum, but Naomi will always do what she can to aid Thora and vice-versa. She has recently started calling Thora by her first name.
- XIX - The Sun
- Kyo Enda: "I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion, cheated of feature by dissembling nature. Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time into this breathing world, scarce half made up. And that so lamely and unfashionable, that dogs bark at me as I halt by them. -- Richard III; Act I Scene 1
- Quotes:
- "Clearly you do not try hard enough. If you truly wanted her safe, you would remove your dangerous presence from her life."
- "Then I realized I wasn't deficient. I realized I had the advantage of not having to carry a burden that holds /everyone else back/. That's why I've always stayed five steps ahead of people like you, and Suou, and the rest of your idiotic group. People hampered by emotions, and morals, and fears. That's why I will always win, in the end. I will think of that which would never occur to you. I will do what you won't--!"
- "I could have loved someone like you."
- Kyo was one of the first people Naomi met during her first days after being transferred in from Seven Sisters High School, and for a time remained largely unaware of his true nature despite the hint dropped by Tatsuya in his face-to-face encounter with Akatsuki's older twin. Since then, however, she has received reports from people she trusts implicitly that he is dangerous and abusive; something barely human masquerading as such. Given Akatsuki's and Miwa's attachment to Kyo, Naomi has refrained from seeking him out, constantly at a loss as to what to do but knowing that she ought to do something because his treatment of them couldn't be allowed to continue. While Akatsuki's gradually forming detachment from his brother gives her a tremendous sense of relief, Naomi constantly worries about Miwa, who is deeply in love with him. Surprisingly, Kyo has confronted her about consistently putting Miwa's life in danger despite her efforts not to do so. While the conversation started out diplomatically, he pushed things into a breaking point after confiding in Naomi that he forced himself on Mitsuru, driving the heiress to attack him and would've have continued to do so if it weren't for a civilian witness entering the scene. The aftermath has left Kyo being the only person Naomi has, for a lack of a better term, tried to murder in cold (hot?) blood, the irony being that the only thing that stayed her hand was the fact that he looked like Akatsuki, whose guise Kyo was consciously using in an effort to inflict psychological trauma on her. Their interactions with one another have only worsened since then after another attack, when Kyo pretended to be Akatsuki and came upon her in a dressing room at Saks Fifth Avenue; an altercation that became severely violent due to Kyo's constant drive to win and dominate and Naomi's defiance and utter lack of complacency to the efforts levied by that drive. It is perhaps these two qualities that let certain ugly truths surface during Kyo's TV dungeon, and while these encounters have given the observant Naomi a better understanding of Kyo's dangerous psyche, she is also more aware than most as to just how tangling with him is even more perilous now. It may also be that newfound understanding that will enable her to solve the problem, no matter how temporarily....but at what cost?
- Taiki Himuro: "Hereby, upon the edge of yonder coppice; A stand where you may make the fairest shoot." -- Love's Labors Lost; Act IV, Scene 1
- Quotes:
- Blurb coming soon.
- Tatsuya Sudou: Insert Shakespeare Quote here
- Quotes:
- An executive of the Masquerade, he and Naomi have had several encounters in and outside of the office. His connection to Tatsuya is one that constantly worries Naomi, and whenever the two of them are at the same vicinity, she does her best to keep them apart. Much like her views on Kandori, she is sometimes conflicted about King Leo, whose psychotic hatred for Tatsuya typically runs incongruously to his high opinion and gentlemanly treatment of her and his occasional demonstration of being a decent person. Regardless of this, however, she knows he is extremely dangerous and more than just a touch mad, and her allegiances will always fall on the members of Shinsengumi. Unfortunately, Miles Spencer, a business acquaintance of Sudou's father, is oblivious to his daughter's history with him and typically drives them to interact in elite business functions.
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