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The Space Between Buildings; [Treo]
Topic Started: Dec 30 2015, 03:24 PM (428 Views)
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Drawing to a close.

It was nearly the end of school, then graduation ceremony for the seniors, then break. The world moved in cycles and people would be folded in and taken out of Taiyoutono. Kumori wasn't sure how long he had walked without talking as they walked through Matechi Street. The idle chatter from boutiques and the rush of cars punctuated the afternoon, and the sun was starting to warm through the clouds.

Treo would graduate, too. It was an interesting thought. He had concluded one part of a student's life, and was going to head on to something new. It amused Kumori, to a slight degree, knowing that Treo wouldn't be an Ashdown-senpai to his peers the following year in college. He would be older, but caught in a cycle again.

"Enjoying the weather?"

He looked behind to Treo. It was rare that Kumori led in conversation. Rarer still that they spent aimless hours out.

Just walking.
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Dante
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
Treo wasn't sure why he had agreed. At first it seemed like an odd thing to simply... walk. The white haired boy was no stranger to simple walking, in fact that was how he got from his apartment to the office most times, not to mention school. But for Kumori to simply want to aimlessly wander through the streets as the afternoon only just started was strange. It sent his mind tumbling through many scenarios. But Kumori had his reasons.

That was enough for now. He had his reasons. "Its different to home." He looked to his friend and smiled slightly. Where were they walking? Did it really matter? For the moment the Wild Card was simply content to follow his friend. For once he wasn't the leader in the partnership. "How's school been?" He added with a neutral tone. There were a few other students on the nearby street, few of them playing with their phones, ties loosely around their necks. The comparison to drunk salarymen was amusing.
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As they crossed an intersection, the stoplight flickered switched to red. A taxi came to a halt at the crosswalk, tires crunching gravel as they squeaked to a halt. Kumori stepped around a man passed out on the sidewalk. He thought about how precariously the man's beer dangled in his fingers just as it tipped out of his grip. Kumori turned his attention away as the can rocked back and forth on the sidewalk, finding equilibrium.

"I'm sure it is. I hear that you get more rain."

The sun had broken through enough that Kumori could guess at the time. It would be no later than two, give or take. Past rush hour, but Matechi was still busy at this time of day. A line of gleaming car lights signaled left to Kumori's right. One of the other students on the street held her phone at arm's length and pursed her lips. Another girl clung to her shoulder and grinned up towards the screen. They squealed as a boy popped in front of them, eyes wide, tie flapping, grin wide and obnoxious.

He smiled despite himself as the girls began to chew their photo-bomber out.

"It's been the usual. They don't bother waking me up in some classes now. How about you?" He gave Treo a flat smile. "How were entrance exams, senpai?"
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Dante
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
Treo walked forward, his feet not thinking of the destination, simply moving. The taxi had been passed by, a brief handwave the only other motion the wild card made. It was an unconcious reaction, fostered by living around busy roads for most of his life. As the two cleared the road and reached the pavement again, Treo's eyes caught another figure on the other side of a road. A simple policeman, decorated as such, with the full outfit in a completely immaculate state.

For a moment the question passed the boy by, then his brain caught it and allowed him to ponder. "No more difficult than I expected aibou." He offered a smirk in reply. With where he was planning to go, entrance exams were just the beginning. There was a whole lot more to it. As the two reached another stoplight the boy made his move. "So, what is it you wanted to ask me?"

He grinned slightly, taking advantage of the paused traffic. "You don't usually take the lead unless you're asking for something, or want to show me something. So which is it?"
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"A bit of one. A bit of the other."

Kumori smiled despite himself as he came to a stop at the intersection. It was very like Treo to get to the heart of the matter as quickly as possible. If they were seated, there was no doubt in Kumori's mind that his friend would be jittery. He closed his eyes, delving in his mind. He breathed in deeply, gathered his mind as if he were about to use his Persona's skill, but stopped before magic could well up in him.

He opened his eyes and frowned, glancing at Treo. "We're hitting our stride."

A red car zoomed past, but Kumori's eyes didn't follow.

"We know that users can go further than our current state right now. And there's something that is physically blocking us from advancing. That's what this is about."
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Dante
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
Treo waited a few moments. The standard amount of time between him being told something and finally replying. He sighed slightly and nodded. "I knew it. I had a feeling it would be this." The white haired teen looked back at his companion and sighed. Recently, it seemed like none of the newer users had any idea on the endgame. They were all too busy with their own drama. Their own problems.

"So you want to finally do something about it, huh?" The light finally changed and Treo stuck his hands into his pockets and began to walk forward. "What's your plan?" He grinned slightly. "This is your game aibou, you take the lead here. What's the play?" He bounced on his heels slightly. "The sooner we deal with it the sooner we can get back to where we were." He seemed a bit more active now.

"So, what do you have in mind?" The teen repeated himself like an excited child.
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"We never get back to where we were, though, Ashdown-san. Isn't that the point of all this?" Kumori raised an eyebrow, mentally thumbing through Treo's Personae. "Even if it feels that way, we're never the same people twice."

Maybe Treo meant physically going back, either to the office, or to his apartment, but it was a useful metaphor, and one that never stopped being relevant whenever it came to discussion about Personae. It all started with self-knowledge. Acknowledge the Shadow. Accept. Move on. Grow. But Personae reflected more than mental state. Frequent use strengthened them to a point. Spiritual resolution strengthened them. To a point.

There was something lacking, and to think that Kyo of all people would be the one to foreshadow it when they were supposedly the ones so taken with this lofty search for whatever universal truth was lurking in the ruins. "Right now, we've used two means to get stronger. Frequent use of Personae in the ruins and ascending. The first isn't helping us much now, and the second..."

Kumori gave a wry smile.

"If only deep spiritual change happened on the flip of a coin. But there's something in our way. A barrier of some sort. I have my own theory, but I'd like to hear your own first." The crosswalk chimed as the pedestrian walking light flickered on. Kumori began to walk again. There was a lot of conjecture here, but if Treo had observed what Kumori did, then it might bring them quicker to mutual understanding.
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Dante
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
"Perhaps you're right. If I was referring to back in the sense of before we had even met." The teen smirked slightly. Generalized statements was the game he played with his partner. "I meant back where we were. We were near the bottom." Treo didn't weigh in on most people's problems, more content to explore. The boy's question was intriguing. Treo pondered it, the countdown of the walking symbol serving as a timer. When the crosswalk chimed he spoke in turn.

"A barrier...? You're talking about something restricting an ascension." The englishman nodded slowly and walked across the road, keeping pace with Kumori. "But you aren't talking about myself." He nodded slowly. "No no, that would be too easy. I've laid that out to you before." So... he turned to face his partner, no. His friend. "So what's the barrier?"
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"I'm talking something slightly different, Ashdown-san. Ascension's something that Imoto-san was more interested in. When he was trying to understand how to catalyze a change so drastic... I don't think that we have nearly enough data to say exactly how asides from some sort of spiritual change." Kumori nodded. "But that is lateral growth. For those that have ascended multiple times, they may experience a boost once, but never after. That's what I've seen, at least."

Treo was sharp, and that made this part simple, and the next part more difficult. He was used to parsing down things into meaning and nuance, but sometimes, that was lost in translation, or deliberately ignored. And in a way, the problem statement wouldn't be enough. It would keep Treo in his comfort zone.

When he had something to work out, he would try to tease out meaning, and when there was someone who had a workable answer, he would try to work it out. Treo likened himself as an observer, an adept people-watcher. That's what Kumori had seen first-hand. But Kumori had some educated guesses about Treo too. He did move to try and manipulate sometimes, and his guard was always up.

But when presented with a problem he wanted to solve, it would draw Treo out. And that's what he would need if he wanted to break free of this "barrier." Casual knowledge would lead to complacency. Treo needed to realize first-hand what Kumori was hinting at, and come to terms with his own deficiency. Something that was very hard for him.

"You've felt it too, haven't you? There is a mechanical limit to what we can do with our fusion spell. We have the physical capacity to push further. There's something that we're very, very close to, but there's a degree of separation there. Mechanically, that's what the barrier is. But then, the question becomes why is it imposed?"
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Dante
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
The question hit Treo like a tonne of bricks. It was hard to fully understand the meaning at first, but it was blunt enough that even Treo wasn't able to parse some kind of reverse meaning from it. Simply put, it was a pure question and Kumori had managed to make a question the white haired boy didnt' want to answer. No, this was too close to the real truth. For him to preach about finding the truth and so easily shirk from this question would go against everything Thanatos stood for. Thanatos was a promise, Thanatos was guidance.

Thanatos was founded on one single truth. To find the answer of all things and guide the lost to their final destination. To show those around him how to improve. To guide, not to control. But yet, that truth was undermined. His inner turmoil spilled outward, a conflicted expression slowly resting on his face. "Fusion spells are... well, we don't know the exact science, but I wager they're related to this 'bond' stuff Kyo goes on about. If you consider they are only as powerful as their bond to each other, you enter an interesting question."

The Englishman stopped walking and turned to face his friend. "What's stopping us from the spell being more powerful Kumori...? That's simple. I haven't changed ever since I came here. I still can't make that last step. We both have the ability to handle a spell that strong, but I don't have the mentality to go that one extra step." The boy frowned. "I've lived my life unable to trust anyone. To fully trust someone and form that unbreakable bond, I just... I can't do it." Treo looked at his feet. Ever the manipulator, always had an answer for any question.

Stumped by a simple why.
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