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The Space Between Buildings; [Treo]
Topic Started: Dec 30 2015, 03:24 PM (431 Views)
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"You're clever when you want to be, Ashdown-san. But if you don't see something, or happen to look in exactly the opposite direction, it really doesn't matter how much time you put into solving a problem. Sometimes there's a perfect angle. Maybe more than one." Kumori spoke plainly, patiently. It was an unexpected role reversal, and he knew how shaken Treo was. The metaphor, the philosophy, the framing of the argument, the diagnosis. Was this how Treo had spoken to other people when he dissected them to their core?

Kumori had remembered Naoya's interviews, Yuzuki's probing, Treo's rationalizing. It had affected him somewhat. The profiling that he did on his own. Analysis had changed him. When he could see weaknesses and resistances as discrete properties, it came naturally to identify traits in people.

"Well, change is a good concept. It's easy to say and believe in. We want to think that we've matured gracefully. Sometimes that's true." He smiled. The high-minded philosophy was partially borrowed. "Well, trust doesn't come easily. Clearly not for you. And that's okay."

Kumori began to walk. They both needed to move. "But, Ashdown-san, why don't you tell me about myself? Who I am, what I believe, what I like and dislike, my past. What motivates me."

It was more an intellectual curiosity than a test of character. He didn't like to be in the spotlight, but Treo didn't seem to see. It came to him as a passing thought: not many people knew him beyond a surface level. It was easy to let people talk about themselves, easy to listen, easier to move with the ebb and flow of society unnoticed. For him, it was more than enough to be appreciated in private. But here, he would have to take the lead again. The confidence Treo would have to develop himself, and it wouldn't come overnight. But he'd at least set him on the right path. And maybe himself too.
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
Treo looked back at his partner. Together they had grown strong, together they had began to start unravelling the mysteries behind the ruins. That was the core of it. Together. But at the same time, the boy could not in one word begin to answer Kumori's questions. What did he know of his partner. He called him a word that implied closeness. A partner, a word only used by those enforcing the law or those bound by it.

"...What do I know about you...? You're my partner." It was exactly then. My partner. That wasn't an answer. The boy continued to walk, following Kumori at his pace, having to move a little faster to keep up. A word that implied possession was more about himself than anything else. Talking of his longtime friend like an object...? No, that wasn't right. "You're Kumori Yatsu. But what do I know about you beyond that...? I could speak of you like a police file, but that's not what you're asking, is it?"

He tapped his chin. "...I don't think I know all that much about you Kumori. We've shared some great things and spoken at length, but not once did we speak about yourself." He paused for a moment and nodded his head. "...So what is there to know partner? Tell me about yourself." He allowed his pace to slow. Treo had been looking so hard at himself that he forgot the key part of a fusion spell. It was a partnership. A bond.

A bond went both ways.
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"That's an interesting answer, Ashdown-san."

He had stood in Treo's blind spot the entire time of his own accord, and there was an odd sense of accomplishment now knowing how successful he had been. But he had stepped out of it of his own accord. The spotlight was on him now, in a way, but he had gotten himself there. This was fine. "I think that you like to think that people are ruled by some sort of universal logic. If you start from their behaviors and go backwards from there, you can discover what someone is thinking or feeling."

As Treo entered his peripheral vision, Kumori turned and gave him a nod. "I think that kind of thinking is sometimes useful too. But it seems like you never picked up on my little trick."

He smiled.

"It's really not that we never had a chance to catch up or that it never came up. But I'm not one for small talk, or for really talking about myself." Kumori took a turn, away from the bustle of Matechi, the traffic lights, deeper into the town. "I find it easier hanging around in the background. I can take things at my pace."

This was as much introduction as Treo was going to get unless he postulated himself or asked directly, but he left the point unspoken.
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Dante
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
Treo nodded slowly, it was Kumori's time to talk and his time to listen. And then... nothing. He didn't speak all that much about himself. The englishman honestly suspected that he didn't want to at any point. "That's what I know about you Kumori." It seemed like it was the right answer, after all... they didn't speak about him and the only times Treo spoke of himself were in times when it was required. To say Kumori knew a lot about him would be to say that it was a short drop to the Sanzu River.

As they turned away into the quieter streets the boy nodded slowly. "Can I ask why? You seem the sort of person that would be... hard to track. Never really standing out." The teen smiled slightly. "Call it curiousity of my own, call it a step towards trust, but I would like to know more about you than that. That I could have told you, you don't like talking about yourself, but this is different, I'm asking you to talk about yourself."

Treo grinned. "Its a question I feel we should answer."
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"That seems to be the point of this conversation." Kumori said. "But it's been a while since I've talked like this. You'll have to remind me on how to do an introduction. To answer your question directly, though... It's just always been easier to get what I want done when I'm not drawing any attention. That's why I tend to stay quiet when it comes to things that are non-essential."

He chuckled slightly. "Remember back when Kaede and Sora broke up the Users at the time into factions? I never took a side because I didn't see much point in it. Nothing really came out of it outside of needless conflict, but at least it motivated people to explore."
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Dante
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WHERE THE FUCK IS MARIO
Treo nodded his head. "I see, you're not one to seek attention. Which means by asking you for your opinion Kumori, I'm missing the point entirely." The Wild Card shook his head slightly and smiled. "I see I see. You never took a side because you saw no point in it. What's really important is finding all the answers here. What happened at those ruins all those years ago and why does the power call to... anyone really." The teen stopped next to Kumori.

"So what I really should be asking you is this. How are you motivated to avoid conflict like this? Everyone has a plan Kumori and I'm asking as your friend, your partner... what's yours? Are you single-minded in that you only want to solve this conflict?" He went to continue and stopped. "I'd like to know what you're thinking."
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"But that's optimism. Not everyone has a plan, Treo. That's more telling of what you think."

Kumori closed his eyes momentarily. He continued walking. For a second, his face was complete calm, as if he were asleep. He walked, his feet remembering the quiet path. They came upon a neighborhood park. A fountain, open grass, a single picnic table, a lone bench nestled into a canopy of trees. It was solitary at this time of day. He stopped by the fountain, stepped on the lever, and began to drink from it. He stepped aside and wiped his mouth on his sleeve, looking back to Treo.

"As for me, there's more involved. A lot more. I want to do the right thing too. Sometimes people would disagree. I've healed Kaerunuma-san. I've brought Sora Mori back from the brink of death. I've restored Fyodor-san's arm. Recently, I've done the same with Nishiyo Sadako. I've also housed her, up until she died. It was a suicide in my apartment. And I've helped you, and Susaki-san, and Kameko-san, and others." Kumori focused on a cloud. On the quiet. He stuck a hand in his pocket. "The only way someone runs out of chances is if they give up on it, I think.

"But it's simpler that way if I'm not playing with the idea of 'teams.' Figuring out what has been going on in the ruins is the right thing to do. There's a little bit more to it to, but for now, would you mind telling me a little about your family? We ran into each other in December."
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Dante
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"Mmm. Perhaps it is Kumori. Perhaps it says more about myself than anyone else." Usually everyone had a plan, because that was the sort of associations he had made when he was growing up, those that wanted to join the army, join the workforce, stay in education and learn more things... everyone had to have a plan and yet this boy, he had no plans, only a will to do the right thing. As their walk took them to the park the wild card nodded his head.

"You've never given up on anyone, have you?" The teen nodded his head again, pondering what he had said. There wasn't so much as a second chance as the fact that Kumori was willing to give people as many chances as they could. A fascinating thing that. A complete opposite of his own thoughts. Few people got a second chance with Treo, first impressions were everything to him. "Its not a bad way to think. Kind of naive, if you ask me." He smiled slightly. "But maybe that's just why I spend so much time with you."

As his question turned to his family Treo went uncharacteristically quiet. He stared at his feet for a brief few moments, hiding his face from view until he breathed in and nodded his head. "As far as I know, they went into hiding following their faked death. Both of them work in America now, along with my sister, who you met I heard." He paused for a moment. "Its weird. I went my whole life never seeing them and when they came back into my life... I wasn't sure I wanted to see them." He moved to the bench and sat down.

"Its.. complex, you know? I mourned them when I was younger and they... didn't die. Makes me feel like I gave up on them. I bet they wanted me to work out the crime, leaving me a little riddle behind to find them." The wild card shook his head and sighed. "That's about all I know so far, I'm leaving them to work things out alone, I'll see them again when this whole thing is over."
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"I have."

Kumori spoke softly. He had given up on someone before.

"But we can get to that a bit later."

It was oblique, but Treo had told him about the past. Who his parents were, what they did, and how it was that he had thought them dead. There were plenty of details he was leaving out. It was a big step for Treo, but Kumori felt the itch of curiosity as he leaned into a sitting position next to Treo. "I know that it's hard about, but could you tell me more? I've always wondered why you were in Nagashima of all places. People's travels and work has a strange way of bringing people from outside Japan here."

He gave a small smile. " 'Treo' isn't a popular name around here."
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Dante
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He paused for a moment. Looked to see Kumori sitting next to him. Treo had gushed forth without so much as the slightest provocation, perhaps it was just the right words, pressing the right buttons. The wild card breathed in and out. Thought about his next words. "It wasn't... for any big reason really. My uncle used to live here. He got out when the incident happened but he was the one that looked after me while I was finding my feet."

His smile was met with one of his own. "Its not a popular name anywhere really. Maybe that's part of the charm." Enough was there for him to draw his own conclusions. The teen paused, wrestling for control of the situation, trying to pull the light away from that question. "You said you've given up on someone before, who was it?" It was blunt but that only served to heighten the fact that his name was not a subject he wanted to talk about.
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