Keeping Promises [For Schon]

[sumarusfinest]

True to his word, Katsuya makes his way to the more quiet ends of the Nexus once he has a semblance of a plan in place for constructing a memorial for the casualties of the demon invasion that stemmed from his home.

He takes a seat near the newly made door to his world, trying hard not to overthink what is about to transpire.

Comments

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"We all have another side to our soul," the thin man muses quietly. "Have you any hobbies?"

[sumarusfinest]

"I enjoy baking." Katsuya offers right away. "Culinary arts in general are quite relaxing."

What else does he do? Wow he's really boring when he thinks about it.

"I have functional English capabilities, obviously. I am passable with an acoustic guitar. Uhm. Believe it or not, I've gotten quite good at placing wiretaps." Despite it being a crime. You hang around Baofu long enough and you start to learn things, okay? He's also gotten really good at interrogations. In a not so by-the-books way.

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

Schön nods thoughtfully. "Did you feel pressure, to follow your father into police work?"

[sumarusfinest]

"I did." Katsuya admits quietly. "I wanted to pursue a degree in culinary arts, to become a pastry chef, when I was young. We would argue about it, and in the end I enrolled in the police academy."

The officer doesn't sound terribly broken up about this. It was a long time ago. He's already come to terms with giving up his dreams. Besides...

"I was good at it, and because of those skills I was better able to assist Maya and my companions when they needed me. My skills have helped many old friends I once had in the Nexus. They still help me, to this day. I do not regret the way my life has played out."

Not entirely true. But who doesn't have regrets?

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

He nods, before abruptly changing direction. Perhaps he's trying to shake different ideas loose by shifting to such a different topic. "The argument between the two Elder Beings, do you know any of what it was about?"

[sumarusfinest]

"Somewhat." Katsuya nods, shifting in his seat. Schon isn't the only one uncomfortable speaking of them.

"They were arguing over the value of human life. Nyarlathotep cited all the selfishness in mankind. The anger, betrayal, jealousy. Could get into anyone's heart and bring out the worst in them for everyone to see. Manipulated those with much darkness in their hearts to creating a cult that would strive to end the world. The New World Order."

Facing the Shadows of themselves was possibly the most difficult thing any of them had to do during their struggle. Including killing Hitler in a robot. Rumors man. Rumors becoming reality make weird things happen.

"Philemon believed that people could overcome their barbaric desires to work together for a common good. Our Personae were manifest of the beliefs and strengths each of us held. He didn't want to see humanity snuffed out before it had a chance to show its true potential."

There's a long pause after this, as though Katsuya is reflecting on everything that they've talked about until now.

"Considering one world was destroyed and the other saved...I'm not sure which one is right."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"A tie," the thin man observes, with all that implies. After all, what contest ever ends in a tie? (Shut up, soccer, nobody asked you.)

"What can you tell me of Philemon?"

[sumarusfinest]

"He liked to wear my brother's face. Both of them did, as a matter of fact, though Nyarlathotep was equally likely to wear Jun-kun's father's face. It was how he controlled the other so perfectly."

Katsuya isn't the main character even in the story he's privy to. The real focal points of the fight were Maya Amano and especially Tatsuya Suou.

Still...

"Philemon helped us develop our Personae. Nyarlathoep meanwhile created facsimiles of each of us, manifest of the worst of our thoughts and feelings. I do not appreciate being a pawn in anyone's game, but if given a choice I'd continue to fight for Philemon. A manifest of what we can achieve is better than the alternative."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

A thought sends Schön off on a brief digression, his gaze growing distant. "A story comes to mind, of two great forces--one, for light and order, the other for shadow and chaos--who used whole cultures as proxies in their argument about which path was correct. In the end, the younger races grew tired of being pawns, and grew strong enough to cast both great forces out." He takes a sip of tea and sighs. "Your pardon, I'm woolgathering. Philemon did not, then, show you anything that might be called its true face?"

[sumarusfinest]

"I don't believe we ever got to see either's True Face." Considering one is a Lovecraftian elder god, and Katsuya isn't screaming for all eternity and clawing his own throat out in insanity, this is probably true.

"I think....it would have been preferable to watching Nyarlathotep wear my brother's face. ....Or my own." He shudders slightly. "To be honest we didn't interact with Philemon much. He was greatly weakened. Tatsuya seemed to know more about him than we did, but...then again, he'd also done this--something like it at least--already."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"Do you know what weakened him?"

[sumarusfinest]

"Belief, I'm fairly certain. One of them, or both, I suppose it doesn't matter, changed the reality of Sumaru. Rumors became reality. That was what opened the door for demons to invade the city, for every conspiracy theory wildly postulated to become true. The stronger Nyarlathotep's case became, the harder Philemon had to struggle to maintain balance."

The fact that he could still buy weapons from innocuous shops if he asked correctly, that he still had to fight off demons in the streets, proved that the world, while saved, would never truly be the same again.

"I don't think it is within his powers at the moment to completely revert this world to how it was before. I'm no longer certain this particular world was ever any other way, considering it's origins."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

That catches Schön's interest, and he sits forward. "Rumors became reality, you say?" That certainly explains why the demon he contracted wanted to be a rumor-monger. He's going to have to keep a close eye on her, but no need to worry Officer Suou just yet. "Any sort of rumor? Was there some critical tipping point that would make a fiction real?"

[sumarusfinest]

"We outfitted ourselves by passing rumors that local establishment proprietors were involved in the black market and spy rings, giving them access to illegal weapons and tactical gear." Katsuya looks dead serious here. "I still buy my ammunition from a nearby ramen shop, and my reinforced clothing at a local department store in the Aoba shopping district."

That was how so many problems began developing. It wasn't just the demons and Nayrlathotep they had to stop, but every other crazy thing becoming reality by the terrified citizens.

"I fought Hitler in a mech suit, Schon. Yes, Anything."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"Consensual reality run amok," the thin man murmurs, half to himself. "Still, it offers you a way to strike at the enemy with his own weapon, should wit and nerve suffice."

Back to the idea at hand, though. "I ask again, was there some sort of tipping point? Did a rumor need to circulate for a certain span of time, or have been heard and believed by a certain number of people before it manifested?"

[sumarusfinest]

That part was always pretty hazy.

"Well...hm. We had a contact. A private investigator who would circulate rumors on our behalf. Then again, they were Devil Summoners. So they could have used their demons to facilitate the rumor spreading." Katsuya looks thoughtful.

"We passed the rumor that the Parabellum bar sold weapons the same night we were able to purchase them, so I would assume it was quantity of spread rather than duration."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

Schön nods thoughtfully, thumb and forefinger stroking his chin for a moment. His next question may throw Katsuya another curve: "how distressed would you be if I professed an interest in securing office space in Sumaru?"

[sumarusfinest]

"Why, that would depend almost entirely on what professional reason you had interest in my home."

Officer Suou has this funny way of sounding serious but mostly nonthreatening....until he is concerned something under his protection is on the line.

There is fire in the officer's eyes yet. BUt it is a warning, not a threat.

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"I'm no more fond of one of the players in this game than you, and it's not the one who gave you that new time-share on life," Schön answers. "I'm hardly one to move overtly, but if an opportunity should arise, well, I'd prefer to be in a position to act on it. Besides," he adds, with a hint of a smirk, "I find the atmosphere... homey."

[sumarusfinest]

An enemy of an enemy...Well, Katsuya's heard worse reasons. But it certainly doesn't make Schön automatically an ally. Then again, Schön did at great cost close up the portal to his world. It seemed to take a lot out of him. Whatever he was.

"I don't suspect I could do very much in the way to stop you." Having him close by would make the paranormal gentleman easier to keep track of. And he certainly wouldn't be the first overtly dangerous thing in Sumaru.

"...And I will concede that a great many of my information sources and business acquaintances are individuals you would have great interest in."

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"You could stop me quite easily," Schön replies, leaning back in his chair and gesturing lazily with his free hand. "You could smite me with that brilliant weapon of your soul, or your trusty service revolver, or you could even go so far as to say 'no.'"

Sitting forward again, he concludes, "but all of that, of course, is up to you. Up to me is a question: who are these sources and acquaintances at whom you've hinted? Names and specialties will suffice."

[sumarusfinest]

"I do not resort to violence unless necessary." Truth, though Katsuya is a bit less trusting to non humans. He's trying to get better about it, but they have this horrible habit of trying to destroy his world or eat people.


It's made the officer a tad bit biased.

"I'm loathe to acquiesce to any request that might gain my world Nyarlathotep's attention once more." That is probably the summation of his opinion on the matter. If Schön being here would cause Sumaru trouble, then he is against it. If not? He doesn't see much of a reason to put up a fuss.

"Baofu is perhaps my biggest ally. He is a rumor monger and very well connected to the underbelly of Sumaru. His network is far far more extensive than mine." Katsuya folds his hands in his lap once more.

"The proprietor of Parabellum and the Manager of Candida Rosa are my primary sources for weapons and armored clothing, respectively. I go to an aromatherapy woman to help me when I've overused my Persona's abilities. Professional rumor spreading is left to the professionals at Kuzunoha Detective Agency. Detective Todoroki and Ms. Tamaki are quite skilled at it."

Who else? Katsuya furrows his brow in thought.

"We were assisted by first generation Persona users. Nanjo-san, of the Nanjo zaibatsu. One of the most powerful men in Japan and heir to the company. A Persona user with a strong sense of morals and duty. His old classmates from St Hermelin, all persona users, helped evacuate the city during the struggle with the god himself. "

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

Schön sighs quietly, resting an elbow on the arm of the chair. His thumb tucks under his cheekbone as he massages his temple with fore- and middle fingers. "Mr. Suou, I wonder that you can stand, laboring under two such grand misconceptions. That you may speak his name with impunity, and that this world does not already have his attention."

"Baofu... is a name I've heard spoken in the Nexus." His brow rises, a question implied.

[sumarusfinest]

Because Katsuya needs something else to worry about. He grows rather somber for several minutes.

They'd driven him back. Weakened him if nothing else, driven his influence from Sumaru. Averted the crisis he had posed.

Granted, not everything had gone back to normal. Rumors still affected Sumaru, though not as severely as they once did. Demons were still the occasional problem.

Was the God just biding his time? The officer seems quite shaken by the mere thought.

"Baofu called me back to the Nexus. He had taken up shop there." Katsuya nods.

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

The Crawling Chaos is always biding its time. Or acting. "How did he call you?"