IC: Appointment Post

[de_bel_survivor]

Want to thread with Kouki but one or both of us don't want to put up a new post/log just for it? Can't wait for him to make a post for the interaction? This post here is for threading it out at anytime, anywhere.

When making a thread, please be sure to label it in the subject as so:

[Action, February 20th]
[Voice, March 12th]
[Written, August 30th]

Comments

written; february 25th

[de_bel_survivor]

[After he compiled the answers from his latest post, Kouki glances at his journal and blinks. When someone asked for a talk, it's usually about anything but light, casual topics.]

Sure. Where do you want to meet?

[entreats]

Do you want me to come over to where you are? It's probably easier if nobody's around.

[ And Keiichi isn't home now, but who knows, she doesn't awkwardly want him walking in on it. It seems like it's Kouki's secret, after all, and Ange's the kind of person who can respect that. ]

[de_bel_survivor]

You can come over to my place. No one answer my post about being roommates, so it'd just me and my cat.

[Which means no one will walk in on their talk, whatever it might be about. He can lock the door, too, if it comes to it.]

[entreats]

[ .. Well, that sounds like the perfect circumstances. She doubts he's actually the type to lash out if anyone would know, so it's not like she's in any danger.. she nods. ]

I'll be right over. Give me some time to get there.

[de_bel_survivor]

[He won't lash out. It's a personal matter, but not worth hurting anyone over for.

That's reserve for the fools who dare hurt his friends. In a way, it's fortunate Atsuro's no longer here for that.]

Alright. I'll be waiting.

[entreats]

[ So with that she closes the journal, moving to go to where he lives. At least she does remember that after those other times, including the (oh so fun) time she woke up in Atsuro's body..

And although normally she might just have barged in, she does bother knocking on the door first now. ]

[de_bel_survivor]

[Soon after that, Kouki opens the door. The only thing different about him is the lack of headphones on his head.

Whatever they're going to talk about, it's better for him to look like he's paying attention.]

Hi, Ange-san. Come on in.

[entreats]

[ She does notice it. Ange's changed lately too, either way, the hairbobbles gone from her hair - instead she wears it down now, even if that isn't for this specific occasion. She nods, moving past him into the place, finding a chair to sit on. ]

Sorry to suddenly ask for this, it's just that I've been waiting for a while already.

[de_bel_survivor]

[He still wear his headphones on a regular basis, but they're now more of a reminder of his old self and his promise. But when he's now alone in his home, without having to worry about someone like Hiro--who didn't know--finding out, he grew a bit lax about his sense of self.

Regardless, the cat stay unharmed]

Nah, it's alright. I don't have anything important to do today.

[There's a chair available for her sit down at, right near a table and a sofa.]

...What do you want to talk about?

[He have a friendly smile on earlier, but now it's more polite and careful.]

[entreats]

[ .. Fine. Nothing left but to just say it now, right? After all, Ange has never particularly been a person to just circle around a subject instead of just directly going for it, even if it's soething as sensitive as this. So.. ]

I talked to you when you came back. What I'd like to ask you is what exactly was up with your state back there. [ She knows what was going on at that moment, sure, but it seemed so weird for the Malnosso to randomly do that to anyone. It must have some personal connection to him somehow, right? ]

[de_bel_survivor]

[...

He would like to wave it off, saying it's just another odd experiment. But the Abel thing wasn't the same as the more generalised effects, such as switching genders or giving them amnesia. If it's for people to believe they're Biblical characters, he would use that as an excuse.

Well, no matter.

Kouki's smile still stays.]

Aren't you getting straight to the point.

[+5 social link points For discussing such a personal subject, or soon to be, a part of him likes that she's being blunt.]

...But since you talked to me while I was Abel, I'll tell you.

[While he's in his right state of his mind. Unlike during the experiment at the resort, where he just told Tear without thinking. This time, there's no chocolates to blame for his own decision.]

I'm sure you're aware of the story of Cain and Abel, right?

[entreats]

[ She still looks as cool as ever, but she's watching him for sure. Trying to gauge his reactions to it. But he's still smiling, huh.. so he doesn't seem to mind talking about it? After all, he's just admitting it like this too.

.. Well, it's the easiest way, either way. She's not sure if she would have bothered enough if he wouldn't have wanted to talk about it. If it'd be too personal. ]

Of course. It's a story from certain religions, isn't it? It's since I knew the story that I was able to tell what was going on from the way you were talking eventually.

[de_bel_survivor]

[He doesn't mind talking about it in private. It would be an entirely different matter if Ange, or anyone confronts him in public.

He might be smiling, but he's careful as well.]

That's correct. Most people would connect Cain and Abel first to the Bible and Christianity. [His smile seems a little distant.] The story of the first murder in human history, or so they say.

[How just one event, from so long ago, still have an effect on him and Naoya to this point. If things went differently, his brother ("cousin" "brother" "cousin") wouldn't be under so much pain.]

Because Yahweh--God--favoured Abel's offering, Cain attacked and killed him. [He speaks as if he's talking about the weather. It's Kouki's attempt at emotionally distancing himself from the event. He's not Abel, only a part of the gentle shepherd.] As a result of the murder, Abel's soul scattered into many different pieces.

[He pause to watch Ange, and to see what deductions she can make from that.]

[entreats]

[ Don't worry, she can be blunt but it's not like she's unfeeling when it comes down to it.. she doesn't keep a lot of secrets anymore herself, but she can understand wanting to be more private about this.

But instead for now she just listens. Right, she knows the story. Two brothers, one kills the other. Although the next part is what surprises her, enough to make her speak up before even thinking about it. ]

Souls can.. scatter? [ Huh. But if he was acting like Abel, does that mean he has.. a piece of Abel's soul or whatever..? She waits first before thinking too much about it, the whole soul scattering thing is too new for her to think about without more information. ]

[de_bel_survivor]

That's correct. [He's going to skip the whole details behind Cain's curse. People who study the story would know he's cursed. They just don't know what the curse is.] I don't quite know how, but Abel's soul did.

From there, each and every one of the fragments would eventually reborn as a human throughout history. As luck would have it, I'm one of his reincarnations. [He taps his chest for emphasis.]

[entreats]

.. Sounds like great fun.

[ Dryly. Ange deals with everything using deadpan, okay, it's her way of coping with all the weird things happening around her.. but it just makes her shrug a little, as if it's not that weird of a deal in the end. ]

At least it's not something too serious then, right? Tons of people believe in reincarnation.

[de_bel_survivor]

Oh, it's pretty fun.

[Just as dryly, before he drops the dry tone.]

Normally, yeah. Most people wouldn't remember their past lives or know anything about it. It's how they can live their lives normally until they die. But, well, things happened and I became a special case.

[It all started when he punched out an immortal metal douchebag.]

[entreats]

But it doesn't really change anything about your life though, right? I mean, even if you're a reincarnation of him, that doesn't mean you're exactly the same. [ Kouki is.. well, pretty modern, after all. Hence why the thing from a while ago was so weird. ]

So then it's no big deal.

[de_bel_survivor]

Actually...

[It did change his life when he get involved in the War of Bel. His decision to become the King of Bel and wage war was all on him.

Him and time limit pressure and everyone urging him to make a choice. But still his choice.]

Even if I'm not exactly him, being one of his reincarnations was enough to change my life.

[entreats]

.. What happened? Did someone find out about it and put you on display or whatever?

[ Since it's not exactly like Ange can imagine the full extent of what happened in the boy's world. Especially not if this is all she has to go by and then some slight more information about their world she's learned thanks to Atsuro before. ]

Or does it have something to do with those demons?

[de_bel_survivor]

Yeah, it's related to the demons.

[That's right, that experiment gave Ange some information about his world. Plus there's Atsuro.]

Do you know about the War of Bel?

[entreats]

War of Bel..? No, I haven't heard about that part. Was there some sort of big battle with those demons or something? [ That would be a "war", after all. ]

[de_bel_survivor]

That's right. It's a war between the Bel demons for the right to be the King of Bel. Basicaly, becoming the demon overlord. [Can you see where this is going...] Those crowned with the name of Bel can participate.

Because I'm one of Abel's reincarnations, when I defeated Beldr...I became a qualified participant.

[entreats]

[ .. yeah, she has.. a vague idea. Geez, all this stuff about demons, at least she knows they're different from the ones she's had to deal with, but still.. ]

Are you telling me that you actually participated in it and won?

[ Kouki never said anything about having died, after all. ]

[de_bel_survivor]

Yep, that's right. Kouki Wakahisa, King of Bel and former human. [His smile is more bittersweet, now.] And currently using the name "Abel", so people wouldn't know that a human boy named Kouki Wakahisa is now the demon overlord.

[It's a way for him to distance himself from humanity, just to protect them.]