[BITPR2] Extra Episode 5: What Goes Around, Comes Around

[Dorizzit]

Jehoel nods.

"Very well. I have two questions for you. Why did meeting Mikael change my perspective? And: will I help you fight the Hollow king if and when the time comes?"

[Kuroimaken]

"Those are the questions I asked you. You expect me to answer them?" Setsurou was left wondering what Jehoel meant to accomplish in this fashion.

[Dorizzit]

Jehoel nods.

"I do. You asked me to teach you how I discovered your past. This is how. Observation of what you said, and what you did not say. Paying careful attention to your actions, your statements, and the things that motivated you. And, above all else, the confidence to state a bit of guesswork as fact."

[Kuroimaken]

"I can only go by what you've shown me thus far. Which isn't much.

In all likelihood, Mikael changed your outlook because he had something, either in his outlook or way of being, that you had never before encountered. Motivation by boredom means you must constantly seek stimulation of a different or unusual type than what you've come to expect. That's the textbook answer anyway.

As for whether you'll help us stand against the Ghost King, I figure it all depends on whether or not you find there is something worth keeping safe in or of Soul Society. And possibly whether you believe you stand a better chance against him alone or with our aid.

Still, there's a limit to what observation alone could have accomplished. It's true I've given you more to work with than most. Your 'guesswork' pretty much had no holes in it."

[Dorizzit]

Jehoel shrugs.

"In your case, I also had the advantage of pattern recognition. I've seen stories similar to yours, before; rare, true, but they do exist. The important thing to remember is that every single fact you learn about someone is a piece to a larger whole, not a bit of trivia to be acknowledged and ignored. I based my guess off of the facts that you'd revealed to me: your honed, deceitful attitude, your casual behavior around Hollows, your love of art despite your career as a Shinigami, and your undetectable shunpo, then combined it with what I knew from the outside: I recognized the name Hishikawa, I had felt a Shinigami capable of hiding from me within Hueco Mundo, and I had seen the kinds of upbringings that breed the behaviors you displayed. Of course, I also possess the benefits of a true eidetic memory, but the real skill is in the philosophy, the way I approach interaction."

He pauses for a minute to allow this to sink in.

"I've mentioned on various occasions that for quite a while I rarely left Hueco Mundo until very recently, Mikael was untrained, and that meeting him caused my philosophy shift. By logical extension, I must have met him in Hueco Mundo. He could not have gotten there himself if he was untrained as I claimed. Therefore, he must have been brought there. By extension, he must have killed whatever brought him there, as Las Noches does not abduct humans. If it is easier to feed on someone in the Mortal World, why take him to Hueco Mundo? In order to convert him into a Hollow. If that is the case, then the Hollow he killed must have been strong enough to be a leader. High Adjuchas or even Vasto Lorde class. To kill it, Mikael must have possessed great power, and without any training at all. Now, with this in mind...what effects would this kind of unexplained power have on an individual in today's society? It would create feelings of isolation, beliefs of superiority, and create an inescapable separation from the rest of the world. In short..."

Jehoel leans back.

"He was a kindred spirit to me, in his own way. It is one thing waste your own power. But to see another with tremendous power and the unwillingness to accomplish anything with it? It causes thought."

Jehoel laces his fingers in front of his face.

"The other question is easier. Would you like to take a guess, or should I explain that one as well?"

[Kuroimaken]

"Not that rare a story. Mine just happens to have a peculiar outcome. But it really makes me relieved to know you did not accomplish all this on a first encounter without SOME source of outside information. Frankly, that'd make you MUCH more dangerous than any title or personal power you hold."

Setsurou seems fascinated by Jehoel's tale. While in a sense, it was predictable - not so much the outcome as the circunstances -, meeting with such an unlikely event was still fairly rewarding on its own.

"I have my theories, but I suspect the reasoning you'll present is significantly more interesting."

[Dorizzit]

"Knowledge is power, Setsurou. More so than most realize. I'm sure that you don't need to be convinced of this, but I feel it needs to be stated regardless. The ability to obtain knowledge, and the ability to put that knowledge to effective use, are extremely valuable skills. Ones that I have heavily refined. Regardless, the second question is, as I said, a bit less interesting."

Reaching out to the Go board, Jehoel lifts up one of the pieces and begins flipping it through his fingers.

"I have not bothered with much of anything in centuries. My current project is creating a state of permanent peace between the Shinigami and the Arrancars of Las Noches. I will see any goal I possess to the end with as much efficiency as I can muster. I do not get hung up on pride. Two swords are better than one. All of these lead to one conclusion:"

His fist closes fiercely around the piece.

"If the Hollow king or his minions do anything that threatens the alliance I have created, I will crush them. And I will do so together with the Soul Society, if they wish to so soil their hands."

He deposits the piece, unharmed, back onto the table.

[Kuroimaken]

"I hadn't doubted that. Yet I feel the need to remind you that both knowledge and power require purpose to be of meaning.

Perhaps more to the point... knowing that you have ears inside Soul Society in some capacity would be a much more troubling point of contention in the current state of affairs than even the Hollow King's lot. IF it made it to the Commander's ears, of course. Can't have allies spying on us.

Aren't you lucky to have made a friend that can keep just such a secret?"

The sing-song, playful tone he uses seems meant more to mask his usage of the word "friend" than the literal meaning of his words.

[Dorizzit]

"Believe me. I understand the need for purpose to give power meaning better than anyone else who has ever lived."

At Setsurou's second comment, Jehoel chuckles in that not-quite-condescending way that is his custom.

"Spies? Perish the thought. Why would I have any need of those when they could upset the delicate peace I have established. And..."

He pauses, clearly enjoying himself maybe a little too much.

"...When I've been wandering the Rukongai for centuries without ever being discovered?"

[Kuroimaken]

"That's actually a lot worse." Setsurou jabs. "Mostly because it makes us look really foolish. And incompetent. We'd have a lot of bruised egos, you know how those can get, right?

Then again, after the way you bypassed the Dangai when you made your offer, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

I did some checking after your last visit, by the way. No one remembers seeing a Hollow or an Arrancar, but you were slightly conspicuous in your own way. Just not one that drew sufficient attention to yourself." In short, Setsurou isn't ACTUALLY surprised to hear of Jehoel's snooping. "The house of Hishikawa has its own eyes and ears."

[Dorizzit]

"Well, it certainly wasn't going to be better."

Jehoel doesn't seem too perturbed about the importance of his revelation.

"Still, I'm glad someone managed to pick up the pieces I left behind. I was beginning to think that nobody in the Soul Society had a taste for breadcrumbs."

[Kuroimaken]

"I make it a point to be a busybody. Investigation, such as it is, is also an art in its own right. I have yet to master it, of course. Or else I would've been able to reverse the little observational stunt you did on me without so many questions asked."

[Dorizzit]

Jehoel smiles in a way that Setsurou has not seen before. This one might even be genuine.

"Oh, I very highly doubt that. Would you like to know why?"

Jehoel's tone and posture all indicate that this is a very serious offer on his part. Each word is drawn out and enunciated clearly, emphasis put equally on each one.

[Kuroimaken]

"Fire away. I'd like to see that reasoning."

[Dorizzit]

Jehoel quirks an eyebrow.

"Are you sure? I'm offering to reveal to you my one secret. It's knowledge will have consequences. It is not a decision you should make so lightly."

[Kuroimaken]

"It would be much more offensive to refuse it on the basis that I'm scared. The way I see it, it's not an offer you're making lightly either, and I should respect that.

So if you're comfortable enough, you can tell me."

[Dorizzit]

Jehoel nods.

"You cannot tell this to anyone. If you do...I won't threaten you. We both know what I'm capable of if roused. Suffice to say, it is something that I hold dear and which no longer provides anything that might allow an advantage over me."

He reaches into his pocket, then places a single blue crystal on the table, its insides swirling.

"If you still want to know...if you can promise me that you won't reveal this secret for anything less than the salvation of the world...then take this crystal."

[Kuroimaken]

Setsurou reaches for the crystal and stops just short of touching it. "I will keep this secret as closely as I possibly can. And you know just how far that is."

He then grasped the crystal.

[Dorizzit]

As Setsurou touches the crystal, it unravels into thousands of tiny strands which immediately stick into his arm and begin sliding their way up it. Underneath his skin, the pattern ripples and flows like water, climbing towards his head. As a quick study, Setsurou will most likely connect the sensation to the one he felt when being fused to Inmaculada; the feeling is almost identical, in fact. After a few seconds, the strands make their way to Setsurou's face, where they coalesce at his forehead and launch their way across the table to Jehoel's own face. The Arrancar closes his eyes and leans back in his chair. Darkness sets in...

[Kuroimaken]

...and as it vanishes, Jehoel may notice that Setsurou is...

...in tears.

Judging from how confused and shaken he looks, this is perhaps the first time he's shed tears since he completely mastered the art of acting. Since he has gained complete control of his emotions. He could definitely cry on queue if he wanted. For all his ability at theatrics, however, and even despite Jehoel's impediment at truly understanding human emotions, he could tell it was not so.

At the end of it, Setsurou is smiling through the tears. This, Jehoel can tell, is only in part a farce.

"I will keep this as close to my chest as I possibly can. But I have a question.

...why did you choose to show me this? It obviously holds much greater meaning to you than it 'looks'."

[Dorizzit]

Jehoel smiles slightly. And, once again, it contains an inescapable feeling of truth.

"I have no idea. Perhaps I felt I could trust you. Perhaps I wished to confide in someone. I base my actions primarily on instinct. It felt right."

[Kuroimaken]

"Instincts are an emotional gateway. At least in the sense that neither can be completely explained - though there is a basis for it." The spy notes before wiping his tears clean.

"I'm thankful you've shown me this regardless. I'm afraid I've nothing to reciprocate."

[Dorizzit]

"There is no need to. With that said, in answer to the original question...regardless of how much you knew of me, do you think that you could have deduced that?"

[Kuroimaken]

"Not in the slightest." Setsurou answers honestly before he can concoct a better answer.

[Dorizzit]

"And that is why it is critically important to possess outside detail. Mine is an extreme case, but the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. And most importantly of all, you need the ability to be wrong. It is better to call someone out on a hunch and have them correct you than continue working with a flawed hypothesis. As an added bonus, being wrong for some reason makes people think less of you. I don't think I need to tell you, of all people, the value of that. Watch. Listen to the meaning of that which goes unspoken. The words we choose not to say, in many ways, outweigh the usefulness of those we do. Try to understand the quirks of the individual. Never look at any knowledge in a void. That is how I find the truths hidden within the world. And, I'm afraid, that's all I have to teach on the matter unless you want me to follow you around deconstructing the psychological profiles of your colleagues."

[Kuroimaken]

"That... holds its own troubles. Can't help but admire the method, however.

I suppose given time I'll be able to do the same. Still, what spooked me the first time is that I had no means of knowing you HAD outside detail. The thought of a man who could deduce my whole past from nothing but observation is, to tell the truth, chilling."

[Dorizzit]

"Nothing is flawless. A method for accomplishing any goal can be refined infinitely, but can never be perfected. Determine what you need most from it, and focus on that. Mine sacrifices active investigation in exchange for being capable of astonishing precision.

What I would like to stress, though, was that I did deduce your entire past by observation. It just wasn't entirely of you. The concept of feats of deductive reasoning being performed in a void is ridiculous. Either you possess the relevant knowledge to understand the information you observe, or you do not. There is no 'inside' or 'outside.' Only comprehension."

[Kuroimaken]

"The distinction is more important than you give it credit for. Just because you have an easy time surprising me doesn't mean it is supposed to be easy."

[Dorizzit]

Jehoel is silent for several seconds.

"Would you care to expand on that?"

[Kuroimaken]

"The distinction or the ease of me being surprised?"