knowinginthedark | [Event Post]

[Event Post]

*So, Tarou's at SAI.

At the obviously very generous suggestion by Shian, Tarou decided that yes, SAI might be a good place to learn more about spirits and their influences-- or at the least, he could compare his own information to whatever SAI had to offer.

The place researching psychic duelists and how to help them was also a personal bonus.

But still, he's outside of the building, checking his bag to make sure all of his notes are in order. It's a good time to approach him casually.*

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Heh, only wish more people did. Then maybe I wouldn't have to worry or second-guess myself.

Though... I told you about why I got interested. Mind telling me exactly why you started this organization?

*Juudai gives him a small smile.*

Sure. It's a bit of a journey but I'm happy to tell you.

Hmn. Well, the organisation started out as a fairly small thing that was dedicated to the Duel Spirit side of things, called the 'Spirit Foundation'. I've been connected to Spirits most of my life, being able to hear and see them, before an event made them visible to everyone in and close to the Domino City area, and even further afield within Japan.

Myself and a friend started the Foundation as a way to help Spirits who choose to live on Earth get accustomed to it, as well educate people about them too.

Some years later, when the Arcadia Movement hit hard times and announced it was shutting down, I decided to merge the Spirit Foundation with it and take it on, creating the Spirit Arcadia Institute.
I'll admit, I had two driving forces behind making that decision. One was that I have a young friend and neighbour who at the time was just coming into her Psychic Duelist abilities. She was concerned about her new abilities and even more so, not having a place to really support her. The other driving force was that I wanted a place where those with special abilities could go to get training or advice, something myself and a lot of my friends who had abilities never had.

So that's generally how SAI came to be. It's my mission to continue growing the organisation with the goals in mind to support Duel Spirits within the city, educate people about them and create strong bonds with the 12 Dimesions, as well as supporting not just Psychic Duelists, but also anyone with a unique ability, no matter who they are. I hope to continue to make this place become somewhere safe where they can go and get support.

*he seems like he's mentally noting something-- specifically when you mentioned the Arcadia Movement, but he otherwise stays quiet during your explanation*

It's a fairly noble thought, wanting to make sure you can help others like that. I'm sure you end up with a lot of people coming who otherwise wouldn't have gotten the assistance they'd require, right?

*Juudai had noticed that his expression really seems to change when he mentions the Arcadia Movement. Did he have special interest in it? He decides to just keep a mental note to keep an eye on his reactions to it for now.

He gives a nod at his statement.*

Yeah, we get a lot of people coming here seeking help which they wouldn't be able to get anywhere else and we do our best to support them, even when we have little information on whatever ability they have.

How unique do your cases get, anyway? Without getting into specifics, at least.

I know such things are more common, especially around Domino City, but it's hard to get a grasp on it when comparing to other places, yes?

They can get pretty unique at times, but sometimes there are similarities we can work with too. It's why I wish to expand SAI's knowledge on all kinds of abilities.

But yes, it's fairly common nowadays around Domino City, but not so much outside of the city, which is why things seem to be much more relaxed here and some of the surrounding areas in regards to these kinds of things existing.

Hnmm...

Have you ever had any cases of someone being possessed by a spirit, or otherwise by something else?

Hmn. It's definitely not something that's a common occurrence, but it's something that I'm aware can happen and I have seen happen, be it a full possession or just something influencing the decisions of someone else.

*He looks at him curiously.*

Do you have a specific interest in it?

Sorta. I've mostly noticed a number of different cases before about it, so I was curious about how far your experiences have gone about it. *he adjusts his neck and shoulder a bit*

Or well, otherwise, how often you're able to tell if it's the case.

Well, like I said, they don't tend to come up very often, but, for the most part, we'd look at things sort of like erratic behaviour, or behaviour way out of normal for that specific person. Maybe things like blanks in memory too if it's a possession that doesn't have a hold of the person all the time.

Those tend to be the things that'd look for in a case of possession.

Well...

Have you ever noticed a case in possession where the person physically changed?

Physically changed? Hmn.

*He thinks for a moment.*

Not off the top of my head, but I could be forgetting something. I've seen... a lot... in the last 16 or so years.
That said, I guess if the possession is particularly strong, I would say it's not impossible for the person being possessed to take on characteristics of what's possessing them.

Heh. *he seems to take on the happier expression again, after looking so serious there for a moment.*

I've seen a lot of things myself, too. Of course, anything I say is something I've experienced before, myself!

I see. So you've seen or experienced a possession like that before?

Well, of course. Even in this city, or at the Duel Academy, in recent time.

It's actually pretty astounding, all things considered. Though both instances were incredibly different in terms of circumstances.

Well, I'm going to guess things are okay now?
But yeah, a lot of strange and varied things can happen in either place to be honest, with any number of different reasons or causes.

Well...

In one of the situations, sure! The other one is a bit of a question of if it's fine or not from what I've seen, since it seems ongoing?

But the actually immediately dangerous one seems okay. It's been okay.

*Juudai decides to not push his luck in asking for specifics, as Tarou seemed to be keeping everything vague for now.*

Alright, well, if anything happens and you need help or feel anything needs specific attention, you can reach out to us here. As well as doing work supporting Duel Spirits and those with unique abilities, we also help deal with any threats or dangerous situations that may arise.

Oh, you also have a response team for those types of situations?

*Probably smart to not push it, but it's likely it's related to what Shian was talking about-- that he's going to use a scapegoat.

But if he really does have an Earthbound figuratively leaning over his shoulder, that's hard to broach unless he says it himself...*

We do. It's basically me and the employees I trust the most. We also work hand-in-hand with OOParts, which is a team that focuses on things such as supernatural threats.

Thankfully big threats aren't as common these days, but they tend to still come up every so often.

OOParts... I don't really know a whole lot about them, but at least you have the resources to handle less than ideal situations.

Did they use to just happen all of the time? These "big threats" you'd deal with?

*He nods in response.*

More often than I would've liked, especially when I was younger and still at Duel Academy... and even a few years after that.
At some points it just seemed like one thing after another.

Aaaand I had a bit of a reputation of being the 'hero' at Duel Academy at the time, so a lot of the stuff I often ended up getting involved in.
It was a pretty rough time.

Huh. I wouldn't have guessed, looking at you, honestly.

I mean, you seem like you're pretty capable, but I guess you can't really imagine someone getting into the thick of situations unless you see it yourself!

*he rubs the back of his head a little, embarrassed.*

Anyone can crumble under extreme pressure and honestly, back then I was terrible at letting my friends help. I was always too worried they'd get hurt, so I often tried to not involve them and tackle things on my own.

Sometimes you just learn things the hard way.

Right... Learning teamwork is pretty important. Though I guess sometimes, there's situations you just have to handle yourself, right?

Of course, I've never really worked well with teams, myself, so I can sympathize with that in part.

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