[Event Post]

[knowinginthedark]

*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.*

Comments

[knowinginthedark]

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?

[i_like_red]

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.

[knowinginthedark]

Hnmm...

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

[i_like_red]

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?

[knowinginthedark]

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.

[i_like_red]

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.

[knowinginthedark]

Well...

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

[i_like_red]

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.

[knowinginthedark]

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_like_red]

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

[knowinginthedark]

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.

[i_like_red]

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.

[knowinginthedark]

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.

[i_like_red]

*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.

[knowinginthedark]

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...*

[i_like_red]

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.

[knowinginthedark]

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?

[i_like_red]

*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.

[knowinginthedark]

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.*

[i_like_red]

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.

[knowinginthedark]

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.

[i_like_red]

Well, I feel I have a team here at SAI that I can really trust and work well with, so it all worked out. Teamwork is important, even in your field of work. I guess offering each other the resources we have to help the other is also a form of teamwork.

[knowinginthedark]

Well, that makes sense. You can't really operate a whole organization like this if it were just you, right?

So you have to learn teamwork. With people you can actually trust.

*... you feel like he has baggage there that he's shoving out of sight.*

[i_like_red]

*Juudai notices that there seems to be a bit of soreness on his side, on the topic of teamwork and trusting people, but he decides not to pry.*

So is there anything else you're curious about, in regards to SAI?

[knowinginthedark]

What else, what else...

Do you have an active research team? You mentioned one person, but I want to know if you have an operating team.