yogen | npc contact.3

( Let's just take advantage of this walk-in bs okiedokie.

...like Natsume still knocks but he isn't going to wait to be called in, he's just going to come in and he will stand at the door. We're business today. )

Good afterNOON, Arata-sensei. It's been a WHILE. ( ♪ ) I heard some interesting rumors about YOU... Is it true you're looking for love aGAIN? I have a few spells that might be able to help with THAT.

[ It's "walk in" but the door handle still jiggles until the counselor verbally invites the visitor in, which he does easily enough at the first sound of his door rattling. ]

How considerate of you, Natsume. Pasteli?

[ As always, he's sitting at his desk with several different types of chairs in a semi-circle in front of him. The snack bowl sits to his left, and if Natsume approaches, he may see two black triangle ears sticking up from behind the desk where the desk chair is pushed in. ]

( kitty...

Natsume ... picks the same chair he did last time, I don't remember what that was but he would. )

Thank YOU. ( And he'll take one, but he isn't eating it. ) There's rumors you can speak with the dead TOO, though I'm fond of the one that says you're a quack doctor from a mental asylum that lost his license and subsequently faked his own death to forge a new one and start anew without anyone knowing betTER.

( he's having fun making these up. )

You're welcome.

[ Please, he can't just hold it the entire time, there's honey in it, his hands will get sticky, ]

Rumors do tend to be based in fact. But quack doctor or not, people tend to return anyways. So, let's hear it: what sort of love spells did you bring for me today?

( MAYBE HE'LL EAT IT IN A LITTLE BIT you don't know his life. )

Standard FARE. Making someone attracted to YOU, eternal devoTION, mind control and general nuisance-type SPELLS, such as "They can think of me and only me" but without them being able to find any reason why that should be the CASE...

( ... )

I can also improve your sex LIFE, if you're more interested in physical relationships than the romantic and you promise not to tell anyONE. If I recall correctLY, you're not particularly good with more personal topics like THAT.

[ "Standard fare" "mind control" yeah

Yeah... Tempting, actually, but he doesn't need spells in order to do that. ]

I wouldn't say no to a little blue pill, but unfortunately such conversations are inappropriate in a school setting. If you take me out someday, perhaps then we can talk shop.

( He's gonna call the cops on you. )

I'm tragically not into older MEN, but I appreciate the ofFER. ( hate this. ) There was one more rumor I HEARD... What was it aGAIN?

( ... )

Something about memoRIES.

[ Adachi won't do shit ]

Quite tragic. Perhaps I can jog your memory; counseling does involve helping memories resurface from the depths of the mind.

( Why is Adachi the cop presence in this town, this really is hell. )

...Even ones that seem permanently forgotTEN?

Even those. Of course, the amount of effort differs greatly depending on the sort of memory and how deeply it's buried. The sort of memory as well.

[ He taps a finger to the inside of his left wrist, which, if Natsume were to glance over at it, the sleeve is pulled back enough during that motion to show bare, unmarked skin. ]

...compared to what you had for breakfast two Mondays ago, for example.

( His eye can't help but follow it, and... Natsume is getting a passing grade in tally lore, which is something all people strive to achieve. He doesn't move his hand to his own tallies, but his left hand shifts and he takes a bite of the pasteli.

..................Not that big of a fan but it's fine. )

So you could tell me how I received any tallies I don't remember the source OF. Is that IT?

[ You're the talley keeper... I'm counting on you ]

I could, but would that do you any good? What are you hoping to learn... and what would you do with that knowledge?

[ let's (: talk about you (: natsume-kun ]

( Unfortunately... I do actually have a tally column in his CR chart so (puts 0 for Counselor) thank you for this lore. )

Humans learn history to avoid repeating their misTAKES. Presumably, that's what anyone would desire from their tallIES. ( ... ) But I'm not interesTED.

( Well, that's not entirely true. He is, but would it really matter at this point? Maybe he killed someone. Maybe he was the victim. It hasn't meant anything at this point, to him, even if it bothers him just a little... )

What I am interested IN... ( Natsume pauses, considering how to word this. Delicate, delicate, conversations like this always are. ) ...The how of IT.

[ There's that slow smile on the counselor's face, the subconscious one a person wears when they're very interested in something. Natsume really is...

... ]

How you killed, or how you died? To what ends... It's not knowledge you necessarily need to refine a method. Or is it morbid curiosity? For many, there is a mental block turning them away from thoughts of life and death.

[ But not everybody. For some, that morbid curiosity is irresistible. ]

Tell me more.

( A mental block—he thinks about Akira's words, how some people won't remember because they don't want to, or that they do because they do want to... )

I hope it won't come as a disappointment to YOU, Sensei, but I meant how you revoke your seal on THEM.

( :) ... )

That's how you unbury them isn't IT? I remembered that word in the halls is that you can seal them in the first PLACE, so I assume reversing it would allow us to remember just what hapPENED. I don't mind if I'm wrong; that just allows for an opportunity to LEARN.

( Well, in this context, he doesn't mind being wrong, unless someone's an ass about him missing something. )

[ Oh. That is disappointing. ]

You want to learn how to unblock memories? Your own, or somebody else's?

( ........Maybe now he does— )

They aren't done the same WAY?

One's your own head, and the other is somebody else's.

[ One's called remembering, the other's called ...counseling, or something. ]

( If he could choose... )

...Someone ELSE.

What for? What do you hope to gain by dredging up somebody else's memories? People tend to lock away memories they'd rather forget, after all.

[ He unlocks somebody's memories and he'll make them bleed, picking apart a scab that's more fragile than it looks.

But, between himself and Natsume, it would be the one sitting there in front of him who is better suited in helping another to heal. ]

And then they find themselves steeped in curiosiTY, wondering what those memories could have BEEN. It's not like I'd go around picking at just anyone's old WOUNDS.

( Even he's not that cruel. )

...Embracing the past isn't necessary to HEAL, ( he continues softly, breaking the pasteli into smaller pieces, ) and TRUE, sometimes it might be better to leave it covered by up time or represSION. It's certainly easier to face forward--I won't hold any illusions about THAT.

But people are at risk of repeating the same mistakes they might have made to earn those locked memories if they don't have something to look back on for referENCE. ( something that's been on his mind, for a few months. ) If nothing ELSE, I find trying to prevent those kinds of tragedies to be worthWHILE.

( Also no lie but he's kind of a nosy bitch )

A singular death is always significant to the person involved. And then there is the larger picture.

[ The counselor leans back on his desk, arms outspread in gesture to his office— the school, the world. ]

Years upon years of mistakes from people who do remember, even if only subconsciously. If only they were faster... if only they were stronger... if only they'd struck first, taking out the threat before it could kill them.

[ He drops his hands, leaning forward to peer at Natsume. ]

You did well, preventing your tragedy.

( He feels vindicated—finally, words he's wanted to hear from months, that he was right to strike first,

and at the same time, it doesn't settle well with him, how pleased he feels to be complimented in such a way, and he ignores the clawing in his stomach to offer the counselor a polite smile. )

Thank you very MUCH. I'd like to see the end of the school YEAR.

( "I didn't want to die," but they're already dead. Seeing the end of the school year is a much better way to put it. )

Do you remember every student's talLIES?

( because that's QUITE A LOT. )

[ ... ]

You're well on your way, as long as you keep being you.

[ There's no need for him to say anything else about that, nor does he think Natsume is one of the students to be reminded of this. But then they're back to the tallies. ]

If I make an effort, otherwise those tallies are remembered in broad strokes. Some are more interesting than others, as you can imagine.

( ... )

What's the most interesting one you can rememBER? Keep your names; I understand patient confidentiality is imporTANT, and I'm not that interested to know who they ARE.

( just what they did. )

12/1 counselor "why did you post the party first" am dumb

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