The change in schedule today hadn't been bad-but more interesting was that there continued to be no sign of the military whatsoever. Perhaps things would be different come nightfall, but as for now... it certainly seemed that they had cleared out completely. Or perhaps the soldiers' acting had simply gotten better.
In either case, Izaya had enjoyed observing the reactions to the changes, or the lack thereof. From the looks of relief he'd seen earlier, it was easy to guess that the change in food (both at breakfast and with the bagged lunches that had been handed out) was welcome. Beyond that, there had been precious little change in the behavior of those whom he'd watched today. But then again-the routine of the day to day life in the Institute had barely changed. The only real change in the environment had been in the previous set of guardians returning (as well as their friendlier exteriors).
Lunch had long since been consumed by the time the last shift of the day was announced. Izaya didn't shift from his spot in one corner of the sun room, his chair turned just so in order to get a good look at the whole of the room. In one hand he held open his notebook, a half-composed draft of an announcement on the page, but he only gave it a glance every once in a while to add or revise a few words.
Now was such a time; he tore his eyes away from Celty (whom he'd spotted joining a woman he didn't know the name of) to make it look as though it was what occupied his attention rather than the shifting crowd.
After last shift, Mikado didn't know what to think. It was getting harder to keep the 'reality' that he knew completely straight. With all the things people were telling him, and then that Harrington soldier, and then Tolten last shift.... Mikado was at a loss of what to believe--or, to say it more bluntly, he was at a loss of what to know as fact. There was a fluidity to belief, and the boy could honestly believe all he wished without the knowledge of what was correct.
Therefore, when he stepped from the arts and crafts room back into the sun room, somewhat dazed, it was a relief to see Izaya by himself. Mikado had seen the man a few times during the days but he was normally talking to someone. Mikado had, um. Ran into Izaya last night, but that hadn't been, uh, wholly productive. And honestly, he wouldn't have touched on this subject last night. That, and... Mikado wanted the man's opinion.
The boy approached casually, halting a few steps from him to bow his head. Then he held out a homemade card covered in glitter and markers. It looked much like something an elementary student would do, down to the lazy way that 'thank you' had been scribbled along the edge. Despite what he had thought at the beginning of last shift, there wasn't really anyone else to make a card for, and Mikado was grateful to the man. Still, he acknowledged the horribleness of it by not expecting anything. His expression remained serious. "This is for you." Then, without much pause, the boy continued. "I wanted to get your opinion on two things."
A beat, and he inclined his head again. "If you're willing."
Izaya had been contemplating whether he should add some small doodles to the note he was slowly composing in order to make it seem more like it came from a girl (if Kanra's manner of speech wasn't enough)-but he'd glanced up just in time to see Mikado stop a few steps away from his position. His eyes widened in surprise when the boy suddenly held something out towards him. "Oh?"
A card, it seemed. Homemade, it seemed. For him, he'd said.
"Thank you..." he said, reaching out to accept the card. Izaya's lips curled into a smile, not because of Mikado's offering that he was now looking over ('thank you', it read) but because of the fact that Mikado had also asked for his opinion.
He looked away from the card back up to Mikado's face. "Are you troubled about something? If my opinion will help"-or even if it would harm-"then I'll gladly give it."
...The response was easily said, with no hint of resentment at the request. Mikado relaxed slightly, then nodded his head, moving to pull a nearby chair closer to sit. Perhaps he should just ask what he needed without reservation, but he was beginning to think that he was starting to rely on Izaya, and that put them both in positions Mikado was uncomfortable with. Troubling the man every time Mikado was clueless would soon become inane, and the fact remained that Mikado wished to succeed on his own.
This, then, would be something he would restrict in the future. And he would try to even the scales if at all possible.
The first of the two things to be questioned was possibly more conversational than the second, and to that, Mikado shifted, hands folding in his lap self-consciously. "I was wondering if you...." How to say this. He frowned in thought. "Um. ...Maybe, what you know... About magic?" The question seemed almost a question of phrasing, and he winced at the childish nature of the sentence. It remained, however. He couldn't just ignore what he had been told. "That, and... Different worlds."
Now that he had verbalized it, he felt more idiotic than before. In front of Tolten, all of it seemed to border the realm of possibility, but Izaya had existed in Mikado's reality, and the press of what was actual compared to what was thought seemed more bright for the comparison. But for certain. If any that were here knew the truth behind it, Mikado would believe this person over others. So it was something that had to be asked.
He shifted restlessly, making an uncomfortable face.
Since the moment that he'd first noticed that Mikado had arrived in this place, Izaya had known that there was only so much he could tell the boy at one time-at least while still expecting to be believed. He knew he hadn't been the first to talk to Mikado, either, so all he'd done at that time was to corroborate one or two of the things he might have been already told... At that time, he hadn't touched at all on the topics Mikado had just brought up-while he'd already had some exposure to the ideas (thanks in no small part to Castiel), they had still seemed too outlandish then to even consider passing on to a newcomer.
"Ah," he said softly, tucking the thank-you card into the journal and closing it. "You've heard people talking about magic, I take it? Or have you seen it for yourself?"
Mikado was acting so nervous just in asking about it that Izaya felt confident that it hadn't been the latter-or at least that he hadn't seen anything that had been unmistakable. That 'trick' of Harrington's might have been just that in the end, after all, no matter what he'd implied at the time.
"I don't know if it should be called 'magic', but I do know that some people here have extraordinary abilities... Abilities that can't be explained so easily when you restrict yourself to thinking about what an 'average human being' is capable of." Of course, even back in Tokyo there were exceptions to the average to be found... such as, for example, Heiwajima Shizuo. Izaya's smile wavered momentarily at the thought of the man, and he quickly added, "There are completely ordinary people here, too, but it almost seems as if someone went out of their way to collect some of those extraordinary people and put them together here... Assuming, of course, that the men in charge of this facility weren't the ones responsible for those abilities in the first place."
As for the question of different worlds... It was a less clearly defined topic, so Izaya wasn't sure what to make of it for the moment. He knew there had been references to different time periods, and he'd once seen listed on the bulletin board some languages and placed he'd never heard of. He hadn't given it much thought then, but now...
No matter what, there was less he could say on that subject. Feigning ignorance for the time being, both to clarify and perhaps learn something himself in return for sharing, he asked, "By 'different worlds', do you mean other planets? Or simply an unfamiliar surroundings-like a different time and place?"
There came no belittlement for the question, and a wash of gratitude fell through him. Mikado nodded. "I had a discussion with someone." When Izaya continued, Mikado found nothing to doubt. In fact, it lined up with some of what had been spoken. Again, the boy nodded in understanding. "They discussed it like it was something common to them, and even that it's used as an energy source instead of electricity. They didn't seem to really know what electricity was." Mikado had actually briefly explained it, but he didn't need to go into that.
The other subject was a bit more questionable, by any rate, and he frowned in contemplation. "Other worlds like.... Completely different realities, I think. Maybe planets.... But it seemed more like...." He paused, then looked up, suddenly seemingly confident in his thoughts. "A different reality from ours," he said firmly.
The information Mikado had shared through his confirmations and clarifications wasn't much, but it was enough for Izaya to consider it worth having shared. That there was someone here who didn't know of electricity wasn't surprising given what he'd heard about time periods, but to consider 'magic' as an energy source in its place? Intriguing.
"Ah... Well, if it's about 'different realities', I can't quite say that I know much about the subject. Alternate realities are sometimes appear in fiction; when it comes to the 'real world', their existence has never been proved... But their existence has never been disproved, either. If someone here is claiming to come from somewhere that isn't the world as we know it, at any point in history, then naturally they're either telling the truth... or truly mad. It's just a question of which."
Naturally, if you were to ask the staff, the answer would be the latter. But who was to say that there weren't a few here who were genuinely insane?-even if they may not have been when they arrived.
"If you don't mind, might you tell me the name of your friend?" he asked as pleasantly as he was able. "I'd be interested in hearing more about where he says he comes from."
What Izaya said was the same as Mikado's own deductions. It was either truth or insanity, and what Mikado had thought was.... "I don't think he was insane," he offered, after a beat of thought. "There was rationalizations behind what he said, and he was revealing too much for it to have been completely planned." Unless that kind of madness took over his entire personality? But Mikado honestly hadn't gotten that kind of impression from the man.
Izaya asked for the other man's name, and Mikado only hesitated briefly. Something like that was disliked on principle, and if it had been anyone else, Mikado would have said no. But Izaya was helping him, and so Mikado had no reason to do anything but agree. "He gave his name as Tolten," he replied, and there was nothing in him that felt that was a wrong move. He almost added that the man introduced himself as a knight, but held back. He had already colored Izaya's impressions enough. Mikado would prefer to know what he thought if he spoke with him. "If you say that you know me, it might make sense to him. We were trying to understand each other."
Here, there was an actual hesitation, and Mikado glanced down before asking. "...Would you tell me your conclusions if you speak to him?" Having something like that remain a mystery... Was almost torturous. Mikado would start actively seeing if some of the things spoken of held with others, but still, that fact of the original premise it had came from-- Like stated originally, Mikado wanted to know Izaya's opinion.
Izaya's expression turned to one that was almost pitying at Mikado's conclusion that his friend was sane, but he said nothing on the subject. That the man spoken lucidly and rationally didn't necessarily mean he was speaking as his true self-he'd seen that well enough just recently in Castiel's brief bout of misplaced identity (and as Venkman had so eloquently pointed out, the deluded rarely ever acknowledged that they were so). Or, the man's state of mind aside, it was also possible that the he had been knowingly leading Mikado on-that rather than forgetting himself, he could have been sharing fantasies of his own choosing. As it was, Izaya couldn't determine what kind of a person he was simply from a few small slivers of secondhand information, but the fact remained that there were more types of humans in the world than only the honest ones.
He nodded when Mikado gave the name: Tolten. Izaya noted it, already planning to seek the man out in the near future-not today, as the afternoon was wearing on and it was unlikely he had the time to arrange a meeting, but soon.
"I'll be sure to mention you," he said. Dropping Mikado's name was something he would likely do even if the boy hadn't suggested it, but he'd wait until he'd had a chance to feel the man out for himself first... The prospect of seeing even a small difference in behavior before or after bringing up another person was too exciting to ruin by bringing up their mutual acquaintance too soon. "As for sharing my findings... I can do that. It's a fair enough payment in exchange for the name, I think, so I'll let you know after I've had a chance to meet with him."
In either case, Izaya had enjoyed observing the reactions to the changes, or the lack thereof. From the looks of relief he'd seen earlier, it was easy to guess that the change in food (both at breakfast and with the bagged lunches that had been handed out) was welcome. Beyond that, there had been precious little change in the behavior of those whom he'd watched today. But then again-the routine of the day to day life in the Institute had barely changed. The only real change in the environment had been in the previous set of guardians returning (as well as their friendlier exteriors).
Lunch had long since been consumed by the time the last shift of the day was announced. Izaya didn't shift from his spot in one corner of the sun room, his chair turned just so in order to get a good look at the whole of the room. In one hand he held open his notebook, a half-composed draft of an announcement on the page, but he only gave it a glance every once in a while to add or revise a few words.
Now was such a time; he tore his eyes away from Celty (whom he'd spotted joining a woman he didn't know the name of) to make it look as though it was what occupied his attention rather than the shifting crowd.
[Come hither, Mikado]
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Therefore, when he stepped from the arts and crafts room back into the sun room, somewhat dazed, it was a relief to see Izaya by himself. Mikado had seen the man a few times during the days but he was normally talking to someone. Mikado had, um. Ran into Izaya last night, but that hadn't been, uh, wholly productive. And honestly, he wouldn't have touched on this subject last night. That, and... Mikado wanted the man's opinion.
The boy approached casually, halting a few steps from him to bow his head. Then he held out a homemade card covered in glitter and markers. It looked much like something an elementary student would do, down to the lazy way that 'thank you' had been scribbled along the edge. Despite what he had thought at the beginning of last shift, there wasn't really anyone else to make a card for, and Mikado was grateful to the man. Still, he acknowledged the horribleness of it by not expecting anything. His expression remained serious. "This is for you." Then, without much pause, the boy continued. "I wanted to get your opinion on two things."
A beat, and he inclined his head again. "If you're willing."
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A card, it seemed. Homemade, it seemed. For him, he'd said.
"Thank you..." he said, reaching out to accept the card. Izaya's lips curled into a smile, not because of Mikado's offering that he was now looking over ('thank you', it read) but because of the fact that Mikado had also asked for his opinion.
He looked away from the card back up to Mikado's face. "Are you troubled about something? If my opinion will help"-or even if it would harm-"then I'll gladly give it."
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This, then, would be something he would restrict in the future. And he would try to even the scales if at all possible.
The first of the two things to be questioned was possibly more conversational than the second, and to that, Mikado shifted, hands folding in his lap self-consciously. "I was wondering if you...." How to say this. He frowned in thought. "Um. ...Maybe, what you know... About magic?" The question seemed almost a question of phrasing, and he winced at the childish nature of the sentence. It remained, however. He couldn't just ignore what he had been told. "That, and... Different worlds."
Now that he had verbalized it, he felt more idiotic than before. In front of Tolten, all of it seemed to border the realm of possibility, but Izaya had existed in Mikado's reality, and the press of what was actual compared to what was thought seemed more bright for the comparison. But for certain. If any that were here knew the truth behind it, Mikado would believe this person over others. So it was something that had to be asked.
He shifted restlessly, making an uncomfortable face.
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"Ah," he said softly, tucking the thank-you card into the journal and closing it. "You've heard people talking about magic, I take it? Or have you seen it for yourself?"
Mikado was acting so nervous just in asking about it that Izaya felt confident that it hadn't been the latter-or at least that he hadn't seen anything that had been unmistakable. That 'trick' of Harrington's might have been just that in the end, after all, no matter what he'd implied at the time.
"I don't know if it should be called 'magic', but I do know that some people here have extraordinary abilities... Abilities that can't be explained so easily when you restrict yourself to thinking about what an 'average human being' is capable of." Of course, even back in Tokyo there were exceptions to the average to be found... such as, for example, Heiwajima Shizuo. Izaya's smile wavered momentarily at the thought of the man, and he quickly added, "There are completely ordinary people here, too, but it almost seems as if someone went out of their way to collect some of those extraordinary people and put them together here... Assuming, of course, that the men in charge of this facility weren't the ones responsible for those abilities in the first place."
As for the question of different worlds... It was a less clearly defined topic, so Izaya wasn't sure what to make of it for the moment. He knew there had been references to different time periods, and he'd once seen listed on the bulletin board some languages and placed he'd never heard of. He hadn't given it much thought then, but now...
No matter what, there was less he could say on that subject. Feigning ignorance for the time being, both to clarify and perhaps learn something himself in return for sharing, he asked, "By 'different worlds', do you mean other planets? Or simply an unfamiliar surroundings-like a different time and place?"
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The other subject was a bit more questionable, by any rate, and he frowned in contemplation. "Other worlds like.... Completely different realities, I think. Maybe planets.... But it seemed more like...." He paused, then looked up, suddenly seemingly confident in his thoughts. "A different reality from ours," he said firmly.
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"Ah... Well, if it's about 'different realities', I can't quite say that I know much about the subject. Alternate realities are sometimes appear in fiction; when it comes to the 'real world', their existence has never been proved... But their existence has never been disproved, either. If someone here is claiming to come from somewhere that isn't the world as we know it, at any point in history, then naturally they're either telling the truth... or truly mad. It's just a question of which."
Naturally, if you were to ask the staff, the answer would be the latter. But who was to say that there weren't a few here who were genuinely insane?-even if they may not have been when they arrived.
"If you don't mind, might you tell me the name of your friend?" he asked as pleasantly as he was able. "I'd be interested in hearing more about where he says he comes from."
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Izaya asked for the other man's name, and Mikado only hesitated briefly. Something like that was disliked on principle, and if it had been anyone else, Mikado would have said no. But Izaya was helping him, and so Mikado had no reason to do anything but agree. "He gave his name as Tolten," he replied, and there was nothing in him that felt that was a wrong move. He almost added that the man introduced himself as a knight, but held back. He had already colored Izaya's impressions enough. Mikado would prefer to know what he thought if he spoke with him. "If you say that you know me, it might make sense to him. We were trying to understand each other."
Here, there was an actual hesitation, and Mikado glanced down before asking. "...Would you tell me your conclusions if you speak to him?" Having something like that remain a mystery... Was almost torturous. Mikado would start actively seeing if some of the things spoken of held with others, but still, that fact of the original premise it had came from-- Like stated originally, Mikado wanted to know Izaya's opinion.
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He nodded when Mikado gave the name: Tolten. Izaya noted it, already planning to seek the man out in the near future-not today, as the afternoon was wearing on and it was unlikely he had the time to arrange a meeting, but soon.
"I'll be sure to mention you," he said. Dropping Mikado's name was something he would likely do even if the boy hadn't suggested it, but he'd wait until he'd had a chance to feel the man out for himself first... The prospect of seeing even a small difference in behavior before or after bringing up another person was too exciting to ruin by bringing up their mutual acquaintance too soon. "As for sharing my findings... I can do that. It's a fair enough payment in exchange for the name, I think, so I'll let you know after I've had a chance to meet with him."
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