#get paid to test security of places. but i'm not dia. he does not know about these things. DAISUKE THERE IS A CAREER THAT MAKES A LOT OF

[crimsontroupe]

Diamont quiets and listens, nodding along to pivotal parts of Daisuke's tale. Through he said he was a man of a few friends, Diamont would point without hesitation how many people Daisuke managed to know - even if it was under the shadow of somebody else.

"To me it sounds like you want to be normal in a world where everybody is normal", he concludes. Before continuing. "But you are not normal. And while you say that everyone fits in how they should, you do not. But is being different so bad?" The dragon tilts his head, the inquiry genuine. "If being different is what makes you yourself, then wouldn't 'being normal' be akin to denying one's self?"

While the question was as sharp as a knife, Diamont lets it out with a tone of genuine curiosity more than any malice. "You do not even trust yourself. How can you be proud of something you do not trust? Think of it like this: I could weave a spell, but if I fear that it might kill me, then the chances of me wavering are bigger than normal. Because I do not trust it. If I did, then I would have been sure that it would do what it is supposed to do." A frown makes itself present, finally.

"I do not waste time with people that cannot do anything." The statement is as cryptic as ever. But Daisuke should be smart enough to understand. "Yet I am still here. Talking to you. And telling you how I see things. Are your victories his, or are they yours, too?"

Diamont stretches his legs, expensive heels clicking against the floor. It gives him time to think. And to continue with his barrage. "Not everyone lives under the law, and if you enjoy stealing... what is wrong with it? Just do not get caught." That seemed simple enough. "It does not mean that you are a bad person. Hm. I do not know how to explain this. But you just are not. It just means that your skills are located somewhere else."

As for his social situation, Dia has absolutely no clue on how to comment on such things. "I have only met a few people through my entire life. If somebody chased me only wanting to put me down, I would push them away. If somebody rejected me, but wanted "me" for what I am not... I would run. I think people should accept you for what you are - wholly.

... Daisuke." The air hangs heavy for a moment. "Why are there so many people in law enforcement in your school? I thought they would be around your age. Is your school a school for prodigies or something? Whatever their parents do should not influence them at all. That is just stupid." He is about to open his mind and suggest to alter their memories, but thinks better about it. "I know there are schools where I am from, and some of them are specialized. In magic, in fighting, in alchemy. In whatever you think you want to be.

I always found out that the easiest way to stop people from berating you or saying stupid things about you is to prove them wrong. If they think you cannot amount to anything, then prove them wrong. They will be forced to swallow their own illogical misconceptions."

' eh ... ? ' was diamont's father some kind of important person , then ? after so much time , the niwa only now realizes that neither himself nor dark seemed to truly know anything about diamont's circumstances . there was the magic , and the hermit-like , self-admittedly unsocialized behavior , but the shocked , oblivious way the boy blinks up at the other could have confessed to the idea that he had always imagined someone , or something like diamont having simply been born , created , crafted and manifested right into adulthood and completeness before being shuttled off to work on whatever it was they were meant , or hoping to do .

with his own father having only recently returned home , and memories of the man himself being far more absent than present in his childhood , it lulls the niwa into a far more pensive silence than he'd like at first . then he nods , further impressed and finally digesting just how fantastically different their lives were --- unfamiliar , questionable concepts such as cranium preservers included .

' well , where i'm from ... everyone is supposed to go . we start with kindergarten , and move up in grades and learn a little about everything while we try to figure out what we really want to do as adults . but that's only half of it ... ' and his face twists a little , puzzling over how to possibly describe it --- the enormity , his own history , the various things that had happened and awoken within him over the span of just a single year or two .

' school ... has its own ecosystem . even if it's supposed to be about learning , it'd be unnatural if people didn't make friends and try to fit in with the people they saw every day , right ? but , i was never really any good at that . it wasn't like i was bullied ... and before i turned fourteen , everything was kind of okay . i mean , i had some friends , and i still couldn't do anything back then , and even though everyone already knew i was a total loser with no luck or even a good head , it wasn't like they ever shoved me into a locker or scrawled onto my desk or anything . it was only after i got rejected by my very first crush too that --- dark actually woke up within me . '

as if in response , the soft obsidian of his wings shifts again ; cloaks him gently , wherein he idly tugs at the feathers , drawing them closer to timidly cover his face without tearing any coarse looking quill out . ' i can't ... control it . and things like transforming , or having wings --- isn't normal where i'm from . everyone is the same , and only human , so the first time that i started to transform , i really thought my life was over . saehara , one of my classmates and my friend , he's a reporter , and the son of an inspector that's trying to catch me --- i mean , dark . the only thing that saehara wants to do is find out dark's true identity , so there have been times where i've been chased around , even at school . and then --- harada-san fell in love with dark even though she was the one who rejected me , and hiwatari-kun , the smartest guy in the class , turned out to be with the police , too . '

what a terrifying place . how had he managed to last this long surrounded by people that should have been his private nemeses on all sides ? when he reflected on it , not even he had any clue . everyone simply didn't believe that the niwa could have ever been anything but his usual : clumsy and always troubled , not particularly noteworthy and likewise not particularly worth any legitimate , extensive interest , or even as much as faithful respect .

' a-anyways , that's not all . there's saga-kun , the son of a famous film-maker , who's always chasing me around and asking me about dark , too . the thing about everything is ... everyone at school , everyone in the province , everyone in the country --- is always looking at me , and it gets scary . ' to be so cursed and hated and worshiped and loved despite the way that nobody , not a single soul truly knew who the great phantom thief was .

' school is supposed to be a place where you transform yourself , right ? err , i mean , that's just what i hear from others , but in the first place , i only go because my parents think it's right for me to have some basic knowledge as --- a thief . ' he winces ; grimaces . ' but i ... i don't know how to say it . i hated it at first , but then i started to like stealing a little , but i don't want it to be my entire life , either . and i definitely can't tell anyone anything , so it's been like this --- for so long . ' wasn't he just rambling by now ? would even half of it make any sense to someone like diamont ?

' um --- ' any flush reddens . ' sorry . what i meant to say was , it's like --- everyone's convinced that dark can do anything , and that i can't do anything . and i ... worry , that everyone might be right . i don't know if i can't change anyone's minds , or convince them --- ' and then there were the artworks themselves too , granted their own souls and feelings and lives , who always seemed to both torment yet ultimately turn out grateful towards him when he tried his hardest for their sakes .

' it would be nice to be proud ... of myself . but even when i can't be , i think what i want most is to be surrounded by people that can still make me happy , and that i'm able to trust . i just don't understand how --- how i'm supposed to get there . ' his glance darts over to the other , the thought fairly clear : understanding beyond being picked up by the ankle and shaken out , quite literally , of all his secrets was not a method he would have preferred for his every encounter .