The arrival (OPEN, but obviously, one person at a time)

She stops to look back. her eyes watery and the look of a scar on her face revels itself.
".......T-thank you." speaking softly she heads out the door saying no more

"Goodbye, Sumiko."

He sits back at his desk and pulls a notepad out of his pocket.

(That's why she has a hood... I see. She's stronger than she looks.)

He scribbles down on it.

Huh, I heard about this 'psychotherapist.' I wonder what he has to offer...

I do not believe I am insane...okay, maybe that's a little bit of a lie to myself. I do not believe I know many others who do and think as I do much.

Hawke is probably the one who thinks like me the most but even I have many differences in mental signature from him.

I finally find the room and check out the door.

'psychotherapist'...

Just then a girl on the verge of tears-no not just any girl, that girl that Cook wanted to help-bursts through the door and knocks into me a little on her way by.

After this I take a second look at the plaque on the door.

...'Psycho, the rapist,' perhaps? It's an interesting thought-that is.

With that little mental joke to myself keeping me positive I lift my fist up at a 70 degree angle and naturally let the door's momentum knock for me.

It's a strange action but it's purely efficient.

A light gasp escapes my lips.

Is..that why I am so...different?...

I cannot help but feel like I've awakened and found why I am so different.

My mind sees so much in only the most efficient ways possible but that still does not explain why I like acting so weird.

Perhaps it's the fact that I like a reaction so much from people-I live for those unconscious mind games.

Am I actually a genius of some sort and don't know it (Side note: even if Satoshi is, he would never admit such a self-centered thing to himself unless it was practically proven on paper for him to read)?...No-my homework grades are awful...could it just be that it's a simple hobby of mine? Mind games?

What the hell type of hobby is that, man...

Well at least now I have something I may need help with.

To think a simple efficient way to knock caused this sea of thought in my head.

The impact of my fist stops the door and automatically puts myself in the doorway to be seen.

"Evenin' to you, sir."

(Guess I'll take notes later.)

He closes his notepad and stands up slowly.

"Hello. Seems like I don't need to tell you to come in."

He chuckles politely.

(He saw Sumiko running away... What a first impression I must give.)

He motions around the desk and approaches you, extending his right hand.

Test number one already? Straight to the point-aren't you?

I like that.

I take his hand and give it a single shake. I've never been the type to do more than one, that feels awkward to me for some reason.

My hand has naturally good grip. Not natural death grip, but good grip. I may not be able to throw a good punch but at least I have grip down.

"The name is Veach."

I also shoot him one of my trademark grins for good measure.

Anything as such can show good reasoning to most people you just met.

Not to mention I should probably show him that I wont take that little mishap at the door into my opinion of him unless he finds a way to show me he's as much of a joke as a few of the other therapists I've seen.

I swear, there are those good ones like what you see on TV but there are plenty of bad ones that don't know what in the hell they are doing.

The look on his face and in his eyes tells me that he isn't one of those but that's a variable like everything you find in someone's eyes.

Generally looks like a nice person, but doesn't look old enough to have as much experience as you'd expect from a psychotherapist coming to the school.

....Hmmm is it that he is just that great at what he does?

I heard that's how the head nurse came here. He was young too.

He returns the grip calmly.

(A single handshake? Hmm, maybe he doesn't like doing that, but at least he puts some energy in it. The way he "knocked" and this... Maybe he's used to motions like these, different. God this gaze is analytical, is he trying to evaluate me? Funny thought, it is.)

"Nice to meet you, Veach. Care to take a seat?"

While saying that, he heads back to his chair and sits down, showing you one of the two other chairs in the process.

"Grazie."

I calmly sit down in the chair and put my right ankle on top of my left thigh.

Why don't I let him throw the first pitch. I myself want to have help but I also want to see exactly how qualified he is to help with a unique thing like mine.

It wouldn't be a lie if I said I just came here to say hello and welcome to the school. After all, that is what I originally came to do.

Though, some time I would like to get to the bottom of myself...

He crosses his hands on the desk and looks at you for a bit, holding a perfectly neutral face.

"So, Veach, tell me. What brings you here?"

He seems to have the same aura about him as I do. Perhaps he has the same natural talent.

There are many people who are born with it but only some recognize it and use it at will. I suspect he is one of the people who are born with it but either never honed it or chose not to use it much for a personal reason.

Either way, this guy seems like the real deal. That's good, Yamaku needs someone like him with how many traumatisations students at the school have experienced.

"I just thought you might need your new day to be just a little more cheery so I thought I'd come here and welcome you to Yamaku."

Jobs can be frustrating so it's always an effective tool to use the kindness of strangers.

Those 'faith in humanity: restored' moments can really brighten a day and so I try to make 'em happen everywhere I go.

"Any type of warm welcome can always improve a day even when that day is already going good."

He seems surprised for a second. His eyes widen just a bit.

(Okay, that surprised me... Welcoming me? His words don't sound like those of an adolescent. He seems mature for his age, maybe that's why I felt this analytical gaze. Anyway, it's still pleasant to hear.)

He quickly regains his composure, giving you a smile less manufactured than the one he greeted you with.

"That is very nice of you, Veach. It is indeed pleasant to be welcomed like this. I just arrived, so I'm still getting used to the surroundings." (Not to mention this is basically my first day of work...)

He adjusts his glasses with his right hand in a way that makes you think he does that all the time.

"I must admit, this is a surprising demeanor. Do you greet every new staff member this way? Or are you doing this precisely because of my function, to evaluate my answers, because you have an ulterior motive for visiting me, but you are still unsure about telling me?"

(Oops, I was a bit harsh here, but then again, the kid looks very clever and straight-forward, so there is no need to waste time. I feel like he's expecting this anyway.)

His smile remains still during his questions and drops at the end of the last. He then looks at you calmly, with interest. Obviously waiting the answer with impatience.

Now what I wanted to say aloud but halt myself before it comes to fruitition (Gotta remember I'm speaking to a teacher) was what I imediately think to myself.

Weellll fuck, dude.

My mind switches from reaction mode back to thinking mode.

No use in leaving out any information like a politition for this next statement. Perhaps later if it is need be but I see no reason currently.

I was planning on seeing exactly how compitant he is and then come back tomorrow but if he really wants to play ball in his court, I'll play ball in his court.

He's earned it, after all.

"Half the first reason, half the other-I do like to play games but nearly every word that ever comes out of my mouth is true and the only ones that aren't I have good reason to keep to myself."

HAVE AT THEE!

I don't know why I thought of that after my last statement exactly but maybe it was because of the intense 'I speak no bull' vocal signature I gave off.

Always good to let someone know your own code of honor before speaking honestly so they do not confuse harsh truths with fibs when you do not wish for it.

"You've proven your worth to this school to me and I feel like I might have found my new favorite staff member."

I'll let him respond first before I continue. (for both extra information from him and...well-because my computer needs to restart for a moment.)

(Games? Mind games? That's interesting.)

"So you keep lies inside and tell only the truth? That's the other way around usually."

He chuckles a bit.

"I do appreciate honesty, it's a good trait to have in my opinion."

(New favorite staff member? Wow, this is good to hear, all right. Still surprising from someone I've known for barely five minutes though.)

"I am glad I have, even if I barely spoke. Do you have a low opinion on the other staff members, or is talking with me a fun game for you?"

He smiles again.

"Neither are my reason though one is truth. I give my respect to anyone I meet. Afterwards it is up to them if they wish to keep that respect."

My grin appears for the first time in Hemington's presence.

"But I suppose you are curious of me with more than just my man code so I'll explain my situation."

"It's not exactly a problem, nor do I feel like there is any general diagnosis for it, but I am generally curious about it."

"All I want is a general opinion of a professional in psychology."

My face is more on the serious side now.

A strange hybrid between serious and uncaring. Like I'm just naturally being serious without much emotion shown even though I am not hiding a thing.

(Respecting first, then it's up to the other... That's a nice way of seeing things. He is really mature for his age.)

He smiles a bit more when you grin, then goes back quickly on serious mode when you start talking about you. He maintains a neutral face, but you can tell he is listening intently.

"You'll have it. Go on."

My face has the same expression but with the way I'm sitting and the topic I speak of causes me to naturally use body language like an Italian or mob boss of some sort.

I generally talk with my hands a lot but those movements become slower and more pronunciated.

"You see, throughout my life I have done things by way of...ehhhh what's the word-efficiency."

"Naturally if I don't think about what I do, I end up doing stuff that that entrance back there."

My thumb points back to the door.

"That and I love to act strange in front of people for a reaction."

"This all happens as well as my mind's way of operation. I've found that, unlike most, the line between my mind and my consciousness is much more strengthened and my mind will often times let my consciousness know stuff on a need-to-know basis."

"This of course causes me to be pretty forgetful when it comes to matters that may be important to my consciousness but aren't to my mind."

"That's generally all I know of it so far. But there is one more interesting detail."

"It may be genetically inherited and awoken by an experience."

"I only know of one possible person to have it in my family, and that is my-long passed-grandfather who my almost exact personality comes from."

I could go on and on about my mysterious skill (or state of mind) but instead I keep it brief.

"So what are your thoughts on it? What do you think it all means?"

My face becomes less of the serious hybrid and one of immense thought.

He listens to your whole explanation without batting an eyelash. He seems really concentrated, but he doesn't take notes like you would expect a PT to do. He seems to try to engrave your words in his mind.

He then furrows his brow in thought for a bit and adjusts his glasses.

"So, when you do those efficient actions, it's your mind taking 'control' of your actions, according to you? I saw what you did with the door, and by efficiency I understand that you mean doing the most with the least effort, ignoring conventions."

"You love acting strange? So your consciousness adopts this behavior too? Or sometimes your mind doesn't take over, but you still feel like you want to do what it would tell you to?"

(Let's focus on these points for now. I don't want to spam him with questions, we have time. We'll talk about the eventual grandmother's legacy after we clarify this foggy field a bit.)

He puts his elbows on the desk, crossing his hands above it and looking at you. His look is serious, analytical, but not judgmental.

"Nearly correct. My mind doesn't take control, it's more like my natural style of action."

"For future referance it's probably a good idea to clarify that my consciousness is all my mind knows and remembers as well as my 5 senses."

"My mind is all of the information I take in and store. That includes my mental coding as well as everything that makes me act like me."

"Most people have a small boundary between the two. However, there are some-myself included-who generally seem to have a thicker boundary."

"This creates an effect similar to a fragmented mind."

"When more secluded-"

*Brain fart*

"-Oh...I don't know where I was going with that."

"This generally happens when I think too much and don't even monitor my own speech. If I come back to reality too quickly I generally forget what I was going with. This is when I speak straight from the mind through my consciousness."

"Generally, my point is that it's not controling, it's more of a subconscious list of guide lines given to me."

"As for the reason for the strange behavior, that involves my mental coding. It's something I am born with."

"It's similar to American government in a way. Through checks and balances my conciousness and mind manage to stay equal in power. I may end up acting one way or another simply because of a certain situation."

"But bottom line is I do in fact like acting strange."

I grin a bit and lower my head.

"The look on somebody's face for instance when you sing them a love song is priceless."

"I guess all it is is my mind trying to get stronger. Doing it's best to mess with people."

"Like bench-pressing to gain strength, only the weights are others' minds."

"I get the same feeling when I am successfuly able to fool or startle someone."

"So, from what I understand, you're often driven by your subconscious, or instinct, and if you try to escape it too much, you lose track. Like you just did."

He frowns a bit.

(When more secluded? Does something happen when it's like that? He couldn't go on at this point. Wonder if there is something more...)

"How does it work exactly? Do you hear the 'lines given to you', like you said? No, you said natural, so it's something you do automatically. You always know if it's your mind or consciousness talking? You seem so, since you said 'this is what happens when I don't monitor my speech'."

He adjusts his glasses.

"You become a spectator of your own words and acts. I mean, you can do that. Going back in your subconscious and let it work for you."

"Now you say you were born with it. You always had this 'code'. You like to act 'strange' now, even while monitoring your acts. Your mind trying to become stronger..."

He puts his hands on the desk again and narrows his eyes.

"I don't think your mind is an entity trying to get stronger. I think you like this laying back and letting flow and got used to it. Since you arrived I saw that you liked to test people. You did it with me. You let it take control because you enjoy it, but I think you're still behind the levers, in some way."

My eyes open and I push back my hair from in front of my face.

"I am. In a way, this is the essence of insanity."

"Insanity is the mind acting on it's own without the consciousness."

"I know I am not insane, no matter how weird I act."

"I am in control. I just over all wonder what drives me to act the way I do."

"I feel like my mental structure isn't normal and that's what I'm curious about. Not really worried as much as I am curious."

"That's where your opinion comes in. I've always been able to infer a solution to most problems or mysteries but this case is different-it's not something I fully understand, myself."

My leg comes down and I lean forward. Looking hard ahead of my general position.

(Now we are getting at it. This is a very complex case. Not case, Denser, a person. Come on. Let's see...)

"I don't like the word insanity much. It's just simplifying one's 'out of the norm', for all the sense that it makes, way of behaving."

"Your subconscious is more present, it seems. Now, you said you had it since you were born. Did you behave like this without controlling at first? Were you... afraid of it and got used to it after some time? Or did you have the 'control' even when you were a kid?"

"I've always had control, it's the urge that's what gets me curious."

"I was always a strange child but I never noticed my way of thinking until around my 9th year of schooling."

"To put it more bluntly, I've never believed in Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny or anything even when my parents would pretend them out."

"I've matured mentally and everything, I've just always thought things through even as a child."

"The funny part is I've always also been religious, though even if I never really had reason to believe as a smaller child."

"You'd expect a kid who hasn't been told anything to prove such a thing, yet who doesn't believe in Santa Clause, to pretty much only be a church boy to please his family."

I give a light chuckle on the end even if it isn't any funny.

"Other than that I had a light sense of humor, a wicked-stiff innocence, a quiet behavior, and around my 4th year I got into drawing stick fights so I could draw their weapons better."

"Generally a normal kid behavior-wise."

"And what about your grandmother? What role did she play?"

"Grandfather.."

I correct him.

"My grandmother was sharp as a knife but she didn't seem like a carrier of the face-reading gene."

"My grandfather...I don't know, just the way he acted over all was similar in stature to mine. It may be just laziness with how he acted but he has shown before that he wasn't empty-headed."

"He was also one who liked reactions."

"To give you an idea, he's the one that pretty much taught me how to call someone 'dog fart' in German."

"I probably would of learned it anyway since I was already being taught the language my parents but I always keep that little detail in my mind."

(Stupid me, grandfather. What a mistake.)

"Oh, sorry, your grandfater."

He sighs for his mistake and thinks for a bit before speaking again.

"I understand. So you were the logical kind, thinking a lot about everything. Indeed, you being religious is surprising. What in religion pleased your mind? Some reasurrance about how the world works? Fear of death? Being non-religious myself, I am curious."

"So, you want to know what drives you, but you are not worried about it. Did you ever regret being this way?"

Another point scored for this guy. I like people who can look at other religions or religions in general and say 'I don't believe what you believe but I'm curious about your belief system, understand where you're coming from, and understand how you could come to the conclusion that that is what you believe.'

"For my childhood, I don't really know. I guess it could have been for an easy answer to the mystery of 'forever,' but I never really thought of it in that way.

"I feel more like it's always been my calling."

I'd rather not go further. Telling someone who doesn't have my beliefs, no matter how understanding, why I have my beliefs past my childhood is a little out of my comfort zone and everyone knows how vast my comfort zone is.

"Like it was hardwired in my mental coding to believe it instantly after I was told about it."

'Did you ever regret being this way?'

This is something I was never asked before...heh-well, nothing in this conversation has been asked of me before so I take a couple seconds to think.

"From the time I discovered it I had thought 'this is the reason I am like this-this is my bane'...but two months before now I had made a pact with myself to become more social, no matter how weird I am."

"That is when I met my friends here...hm~such wonderful people."

"But that is when I found that it was really just my outlook on the idea of a social life that put me in that lifeless pit for almost my entire school career."

I stop thinking so much and realize I've been talking to someone without a clue to what I mean so I clarify.

"I had not a single friend or drop of social life in the past. The only people I had were my family."

"Anyway-point being: after these two months...I don't regret it all one bit."