[For real though, Susano-o is a part of him - Kon might as well have hold Yosuke that he thinks he's ugly or has a tiny dick - and he's saved his life more times that Yosuke can count. You don't diss the Persona, mmkay.
He ends the video and switches back to audio.]
Whatever. Was there a point to asking that, or...?
[Oh right, the reason. Kon had almost forgotten that.]
When I ended up in Adachi's body, he was coherent, and he seemed to remember it even after he got back in his own body. Which, like I said, only happens with someone who's got powers, or who has the ability to have powers. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but looking back on it...
Ah... so, it was probably because he has a Persona, you're saying?
[Did Kon and the others not know that...? Had Adachi been hiding it from them for some reason?]
When we fought him, before we came to the Box, it took four of us to take him down. He almost killed me a few weeks ago, and I was only barely able to get him to stop with Susano-o... And his power is special, in a way - not exactly like mine. More like Souji's. Uh, it's a long story.
But you think that would be the reason why? Did he never say anything about his Persona?
If he said anything to Ichigo, then Ichigo hasn't told me.
[Which, to be fair, wasn't too strange. Ichigo often left Kon in the dark, to piece things together.]
...I could probably talk to Adachi directly. Even though I don't look exactly like Ichigo, I can make myself sound exactly like him. Adachi fell for that trick I played a couple weeks ago, and I think I could get him to fall for it again.
[Yosuke isn't so sure about that, though. Adachi would probably just come up with an excuse or lie, as he always has up until this point. It could turn into a chance to reinforce his charade, and nothing more. Besides, proving to Kon that he was hiding his Persona from them doesn't really prove the way more important thing: that Adachi is dangerous, and Ichigo is in danger for being duped by him.
No, Yosuke needs to somehow expose Adachi for who he really is. Not just by accusation... that's only going to get him defensive, and give him a chance to explain it away...]
[Kon isn't looking at it from a 'I must show he is a murderer' angle. He is looking at it from a 'I have to make sure he actually IS dangerous, before anything is done' angle. Even though what Yosuke is saying makes sense, Kon wants to make absolutely sure it is the truth before he does anything. He already has enough trouble getting people to listen to him, and he doesn't want to go through the effort only to end up being wrong.]
No, there's other ways. It's just the fastest and least-gross way, since Ichigo is right here anyway.
[Something like the beginning of a plan is formulating in his head. It's too early to say if it would come close to working, much less be possible, but if there's a chance...
well, let's tackle the important basics first.]
Uhh, okay. Stay with me here for a second. What do you mean, with "fastest and least-gross"? What... are the other ways?
[If Kon sounds nervous, it's because he's trying to think of a not-gross way to explain it.]
I can...well, 'throw myself up' and out of a body, I guess. There's special objects that can do it too, if someone pushes one against my head- er, the head of the body I'm in- it'll force me out.
The problem is that once I leave a body, it literally becomes a living corpse. It won't break down right away, but it won't have a soul in it, so it just lays there. And I can't do anything if I'm not in a body, so someone has to put me in another body.
[There's quiet on Kon's end for a bit before he finally answers. When he does speak, he's speaking a bit slower, like he's reluctant to get to the end of the story.]
In my world, there's these people called 'Shinigami'. Basically, they guide the souls of the dead to the afterlife. But they're spirits too, and sometimes they have to take a physical body in order to move among the living. But when they have to do their Shinigami duties, they can't be in that physical body, they have to be in their spirit form. They can't just leave those physical bodies laying around though, they might get damaged, or someone might find it and think they're dead.
So the Shinigami, they made artificial souls. Fake souls, which exist to temporarily possess those fake bodies and make it seem like nothing is wrong. When they're not in a body, they have a form that looks like a piece of candy. Easy to swallow, easy to get back out. That's how I ended up in Adachi's body: after Ichigo knocked me out of this body accidentally, Adachi ate me.
But I'm...special. Most artificial souls, they're just that: souls made by the Shinigami to temporarily possess bodies. But a small group of artificial souls, called 'modified souls', got some extra powers along with it. Offensive capabilities, basically, so they could defend themselves and help fight off the souls that got corrupted and became monsters. But other than those special powers, I'm pretty much the same as any other artificial soul. Go in a body, keep it safe for a bit, leave it when the actual owner comes back.
That's the arrangement me and Ichigo had, back in my time. I don't know if that's changed at all in the time Ichigo and 'Hime are from, they don't really talk about it much.
[By the time Kon reaches the end of that, Yosuke is feeling bad about asking. There was something in Kon's voice that sounded a little troubled or hesitant to tell him, and while Yosuke couldn't guess at what it was, it unavoidably made him wonder if the question really was totally inappropriate.
...But at least it answered his question. So, he's a piece of candy, then. Or at least that's what he was crafted to look like when he isn't in somebody's body. Yosuke wasn't too far off with that cheeseburger joke he made to himself.]
...okay. I get it now. Sorry, um, if that was nosy...
[Maybe the best resolution is to just move on to the main point.]
The reason I asked is because I have an idea. What if you went into the body of someone else from my world? Those people I told you about. Or hell, even me.
And then, you can see for yourself how he really is. He doesn't keep up his act when he's around us. He turns back into his real self, the liar, the bully...
[...It's not that bad of an idea, actually. If Adachi was putting up an act for the sake of fooling everyone else, then he would theoretically act like his true self around someone who theoretically knew the truth about him. And if that person was actually Kon, then he would see exactly how he acted. ]
I think I can do that, yeah. But I'd need to hang around the person for a bit, to get a hang of their mannerisms. So it'd take a bit of prep work, to make it believable.
[So it sounds like a plan, then, or maybe an option.]
Well, you're going to talk to Souji and the others anyway, right? Maybe they would be better candidates than me. Souji is pretty quiet sometimes... it might be easiest to mimic him.
[Not that Yosuke doesn't want to be the one to do it. At this point, one thing that's sure to pull a severe reaction out of Adachi is Yosuke's presence.]
After frowning for a moment, Kon goes ahead and changes the call to video again. Only this time, he's not acting like he usually does, like the real Kon. ]
C'mon, don't act like I can't be you. It's not some impossible feat or anything, right?
[It's not a perfect mimicry. Kon's only talked to Yosuke a few times, so he's only been able to get some of Yosuke's mannerisms. But there are likely enough similarities in posture and tonal inflection to at least seem similar enough to Yosuke to be a bit spooky.]
[The switch back to video grabs Yosuke's attention and he stares back at his phone a bit dumbstruck.]
...whoa. Hey, you're...
[They haven't been talking that long... and Kon and Yosuke have been face-to-face for, what, a total of five minutes or so? But even without Kon announcing what he was attempting to do, Yosuke could tell. This is the weirdest thing ever... but it's also immensely promising.]
You're actually pretty good at this, aren't you? Hah, I guess you'd have to be, but...
[...hey, he's smiling. Yosuke hadn't realized until now that Kon had been so serious and terse during this discussion. Yosuke was probably twice as bad, of course, all worry and contemplation.
But it's a nice thing to see! And it's such a familiar smile, too, painfully so.]
Hah, right. Duly noted.
Alright... so... when you hear of an opportunity to do this, where Ichigo and Orihime-san aren't around, let me know. Yeah?
Will do. I want to keep an eye on 'Hime for a bit, with Halloween coming up I'm sure the Techs are going to try something. But one that's over, there's bound to be time where those two aren't breathing down my neck.
video
Did I hit a raw nerve there?
I think I did.
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He ends the video and switches back to audio.]
Whatever. Was there a point to asking that, or...?
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When I ended up in Adachi's body, he was coherent, and he seemed to remember it even after he got back in his own body. Which, like I said, only happens with someone who's got powers, or who has the ability to have powers. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but looking back on it...
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[Did Kon and the others not know that...? Had Adachi been hiding it from them for some reason?]
When we fought him, before we came to the Box, it took four of us to take him down. He almost killed me a few weeks ago, and I was only barely able to get him to stop with Susano-o... And his power is special, in a way - not exactly like mine. More like Souji's. Uh, it's a long story.
But you think that would be the reason why? Did he never say anything about his Persona?
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[Which, to be fair, wasn't too strange. Ichigo often left Kon in the dark, to piece things together.]
...I could probably talk to Adachi directly. Even though I don't look exactly like Ichigo, I can make myself sound exactly like him. Adachi fell for that trick I played a couple weeks ago, and I think I could get him to fall for it again.
1/2
[Yosuke isn't so sure about that, though. Adachi would probably just come up with an excuse or lie, as he always has up until this point. It could turn into a chance to reinforce his charade, and nothing more. Besides, proving to Kon that he was hiding his Persona from them doesn't really prove the way more important thing: that Adachi is dangerous, and Ichigo is in danger for being duped by him.
No, Yosuke needs to somehow expose Adachi for who he really is. Not just by accusation... that's only going to get him defensive, and give him a chance to explain it away...]
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Is that the only way you can leave and possess someone else?
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No, there's other ways. It's just the fastest and least-gross way, since Ichigo is right here anyway.
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well, let's tackle the important basics first.]
Uhh, okay. Stay with me here for a second. What do you mean, with "fastest and least-gross"? What... are the other ways?
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[If Kon sounds nervous, it's because he's trying to think of a not-gross way to explain it.]
I can...well, 'throw myself up' and out of a body, I guess. There's special objects that can do it too, if someone pushes one against my head- er, the head of the body I'm in- it'll force me out.
The problem is that once I leave a body, it literally becomes a living corpse. It won't break down right away, but it won't have a soul in it, so it just lays there. And I can't do anything if I'm not in a body, so someone has to put me in another body.
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[Kon, are you some kind of talking ghost cheeseburger.]
Um. Alright... this may be an inappropriate question, but I'm just going to ask it.
What... are you, exactly? I mean, someone has to put you in another body. Okay. But what does that mean?
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In my world, there's these people called 'Shinigami'. Basically, they guide the souls of the dead to the afterlife. But they're spirits too, and sometimes they have to take a physical body in order to move among the living. But when they have to do their Shinigami duties, they can't be in that physical body, they have to be in their spirit form. They can't just leave those physical bodies laying around though, they might get damaged, or someone might find it and think they're dead.
So the Shinigami, they made artificial souls. Fake souls, which exist to temporarily possess those fake bodies and make it seem like nothing is wrong. When they're not in a body, they have a form that looks like a piece of candy. Easy to swallow, easy to get back out. That's how I ended up in Adachi's body: after Ichigo knocked me out of this body accidentally, Adachi ate me.
But I'm...special. Most artificial souls, they're just that: souls made by the Shinigami to temporarily possess bodies. But a small group of artificial souls, called 'modified souls', got some extra powers along with it. Offensive capabilities, basically, so they could defend themselves and help fight off the souls that got corrupted and became monsters. But other than those special powers, I'm pretty much the same as any other artificial soul. Go in a body, keep it safe for a bit, leave it when the actual owner comes back.
That's the arrangement me and Ichigo had, back in my time. I don't know if that's changed at all in the time Ichigo and 'Hime are from, they don't really talk about it much.
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...But at least it answered his question. So, he's a piece of candy, then. Or at least that's what he was crafted to look like when he isn't in somebody's body. Yosuke wasn't too far off with that cheeseburger joke he made to himself.]
...okay. I get it now. Sorry, um, if that was nosy...
[Maybe the best resolution is to just move on to the main point.]
The reason I asked is because I have an idea. What if you went into the body of someone else from my world? Those people I told you about. Or hell, even me.
And then, you can see for yourself how he really is. He doesn't keep up his act when he's around us. He turns back into his real self, the liar, the bully...
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I think I can do that, yeah. But I'd need to hang around the person for a bit, to get a hang of their mannerisms. So it'd take a bit of prep work, to make it believable.
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[So it sounds like a plan, then, or maybe an option.]
Well, you're going to talk to Souji and the others anyway, right? Maybe they would be better candidates than me. Souji is pretty quiet sometimes... it might be easiest to mimic him.
[Not that Yosuke doesn't want to be the one to do it. At this point, one thing that's sure to pull a severe reaction out of Adachi is Yosuke's presence.]
video
After frowning for a moment, Kon goes ahead and changes the call to video again. Only this time, he's not acting like he usually does, like the real Kon. ]
C'mon, don't act like I can't be you. It's not some impossible feat or anything, right?
[It's not a perfect mimicry. Kon's only talked to Yosuke a few times, so he's only been able to get some of Yosuke's mannerisms. But there are likely enough similarities in posture and tonal inflection to at least seem similar enough to Yosuke to be a bit spooky.]
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...whoa. Hey, you're...
[They haven't been talking that long... and Kon and Yosuke have been face-to-face for, what, a total of five minutes or so? But even without Kon announcing what he was attempting to do, Yosuke could tell. This is the weirdest thing ever... but it's also immensely promising.]
You're actually pretty good at this, aren't you? Hah, I guess you'd have to be, but...
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Well, I have to be. I had to pretend to be Ichigo for an entire month once, and messing up even one time could mean being found out.
All artificial souls can do it, technically, but I'm the best at it.
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But it's a nice thing to see! And it's such a familiar smile, too, painfully so.]
Hah, right. Duly noted.
Alright... so... when you hear of an opportunity to do this, where Ichigo and Orihime-san aren't around, let me know. Yeah?
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Will do. I want to keep an eye on 'Hime for a bit, with Halloween coming up I'm sure the Techs are going to try something. But one that's over, there's bound to be time where those two aren't breathing down my neck.