International Relations

[Kentaro Itonokogiri]

Somehow, it was what everyone told him. If they thought they complained a lot, he didn’t think so and couldn’t even start to think how they’d react if he really started whining. “I did say I came here to study. They do let me assist on occasions, and I can do some recruiting so I don’t complain. Not too loudly at least,” Kentaro said with a shrug before flashing her a smile. What bothered him more in this was the lack of action. It was not the idea they did not trust him, he never thought that. He just needed to have something to do.

He had a light chuckle at her reply. It was pretty philosophical indeed, almost making him wonder if she did not go for such answers because she wasn’t really interested in talking to him. But she sort of apologized for the way it sounded and that was what made him laugh. “Good, because I don’t know if I can follow you should the conversation take that turn. I’m not very good with philosophy. Or rhetoric.”

There was a price to pay for coming from a different culture it seemed. Kentaro had his choice for food questioned. But fish for breakfast made perfect sense to him. Wasn’t breakfast supposed to be the most important meal of the day? “I can’t say I get them a lot either but it is funny how strongly they can react. They don’t stop you but they don’t get it either.” To Kentaro, he found it less strange to ask for honey as sweetener than have a heavy dinner. Then there was the thing with the name and he had an amused smirk at it. “I do. But I’m used to it. At home, I was even called Kenken. But it sounds weird when they say it,” he admitted, his eyes narrowing a little as he reminisce on the first time he told that to someone. He got that nickname during childhood, which probably explained it and why they didn’t want to use it, finding it too awkward. “They also hate my last name. Find it a mouthful. They usually go for Kogiri and that’s weird too because I’m used to people saying Itonoko. But I’m getting used to it. I find it funny they can’t say you’re name right though. Doesn’t sound that hard to pronounce right.” Ashley and Asli sounded different to him, even if her name almost sounded like Asuli the way he said it. Still different from Ashley though.

[Asli Tilki]

Asli nodded. It did seem as if Kentaro and she had very similar reasons for attending Bellefonte: studying their respective fields and learning from them. It just seemed as if Kentaro was more interested in outright studying their training and recruiting, while Asli was doing it more as a way of proving her worth. Quite an interesting situation indeed.

"Everyone has at least some skill at rhetoric," Asli argued, though without much conviction. "It's embedded into our societies on some level. It does prove easier for some than others," she allowed a slight bobbing of her head. After all, she didn't see any reason to press on an uncomfortable subject when so many lay before them, particularly one that wasn't quite so intriguing (now, if they were discussing the place of mutants in the wider society...)

"I do suppose their names would stand out as odd for our pronunciation," Asli allowed. "But they really should be focused on learning more languages. They cannot even fully communicate with their neighbors, which strikes me as being a poor decision on their part. As for my own name, I believe it's the proximity combined with the sharpness of the syllables that causes frequent mistakes."

Asli paused again. "Though I still abhor being called 'Ashley.' Perhaps that is at least partially because it seems to have connotations in this society,' she sighed, shaking her head. "There are times when I long for Ishvaras again, or at least the familiarity of it..."

[Kentaro Itonokogiri]

Kentaro had a mentality that worked well with people here. He definitely came here with enough enthusiasm and energy to be included. He could see how Asli probably forced her way in. It was her problem however, Kentaro had no desire to help, other than perhaps invite her should he be with other members of the staff. For all he knew, she was fine like that. Their goal might be similar be he could see they had a very different approach.

“Then I probably am the others,” Kentaro said, leaving it at that. He showed no shame or embarrassment at laying out his weaknesses. He didn’t have a problem at all with them actually. Anyone too philosophical or loving to play with words could lose him. There was something about rhetoric that ultimately made people look snobbish. There was nothing wrong with being eloquent but anything further than that just made Kentaro lose all interest in the person. Or irked him. And that was usually followed by teasing until the other one left his side. So it was best to leave it at him not being too good with it.

“Some do,” Kentaro admitted about the names. The pronunciation was quite different from one language to another. “They like to think English is the most commonly spoken language.” He shrugged at that. Not quite true but it was hard to explain that. Besides, he knew a lot of Japanese people who knew but a few words in English. They had to learn it at school, and could learn some more languages, but it was easy to lose it all when you didn’t speak it on a regular basis.

Kentaro didn't mind the nickname. Ken was still part of his name. But he could understand how changing it completely for Ashley would annoy her. He arched an eyebrow up, wondering what she meant about the connotation there was about Ashley. If there was one, he didn’t know it. “At least they get my name right. Don’t get what’s so hard about yours though. Why make it a ‘sh’?” Then there was a little moment of nostalgia on her part. It even came with a sigh and a shake of the head. “Ishvaras, that’s the name of the school?” As for the familiarity, Kentaro related. At the same time, he could adapt pretty well. “I miss Sainō too. I would have thought it was not having people to speak Japanese with or the food that I’d miss the most but it’s actually the dynamic. We have a big sense of community, even bigger than here. How is it... Ishvaras?”

[Asli Tilki]

Was English the most common language? Perhaps among those who spoke it, those from here who seemed to think that the world revolved around those that freely spoke English and believed in Western values. Asli had simply learned it as a matter of course, most like the others. Yet while Kentaro shrugged off the language, it made Asli wonder. Perhaps this was just one more moment of insight into these strange people into whom she now found herself.

It was certainly more acceptable, at least for Asli personally, than the names. "I suppose it's the proximity," she mused, adding a slight shrug. "I simply know I do not care for it," she paused for a moment, mostly letting Ken finish his statements regarding the schools.

Asli leaned back slightly, face calm and impassive while she contemplated the situation and the schools. 'The Ishvaras Development Center is focused on individual success," Asli said, waving a hand. "We believe in honing our skills, and in the inherent... superiority of mutant kind," she smiled ruefully, before templing her fingers. "It is a view that makes me... somewhat unpopular around here."

[Kentaro Itonokogiri]

Kentaro didn’t like stressing out too much over things. He couldn’t agree with anyone claiming the superiority of America or how English was the most commonly spoken language. He was certain that was Mandarin. Unless it was Cantonese. Still, unless someone came at him like he was the enemy for not thinking like them, he didn’t care. Everyone was free of their opinion and he didn’t want to learn that of others unless he asked for it. He didn’t see why he should wonder how right or wrong they were, not when it did not matter enough for him. In fact, he sort of liked it that he knew languages they did not. If he wanted to speak his mind or say something he didn’t want them to know, he had plenty of ways to do so. Their stubbornness at speaking only English simply made himself, and Asli, intellectually superior because they could converse in other languages. It was their loss, really.

Kentaro had very fond memories of Sainō, as he was sure she had of Ishvaras. He left it only a short while ago. This was the reason why he was so surprised to miss it. He never thought about what the school was like until he came here and saw the differences. A lot of things were similar too, of course, but those never popped out as much as the differences. When she talked of the Center, he could tell just how much the change would have felt to him had he went there. Individual success? Superiority of the mutant kind? There were always some who viewed their work above any other or believed their power made them superior, but it was not the norm, more like the exception.

This left him pensive and more serious than anything their previous conversation left to believe he could be like. “It is very different from the mentality shared here,” he agreed, not wanting to downright say he was against it. It wouldn’t be how he’d work or think, for sure. “Maybe that’s why they accepted you in.” He shrugged, uncertain about this and not sure he wanted to think too much about it. She would know better and if she did not, she should be the one thinking about this. “I would love to learn more about the training process from Ishvaras,” he let out. Since the mentality was different, he was curious to learn what else was and how to add it to what he had learned so far.

[Asli Tilki]

Asli nodded. She could at least accept Kentaro's diplomatic response, even if she was fairly certain that it was, in fact, mostly a matter of diplomacy. It beat the arguments she so frequently faced when explaining her views to the people around here. Perhaps that was more of the holistic training Kentaro got coming into views.

"Or perhaps they couldn't reject someone who had all the training in the world and the best references available," Asli replied, smiling. After all, she'd gotten the attention of the leader of the Ishvaras institute herself, even became her protege. That had certainly been part of her own training. Asli paused to consider if she should express that as well.

"It's focused upon honing our individual gifts and pushing for greater success. We push ourselves to become better constantly. The goal is always to exceed your last limit, to continually strive toward greatness. Success is thus highly rewarded, while failure is extremely punished. If you're quite good, you will receive all the training and the opportunities you need. If you're not, you will perhaps be left behind. It is, perhaps, harsh, but the world itself is harsh on the whole."

[Kentaro Itonokogiri]

It took a lot of guts and confidence to claim being the best in her field, especially considering Asli’s age. Unless she was of those who always looked much younger than they really were. “You sure have confidence in your abilities,” he said, unable to hide a light chuckle in his voice as he said it. That one looked strong-willed indeed. Kentaro was perhaps a little more modest when it came to his talent. He knew it resided more into recruiting and making them feel at ease than working them to death. Of course, this could also become a talent of his at some point, but he knew if the two of them were to give them hell, it would not be in the same way. But he had long understood why the trainers were all so different: the students all had different needs. It was not a class where they had to follow the pace, it adapted to each individual. It fascinated him somehow.

Individual gifts. “Doesn’t that make you a bit of a cutthroat shark?” he asked after she explained. He felt a bit sorry for those who could not keep up, if the limit was always higher than what you last achieved. It was nice to have a goal constantly in mind, but a little depressing if that meant you never could reach it. At the same time, she claimed successes were rewarded, so there was that carrot hanging above your head. With the fear of the stick should you fail. One thing for sure, it was very different from what he dealt with.

“We can have it hard too. I do remember a few trainers pushing us past our limits. But we generally worked as a group. Should one be lacking in an area, it was important to support and help that person reach the goal same as the rest of us. Help, not do it for them, mind you. That would only make the whole class fail. But we always had the opportunity to work together to get better. It was even highly encouraged.” Very different mentalities indeed. At the same time, they didn’t have as high rewards, succeeding was good enough, knowing you couldn’t only focus on yourself but keep in mind the others as well. “Sainō is more about teaching you to use your gifts for the better of the community more than yourself. Of course, there are always some who act like this, but they are more exceptions to the rule. We can still be rewarded for personal achievements, of course, but we’re also taught to take pride in helping the whole group succeed.”

He laughed as he was done with his explanation. “Not sure I would have done well at your school, right?” He was still laughing a bit as he finished the coffee in his cup.

[Asli Tilki]

Asli nodded as Kentaro spoke of her confidence. "My training allows me to have such," she said, smiling a little at the words. She knew full well that she'd received some of the best possible training, not simply at her school, but in the world. one of the foremost masters at her ability had been personally training her since nearly her arrival at the school, after all. Put that with Asli's own drive and her school, and she had certainly accelerated and become everything that she wanted and claimed to be.

The cutthroat mention just had her smile growing slightly. "I believe that is part of the point," she offered. She was tempted to continue the analogy, to point out that the shark was an apex predator. Even humans feared sharks, when they entered that environment. For the shark could and would kill and destroy those that were beneath it, which struck Asli as a perfectly acceptable means of going through life.

but she paused, listening as Kentaro offered up his alternative. It was different from both Asli's own training and what she knew they had to do at this Academy. In truth, she could actually see some of the appeal to it: group training would promote unity between students and would enhance their abilities to work together. It had a lot of sound reasoning behind it.

"I may have been able to work well enough at Saino," she said, mostly musing aloud. "I do see some of the benefits of bonding in a tight knit community, after all. Though I would still argue that my training has put me in rather a good position to enter the rest of the world," she let out a slight laugh, "I suppose that is the overall goal, yes? And we'll both have to adapt to here," she nodded at that, then tapped her computer. "The world is opening up more and more. Communities are already aware of us: it's only a matter of time until the amount of those in the know widens further."

[Kentaro Itonokogiri]

Kentaro considered he had more than enough confidence in life himself but he probably didn’t show it in the same way Asli was. Their upbringing was different and something told him that, should he ever applied his methods around Asli, she’d be of those who got annoyed by his attitude rather than impressed. In a way, it worked for him: people rarely expected him to perform greatly, yet he always succeeded in whatever he chose to do.

Kentaro wasn’t really the type who could be compared to a shark. He was not getting rid of any obstacles in his way by bringing them down, he was more the kind to push them aside. And with a smile! “I don’t know how that kind of attitude would have worked at Sainō,” he shared as he paused to think of that. “We always had some who didn’t care about the rest of the class, but they usually understood they needed to work with everyone at some point and not just focus on their own advancement.” Kentaro was certain he annoyed quite a few of those, with how little effort he seemed to put in his studies. He had always tried to ignore them however whenever he had to deal with someone like that.

Asli believed differently. She thought she could have done well. He listened, curious to know what made her believe so. He didn’t completely rule it out, he waited to hear her idea on the matter before doing so. It was the community thing. He nodded at that. “You would have been part of the community as long as it didn’t stop you in your individual goal, is that it?” One didn’t necessarily go without the other. He smiled at the adaptation part. It was obvious to both of them they needed to get used to how things were done here, and not just the school. It was more than a different environment, they also had to deal with a different culture, mindset and language, even if they both spoke it well already. “I don’t see it as a bad thing,” he pointed out as she mentioned people getting more and more aware of them. “Mankind always feared what they could not understand. It’s basic instinct to be cautious around something we know nothing about. The more they will know about us, the better they can understand we are not a threat.” He didn’t he was dangerous, just like he didn’t think the students here were any more dangerous than someone who owned a gun. Just because you had a firearm did not mean you intended to shoot people. In a country so in love with their guns and their right to own them, they should understand that analogy.

[Asli Tilki]

Asli's smile widened as Kentearo spoke about cooperating to fulfill her goal. She didn't think that she needed to say anything further on that matter, considering that Kentaro had pretty well figured figured it out fairly easily. He did seem to be accepting of Asli's ideas, which was somewhat refreshing after so many people all but lighting torches the moment they heard about it. Was her attitude poor for Saino? Perhaps. But she wasn't working on Saino.

"Mankind in general is stupid," Asli said, flicking fingers. "That's how they keep getting controlled by forces that don't have their bets interest at heart. And we are a threat to them," her smile showed some more teeth. "Someday we'll either replace them or take our place above them. The evolved knocks out the weaker species."

Asli nodded at that, before glancing toward the clock. They were starting to run out of time, or at least, she was running out of time. Besides, she had a feeling that he probably would be shifting his attitude fairly soon.

[Kentaro Itonokogiri]

Kentaro was not much the judgemental type. To be clear, he found it was too much trouble to focus on things you can’t change anyway. As long as her beliefs did not go against him in some way, he didn’t really care what she wanted to think. It was not worth stressing over it.

He did have beliefs though and hers, as she talked of mankind and evolution, were pushing the limits to what his judged acceptable. As long as it was talk, it was fine, but Asli had enough determination to put her words into action and that might not go too well with him. “I guess that’s where we’ll have to agree to disagree,” he told her, keeping a smile on though. It was not that he feared conflict but he’d rather avoid one when it was going so well. This all started to sound a bit too much like eugenics and he was not sure it was a path he wanted to take. She seemed to have strong opinions on the matter and he did feel like asking if she had any family member that was not a mutant like her and whether or not the rest of the family shun them. Unless she was the only one and it was how this opinion came from.

He noticed her looking up and he followed her gaze to see the clock. “Ah yes. You did say we only have some time. You’ve got some training to do?” he asked her. He wanted to remain civil but he now considered that, other than small talk over food and culture, the two likely wouldn’t see eye to eye on most conversation topics. “You’ll have to share your point one day though. If you’re open to another one, that is.” He didn’t want to sound afraid to talk of important things, but he knew that he couldn’t consider himself as part of a more evolved kind of human being.

[Asli Tilki]

Ah, there it was: the apprehension that Asli had come to expect when it came to those who refused to see the truth of their situation and environment. She didn't even need to use her powers to see and sense the doubt lingering, and she felt fully justified in pushing to uncover it further. There was a slight spike of curiosity in there, or at least something that Asli readily identified as such. It did make her wonder if perhaps he wouldn't be a more amendable listener than some.

Alas, the time was working against them, at least for now. "Indeed," she said, nodding. "There is always work to be done," which struck her as something of an understatement, and perhaps a little foreboding given what they'd been talking about and her own opinion. She did find Kentaro amiable enough, but it did sound as if they wouldn't see much agreement on anything. Less a friend and more a colleague that she could regularly converse with, which suited Asli just fine. After all, she wasn't out to make many friends.

"I am fairly certain we will have more opportunities to converse," Asli deftly replied, nodding and quickly preparing to leave. "in the meanwhile, it has been a pleasure, and I hope that your day goes well,' she paused for a moment for a last farewell, and then she was off.