Free Time Events: Satoshi Karita (Side C)
EVENT 1: Karita-san sees me as naïve and gullible. Despite that, he doesn't see himself scamming me, albeit not out of any scruples.
Spoiler Alert: More implicit Chapter III spoilers, but they're here.
Karita-san and I spent a little time together, making small talk.
"I've got to say, Nagato-san, I'm amazed," Karita-san said. "Didn't your mother warn you not to hang out with guys like me?"
"Mom did give me advice to that effect," I said, 'but she's also confident that I'm moral enough to avoid being corrupted, and intelligent enough to not get roped into a scam, so she trusts my judgment."
Karita-san let off an unnerving chuckle. If I was asked about what someone like him would find funny, my first guess would be people foolishly revealing one their weaknesses to them, and it seemed I was right on th emoney.
"That's a dangerous mindset to have," Karita-san said, "since a lot of people who think they're smart- regardless of whether they actually are smart- are prone to getting overconfident. You'd do well to not overestimate how clever you are when dealing with people like me."
"I appreciate the warning, Karita-san," I said, "but it's strange that you'd warn someone like me, the type that you'd see as a promising mark."
Karita-san grinned and shook his head.
"Hardly," Karita-san said. "There isn't much of a chance of you buying whatever I'm 'selling,' so it's not as though I'm letting a potential cash cow slip through my fingers."
"What do you mean?" I said. "Didn't you just say I was naïve enough to be a potential target?"
"Yes, I did," Karita-san said, "but while I meant that, I also don't think you're likely to get snared by a con artist. Think of it this way- you're the kind who's likely to end up falling into any trap, but not the kind who's likely to be lured in by the bait."
Karita-san left me to think about what he'd just said. His behavior was oddly altruistic for a criminal who manipulated people, so I had to wonder if he was setting me up for something, or if this was a side of him I'd never expected to see.
EVENT 2: Karita-san is a bit cynical about the people he cons, thinking they're greedy and dishonest, too.
Karita-san told me a little about his old school. It seemed like an ordinary enough place, although it was hard to tell what was real or whether it mattered.
"I've got a question for you, Nagato-san," Karita-san said. "What do you think con artists do?"
"That's easy," I said. "They swindle honest people out of their hard-earned money."
Karita-san laughed out loud.
"Impressive," Karita-san said. "Every word in that sentence was wrong... well, almost every word."
"What do you mean?" I said.
"Let's say that I, posing as a Nigerian princess or someone of the sort, ask you to open a bank account for me," Karita-san said. "My proposal is that by giving me your account details, and having at least a certain sum of money- let's say, 1 million yen- so that I can deposit 1 billion yen for safekeeping, and give you a cut of it- 100 million yen- as a reward. If you go along with it, you're clearly out to make a quick buck, or maybe you're planning to double-cross me and take my entire fortune. Either way, there's nothing 'honest' or 'hard-earned' about the money you seek... just like with the people who end up conning you."
I didn't know what to say to that for a moment. Perhaps Karita-san was rationalizing his actions by believing that his victims were as morally bankrupt as he was, or maybe he thought that the world was so cutthroat that the ends justified the means. Whatever his reasons, it did explain why he didn't think he could easily con me.
"Maybe not," I said. "But most transactions involve mutual benefit, and the con artist is the only one who stands to gain here."
"That they do," Karita-san said. "In fact, I thought you'd say that, which is part of the reason why I didn't think you'd be a good mark. You're the kind to sell your skills for a wage, and earn a living through hard work. Because of that, you'd never get suckered into a deal of dubious legality just for some cash."
"I'm glad you think so," I said. "All I want is to provide for myself and my family, and if possible, put money aside for things such as a dinner out every now and then, my children's education and retirement."
"Good plan," Karita-san said. "In fact, I do the same thing."
"I'm sure you do," I said, "and maybe the same goes for some of the people you ended up defrauding."
Karita-san was taken off guard for a moment, somethin I wasn't expecting. If he truly had a conscience, he wouldn't have taken his career this far, but
"I don't doubt that," Karita-san said, "but that doesn't change that those people made bad decisions, which always have consequences. I should know, after all."
Karita-san let the conversation drop, refusing to elaborate on his final remark. He'd struck me as remarkably forthcoming, but many people had secrets that they weren't telling those they'd only recently met- or anyone. I knew that quite well, after all, which was why I wasn't nearly ready to share some of my deepest and most personal secrets. Some people would be hurt that their friends didn't trust them enough, but Karita-san would probably call my attitude prudent.
EVENT 3: Karita-san thiks people like Akira-san are also liars. It's the product of a rather cynical worldview that judges everyone for the lies and half-truths we tell on a daily basis.
Karita-san taught me a bit more about the various types of cons. He mainly focused on the better-known cons, the kind that "only an idiot would fall for," and said that the better ones were "trade secrets." I think he could tell from my skeptical expression that I wasn't entirely sure he knew anything that the average con artist wouldn't.
"I have a confession, Nagato-san," Karita-san said. "I might be the Ultimate Con Artist, but when it comes to lying, I'm nowhere near the best in my trade."
What Karita-san was saying wasn't too surprising. While talented people generally became famous, others languished in obscurity. As such, there were probably a lot of exceptional young people who would have gotten into Hope's Peak Academy or Talent High School if someone had noticed them.
"Why is that?" I said. "Because Talent High School caught you?"
"Because as far as lies and deceit go, getting people to hand over their hard-earned cash is amateur stuff," Karita-san said. "Many famous people, like poltiicians, actors and business leaders, have fooled the public for years, earning respect and admiration while keeping their more unsavory parts secret."
"Are you saying Akira-san was like that, too?" I said.
"To an extent," Karita-san said. "I mean, we got to know her personality from our interactions with her, but she put on a different face for the public. She had to in order to sell herself as an actress and appeal to people."
I bit my lip, trying to keep my anger in check. Of course, I must have been glaring at Karita-san, since he looked a bit nervous.
"Easy now, Nagato-san," Karita-san said. "I never said I was judging Azuki-san. Like I said, she had to present a false self to others, especially her fans and the media. It was part of her career, just like it's part of mine."
"I guess you're right about that," I said, "but I'd rather you not compare her to yourself."
Karita-san nodded without smiling.
"You're right, there's no comparison," Karita-san said. "Most of us liked Azuki-san- so did I, even if the feeling definitely wasn't mutual- but at this point, I think the best I can hope for is people tolerating me."
"That sounds true enough," I said, "but I notice that while you aren't exactly nice, you don't intentionally antagonize people."
"It's just a matter of practicality," Karita-san said. "I know I'll never be popular, but I don't want any more enemies. Having people who tolerate me is good enough, and I'd rather not anger the people who hate me so much that they snap and try to kill me."
I remembered that Yamazaki-san had tried to kill Karita-san, but I also knew what had happened to him.
"...And risk being executed?" I said. "I know some of us have committed murder, for various reasons, but I don't think a simple grudge was one of them."
"Maybe not," Karita-san said, "but I'd rather not be the first to die for that reason."
Karita-san struck me as fairly pragmatic, and not just because of his seeking personal gain. It didn't justify his lifestyle, but it did make it easier to grasp why he did what he did. In the end, he was motivated by rational desires- survival, earning money and staying out of trouble- and the only thing that set him apart from the others was how far he was willing to go to get those.
EVENT 4: Karita-san believes that no one is ever completely honest.
Karita-san taught me some of the 'tells' liars had, hoping I could use the knowledge to see when I was being deceived. I hoped this skill would become useful in class trials, but knew that if Karita-san ended up killing someone and becoming the blackened, he'd be wise to my tricks.
"I'd like to know something, Karita-san," I said. "Is it possible for anyone to be completely honest?"
"Not completely," Karita-san said, before pointing at his left temple. "All people have countless thoughts inside their heads, but only a small percentage of them actually get expressed. Those that are spoken out loud are filtered, toned down and reprocessed to make them more palatable to whoever's hearing them."
I understood what he was getting at, but didn't like to think of it as cynically. To Mom, good manners weren't just about making yourself likeable to others, but putting your best foot forward; she always said "please" when asking for things because she saw it as a minor effort that made it a bit more palatable to others. I at least wanted to think that I followed in her example, even if a part of me craved the acceptance of my peers.
"Still," Karita-san said, "I do think that it's possible for certain people to be reasonably honest. They may practice discretion and tact in order to deal with others, but they say what they mean and don't intentionally try to be something they aren't. Despite being an actress, Azuki-san was closest to that ideal when off the clock, which is why she never liked me."
"And what about me?" I said. "How honest do I seem to you?"
"It's a bit more complicated," Karita-san said. "I do get the feeling that there's a lot you aren't telling me, but I don't think anything you've said so far has been a lie. I'm not one for trusting anyone unreservedly, but I might just make an exception for you."
I paused, unsure of how to take what he'd just said.
"I must admit that I never thought you'd say something like that, Karita-san," I said. "I didn't think that someone as untrustworthy as you would put any trust in other people... assuming you're telling the truth."
"Think of it what you will," Karita-san said. "I'm just confident that you'll never betray me, or that if you do, I'll see it coming."
So Karita-san still saw life- not just the killing game- as a dog-eat-dog world in which people tried to deceive each other, but in spite of that, also believed I was no threat to him. I would still have to be wary of him, but perhaps I was starting to understand him better.
EVENT 5: I may not fully trust Karita-san, but I have enjoyed our time together.
Karita-san invited me over to his cabin. His half didn't have many decorations, possibly because it wasn't a good idea to have anything that screamed "I'm a con artist!" in his room... even if his title more or less said just that. Of course, no one besides Asakura-san had set foot in his cabin, so it's not as though many people would have the opportunity to feast their eyes on the evidence in his room. Asakura's side was similarly undecorated, and the only thing that stuck out in the cabin was the lines dividing it into thirds- Karita-san's territory, Asakura's territory and the neutral zone.
"I've been thinking about what we've discussed earlier, Karita-san," I said, "and I'm not so sure that I'm as honest as you think."
"Why's that?" Karita-san said.
"You once said that you're polite to others so they won't hate you," I said. "In my case, that's how I've acted for much of my life, because... people often have a negative first impression of me. I do try to act kindly, but part of it is so that I can get people to like me. In reality, I'm a self-absorbed person who wallows in her own misery; Akira-san was the first death I truly felt sad about."
Karita-san furrowed his brow. I hadn't told him that I was an illegitimate child, since he was the last person I wanted to entrust with that information, but I wondered if he had his suspicions. If he did, he didn't share them.
"So it's as I thought," Karita-san said. "Nothing you've said to me is a lie, but you haven't told the whole truth, either."
"That's about it," I said. "There's some things that I've only told my mom, a few things that I've shared with Akira-san before she died, and some things I haven't told anyone. In other words, things I'm not nearly ready to tell you right now, if ever."
"Got it," Karita-san said. "Well, Nagato-san, maybe I'm not the right person to tell you 'You can tell me anything,' but I can promise to hear you out without judging you. Deal?"
I paused, and then tentatively shook Karita-san's hand, saying, "Deal." I wasn't sure whether I'd ever understand Karita-san, or whether his offer of friendship was genuine. That said, I did feel as though I'd learned a lot about him, and hoped that one day, he'd tell me everything else there was to know about him.
Author's Notes
Some of Chiyuri's Free Time Events will discuss different aspects of the student's character than Azuki's do. While Azuki's discusses Karita's perspective on lying, this reveals more about Karita's relationships with others.
As you can see, there's no specific order for Chiyuri's Free Time Events, which will likely come out in a different order from Azuki's FTEs.