Catch 22: The People In The Room
By: M14Mouse
Summary: Okumura wants to talk his plans and Yu has to talk him out of it.
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.-Melody Beattie
My father wants to see you," Haru said over the phone.
"So, he is coming out of his room now?" He asked.
Haru informed everyone when she got home that her father had locked himself into his study. According to Haru, he has called off his meetings and took a leave of absence from the company. The others have said this is normal. Morgana has a theory that the body has to adapt to the change of heart that took place in the cognitive world. That is why it took them so long to recover. When he thought about it, it made sense. It was the same for most of his friends when they got their personas. They were physically and emotionally exhausted after they confronted their shadows.
"No. He is still in there."
"Okay, I will be there shortly."
It took him a bit of time to rearrange his schedule but he was at their doorstep. One of the maids let him and guide him to Okumura's study. He knocked on the door.
"Come in," Okumura's voice mumbled behind the door.
He opened the door to see Okumura sitting in a chair by a huge window. For a study, it was bare. It had a huge wooden oak desk and equally large bookcase but there were no mementoes. Nothing on the wall but typical artwork that you see in hotel lobbies. "Okumura-san?" He said as he stepped inside. He closed the door behind him.
Okumura's head jolted toward him.
"Narukami-san! Please have a seat!" Okumura-san said he got up and bowed. Then he waved to a seat across from him. He bowed slightly before taking a seat as well.
"Haru said that you wanted to talk to me," He said.
"First, I'm so sorry."
"For what?
From what he saw and what others have told him, those with a change of heart seem pressed to confess their crimes. He had some theories on why that happened.
In his head, he thought of a change of heart like a hurricane. It is stronger than the existing landscape of the person's heart. When the change of heart happens, it wipes out that landscape. Like most natural disasters, there are some fragments of the old landscape. So, there is the person who still has the same personality but different point of view.
It is just a theory that he has been working on…
"I feed information about you to Shido."
"I figured as much when you kept asking to meet with me."
"And…I also have hackers hack into your personal life."
"Anything exciting?"
Okumura stared at him like he was crazy.
"Your time in Inaba…."
"My boss knows about that. In fact, that is how we met."
"Your time in the States…"
"She also knows about that."
"Your time in Brazil…."
"That was very much her fault."
"Are you not worried?!" Okumura said in a panic.
"I worry about a lot of things. This isn't one of them."
"But he is going to use this truth to his advantage! He will own you!"
"No one owns me, Okumura-san. I had others try that before. I belong to no one."
Okumura's eyes widened at his tone.
"He knows….He has power."
"Power is only what you want it to be. I fought gods before, Okumura-san. Shido-san has nothing on them."
Okumura's mouth dropped.
"Gods?!"
"You adjust," He said with a shrug.
"You're crazy!"
"I have been told that too."
Okumura gave him this hopeless look.
"Now, tell me how much you know about Shido-san and the cognitive world."
"I know that he had some power that made my problems and competitors go away," Okumura said.
He gave him a look that he gave his students when they were lying to him.
"Please….don't make me tell you the truth. You could get hurt and I…I can't deal with that. I can't stand another person getting hurt because of my actions!" Okumura-san said as he started to panic again.
"Okumura-san…there are already people hurt by your actions. What you do now matters more than anything," He said calmly.
"Yes…Yes…I know. I plan to go on tv and tell the world my crimes. I will express my apologies to the world. I will do anything to make up for my crimes," Okumura pleaded.
"I think that it is wise to apologize for your crimes. Not so much on tv."
"Why?! The world needs…"
"Yes, the world will know of your crimes sooner or later. I think that you should reach out to each one that you hurt instead of this blanket apology. They may not accept it but at least, they would know that you meant it."
Okumura-san stared at him like he had never seen him before.
"For someone so young, you're truly a wise man. I was going to ask you to stand by me during the press conference. I like your suggestion. I will call them. It doesn't matter by phone or in person, I will apologize for my crimes. First, I need to talk to Haru. Oh, I need to call off that ridiculous engagement..."
"Good. That is definitely the right step."
"What about Shido-san? He probably knows something has happened…"
"Tell him that you're taking a break. The stress from your company's problems is starting to get to you. You no longer have any desire to deal with politics until the company's problems are under control. You want time away to work through those problems. You could also add that you want to reconnect with your daughter and work on a new business venue with her."
"Yes! Her café! When I saw the plan, it reminded me so much of my father. Wonderful!"
He grinned softly at Okumura-san's eagerness. He wondered if this what he was like before everything.
"Narukami-san…I want to thank you for your advice. I also want to say that I'm glad that I proved myself wrong," Okumura-san said.
"Oh?" He asked.
"You are the strangest young man that I ever met but I thought that you were too weak. I realize my mistake. I am sorry," He said as he stood up and bowed deeply.
"Apologize accepted. Now…tell me everything about Shido."
"Are you still planning to go after him?" Okumura-san said as he took a seat.
"Yes. Not just for my students but for our county."
Okumura-san nodded.
"Very well. I met Shido through a friend…."
End of the People In the Room
Next Chapter: The Big Brother Effect
A/N: It is interesting editing these chapters. It like I'm reading my own story again. (I reread it a lot of times especially some parts to remember plot points and such.) XD Just finished the dancing chapter…which was supposed to be a cute chapter turned into Yu dealing with sister drama chapter. Poor Yu. I almost feel sorry for him when I do PQ2 portion of the fic. Almost. Many thanks for the reviews, kudos, favorites, etc! Read and Review if you wish.