First class?? The Cult Of Personality

It was a free period that was going on about in the seven stars academy. Anyone could utilize the time that the way they wanted. Even someone like Raphael had some things that he wanted to do after class was done, but from where he was, the noise was soon to follow.

The sound of rock music played in the background, lowered, but it was a little uncharacteristic of someone of his caliber. But he liked it, it was something that he did in order to amp up others and have them feel good about this next session.

Today was the first meeting of the Cult Of Personality as the song title of the club itself had played lightly, Raphael wanted to show people that they could change their lives by improving their charismatic skills. The elite swag of the socialites, Raphael was eager to show people how it was done.

"Hmm..... I wonder if anyone is coming...."

IF HE EVEN HAD ANY MEMBERS!!!!!!

This was a little terrible as it dawned on Raphael. A Gatsby man, not even being able to have one member? Sure, it's not for anyone, but not even a visitor to stop by and see what this place was about? Raphael put in a lot of his own money to get the section he had refurbished for the sake of this club. It looked like a nice school lounge if anything else, but it also served another purpose dammit!

"Ahh... oh well..."

While on the way to the Music Club, Shouhei Kagawa could hear the enticing sound of an old but great song play.  His head began to bob to the beat, drawing him closer and closer.  It was enough for him to take a peek as to where the song originated from.

’Cult of Personality?’  Sounds messed up, but damn if that ain’t a great theme song, Shouhei thought while inspecting the sign.  The interior looked nice, more like a lounge than anything else, which definitely piqued his interest.

“Oi!  Raph, y’know what’s the deal with this club?” Shouhei asked his new friend standing there, looking rather lonely.

"Huh?"

It was a bit of a surprising reaction from Raphael to see Shouhei here, but at the same time, he remembered that he wasn't off campus and that Shouhei attended school here. Raph could have sworn that he put the music at a room level so that it won't disturb the other classes, but maybe he made a mistake along the way?

Or it could be that Shouhgei was simply interested in what this room was about.

"This is my club, the Cult Of Personality. The rule of thumb is that your problems can be solved if you are boasting a great level of charisma to negotiate the favorable decisions that you want. Two main rules off the top of my head, never split the difference, and negotiate as if your life depends on it. "

It then dawned on him that Shouhei was actually here?

"Did you come here to join or hang out?"

“...To be honest, I was on my way to Music Club.  But on the way I was wonderin’ what the sick beat you were playin’ was,” Shouhei bluntly answered.  A wide smile splayed an expression of kindness as he continued, “Seein’ that you’re here on your lonesome, I figure I can keep ya company for a bit.  Maybe if somebody sees there’s more’n one person in the club they might wanna join?”

With that said Shouhei plopped himself down onto one of the fancy looking chairs.  Not as comfortable as they looked, but he figured with time, could be worn in well.  He had to admit he loved that new chair smell.

“...So you’re sayin’ that I should never split the difference?  But I don’t like owin’ people anything- I like when we’re square.”

"Ah music.... what was it that you did again? A performer or something? To be honest, I speak with so many people at a time that I might even forget what's being said. To be honest with you, what I remember for sure is that you are important, you can be satisfied with that...right?"

Sliding over to the side of the lounge, a few buttons could be heard as a breeze of cool air appeared. But what was being pulled out was something unlike no other, a bottle of wine!

"DRinking on school grounds after hours, a surefire way to get yourself in trouble. But I have to admit, just knowing that you never had a good taste of wine in your life tears me up. I like to break the rules on special occasions if you can't tell... this is one. You game? And for the record, wine tasting is......maybe in the smallest fine print of my club activities.... all for the sake of social reasons of course...."

Regardless, Raph would elaborate on his last comment.

"Never split the difference, in negotiation, sometimes..what can be considered as the equal exchange is something you could never agree to. Like for a hostage situation.... with all the people they harmed or even killed during the event, giving them the means of escape in exchange for anyone else is a good deal? Well, not for the sake of endangering the people from the inside, when you think about it...splitting the difference is the desire being realized in exchange for a compromise you may or may not want to agree to. The skill I want to teach or even cultivate is the ability to socialize or negotiate without giving up anything crucial. "

Shouhei’s eyes narrowed briefly when Raphael almost callously stated that he had forgotten about him, but the tension eased up when Raphael excused himself.  In fact, all tension disappeared when he procured a bottle of wine from seemingly nowhere, and Shouhei’s eyes lit up in response.  “...Could I ever say no to free booze?  That’s one’a the quickest ways to my heart.”

So as Shouhei listened to Raphael, he crossed his arms and stared blankly, deep in thought.  He wasn’t particular about hearing hostage negotiation and dreaded the time he should ever be in that situation, but quickly put it aside, for something he could easily grasp.

“...Ah, you’re teachin’ people how to wheel and deal!  I like that.  If there’s anythin’ I hate, it’s those damn smooth talkers thinkin’ they can pull a fast one over on people.  So this class is a big ‘fuck you’ to those assholes, yeah?”

Taking the bottle to the head, Raphael would take a few chugs in a pirate-like manner as he passed the wine bottle onto Shouhei. One would expect that Raphael would use the glasses available, but with the level of comfortability that he had and the fact that he didn't have to put on much of a show at the moment, he thought this would suffice.

"Something like that, verbiage and the "fine print" in anything is what people use to manipulate others. Being here, I'm starting to find out that there are some victims of such things. I'm taking a look into it, trying to see if I can give a hand. I have my reasons, they don't seem as scary with the right coach. With the right people backing you, today's troubles are sent off to yesteryear. "

He hated people who abused what they had.

"At the same time, what I teach can be used towards doing the things that you hate. Not everyone is going to have the same takeaway once they leave this room. "

Shouhei eyed the bottle as if he were reading everything on it, and had heeded Raphael’s advice, but really just looked for the alcohol proof.  Wine could vary, and to Shouhei, the bigger the number, the better.  Pleased with what he saw, he too chugged directly from the bottle.

“...All right, so that’s just one part’a the Club, which I totally approve.  The other is all ‘bout schmoozin’ with folks, right?  Gettin’ your foot in the door, meetin’ the right people, makin’ the right connections, yeah?”

"That is the main basis of the idea... yes. Some of these doors are things that you have to open on your own. When it's based upon your own merit, it has a lot more weight than living up to the expectations that have been set for you due to your associations with others. I'd like for people to have a more hands-on approach in controlling their life. That's why I teach it...."

But moving on.

"So why the music club for you? Are you the leader of it?"

“...Pretty sick soundin’ class Raph, you’re almost makin’ me consider joinin’.”  Shouhei took one more swig of the bottle before handing it back to Raphael.  With a satisfied exhalation of breath, he couldn’t help but laugh at the notion of him leading a club.  Perhaps a bunch of idiotic teenagers on motorcycles that liked to do nothing but brawl and get drunk, but definitely not a Music Club at a prestigious Academy.

“...Hell nah, that’s above my station.  But I’d be damned if I didn’t admit I love singin’ and dancin’.  I don’t think many people would want a person like me to lead ‘em,” Shouhei’s brow furrowed for a moment as he thought about it.  “‘Specially considerin’ all the rumors around me anyway.”

"That's a load of bullshit...."

If Shouhei wasn't expecting that to be apart of Raphael's vocabulary, he was in for a rude awakening.

"Rumors are an untrue statement of fact, whatever they have on you or that's spreading against you...needs to be confirmed by you instead of being sent off everywhere. I don't like things like that, and the funny part is that people like that aren't very good liars. When it comes down to it, the exact specifics of what's heard, it's never something they own up to, it's always something else."

Taking a drink from the bottle, Raphael would sit back.

"I believe you can lead, the power of the voice can motivate, inspire, invoke an action. If your emotions can come across with a few sentences and you mean what you say...you can touch the hearts of others. That kind of person is looked up to a leader, but the toughest jobs aren't managed by one person. So when I say you can lead, that also means leading the people who can do the things you can't, make it all go full circle for one goal. "

Speaking of full circle, Shouhei was slowly spinning around in his chair, rotating along Raphael’s words.  While it may have seemed he wasn’t paying attention in a childish manner, he simply felt the need to move while listening, until he came to an abrupt stop.

“...I can relate to how ya feel about rumors, but rumors usually revolve some kinda truth,” he bitterly admitted.  “These people at the Academy, they see me workin’ at a host club, at a bar, ridin’ around a motorcycle, they’re gonna put two and two together.  I don’t really blame ‘em for thinkin’ what they do.  Only thing I can do is prove that I’m better’n that.”

His hand reflexively gripped the charm hanging from his necklace.

“...Normally I’m a guy of action, ‘cause I think they speak louder’n words.  But if there’s one thing I learned, it’s that music, and people’s voices can change everything.  That’s why I’m gonna prove to these rumor spreadin’ assholes that I’ll be a damn good singer and performer,” Shouhei stated resolutely, as more matter-of-fact than pure confidence.  He then flashed a smile at Raphel.

“...Shit man, I can see why you’re leadin’ this club.  Mind if I take a couple’a lessons?  I’ll need it if I even wanna think of succeeding as a singer.”

"So the people at the Academy... see you going to the academy and getting an education. Then they see you work two jobs..... and the only enjoyment you have besides singing is riding your hog into the sunset. Sounds like a man's man when you put it that way. See, that same exact narrative in my hands means nothing to me when you say it like that. You have nothing to prove, none of these people can live your life for you, so we disagree in the middle of the road. You know yourself, it's good enough. "

Moving on.

"But on the singing side of things, the only thing I can agree with is showing the world that even with such appearances, you have a talent you have yet to tap in to, but is apparent for all to see.  As it develops, you want to show people that you have what it takes to be a performer. Do it for the sake of breaking the norm, do it for yourself, and if yo want to do it for other people....this is only mmy opinion... but for those who were discriminated against in such a way as well. "

But he was always ready to teach.

"Sure, as much as you love music, I think you should stick with me. Yeah, I'm the leader, head honcho of the cult of personality. But!!!! Personal skills are something you can develop on your own time or by paying money for a class.  This is not something you can just find on the internet or even in a book, if people can just take those and roll with it,  this club wouldn't exist. The act of applying what you know for personal benefit, selling yourself to have more worth and value in the eyes of others is what you NEED if you are going into business for yourself. There are times when you won't need someone like me,  but I think you need me now..... maybe.."

When Raphael spun the rumors into his own interpretation, Shouhei could only nod in approval.  That was a great way to look at it, but Shouhei instead used the rumors to fuel his own ambition.  Either way it worked.  

As for his singing, he mainly did it as a promise to Mariko Matsuda, his childhood friend, the person that introduced him to music in the first place.  For Shouhei, that alone was enough reason, and anything else was an added bonus.  Raphael simply pointed out something Shouhei neglected to see, to defend others whose careers based in music that were ostracized.

“...Damn, you Gatsby boys got a silver tongue, yeah?  Ya already sold me, man.  I’ll stop by the club from now on, just keep in mind my attendance ain’t the best,” a modest chuckle came from Shouhei.  His face turned to a more dour look afterwards, as he was reminded of Gabe.

“...Speakin’ of which, ya hear anything about him?  It’s been… a while.”

"I would have told you... I don't know. It's like he vanished out of thin air...kidnapped? Taken? I feel as if my disposition doesn't warrant me to get anything extra when it comes to know about what's going on in the city. Powerless.....so to speak. With the talents that I do have, I only wish to meet the right person so I can be pointed in the right direction. I came all this way to this city and besides ..... establishing my museum..... there is nothing else I have to show for it. "

For the most part.

"But i'm not giving up.... i'm going to find my brother...or at least know what happened to him. "