Fortune Favors the Prepared

Cain was ready for an intense study session. He had both his backpack and an empty satchel, notebooks, pencils both mechanical and wooden, pens and highlighters of assorted colors, erasers and whiteout, change to pay for copying machines,  music to keep himself entertained and various other odds and ends. He was anticipating that this would take a while.  After all he wasn't studying something as simple as history or arithmetic, something he could just pick up a text book on and be done with it. No, he was researching subjects of a decidedly more esoteric nature.

"First stop Greek myths and monsters." Cain thought to himself, as he strolled into the largest public library he'd been able to find in Shibakuzoi. He'd figured that this seemed like as good a place as any to start his search, seeing as Shibakuzoi was the city that seemed to have the best of everything. Their library would probably be best stocked, and thus give him the best chance of finding what he needed. At least that's how the young man reasoned.  He'd probably need to check out other sources, but Shibakuzoi was a safe first bet.  
As Cain pulled a few select books from the shelves and began to move over to books on ancient Egypt, a though occurred to him.  There was another world filed with monsters, right?  And it had existed for, well who knows how long? How had he heard nothing about it before now? Had no one who ever entered that realm attempted to record or document their experiences? Was it just that everyone who entered ended up either keeping quiet or in an asylum somewhere?

"Pity, having some 'Child of Chaos Survival Book' would be pretty helpful. Hey, I'd even take a pamphlet better than a hazy bunch of nothing words like 'give in to the chaos.'" Cain mused to himself as his path brought him to a few books on the afterlife; some on beginner's psychology, a few on history, and other miscellaneous subjects that he thought might come in handy or simply caught his eye. He placed the books in  his satchel and lugged them over to the emptiest table he could find  so he could get to work. This would probably be a long day, so he'd rather get it over with.

Jin had heard there was a library in Shibakuzoi with quite a sizable compendium of books in their storage. While he already has a good number of books with the make-shift shelf made of wooden crates back in the apartment, it wouldn't hurt to give this place a look to see if there's any good texts to read for leisure. The small car he had bought, ever since his arrival in Japan, sputtered in each street block as he drove to his destination. Smoothly he drove into the library's parking zone before finally putting the vehicle to a stop and retrieving his key.

It was fairly big like many of the libraries he had been into from the various countries Jin has already visited. And on top of that, this place did have some technological advancements with various modern computers in various rooms. Now that he had arrived, there was a question to answer.

What books should he look for?

Certainly Jin had read various historical texts during his study, internment, and tenure as a history teacher/professor. It wouldn't hurt to read a thesis published by some graduate student. Nor it wouldn't hurt to find some fictional novel to enjoy reading, since this is his "break" time from all that grading. However, nowadays, there is a huge lack on great stories these days. For shame. Thesis, it will have to be.

Going up to a computer kiosk for searching, the teacher started to rapidly type in various keywords into its search engine. With a few clicks, a whole list of titles and author names sprung up. With a roll of the scroll bar, Jin glanced through each title before clicking to the next page of the compilation. It wouldn't take long a title would finally interest him to click on to divine its location.

After searching through the various shelves, it didn't take long for the teacher to spy a familiar title to retrieve what he had been looking for.

A thesis on the recurring theme of the utter reverence of Greek deities.

Taking this piece of flimsy text with him, Jin finally started to find a place to read them at. Since the library was at its most busiest, there was only one table that had available seating. With one person already occupying one seat, he hurried over to secure a spot.

"Excuse me," he quietly asked the person in the hoodie, "Is there anyone sitting in these chairs? Could I sit here?"

Cain was already scribbling down notes by the time his work was intruded upon by, god knows who. He supposed that it was nothing worth getting annoyed about, after all courtesy was part of the social contract everyone was supposed to abide by, but on the other hand why was it his job to play usher for complete strangers? If the seat was empty and no one's stuff was there obviously it was free. That or someone had gotten up and taken and left no marker that they would return, in which case it was their own fault if their seat was taken. Was he supposed to be his neighbor's keeper all of a sudden?

He laid down his pencil and took a short breath. Obviously this was getting to him. Yes this work was important, but it was no reason to start being a jerk to everyone that walked by. Well, no more reason than usual anyway. He made a quick motion to the seat and spoke quietly, though he didn't look up from his books.

"Help yourself. Better hurry though, seems busy today." The young man said in a dry monotone as he flipped over to a selection about oceanic monsters and the legends associated with them.
"Let's see, pulled the chariot of Poseidon, symbols of nobility, strength and honor, probably has no connection to long or short term memory...", the young man muttered, more or less oblivious to the presence of the man who may very well have been his history teacher. Not that this was unusual for Cain. He had trouble remembering most faces and considering he'd hardly looked up from his books identifying the man by voice would be quite a feat for him, all things considered.

Despite the unfriendly tone, Jin nodded gratefully at his words while keeping the silence to not aggravate him. Taking heed of the said words, he drew back their chair and started to sit on it to finally occupy it. It was only then he finally started to open up the little pamphlet full of various thesis' for his own leisure. His back was completely lax as it leaned against the furniture's curved back. As he read, it was clear the author for this written work had used references of Ovid's poetry to support respecting and even worshiping them.

But his attention jerked away at the words from his nearby neighbor. It seems as if he were interested in mythology and has some difficulty with the characters or concepts presented in the book this boy is holding. This brought Jin a dilemma. Should he dare asking to help him? Though the repercussions are likely to be minimal anyhow.

"So, Greek myths?" the historian finally asked him in the middle of his little "soliloquy", "I can help, if you like. I'm a history teacher."


OOC: Short, sorry.

Cain looked up suddenly when the stranger spoke again. He could already tell how this would go. Even if he tried ignoring this person they probably would just find another reason to question him. It was simply the way people like that acted. So he set down his pencil and looked up at the stranger with a melancholic expression. He still didn't recognize the man.

"Not just Greek; Japanese, Egyptian, North and South American, and a few other smidges here and there. Though Greek is the primary source for now, I wish it were simple enough to be the only one." Cain said as if he were talking more to a fellow student than a teacher. Normally he was a bit more respectful, but with all things considered he wasn't exactly in the most respectful mood at the moment.

"Well, if you want to help, telling me what you know about Minotaur's, Se-Horses, or women with large chests would be much appreciated. Oh and before you say anything, no not those types of chests. I mean the ones with locks." he said with a short sigh. After he spoke, he realized how little sense his words probably made. Maybe he'd get better results if he tried taking things a little slower.

"Sorry. It's just that this is a bit of an urgent matter. Didn't mean to come off as ungrateful." he said before picking up his pencil once again and flipping open another book to search for any relevant information.

Certainly it was interesting how this boy wanted to know various mythologies in many countries. What could certainly drive this person to delve himself into this kind of subject? It wasn't everyday you saw a teenager taking a big interest in the myths generated in the past. This intrigued Jin even more. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to educate this boy a little bit.

"Oh no. It's fine. I don't mind," he smiled at him as he excused his rudeness, "Luckily for you. I do know a bit of what you're looking for. So let's start with Minotaur."

He cleared his throat quietly to start.

"Well you already know it's half man and half bull as stated in popular culture," Jin finally began as he closed the pamphlet of student thesis', "It's known as the Bull of Minos as being owned by King Minos of Crete. It came to being by Mino's wife having sexual relations with a bull. Of course, she wouldn't normally do this if it weren't King Minos' crime. This crime in question is that the mentioned king did not sacrifice the Cretan Bull to Poseidon as required. Also note that Greek deities are known for being fickle. Poseidon had Aphrodite make Pasiphaë fall in love with the bull and you know what happened next."

He paused and waited patiently, just in case if the boy needed to write all this down. Then the teacher continued on.

"So Minotaur was born. But because he was violent and ate human flesh, Minos (with Delphi oracle advice) had Daedalus make a labyrinth to keep the beast inside. Which later on leads to the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur."

Cain's pen was a blur. Who'd have guessed, this guy was actually useful after all! This information wasn't exactly new, but hearing it out loud allowed him to focus more on making connection than digging up the information himself.

"So the Minotaur was a punishment for disrespecting Poseidon, its slayer, Theses, was Poseidon's child and the Hippocampi were both created by Poseidon and drew his chariot. It's not the strongest connection, but it's worth noting." Cain mumbled more to himself than to the man helping him.

"I suppose there's nothing in that legend about court jesters or women with antlers though, huh? Still it's a start Mister..." Cain paused, realizing he didn't know this man's name. However it was hardly a second before he spoke up once more, the thought of asking for it hardly even crossing his mind. "Well, thanks Teacher." he said before trying to crack open a book on ancient Egypt. He scanned the pages over trying to find something that could either back up or disprove the story Kogami had given him. All things considered the chances were slim he'd be able to do that after cursory glance though a single book, but he had to start somewhere, right?

"Let me ask you something. It's been said that every tale bears a grain of truth. Do you believe this is true? Could all of this be more than just old superstition and myth?" Cain asked in a surprisingly no nonsense way. It was rare that anyone talked about myths in such a way, especially at Cain's age, but he honestly couldn't care less. Getting an answer was more important to him then being accepted.

Judging by his words, it seems as if the boy already knew about this information. Jin had thought he might've disappointed the youth, but no matter. What else would this boy would want to know?

"More or less," Jin answered with a shrug with his back sinking down on the chair, "Jin. Jin Zong Wu. You can call me, Jin. So. What is your name?"

Silence would follow after his name was introduced as the boy in question was already back to his own self-study. That was disappointing, he had hoped he wanted to know something else. It prompted Jin to go back to reading the thesis he had in his hand. Though, interestingly enough, this kid asked another question. A much deeper one that isn't expected of people of his age. It caused Jin to lay down the pamphlet again to roll up his eyes to the ceiling in thought.

"Hmm..."

How strange. What could prompt this boy to ask such questions? There has to be some sort of driving force besides just mere want for knowledge. But never mind that. He would have to answer it.

"If you asked Protagoras that, he'd probably tell you there's a myriad of truths out there in each individual perspective," Jin joked at first, but then he cleared his throat to denote he was going to take it more seriously, "If you mean a moral theme behind that "grain of truth", sure. Myths are made to explain, to teach, to warn, and to entertain like most of our current media. Honestly, I don't see any mythological creatures walking around, do you? So far most of the myths have been listed as superstition since they have never been known to exist in today's world. But of course, if they did exist, our world would be much more different than it is now. Though who knows? Maybe they're from a different realm where humans don't go to, if they actually do exist. But now? They're just stuff of legends and stories."

Cain was still writing as the man, apparently named Jin, spoke up once again. It was a bit rude not to look at him, but Cain was still in his "focused" mode. He scanned over a lineage of Pharaohs searching for the name "Nyarlathotep". As he ran his fingers down the list of names he spoke to Jin once more.

"Cain, nice to meet you. How's your day going? How about that weather, huh?" he said rattling off his list of generic pleasantries in an attempt to simply get them over and done with. Those words had always seemed like a waste of time, but more-so today. He really needed to find some catch-all greeting that satisfied all the politeness criteria   social interactions required.  As the young man listened to Jin's answer he slowly raised his head however.

"Yes, Mr. Zong Wu, I saw a Minotaur. It was fighting a priest and a few schoolgirls. I almost got hit with some magical ice they were fighting with. Then I got electrocuted by a thundercloud. It was quite the night." Cain said with an absolutely deadpan expression on his face. He stared Jin down with a look that seemed to dare the older man to take him seriously. That was the funny thing about truth. People believed what they found comfortable, Even if what he said was true, the fact that it conflicted with what Jin 'knew' probably meant he would dismiss it as nonsense right out of hand. And why not? That was the only logical thing to do, after all. Then again, the fact that Jin hadn't burst into laughter at the implication that myths could be real may mean that the adult was far more open-minded than Cain was giving credit for.

"Another realm where humans don't enter..." Cain parroted as he scribbled down the man's words. Up until now he had assumed that the Shadows lived in a dream world, or in some area hidden by magic. He supposed it could be some sort of trans-dimensional bridge as well... so many possibilities.
"You know, the truth is a funny thing. If we don't know something or have no evidence of it then it does not exist. Then, once proof is discovered our facts suddenly shift. So is it the truth that changed, or did what we know as true turn out to be lies, with a new truth taking its place? In the end, it seems a myriad of truths and a web of lies are not so different." Cain said in a solemn tone as he went back to his work. He didn't know what the strangers reaction to that little rant would be, but he'd simply felt the need to say it. It was 'his truth' after all.

"I've been rude. Here you are helping me, and I don't even know what you're doing here. Care to enlighten me? Perhaps I could help with whatever you're searching for?" Cain said looking up for a brief moment. Perhaps he was trying to make up for how standoffish he'd been before, or maybe it was just curiosity. Who knew, it could be a bit of both, but Cain was asking honestly at least.

"I... see. Is that so?"

It was true that this conversation was getting interesting. But now it seems utterly ridiculous as this youth prattled on his surreal experiences with the supernatural. A minotaur, a priest, and schoolgirls. The utter absurdity seemed very fitting for a new premise on some new manga in Japan. This caused him to cock his head to the side in confusion. No. There's no way he can be serious, is he? From his very features, it seems he isn't lying or joking about his statement. How curious. But he said nothing more about it, nor did he make any expressions of it. His own observations about it would be kept to himself.

The conversation went off track as the boy finally introduced himself as Cain. The namesake of humanity's first murderer. The man where the monster Grendel and his mother descended from. Even his own name gave him a strange and rather mature aura. On top of it, the name dispelled any doubts that he was a foreigner where, and if, his appearance failed him to state otherwise.

What made it hard to not take him seriously was his own monologue about his own concept of truth. It didn't help when it was much deeper than any teenager around here. Exactly what kind of experience did this boy go through? The man's curiosity deepened even more.

"I'm surprised," Jin admitted quietly, "You're a lot deeper than most people of your age. It's interesting. I could have almost mistaken you for a philosopher just now. Oh and also, please just call me Jin when outside of school, Cain."

Perhaps maybe this teenager took a few classes in philosophy besides the usual courses in high school? That would certainly explain his peculiar behavior of an anomaly. But why? Was it for an interest in something just more than what just simply exists in his life? Jin wouldn't know. And certainly he wouldn't be able to ask him as it seemed to be a very sensitive subject. To boot, the youth seemed fairly busy in his endeavor to learn. And that's what made it a little bit surprising that Cain asked what he was doing.

Jin then held up the small pamphlet of the thesis written by some no name author. The title would be displayed on the very cover for Cain to be able to see and read off from.

"Oh. I'm reading a student's thesis. I'm merely just taking a break or what not. I don't mind helping you. After all, speaking with you is more interesting than what this person wrote anyway."

He shrugged nonchalantly as he left the book down to the table's surface.

"I noticed you're looking through that list of Egyptian kings," the Chinese teacher pointed at the open pages, "Looking for someone?"

Cain looked up with a bit of surprise. He'd been expecting a few responses to his words. Incredulity, laughter, rolled eyes, or slowly backing away from the crazy kid shaking his head nervously. He certainly had not been expected to be called 'deep'.
Cain blinked a few times trying to put together why Jin would respond this way. Perhaps the teacher was attempting to pacify him? He thought for a few seconds before deciding to let it go, for now at least. There were a thousand reasons that the teacher acted as he did, and Cain doubted he'd be able to figure it out for sure, one way or another; best to just focus on more important matters.

"A philosopher, huh? I wish. I'm more of a village fool than a lover of knowledge. Thanks for the complement though. I guess I was just born an old codger. Alas, tis simply my lot in life." He said laying down his pen once again.

"You, seemed to take my ramblings remarkably well, Mr. Jin, kudos to you. I suppose a good teacher is prepared for anything a student may say, regardless of the apparent lack of sanity." Cain said calmly as he rolled his shoulders. The thesis that Jin had showed him looked interesting, at least form the brief glimpse he'd gotten. Maybe it'd be worth checking out later? True, Cain wasn't sure how dense the material might prove to be, but with enough time he was sure he could handle it. However there was still the teachers' question. He briefly wondered how he should answer the question, before deciding to give a more 'normal' answer.

"I heard an interesting tidbit and wanted to see if it was true. After all, you can't trust everything people say nowadays. It was a little story about a Pharaoh who was called Nyarlathotep. I was hoping to see if I could verify his name with any records I could find. Though considering how ancient rulers were, I wouldn't be surprised. It as if they simply couldn't get by without twenty different titles, aliases, and pseudonyms." He said with a nonchalant shrug. He doubted that finding anything useful would be easy. He was just beginning after all, and it's not like he had any definite source to consult.

An old codger, huh? Certainly he was a bit mature for his age. But he is still too young to be labeled as "old". Though his endeavors to know more is likely to place him in such a label by his fellow peers. A geek in modern terms. Not that it is a bad thing.

"A good teacher?" Jin repeated Cain's words in a quizzical fashion.

Just for listening to a student talk? Isn't that what a teacher is for to begin with? But then again, what this youth has been talking about the supernatural would make anyone question his state of mind. Though it was clear the teen didn't expect his reaction to be so calm, not that he could blame him for that after all.

The educator smiled wryly in reply, "I don't know about being a good teacher, but I know I'm just some random grunt in the educational field. Of course I have to be good at listening and I have to be well-versed in my subject material. Otherwise, I would only be an incompetent and impertinent man than someone who actually teaches anyway. And no one likes that kind of person. So I try to avoid being like that, if possible."

Then came the interesting answer. To know about the existence of Nyarlathotep. That is when Jin's smile grew a little bit wider at the new subject.

"Yes, indeed many have titles within history. After all, man does love to be illustrious even today. Though at times, this want to be illustrious does serve to help rulers or even inconvenience them greatly at times..."

Before the Chinese could go into more detail about what he meant, he stopped himself to inform the boy about the existence of this so-called pharoah.

"Nyarlathotep is a character from Lovecraft's Cthulu Mythos. He is known as the Crawling Chaos or the God of a Thousand Forms. He is one of the Great Old Ones in the mythos. His first appearance in the works, states he looks like an ancient Egyptian pharoah. So he is not one, to be honest. In his story, he wanders the Earth while gathering legions of cult followers in his name. Nyarlathotep is known to relish causing madness than just mere death and destruction compared to the other Gods. Of course, he is known to be the most human out of the as he makes full use of propaganda, deception, and manipulation through his followers."

"Lovecraft! It should have been obvious with all that talk about chaos. I've been so focused on the ancient mythos that I completely ignored the more modern sources! Ugh, that's so amateur a mistake I want to kick myself." Cain said as he quickly began jotting down new notes. He thought he'd been behind earlier but now there was just so much more he had to consider. There was so much that he was missing, and it would likely have taken him days or maybe weeks to realize it. Okay, as much as Cain hated being wrong or looking foolish, his appreciation of this man had just tripled. How could he have been this blind?

"Thanks for setting me on the right path. I should've been able to realize that, but my mind wasn't as sharp as I hoped. Well, this means I may have to reassess a few theories I'd made. Not to mention I'll need to read up on Lovecraft in addition to all this other material. It almost makes me wish that it had actually been a pharaoh..." Cain muttered to himself as he began flipping though pages furiously. He let out a small groan. Up till now he was hoping to find some connection to reality, even if it was tenuous. It's not like he couldn't deal with the strangeness of everything going on, well at least he thought he could, but when the only information e could find was apparently from fictional sources and ones spread out over such a span of time it presented a problem. How could he be sure what information was reliable and what to throw out? Was Lovecraft providing some sort of message, was "Nyarlathotep" just a convenient moniker for an unrelated entity, or were there other possibilities which he hadn't yet considered? The young man slumped in his seat and rubbed his temples. This was already quite a bit of trouble.

"Well, it seems I have a few more books to pick up. I think I'll finish reviewing what I have for now though. Oh, and I suppose I should apologize that none of what I said has made any sense. I've never been the best at explaining things." Cain said as he laced his fingers together.
"That's why I claimed you were a good teacher, by the way. Most teachers are excellent at speaking and believe they no longer need to listen. They believe that teaching is a one way exchange. I believe differently." He said with a short sigh to punctuate his little speech.

It seemed the youth was blaming himself for not realizing what seemed to be an obvious clue to him, which did not surprise Jin as he did seem to be quite well read in many literary texts to begin with. He allowed his chin to rest on his palm as he waited for the student to quickly write down his recent realizations so as to not forget them. The Chinese smiled at himself, it has been a while since he felt like his own teachings actually had some effect and weight to the young. It wasn't a bad feeling... supposedly.

The teacher smoothly replied, "Any time, Cain. That's exactly what I'm supposed to be after all."

What exactly did he want to find out about Nyarlathotep? It seemed quite strange how he kept mentioning about chaos. But regardless, he shall prove to be quite an interesting person to interact with in the future. The pamphlet Jin had brought with him would be seemingly forgotten to the side as their "interesting" conversation would continue. Thankfully, it is conveniently placed where he could remember its very existence.

"No problem," he started again as he formed the propped palm into a fist to hold up his head, "Not everyone is quite gifted at or has groomed the art of explanation."

As Jin spoke his reply, the pamphlet he had been reading was found in his hands again for one more chance in recognition in their conversation. With a slight shake to emphasize another fact, he pointed out one thing as his brows slightly furrowed into slight disgust at the memory of people that made its way into his mind.

"Which is why some teachers just should never teach at all. Such incompetence would surely ruin yours and the future generation."

Anger? Cain hadn't been expecting that. Usually such statements meant he would be told to respect his elders, or to try and be more understanding, especially when he was speaking to an adult. It seemed next to impossible he'd be commiserated or agreed with. This Jin must be passionate about his job. It almost made Cain jealous, but he decided not to dwell on it. Instead he looked at Jin with a dry sort of glare and tented his hands.

"My, My, such passion for your profession. Is there any wonder I pegged you as a good teacher? It seems that you certainly have a great deal of motivation. On behalf of the future generations, I thank you for your dedication." Cain said before bowing his head with a small wry smile. It was odd that he was needling someone so above him in station, but he tended to tease as he got comfortable with someone.

"Sorry, I must be distracting you. That paper of yours undoubtedly warrants more attention than the ramblings of some random child, no matter how nonsensical. Is there anything interesting in that text?" The young man asked, with just the slightest hint of curiosity. Seeing as Jin had been so helpful, a bit of politeness was a small price to pay.