Whether 'tis nobler...

Kaize would smile at the girl's seeming acceptance of everything he had said. It made him happy to make others happy. Thus was the cycle of life, or something like that.

Setting the book down, the girl started explaining her reasoning of being here. Apparantly she was looking for some rather out of the ordinary books, when she had stumbled across the blind man reading. Both were peculiar things, to be sure, but he could see how the blind man reading a perfectly normal book would be interesting. Or at least a bit more so than books.

"Fair enough. If I saw a blind man reading a completely normal, un-braille book, i'd probably freak a bit too." Kaize would say, chuckling inwardly at his own joke. "Demonology and Alchemy. Dark studies. Do be careful. Your mental barrier may be strong, and it may protect you from a large amount of harm, but your body is still vulnerable. And i'd hate to see a smart girl cut down by curiosity." Kaize hadn't meant to get dark, but he was serious. He knew plenty about demons from his time barring Kazan with Raijin. He was genuinely concerned.

"I don't mean to alarm or impede, I just...know firsthand how bad demons can be. Demons are the reason I wandered as a child, and they're the reason I have no sight, and am cursed to bear these cuffs." Kaize would say, rubbing at the cuff on his wrist. Realizing he had just spilled more of his backstory than the girl probably wanted to hear, Kaize would shake his head and a look of apology would cross his face.

Kaize would grit his teeth as the girl in front of him gave an apology. He didn't mean to guilt trip her or anything. He'd need to watch what he said. As she explained that she hadn't planned on summoning one and just wanted to learn more about them, Kaize felt a wave of relief wash over him. Good, good. Demons weren't always bad, but they were almost always out for their own gain. They lacked empathy in about ninety percent of cases.

The girl asked Kaize for his backstory. He would grin and sigh in the same action, then shake his head. "I'll tell you, but it may take a small while. You should get comfortable if you intend to fully hear me out." Once the girl was settled, Kaize would take a moment to gather the remnants of memories in his head, then begin.

"I was born and raised in a small town in Japan. Takanabe, in the Miyazaki prefecture. When I was very young, about ten years old, I thought I knew best. I attempted to summon a being that would aid my town with it's troubles. I instead summoned a demon named Kazan, that took shelter in my right arm. My parents took me to a shaman, and together with the town's blacksmith they managed to fashion a pair of cuffs that would contain the demon until it could be exorcised. Life went on for two years with no success. I had managed to ding one of the bracelets pretty bad, and it broke off my arm, releasing the demon. He slaughtered my town and returned to me.

After years of living with the demon free in my arm, I decided I once again knew best. The demon didn't allow me to pray to the gods. So, I bargained. I allowed him to take my sight in exchange for the ability to pray and worship. Kazan took the deal, and I prayed. And in a roundabout way, that's how I ended up here. A god granted me my powers along with a new pair of unbreakable cuffs to keep the demon locked." Kaize would finish his long winded explanation with a flourish of his right arm, revealing the two cuffs on his wrist and bicep.

Kaize would shrug at the girl's question. "I'm not too sure myself. From what I was told, the kind of demon I was hosting fed off of it's owner. It was like a parasite. It diminished my senses and my strength and spirit, in order to boost it's own. Completely taking my sight only made it that much more powerful. If it had resided uncontrolled in my body, i'm sure it would've completely taken my senses and left my body in a vegetative state, if not dead." Kaize would say, shaking his head slightly.

"What the demons are capable of differs from archetype to archetype. I just so happened to be unlucky enough to summon the one I did. Kazan is ruthless, and even now I can still feel his power. His voice still lingers on the edge of my mind. But I have nothing to fear with these cuffs. They're strong enough to contain a couple demons of his caliber." Kaize would say, shaking his arm again.

"You seem pretty interested in all this. Why does the subject of demons pique your interest?"

Kaize would shrug, understanding why people treated demons like they did.

"Well, I kinda understand it. Demons in general are given a bad rep from their history. They've had decades of being seen and used as the scapegoat for quite a bit, thanks to religious fanatics. I'm sure there is such a thing as a 'good' or 'benevolent' demon, but they'd be few and far between. Must are out simply to do evil and cause trouble, or they're out only for their own gain." Kaize would say, pondering the curiosity of a generally good demon.

Upon the question being asked of whether or not he could contain demons willfully in his arm, Kaize would rub the back of his head thoughtfully. "I'm...not really sure. I've never tried to contain any other than Kazan. And i've been honestly afraid to take off the cuffs, because it would mean the release of Kazan, and I have no clue how powerful he is anymore. I'd like to think it wouldn't be that hard to put him to submission, but letting him run free still doesn't sound like a bad idea. The thought of containing more evil in my arm is still oddly exciting, however."

Kaize would let out a bright, wide, genuine smile at the girl's whispered compliment. He'd take it in stride, but he was glad he seemed smart on a topic she was interested in. Then, in rather rapid succession, she asked what else he was knowledgeable on, and commented on his choice in reading material. Still smiling, Kaize would answer.


"I know quite a bit about Japan, whether it be common knowledge, myths and legends, customs or deities. Deities and kami are my specialty. I know some about engineering, and quite a bit about the sciences. And yes, I do enjoy old english writers. They had more style, more flair. They weren't afraid to go places and write things that people nowadays wouldn't dare write a word about." Kaize would say, gesturing to the book of Shakespeare's work and Tess of the d'Urbervilles.

"Hamlet. A story of betrayal, murder and incest. Romeo and Juliet. A story about illicit love and suicide. Tess. A story about love, cheating, murder, and more filth than I can even explain." Kaize would explain with a laugh. He hoped he had gotten his point across.