Chapter 131 - Kanos Breakdown (1/2)
”The hell did he just say? Artist's signature?”
”He can't be talking about the seal every artist places at the corner of their works, right?”
The incredulous talks prevailing in the audience caused Kano to blush in embarrassment.
”By the artist's signature, I meant the unique imprint every artist leaves in their work that speaks to its context. As in, the artist's personal touch that brings their own soul, for the lack of a better word, into their work,” Kano elaborated with some difficulty.
The audience nodded absent-mindedly, yet it was evident that they didn't understand what the boy was trying to say. They were just too shy and embarrassed to admit it out loud. Although Keegan was of the same mindset, he was far too intrigued by the boy's line of reasoning. He decided to drop his arrogant demeanour and asked, ”I don't quite understand.”
Kano scratched his chin in thought as his eyes darted around the area. He figured that in order to illustrate his point, it would be more efficient to use an example or test case. He had learned from watching Teacher Larks that sometimes an apt example could do wonders towards assuring assimilation of knowledge. As an idea started to form in his mind, Kano approached Artist Norris who was fidgeting in place behind his table.
”Artist Norris, your entry for this duel was a painting of a building,” Kano started. ”I've noticed that you never attempt anything other than buildings, structures, or architecture. I recollect observing a single landscape from your earlier works, but you never made another one after that.”
Artist Norris nodded in affirmation, and the crowd added a few agreeing hums as well. ”That's not a secret. Artist Norris is famous for his recreation of architecture, cityscapes and so on.”
”Well... Why is it that you don't draw or paint landscapes, portraits, or any other such genres?” Kano inquired.
”I don't know,” Artist Norris blurted out subconsciously. ”They're just too... irregular I guess.”
Kano nodded lightly before raising his hands and turning one of the hanging brushes on the table by a small angle. Immediately after he left the brush, Artist Norris leaned forward and returned the brush to its initial orientation. This time, Kano moved and nudged the table forward from one side. Artist Norris clicked his tongue and quickly shifted the table to return it into its original position. Kano tilted the inkstone by a small margin, and while Artist Norris was busy fixing that discrepancy, Kano went up to the hanging paintings and tilted Artist Norris' by a bit.
”Boy, what are you doing?” Artist Norris exclaimed as he briskly walked forward and adjusted the askew sheet.
”Why do you do this?” Kano inquired.
”What are you talking about?”
Kano repeated his earlier action and started to tilt the painting, but his hand was captured by Artist Norris who scowled back in irritation.
”This,” Kano indicated by nudging his head towards his imprisoned hand. ”Why are you doing this?”
”I-” Artist Norris stopped midway. He never thought about why he did these things, he just did them because they felt right. ”What are you implying, boy?”
”I can't say for sure, because I am not exactly qualified, but I think you have obsessive-compulsive disorder,” Kano hypothesised.
”What disorder?! How dare you?!” Artist Norris exclaimed out loud. Although he hadn't heard of that ailment before, knowing that it was some form of disorder generally enraged him. He turned his head around to see the audience's reaction, only to find out that everyone was equally puzzled. No one had ever heard of it before. Well, no one except for Jo Way, whose eyes widened slightly in shock. He quickly controlled his agitation, lest his internal injury gets exacerbated.
'How does the boy know? Is- Is he also a transmigrated soul?' Jo Way quickly inquired his ”system”, only to receive silence as usual. Unfortunately, the boy wasn't displaying martial techniques or spells, otherwise, Jo Way could have consulted the book generated in his mind about the boy. He immediately trained his complete attention on the boy.
The reason Kano knew about OCD was that he had heard about it from Teacher Larks. After learning that he had dyslexia, Kano was encouraged to talk with Teacher Larks and learn more about what it meant. Through it, Kano was introduced to a myriad of other, similar, conditions that people suffered from. One of them that stood out to Kano was OCD, this was because he didn't understand why such a condition was labelled as a mental disorder along the same line as his dyslexia. Based on how it was described, Kano felt that it was pretty harmless, maybe even a boon. The compulsiveness to achieve just the right result or being extremely thorough didn't sound malicious to him. Yet after facing someone with the disorder and observing just how distressed they felt with the slightest deviation in their surroundings, Kano finally understood why.
Kano expounded with a measured tone, ”D-D-Do you often feel an urgency to repeat an action because something just didn't feel right? D-D-Do you find yourself repeatedly cleaning your hands or clothes at the slightest invasion of your private space?”
Artist Norris frowned as he nodded in affirmation to both the questions.