Mission: Confrontation

The click of the door echoed briefly. The sun burned into Takeshi’s back, and somewhere in the classroom, a fly buzzed as it desperately tried to escape through the closed window. He had already called the students one by one. Everything had been pushed aside, and in the middle of the room stood a single table with two chairs facing each other.

Although there were two chairs, Takeshi didn’t sit down. He stood there like an executioner, arms crossed and face serious.

“You can go. Send Asa-san in.”

The student said goodbye and didn’t waste a second to disappear.

The soft rattling of the door sounded again, but the noise didn’t match the way she entered the room. Relaxed, almost bored, as if this were nothing serious, just a stopover with an acquaintance. She leaned in the doorway, tilted her head, hands in her jacket pockets. A lollipop clacked audibly as she shifted it to the side.

“Yo, Katou-sensei! Missing me already?”

He didn’t answer. She slid the door closed and strolled with loose, deliberate steps toward the table.

“What do you want to know? My blood type? How many followers I have on Pinsta?”

Her tone was mocking, condescending, and bored all at once.

“Sit down. Now.”

Maybe I need to be a little harsher with her…

“Man, don’t stress me out like this. I’ll get wrinkles.”

She grabbed her cheeks and massaged them lightly. Takeshi said nothing. Seconds passed like minutes.

“What now? Gonna stand there in silence?” Naomi asked, shifting in her seat.

She’s getting nervous. Can’t stand the silence.

“You know why you’re here?” Takeshi asked sharply.

“Sure, probably because of the future-whatever thing. What about it?”

Takeshi moved for the first time. He leaned over the table, staring directly into her eyes.

The lollipop had changed sides seven times in the last 20 seconds. Her stress tolerance was dropping.

“Why did you write that?” he asked intently, sliding the paper closer to her.

“What, is it a problem?!”

Tone shift. Emotionally agitated. Control through volume.

“Answer the question…”

His voice was calm. Perfectly steady. Complete control.

“Oh! I’ll just snag some handsome guy and enjoy life… speaking of, are you still available?”

She shrugged, pointed at Takeshi with her lollipop, and grinned mischievously.

In the past, I would’ve broken a finger or two to get an answer… but in this case, it’d be hard to explain, and somehow… it just feels wrong.

An image of a damp, dark basement appeared in his mind. Mossy corners, moldy walls. A wooden chair, a man, a crack.

He pushed the image aside and focused on the problem in front of him.

“Thanks for the summary, but I can read. I want to know why?”

A flick of her eyes to the upper right corner. Visually constructing things in her mind. She tries to create a solution.

“Pff! What do you think?! I can get any guy I want! Why not take advantage of that?”

Failed, now she’s deflecting. Does she even know the answer? Or is she afraid of it? I’m not getting anywhere like this…

A deep breath, then—

“You’re dodging the question.”

He crossed his arms and waited for a specific reaction.

“What do you know?! What I want… no one can give me! So, I have to take it myself!”

Her voice rose, her teeth clenched as she forced the words out.

Bingo. Got you.

“What I know is that people get loud when they’re uncomfortable. A defense mechanism when they feel cornered. So, Asa-san… why do you feel uncomfortable?”

“Oh, I wonder?! You’re asking totally weird questions!!”

“They’re not weird. Just questions you can’t answer. You could’ve written anything you wanted. There has to be a reason you wrote this. So, I’ll ask again… why did you lie?”
Takeshi tapped the paper with his index finger. The sun behind him blurred his face, making it hard to see. Almost like a phantom.

“I didn’t lie!!”

“Again… being loud won’t help you here.”

“Grr! What do you want from me?!”

She sounds angry. Did I push too far? Time to wrap this up.

“This isn’t about what I want, or what anyone else wants. It’s about what you want. It’s not shameful not to know. This isn’t just a list of dreams or wishes. What’s written here isn’t just an answer. It’s proof. Proof of whether you’re honest with yourself. Or not.”

“!” Naomi froze like ice. The sun now reflected in her eyes like the surface of water.

Hm? She has goosebumps… Looks like I hit a nerve. Mission accomplished. Time to retreat.

“Asa-san… Asa-san!”

“Huh?!” She jolted, as if pulled from another world. Looked at him with wide eyes.

“You may go. The conversation is over.”

“Tsk, this is bullshit,” she said angrily, jumped off the chair and left.

He said nothing. Just watched her leave.

That’s the thing about masks. They crack when you press the right spot.