Resisting the Invasion (Part 4)

“You think I’ve cheated my way to this point?” Tani asks through gritted teeth.

“There’s no other explanation for it, Akihiro-kun. People don’t suddenly become straight A students overnight. I’m surprised your teachers at the time didn’t sound the alarm bells. I don’t think you would have been accepted into Kokusai had they said anything.”

Tani has studied up on the tactics of politicians for years now, and one of their traits he’s worked hard to transfer into his arsenal is the ability to deflect. In fact, it’s a rung on the ladder to the top of the world.

As rattled as he is about this sudden threat, he’s able to slide right back into his training.

“Spoken like someone who knows nothing of the mind of a genius.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Tani casually sits atop another student’s desk and sends Togashi a smug smile, “My guess is that you haven’t found a shred of evidence to support your accusation. Just speculative drivel.”

“The evidence is the sudden change!”

“No, you've used the sudden change as speculation of wrongdoing. It’s unbecoming of a principal to look at his star student in any way other than elderly pride. Don’t you find your behavior to be beneath your position?”

Togashi scrunches up his chin and looks away. “Outright accusing you of cheating could be considered unbecoming, but the assumption is not unreasonable. Even you can concede that, you know exactly what kind of monster you are.”

“Heh,” Tani shrugs. “I wouldn’t put it past me.”

“So you admit it?”

“Absolutely not.”

Tani stands up out of his seat and looks Togashi square in the eyes with the intensity of a battle hardened soldier.

“I don’t need to explain to you of all people why I decided to apply myself for the first time in my life. I don’t need to grovel under the weight of how you view me.”

“But the academic board of TIU will want to know!”

“Screw them!”

The outburst forces Togashi to take a startled step back.

“You’re not going to tell them anything about my grades, because I know for a fact that no matter how much digging you did, you couldn’t find a shred of evidence to prove your suspicions. You’re just upset because you can’t understand what you think isn’t possible.”

“....”

“If you want to know how I did it, I’ll tell you.”

Tani clenches his fist and points his thumb towards his chest.

“I did it with heart. Something you lost a long time ago when you gave up on your dreams.”

He then walks over to the classroom door and slides it open, gesturing towards the exit with an outstretched hand.

The defeated Principal remains silent even though he looks like he’s internally fighting whether to say something or not. He obliges, and walks out of the door.

Tani can’t be sure, but he thinks he might have just seen Togashi’s stiff accusatory face soften into a faint smile on its way out. Not wishing to turn around to double check, he simply slides the door shut behind him.

“Fuahh.” Tani expels a tension relieving sigh before making his way to the back of the classroom and to his seat by the large window. “Damn I’m good.”

Dropping his body onto his chair, he leans back and triumphantly puts his feet up onto his desk.

“I have reached a new level in the mastery of deflection. I’m sure he left this convo feeling like a total asshole. Ha! That’s what he gets for lobbing such an accusation at me.”

His body language and his words belies the pained expression on his face. He has been reminded of a specific point in time that has dramatically altered the course of his life, having it come to light, colored in the lens of such a thing as cheating grabs at the hurt he feels deep within his chest.

“I guess every once in a while it’s good to be reminded of why I’m doing all this… If I’m not careful, my resolve will be swayed.”

That particular reason is something he had done well to avoid thinking about for quite some time now.  In the same way he has had to overcome adversity to help Anita, in the same way he has had to accept empathy when he allowed Emilia to join his club, in the same way he has had to let the universe deliver him Charl, he has to accept the truth of his ambition. By putting it into the back of his mind, his club members have served to muddle the killer instinct he’s honed.

“If I don’t shape back up to my usual self, the sacrifices I’ve made to get here will end up being for nothing.”

Tani takes his glasses off and wipes the lenses on his tie, the pain in his expression begins to be replaced by a determined glare.

“There’s too much at stake for me to bring back what has always disappointed him.”

He puts his glasses back on his face, postures himself perfectly in his chair, and regains the image of a hardened stoic preparing himself for a grand mission.

The Akihiro Tani that has allowed himself to be vulnerable around the members of his club has left his body, and is instead replaced with the monster that can so easily commit dastardly acts to get his way.

This version of Tani is confident to the point of arrogance, this version of Tani cares nothing for those around him.

This version of Tani is ambition personified.

So what will happen when this version of a ruthless future diplomat is greeted by the one person immune to his dreadful nature?

The door to class 3-D slides open, and in comes Anita Pederson.

To this point Anita has yet to show up on time even once, every day her chauffeur rushes her into the school grounds during morning roll call, it’s become an exciting spectacle the entire class looks forward to each morning. Because of that fact, he can't help but at least be curious as to why she’s here so early.

“Anita-san,” Tani says, his fingers intertwined with each other on his desk. “Good morning.”

Anita greets him with a smile at first, but then tilts her head in confusion.

“Anita-san?” she asks.

Tani doesn’t answer.

She makes her way to her office chair situated next to his desk, she puts her backpack onto his desk and begins rummaging inside of it.

“Are these the paper assignments I’ve asked you to complete?” Tani asks, before realizing that he needs to use his phone’s translator app to ask that question in his stead.

Anita shakes her head and pulls out a thermal. Presenting it to him as though it were a winning prize from a TV game show, she says, “Tadaa.”

She takes her seat and sends him a wanting glare.

Tani squints at it, perplexed as to how he’s supposed to perceive such a thing.

This prompts Anita to use her hands to present it to him again, this time more assertively.

“Tadaaaa!”

“Just saying ‘tadaa’ doesn’t mean anything to me. What do you want me to do about it? Anyways, about those assignments.”

Tani is purposely being cold to her, he understands that up until this point, he had been becoming too friendly with this foreign exchange student. Allowing her to alter his resolve to the point that he had forgotten about what it is he needs from her in order to succeed. Because of this, he’s grown impatient with her antics and is only interested in whether or not she completed her night’s language work.

The problem is that Tani is being cold towards a person who either can’t sense the chill, or is simply strong enough to ignore it.

Anita twists open the cap to the thermal and places it on the desk in front of him, steam immediately rises from the opening and the scent of lavender reaches their noses. She then pours the contents of the thermal into the cap that doubles as a cup, and pushes it towards the disinterested looking Tani.

“Tea!”

“I can see that.”

Tani doesn’t budge, no attempt is made to grab the cup.

“Delicious tea!”

Though she can’t formulate full sentences in Japanese, the words she does know come across without much accent. Even the cold Tani can’t help but be impressed, but in this moment he outright refuses to show it.

“That’s not what I want from you, Anita-san.”

“...Why?”

Anita’s once cheerful face now looks concerned.

“Because there are things more important than idle tea tasting. Now more than ever I need to know that you’re going to be able to pass this grade; if you just do what I tell you and complete the work I’m giving you, then there won’t be any room for the principal or board members of TIU to doubt my credentials. So more than anything I want to see those damn assignments completed! You shouldn't be asking me why when what's at stake for me is obvious!”

Tani has steadily raised his voice, and is now huffing and puffing as though what he said just released a pressure valve that was once welling up the emotions he’s felt all morning.

“No… Why Anita-san?”

“Why that? You're asking me about your name?? Because we’re not friends, you’re a student of mine. I need to reset the boundaries of our transactional relationship, it was rude of me to call you by your name without honorifics in the first place and I'll take the blame for that. But If I've given you the false impression that I don't care about your language progress because you think we're friends, I won't be able to forgive myself."

Anita could only understand bits of what he just said, but still shrinks back a little bit in surprise. However, she purses her lips before putting her left hand on top of the cup of tea. The steam that was once escaping the cup is now flowing directly into her delicate palm, and the burning sensation at the very least must hurt a bit.

With her free hand she pulls out her phone and types as fast as she can.

“I made this tea for you this morning. I don’t want it to get cold.” The robotic tone of the translator app does nothing to soothe Tani’s agitation.

“I don’t want the tea.”

His intertwined hands are lifted slightly, and then slam on the desk, creating an imposing thud.

“But you need it.” Anita says through her phone. “This lavender tea I made is to help alleviate stress and anxiety. You try to hide it, but I know that you’ve been struggling. Won’t you at least give it a try?”

"I don't want--!"

Tani wants to continue his protest, but what she had told him connects him to a repressed emotion he's been doing his best to keep hidden from both himself and to the others around him. 

He pauses and loses himself in her concerned golden glare.

Thinking back on the last few days, he's certain there should have been no way he broadcasted anything of the sort. 

Stress and anxiety? Noticeable? 

Not possible, especially since he’s been so focused on helping Emilia with her friend issues. Has she truly noticed an internalized weakness to the point that she'd spend her spare time before class making this tea and coming in early to school just to cheer him up?

The thought of her consideration squeezes at his heart. It’s not too dissimilar to how he felt while thinking back on what caused his sudden change in the final year of middle school and how it pushed him to become the person he is now.

It feels an awful lot like guilt.

Rejecting such a kind offer would make him feel ten times worse. But did he not just tell her that they aren't friends? What's there to be guilty about if he truly believes that is the case?

He doesn't spare a moment contemplating that answer.

“Okay I'll try it, you can move your hand now.”

Anita smiles and obliges; she quickly hides her reddened palm behind the desk, but not before Tani notices the slight wound.

The squeezing in his chest briefly takes his breath away.

He grabs the cup of tea and raises it up to his lips, Anita’s look of anticipation is coming across like the face of a puppy expecting a treat.

He takes a sip, regains the breath he felt he lost, and gently sets the cup back down on the desk.

“Hvordan er det?” Anita asks.

“It’s good…”

He takes off the steam fogged glasses he's wearing and sets them on the desk before returning the cup back to his mouth.

Taking another sip, he shuts his eyes and allows his stiff posture to relax.

“It’s too good.”

The taste of the lavender tea isn’t what he finds so appealing, the warmth of the liquid raising the temperature of his cold body isn’t what he’s finding so soothing.

There’s something about this tea that transcends any physical sensation, the deeper meaning of which he struggles to articulate within his mind. It’s making his eyebrows shrink towards each other, his face begins to take the shape of a person unfamiliar to him. 

She had put so much thought into something as simple as a thermal of tea with the simple purpose of making him feel just a little bit better. He doubts the effect of the tea itself would do enough to relieve what's ailing him, but the effect of the intentions behind it does more than enough to forget about it all and wisp him away into this very present moment.

The memories of what led him to this point scatter off in what seems to be a million different directions. What replaces it is the warmth shared with this Foreign Girl who has unintentionally changed the worst parts of him for the better in such a short time. .

Anita’s honey gold eyes stare deep into his soul as his energy shifts; standing out of her chair and walking to his side, she rests her hand on his head and begins to gently stroke his hair.

Tani allows himself to melt into her hand as he takes his next sip of lavender tea.

“I’m sure I don’t deserve how this tea is making me feel… Thank you..."

She sends him a gracious smile.

"Anita, I’m sorry.”

“You’re okay… my friend.”

A lump forms in his throat, and he's just mere moments away from letting himself cry.

‘Slunk’

But the sound of the classroom door suddenly closing snaps him out of his daze and both he and Anita throw their gaze towards the noise.

The shadowy silhouette of a person can be seen through the door’s small window hastily running off.

“Wuah!” Tani gasps and jumps to his feet while fumbling his glasses in a series of chaotic movements back onto his face. “That’s the person that’s been following me!”

The events of this morning had distracted him from the fact that he started the day feeling on edge due to the sensation of being tailed. The person that has been following him making their presence suddenly known in such an obvious way hijacks his entire mind.

He rushes to the door to pursue the figure, but upon exiting out into the hallway, he is disheartened to find that dozens of his classmates are making their way up the hall towards the middle classrooms.

The stalker has snuck off and blended their way into the ever growing crowd of students.

His mind races with the thoughts of how long he was being spied on, and just how much this person had seen from his conversation with Togashi to his touching moment with Anita. His cheeks go flush at the thought.

“Anita!” he says, turning back towards her, “I need you to help me find this person!”

Today’s UN Lesson--- The Universe is not invasive!!