The Contradiction Between Humans

Chapter 33: Observation

   "How was your day so far?" I asked a strange question.

   "Um, good," Kushida replied in confusion.

   "Well I thought since things went your way you would've been ecstatic," I said, slightly sounding arrogant.

   "..."

   Looks like shut her up quite quickly. I will say I'm quite interested in seeing what approach she will take with me. Perhaps she will try to escape this situation by playing dumb. No, that won't work; she knows that too. I might as well shut her only escape option up.

   "I wonder why Yamauchi wasn't with Ike when you invited them."

   "..."

   "C'mon what happened to your social skills. You're awfully quiet. I know! You're speechless because of my greatness. My bad, take your time to grasp a tiny fragment of what you'll never achieve."

   Let's see if this type of provocation will work on her.

   ...

   Although I was clearly provoking her...I can't help but think how some of my honest feelings came out...I truly think highly of myself, huh? I wonder, is this confidence or arrogance?

   I—

   "I should have known when you've been wary of me. So, you already knew, huh?" A low voice brought me out of my thoughts.

   "Well yeah, it was obvious." I said in a voice so genuine that it even surprised me.

   My tone held none of my usual attitude. That's strange, why did it happen? Ahh, I know why! I can use this to my advantage. A person's honest, genuine feelings are the easiest to see through, meaning that she won't be able to see through anything beyond that.

   "More importantly, why did you give such advice to Ike?" I asked.

   "Don't tell me you honestly care about the class."

   It wasn't a question, but a statement.

   "You're indeed correct. However, that doesn't mean I can't be curious. I'm doing it for my self interest, but aren't you the same? I know for a fact that you won't do something like this unless you gain something in return."

   "What makes you think I would tell you? Keep out of what isn't your business," Kushida scowled.

   "Oh, you seem to misunderstand. It's precisely because it's my business that we're having this conversation."

   Her eyes widened, "I should have expected it from someone like you."

   "I don't know what you mean by that, but it appears that you now understand the situation. Now, I don't want to know everything, just enough to determine whether I should take action."

   "Fine..."

   'Now wasn't that so hard' is what I would've said, but I'm trying to get things done so I can have some well deserved rest. Although It was pretty easy getting her to cooperate, it was mostly because she understood that she neither gains or loses anything by telling me. Maybe she did gain something by knowing that I was aware of her true nature.

   Anyways, she proceeded to tell me everything or at least everything I wanted to know. The results were what I anticipated. I'm very pleased with this new piece of information. Since I had no more reason to be her I stood up, and said a few words to her.

   "By the way, would you like to work for me?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

   "As if, I can't stand you ever since you I was you. You even tried to bring down my standing in the class," she glared in disgust.