Trigger Locked: The Mind Control Assassins

Chapter 4

I'm the kind of person who takes everything with a pinch of salt, even if there are individuals who are being rude to me. Well, why should I even care about the strangers who are being rude to me? I'm pretty sure that I won't bump into them anymore. While I can brush things off just like that, it doesn't seem that way when it involves someone who is a public figure. What Momoko Sugita did to us the other day left a bitter taste in our mouth.

When I arrive at school, I bump into Shiori at the school entrance. She avoids me like a plug whenever our eyes meet. Even Yuuto finds it odd because Shiori had never behaved like this before. Have we done something that offended her? I'm pretty sure that I don't. I suspect that Yuuto must have done something to her, but he denies it.

I sigh because I have no idea what's going on with Shiori. The only thing I can do right now is to confront her. As I enter the class, Shiori still avoids looking at me. This will be difficult for me if things keep on going like this. This will leave me no choice but to confront her before the class starts. I'm okay with confronting people during the covert mission. But I don't feel comfortable facing Shiori like this. It will only make her feel intimidated if I do it this way.

Shiori still avoids me even when I'm standing right in front of her desk. "What's going on with you? You've been avoiding me since we've arrived. Just tell me if I've done something that offended you," I say to her as I'm slamming my hands on her desk. The loud slam on her desk somehow attracts the whole class to stare at us. Seeing the whole class stares at us, Shiori blushes and leave the class.

Darn, I've made a terrible mistake. I don't mean to slam on her desk, though. I just did it because I was angry. I chase after Shiori right away after she leaves the class. Before she can go anywhere further, I grab her arm. She still doesn't even look at me even when I grab her arm tightly. "Touka, let me go! It hurts," she cries. "Not until you tell me what's going on with you," I say to her.

"I'm sorry," she cries, "I still feel guilty for what have happened last weekend. I couldn't believe it myself that the person that I always looked up to treated you and Yuuto badly. I feel so embarrassed about it that I don't even dare to look at you." This is what she's been bugging about? I thought that Yuuto and I must have done something to her. It turns out to be that it's none of those.

"So, that's it? I thought that it was something major," I say to her, sighing. Shiori nods. "I know that you won't have a hard feeling about that. But I do! I'm scared that you will say that she's a bad person only because of that. She was only having a bad day. That's all." I'm amazed that she's still defending Momoko Sugita even though she had treated us poorly. If Shiori has a boyfriend, she will protect him even though he has made a grave mistake.

"Okay, I know that she had a bad day. I never even thought that she was a bad person only because of that. I know that she's a nice person. Otherwise, you'll never look up to her all this time," I say to Shiori. To be honest, she was rude to us. But I don't feel like saying anything bad because I don't know anything about her. Maybe she did have a bad day. Still, I have to lie to Shiori so she doesn't have to worry too much about it.

Shiori smiles at me. She feels relieved that I don't think anything bad about Momoko Sugita. "I'm glad to hear that you don't think her as a bad person. I shouldn't have assumed that," Shiori says to me. After that, she heads back to class as if nothing happens between us. For some reason, I feel like Shiori must have been obsessed with Momoko Sugita. Despite her nasty attitude toward us, she still defended her. She looks more like she's in denial to me.

During the break, Shiori behaves like her usual, cheerful self. I'm glad that Momoko Sugita's issue is no longer bugging her. But now, I'm worried about her huge obsession with Momoko Sugita and her denial in certain issues. I hate listening to people talking non-stop about their obsession with female idols. But I have to give this time an exception. I need to find out more about Momoko Sugita. For me, her sudden change in her behavior is not normal to me.