“MR. Takemi...Kaido...” Satsuki whispered at the sight of the young man waltzing through the supposedly locked doors.
Hearing his name, Takemi raised an eyebrow, the cold smile never leaving his lips. “Did Alice tell you my name...? Nah...”
Satsuki jumped to her feet when Takemi marched over to her. He grabbed her chin and peered into her surprised eyes. “You heard about me...as a marriage candidate, didn’t you?”
Satsuki glared angrily at him. “Unhand me. That is hardly the way to treat a lady,” she snapped firmly.
Takemi blew a bemused whistle as he let go of her chin. Satsuki sharply turned her head away from him.
“Aren’t you betrothed to Alice? So why would you agree to participate in this arrangement?” Satsuki berated him.
“The great and mighty Tsujikawa picked me as a marriage candidate for the future president, Princess Satsuki! You seriously think anyone would pass up on such a juicy opportunity? When it was presented to my parents, they absolutely insisted that I come back to Japan. I’ve gotta admit, my parents are jumping for joy. They never dreamed I’d get picked for something like this,” Takemi confessed somewhat sheepishly.
He stared at Satsuki’s side profile a moment before continuing, “If this works out in my favor, we plan on calling off my engagement with Alice. The whole thing was a stupid arrangement struck in the heat of the moment between our families’ companies, anyway.”
“That’s so insincere...” Satsuki reprimanded to his face, disgusted by the way Takemi described the situation.
“I’ve been searching for you for ages...” he said with a cold, penetrating look. It wasn’t a baleful glare, but rather, a frighteningly keen gaze. It felt as if those sharp eyes could pierce into the innermost depths of her mind. “And I’ve finally found you at last...Satsuki.”
Takemi mentioned something similar when they met the previous day. She had no idea what he meant. In fact, the things she didn’t know about him outweighed those she did. Takemi’s piercing gaze froze Satsuki in place. Even if she wanted to avert her eyes, would she be able to?
“Choose me, Satsuki.”
“Huh?”
“Aren’t there four other candidates? Don’t bother with them. I’m the one you should pick.”
“D-Don’t be stupid... Why should I intentionally pick my classmate’s fiancé?” Satsuki countered Takemi’s abrasive order, but he ignored her argument and looked at the whiteboard she destroyed.
“Your powers are expanding beyond your childhood limitations,” he observed.
Stunned into silence, Satsuki stared at Takemi in surprise. That proved it—this man knew of her psychic powers. And from the sound of it, his knowledge went back to her childhood. But how? The only people who were supposed know were her parents and Shindo.
“At this rate, your continually magnifying powers will consume you... I’m the only one who can keep that from happening...” he alluded.
“How do you know about that?” Satsuki demanded.
It was too late for denial. Would dismissing him with “What are you talking about?” have been for the best? If she laughed it off claiming, “You’ve watched too many movies,” have been better? No, neither was an option.
The look in Takemi’s eye made it all too clear. It said, “I know everything.” The underlying message in his voice asked a question of “What do you want to ask? What do you want me to tell you?”
“I know everything about you,” Takemi blatantly exposed, maintaining the cold smile upon his lips. “I’m the only one among your suitors who knows about those monstrous powers of yours. That’s why I’m telling you to pick me.”
With his chin slightly jutted up, he literally looked down his nose at Satsuki in condescension as he continued, “Wouldn’t you prefer a spouse who’s not only fully aware of your powers, but also capable of controlling them? If you don’t go for me, you’ll wind up consumed by your own powers and slaughter everyone.”
“...Bite your tongue...” Satsuki snapped, glowering at Takemi, her hands curling into fists.
She was well aware of the dangers her powers posed. That was precisely why she obeyed the rules imposed by Shindo and tried to be careful how she used them. But Takemi made it sound as if she could commit mass murder in a heartbeat. If that wasn’t the epitome of rudeness, what was?
“Do you wield powers of a similar nature?” she asked.
Doors opened for him when they should have remained closed. He didn’t bat an eye at the oddly destroyed whiteboard. Finally, it sounded like he knew about the tragic events that took place in the Student Council Room. After all of this, he might as well come clean.
If he wielded the same type of powers as Satsuki... If he possessed the ability to learn things that should normally be impossible to know... At least then, it would explain why he said he could stop Satsuki. Furthermore, if he was searching for someone with abilities similar to his throughout the years, it would clear up why he told Satsuki he had been searching for her.
Takemi didn’t answer Satsuki’s question regarding whether he wielded similar powers. Not so much as nodding in affirmation, he continued to look upon her with that frosty smile plastered on his face.
Satsuki opened the door to her heart. “...What?!” Her eyes flung open in surprise. The shock was so great, she forgot to breathe for a second.
The blood draining from her face, an uncharacteristic look of dismay washed over her visage. Did she even notice the bead of cold sweat trickling down her temple?
“What’s wrong?” Takemi asked with a big grin, looking down at Satsuki. His eyes were glued to the dismayed girl before him as he gloated.
...I can’t read his mind... Satsuki panicked, her heart thrown into turmoil. For a brief moment, that turmoil disrupted the air around them so badly it outright felt sickening.
Satsuki tried to read Takemi’s thoughts. She was going to search the recesses of his mind to pull on his memories. Doing so would provide all the answers she wanted. Was Takemi a psychic? If he was, what was the exact nature of his powers? What did he hope to gain from approaching her? Alas...
“That won’t do you any good,” Takemi concluded for her. Thrusting his right hand before her, he loudly snapped his fingers in front of her bulging eyes. As he did, agonizing pain raced through her head. Unable to so much as scream, Satsuki’s knees gave out from under her. She tumbled onto her hands and knees.
An electric shock ran through Satsuki the moment Takemi snapped his fingers. It made needle-like pain pierce through her head.
“You can’t read my mind,” Takemi declared.
Satsuki held her head, still throbbing from the lingering pain. She tried to smooth her face wrenched in agony as she slowly raised her eyes from Takemi’s feet.
“I have a shield in place to keep anyone from snooping around my mind. Unless your powers are stronger than mine, you can’t see what’s going on in here.”
“...So you really do have powers like mine, don’t you...?”
Takemi squatted in front of Satsuki and snatched her chin, taking full advantage of the fact the shock he rendered her brain prevented her from being able to stand. He confirmed, “Yep, just like you, I was born with them. And seeing as you can’t read my mind, yours are weaker than mine.”
“...Mine are weaker?”
“Wanna know just how strong mine are?” Takemi asked.
“...I suppose,” Satsuki admitted. Struck with a sense of frustration, her voice quivered with her first taste of defeat. This was the first time in Satsuki’s life she met somebody else who wielded similar powers. There was a part of her that wanted to know how great they were.
“Would you like me to show you?” Takemi offered teasingly. “I’m game, if it’s between the sheets.” Then he pressed his lips against hers.
Their lips touched... The moment they did, Satsuki swung her head to the side and shoved Takemi’s chest. “Desist at once!” she balked. “What were you thinking?! How dare you...suddenly-?!” Satsuki’s eyes scornfully reproached Takemi as she floundered awkwardly from the sudden kiss.
Meanwhile, Takemi looked troubled as he said, “Jeez, you’re one pain in the ass. I can’t believe you’re getting so worked up over a measly kiss. That was barely even a peck!”
“That’s hardly the sort of thing you do to a lady in the spur of the moment!” Satsuki snarled back. She slowly stood up and supported herself by placing both hands on her desk. “It’s uncouth...” She pressed one hand against her lips.
Their lips barely brushed. Nonetheless, it didn’t change the fact that his lips touched hers. In an attempt to forget the sensation of his lips forced upon her, Satsuki bit her lower lip. She didn’t want her body to remember how his lips felt when she could still recall the sensation of the deep kisses she shared with Shindo the previous night.