Extrovert Training
Golden Festival Day 28
Morning came. Chifuyu's sheets were damp with sweat. His breath came too fast, too shallow, like his body was still trying to outrun something that didn't exist. He sat up abruptly, hands braced against the mattress, eyes darting around his darkened room. The ceiling was normal. The walls were normal. The world was not glitching apart at the seams. But the image refused to leave him. Iris standing in the cafe with her outline fragmenting. The air tearing itself into jagged pixels. Everybody being consumed by the glitch and the city folding in on itself. All because of Iris's anxiety.
Chifuyu dragged a hand down his face: "I'm never letting that happen."
Not even after eating breakfast, he had assembled his strike team. Iris stood near the front door, clutching the strap of her bag with unease after being told of the prophecy. Kagura bounced on her heels, already energized, while Nicholas hovered nearby with his usual polite, slightly confused smile.
Chifuyu clapped his hands together: "Time for extrovert training."
Nicholas: "It was just a funny dream, Chifuyu. You can't take it so seriously."
Chifuyu: "I fear I have to. Today Iris, you're going to talk to strangers."
Her soul left her body.
Kagura: "Ooooh, character development!"
Nicholas: "You shouldn't force her."
Chifuyu: "Please believe me, this is 100% necessary."
Iris: "I-I can talk to people."
Chifuyu nodded: "Yes. Technically. In the same way you could technically run faster than me."
Iris: "That's rude…," she said faintly.
Kagura: "Accurate, though," she added, apologetic.
Iris looked like she was about to cry.
***
They pulled into a fast-food restaurant parking lot. Kagura rolled the car forward just enough, then stopped when the intercom was at Iris's window.
She twisted around in her seat, grinning: "Alright, Iris! You're up!"
"Hi, what can I get you?"
Iris stared at the intercom. The intercom stared back. It was silent.
Iris: "I—I—"
Chifuyu leaned back from the passenger seat: "Just order breakfast. You've got this."
Nicholas gave her a thumbs-up: "We believe in you."
Iris's soul attempted to escape. Ten full seconds passed.
"…Hello?" the employee said.
Kagura whispered loudly: "You can do it, Iris! Order a breakfast croissant for all of us!"
Nicholas: "I want the breakfast burrito though."
Chifuyu: "You're making it harder for Iris."
Iris inhaled sharply: "H-Hi—! Good morning—! Um—!" She clenched her eyes shut. "C-Can I please order… f-four breakfast croissant combos?"
Chifuyu silently pumped his fist.
"Yes ma'am," the voice replied.
Kagura: "I want pancakes with mine. Also a strawberry lemonade refresher."
Chifuyu: "Kagura!"
Iris: "Uh—one with pancakes—no—wait—two—no—one—sorry—um—"
Ten minutes later.
Cars behind them were blaring their horn.
"YOU ORDERING THE WHOLE MENU? HURRY UP!"
Iris: "…And—um—two orange juices. N-No ice. Unless—unless ice is normal. Ice is fine. Ice is good. Ice is—"
"Ma'am," the employee said patiently, "is that everything?"
Iris nearly cried: "Y-Yes—thank you—I'm sorry—!"
The intercom clicked off.
Kagura: "She did it!!" She cheered, throwing her hands up.
Nicholas clapped: "That was very brave."
Chifuyu: "Only took 10 minutes."
Iris slumped back into her seat, completely drained: "Can we go home?"
Chifuyu: "Nope! Training has only just begun!"
They ate their food in the parking lot.
Between bites, Kagura gave advice like a motivational speaker who had never experienced anxiety once in her life: "Rule one: People don't remember awkward moments as much as you think!"
Nicholas nodded: "Rule two: Most people are also nervous. They just don't show it or it might be hard to tell."
Chifuyu: "Rule three: If an interaction goes badly, you can simply leave and never return."
Iris managed a tiny smile.
***
The next stop was the mall, it was crowded beyond belief.
Iris stopped dead at the entrance, staring at the flood of people moving: "I can't."
Chifuyu gently pushed her forward: "Yes you can. We'll start small."
Kagura pointed dramatically: "Target acquired!"
A cosmetics kiosk.
Chifuyu: "Ask her where the bookstore is."
Iris approached the woman: "…E-Excuse me?"
The woman turned with a smile: "Yes?"
Iris's brain bluescreened: "…I—uh—weather is nice."
Kagura choked on laughter.
The woman blinked: "Did weather tell you that themselves?"
Iris: "I mean… do you know where the bookstore is?!"
"Oh! Second floor, on the left side."
Iris bowed repeatedly: "Thank you—sorry—have a good life!"
She fled.
Chifuyu nodded seriously: "Progress."
***
Next, they entered a clothing store.
Iris needed to ask for a size. She stood in front of the clerk nervously. The clerk smiled patiently.
"Is she trying to speak or is this a very intense staring contest?"
Iris: 'Do it. Do it. Do it.' Finally, "H-Hi… do you—um—have this in… a size small…?"
The clerk nodded: "Of course!"
Iris nearly collapsed in relief.
Kagura wiped a tear: "She's growing up so fast."
***
Chifuyu: "This one's hard. But important."
Iris stared at a girl with cute shoes: "…I can't."
Kagura: "You can."
Iris approached trembling: "…I—uh—your shoes—are very… shoe."
The girl laughed: "Thanks!"
Iris turned around and slapped herself."
Chifuyu: "You could've just called them cute."
Iris: "My brain stopped working, I'm sorry."
⸻
By the end of the mall trip, Iris was exhausted, but smiling.
Chifuyu: "See? You're doing great."
Iris nodded softly: "…Thank you, for helping me."
Kagura threw an arm around her shoulders: "As long as you're stuck with us, you'll have our help whether you want it or not."
Nicholas smiled: "Haha. So for better or for worse."
Chifuyu: "We're not done yet though."
Iris paled: "…There's more?"
Chifuyu grinned.
They sat on a bench near the mall's rooftop garden. Wind rustled through decorative bamboo.
Chifuyu clapped his hands once: "Alright, Iris. Phase two."
Iris: "What is it this time?"
Kagura: "The scariest one yet."
Iris felt dread creep up her spine.
Chifuyu: "You must exchange compliments."
Iris nodded quickly: "Okay."
Kagura: "But you can't deflect, you can't look away, and you can't say 'No, that's not true.'l
Nicholas: "Compliment exchange begins… now."
Chifuyu turned to Iris first, smiling warmly: "Iris, you're incredibly strong. Not just with a sword, but mentally. You keep moving forward even when it terrifies you."
Iris opened her mouth in awe of how good that compliment was. She froze, swallowed, and her face turned red: "…Thank you," she said, voice barely audible.
Kagura: "YES!"
Iris flinched: "P-Please don't celebrate yet…"
Kagura grinned: "Sorry. My bad. Your turn."
Iris: "Chifuyu… you always make things feel less scary. And, you give me courage.
Chifuyu: "I'm glad. And just so you know, you're already doing way better than you think. I'm not pulling you forward. You're walking on your own."
Kagura and Nicholas pulled out signs that had the number 10 on them.
Iris: "Kagura is… um…" Iris squeezed her skirt. "You're… very… energetic."
Kagura leaned back: "Go on."
Iris: "You keep everyone together and make sure everyone is included. You're like Odd Jobs's big sister."
A year ran down Kagura's face: "…Oh," she said softly. Then she immediately ruined the moment. "KEEP GOING! COMPLIMENT ME MORE!"
Iris panicked. She turned to Nicholas: "N-Nicholas is… kind. And patient. And you always listen even if no one notices."
Nicholas: "That's very nice of you."
***
Evening rolled in. They arrived at a karaoke restaurant buzzing with people. Iris stood behind Kagura as they entered. Her anxiety meter spiked.
Chifuyu felt movement behind him. A presence emerged from his shadow.
Ariel stretched, yawning: "Did I miss anything?"
Kagura: "Everything."
Chifuyu: "I can't believe you slept the whole day."
Nicholas: "Must be because of all those donuts she had yesterday."
They approached the counter.
Chifuyu: "Alright. You're ordering."
Iris stepped forward. Everyone told her what they wanted and Iris ordered them in record time. They ate, laughter and conversation filling the table. Eventually, it came time for the final challenge, which was singing one song in front of a live audience.
Iris stepped up, front and center as everyone watched. Her anxiety almost got the better of her, she almost stopped.
Then—
She saw Chifuyu's thumbs-up.
Ariel smiling.
Nicholas nodding gently.
Kagura leaning forward, eyes bright.
She knew there was nothing to be scared of.
She began singing.
Iris: "Running in a crowd
In a faceless town
I need to feel the touch of a friend
In the countryside
I wander far and wide
The isolation gets me again
I don't know where to go
When I feel like crying
Oh my!
It's time to open myself
Do something new
I want to stop, and grow up a bit
Then suddenly, my power and confidence start swelling up
Magically erupt
And it's all because of the kindness that I feel
From people I don't even know
Then suddenly, my intuition and my wisdom grow
And then I know
That most of all I sense compassion's real
Thanks to strangers where ever I go
Thank you for waking me up!"
The crowd erupted in applause. Several people whistled.
Iris bowed awkwardly, heart pounding. She staggered back to the table, collapsing into the booth.
Everyone stood around her.
For a moment it felt like they were floating in the sky.
"Congratulations."
They all clapped their hands while congratulating Iris.
Iris blinked rapidly. She thought she had become Shinji for a second.
Kagura: "That was awesome, Iris. You've got some serious singing talent girl."
Nicholas: "That was the highlight of today for sure."
Chifuyu: "Top 10 openings if I say so myself."
Iris took a deep breath: "…Today was terrifying. But, also kind of fun. Thanks, guys."
Chifuyu: "Anytime."
The day comes to an end, and hopefully Chifuyu was able to prevent the end of the world.