"So, care to tell me about what you were just doing?"
My eyes instantly drifted to the floor, heart beating at an increasingly fast pace.
"Look at me."
I didn't move.
A sudden pain crossed on my other cheek, followed by the sickeningly warm feeling of blood dripping down my face. I reached up with my hand to wipe it away.
I was grabbed by the wrist before my fingers even touched the spot.
"Raise your head and answer the question."
This time I complied, slowly raising my chin to meet his gaze. He stared back at me, his smile broad smile not quite reaching his eyes. My eyes immediately ran over the two massive scars that covered his face.
"Good. Now answer the question."
What should I say? How should I act?
The grip on my wrist suddenly became tighter.
"Killing time."
"Is that so?"
He let go of my arm, and I instinctually pulled back as quickly as possible. I rubbed the now sore spot. It wasn't broken, but it would probably bruise.
"What was it you were saying?"
This question took me by surprise.
"S-song lyrics?"
Ibiki's smile suddenly disappeared.
"You were speaking in a way different than our own. I'll ask again, what were you saying?"
Wait, was he trying to say that I sung all of that in English? But that wouldn't make sense though. The seal was supposed to translate everything I said. I don't think singing something would be the sudden loophole.
I guess I must have taken too long to answer, because Ibiki decided to restate the question with a much harsher tone.
"What did it mean?"
"I-I was just singing songs. None of them really have any deep meaning."
He stared at me, the corners of his lips tuning at an upward angle.
"Let's change up the topic and talk about you."
He pulled out a clipboard that I didn't realize that he had before, slowly flipping through its many pages. Stopping at one, he tapped on the clip board before turning it around the show me.
"It says here that your name is Kato Mako, age eighteen. Born December 10th. "
"Hair color green, eye color grey. Blood type B. Civilian. Height: 168 centimeters, Weight: 58 kilograms. "
He flipped a page.
"Has been in a coma since the age of one years old. Recently awoken from unknown cause."
There was a sudden look of absolute glee.
"Has knowledge of high level secrets, recommendation of immediate disposal after interrogation."
I couldn't help but shiver.
None of the details besides the last were even true. What kind of name was Kato Mako anyway?
I guess the last statement didn't have an as profound impact on me as he wanted, because Scarface felt the need to rub it in.
"I would have to agree with that assessment myself."
Even in his presence I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
Should I even care? This was a dream, so it wasn't like I would actually die. In fact, dying might be a one way ticket out of here for all I know. Not that I was going to experiment with that any time soon…
I suddenly felt cold metal press against my neck.
"I see you take me too lightly."
There was sudden urge to gulp, but I resisted it.
"The Hokage favors you, but that means nothing to me, understand?"
I gave a slight nod, hoping to not bring my neck closer to the blade in the process. Ibiki pulled the kunai away while I tried to remain a stiff as possible.
"We both know there is more to the story than that. I'd like to hear your take on it."
"Well… I also have a wide variety of hobbies if you want to hear about them."
This actually resulted in a small eerie chuckle.
"You know kid, I kind of like you."
There is no way that's a good thing.
"Uh…Thank you?"
He laughed again, this time pulling out a kunai and twirling it around on his finger. I couldn't help but stare at it, anticipating his next movement. I knew what he was trying to do. He was using operant conditioning on me, changing my behavior so that the sight of a kunai would instantly invoke fear. Even though I knew what he was doing, it still kind of freaked me out. Oh psychology; a dangerous advantage in the hands of someone who knew how to use it.
"Now try again."
My hands started to involuntarily shake.
Screw it all. Might as well tell him the truth.
"I-I'm not from this world. Where I'm from this is all just a story, and I'm pretty convinced that this whole thing is a dream anyway. None of this is actually happening."
"Oh, is that so?"
Ibiki didn't look particularly moved. Might as well keep going with it.
"Yeah. Your whole world is the creation of some middle aged guy living in Japan."
"Where is this Japan? Is it where you say you're from?"
I shook my head.
"Not at all. I live in a different country entirely. "
"So this man, you claim he created this world?"
"Yes. So basically every bad thing that happened in your life is because of him. And he makes money off of it."
"So what you're telling me is that we are all just characters in some story?"
"Exactly. I'm afraid you don't have a very big fan base though."
Was… that a look of amusement on his face?
"Interesting."
Ibiki was quiet for a while, just watching me while I tried to avoid direct eye contact.
"Is this how you know so much?"
I shrugged.
"That's mostly from fanfiction actually."
"Fanfiction?"
"It's basically people writing out their fantasies for their favorite series. There is a lot of shipping usually involved."
"Shipping?"
"Having two characters that most likely never get together and writing stories about their paring."
"I see."
We went back to a long period of silence. Scarface just sat, musing over what I had just said. There wasn't much left for me to tell now. I basically just reviled the secrets of the secrets of the universe to him. It was honestly a load off to tell someone what was going on.
"I'll give you one more chance."
Huh?
I instantly sprung up from my seat.
"W-what do you mean?"
"That was quite the elaborate story you shared with me. You acted quite sincere, almost had me falling for it."
"But-"
Whatever pretense of being a civil human being was suddenly gone. His aura alone invoked absolute terror, making me want to go curl up in a ball in the corner.
This guy. I was at his complete and utter mercy. He could do anything he wanted to me and there was nothing I could do about it.
"There is a simple way to confirm the truth, though it could be extremely painful for you to experience."
"Go for it."
He looked genuinely surprised.
"Oh, Alright then. "
"I'll begin the preparations."
He got up, walking over to the door. Ibiki unlocked it, stepping over the threshold.
"You're an interesting one alright."
After a loud clang, the only sound that could be heard in the vast room was the constant ticking noise.
AN: I was trying to decide between making this one really long chapter, or splitting into two. In the end I decided to make it into two because it felt more natural for me to end it here. These chapters always seem much longer to me when I'm writing them out for some reason...
More interrogation stuff to come!
