Session 12 –
"Hello? Sasuke?"
"Moshi moshi."
"Moshi moshi. How's Suna? I can hear the sun rays."
"Heh, it's fine. Better than I thought."
"What're you doing? Is now still a good time?"
"Hai. Just left a bonfire."
"A bonfire?!"
"Yeah. We do one every year."
"That's awesome."
"It's okay."
"How's the family? They're not annoying you too badly, are they?"
"Sasu-chan? Where'd you–"
"Excuse me."
"No problem."
"I'm on the phone!"
"Sasu-chan!"
"I'm on the phone, Izumi."
"Itachi's looking for youuuuwho you talking to, cousin?"
"Izumi."
"This that girlfriend Ita-kun was talking about?"
"I'm sorry. I'm going to have to call you back."
"Double-Oh?"
"Hello there, Sasuke-san."
"Sorry about that."
"It's okay. Sounded like a full house."
"My grandparents have a beachside estate."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Anyway, I made that list."
"Great, I was just about to ask."
"Do you have an email?"
"Oh, um. You just can't–"
"It's long."
"Right. Duh. It's, uh. sharuno2 at fireside dot edu."
"Thank you."
"Got it. Looks like you put in a lot of work, Sasuke-kun."
"Hn."
"Though there is a ty–"
"Where?"
"I'm kidding."
"Hn."
"So, I'm glad that it looks like you were able to recognize that a big stressor of yours is academic success and that it tends to result in trouble sleeping. That's a good connection to make."
"Aa."
"I'm curious about what you mean by competition and aggression, though. You don't seem very…either."
"I can be competitive."
"I just can't imagine."
"Hn. I'm an athlete."
"What sport?"
"It'd be easier to say which one I don't."
"Do you play any for KU?"
"Aa."
"So you get 96s in probably the hardest class offered at the university and you're a student-athlete?"
"That's what the transcripts say."
"I honestly don't know how anyone could ever be disappointed in you, Sasuke-kun, let alone you in yourself."
"Thank you."
"You're very welcome."
"I'm particularly curious about the part where you say that competition can make you feel like you're not yourself and outside of your own body sometimes."
"Aa."
"What's that like?"
"I just see red."
"I'm imagining you don't like to lose."
"Who does?"
"Losing has its merits."
"Tch."
"What'd you do, last time you lost?"
"Trained harder."
"Did you lose again after that?"
"No."
"Never again?"
"I mean, eventually."
"And then you trained harder again?"
"Aa."
"Hm. That sounds exhausting, Sasuke-san."
"I'm alright."
"We're just about out of time, but, really, I'm wondering if you like living like that?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know. Just seems like a pattern for you; whenever you fall short, you just...push yourself harder and harder. Do you ever think sometimes that it may not be, I don't know, necessary for you to do that? That it won't make a difference?"
"Hn. I'd have to think about that."
"Take some time and do that! I could be wrong. Do you ever journal?"
"Heh, no."
"What's so funny about that?"
"I don't need a diary."
"It's a journal, Sasuke-kun. Just think about it. Talk to you Thursday?"
"Talk to you Thursday."