Pepper's POV.
Thank Guacamole! I made it out of there with all my limbs intact. Thankfully, Agent Stor took me home-even though he didn't ask me for my address even once. I'm terrified to know what else they know about me. Wait...did they check my browser history? Please tell me they didn't! Now, I have to, somehow, go to sleep with that looming over my head.
*Next Day
I had my breakfast-some delicious french toast-and fed Guacamole. As well, as take him for a short morning walk. Everything's been ticked off for the morning. Now, it's time to go interrogate my patients...without actually interrogating them about what happened yesterday. Though, to do that I have to first find out who actually is a villain. They didn't tell me any of the names and I totally forgot to take a look at the four patients sheets he threw on the table.
I reached my office and checked the patient list. First up, was Margosta, a Cluttari.
*******
"Margosta, how's it been going for you lately?"
"Great, the sessions are helping quite a lot."
"Good. Have any other incidents come up?"
"No major ones, but some beings around me have started taunting me for being a Cluttari that can't handle her nature. I'm really scared all my progress will end up meaning nothing."
"Hmm. How about you tell me about the incident that made your parents finally start the Cluttari Training Exercises, and what happened from then until now?"
"Okay… When I was three, I didn't have control over my Cluttari nature. So whenever someone took something of mine, I reacted really strongly. One night, my favorite stuffed toy was stolen. It was a gift from my parents. That night, I had a meltdown worse than any before… I started hitting everyone and everything. No one was spared from my wrath. But thankfully, by the next day, my stuffed toy was found—and I was put into intense training to control my rage. But even that didn't work."
She paused, her voice mellowing.
"Until a year ago, I used to just cope with it...but then I found out about you. Since then I've come very far."
"You have come far. Now, what do you realize from what you've just told me?"
"...I've found a way to deal with my nature."
"Yes. And what way is that?"
"By talking about it and going through it with someone else?"
"Correct. So what if you tried talking to the ones who've been taunting you? Don't go into detail—just help them understand that you've done your best to stop those urges from taking over."
"Ok, I understand. I'll try that."
"Now, tell me all the instances where you've let your urges take control. Tell me what you were feeling, what you did in the moment."
She listed all the times she lost control. I sympathized with her. I once had a friend that was also a Cluttari-he was just like Margosta. He had violent outbreaks, I didn't know what to do then but now I do.
None of the times she lost control sounded suspicious or villain-y. Or maybe I just don't have what it takes to be a undercover spy. In the future, I should probably stick to being a psychotherapist.
But right now, I have to find out who the villain is and treat them extra kindly. If the government ever comes after me, I'm going to need one of them to save me. Just like in those isekai mangas, where the main character suddenly has a total personality shift because someone else isekai'd into their body. That's gonna be me now—even though Truck-kun hasn't flattened me on the road yet.