"Again today, I ended up doing nothing."
Kaito collapsed onto the club room sofa.
Hiyori gently called out, "Did you have plans?"
"I was going to go to a job interview. But when morning came, I got scared and..."
Sora sat in a nearby chair. "What were you scared of?"
"I don't know. I just felt like the interviewer would reject me. I couldn't move."
Hiyori quietly asked, "So what did you do?"
"In the end, I didn't go. Didn't even call. It's terrible."
Sora opened her notebook. "That might be avoidance behavior."
"Avoidance behavior?"
"A psychological response where you try to avoid situations that cause anxiety or fear," Hiyori explained. "In the short term, it feels easier, but..."
"In the long term, the problem gets worse," Sora continued. "The more you avoid, the more frightening that situation becomes."
Kaito lifted his head. "True. I've canceled an interview once before. This time was even scarier."
"That's the avoidance cycle," Hiyori said. "Once you avoid something, it becomes even harder next time."
"So what should I do?"
Sora thought. "First, you need to specifically identify what you're afraid of."
Kaito silently pondered.
"Being rejected? Being embarrassed?" Hiyori prompted.
"Probably... being found out that I'm incompetent," Kaito said quietly.
"That's fear of evaluation," Sora noted. "Anxiety about the gap between self-assessment and others' assessment."
Hiyori gently asked, "If you fail the interview, would that really prove you're incompetent?"
"No... logically, I know that's not true. But my heart feels that way."
"Emotions and logic work on different circuits," Sora explained. "Especially anxiety can paralyze logical thinking."
Kaito sighed. "So how do I overcome this?"
"There's a method called exposure therapy," Hiyori answered. "You gradually get used to the situation you fear."
"Instead of jumping straight to an interview, start with smaller steps," Sora suggested.
"Like what?"
"First, apply for an interview. Next, visit the interview location in advance. Then..."
Kaito became slightly more positive. "Step by step, you mean?"
"Yes. If you try to do everything at once, fear wins."
Hiyori added, "And at each step, you practice controlling your anxiety. Deep breathing, relaxation techniques."
"Can breathing techniques really make a difference?"
"When you can control your body's response, your mind calms down too," Sora explained. "Anxiety is also related to physical tension."
Kaito looked at the notebook. "So the more I run away, the scarier it gets. That's why I need to face it, even little by little."
"Exactly right," Hiyori smiled.
"But," Kaito hesitated, "what if I fail?"
"Failure is information," Sora said. "It's an opportunity to learn what didn't work."
"When you avoid, you don't get that information either," Hiyori added. "So you lose the opportunity to grow."
Kaito stood up. "Alright. I'll definitely go to the next interview."
"You don't have to start there right away..." Hiyori worried.
"No, I don't want to run anymore. I'm scared, but staying like this is even scarier."
Sora nodded. "That shift in awareness is the first step."
"However," Hiyori added, "don't demand perfection. Being nervous, stumbling over words—those are normal."
Kaito took a deep breath. "Thank you. Both of you."
Outside the window, wind shook the trees. Fear doesn't disappear. But you can choose to face it.
"This time, I'll take action," Kaito said quietly.
As Sora and Hiyori watched, Kaito began preparing to take a new step. The days when fear stopped action would end today.