Chapter 2.4: Like-minded People


TL: Akabane


***


[Takauji's POV]


Saaya presses the lock button on her phone and the screen goes dark.


"......"


She unlocked it again and launched the app to display the still empty talk room with Akari.


I exchanged contact information on the spur of the moment.


It would have been nice if we had exchanged a quick hello that day. I wondered if sending a message right away would not give the impression that I was trying to be too aggressive.


I lost the timing to contact him, and here we are today.


Tonight is the day "Mandalion's Midnight Theory" airs. If I miss tonight, I won't be able to contact him for another week.


There are many like-minded radio listeners on social networking sites, but I had no idea that it was in real life, and that it was the boy sitting next to me, and we had a long chat at the hamburger store in front of the station.


When I try to recollect what happened, my memory is not certain and I honestly don't remember much.


All I remember is that I enjoyed talking on the radio.


I was so happy to talk that I was not paying attention to his facial expressions or reactions.


The next day.


Akari was acting normal and was talking with Haru Segawa, the most famous gal in the school, as usual.


Maybe he had been attracted to me....


I regretted that I had become uncharacteristically heated.


He promised to take me to a fast food restaurant again. In addition, we share the same interests. I had never met such a person before.


I still had more to say to him, but I couldn't talk about it, partly because I had told him that it was forbidden at school.


I really wanted to talk a lot more, even if it was to prevent being exposed.


In bed, Saaya nuzzled her face into the pillow.


"Why am I ......"


Saaya is still reflecting on last week's radio talk with Akari.


I wonder if he didn't think I was weird.


I've had a couple of conversations with him as a class member since then, and he's been perfectly normal.


I should have apologized to him and told him that it's my happiness had gotten the better of me, but I couldn't do that either.


It took an enormous amount of courage to send even a small message, thinking that I might have been a donkey.


"We may like the same thing, but we may have different depths. ......!"


If my knowledge and understanding surpassed him, he would be deflated.


I feel it's okay because I'm a heavy listener who notices the program's merchandise.


"But if he knew me normally, he'd definitely think I'm weird. ......! We've been in class together since last year, and I've never talked in that atmosphere before......!"


When it comes to things that interest me ...... I forget about myself and my partner and just talk about my hobbies - Saaya was a complete nerd.


On the other hand, when it comes to things that don't interest her, she is very curt.


Because she has never been in the former situation, the latter has become the established image of Saaya Takauji. Saaya herself was aware of this.


"Ahhhhhh."


She presses her moan against the pillow and jitters her long arms and legs.


--- "Good luck with your email submissions."


The words Akari said to me in class flashed through my mind.


I was so cool that I didn't need him to tell me to do my best, but inwardly, I was so happy.


Just remembering it makes my cheeks loosen.


"Hmph."


But the face hidden by the pillow soon returned to normal.


Yes, he know my radio name.


He respected me so much, but the content Saaya was sending was almost always a dirty jokes.


"～～～～!"


A boy in my class is listening to it ......!


"...... I'm dead!"


I was already crying.


There are several e-mails that I have already sent.


I told a big lie to Akari that the adoption rate is 80%. In fact, 10% at best.


"Maybe I should delete my account and stop posting at ......."


The Twitter account under the name "Ujicha" has about 600 followers. The only accounts that follows me are the official program accounts, which are complete radio accounts.


I don't feel comfortable bringing those to nothing, as if I'm going to lose what I've been doing.


"I'm a weird girl who suddenly starts talking when it comes to radio, and I'm hungry for cheeseburgers and fries, plus I'm posting a lot of dirty stuff on the radio:......"


She was a bad enough girl to lay out objective information.


"Ahhhhh."


She pressed her moan against the pillow and jiggled her long arms and legs.


In addition, Saaya Takauji could be considered an erotic woman.


"The story and my temperament are separate. It's ...... different."


Saaya answers herself to the concern that comes to mind.


"A story is a story. Sexuality and taste are different."


If I hadn't been able to separate those two, I'd want to tell Akari that.


The inconsequential thought floats in and out of her mind, and it has been an hour since she wanted to contact Akari lightly. She want to clear up the misconception that she is a strange girl, an erotic girl, which she probably is, but she didn't have the courage to do so, thinking that she might have pulled it off.


Then.


I received a message from Akari in the chat room that had been left open.


"Whaaaaaat?!"


I was startled by the ringtone and unintentionally let out a strange voice.


[It's airing tonight, isn't it?]


Soon after, the program's official stamp is also sent.


"Oh, I have that one too! I have that one too!"


I speak quickly and look for the same stamp.


It was a stamp that I had bought but had never had a chance to use.


Nervously, I send the same stamp.


Pecon.


......He doesn't read it.


I'm waiting .......


[Takauji, you have that one too!" I wish I had a reply like that right away.


Then the conversation would have been more lively.


He can't read it at all.


I'm afraid of ...................


I'm afraid of the response.


I'm nervous.


"Why? Why do I have to be so nervous just to message Kimishima-kun ......?!"


I sigh loudly, almost like taking a deep breath.


I can picture the face of Akari in my mind when I left last week and he told me he would be waiting for me even if it was late.


How did I know that he meant a late night call when he just said that I might get in trouble?


I wanted to send a small message to each other as people who are rear-tied.


I wanted to call him.


I wanted to talk about what I thought.


"............"


And yet, I couldn't get a read. I've sent official line stamps. I was sure the conversation was going to be exciting.


Then it finally got a read.


".................. Eh, what?"


No reply this time.


Even though it's from my favorite show.


"But, why?"


The conversation was not going as well as I had hoped, although I was planning to correct the misunderstanding I was probably making in the course of the conversation.


I was going to explain that I was neither erotic nor weird. Especially the erotic part.


The tension only increased with the choppy tempo of the message.


I had to say something. I had to say something. I had to say it. I had to say it.


That was all I repeated in my head.


And, and, and.....


I sent the message as fast as I typed it.


[I've never done anything naughty.]


That's it.


Phew, Saaya nodded broadly with a face like she had just finished a big job.


***


[Akari's POV]


[They're broadcasting this evening, aren't they?]


After an hour of writing, erasing, and repeating the same sentence again, I finally got around to writing a message to Takauji-san.


I finally sent a message and a stamp to Takauji-san.


I sent her the official "Mandalion's Midnight Theory" line stamp. It was a stamp that only those in the know would know about, and I couldn't believe that Takauji-san, the postcard craftsman, didn't know about it.


The message was actually longer, but I thought it would be creepy to send a long message on the first try, so I scraped and scraped and ended up with that.


The person I like went to the trouble of asking me to exchange lines with her.


There was no choice but not to contact her.


But she said it was just for the class committee member's business communication.


Maybe she'll ignore me. ...... If that happens, it's going to be awkward at school tomorrow.


Or, there was a chance that she might not even notice...


It had been a week since I began to think that way.


I had missed the timing to send a message.


"Aaaaah! I should have never sent that message!"


As I was sitting in my room at night, I saw that she had read the message I had sent.


The message I sent was read.


I watch ...... and ............!


I wondered if I'd get reply ......!


My own eyes, momentarily reflected in the phone's display, were giddy and bloodshot.


But she didn't reply.


I closed the app, slowly dreading the wait.


Then I heard a ringtone.


 I jumped to the phone I had put down and the ringtone was a reply from Takauji-san.


Before opening the chat room, there is a 'Stamp that was Sent.


"────!"


I got a gut-punch.


Me, alone in my room, doing a real gut-punch, reflected in the windowpane at night.


"......"


Embarassing.


Well, I did it. I seriously thought she weren't going to reply. But, she did. Even if she did, there was a possibility that she would throw cold water on it by saying, "This contact is just for the class president business, okay?" I was afraid. But what I got back was a stamp. I think it's safe to say that this was a casual reply, or at least an indication that she didn't intend to create a serious atmosphere.


I was playing the hero interview game alone in my brain.


"Takauji-san, you use stamps?"


Surprisingly....


I thought she didn't have that kind of thing.


Judging from her reaction when I told her about the radio, she might be a person who originally wants to talk a lot more.


The image of Takauji-san at school, so to speak, is "School Takauji." Everyone thinks that she is a straightforward person, so they are hesitant to talk to her. Because she is not at all friendly. Because she is equipped with an interception system. Her personality even seems difficult.


Perhaps, Takauji-san is aware of the reservedness of those around her, and she too is cautious in the way she keeps her distance from them.


"Haaa. Good, good."


She replied to my message, albeit only with a stamp.


That alone was very satisfying.


I never thought I could be so proactive.


Maybe it's because I've added [Neglectful] to my status.


(The person I like went to the trouble of asking me to exchange lines with her.)


(Not contacting her is not an option.)


I think it must have been because of the growth of my gutsy status from [Timid] to [Shyness] and then to [Neglectful], so much so that I unconsciously thought, "I have no choice but not to contact her."


If nothing had changed and I had remained [Timid], there was a great possibility that I would have been too scared to do anything even though we had exchanged contact information.


"I can see the status with my own eyes, so it gives me more confidence on myself."


I think being able to visualize it also has a big impact.


Mmmmmm, I was analyzing the cause of my victory.


I spent the next 10 minutes basking in the afterglow of my success.


Well, what kind of stamp did she send me?


Finally, I had enough time to worry about that.


When I entered the chat room, there was the same stamp I had sent.


"Takauji-san has one too!"


As expected of "Ujicha." She may be a heavier listener than I am.


However, there was no indication that any message was sent with just the stamp.


I wonder if it is an indication that the conversation is over.


Maybe it's just a hasty stamp.


"Well, let's talk a little tomorrow at school."


After a while, I received a message I thought I would never receive.


[I've never done anything naughty.]


What?


What kind of context is this?


Is it an appeal to say that nothing has happened yet with Kidokoro-senpai?


She's never done anything naughty .......


She's never said anything about it, but when she says it herself, it makes me wonder if she's having sex with him. I wonder if I'm the only one who thinks so.


I shook my head to drown out the fantasy that Takauji-san might be erotic.


"Just because she likes the dirty jokes doesn't mean she's erotic ...... right?"


I tried to act like a professional with a sense of self-discipline.


She like the dirty jokes, but "Ujicha" and "Takauji" are two different personalities.


If so, what does that mean?


If I try to ask that in a message, I feel it would be quite direct or something like coldness in the text.


So, should I call her ......?


Stay-stay-stay.


On TV and other talk variety shows, I often see female celebrities say, "No man can afford to be gushy."


You can't be anything but gruff, buzzing your tail off and making a phone call just because you got a response. That's not good.


"Why don't I ask her normal and casually tomorrow at ......?"


That seems the safest bet.


The show starts in about two hours.


I decided to get ready for bed so that I could re-tie this week.



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