“Easy to talk big, but how the hell am I supposed to help her with her book…?”

I murmur to myself while leaning on the cashier counter at work. It’s a weekday morning so not a lot of customers at the cafe, leaving me some free time to think.

It’s been a few days since the convention and all Aoi has been doing is handing me more and more light novels to read.

“You need to familiarize yourself with source material before you can learn how to write.”

She says, but I think she just wanted to use that as an excuse to push more novels on me so she can have someone to talk to…

*ding

The automatic doors open and a customer walks in.

“Welcome to Space no Mangaka, how can I help you?” I say, turning to face the customer.

A familiar looking person stands in front of me.

“Yo, Chuji, is that you? Fancy running into you here.”

“Tomoda?”

I reply in disbelief, but the person in front of me is definitely my best friend from high school, Chida Tomoda. Though it’s not surprising to find him, who is an Otaku, at the local manga cafe, I just didn’t think I’d run into anyone I know at my new workplace.

“Long time no see buddy, I didn’t know you were back in town.”

“Yeah. Long time indeed.”

“Wait a second… what is this? You’re working here? I didn’t know you’ve become one of us!”

Tomoda throws one of his arm over the counter and wraps over my neck and pulls me in forcefully… just like old times

“Ow… stop that!”

“Then fight me off. Don’t tell me you’re still weak like back in the good ol’ days , buddy!”

After fighting off his arm finally and rubbing my neck, I reply

“To be honest, I was kinda forced into this job. I’m still skeptical about this Otaku culture of yours. If it’s full of weird people like you, then I’m better off without it.”

“Come on now, is that any way to talk to your customer? You’re a lucky I’m a regular, otherwise I might file a complaint to Akagi-san.”

“Some regular you are! I’ve been working here for a few weeks now and I’ve never even seen you once!”

“Ah… there’s a reason for that. You see, when I come, I check out a large amount of books at once so I don’t have to come back and forth. Plus my sister works here, so she can just come do it for me if I’m feeling lazy.”

“Oi, don’t tell me you’re still living with your parents…?”

Tomoda shrugs. “Is that a problem? The house is already paid off, so it’s a waste to not live in it, right?”

Still same as ever I see… I narrow my eyes

But it’s been awhile since I can have a conversation like this. I’ve never had that many friends to begin with so when I moved back I didn’t try to contact anyone, but now it’s as if we’re picking up right where we left off.

“Wait… you said your sister works here?”

“Yup. In fact, here she comes.” He jerks his thumb back in the direction of the front door, and sure enough there is a petite figure walking through the automatic doors.

But my face soon change to a shade of green when I notice that the girl is carrying a large paper bag full of comic books in front of her and can barely maintain her balance. And because of the large bag, I can’t even see her face.

“Oi Tomoda, isn’t it a little harsh to have your sister carry something so heavy for you?”

“What? She’s fine. She’s done this plenty of times, don’t worry!”

Unconvinced, I walk around the counter and toward that girl.

“That looks heavy, if you want I can take it from here.” I offer

“No thank ...you..., I can… do…. This!”

Saying that while being out of breath really isn’t convincing ya know..?

And then it happened. She trips over a wet spot on the floor because she can’t see the “caution, floor’s wet” sign and falls on her back while throwing everything up in the air. But that’s not even the worst part. If the books fall on her from this height, she’s gonna be seriously hurt!

So I do what every sensible man would do, jumping in between the girl and the falling books, hoping to either push her out of the way, or at least take some of the weight on my back so she doesn’t get hurt.

But you know… wet floor, so… I end up landing right on top of her. Good thing is, most of the books did fall on me instead of her.

“Aw….. Are you ok?” I look up at the girl while wincing.

And a terrified Momoko stares back at me.

Eh?..... That means… Momoko is Tomoda’s…. Oh…. that makes sense…

“Don’t worry Momoko-san everything is ok.” I try to comfort her. But when I try to move my right hand it’s stuck on the floor under something warm.

Hmm that’s weird… what is this?

I pull on it some more and my arm is suddenly clamped between two things. And a shriek escapes Momoko’s mouth.

I look down at what’s going on and notice that my arm is caught…. Between MOMOKO’S THIGHS!? There’s no mistake about it since I can see the peach color panties she’s wearing pressing up against my arm and her legs tightly wrapped around it. Who the heck designed a manga cafe’s uniform to be short skirts for girls anyways!?”

“So when I was trying to pull my arm out, I was rubbing against…”

My ears suddenly feel very hot from the embarrassment.

“Uh… Momoko-san… if you don’t let my arm go, this could get really complicated.”

But it seems she’s too caught up in the situation and she’s just squinting really hard, shutting everything out.

This is bad… but there is only one thing to do before anyone else sees it

I move my free arm over and try to pry her legs open while pulling my right arm out. But the more I move, the more she squeezes, and the more I’m rubbing against her.

This is BAAAAAAD, I’m making the situation worse!

“Oh…? I didn’t realize you guys were in that kind of relationship.” Tomoda suddenly says

I look up and there he is, standing over us with a lewd smile on his face.

“I guess, I don’t mind having Chuji as my brother-in-law, but are you sure you’re ready to face the rest of my family?”

“Tomoda! Stop watching and help me!”

“Fine, fine, I hear you…”  

Tomoda walks over to Momoko, puts his hand on her head, and then he whispers gently in her ear. Oddly enough that worked, she opens her eyes, nods a few times and relaxes her legs.

I struggle out of the mountain of books that’s piled up over me and Tomoda puts a hand on my shoulder.

He says quietly “Because of our family’s past, my sister became a very sensitive person, so you need to be more patient with her....”

*sigh* I guess brothers will be brothers, they’ll always worry about their sister...

“... especially In BED! HAHAHAHAHA” he starts laughing like this is someone else’s sister he’s talking about.

A vein popped on my temple and I steal a look at Momoko who is sitting on the floor, and is somehow ok with this as she is laughing along with her older brother.

I forgot this is the bastard who forced his sister to do manual labor for him. *Sigh* This is just like him.

-----------

I look down at the half-finished sandwich I ordered for lunch and can’t help but sigh. Not only did I have another awkward morning with Momoko, I didn’t get a chance to seriously think about what to do to help Aoi on her new work.

If only I didn’t speak up in the heat of the moment… But what was I supposed to do? Of all things, she was crying in public. What was that about anyways? The Aoi Tsubaki that I know would’ve said something just as poisonous back and made that girl cry instead. I feel like I’m missing something here… Come to think of it, I only really know her from the times we interact by ourselves. That time at the convention was really first time for me to see her interacting with other people…

Just as I was thinking all of this, manager walks into the breakroom.

I guess she came to work late today. Oh the manager probably knows more about Aoi more.

She notices me sitting at the table and begin to talk to me before I have a chance to say hi.

“Ah Chuji, you’re here. I heard from Tomoda you made quite the ruckus this morning with Momoko-chan? Something about feeling her up in public?”

EHHH!? What has that idiot been telling the manager?? And how is he ok with spreading rumors like that about his younger sister???

“Uh.. manager you see, it was all a misunderstanding! I was trying to help, but wet floor, and books, and…”

The more I’m trying to explain the more jumbled up my story become, crap! I’m getting too nervous.

“You know what this means, right? Whatever you did to her, you’ll have to let her do it back to you. It’s only fair. Especially for an innocent girl like Momoko-chan to be dirtied by your hand.”

“Eh.. eh? What… uh… I can’t possibly, but that’s… not legal… right…?”

My face getting redder and redder and a part of me wishes that it’s true.Wait, what am I even thinking about!?

Eventually my gentleman side finally takes over and I take a deep breath before saying

“I’m sorry, if that’s what going to come down to it, I’ll have to resign myself from my job. I don’t think it’s appropriate to do that at a workplace, even as a punishment.”

The manager stares at me with a very serious expression and then suddenly lets out a “pfftt” before starts laughing uncontrollably.  

“Hahahaha Tomoda told me you’d have a reaction like this, but I didn’t think you’d go as far as quitting the job. Lighten up, did you really think Momoko-chan is that kind of girl? ”

So she was just teasing me… *sigh*

What kind of manager pulls that kind of joke on an employee? Why is everyone I’ve met recently all borderline crazy? They all have personalities you only find in books...

Or maybe I’m just categorizing them into book character types because I’ve been reading too many of those damn books Aoi lent me? Ah, that’s right!

“Oh yeah, manager, do you have a second? I wanted to ask you something. ”

“Are we having a discussion about the books you’ve been reading?”

Her eyes suddenly shines with interest upon hearing a possible discussion about manga/ light novels. After coming in contact with her for a few weeks now I realized there’s a reason why she opened a manga cafe at such a younger age. To put simply, she loves this kind of stuff. And she won’t hesitate for a moment if anyone shows a slight interest in talking about this subject either. I guess you can call her a Jehovah’s witness of manga culture…

But when someone accidentally flips her switch, her aura completely changes and she overwhelms whoever she talks to, at least that’s how I feel. And needless to say, my initial impression of her being a mature adult went right out the window after that.

I chuckle nervously.

“Uh, heh heh not exactly. I actually wanted to ask you some questions about Aoi Tsubaki.”

“Aw.. you wanted to talk about a 3D person… you’re no fun Chuji. And how many times did I tell you, you can just call me by my given name, I’m not that much older than you, you know? Stop being so formal.”

Heh… uh… No it’s ok really… I’d rather keep my distance from you… you’re just my manager and nothing more.

“So… What is it you wanted to ask me about?”

“Uh… I wanted to know… how is she usually like… with people?”

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Hmm…. let’s see. I haven’t talked to her recently besides when she came and ask for a job for you. But if she hasn’t changed since we last met, I’d use the word elegant or soft-spoken. Yeah something like that.”

Huh……?

“Wait wait wait manager, are we talking about the same person? Blue hair, big boobs, about this tall?”

“Uh huh, that’s the one.”

“Then don’t you mean to use words like loud, demanding or inconsiderate? Look, like this character. “

I pull out one of the light novels I’ve been reading and flip to the illustration, then point at a girl. The girl has blonde twin tails and she’s main love interest in the book who plays hard to get and she has a very violent nature.

“Oh her? That’s a typical tsundere type you got there. I forget you’re not used to these terminology yet. But you’re definitely on the wrong track there Chuji, Tsubaki is not like that at all.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing! Is this a sick joke? But I’ve spent enough time with the girl to know exactly what type of person she is…

Manager keeps going

“And it’s not nice to be talking about one of our loyal customer like that you know. After all, she has been coming here ever since she was in high school.”

I feel my head starts to spin. Just picturing Aoi Tsubaki wearing a school uniform with short pleated skirt, knee high socks and standing quietly looking elegant is making me feel disoriented.

“Although it’s true that with the body like hers, a school uniform would definitely look good…”

I murmur to myself.

Wait, now is not the time to fantasize about her! I need to know the answer to my question!

“But… but she isn’t like that when she’s with me.”

Manager frowns and then thinks for a moment before answers

“Hmm… don’t know what to tell you. From the years I know her, she’s never raised her voice at anyone and the way she carries herself you can’t help but to think she was brought up in a pretty well mannered family. So you’re saying she’s a completely different person when she’s with you?”

“Uh I guess you can say that?”

“Well aren’t you special? Don’t tell me you guys have something going on between you two then?”

My face turns red at the mention of something like that. Even as unreasonable as Aoi is, she is still a really gorgeous girl with an irresistible body. I’ve never been good with girls so just having my name mentioned in the same sentence with hers is unbelievable in itself. But there’s no way she’d look at me that way...

“What? No way, no way haha.” I hurriedly deny it before she teases me some more.

That’s right, who’d want to be an item with her anyways. Not with her terrible personality.

.

I reassure myself.

But come to think of it, at the convention, she did cry in public because of that shorty’s insult. That was something totally unexpected and caught me off-guard too. Hmm maybe there’s more to Aoi Tsubaki than what I know about her so far.

“Say… manager.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you anything else about Aoi’s background?”

“Well… we have her membership information on file, but that’s not up for anyone to see. Plus, it’s just things like contact number or address anyways. Ah well, judging by her high school uniform though, she went to that private academy for all the rich and spoiled kids that’s across the city from here.”

“Private school you say?”

“Yeah, but ever since she graduated, she’s been coming here in normal clothes so I don’t even know if she is still in school or not.”

I think I know exactly which school manager is talking about, but it doesn’t make sense. There are plenty of places like this one in the city, but why did she choose to come to this one frequently?

Ugh… the more I think the more I don’t understand. And to think I’ve voluntarily involve myself with this troublesome girl...

Suddenly I hear a loud metal clunking noise outside in the direction of the cafe like a bunch of stuff falling to the ground. Manager look at me and I look back at her. We’re thinking the same thing: Either Momoko bumped into someone, or tripped and dropped things all over the floor again.

“Got it, I’ll go help her…”

“Counting on you then. Don’t feel her up in front of the customers now, we’re not that kind of place.”

Of course not, this is the kind of place only employees get harassed by their superior apparently.

I give her a weary smile and she smiles, probably happy with how much she has tormented me and leaves the room.

And that’s that about Aoi I guess… I didn’t learn too much from the manager either. Ah crap, I barely had time to think about how to help her with her novel.

I scratch my head out of frustration with both hands and walk out of the breakroom. My afternoon shift awaits.

-----------------

“Ugh… my shoulders…”

I whine while I rotating my right arm to relax the tension in it.

Since it’s a Wednesday, we’re not supposed to have a lot of heavy lifting, but the truck came early with all the frozen food so I ended up getting a good workout.

“Now all that’s left to do it to put the returned books back on the shelf and I’ll be done.”

I slap my cheeks twice lightly and go to work on the first row of the cart that I’ve pushed out from behind the counter.

“Let’s see…. Infinity Atmos? Oh I know exactly where this belongs.”

Now that I’ve been reading a lot and researching, I know some of the most famous titles we have in the cafe and of course just exactly what kind of books Aoi likes. It’s funny because we both like stories with a harem element in it. I would’ve thought that only guys are into this kind of stuff but apparently she does too. And all of her favorite characters in the books are the childhood friend female heroines.

“Why do you always like the childhood friend? I read online that they rarely win, isn’t that true?” I asked her once during our exchange.

“A woman can dream ok? And it’s not like you would know anything about how a guy in a harem would think, you don’t even have any friends, let alone a single love interest.”

There it is with the personal attack again… It’s exactly this kind of immaturity that really forces me to think that manager is talking about a completely different person.

Come to think of it, I once had my own childhood friend as well. Though very brief, I even had kind of a crush on her too I think.

But that’s all in the past now. And what I have in front of me isn’t a promising life… I really need to get myself together. Maybe this whole novel writing thing will help.

Apparently I’ve been standing in front of the bookshelf and just went into a daze, Because someone behind me suddenly clears their throat to signal that I’m in their way.

Crap! Must be a customer!

“Sorry about that, I was just putting some books back on the shelf. Is there anything I can get for you?”

I smile and turn to look in the direction of where the voice came from, but there was no one.

“Huh..?”

“Get out of the way then will you?”

I look down and find the short customer standing there with her arms crossed and waiting impatiently.

Wait… I know her.

“Ah!” “Ah!”

We recognize each other at the same time. It’s the damn pipsqueak who got me into this mess.

“Ara, isn’t it Fuji-san?”

“It’s Chuji actually… and you’ve been getting wrong every time you say my name by the way.”

“Really? Shame, I think Fuji suits you better. And is that really any way to talk to a customer?”

She pushes me out of her way and makes her way to the shelf behind me.

I shake my head at how rude this little girl is and is about to leave when she suddenly calls out to me again.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“Why did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Speak up for her that day. ”

“You mean at the convention?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm… I don’t know. I’ve always been bad with girls crying, maybe that’s partially why. “

“I knew it. There was no way you did it because you are her friend right?”

“Huh? Well I don’t know if I can call myself her friend… maybe?”

She goes silent for a few moments and puts the book she had in her hands back on the shelf.

“You acted like a knight in shining armour that day just to stop a girl from crying? What a pathetic thing to do.”

“Hey who are you to judge? Plus if it wasn’t for your comments, she wouldn’t be in that state. And I wouldn’t have to speak up to defend her!”

“You don’t know anything about her, or me, or our world. I can tell, you don’t belong in the same spectrum. So why go out of your way?”

My eyes widened at her words

It’s true. Started from the beginning, I could have walked away from this whole deal with Aoi. It’s not even like she could’ve actually sued me for accidentally seeing her from outside her window.  I even voluntarily accepted a job she gave me. And now I’m butting in on her business.

“I don’t know… I suppose it’s because I like the attention? Rather, I have unconsciously developed a liking to spending time with her. I think that’s it. I like how devoted she is to what she loves. I never had something like that in my life so it would be nice to see her succeed. And it hurt me a little that day watching someone trying to take that joy away from her.”

“Then… it doesn’t have to be her?”

“What do you mean?”

“If today I told you that I have the same conviction and love. And I am in need of support more than her, would you do the same for me?”

What is this girl talking about? And why has the atmosphere suddenly changed? This is making me uncomfortable.

“But… you’re the villain here. You’re the one who attacked when she didn’t even do anything. Why would you possibly need me?”

“So that’s why I said you know nothing about our world!” She shouts

“Uh..”  I want to tell her to pipe down, but I get a feeling if I do that she’ll just shout even more

And then a wicked smile appears on her face, not the kind you see on a mischievous child, but the kind that a villain plotting something would have.

“Guess I’ll just have to make you mine then. If I can do that, maybe I can finally have everything that she has and she’ll just disappear.”

“Huh!? What are you talking about? I think you’re getting the wrong idea here. I’m nobody’s!”

“Good. That means you’re available for my taking then. You’re not half-bad looking either… hmm you’ll do just fine. ”

Is this a confession? Why does this feel more like a threat? What’s going on?

I instinctively back away a few steps but she follows.

“I think I’m beginning to understand what kind of person you are. And I think I really do like you.”

So this is a confession… what is wrong with this girl? I thought I’m supposed to be her enemy. And we’ve only met each other twice…

“Uh… like I said. I’m nobody’s for the taking. And what kind of girl spews out nonsense like that when she’s only seen a guy twice?”

She chuckles lightly at my comment

“You really don’t understand....”

----------------------------------

After my strange encounter while putting books away, I have decided that today was long enough as it is, and I am ready to go home. But without a plan to help Aoi, it’ll just be another day wasted. And now with what the pipsqueak said, I need to ask Aoi what their relationship is, otherwise I pretty much stepped into the middle of some seemingly intense conflict between two weird women.

I pull my phone out of my pocket briefly and look at it.

“Oh wow, my shift is already about to end, guess I better get ready to go change out of uniform.”

But then just as I am about to get up from my chair, Momoko, who has been sitting next to me behind the counter quiet all afternoon suddenly speaks up.

“Um… Kon-san... are you about to leave?”

I stop in my track and turn around.

“Oh yeah, do you need me to do anything for you before I leave or something?”

She shakes her head twice quickly, but then stays silent and keeps looking down at the ground.

Uh… What’s going on here…

“Well, if there’s nothing, I think I’m gonna go change now…”

“Wait!” She shouts and stands up abruptly.

“Truth is, I just wanted to tell you that I know what happened this morning wasn’t your fault…”

“Is that so? I’m glad to hear that. I was a little worry that you’d think I’m a creep or something haha. “

“I would never think that about you! I’ve been working with you for a little bit of time now… and you’ve always help me when I need it, so I know you’re a nice person. “

“Haha I think you’re being too kind. I’m just doing my job. “

“Yeah but still...  “

“Don’t worry about it kid, I’ve got your back anytime, so if you ever need help again don’t hesitate to ask! I’ll talk to you tomorrow k?”

“Mmhmm. Have a safe bike ride home!” She nods while flashing her cute smile.

I make sure the door is locked before I start taking my uniform off and open my locker to get my casual clothes out. It’s still fairly hot and humid outside this time of the year so I made sure I wore shorts this morning. Just as I’m thinking whether I should cook or eat out for dinner while pulling up my shorts, I hear someone behind me.

“Well aren’t you Mr. Popular??”

Suddenly hearing that makes me jump, and while trying to turn around to locate the source of it and to put on my shorts at the same time, I end up losing balance and fall on my butt with my shorts still only half-on.

Manager stands up from behind the pile of boxes in the corner and laughs at my reaction.

“You’re so cute Chuji, everything you do is so funny. Never a dull day when you’re here at work. “

“Ma...manager? What are you doing in here? I thought I locked the door.”

“Oh yeah you did, I was already in here when you came in.”

“But I didn’t see you?”

“Oh that’s because I was hiding behind the boxes of course.”

“....but why….?”

“Well I couldn’t possibly interrupt what Momoko was telling you. And when you finished you walked right over here, so I hid. If she found out I was listening then she’d die of embarrassment probably haha.”

“What do you mean?”

“Aw come on, don’t be so dense. Have you ever seen Momoko so much as say more than two sentences to anyone?”

Come to think of it, I think she’s right… Even with talkative customers, she usually says hi and thank you and that’s about as far as she goes.

“Yes? But that’s because…”

“That’s because she likes you.” She cuts me off and says

“Wait what? No way.”

“Yes way. I’ve known Momoko a long time, and trust me, she’s never been that comfortable with a guy besides her own brother. And after what happened this morning, I think she finally realized she does like you. Maybe your charm finally touched her. And by charm I mean your dirty arm that was rubbing up and down against her.”

She makes a lewd smile while pretending to chuckle.

Can I please get a new boss? Please? I can’t stand this creepy woman anymore!

She continues after seeing my distorted facial expression as if I’m in pain.

“But seriously though, how do you do it? Make all these girls fall for you?”

“Manager you’re spewing non-sense again. Even if you’re right about Momoko, that’s the only girl  who might be interested in me right now.”

“Yes but what about Tsubaki-chan’s high school classmate?”

“Aoi’s classmate? When did I ever meet her?”

“The blonde shorty with the attitude who came to return books today? That’s her.”

“Huh!? They were classmates?”

“Yeah. They used to both be here after school. But not together though. Hey now you still haven’t answer my question. Why do girls fall for you?”

“Manager that’s still only 2 girls. That’s hardly anything.”

“Of course that’s not all… you also got Aoi Tsubaki sensei waiting back home every night for you am I wrong?”

“When you say it like that of course! You’ll give people the wrong idea!”

“Just trust me. Call it a woman’s sixth sense, but I know what I’m talking about. These three girls all want you for some reason. It might not be the same reason, but they do. It really makes me wonder, because you’re a pretty dry and boring person…”

Oi, since when did this discussion turn into a diss about me?

She chuckles, “Aren’t you happy? After reading so many stories about harems, you finally got your own.”

“Even if what you say is true, These girls aren’t exactly the dream girls I would want…”

Maybe if I convince her that I have no interest then she’ll just drop the subject, but what I said might have made it worse because she then says

“Ara is that so? Well how about a passionate and experienced older woman such as me? You know I might have the biggest bust than any of these girls.”

Though it is true from time to time I consider being able to stare at manager’s chest a perk of getting up early to come to work, I always end up reminding myself her personality is too dangerous. And I’m pretty sure the second I drop my guard she’ll rape me or something…

“Uh.. heh heh manager you’re so funny.”

That’s it. I’m out!

I get up from the ground after fixing my shorts and before she can say another word I quickly close my locker. Without turning around, I shout “I’ll see you tomorrow!” and head out.

---------------------------------

The moment I stop my bike at the front of my apartment I can see from where I am that Aoi’s window is lit up from the inside. Ever since I agreed to help her she’s been coming over every evening. Which adds to the mystery. Where did she stay before this? And why have an apartment here in the middle of a bad neighborhood when she has somewhere else to live? The more I think about this girl the more it doesn’t make sense. But all of that will have to wait, because I need to keep my promise, even if it was an impulsive decision.

I lock up my bike at the side of the building and pick up my phone to call her through LINE.

Doo….doo…

“Oh pervert, you’re home?”

“I told you to stop calling me that. And yes. Do you want to come over or should I go over?”

“Come on over.“

While walking up the stairs to get to her place, manager’s words start ringing in my head.

“A woman’s sixth sense… haha that can’t possibly be a real thing. She was just teasing me as usual. There’s no way she would like me. “

The evening progresses just like any other nights we’ve had, Usually either we watch current season anime shows together or I play a game while she helps me understand the elements of it. And ever since I agreed to help her with her book, we’ve been brainstorming together while staring at her laptop on the short coffee table in the middle of the room. Tonight was one of those nights.

I look over at Aoi while she stares at the screen with a frustrating expression on her face.

“Hmmmm… but to make my idea of showcasing otaku culture into a story just sounds too far-fetched. I mean, what kind of character would I have to make? And what if I want to include things like fantasy world with magic or mecha element?”

As expected of a true otaku, only when she’s talking about this kind of stuff does her vocabulary improves and she starts acting her age…

“What if we use a typical wimpy guy Main character and he identifies with the culture but he falls into a fantasy world? That way all of it links up.”

“That sounds like an overdone plot… just thinking about it makes me want to sleep. And let me guess, next thing you’re gonna say is give him a harm?”

My heart skips a beat when I hear that word.

Damn it usually I welcome that word with all of my heart but tonight it feels as if just thinking about the concept of it embarrasses me. Ugh...manager, you and your nonsense.

“Uhh.. well I suppose that’ll work… each girl can be very different in their approach and he can teach them about his culture…?”

“Why on Earth would you go to a fantasy world where there’s dragon and magic and teach its people about manga and anime!? There’s probably not even gonna be TV!”

Don’t use that kind of tone with me woman, you’re supposed to be the expert on this, not me… yet I’m here trying to help you.

“Oh yeah, Aoi.”

“What? Another idea? This one better be good.”

“Nah… Was just gonna tell you that I ran into your ex-classmate today.”

!!!!!

Her face tenses up and she turns slowly to me

“Wh...which classmate? And how did they know me by my name?”

“Huh? Ah no I mean the shorty we saw at the convention.”

Her face relaxes and she sighs. “Oh, her. You already gave me a heart attack. I was thinking who else you would possibly meet that knows me in this area.”

“Ah… haha well it’s not like I go around asking people about you so that wouldn’t happen anyways.”

“So what did she want? And more importantly how did you know she was classmates with me? Did she tell you?”

“Well no, I just happened to run into her at the cafe. But manager told me about your relationship.”

“I see… So she still frequents at Space…”

“Were you guys…. Close?”

“What? Me and her!? No way! I don’t ever know what the deal with that girl is. Ever since the first time I met her she’s been thinking up ways to bully me.”

“But you guys end up having the same hobbies, so I thought you might put your differences aside and be friends or something.”

“It’s not like that…”

“What do you mean?”

“To me… the time I spend writing and reading and watching shows are time that I cherish. It gives me something to do. But to her, it always feels like a competition. And she is always trying to beat me at it. I don’t understand. It’s not a competition, nobody is trying to win, so why…”

She looks down at her hands which are gripping tightly to the edge of the table. Maybe she really did get bully a lot by the pipsqueak back in school days. But I feel like some information is still missing…

“Yeah I kind of got that vibe from her today too… the competitiveness you’re talking about?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well today she asked me if I did what I did to save you at the con because it’s you, or I would’ve done the same for anyone else.”

“.....and what did you say?”

She looks over at me, but I can’t tell from her expression what she’s thinking. Maybe from all the talk about bullying, she still looks a little sad, but her cheeks are slightly red. Basically what I’m trying to say is, beautiful. This girl truly is beautiful. But I just can’t bring myself to believe that she has any interest in me.

Or maybe… she wants to know my response because she...AH there’s no way!

“Well I told her it’s none of her business haha And so she says something about stealing me. What’s the deal with her anyways?”

“That little…..” She clenches her fists once more, but I can tell that she’s genuinely upset.

“Woah hey there, I’m sure she’s just kidding and all right? No need to get all upset.”

“Perhaps you don’t understand, once she sets her eyes on something, she won’t stop until she gets it. And for some reason it always has to do with me. Whatever I have, she has to have it too.”

“Hey now Aoi-san. What do you mean by I’m yours? What am I? A puppy? Just like I told her, I’m a human being, I’m nobody’s.  

“Wha….? When did I say that you’re m.. mine?”

She switches from angry to flustered in a little over 3 milliseconds and starts stuttering

“You basically implied it didn’t you?”

“S...stupid! Don’t say that kind of nonsense! Get out of my house! GET OUT!”

She gets up and grabs me by the collar and tosses me out of her front door in a single swing, and then throws out my bag after me. The bag hits my confused face with a thud and then she closes the door with a bam.

“Aw…. what the heck!? What kind of a person gets flustered about a few words but doesn’t care when other people watches them change!? You sound like some typical tsundere girl straight out of a story! ”

AH… I just realized we didn’t make any progress on the story tonight again…