AKI: Thanks. Looking forward to your take on these characters.
I was by the shoe racks just as school ended, reading Senpai's message. Couldn't help but sigh.
"Dumbass," I muttered under my breath.
We were going to go record the new character lines at Otoi-san's private studio. 'Cause he was scared we'd otherwise draw too much attention, Senpai had us meet up at one of the quieter neighborhood parks instead of at school. I thought about skipping this one, but changed my mind right away. Of course I wanted to go. I loved voice acting!
What I didn't love was Senpai's stupidity. He didn't take my words at face value, and he didn't even try to take 'em seriously. Though I guess that's kinda my fault for not doubling down and telling him I meant it. Woulda been nice if he thought about them, though, even if only for a few seconds.
Everything I needed to know was in this stupid message he sent me. He only took me seriously when it came to work. Anytime else, he just thought I was "messing around," or "teasing him."
The only places I could really be myself were at Senpai's place and that tiny recording booth. That was why I was so attached to him, even when Mashiro-senpai's stupid "perfect little lady" act got to me so much!
What really pissed me off was how I got so stupidly jealous, like any ordinary girl. As if I really was the perfect little honor student I pretended to be. Up till now, I always kept a comfortable distance from Senpai. It worked because no one else was after his affections—until now.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"I-Iroha-chan? What's wrong?"
"Huh?!"
A voice suddenly called from behind me as I groaned in despair by the
school gates. A stupidly sweet, adorable voice. "Mashiro-senpai? What are you doing here?" "U-Um, going home?"
"Oh, um, sure, yeah. Sorry. My class just got let out late today, so I thought everyone else'd be gone by now."
"Right. Well, I just stopped by the library." Mashiro-senpai opened up her handbag to show me the contents. It was packed with books with cute, bright covers.
"What are these, girly romance novels? They look so cute!"
"Y-Yeah. They were popular some years back, but they're still making more."
"I didn't know you were into this kinda stuff. I thought you'd hate this ooey-gooey fluff."
"Well, yeah, to be honest, I used to. I thought I'd take a look though. You know, for science."
"Science?"
"U-Uh, just kidding. Forget I said anything." Mashiro-senpai waved a dismissive hand in front of her face.
She was clearly hiding something. So she could be sneaky, despite her cute face. I really couldn't let my guard down around her. I wasn't about to press her to come out with it, though; that'd just be insensitive. She wasn't like Senpai. I couldn't just push and push and get on her nerves until she was forced to tell me what was up. I really was able to act differently around him. Even with someone like Mashiro-senpai, who was my friend, I had to hold myself back.
"A-Anyway, Iroha-chan, since you're here... You wanna walk home together?"
"Huh? Oh..."
What now?
"Sorry, I've got a date with Senpai!"
I couldn't tell her that. It'd be an outright declaration of war. I couldn't
tell her what I was really doing either. Not even Ozuma or Sumire-chan- sensei knew about my voice acting work. It was a secret between Otoi-san, Senpai, and me. I wanted to keep it that way too, 'cause if my mom found out, I was toast.
Well, I would've been okay telling the rest of the Alliance at least, but Senpai warned me not to. Even if we both trusted them, there was a chance they could let it slip by accident. Keeping it completely need-to-know was the best way to avoid any bad blood or suspicion.
"Oh... Sorry! I actually have work after this."
"Work? You have a part-time job, Iroha-chan?"
"Yup! Don't tell anyone, though! It's not the kinda job I can be open about,
if ya know what I mean!" "I...I don't."
"It's the kinda job where I use my mouth a lot." I winked at her, miming holding an especially thick microphone in front of my face.
I wasn't lying, though I might have manipulated my intonation just a tiiiny bit to make it sound erotic.
"Y-Your m-mouth... Aaah!"
I could practically see the steam whooshing out of her head as she misinterpreted my words.
"Hey, you're thinkin' something dirty, right? C'mon, Mashiro-senpai, you know I'm a super good girl, right? It's not what you think. You can even come and see for yourself if you want!"
"N-No, it's okay! Um, I'm busy with my own stuff, so..."
"Aww, that's too bad!"
Whew. Just as planned. I might've just ruined my reputation, but I guess
that was just a sacrifice I had to make. I knew Mashiro-senpai well enough now to know that if there was even a hint of anything dirty in the conversation, she'd quickly try and shut it down.
"I-I'm sorry for taking up your time when you're so busy, so, um, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"Sure thing! Bye-bye!"
Keeping her burning face glued to the ground, Mashiro-senpai gave me a wave and scurried away. I waved at her retreating back, though inside I was grumbling. It was just like Beauty and the Bitch—with me being the bitch, of course. To be honest, I was surprised there were still girls as pure as her out there, getting flustered at the very idea that some people wanted to get naked with each other.
I sighed. Real talk, I was jealous of her. She could be completely honest with Senpai whenever she wanted, work or no work.
Speaking of work, it was time to head out to my one other sanctuary. The one place apart from Senpai's room where I could let myself go.
Now, how should I act around him?