日本語 101

Japanese 101

Baka 馬鹿 means Stupid / Idiot 
Koe 声 means Voice
Arigatou ありがとう means Thank you (informal)
Baka Baka Shii 馬鹿馬鹿しい means Laughable
Chan ちゃん means little one, an honorific usually reserved for children or people who are close friends
Mou もう means Again? What?
Hai はい means Yes
nii-san兄さん  means Elder Brother
Imouto 妹 means younger sister
Orokashii 愚かしい means Foolish

 

Date: 31 December 2016
Time: 3.30pm
Location: Inside a Café, Shibuya, Tokyo

Touching her glossy lips gently with her finger, the twenty-six years old Shida Mirai looked lost in thought as her gaze fell upon the glass of orange juice. The drink she had ordered which she had after some inputs with her very own version of Casper, the friendly ghost, Koe-chan. Although the word friendly, could not quite be the word to describe Koe-chan, nor was the word Ghost exactly what she was.

‘Go with Orange juice if you don't feel comfortable meeting this Akagi person. It’s the safest drink to order during the first meeting with anyone because it allows people to underestimate you the most. It is the drink which most would associate with children, hence it would be the perfect drink to order,’ Koe-chan advised in a lazy tone as the young heiress was looking thru the list of drinks this cafe offered.

'I thought you wanted to try out that Tropical fruits soda because it looks colourful and sweet or the Cola? Do you sure you don't want a slice of the cake to go along with it?' Shida Mirai smiled at the little acts of thoughtfulness Koe-chan would often display unknowingly. 

'You will get that later for me anyway,' If Koe-chan could shrug her shoulders when saying that, Shida Mirai was sure that the little voice would, 'besides, it's you who are having the meeting, not me. So it would be better to have a little cover. The orange juice is good enough as a hint of naivety but if you get the cake as well, while I will be delighted, it would come across as somebody childish and impatient. These are not the best attributes to project in a meeting with a complete stranger.' 

'Arigatou, Koe-chan,' Shida Mirai thought to herself gratefully, 'if it wasn't you, I would never have the opportunity to step out of the house.'

It might have sounded incredible or unbelievable to anyone else but Koe-chan was probably the only person who knew how she truly felt.

While she knew that hearing voice in one’s mind was something unusual and often considered as a sign of insanity, Shida Mirai could not help placing her faith in Koe-chan. As strange as it might seem, Koe-chan sounded far too intelligent about human behaviours to be considered to be a figure of imagination or a Casper. It took only one single lengthy conversation with Koe-chan two years ago on the pros and cons of letting anyone know of Koe-chan's existence, and she had never looked back since then. It was often times as such that she truly appreciated Koe-chan's daringness and cleverness, and remain grateful that she had chosen to hide Koe-chan from the rest of the world.   

It was not easy throwing Kamiki Ryunosuke off her trail because he would never leave her alone long enough for her to do anything. She was lucky that he had been called away to attend to something urgent or she would never have been able to sneak out to meet the former S.T. leader just as how Koe-chan had advised her to.

By climbing out from directly from her bedroom window. 

According to Koe-chan, it would have been something nobody would expect from a graceful heiress like her, that was why it was successful despite being a simple plan.

'Part of the deal, remember that I am the brain, you are the body,' Koe-chan yawned without a care for a moment before her thoughts wandered off to her favourite food again happily, 'besides, it's not for nothing. I want 2 Starryberry doughnuts with fresh strawberries and cream on them and 3 Chocolate doughnuts with lots of Chocolate sauce and colourful sprinkles! Yummy~~ doughnuts~~'

’Hai hai, I just don't understand your obsession with doughnuts and candies' Shida Mirai chuckled at the child-like excitement of Koe-chan, sometimes she would imagine that Koe-chan was just a young kid because of her behaviours and food preferences. But most of the time, Koe-chan had proven to be more observant than most adults and would share with her many interesting information.

If Mikki was considered her first friend, then Koe-chan was probably the first female friend she ever had.

'Mikki...' Or more commonly known to the world as Kamiki Ryunsuke, the next owner of Kamiki Industries, a charming prince and... most recently, her fiance.

But with all the recent changes around her, she was beginning to feel that she had lost sight of the Mikki she once knew and in his replacement was a new Kamiki Ryunsuke whom she could barely relate to. The same face but something was different now that they have grown up.

Just like how the relationship between them changed from best friends to .... couple...

And since that change was made official to the public, he had never let hold of her hand, or her anymore.

When questioned, Kamiki had claimed that it was because he was worried about her since the accident two years ago, which caused her to lose part of her memories.

But something did not feel right about his explanation.

The way he continued to watch over her had made her felt as though he was trying to prevent her from escaping from him than to offer her protection and security. His kind of attention had only helped to make her felt more caged than Miura Haruma and Hongo Kanata used to.

Miura Haruma and Hongō Kanata had only requested to be notified of her whereabouts and ensuring that at least one of them was with her whenever she was out of the house. But for Kamiki Ryunosuke, it was nothing as simple as that. She was lucky if she was given permission to have a stroll around the garden around her family mansion. 

The way Kamiki had gradually taken over her daily life within the past two years and demanding her immediate attention was nothing like the soft-spoken Mikki she remembered as a child. 

There was a growing sense of doubt within her when she was thinking about Kamiki Ryunosuke’s recent actions. The constant of her arms and hand-holding habits were starting to make her felt uneasy around him. His more than platonic actions and the constant reminders of their engagement were beginning to worry her. It was as though he was eager to put a stamp of possession on her very person and that feeling made her feel sick in the stomach. 

Hence, today should be written down as one of the rarest treats which she could not only avoid staying in Kamiki Ryunosuke's presence, she was literally free from home with the help of a sly invisible ally, Koe-chan.

'Well, sweets are supposed to make one happy and I want to be happy,' Koe-chan frowned at the silliness of Shida Mirai's question, 'don't you want to be happy too?'

'If everything is as easy as you see them,' Shida Mirai winced at the question and breathed out deeply as she let out a small sigh, 'I wish I could be you, Koe-chan.'  

'Hump! At least I am the honest one among the two of us, unlike some scary cat who won't even dare to admit that she likes sweet things like I do. Your unhappiness is because of your unwillingness to be yourself. I don't see why you should be the one to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders when you are already very short in height. And in case if you are still insisting on ignoring my hints, are you simply going to avoid the elephant in the room? I can still hear your thoughts buzzing worriedly over it...'

Shaking her head, Shida Mirai broke into a small smile at Koe-chan's words.

As usual, she was not surprised by Koe-chan's directness in the stating of the obvious. But it was true that something had been bothering her since she woke up today.

Something must have happened to her during the brief moment she closed her eyes when she was with him. But it was also that something which she could not remember again no matter how hard she tried to recall.

Her inner alarms were ringing non-stop since she found