Chapter 4:

4 : Phone Call

(new 2020 revised edition)

« Here. Take it, it’s for you. No, don’t worry, I insist. Open it. See? Now you can talk to me anytime you wish to. »

Maya was absentmindedly caressing the pristine new phone with the tip of her fingers. She had never had such an expensive piece of technology in her hands before, and was handling it like she would a newborn puppy. A shiny, pink, silky metallic puppy. She will have to return Rei’s old flip-phone, she thought. She could still remember when she had first announced to the girls that she didn’t own one. The look on Sayaka’s face! But Rei had disappeared in her room and then came back with one she said was “ancient but still worked” and Maya had felt so blessed that day. So happy to have such friends taking care of her. But now, now that she had this ridiculously expensive and fancy and beautiful smartphone in her hands, knowing that the man who gave her this gift had been showering her with blessings for years already, she was a loss for words. Did she even deserve such privileges?

She could still remember how Kirino-san had kindly taken her hand to show her how to use her fingerprint to unlock her phone, even though the contact had lasted less than ten seconds. She tried not to blush in front of everyone in the subway, but seeing his face appear as her phone lit up didn’t help. She had asked if she could take a picture of him, and he had kindly accepted, seemingly hesitant at first, but then flashing a dazzling grin to the camera, his signature bangs hiding practically half of his face.

The familiar JR line tune indicated her stop was next, and she automatically stood up to exit the train, her eyes still locked on her screen, still trying to convince herself that this wasn’t all a dream. This was it. This man was the man she’s been waiting for all these years, the Benefactor who took care of her, her secret fan, her admirer. The wait was over. She didn’t have to guess anymore. Mr Purple Rose was real and his name was Kirino Takumi.

Her feet had driven her home before she knew it, and Sayaka was the first to jump up and greet her with coffee-infused excitement the second Maya opened the door.
“Welcome home Maya. So, who was he?”

Closely following, Rei didn’t seem as excited as her roommate. She looked almost…worried?
“Give her a second to breathe first Sayaka.” She said, pushing the girl away to give Maya enough space to remove her shoes. Standing still as Maya was sliding into her slippers, she reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder “Maya…are you okay?”

Maya was too emotional to notice the tension in Rei’s question. One look in her best friend’s eyes and all the warmth accumulated during this beautiful, beautiful evening burst out of her and melted her into a puddle of tears and uncontrollable sobs. Immediately, Rei hugged her closely and patted her hair “I’m so sorry Maya, I should have known…but of course you’re shocked…”

“Sh-shocked?” Maya managed to say in between hiccups “What do you mean?”

“Yeah Rei” Sayaka turned to the tallest girl with an eyebrow raised up in confusion “What do you mean?”

“Well…” Rei didn’t know where to begin, and what was appropriate to say, but as she helped Maya sitting down around the table, se replied “It was getting pretty obvious to me, but I couldn’t simply accuse him without proof so…”

“You knew him?” Maya screamed in shock “You know Kirino-san?”

“Ki----” Rei froze, confused. What?

Seeing the sudden silence of her friend as an opportunity to strike, Sayaka said “Kirino-san, that’s his name?”

“Yes…” Maya couldn’t tear her eyes away from Rei, still showing an unreadable expression and keeping silent “Kirino Takumi. He works at Daito as a translator and sometimes does plays reviews for them…. Rei, how do you know him? Have you met him?” All those times Kirino-san, passing as Hiijiri-san, made sure to stay discreet and anonymous, she never saw him in presence of her friends. She couldn’t see how she could possibly know him… “Rei?”

The young woman seemed to regain consciousness as Maya called her with more insistence, and said “No…sorry, I made a mistake. I must have made a wrong guess.”
Maya wasn’t so sure she liked that answer. Did that mean Rei had a candidate in mind all this time? Someone she thought might have been Mr Purple Rose? And she didn’t tell her? Why? Rei was secretive, when it aomes to her own private life…but she would never hide something like that, unless she had good reason….

Once again, Sayaka grabbed her attention, firmly resolved to know more about the mysterious admirer. “So, how is he then? Tell us!”

This time, Maya felt her eagerness resurface, the memories of her conversation with Mr Purple Rose replaying in her mind, louder…warmer. “Like I said, he’s a translator and plays reviewer at Daito…that’s how he ended up seeing me play…” she was already feeling her cheek tickle, and Sayaka’s next question didn’t help “How old is he? Is he handsome?”

“Sayaka” Rei rolled her eyes

“Well…He’s in his late twenties, to early thirties” Sayaka squeaked to the news “…and” she reached in her pocket for her brand new phone, which appearance triggered a general gasp of admiration among both her roommates, and laid it flat on the table, so that all three could contemplate the face of the one they’ve heard so much about for years. “That’s him.”

Sayaka’s overexcited reaction made Maya blush even more. Before today, she had never actually paused to think about Kirino Takumi as a man who could be considered attractive. He was simply Hijiri Karato, the messenger, the bridge that linked her to her mysterious benefactor. Now that Sayaka was fidgeting in front of her phone like she was seeing an idol, she had to realize the obvious: Mr Purple Rose was a very handsome man. Her entire face burning her; she shook her head “Sayaka, you know he’s not my boyfriend, right?” She had so much trouble saying the word, and thankfully Rei helped her out “Yes Sayaka, don’t start getting ideas here! You know it’s not like that between them. Right Maya?” The shorter actress nodded frenetically and Rei’s tensed shoulder seemed to relax a little, a frown still creasing the gap between her eyebrows. But Sayaka wasn’t done yet “So, what else can you tell us? We want details!”

As if her benefactor had heard a plea for help, the phone started to vibrate on the table, and Maya swiftly picked up the phone “YES! THIS IS MAYA! “she shouted in a high-pitched tone, to Rei and Sayaka’s consternation, and she was greeted on the other end by a gentle chuckle. “Good evening Maya, this is Takumi.”

“Ooh, I can hear that suave voice from here” Sayaka said “Do you think he wants you to use his first name?”

“Sayaka hush! He’ll hear you” Rei reprimanded her.

The actress slapped her hands on her mouth to cover her giggle. Maya heard Kirino-san chuckle again and shame burned the nape of her neck. “Did you hear that?”
“I’m afraid I did” he replied, sounding not the slightest bit annoyed before adding with a more serious tone “But yes, if you’d like you can always call me by my first name.”
Maya jumped up and answered with the most outraged tone she could come up with “C-certainly not!” Use his first name, her? How could she ever dare? Mr Purple Rose was just one level lower than deities in her heart, how could she ever lower her speech with him?

“It’s okay, call me however you’d like. Maya, I just called to make sure you arrived home safely.

“Oh…” Her heart leapt. He thought of calling her just for that? “Thank you for your consideration, Kirino-san. I arrived a few minutes ago.” She hesitated and added “Kirino-san…did you arrive home safely as well?” She tried to ignore Sayaka silent fangirl scream and Rei’s even stranger behavior: sitting straight, arms crossed, eyes piercing at her every move as if she was deeply focused on something…and was that anger underneath? But she brushed that aside as the soft voice answered “I am home as well, thank you. Maya, please don’t hesitate to contact me whenever you want. You won’t bother me at all. I hope you know that. It’s very important for me to be sure you’re safe and happy.”
Sakaya was mimicking fainting on the tatami, but Maya wasn’t too close to hyperventilating herself. She did her best to align a few words of thanks, then hung up and melted on the floor once again.

---

Hijiri starred at his phone for while even after she hung up. “Why did I offer to let her use my first name?” Was the thought that was ringing painfully in his mind. This was day 1 of his undercover operation, so to speak, and he was already crossing the line. The instruction was simply to make a follow-up call to make sure she’s home and to officially allow her to contact him, as Hayami-sama had warned him she might be too shy to spontaneously call first otherwise. But why did he have to go further than that? Good evening, are you home, contact me anytime. That was supposed to be it. But no, he’s had to improvise, to go with the flow, to react to her roommate’s fantasy.
Pull yourself together, Karato, this is only the beginning.

That Sayaka girl wasn’t going to make thinks easier, he thought. She was obviously a fan of shoujo manga full of chivalrous romance, and there was no doubt she would be encouraging Maya to seek a relationship with Mr Purple Rose. He didn’t need Maya to be fed with those ideas; especially when his goal was to remain loyal to his master.
His instruction was to make her happy. If a romance was what she would demand then…. he would have to comply. But he hoped things wouldn’t come to that. So far Maya was feeling nothing but warm gratitude for him. He intended to keep things that way.

He went to cool his head with a shower, washing the day’s stress away and thinking about the next step. Actually, starting to work at Daito would be next, he guessed. Masumi did assure him that a simple ponytail and contacts lenses would be enough to change his appearance enough that the few people who did see his face as Hijiri would not recognize him. Wrapping himself in a towel, he wiped the mirror and, ignoring the scars on his shoulders – at least he couldn’t see the ones on the back – he tried to use the tight brown hair ties he bought at the convenience store at the corner. After two snapped in his fingers, and a few disastrous attempts, the result seemed eventually acceptable. Though having his face so uncovered made him feel exposed, he expected a few days of practice would let him adapt to the new look.

He stepped out of the steaming bathroom and grabbed his phone the moment it started vibrating. “Yes, Hayami-sama” speaking his name was like punching his guts with his own voice “Yes…it went well sir as intended…yes she enjoyed the dinner” He sat on his bed, his towel still tucked to his hips, his ponytail dripping on his shoulder blades. The darkness in the voice of his master was making him shiver. “Yes… she liked the phone very much, sir... Hayami-sama, I am deeply sorry. I want you to know, I will do everything I can to complete this mission without betraying you. Goodnight, sir.”

He tossed his phone on the side and let his body sink on the bed. The mattress was brand new, but he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t forget the darkness, the sadness in Hayami-sama’s tone earlier. It brought him back to their conversation at his place a couple of days prior and to his pleading, desperate eyes. His love for this little actress was breaking him into pieces. He for himself had once dreamed of feeling such an attachment to someone, anyone, but in vain. With his occupation, he barely ever had any time to consider love and affection. Now that he was witnessing the effect of heartbreak on the person he respected the most on this Earth, Hijiri wasn’t sure he wanted to fall in love one day. Not if that was the outcome.

---

After what seemed like hours of pacing in his library, Masumi decided that this time, they must be both home, separately, and that it was time to check on Hijiri. He knew his servant would never purposefully disobey him, but he still needed to make sure. He had to.

“Hijiri. So…. how did it go? Did you…did you do as I said?” he was practically trembling “Good. Did she…did she enjoy the dinner?” Why was it so hard to ask? What he really wanted to know was if she was happy, disappointed, sad…maybe even…but no, he couldn’t dream of it. Allowing dreams was what led him to this point, and now he has to pay for that mistake. “Did she like the phone?” Maya with a high-tech smartphone in her hands could easily be as amusing as dangerous, but he just couldn’t let her roam around in Tokyo at night with that ancient flip phone of her that was just waiting to die at the worst possible moment. “She liked it…good…I’m glad” How could he even articulate such a word?

“Hayami-sama, I am deeply sorry. I want you to know, I will do everything I can to complete this mission without betraying you”

Masumi couldn’t answer anything to that. He was honored that his servant was loyal enough to make such a promise, but he also knew. Any man given the opportunity to spend a reasonable amount of time with Maya was bound to notice all the ways of her uncanny charms, awkward grace, and unequalled perfection. This little bite of a woman. His Chibi-chan. He was promising to stay away for now but, he knew. He knew better.

“Thank you Hijiri. Good night.”

The library was quiet. Too quiet. So quiet he could hear Maya’s voice screaming with joy “ Mr Purple Rose!” And her yes, her big brown eyes, gazing at him. Hijiri. A growling rage came boiling from the pit of his stomach Breathe Masumi, Breathe. But he couldn’t, the volcano kept menacing to explode at the surface, he grabbed a poker from the library’s hearth, and after scanning the room for less than a second he legs flew him to the nearest ceramic vase, his shoulder started the motion, and smashing sound broke the unbearable silence of the room, shattering it into dozens of ceramic shards and wounded flowers, his rage swallowed in the carpet along with the water.

It was done.

---

It was late, Sayaka was sound asleep. She had warned Maya that she would stay up all night asking for all the details and having a real “girl talk” but she didn’t last two minutes once in her futon. Maya, however, could barely blink.

“Rei…” Maya whispered “are you asleep?”

She heard movement in the dark room. “No Maya. I’m not.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, what it is?”

“Earlier, you said it was obvious to you who Mr Purple Rose was. But you guessed wrong.”

“Oh.” Rei whispered. “Yes, I guess I did” She thanked the spirits that the conversation was going to happen in the comfort of the dark, whispering secrets before sleep and speaking nothing of it the next morning.

“So?” Maya insisted. “Who did you think it would be?”

There was a short minute of silence, then Rei took a deep breath and murmured:

“Well I thought...I thought it would be Hayami Masumi.”