Toko-senpai Schemes, Sending A Horny Kamkura Running!

Toko-senpai and I each asked our best friends for their help, attempting to catch Kamokura and Karen in the act of entering a hotel together.

However, things didn’t go quite as planned.

The following Monday, there was no movement from either of them.

Two days later, on Thursday, they were definitely cheating, but we lost sight of them as soon as they left Nippori Station. On that occasion, they had exited through the South Gate, which was the spot Ishida was watching. It seems Ishida had kept a significant distance to avoid being noticed, but as a result, he lost them easily.

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I blew a perfect chance,” Ishida apologized, but I had no intention of blaming him. The fact that he was taking time out of his day to help at all was something to be grateful for. Besides, tailing someone without being noticed is incredibly difficult—especially when the person following them is someone whose face they already know. Had I done it myself, I likely would have failed just the same.

On the Monday after that, they didn’t show up in Nippori at all. Based on the excuses they gave me and Toko-senpai for why they “couldn’t meet,” I was certain they were having a tryst. They were likely meeting somewhere else entirely.

That day, wanting to get at least a sense of whether they were together, I tried calling Karen earlier than usual. I called right during the window when I suspected they were “in the middle of it.” As expected, Karen didn’t answer.

Three hours later, I called Karen again.

“…Hello.”

Her voice was low and disgruntled, a total 180 from her usual high energy.

“Karen? It’s me, Yu.”

“I saw the notification; I knew it was you when the phone rang.”

“Right.”

“So, what do you want?”

She was incredibly blunt. Clearly, she was in a foul mood.

“No, it’s just… you didn’t pick up when I called earlier. I was wondering if something happened.”

“…Nothing. I was sleeping.”

“I see. You were ‘sleeping,’ were you?”

You little bitch. Your definition of “sleeping” is a bit different from the standard one, isn’t it?!

“Is that all you wanted?”

“Well, yeah. But we promised to talk every day, didn’t we?”

“…”

“Besides, I just wanted to hear your voice.”

Suppressing my rage, I managed to say the words in a gentle tone.

“Don’t you think it’s enough already?”

“Huh?”

“The daily phone calls. Let’s stop.”

“But you’re the one who said it, Karen. That ‘contacting me every day is a basic duty for a boyfriend.’”

“Well, sure, in the beginning of a relationship. But it’s been three months since we started dating. I don’t think we need to call every single day anymore.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to talk to me every day?”

“It’s not that. It’s just… the daily calls feel like I’m being watched. Like I’m being tied down. If you keep doing that, I might end up hating you, Yu.”

You’ve got a lot of nerve saying that while you’re doing exactly the kind of things that require monitoring.

“…I see…”

Is your time with Kamokura that precious? Do you grudge me even the time it takes to talk?

A long silence followed.

“Is that all the talking you wanted to do?”

“Ah… yeah.”

“I have a headache, so I’m going to sleep now. Bye.”

The moment I replied “Yeah, goodnight,” the call was cut off.

The next day…

“That… was a mistake on your part.”

Toko-senpai rested her fist against her chin, her expression grim.