179/Another Text Conversation

Another Text Conversation
Date of Scene:	30 July 2023
Location:	Sports Pavilion
Synopsis:	In which Chiyo reaches out to Koji to clear the air and to find context.
Cast of Characters:	Koji Silvia, Chiyo Sakai

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Koji Silvia has posed:
    *WHUMP"

    *WHUMP*

    *WHUMP*

The sound of a kick being applied to a workout bag echoes through an empty workout room in the Academy's Sports Pavilion, as Koji is currently doing some shoulder-high kicks, dressed down into workout tabi, track pants, and a sleeveless shirt. Sweat is running down his back and neck as he strikes with the ball of his foot, then pivots into a short spin where the ankle connects on the other side. This is repeated until he hears his phone vibrate-buzz... and decides to take a break and see who's reached out to him...

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai sits at home on the corner of her bed with her phone in hand staring down at the screen. The text had been typed out for awhile now but she hadn't quite found the courage to send. With a deep breath she hits the send button and tilt sher head up to stare at the ceiling. Now it would just be a matter of waiting, perhaps, to see when he would respond.

The text sent is simply: 'Hi Koji. I think it's probably past time we talked about things.'

Koji Silvia has posed:
The dreaded ellipsis are there on Chiyo's screen as he's slow to one-thumb type while chugging down some Pocari energy drink.

'Hey Chiyo. Is this about the US things?'

Then following it: 'Sorry I didn't say anything about it at the coffee place. Just had me thinking.'

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai lets out a small breath as the wait wasn't that long at least. It even brings a faint smile to her as he did recall she'd tried talking about things.

'Yes, kind of. You're Darien's roommate so you have more insight to the situation between them.'

There's a pause before she shoots of another, quickly: 'This whole thing started because of miscommunication. I just want to avoid making any further trouble for us from not talking.'

Koji Silvia has posed:
Sighing, Koji sits down on a bench, and grabs a towel to wrap over his neck as he types back:

'It started off weird, but you know what? I got a friend out of it.'

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai smiles at her phone with a small surge of relief at those words. At leat things didn't have to remain forever weird between them.

The immediate response is just a smiley face emoticon. Then: 'I'm glad to hear that. I've enjoyed what time we spent together. It was really easy to pretend being your girlfriend. You're going to be a great one for whoever you end up with.'

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji goes right for the sweat-drop emoji, and then follows it with a laugh-emoji:

'I'm not ready for that stuff yet. Maybe it'd be cool if we can still hang out in our... not-ready?'

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai worries a moment at the sweatdrop. Had that been too sappy? Maybe? The follow up is a relief.

'I'd like that. Friends it is then! ... By the way I think I found another video of your dad outside an anime shop online. Is he okay?'

Koji Silvia has posed:
Standing up, he walks back and forth a couple laps, and then just sighs heavily before sending back:

'He's my Dad.'

As if that defines it all and doesn't need anything more said.

'Are you okay? So much weird stuff going on these days.'

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Parents were parents. Chiyo of all people could understand that to say the least. The topic isn't pressed further.

'I think so.'

'I guess?'

There's a few moments where it's a series of dots that pause, erase, and start again as she gathers her thoughts.

'Actually, I'm really not sure. What if you found out something about someone that could be really dangerous?'

Koji Silvia has posed:
His response is weirdly fast:

'The question isn't if it's really dangerous, but who is it dangerous for?'

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Fast as the response is, her own is slower. She had to think before typing it in.

'Maybe everyone.'

Koji Silvia has posed:
It's about a half-minute of the Three Dots... a stop... and then finally:

'Is it your secret to tell?'

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
'No.' That response is immediate, and followed by a simple: 'I guess I wouldn't have anyone I could tell any way.'

Koji Silvia has posed:
'Secrets are like Trust. It is, or it isn't. So it is... until it isn't.'

'Make sense?'

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai squints at her phone. ... And re-reads it a few times. That made absolutely no sense to her. Given he had no real context for what she was trying to muddle through though, she couldn't really blame him for giving a vague, weirdly zen-like answer. It wasn't as if she could tell him what she'd learned from that older magical girl and that weird Kyubey creature about Witches, and curses. It was just very worrisome.

'Yeah. Just look after yourself and Darien, okay? Keep an eye on each other.'

Yes, that should do it. A way to tell them to be careful without breaking any secrets or sounding too crazy. She hoped. Hopefully he wouldn't get the wrong idea with a remark like that.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Koji's response is:

'Maybe one day we can tell each other the things we can't tell each other.'

'I always keep an eye on him.'

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai responds simply:

'Isn't that a line from Prince of Highschool? You're right though. Thanks for the talk Koji. I should go help Ojiisan out a bit. TTYL.'