First mix

2 AM

He gripped his coat tightly as he walked through the empty Tokyo streets. The neon city lights lit up the surrounding area in waves of blues and purples. He walked slowly, taking in whatever little bit of freedom he had.

Around this time of night, Tayonaka Miru would put on his favourite radio station: Heart Mix Radio. And that's exactly what he did. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a set of freshly bought earphones and put them in—one in each ear.

All of a sudden, a calming voice spoke to him:

"To whoever's listening right now, the tired office workers or the students studying for exams, I welcome you to Heart Mix Radio. A station that's free from the daily grind."

As the voice finished her intro, Miru exhaled; it came out in a cloud of cold air. It was said that tonight was cold, so he had already prepared for such weather. In his other pocket was a pair of mittens; he pulled them out gently and slipped them over his icy hands.

On nights like this, you had to be careful of the chilly weather, so he made sure to slip them fully over his fingers.

They were cold to the touch, like the cold chill had already got to them first. 

Why is it so cold tonight? My fingers are practically about to fall off. Miru thought as he continued to walk down the well-lit street.

That was one of the luxuries of living in Tokyo; the streets were always lit, and a source of light was never a far walk away.

The soft voice spoke to him again as he walked into an empty store.

"So... have you all been? Better than me, I hope, haha. As for tonight's tune-in, I was thinking I would give you guys a chance to express what's on your mind, from one night owl to another."

I could use that... A good pick-me-up after the day I had. He thought as he stared down at the coffee aisle.

He thought it was weird that this standalone convenience store had a whole section dedicated to coffee, but he decided to try it; He felt an odd sense of obligation to do so. The smell of fresh morning coffee filled the air as Miru walked down the narrow walkway. Days like today were often stressful; the pressure of being a full-time student often bogged him down.

He picked up a random cup and stared at it for a few seconds. Its packaging was tightly sealed, and the body of said cup looked to be cream.

"Caramel, huh? I guess beggars can't be choosers in situations like this... or something."

If it were up to him, he'd prefer a normal latte, but with him being a broke college student, he learned soon enough that you should accept things for the way they are.

A moment later, he walked up to the checkout and begrudgingly placed his cup on it.

"Hello, have you shopped with us before? Do you have a loyalty card?"

Of course, it wouldn't be a convenience store without that same question.

"No loyalty card here, I'm afraid. Just this coffee, thanks, nothing else."

He wanted to mitigate any chance of follow-up questions, so he answered sternly but truthfully.

The smell of coffee still wafted in the air, but despite his hatred for caramel, he didn't hate it. It was a sign he was awake. Miru looked up at the cashier. She had her hair up in a messy bun and wore your average work uniform. She looked sluggish, just like him.

"Seems you need the coffee more than I do, " he said, as he let out a half laugh.

The worker looked stunned and desperately tried to fix her rather sour look—but it was too late. A second later, she placed her hand over her mouth and yawned.

"I'm ever so sorry, it's just I've been up all night, and I don't usually work this late into the night."

Time to do my daily good deed, I guess. He pondered it for a bit before making his choice.

"Here. You need it more than me; hope your night gets a bit better." He said quietly, leaving the coffee on the counter.

The soothing voice in his ears continued as he walked out of the store:

"From Tatsuki Nijima: I had such a slow night at work, honestly, your radio show is the only thing I look forward to these days, if I'm honest."

After the voice finished reading, she continued:

"Tatsuki-Chan? Or is it Tatsuki-san? Either way, I'm glad my silly little show brings joy to close out a bad day."

Miru continued to walk without a care in the world. With him being a student, most of his time recently was spent with his head in the books, so he cherished these quiet, peaceful nights. It was like a quiet sanctuary, only between him and the sweet voice talking with him.

"Maybe I should text in tonight; I have had a rough few days with exams and such. Maybe it'll lift my spirits, who knows?" He talked to himself as he continued his peaceful nightly walk.

Then it happened.

The air changed drastically, and a foul breeze picked up. Rain followed suit not soon after. Gazing at the ground, he noticed something—A tiny puddle. Sloshed and distorted his reflection looking back at him.

He stopped and took off his backpack filled with various supplies. Since he was an active 'night owl ', he carried essential belongings for a rainy day. He set it down on the wet ground and unzipped his bag.  He rummaged through the now wet belongings to find an umbrella—anything to stop him from getting soaked— but to no avail.

Of all times it could've rained, it decided now was a good time?

He cut his losses and looked around for shelter. In the distance, various satellite dishes stood fighting against the rain.

"Hey, you! Over here!"

A loud voice rang out, cementing itself apart from the rain above. Looking forward, he noticed a girl with blue hair peeking around a rather shady black building.

After weighing the odds for a moment, Miru decided he would rather wait it out in a shady building than run the risk of getting ill. 

—He ran over and was now face to face with the mysterious blue-haired girl.

Her voice was loud, but carried a sense of sweetness to it. And what else was weird was...

Her.

"Thanks a bunch, I guess my good deed got paid forward." He said, catching his breath. He hunched over and desperately tried to cool down. He was never considered the athletic type, so being out of breath came with the territory.

The girl looked at him and laughed.

"You should've seen your face... it was priceless." Wiping away a tear, she continued. "But I'm glad you're alright. It would've been bad if you caught a cold."

Miru was one who never got colds; in fact, he only got it once when he was younger, a late-night trip gone south.

As she said that, she lent out a hand, helping him up. The rain wouldn't let up, so the kind girl allowed him inside. Above the door, a red neon sign caught his attention. It read: 'On air.'

Despite seeming like the building had two floors from the outside, the inside told a different story. Looking into the rather large room, he noticed a big table with a single microphone at the head. The room wasn't lavish, yet Miru felt oddly comfortable.

"So I see you're a bigshot or something?"

The girl in front of him deflected the question and started playing with her hair.

"I wouldn't say a big shot, but I'm known, I guess."

Suspicous...

He wasn't buying that obvious lie, but he decided to put his thoughts aside for now. After all, she let him in— it wasn't his place to pry.

He sat on a nearby couch and pulled out his phone. Gazing at it, Miru made out little specs of water on the glass casing. In reality, he should've been mad, yet the scene in front of him suppressed that anger.

He tried to wipe it away, but much like his belongings, the phone only smudged from the droplets. 

Then, a strange scent filled the room around him. 

The smell of rain mixed with a floral fragrance spread out across the room, and Miru found it hard to distinguish one from the other.

"So who are you then? When I'm talking to someone, I like to put a name to a face, no pressure though." Miru asked, rather bluntly. 

The girl, who was now sitting in the seat with the attached microphone, spoke quietly yet loud enough for him to hear.

"Yamada...My name is Yamada Suki."