Consider two people: Miko and Taichi.
Miko is Taichi's boss, so Taichi must verbally address her as "Miko-sama"
(1) Does Taichi think in his mind "Today, I will meet Miko-sama at the marketplace"?
Now they are both suddenly laid off, so that Miko is no longer Taichi's boss. Taichi may now refer to Miko as "Miko-san" verbally.
(2) Would he still refer to her as "Miko-sama" in his mind, perhaps out of habit?
What if they become really close friends afterward, and they agree to call each other by their first names only, but Taichi still respects Miko as an amazing boss?
(3) Could Taichi still think of Miko as "Miko-sama" in his mind, even if he verbally calls her just "Miko"?
And finally,
(4) Can Taichi choose to call Miko by the way he refers to her in his mind?
Consider in scenario (3) — Could Taichi refuse to get rid of honorifics, and insist to call Miko "Miko-sama" because that's how he thinks of her, despite being allowed to call her only "Miko"?
by The_aConstable3
