Chapter 143

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**Twins and a Fox. (1)**

“Hey, Koyuki, Inari said she wants to treat us to something. Are you okay with that?”

“Hmm? Sure, why not?”

“I mean… isn’t this your first time meeting her in person?”

“That’s true, but…”

Honestly, Inari wasn’t a bad person, but it felt a bit iffy introducing her to Koyuki.

Was this how Toya felt when she first introduced Inari to me?

She’s been calmer lately, but Inari is still Inari, you know?

Toya, sitting next to me, nodded with a knowing look.

“What kind of person is Inari that you’re being so cautious?”

“Well… let’s just say she’s someone with _a lot_ of affection for me.”

“Affection?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

Sometimes, when I look at the photos of me saved in Inari’s phone gallery, it honestly gives me chills.

At least Toya openly takes photos, so I’m aware when she does. But with Inari, there are tons of candid shots I didn’t even realize she took.

I want to yell, “That’s a violation of my image rights!” but the photos are taken so well that I can’t even bring myself to say anything.

If she were bad at photography, I would’ve told her to delete them, but they’re good—too good.

“Ohh, so you’re worried _about me_, huh?”

“Honestly, I’m not _that_ worried…”

I mean, I’m just shy around new people, but Koyuki might actually hit it off with Inari faster than I did.

In fact, it might be Inari who ends up overwhelmed this time.

…Wait. An overwhelmed Inari? That might be kind of fun to watch.

“Then there’s nothing to worry about, right? Let’s meet her.”

Saying that, Koyuki popped another bite of pizza in her mouth, wearing a happy little smile.

Well, if it’s Koyuki, I guess it’ll be fine.

—

“Hi! So you’re Inari… right?”

“….”

“Yeoreum? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, you greeted her fine…”

Koyuki… don’t tell me you’re not picking up on this ominous vibe?

Seeing Inari trembling with her head bowed low, I instinctively slipped behind Koyuki.

Not like I was really hidden, since we’re the same size—but still, I wasn’t going to be the first one to get hit.

So, Koyuki, I’ll come save you later, okay?

“Eh? What do you—eek?!”

“CUUUUUTE~~~♡♡♡♡♡♡♡”

I’m safe. If I hadn’t moved from behind her just in time, we both would’ve been caught in Inari’s hug vortex.

Sorry, Koyuki. But one of us had to survive to rescue the other, right?

I did feel a little bad, but I’ve already been through this several times. I wasn’t eager for a repeat.

Still… I _knew_ this would happen, but I didn’t expect it to happen _this quickly_.

“Yeoreum… don’t just stand there, help me!”

“Sorry, Koyuki. No one can stop Inari when she’s like that.”

“Waaaugh?!?!”

“Nacchan’s twin! CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE!!!”

Inari buried her face in Koyuki’s chest and started shaking her head like crazy.

It looked wild enough that the police wouldn’t be out of place if someone saw this, but Inari must have been holding back, because Koyuki didn’t seem hurt.

A bit overwhelmed, sure—but not in pain.

That’s Koyuki for you. Always so good with people. That’s what makes her so awesome. So admirable!

…Not that I’m planning to become as people-loving as she is.

“What’s your name? I bet it’s super cute, right? Right?”

“Ko… Koyuki…”

“Koyuki… of course it’s cute!”

Just one hug and Koyuki already sounded like a dying chicken.

Told you—should’ve exercised a bit like me.

Anyway, their first meeting was exactly as chaotic as I expected.

Inari squealing and hugging, Koyuki sounding half-dead. Like a fan meeting her idol.

“So, Koyuki-chan, where are you from?”

“From?”

“Yeah, like Yeoreum—are you from Korea too?”

“Hmmm… dunno!”

If she were asked where she was born, it’d probably be Korea.

Anyway, now that the three of us had met, there was only one thing left to do.

“Inari, ready for this? You _did_ say you’d treat me to something delicious, remember?”

“Uh, yeah… I did.”

“Let’s go for wagyu~ Minori doesn’t really like spending money on food, you know.”

At the mention of wagyu, Inari pulled out her wallet and peeked inside.

Well, it _is_ expensive if you’re not prepared.

“Three servings should be enough!”

“Really? Waaah~ I must be super lucky, eating fancy stuff two days in a row~”

To be fair, Ragu-sensei’s cooking isn’t bad at all.

Honestly, it suits my taste really well.

But I guess eating home-cooked food every day can get old, huh?

For me, though, Toya’s cooking is always good no matter what it is, so even eating out doesn’t excite me that much.

“Alright, then let’s hold hands and go! If we get lost, we’ll be missing children!”

“I doubt that’ll happen, but sure.”

Inari grabbed my hand with her right and Koyuki’s with her left, then started walking with a giddy, almost creepy smile.

Three wagyu meals probably meant nothing to her.

She was probably treating it like a fan meet-and-greet.

“Wagyu~ Wagyu-wagyu-wagyu~”

“You really like it that much?”

“Of course! Eating yummy food always puts you in a good mood, right?”

Seeing Koyuki beam with a big smile, I smiled too.

Yeah, let’s go. As long as we’re happy, that’s all that matters.

—

> **[Think I just saw Nacchan’s twin at a wagyu place today.]**
> _(Pic: Two white-haired red-eyed girls holding hands with a woman as they enter a yakiniku restaurant.JPG)_
> Pretty sure it wasn’t just “someone who looked like her”—that was definitely Nacchan LOL

– That’s definitely Nacchan

– So that kid grilling meat the other day must’ve been her too, huh? 😂

– Now that you mention it, lol

– What about their voices? Were they the same?

– Exactly the same.

– Yeah, that confirms it then lol

– Did you ask for a signature?

– VTubers should stay virtual. Would’ve been awkward for Nacchan if I had.

– Now _that’s_ a true fan lmao

– I bet Nacchan will see this post.

– If we’re lucky, she might even reply with a thank-you!

– A thank-you from Nacchan? Rare treasure lol

– Although… she does say sorry more than thank you

– I wish she’d say thank you more often instead of apologizing so much…

> **[So who was the person with the Nacchan twins?]**

> **[Wasn’t the person at the yakiniku shop a different one from today?]**

– Good point.

– Maybe one of them is Toya?

– Doesn’t really match Toya’s image though…

– Toya’s been looking like that around Nacchan lately, so maybe lol

– Might’ve just been a friend.

– But for someone who looks that much like a VTuber to walk around in public…

– She’s probably not going around alone.

– Nacchan walking around by herself would be way too risky.

– Probably has a guardian with her lol

– Could’ve been a manager.

– A manager wouldn’t smile _that_ goofily at their talent though lol

– Unless that’s just what being a manager _does_ to a person 😂

– …I see.

– You “see”? What do you see lmao

– Now that I look closely, that face _does_ look a lot like Inari.

– Especially that excited, borderline unhinged look she gets when she sees Nacchan lol

> **[Now I understand why people have kids.]**
> _(Video: Woman smiling while feeding perfectly grilled meat to two small girls.MVI)_
> If I had kids like that, I’d be happy every day too…

– Pretty sure those kids make more money than you lol

– Who are they anyway? From Aitube?

– Yeah, but more specifically, they’re VTubers.

– What do they do, exactly?

– Just search “Ichinose Natsu” on Aitube.

– It pulls up a character that looks _exactly_ like them, streaming lol

– Exactly.

– Why are y’all shilling Nacchan’s channel here lmao

– The kids are super cute. Are their hair colors dyed?

– Probably albino.

– I heard albinos usually look kind of unusual, but they seemed pretty natural-looking in person.

– I think _they_ are just exceptional lol

– So they do livestreams? I’ll check it out.

– Someone recommended it to me and I joined the membership just from how cute the voice was lol

– Same here lol