Chapter 153

Ȓea‍d on ́&K;ａｔ​R​ｅａdiｎg​Ｃɑf&e;

**Recovery. (4)**

“And so, today’s stream will be a _Natsu nursing_ stream~!”

— _lololol_
— _Wait, so you’re streaming while taking care of her?_
— _Or are you taking care of her while streaming?_
— _Knowing Toya, she always puts Nacchan first, so clearly it’s the former lol_
— _Let us hear Nacchan’s voice too, Toya lolol_
— _She’s not streaming tonight anyway, so we need to get our fill now._

In the end, today’s stream wasn’t the game I’d planned, or even the singing stream the Totomos wanted—it turned into a full-on “nursing Yeoreum” stream.
But the Totomos didn’t seem to mind at all.
If anything, they were more determined to soak up every second of her voice, since she wouldn’t be streaming later.

Trying to _demand_ something from a sick person—seriously, what were they thinking?

I thought about scolding them, but in the end, I didn’t want to say anything to the people who genuinely cared about her.

“…H-Hello… everyone…”

“Natsu, you don’t have to force yourself to talk.”

— _Nacchan!!!!!!_
— _She really does sound super sick…_
— _Is she really okay?_
— _Toya seems calm, so I guess we don’t need to panic… but still, it’s hard not to worry._
— _Hang in there, Nacchan! You can do it!_

The Totomos cheered her on with their usual love and energy.
Yeoreum wasn’t reading the comments, but her expression softened, almost as if she could feel their support.

She really was a true VTuber, through and through.

When I first met her, I couldn’t understand why she tried so hard—but now I did.
I’d seen the Yeoreum from back then… and maybe that’s why she was trying so hard even now.

“I need to work even harder… for Natsu.”

For me, singing had become a trauma.

I lost what I loved most in the world in the most devastating way possible.
Of course it left a scar.

People told me it was okay to sing again—but maybe, deep down, I’d avoided it because I was scared.

The embers left in the ashes of what used to be my blazing fire had grown so cold…
I wasn’t sure I could ever feel that warmth again.

“Did you know? This upcoming live… I wouldn’t have done it if it weren’t for Natsu. I hesitated a lot when I was first asked.”

— _Wait, for real?_
— _Nacchan made Toya do a live? Legend._
— _Now that I think about it, Toya doesn’t really sing that often, huh._
— _Didn’t she say in her debut RP that she didn’t like singing?_
— _I thought that was just an excuse because she was bad at it lol_
— _Guess Toya had her own baggage too…_

As I held Natsu in my arms while she whimpered in pain, I leaned in and kissed her forehead.

This stage might be mine—but the whole thing is for you, Yeoreum.

I may not be able to sing for _myself_ anymore.
But for _you_, I’d sing forever.

_“…Even before becoming a VTuber, I never worked this hard.”_

Come to think of it, I was practicing way more now than I did before I developed vocal cord nodules.

But I was older now.
I understood limits. I knew when to rest.

If I’d known how to take care of myself back then…
Would I have been able to make that dream of becoming a singer come true?

If I had…

If I had—

_“…I never would’ve met Yeoreum. So maybe this way is better after all.”_

“Your face looks super creepy right now, sis.”

“Wha—?! What are you even talking about?!”

Ah.
Right.
There was someone else here besides me and Natsu.

And just like that, Nozomi broke the mood with a single, perfectly timed comment.

Damn it. I should’ve told her to go home after she dropped Natsu off!

— _Ah, Toya’s flustered lolol_
— _So now they’ve each taken a jab at the other lol_
— _To be fair, she _did_ have a kind of weird expression lol_
— _So Toya looks at Nacchan _like that_, huh…_
— _I wanna see little sister-chan’s face too now lol_
— _She should just debut already!_
— _lol_

Debut? Yeah, _right_.

I pouted at Nozomi, who somehow ended up as Yeoreum’s manager.

Seriously, who would’ve thought _that_ goody-two-shoes would become her manager?

Apparently she joined V-Spe as an office worker and got scouted by Yeoreum herself.

…This isn’t a manga—how does that even happen?

“What’s wrong, sis? Don’t tell me you really _were_ thinking something weird about Natsu-nee~?”

“_I was not!!_”

Nozomi gave me a teasing smile, and I knew she was just pushing my buttons.
And yet—I couldn’t help reacting harder, _because_ it was Nozomi.

“Ohhh, so you’re saying Natsu-nee means _nothing_ to you? In that case, maybe _I’ll—_”

“Nope! Not allowed! Natsu belongs to _me!_”

“Oh my~”

“…Ugh.”

— _Toya declares ownership of Nacchan yet again lolol_
— _Toya is SO obsessed with Nacchan lol_
— _Little sister-chan’s voice is _too good_ lol_
— _At this point it’s not a care stream, it’s just Toya revealing her desires lol_
— _lolol_

I froze as I realized what I just blurted out.
But hey—it’s not like I planned to take it back.

“…Mhm. I like Toya too.”

“See?! Natsu just said she likes me, so stop teasing me about it, okay?!”

I pointed dramatically toward the camera.

You can say whatever you want about our relationship—but don’t you _dare_ mock it.

The way Nozomi’s face twisted beside me was honestly kinda funny.

She was definitely thinking something like _“What am I even witnessing right now?”_

But no matter what she thought, my feelings weren’t going to change.

“Wow, wow. Good for you, sis. You and Natsu-nee can live happily ever after, okay?”

“? We were gonna do that anyway?”

“…Haaah.”

— _lololol_
— _That sigh said so much lol_
— _It’s like she’s thinking “Why am I even talking to this person?”_
— _You can practically hear her inner voice: “I can’t believe my sister is Toya…”_
— _Toya’s image is absolutely crumbling right now lol_
— _She was already a little unhinged around Nacchan, but with little sister-chan here it’s even worse lol_
— _What even _is_ Nacchan to Toya (laughs)_

Anyway, after some back-and-forth banter with Nozomi, I noticed that the breathing coming from my arms had become slow and steady.

Yeoreum… had fallen asleep.

Curled up in my arms like a little cat, breathing peacefully, she looked so small and soft—it made me smile without thinking.

When Nozomi caught sight of that smile, she made a face like she’d just seen something horrifying and shook her head, as if trying to erase the image from her brain.

—

**[Little sister invades Toya’s stream lololol]**
**[(Imotoya.MVI) Suddenly bursts into the room with Natsu in her arms—Toya didn’t know what hit her.]**

ㄴ _Pretty sure Toya was shocked because Natsu collapsed, not because her sister barged in lol_
ㄴ _Yeah, this feels more accurate lol_
ㄴ _Definitely the right read._
ㄴ _(Natsu’s sick? I’m sorry, Natsu. Kon)_
ㄴ _Wait, Natsu’s sick? What happened?_
ㄴ _She’s always had health issues._
ㄴ _She’s also broken her fans’ hearts more than once lol_
ㄴ _We were supposed to get a song stream, and then lil sis showed up… smh_
ㄴ _You can just hear Toya sing at the live, though?_
ㄴ _(Toya looking disappointed in you. Kon)_
ㄴ _You know what? Let’s just have them do a duet stream together._
ㄴ _Honestly? I’d watch that lol_

**[Natsu greeting the viewers]**
**[(Natsu.MVI) Barely managing to say hello in a dying voice. Hope this isn’t a repeat of last time…]**

ㄴ _No way she’s getting hospitalized again, right? Ichinose Natsu, please stream!_
ㄴ _(Sorry for being sick, Kon)_
ㄴ _(If being a burden is the only option… Kon)_
ㄴ _(The last falling leaf, Kon)_
ㄴ _(I didn’t want to be sick either! Kon)_
ㄴ _What are these responses lol_
ㄴ _The Natsu Kons have evolved so much lol_
ㄴ _Can we not joke about her health pls…_
ㄴ _If she gets hospitalized again, is that graduation??_
ㄴ _Shut up._
ㄴ _Natsumin are extra sensitive to that word. Choose your words _very_ carefully._
ㄴ _(Nagisa, you almost died just now. Kon)_

**[Toya x Natsu wholesome as always]**
**[(Toya declaring “Natsu is mine” on stream.MVI)]**

ㄴ _She really said it lol_
ㄴ _They’ve been close since before debut, though._
ㄴ _Wait, before Natsu’s debut, Toya hadn’t debuted either. So how would anyone _know_ that?_
ㄴ _…?_
ㄴ _…?_
ㄴ _These guys are clearly working from totally different background lore lol_
ㄴ _(Displaced polar bear. Kon)_
ㄴ _(Down with humans who destroy nature. Kon)_
ㄴ _(Toya x Natsu teetee Kon)_
ㄴ _(Natsu’s pure love Kon)_
ㄴ _(Toya’s pure love Kon)_

Fables