Ch. 162 MtF – Chapter 162
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 162
**Your Voice, for You. (7)**
“…Hey, Toya? Are you okay?”
“I’m f-fine—hic! Hiccup!”
“Pwahahahahahaha…!! _That_ Toya…!! _That_ Toya…!!! Bwahahahaha!!!”
It was total chaos.
I was asking Toya if she was okay, Toya was trying to answer but kept hiccuping, and Inari was laughing her head off.
Was Toya being embarrassed really _that_ funny?
Honestly, it felt more surprising than funny.
– Toya hiccuping is adorable~
– Shouldn’t it have stopped by now? But it keeps going ww
– Inari should stop laughing at some point too, but she won’t wwww
– It feels like Nacchan and Toya switched roles 草
– Toya is so cute.
– I hope she hiccups more often ww
– 草
There was something oddly touching about Toya’s hiccups.
I’d never seen her hiccup before.
Now I kind of got why the viewers were calling it cute.
And the longer her hiccups lasted, the harder Inari laughed.
“Toya, I’ll pat your back.”
“O-okay… hic…!”
Watching her get teased by the viewers and Inari, I started gently patting Toya’s back.
There, there. Calm down now.
I could clearly see just how much she liked me, being that flustered.
But wait… does that mean I won the _‘I Like You’ Game’?_
“Declaring the winner! The winner is Ichinose Natsu!”
“Wow… I’m so happy.”
– Doesn’t sound happy at all wwww
– That reaction is so flat wwwwww
– Maybe Nacchan wanted to hear it when it was just the two of them ww
– Still, it was fun so whatever 草
– Didn’t think Toya would get this flustered ww
It was a weird kind of feeling. Happy, but not really.
Was I supposed to be happy about winning _this_ kind of game?
While thinking that, I gave a relieved smile toward Toya, who seemed to have finally calmed down.
Thank goodness. The hiccups stopped.
‘Then again, maybe it’s fine for healthy people to hiccup…’
For me, once hiccups started, it was the worst, so I couldn’t help but have a negative view of them.
Still, glad it’s over.
I hadn’t realized until now, but I think I might have a bit of a trauma response to the sound of hiccups.
See? Even now, my hands are trembling.
I clenched my fists to hide it before anyone noticed.
“…Natsu, are you okay?”
“Huh? What would be wrong? Of course I’m fine~”
“You were shaking because of the hiccup sound, weren’t you?”
“…U-uh? A-haha…”
But Toya was way too perceptive.
Even though I tried to hide it as fast as I could…
She gently opened my hand and held it tightly, and I awkwardly looked away.
“Sorry, I just realized it now too… If I’d known earlier, I would’ve told you.”
– Ah…
– Oh no…
– Nacchan, don’t be sick… stay healthy…
– You finally got a confession from someone you love, and now hiccups scared you, come on ww
– Stay strong, Nacchan!
– You’ll definitely get healthier!
– She’s already gotten a lot better recently, right?
– So don’t worry too much, Toya ww
Hearing the viewers’ supportive words made me feel better.
I’d noticed it for a while now, but I really do get a lot of comfort from the listeners.
With my hands no longer shaking, I smiled toward Toya to let her know I was okay.
“Okay, okay, enough flirting! Time for the punishment game for the loser!”
“…Punishment game?”
“I told you, right? The loser has to say ‘I like you’ to the winner 100 times!”
“…We’re actually doing that?”
“Um, yeah? Obviously?”
– wwwwww
– She _did_ say that earlier wwww
– Nacchan held strong once, but can she survive hearing it 100 times?
– She might faint from embarrassment before hitting 100 草
– I thought we’d only hear Toya’s ‘I like you’ once today, but 100 times?? wwwwww
– Gonna record it and set it as my morning alarm 草
– 草
Toya let out a weak chuckle at Inari’s oddly innocent response.
Now it felt like Toya was the bad guy for not doing the punishment…
Also—Inari, you _can_ make an innocent face? I thought all your expressions were pervy!
“Ugh! That’s it! I’m never doing a collab with you again, Inari!”
“Fine by me! Just make sure you say ‘I like you’ 100 times before you leave!”
– wwwwww
– Why is she so desperate to hear someone say ‘I like you’ wwww
– Today, Inari isn’t a dumb fox, she’s a sacred shrine maiden of Inari Shrine wwww
– Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you…
– 草
– 草
Naturally, even after hearing Toya say “I like you” 100 times, I didn’t get tired of it.
It was the kind of phrase that the more you heard, the more you wanted to hear.
—
“I’ve never seen Toya that flustered before.”
“…Well, I mean.”
After the stream ended.
As I brought it up, remembering how embarrassed Toya had looked after my confession, she twisted her hair with her fingers and mumbled.
Hm? What?
Even though we were sitting right next to each other, I couldn’t hear her well because of the height difference, so I tilted my head.
Toya sighed deeply.
Wait, did I say something wrong?
“Well, what can you do when the person you like says something like that?”
“Eh.”
I froze at her words.
And naturally, turned my head away awkwardly.
O-oh no, my face is burning…
I pressed my cheeks with both hands, trying to cool them down, while turning my head left and right.
Probably because Toya was crouching down and tilting her head, trying to peek at my face.
“Now I get why Yeoreum reacted that way back then~”
“Ugh, okay, okay. Got it…”
“Yeoreum really, _really_ likes me, huh~”
The flustered Toya from earlier had vanished, and now she was teasing me relentlessly.
Fine, tease me all you want. If it’s Toya, I’ll let it slide.
I held in the urge to tease her back—I’ll get my revenge at the live performance.
She might be surprised, but if she is, I’ll tease her back _for life._
“Well, I really, really like Yeoreum too, you know?”
“Sure, sure.”
“Eh? Why do you sound so cold? Don’t tell me… you’re falling out of love?”
No way. Falling out of love, yeah right.
With a cheerful sound, Toya picked me up and laughed brightly.
She was clearly trying to hide it with a laugh, but her blushing face gave it away, so I ended up laughing too.
Toya, pretending to be fine while clearly embarrassed…
“I’m back—wait, what the heck? Why are you two doing that without me?! I wanna give Nacchan an airplane ride too!”
“Wah—don’t just grab me like that, you dumb Inari!”
“Ehehe, if you give me Nacchan, I won’t eat her~”
“What are you, some kind of pervy tiger?! You damn Inari!”
“Can you _not_ use my name like it’s an insult?!”
I wasn’t using it as an insult, though.
Inari is just… Inari. That’s all I meant, really.
Also, _don’t cling to me!_ Just because Toya’s holding me doesn’t mean you get to rub your cheek on mine!
I glared at Inari as she started treating my cheek like a squishy toy.
Of course, glaring didn’t make her back off or anything…
“Well, whatever! I’m satisfied with just helping Toya and Nacchan fix things between them!”
“You _really_ streamed just for that?”
“Of course! Believe it or not, I’m a fan of pure romance! When two people are one step away from getting together, don’t you just want to _gently nudge them_?”
Inari puffed out her chest proudly, and Toya let out a deep sigh.
To be fair, the intention was good—and honestly, the result was good too.
Still, it was hard to know whether to thank her or scold her.
Either way, she _did_ help erase that awkwardness between Toya and me, so yeah… she did help.
“…But I _really_ don’t want to thank Inari.”
“Eh?! Why not?!”
“Because you’re Inari.”
“Yup, that checks out. Because she’s Inari.”
As Inari screamed in protest, Toya calmly responded in my place.
If it had been someone like Nagisa or Nozomi, I’d have thanked them without a second thought.
But _Inari_… well…
Actually, no. I should at least give a little bit of gratitude.
“Still, thanks for today, Inari.”
“Nacchan praised me…”
“If you’re gonna make that face, I’m taking it back.”
“Gah—no! I’m awake now! I swear! I _wanted_ to smother your cheek with kisses just now, but…!”
The moment she said the word _kiss_, Toya’s gaze sharpened, and Inari gave an awkward chuckle.
Sorry, Inari—but even if _I_ said yes, I don’t think Toya would ever allow that.
…And of course, I wasn’t gonna say yes either.
Fables
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