Ch. 172 MtF – Chapter 172
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 172
—
### **LIVE ON. (7)**
Quite a lot of people appeared on stage during Part 2.
At this point, it didn’t feel like Toya’s solo live anymore—it felt more like a VTuber festival.
Of course, it’s not like the other performers were appearing solo. Toya joined in for many of the performances too.
_“Just watching is exhausting…”_
Each VTuber, performing at full energy, appearing one by one and giving their all before exiting.
The sheer intensity of the show was draining just to watch.
And yet Toya, who had barely left the stage the entire time, didn’t look tired at all.
Was that the power of exercise?
“Nacchan, shouldn’t you at least do a rehearsal? What if you mess up just watching like this?”
“…I can only sing my song once, so I can’t.”
Truthfully, I wanted to sing it over and over.
But I only had enough strength to sing it once with all I had.
If I had known this, I would’ve started exercising a little… no, a _lot_ earlier.
Regret always comes too late.
_“Okay, let’s just start by calming down.”_
I relaxed my clenched hands and slowly exhaled.
They say even being nervous takes up stamina, after all.
—
“No really, it was amazing!”
“Really? That must’ve been so cool~”
“Seeing someone you admire right in front of you is—oh?”
“Eh?”
Just as I was trying to calm my nerves, the waiting room door opened with a burst of lively chatter, and several people walked in.
All of them were unfamiliar faces.
But figuring out who they were wasn’t difficult at all.
I _had_ been watching the live really closely, after all.
**“N-Natsu?!”**
“Whoa… she looks exactly the same… W-wait, it’s not like a mannequin or something, right?”
“C-Can I touch her…?”
“V-Spe really made a Nacchan life-size figure… The quality’s amazing…”
“Think logically—there’s no way it’s a mannequin!! It’s clearly a real person—whoa, _so soft?!_”
The shock of unfamiliar faces was brief.
Before I could even react, frozen like a raccoon caught off guard, hands were reaching for me from all directions and patting me all over.
H-hey… isn’t this a little too forward for a first meeting?!
“I-I wanna touch Nacchan too..! Nacchan..!!”
“Can someone _please_ help me out here, Inari…”
Why are you looking like you’re the victim here?!
Well… at least Inari isn’t _completely_ oblivious to social cues.
“S-sorry! I really thought it was a Nacchan figure!”
“Yeah yeah, she really _does_ look like a doll when she stays still.”
“She was so doll-like I didn’t realize—sorry!”
“Yup yup, Nacchan really looks like a doll when she’s—wait, didn’t I _just_ say that?”
…Why do you look so proud, Inari?
Now fully recovered, Inari’s energy was the kind no normal human could keep up with.
Honestly, the surprise pats were less shocking than Inari’s sudden mood shift.
“See? I was helpful, right?”
“…I guess so.”
I let out a deep sigh while being hugged tightly like a precious treasure.
Normally I’d push away someone trying to hug me, but right now, being in Inari’s arms was the most comforting thing.
Strangers are scary. Or rather… unfamiliar people are awkward.
More than that, the stares were _intense_.
“She’s like a snow bunny…”
“D-do you use LINE? Want to exchange contacts?”
“Me too! I wanna add you on LINE!”
“U-uh…”
It only took a minute for the intense stares to turn into something else entirely.
First I was a doll, then a tiny woodland creature, and now I was being treated like a celebrity spotted on the street.
As multiple phones were held out toward me, I froze—unsure which one to respond to—and ended up hiding in Inari’s arms again.
Strangers are scary.
Even just Shiro-san was overwhelming enough today!
“Whoa, okay everyone, chill out. Nacchan’s _really_ shy around strangers.”
“Ah, sorry…!”
“And if it’s her LINE ID you want, _I_ have it, so you can—no wait, Nacchan, is it okay if I share it?”
Do whatever you want. As long as they don’t actually message me, I don’t care.
I looked up at Inari with that in mind, and she chuckled after catching my meaning.
“C’mon, Nacchan. Then what’s the point of having LINE if you’re not gonna use it?”
“…Don’t know.”
I’m gonna rest a bit, so you handle all these people, you dumb fox.
Maybe because all the tension had drained from my body, I was starting to feel a bit sleepy.
I didn’t _plan_ to nap, but if I looked like I was, maybe they’d leave me alone.
“You’re gonna nap, Nacchan? You don’t wanna watch Toya?”
“I do.”
“Come on~ they’re not bad people. This could be your chance to make new friends, y’know?”
“Can you _not_ treat me like a kid?”
“Geh—”
I gently bumped my head into Inari’s chin and leapt out of her arms.
Even though it wasn’t that high a drop, several hands reached toward me like they were trying to catch me.
But thanks to my perfect landing, they froze awkwardly mid-air.
“I’m watching Toya. Don’t get in my way.”
“You heard her. Nacchan’s watching Toya, so don’t bother her.”
“…I was talking to _you_, not them.”
“Ughhh, Nacchan’s always so strict with _me_…”
Inari let out an exaggerated whimper, and I sighed reflexively.
I knew she was doing it to put me at ease, but come on… she does it so often it’s _too obvious_ now.
Still… I guess even that’s part of her charm.
—
**[Raku posted on Wisp lol]**
**[(Screenshot of a Wisp post about Nacchan in the guest room)]
Apparently thought it was a life-size Nacchan figure and started petting it, then got shocked when it moved LOL**
ㄴ[No way that’s real, sounds exaggerated lol]
ㄴ[But Raku’s not the type to make stuff like this up, right?]
ㄴ[They barely post on Wisp unless they’re seriously surprised LOL]
ㄴ[What does Nacchan even look like in real life for people to react like _that_?]
ㄴ[If it’s the guest room, then Shiro-chan must’ve been there too, right?]
ㄴ[Nacchan and Shiro-chan meeting… what would _that_ be like?]
ㄴ[Probably two super shy people awkwardly standing in silence LOL]
ㄴ[Yeah, they both get really shy around new people lol]
ㄴ[They approach it differently, but neither really talks much to strangers LOL]
ㄴ[The guest room must’ve been tough for Nacchan…]
ㄴ[So many unfamiliar faces (笑)]
ㄴ[Other people were posting Wisps too.]
ㄴ[Must’ve been pretty incredible if they’re Wisping during the _actual live_.]
ㄴ[Feels like Nacchan caused a VTuber unification event or something LOL]
—
**[Toya’s live is almost over now, huh…]**
**[It’s been such an amazing event. Felt more like a VTuber year-end festival than a solo concert!]**
ㄴ[Felt like V-Spe spent a _lot_ of money on this.]
ㄴ[Even if Inari got all the guests through connections, the production value and stage effects were definitely high-budget.]
ㄴ[Seeing Toya smiling while singing really warmed my heart…]
ㄴ[This is the first time Toya smiled while singing, isn’t it?]
ㄴ[She’s always serious during her streams.]
ㄴ[Maybe she really was born for the stage lol]
ㄴ[If she is, I hope she keeps performing on stage forever (草)]
ㄴ[So when’s Nacchan coming out? Shouldn’t it be soon?]
ㄴ[The protagonist always appears last, you know lol]
ㄴ[Apparently she was seen in the guest room, so she’s probably going to appear (草)]
ㄴ[But wait… doesn’t seeing her in the guest room kind of spoil it?]
ㄴ[Maybe she was just _watching_ from there, chill lol]
**[Anyone else think Nacchan might show up in Toya’s live?]**
**[I heard she was in the guest room, so I’m hopeful—but I feel like she might just show up at the end to say goodbye.]**
ㄴ[Yeah, that seems most likely. Performing on stage aside, she’s not in perfect health either.]
ㄴ[If Nacchan had her health, she’d be unstoppable.]
ㄴ[I really wanna hear Nacchan sing.]
ㄴ[Even if it’s not “Nacchan,” there _are_ recordings of Yeoreum singing.]
ㄴ[If Nacchan doesn’t sing, I’ll just watch clips of Yeoreum singing to fill the void (草)]
ㄴ[Nacchan’s probably gonna show up at the end to greet a heart-thumping Toya lol]
ㄴ[Like, “Welcome home, Toya~” vibes?]
ㄴ[Like a wife greeting her husband after work LOL]
ㄴ[Is _that_ what this was?! LOL]
ㄴ[I believe in Nacchan. She was planning a solo live before joining V-Spe.]
ㄴ[Wait really?]
ㄴ[Yeah, for real. The date was even set but it got canceled.]
ㄴ[So maybe we _can_ get our hopes up about her appearing…]
—
Fables
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