Ch. 70 MtF – Chapter 70
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 70
Just Me and the Fox Guardian for the Day. (1)
Even after our first collab, we kept doing them pretty often.
It started when Inari contacted us, saying she wanted to see how far we could go in _Lethal Company_. Then Nagisa said she was feeling lonely streaming alone and wanted to hang out. As for Toya, she got me and Nagisa caught up in a team match after losing a spot-the-difference bet with Inari.
And me? Well… it felt like everyone just started playing the games I was playing.
—
“Okay, Yeoreum, I’m heading out~”
“Mm, see you?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her!”
“…I don’t really trust Inari though.”
“Hey! Is that something you say to your guardian for the day?!”
Lately, Toya had been going to the company a lot.
Probably because of that live performance issue from last time. I didn’t ask about it much—figured she had her reasons.
Since she was worried about leaving me alone, she arranged a guardian for the day.
Inari might’ve been a little lacking as a guardian, but for a “daily guardian” role, she was good enough.
Well, the audience seemed to enjoy it, too.
—
“Ohoho, looks like we’re alone now.”
“If you try anything weird, I’ll scream.”
“As if I’d do anything weird! Besides, I’m a proud member of the Nacchan fan club, okay?”
“Suuure.”
I half-heartedly responded to Inari’s nonsense and plopped down on the floor.
It was boring without Toya. I mean, not _actually_ boring—Inari was here—but still, Inari wasn’t Toya.
Maybe you could say I was playing favorites. Yeah, yeah.
Honestly, Inari was way too mischievous compared to Toya.
—
“Just now… you were thinking something weird, weren’t you, Nacchan?”
“?! N-Not at all!”
“You were totally thinking, ‘Inari is way more playful than Toya,’ weren’t you? Right?”
“…!!”
H-How did she know? Don’t tell me… she can read minds or something?
I tried to clear my thoughts and enter a state of complete mental emptiness.
I’m not thinking anything. I’m not thinking anything. I’m not thinking anything.
I avoided Inari’s gaze and forced a laugh.
—
“Toya sure acts all polite around you, huh?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, the way she acts in front of you is totally a façade.”
“…I don’t know about that. Doesn’t sound believable to me.”
If that was Toya being fake, what’s she like when she’s _not_ faking?
I couldn’t even imagine it. Like… would she start tossing me around for fun?
No, she wasn’t that chaotic. But still.
“Maybe she’s only like that with you, Inari?”
“…Huh?”
“She doesn’t act that way with Nagisa either.”
“…Huh?”
And come to think of it, Toya acted pretty similarly around me and Nagisa.
If anything, she was the most “off-script” when she was around Inari.
Wait a minute… doesn’t that make Inari someone _special_ to Toya?
—
“Congratulations.”
“What are you congratulating me for?!”
“Just… stuff?”
I answered casually while grabbing a book nearby.
Toya had bought it to keep me entertained at home, but like…
…why give me a romantic comedy light novel about twin sisters falling in love?
Still, it wasn’t bad, so I kept reading it.
If it had been boring, I’d have complained to Toya nonstop.
—
“What are you reading? Let me see too! Ooh, I know! Big sis will read it for you!”
“Ugh.”
“…Isn’t that a little too harsh?”
“Isn’t it _obvious_?”
Toya and Inari are the same age. Which means Inari and I are the same age.
Calling herself “big sis” is just… ugh, let’s stop that thought right there.
Anyway, I firmly shut down Inari’s offer to read to me.
I’m way past the age where being read to is fun, thank you very much.
—
“Jeez… Isn’t that a bit cold for your guardian for the day?”
“I think you need to reflect more deeply on what the word ‘guardian’ means.”
Apparently, Inari thought guardians only came in the ‘parent’ variety.
Not that I’ve ever had parents myself, so I don’t really know what that kind of guardian is like—
—But I do know what family means.
And in that sense, Inari felt a bit… vague? No, ambiguous? No, that’s not it either.
Hmm, yeah.
“If I had to give it a name… she’s kind of fascinating.”
Like a “friend of a friend” in fiction.
Toya’s friend, but not exactly my friend.
Lately she’s felt more like a coworker or acquaintance.
But spending more time together at home kind of made her feel… familiar.
—
“Oh, hey—since it’s just the two of us, wanna stream together?”
“Hmm… I guess I don’t mind.”
“Hey! You’re supposed to say you’re excited, not just ‘I don’t mind’!”
“I don’t mind.”
For some reason, I just didn’t feel like giving Inari the answer she wanted.
Why? I dunno.
It wasn’t exactly mischief, but something softer than that.
Maybe I just liked seeing her reactions.
—
“Okay, I’ll go set things up!”
“If you’re gonna stream, better use Toya’s setup. My desk’s way too tiny for it…”
“Got it!”
She immediately dashed off to set things up.
And yes, of course, she was carrying me while doing it.
…Seriously, do they all think I’m portable or something?
—
**[On Stream]**
“Hi, Inari! This is Inari from V-Spe Gamers!”
“Kon-Natsu… This is Ichinose Natsu from V-Spe Gamers…”
“Nacchan, you sound totally out of energy.”
“Maybe it’s because someone was messing with me the whole time we were setting up…”
She was good at this stuff—one-handed setup levels of good.
The problem was that she used the other hand to keep poking at my cheeks. Constantly.
—
– “Messing with her?”
– “We need the details on what kind of messing around this was.”
– “Are you okay, Nacchan? You’re with that damn pervy fox… blink three times if you need the cops.”
– “Three blinks if you’re being harassed by that pervy fox.”
Blink blink blink
—
“Nacchan?!”
“Ah, my bad.”
“‘My bad’?! Seriously?!”
I just kinda… wanted to see her freak out. Her reactions are funny.
You know, maybe that’s the answer to what Inari said earlier.
Maybe Toya messes with Inari because her reactions are just too fun.
People who are both playful _and_ react well to teasing are rare, after all.
—
“Anyway, today it’s just the two of us streaming.”
“You’re ignoring me?! You’re ignoring me, aren’t you?!”
“Inari-san. Please lower your voice.”
– “lololol”
– “Why does Nacchan sound like an anime final boss wwww”
– “This duo is pretty refreshing, not gonna lie.”
– “Weren’t all Nacchan’s collabs with Toya or the rest of Gamers?”
– “Exactly why this feels so new.”
Yeah, right? I hadn’t streamed with just Inari before.
Since I was living with Toya and sharing the streaming room, we naturally did the most collabs.
If our stream times didn’t overlap, I’d just sit in and watch.
If they did, we’d just stream together.
There basically weren’t any situations where I wasn’t with Toya.
—
**[¥1000 Superchat]**
– “So the real story is that the pervy fox couldn’t resist her own lolicon urges and kidnapped Nacchan from Toya?”
“Yes.”
“No I didn’t?! Absolutely not!! This is Toya and Nacchan’s house! Who kidnaps someone _to their own house?!_”
“…Huh?”
But Inari, you’re missing one important detail.
“You _could_ have come here intending to kidnap me.”
“N-No I didn’t…!”
– “That voice crack says otherwise lol”
– “Nacchan’s got that mischievous vibe going on today lol”
– “Feels like she’s really starting to become like Toya, huh?”
– “They say friends start to resemble each other lol”
Maybe it’s true.
And honestly… if it’s Toya I’m becoming more like, I think I’m okay with that.
—
Fables
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