Chapter 39: People are creatures that do not change easily
by Afuhfuihgs“Just send it. It was just a normal thank-you message… right?”
“Do you really think so?”
As Koga’s stern question caused me to furrow my brow, I checked the DM from Miss Code once again.
[Kaino Izumi: Thank you so much for everything until now, Koga.]
“Hmm.”
…What’s the problem here?
Sending a look full of questions, Koga let out a big sigh and spoke.
“Why did you add ‘until now’? It makes it sound like you won’t see them again.”
“…Huh?”
Come to think of it, it does give off that kind of vibe…
There’s a good way to handle moments like these.
You just have to reverse the roles and think about it from the other side.
For example, what if Koga suddenly sent a message like:
[Koga Suzuha: Thanks so much for being my friend until now.]
How would I feel?
“…Gasp.”
It really does feel like they’re saying goodbye forever, doesn’t it?
Conversations with people are surprisingly deep.
“Now do you understand?”
“Yes, I, um, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to send it that way…”
“As long as that’s the case, then it’s fine. Geez…”
“Uh, K-Koga?”
“Geez, seriously…”
Before I knew it, droplets of water started falling from Koga’s jet-black eyes.
Because of me, Koga was crying.
“Hic, seriously. You’re making me, sob, worry…”
“K-Koga? Um, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry. I’m really sorry…”
“I already knew. Sob. After you did that collab with Kurokami-senpai, I knew there was a fallout… Hic. And I knew you were ego-searching, looking up all the negative stuff about yourself…”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“If it was so hard, why didn’t you tell me? Is it because I’m short? Sob. Was I too unreliable to confide in…? I was… I was so worried Izumi might start having terrible thoughts…”
As Koga buried her head into my shoulder, her tears slowly soaked through my pajamas.
“We’re friends, right? So why don’t you lean on me when you’re struggling?”
“I’m sorry.”
I know it’s too late for an apology.
But just because it’s late doesn’t mean I shouldn’t say it.
“I’m sorry… I made a promise with you, Koga… We promised to think less negatively, but I… I kept having bad thoughts, and I was scared… I was so scared you’d be disappointed if you knew, so I couldn’t say anything… I’m sorry…”
“Alright, I’ll head back.”
“Huh? Uh, but, shouldn’t you stay over?”
“It’s fine. I brought my car for a reason. Plus, I have plans tomorrow.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
I felt a wave of guilt, thinking about how Koga came over late at night because of my DM…
Reading my thoughts, Koga smirked and raised her hand.
“You’re still a student, Izumi. It’s okay to rely on adults a little more.”
Then, she gently patted my head with such kindness and warmth.
Since I was taller, I had to look down at Koga, but her touch was comforting despite that.
“Hehe…”
“Hah… You’re really such a handful.”
Like you can talk. There’s no convincing power coming from someone so short.
Especially someone who was just crying on my shoulder.
“You were thinking something weird again, weren’t you?”
“N-No, I wasn’t…”
“…Pfft.”
“Hehe…”
After the familiar back-and-forth, we both burst into laughter.
“Now I really should get going. I’ll message you tomorrow, so be sure to answer.”
“Yes, p-please drive safely.”
“Izuto-mo are worried about you too, so make sure to stream tomorrow.”
“I-I will…”
“And Izumi!”
“Eek…?!”
Suddenly, Koga grabbed my cheeks, forcing me to face her.
What I saw was her red, tear-streaked eyes and her pitch-black pupils.
“When you’re saying goodbye to a friend, at least look them in the eye! Got it?”
As our eyes met, my head started spinning, and my breath grew short.
“Haa, hoo… Ughhh…”
I felt like I wanted to run to the bathroom immediately as my stomach began to churn.
But Koga’s eyes, calm and unwavering, held my gaze.
“Do you understand?”
“Ah, um, y-yeah… Yes. Um, goodbye…”
I was able to say goodbye to Koga.
“Okay. I’ll be going now.”
“Whew…”
With those last words, Koga left my house, and at the same time, I sank down to the floor.
How long had it been since I had a proper conversation while looking someone in the eye who wasn’t family?
If I couldn’t even remember, it must have been an incredibly long time.
My stomach and head still felt nauseous, as if reminding me that I had done something unfamiliar.
But I didn’t feel bad about it.
“Ugh…”
But first, I really needed to get to the bathroom…
[Kaino Izumi★Star’s Flow @Kainolzumi. 13 minutes ago]
I’m really sorry for not saying anything for a week! I’ll be streaming today at 5 PM, so please wait for me!
If you have any questions, send me a MyCarrot!
#Star’sFlowSeason2 #KainoIzumi
[Thread 100 about Vtuber Kaino Izumi]
29. Mei-chan is finally back!
30. Why did she not say anything?
31. Honestly, there were too many people crossing the line.
32. She was already low on self-esteem, so it’s natural to want to run away if the backlash gets that big.
33. It wasn’t even backlash-worthy in the first place.
34. Those guys doing the anti-thread are the worst.
[Virtual Vtuber Minor Gallery]
[Title: Mei-chan is finally returning!]
[Posted by: I Love Mei-chan]
I waited for a whole week without any news, but I’m really glad she’s back…
[Upvote: 75 / Downvote: 3]
ᄋᄋ: The queen of backlash is back…
ᄂI Love Mei-chan: Don’t slander our Mei-chan, you jerk.
Maker: I was really worried, so I’m glad!
Oyakubo: Izutomos are cheering!
-Comment deleted by the author-
Hikaring: I hope she collabs with the lady again.
Suzui: Suzuha must have helped a lot, right?
LIMT: I can see the angles from here! ᄃᄃ
I’m a raccoon, damn it: Oof.
[It’s been a while for everyone #KainoIzumi #Star’sFlow #ReturnStream #Chat]
-(≥▽≦)>Izumi!
(≥▽≦)>Izumi!
[It’s okay to be alone, right?]
“Hehe. I-I’m really okay.”
Even so, Koga let out a sigh, as if she was still worried about me.
I’m not a little kid anymore; it’d be nice if she could ease her worries a bit.
[To me, you still seem like a little kid.]
“Ah, yes…”
Now, Koga’s mind-reading skills were starting to seriously scare me…
But since she was a precious friend, I should probably just pretend I didn’t notice, right?
[Well, anyway, since you said you’re okay, I’ll hang up now. Let’s talk again after the stream.]
“Yes!”
With a sound effect of “ding,” my call with Koga ended.
The number of people waiting in real-time was 4,000.
Until now, the average number of viewers waiting for my streams had been around 2,000, so this was double.
The reason was obvious without needing to say it.
“Whew…”
Before I knew it, the clock on my computer read 4:59 PM.
And with every passing second, the pounding of my heart grew louder and more intense.
[Please graduate soon.]
[Why is she even streaming? It’s a nuisance to show up in the algorithm.]
As if habits were hard to break, sentences I didn’t want to think about kept flashing through my mind.
But…
“It’s okay…”
[Holding my breath until Mei-chan starts streaming]
[I hope she comes back soon.]
There are viewers waiting for me.
[Haa? If you’re her butler, stop with such ridiculous speculation! That day, thanks to Izumi, I really had a great time!]
There are seniors who help me.
‘I’ll always be on Izumi’s side…’
‘Izumi is still a student, right? I think it’s okay to rely a little more on the adults around you.’
There are friends who cherish me.
Most importantly…
‘I’ll always be running ahead, so you can follow. I’ll shine so brightly in front of you that you won’t be able to lose sight of me! I’m your idol, after all.’
‘So next time, we’ll stand on this stage together. Okay? It’s a promise!’
There’s someone I admire who believes in me.
So…
“KonZumi! With Star’s Flow, the mood maker dreaming of a world where everyone can smile, I’m Kaino Izumi!”
-She’s here!!!
-HiZumi!
-HiZumi!
=Maker JP¥ 50,000: Finally, you’re back!
=Type Maker JP¥ 50,000: I’ve been waiting!
=IMT JP¥ 50,000: Take this red super chat for your return!
I won’t run away anymore.
“Umm, I-I think you guys, the Izutomos, have a lot of, uhm, questions…”
-She’s back to her usual self so fast
-That’s the essence of this stream…
Shut up.
I promised not to run away, but I didn’t say I’d change…
It’s not like people can change that much in just a week anyway.
[I don’t think you need to change, though.]
Besides, Koga said that to me last time.
So, I’m not in the wrong.
-I’m honestly relieved that Mei-chan hasn’t changed.
Yeah, that’s right. It’s true that familiarity is more comforting.
“Well, um, if you have any questions, you can post them on MyCarrot, so, uh, let’s look at those first…”
I said that as I opened the MyCarrot page.
Normally, I would check them before the stream and delete any problematic ones, but today, I didn’t bother.
And the first MyCarrot I saw was…
[ HiZumi!]
[ Did you watch Nacchan’s 1st-anniversary 3D live?]
[ I thought you’d do a simultaneous viewing event, but you didn’t, so that was a bit disappointing.]
It was a MyCarrot that left no room for excuses.
“I-I’m sorry… I had personal circumstances…”
-So, did you watch Nacchan’s live?
-Don’t tell me you missed it…
“I did! I watched it live, and I even re-watched it, twice!”
How could I have missed such a fantastic live performance?
Especially since Nacchan had personally asked me to watch it.
-The live was really amazing.
-The songs were great, and the MC parts were fun too.
And the outfits! They were stunning and matched the new song perfectly, didn’t they? Honestly, I cried a little while watching.
“It was expected…”
-Mei-chan really hasn’t changed from the beginning…
“Huh? What do you mean?”
-Nothing, forget it.
…That kind of bothered me.
But, well, what’s important right now is talking about Nacchan’s live, so let’s move on.
“The stockings really caught my eye, and couldn’t everyone tell? It was clearly meant to contrast with the Night of the Star Cluster theme. Especially the red ribbon wrapped around her waist—it might seem like nothing, but there’s a hidden meaning…”
-As expected, people don’t change so easily.
…What are they even talking about?
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