Chapter 21: Encountering the Purple Drug.

“M-Me?”

Let me tell you.

Ookamikko-san’s eyes definitely gave off the impression of ‘being devoured.’ Beautiful, but something you shouldn’t drown….

“Wahaha! It’s okay, unnie. Your life won’t be ruined by one pachinko game.”

Her pink eyes crinkled beautifully. Precariously and alluringly, like a gisaeng fiddling with a fan in a historical drama.

Her eyes right now were the color of cherry blossoms blooming in spring, but they gave off the feeling of a deep sea, dangerous to dive into.

So deep, so dark.

It felt like looking at a wooden doll imitating a human. A gaze that sent chills down my spine. Avoiding her was the best course of action.

“I-I’m a tourist…”

Despite the unmistakable scent of a beautiful girl, my body, a devout follower of beautiful girls, instinctively tried to recoil. Is she a gyaru? Is that it? No. That doesn’t seem to be the important thing…!

“Isn’t that even better? No one you know will find out what you do, right?”

Swoosh.

Her light pink hair swayed, giving off a fragrant shampoo scent. Her eyes drew even closer.

This world isn’t a fantasy.

Although a man can suddenly become a woman, and a passport and ID can be delivered by someone claiming to be a god, at least there’s no overt magic or miracles.

Yet, those eyes made me wonder if there was magic. As if embodying the concept of charm, they messed with my perception.

“…No. I’m really okay.”

I turned my head and averted my gaze. Even if I kept looking, my mind wouldn’t change… but her eyes were very intense. I can tell when eyes hold romantic feelings.

Don’t feel such heavy emotions for someone you just met.

Sigh. I’ve been meeting so many strange people lately, it’s exhausting. An older sister who suddenly tries to devour me, an acquaintance approaching thirty who cries in public…

“Too bad, unnie~.”

Tap, tap…

The mysterious woman approached me, her arms forming a circle as if to link them. But I’m pretty athletic.

Whoosh.

With my amazing reflexes, I dodged the approaching woman. Her thin arms, having lost their target, pathetically sliced through the air.

“Ha.”

Whoa. Scary eyes.

They evolved from the deep sea to the Mariana Trench. Those eyes you often see on menhera beautiful girls.

“…Please stay away from me.”

If I stay close to her, I feel like I’ll get attacked with a box cutter, an axe, a shotgun, or something. However, as if sensing my fear, the pink-haired girl quickly withdrew her dark gaze.

“Okay. I don’t intend to make you uncomfortable, unnie. I just wanted to play pachinko together.”

“That’s problematic from the start…”

Eh?

That easily?

Pat, pat.

A small hand gently patted my back. Her eyes softened, and although I couldn’t see her expression because of the mask, her voice became much lighter.

“Th-That’s good to hear.”

I turned my head away with a clumsy, cold attitude. I know I look ridiculous, right? But I don’t know how to make her give up otherwise.

“Haha. I heard from that b*tch that you’re a master of setting boundaries. It’s true.”

B*tch…? Ah. She must be talking about Inuko-san…

“Eh?”

The pink-haired girl smiled and took off her mask. It was the same action I did, but the atmosphere was completely different.

The Shibuya night darkened for her, and all the buildings shone to illuminate her face.

As the black mask settled on her chin, she looked almost exactly as I expected. White, translucent skin. A high nose and an attractive tear mole.

And two piercings on her cherry-like lips.

“Wh-What…”

Piercings…!

A fleetingly beautiful girl, a blend of classic decadence and lingering innocence, like a cherry blossom. She made a V sign with her hands on her cheeks and grinned.

“Hi. White Palette-san? I’m Hanamori Miyu from Hanalive. I’m kind of an ace there.”

Hanamori Miyu, the popular ‘innocent’ Vtuber.

An unforgettable first meeting with Asahi Sakura.

“S-Sakura…-san? How did you end up like that…?”

Was that a concept?

No. She wouldn’t pierce her lips just for a concept, right? Where does the act end and real life begin…?

As if a symbol of dangerous individuals, Sakura had a lollipop in her mouth, just like Ookamikko.

She didn’t seem to have a smoking habit, and her way of holding the lollipop, although unique, wasn’t a comfortable position for sucking on it.

“Since you’re Hanalive’s number one recruitment target. Pfft. I was curious about the person who created the recruitment ranking system for Vtuber agencies.”

Clomp, clomp…

Boots? She took large steps in big boots, even though it wasn’t raining. A pure, childlike action.

It’s a bit absurd that this scary person is doing that… but somehow, it looks hip on her.

Wait, more importantly…

“N-Number one recruitment target?”

“Hanalive is the dream company for Vtubers, the most successful in the world. Naturally, they scout unpopular streamers… and send emails to promising ones.”

Clang.

Sakura stepped onto a raised part of the road with a clunky sound from her boots. She looked down at me and said, with her usual venomous gaze,

“Asking if they’d like to audition. That we think they have talent.”

“S-So…?”

…I’ve never thought about debuting as a Vtuber with an agency, but somehow, coming from her, it sounds like an attractive offer.

“Well. It’s just an offer, and you still have to overcome fierce competition.”

“Huh.”

That’s a letdown.

“Hehe. It’s just a real offer. It would be weird to just scout you directly. It’s about proving yourself.”

Sakura grinned and took another step forward. We were about the same height, but her strides were so long that it was hard to keep up. The distance wouldn’t close.

“Then Sakura-san…”

Stop, please.

I asked the question hoping she would stop, but Sakura just answered casually while walking. My strategy failed miserably.

“I was also cast and proved myself. Wow, it was the highest competition rate ever. Because of Mizuki Aya’s crazy success in the 3rd generation, they only picked elites for the 4th generation.”

I see. Come to think of it, there were a lot of Hanalive 4th generation Vtubers in the clips. Most of them had Hanamori Miyu’s innocent, flirty moves.

“Sakura-san… you’re quite different from when you’re broadcasting.”

Sakura finally stopped walking and giggled, pretending to hide her laughter with the back of her hand, but… that unique laugh escaped again.

“Wahaha! I hear that a lot. My listeners have no idea that I know about alcohol, pachinko, and piercings.”

“…Yes. You seem to be very good at maintaining your RP.”

“Hmm~? Do I?”

Yes. Very.

I never imagined that you, who is the epitome of a young girl during broadcasts, would be such a gyaru. There are so many clips of you acting embarrassed by even the most common sexual harassment.

“Well, acting is fun, isn’t it? Is it too cliché to say it feels like living someone else’s life…?”

Sakura put her index finger on her lips and thought deeply. If it weren’t for the lip piercings, she would have looked like a young lady with a slightly decadent aura…

“Yeah. That’s right. It’s fun… to see people’s reactions when they’re fooled. Hehe. There are so many people who have gachikoi for me.”

“You have a… bad personality.”

Ah. I blurted it out, but

It was something I wanted to say.

“I can’t help it if you think so, but shouldn’t I show the people who spend tens or hundreds of thousands of yen to support me the image they want?”

I was speechless at Sakura’s serious reply.

Viewers’ love for Vtubers is overwhelmingly deeper than for other YouTubers. Some are even disturbingly obsessive.

“Gachikoi. The name itself means true love, right? I have to act like the most lovable version of myself for them.”

Then Sakura’s method is correct… logically, it makes sense, but somehow, it feels uncomfortable.

“I… still want you to show your true self. Vtubers aren’t just bright and cheerful people, right?”

“Hmm~?”

Vtubers are everyone’s idols and objects of affection, but they don’t have to be perfect, flawless beings, right?

How can anyone be like that? Yui gets criticized for being rude, Sayo gets teased for being old, and I get mocked for my quiet voice.

And Sayo gets teased for her big head, which isn’t even her fault. I’ll have to fix that when I remake her avatar. 40% of Sayo’s posts are about her head size, is that even possible?

If you search for ‘Shiori Haru’ on Google, the related searches are ‘Shiori Haru head,’ ‘Shiori Haru huge head w.’

And… ‘Shiori Haru family,’ ‘Shiori Haru orphan’ also appear.

After finishing my train of thought, I looked directly into Sakura’s eyes. The languid Sakura flinched when our eyes met.

“People who openly reveal their past or true selves are also loved. If Sakura-san does that for me, I’ll…”

“You’ll…?”

Oh well. I don’t care. I pulled down my mask, just like Sakura did. Sakura’s eyes widened.

“I’ll show you everything without hiding anything.”

As I took off my mask, the cool Shibuya night air and Sakura’s gaze hit my face directly. It wasn’t a pleasant sensation.

“As expected of an interesting unnie.”

Sakura smiled with satisfaction.

…I feel like I just gave an unnecessary speech.

Is this why viewers call me socially inept….?