Chapter 6: Huh? Don’t Make Stuff Up, You Thief Cat.

“…Thief, cat?”

A shadow falls over the beautiful girl’s face, which just moments ago resembled radiant summer.

The corners of her beautifully smiling eyes droop, and the positive energy overflowing from them fades into lifelessness.

Yui felt her entire life dismissed in an instant. And by Haru, one of the Vtubers she respected.

All the contempt, shame, and hardships Yui endured to receive this avatar. The rude customers she met while working part-time, her mother’s nagging to find a decent job, and the difficulties of the job itself.

Defining it as thievery was no different from denying Yui’s entire recent life. Her excitement at seeing her favorite Vtuber vanished, her mind turning cold.

“Thief… Thief cat.”

Her expression is scary.

Two servings of disgust in Haru’s stream, a feast.

This expression is awesome, show it more often.

Yui’s face on screen was ice-cold. Some viewers wondered if her expression was pre-programmed. However, their speculation wasn’t entirely unfounded. There are more types of Vtuber avatars than you might think.

Some Vtubers have to manually switch to a crying expression using a button, while others have avatars that change in real-time when they make a crying face.

But Yui was the latter.

In other words, her stern expression at the appearance of Shiori Haru, a senior in the industry and her idol, was Yui’s genuine and honest reaction.

Sayo was also one of the viewers who made the wrong assumption, mistaking Yui’s high-level reaction for a comedic performance through pre-programmed ‘inputs,’ and continued to provoke Yui. It was a recipe for disaster.

[Shiori Haru] I’m not wrong, I was first.

No, no, you abandoned her.

How far will this Vtuber’s shamelessness go?

Her RP has been broken for a while now

Is this a real fight?

Grit.

The awareness of her being a senior, the fact that she was a Vtuber Yui liked.

None of it mattered to Yui anymore. There was only one damn woman who insulted her and her Mama.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Haru-san.”

There was no friendly suffix like ‘senpai.’ Yui was genuinely pissed. The warm face that had been indiscriminately charming the viewers moments ago was gone.

A few perceptive Vtuber fans realized that the two weren’t doing a skit together, but since it was only a few, their voices were drowned out by the other viewers.

[Shiori Haru] Am I wrong, Replica-san?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Fake Daughter.”

[Shiori Haru] Aren’t you ashamed to call yourself a summery beautiful girl in your stream description?

Yui felt a slight sting. She wasn’t particularly proud, and she had added that description to fit her RP.

“Sigh.”

Yui abandoned the consideration she had been giving her as a senior and a Vtuber she admired. Her tongue, which had frustrated countless classmates during her school days, sharpened.

Again, Yui was one of Haru’s fans. She was even one of her ardent fans, subscribed to her YouTube membership for over a year. And like all long-time fans, Yui knew Sayo’s trigger points.

Are you going to use it, Hanasaki Yui?

Of course. But she’d control it so she wouldn’t cry.

The real Yui, mirroring her avatar’s expression, gave a sly smile.

Her face, preparing for a big blow, overflowed with confidence.

“Does it feel good to be called a virgin b*tch? When you’re just an old maid.”

Oh?

How does Yui-chan know that?

[Shiori Haru] Huh?

Sayo stopped typing, half-heartedly engaging in the banter. Sayo wasn’t in her thirties, but she was one of the oldest Vtubers.

Just like most older Vtubers who suffered from all sorts of novel sexual harassment, Sayo had recently been struggling with age-related comments.

[Shiori Haru] Quite an impertinent girl has debuted.

In short, it was a huge blow that signaled the beginning of a great war.

“Ooh.”

***

Pop… Pop! Pop, pop!

Popcorn happily popped in the microwave. Looks delicious.

Today is Yui’s debut day, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t watch as her Mama.

Although I overslept and missed the start of her debut stream because I couldn’t fall asleep until late last night…

Still, from the glimpse I just saw, it didn’t look like it was ending anytime soon, so it should be fine to pop some popcorn.

Ding!

The long two minutes passed, and I took the popcorn out of the microwave.

Hot steam billowed out, and a savory aroma filled the room.

This is happiness, this is life.

An involuntary smile spread across my face.

“Yep. Ready.”

Crunch.

I can speak Japanese. The popcorn, chewed after being popped into my mouth, is very savory. I’ve been a little stressed lately because of people going crazy for caramel popcorn. As expected, original popcorn is the best.

Creak…

I pulled my chair back and put my legs up on the desk. I placed the popcorn on my lap and searched for Hanasaki Yui on YouTube.

“…Huh?”

[Hanasaki Yui’s Stream – Current Viewers: 42,394]

Does it… usually get this many?

No, an independent Vtuber wouldn’t usually get this many.

Amazing, Yui. You captivated so many people from your debut stream.

Feeling like a mother with a successful child, I clicked on her stream with anticipation. What kind of introduction is she doing…

“Yes, yes~ I smell something past its expiration date~ Staff, please replace it quickly~.”

[Shiori Haru] Don’t underestimate me, you damn newbie.

Somehow, her words are getting harsher…

Shouldn’t someone stop this?

Even the LOLs have stopped.

“What is this?”

Wait a minute.

I don’t know this Shiori Haru YouTuber, but I see a checkmark next to her name. What are you going to do if you mess with her when you just debuted today? Why are they even fighting?

It is entertaining. This fight between them is definitely considered entertainment, but… they both seem serious. Their words are a bit too harsh.

Yui’s avatar, with the cute expressions I painstakingly designed, continued to taunt the YouTuber named Shiori Haru. This time, it was the twelfth expression, a beautiful girl smiling foolishly with her eyes closed.

“Isn’t it weird to keep calling yourself Mama when you’ve been abandoned by your Mama? If I’m the daughter, then you’re like, what, an egg donor or something?”

[Shiori Haru] You’re quite good with words, like Mizuki Aya, aren’t you, junior?

Eh, she’s openly salty…

Mentioning another company’s Vtuber and insulting them, she’s crazy W

Let’s stop this, Haru-chan. Why are you picking on a rookie who just debuted, about her Mama?

Ah. Is this my fault?

Looking at the YouTuber Shiori Haru’s profile, my memory returned. It was definitely around the end of high school when I sold a character design to a woman.

She debuted as a Vtuber with that design. I didn’t know that. I would have tried to contact her if she had let me know, why was there no word after her debut?

This broadcast will definitely garner a lot of attention. It’s entertaining and topical. But…

“The meaning of Yui’s debut stream is fading.”

What is this, in the middle of Yui’s debut stream?

A senior in the industry suddenly shows up and argues about me, who has nothing to do with her debut. An ironic situation where they’re arguing without the person involved.

“I guess… this can’t end like this.”

Swoosh. Tap.. Tap, tap.

I pushed aside the popcorn I barely ate and typed on the keyboard. Yui knows my YouTube channel. There was no way she’d mistake me for an imposter.

‘Sigh…’

Yui had said that while she wondered why I even made a channel if I wasn’t going to use it, talking in front of people was still burdensome and not easy. Even typing in the chat now, thinking that over forty thousand people would see it, made my fingertips tremble.

But if a few lines of chat could make Yui’s debut successful and stop that strange woman’s rampage…

I might as well give it a try.

Tap!

[WhitePalette] Yui, ban that person and finish your debut stream. I’ll talk to her later.

Yui, who was shaking her entire body while preparing to retort to that woman called Haru, found my chat. It took less than three seconds for her angry expression to change into a bright smile.

“Mama! Okay! Thanks, it was a bit awkward.”

[Shiori Haru] Ma-(This message is from a banned viewer)

Eh?

wwwww

LOL

Double killed WWW

This should be safe enough… right?

***

[Vtuber Minor Gallery]

[Summary of the controversy between independent Vtuber ‘Hanasaki Yui,’ Prism Entertainment’s ‘Shiori Haru,’ and illustrator White Palette] [127]

(Image of Shiori Haru with an exaggerated head size)

This idiot bought a design and entrusted the avatar to someone else, then claimed White Palette was the real Mama.

(Image of Hanasaki Yui smiling, surrounded by flowers)

The super ultra beautiful flower-like summery girl Yui commissioned White Palette for her avatar.

(Image of White Palette’s personal SNS page)

Just a guy diligently drawing. Otakus suddenly came and caused a ruckus because his art is so good. He’s the most bewildered of them all.

[Comments]

[I don’t know, but the illustrator is so pitiful LOL]

[Wow, her face is legendary]

[What can Haru do besides drinking and crying salty tears?]

[The amazing thing is that’s all she can do…]

[Controversy or not, it’s noise marketing, and Yui’s subscribers hit 217,000 in one day, isn’t that record-breaking?]

“Safe? What’s safe?”

It’s become a full-blown controversy.