Star’s Flow’s third generation. Atlas’s debut was a success.
With the debut alone, she surpassed 80,000 subscribers.
When I think about how we second-generation members barely scraped by with a little over 50,000 subscribers right after our debut, it’s clear that the third generation is a definite success and a sign that the VTuber industry is on the upswing.
…Well, that aside, I’m currently in a huge predicament.
My junior, Tsukasa Tsurusaki, debuted yesterday.
I didn’t notice it when we were on a group call in Miscord, but she claims I’m her ultimate favorite.
Not just in a casual way, but she apparently has an extreme obsession with me.
To put it simply, it means she’s totally ‘gachi-koi’ over me.
…This is really problematic.
I have no idea why a ‘gachi-koi’ faction seems to be forming around me.
I’ve always told everyone not to be ‘gachi-koi’ with me, and I’ve never crossed the ‘gachi-koi distance’ either.
What is it that makes her feel ‘gachi-koi’ towards me?
Aren’t these people just strange?
The problem is, one of those strange people has come in as my junior.
It’s like, after her debut stream yesterday, Tsukasa just casually dropped the fact that she’s ‘izutomo’ (supportive player) and lost all sense of restraint.
[Tsukasa Tsurusaki: Izumi-senpai, I look forward to working with you from now on.]
[Tsukasa Tsurusaki: Also, is it okay if I ask you for a favor?]
[Tsukasa Tsurusaki: When our collaboration restriction period ends, I’d like to do an off-collab with you…]
[Tsukasa Tsurusaki: If it’s too much pressure for you, we can go to karaoke and book separate rooms while chatting on Miscord. I’m fine with that.]
[Tsukasa Tsurusaki: You just have to let the izutomo know that I’ll be in the room next to you.]
[Izumi Kainoh: Let’s talk about that a month from now, okay…]
[Tsukasa Tsurusaki: Ah, yes! Thank you so much for answering!]
I’ve been bombarded with DMs like crazy.
What is this? It’s terrifying.
The only good thing is that I have a month to escape this situation.
Newbies aren’t allowed to collab with senpais for a month.
In other words, it means I have a month to come up with a way to deal with this.
“…Ugh, what should I do?”
[…Isn’t it okay since it’s a junior who likes you? It’s not like you committed a crime or anything.]
“B-but it’s scary…”
New relationships are supposed to be built slowly, step by step.
If someone tries to close the distance too quickly like this, it can feel overwhelming, and I just want to run away. I’d appreciate if everyone could understand that!
[Isn’t it actually better to get close quickly?]
Ayaka Utsumi asked as if she couldn’t understand my concerns.
I guess this is why social butterflies are dangerous.
They can casually become friends and make plans, something only the chosen ones can do, while they think it’s just normal.
For someone like me, getting close to others takes a lot of careful, gradual steps to feel at ease.
It’s true. For example, like the fox from The Little Prince.
If I mess up the distance and say the wrong thing, that’d be a disaster, right? I wanted to tell Ayaka this, but…
“…W-well, that could be true.”
If I could say something like that, I might have normal friends by now…
Relationships really are complicated.
Wouldn’t it be convenient if I could communicate with everyone in the world via telepathy?
[That sounds impossible, huh?]
“Yeah, well, it’d probably be tough…”
[…What are you two even talking about?]
[But is there really much difference between Tsukasa liking Izumi and Izumi liking Natsune?]
“…Huh?”
What kind of nonsense is that?
[Ah, I think I understand. When you think about it, they’re quite similar.]
“W-wait, what do you mean we’re similar?!”
That can’t be!
Everyone doesn’t realize how much time it took me to send my first DM to Natsune.
Honestly, while I admire Natsune and really, really like her, it’s not to the point of ‘gachi-koi’!
[No, come on, it’s obvious that Izumi is ‘gachi-koi’ for Natsune…]
[Even if your favorite sent you a DM of support, normally you wouldn’t print that out and frame it, right?]
[…Okay, that might be a bit much.]
“…Huh?”
Really? I was the weird one?
I thought I was just normal this whole time! What a shocking revelation!
[Anyway, I think everyone’s nice, so it’s fine….]
[Well, I haven’t actually met them yet, but from talking to them, they all seem really nice.]
…Right. That’s not the important part right now.
Even if Tsukasa were a bit overwhelming, she didn’t seem like a bad person.
So, I might as well use this month to think of ways to avoid the collab.
[Oh, and when do you think the broadcast should be?]
[I think the best time is just before sleeping…]
[How about after you wake up and a little before bed?]
“I think, that sounds good.”
★
I can see the end in sight.
After over two months of a long, arduous journey, the ending that I thought would never arrive is finally here.
How many things did I sacrifice and rise from to get here?
Now, it feels as if the setting sun is shining down on me as if to say I owe a payment for all this.
I didn’t feel warmth. Instead, a coldness seeped from one corner of my heart.
It was a signal that I would feel lonely for a while now.
That will undoubtedly remain as a cherished memory that cannot be exchanged for anything.
To avoid any regrets until the very end, I took a deep breath to steady myself.
What unfolds before my eyes is surely the most beautiful, pure white wings of all….
[“Sky King, please become a Sky King for me #Star’sFlow#KainohIzumi”]
“F-finally the end…!”
– Stay calm!
– It’s been a long wait…
Since it was the end, there was no need to hold back my strength.
I pressed the keypads with all my might, without any calculations, and the masked man jumped high, landing on the castle’s peak.
[Is this the end of the horizon? It’s lonelier than I expected.]
With the masked man’s voice announcing the game clearance, the game cutscene began to play.
With a rumble, the unidentified castle began to collapse.
The masked man smirked at the sight, spreading pure white wings from his back.
Now, nothing stood in his way.
The masked man soared into the sky again, starting to move forward.
He had no hesitation at all.
Without even looking back, he just moved toward the sunset.
Like an unreachable swallow, he didn’t stop until he became a point on the horizon.
And as the cutscene ended, the ending credits began to roll.
This was proof that Sky King had been cleared for sure.
“Haah…”
– Congratulations!
– You invested over two months just to see this ending credit.
– Eventually, every ending will come.
I see, it’s finally over…
Looking at the chatroom, I started to feel the reality of it.
And now memories of that time, which would soon become memories, started to bubble up.
From the time I couldn’t even pass the first area due to control mishaps, to finally thinking I got the hang of it only to be sent back by an incomprehensible judgment.
Reacting to izutomos’ provocations and being sent back to the first area again.
Not knowing the patterns of the Sea of Flames and getting sent back the moment I arrived at the first area.
Testing the patterns and returning to the first area again, etc.
…Wait?
…Huh? Why does it feel like this game might be trash with none of it being nostalgic?
What about this game made me hold onto it for over two months?
Even if I didn’t play every day for those two months, thinking about it like this feels like an absurd waste of time.
This is dangerous.
The inner time for reflection is rushing in at high speed….
– Are you gonna speedrun it?
“…I don’t think so.”
With Arcanum Shooter and ST, I felt some sense of achievement after clearing them, but with Sky King, I don’t feel that at all….
No. I shouldn’t feel this way.
If I play the game and start feeling this existential crisis, it would be a disaster.
So I need to think positively.
Who am I?
A cool middle-aged lady in her 40s mentally, a VTuber named Izumi Kainoh who conquered Arcanum Shooter and ST with the Tachi, and now has over 256,000 subscribers and owns a 3D model….
Thinking like that doesn’t seem so bad either.
But that doesn’t mean I have the slightest thought of trying to speedrun this game again.
“Then I’ll just call it a day here for Sky King…”
With those words, I closed Sky King and switched screens.
Well, it’s just 9 PM, so chatting for another 30 minutes shouldn’t be too much trouble.
– Did you watch Tsukasa’s stream yesterday?
As I glanced at the chatroom to start a conversation, the hottest topic was, of course, Tsukasa’s bold declaration of being ‘izutomo’ during her debut stream yesterday.
Of course, simply declaring to be an izutomo was one reason for the buzz, but there was an even bigger reason.
– Mei was the only one who didn’t say a word during Tsukasa’s stream…
– Could it be she was tired yesterday?
That’s right.
It was because I hadn’t left any impressions after Tsukasa’s debut stream ended.
I had left impressions after the debuts of other third-generation members like Kaguya, Mizuki, Suzumichi, and Hatakawa….
It was a matter that could easily turn into a troublesome situation.
But I boldly opened my mouth.
“…I watched Tsukasa’s b-broadcast.”
– So that means…?
– Was it premeditated…?
“B-but Tsukasa is scary…”
– Ah
– Mei runs away if you come on strong.
– A sense of proper distance is important.
– Mei is not bad.
“Y-yeah… I’m not bad…”
Right. I’m not bad.
It’s Tsukasa’s fault for trying to close the distance so casually.
After watching that broadcast, the hypothesis that “Anyone who watches my broadcast from the beginning is definitely an unusual person” has been slowly gaining traction in my mind.
“I-I hope Tsukasa is a good person, so it would be nice to collab later… But I’m sorry for not being a narrator yesterday…”
– Mei apologizes, that’s commendable!
Fortunately, my last statement somewhat lightened the atmosphere that was starting to feel stiff.
– Are you going to stream during Christmas?
“Maybe… I don’t have any plans, though…”
And so I ended the broadcast after chatting like that.
★
[Tsukasa Tsurusaki: I’m really okay.]
[Tsukasa Tsurusaki: Just having Izumi-senpai as a senpai is enough for me…]
[Tsukasa Tsurusaki: You really don’t have to worry about someone like me.]
…Should I cancel my wish to collab with her?
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