What image comes to mind when you say “insider”?
A classmate who always holds the center of the atmosphere? Or a smartphone that never stops buzzing with notifications?
Surely, everyone has different images they conjure up.
But for me, the first thing that pops up is “someone with plans for the weekend.”
In modern society, you can handle just about everything from home.
You can chat with programs like Miss Code without having to meet up.
There’s an endless stream of content you can enjoy on your computer or phone.
We’re talking about an era where you can even enjoy bowling or darts through gaming consoles.
But why would anyone go through the hassle of setting up plans to hang out outside?
Especially on a weekend?
Of course, ever since I started my activities in Star’s Flow, I’ve been going out a lot more on weekends, but that was for off-collaboration outings.
In other words, work.
Going out not for work, but to hang out with friends on the weekend?
That’s a level of magical realism that’s simply impossible if you’re not an insider.
“Ah! Welcome, Izumi-senpai!”
“Welcome, Kayan!”
And today… I’m about to stretch my hand into that realm of magic for the first time.
★
[Sakuya Suzumichi: Izumi-senpai!]
[Sakuya Suzumichi: It seems like we’ll be gathering the members this weekend, so let’s hang out together!]
On Monday evening, I suddenly got a DM from Sakuya.
The message said we should meet up this weekend for a pajama party… inviting me to join in the fun.
[Izumi Kainoh: Is this perhaps an off-collaboration?]
[Sakuya Suzumichi: Huh? Nope! It’s just us hanging out together! (☆▽☆)y]
Just hanging out together? What kind of tremendous insider power is this?
Just chatting with everyone would probably drain my energy so much that I might not even be able to move….
Should I really decline…?
Yeah, that seems right. I know my place well enough.
If someone like me went to an insider event like that, it’d surely ruin the atmosphere.
So what I should do now is send encouragement to have fun and not ruin it.
[Sakuya Suzumichi: Oh, right. Saku-chan said there won’t be any food if she doesn’t come.]
…Huh? That’s too much.
Then I never had a choice from the start.
The worst thing in the world is threatening someone with food….
Suddenly, I felt like crying.
[Izumi Kainoh: Who else is coming?]
[Sakuya Suzumichi: Me, Saku-chan, Hikari, Ayaka, Aoba!]
[Sakuya Suzumichi: And if you come, it’ll make six of us!]
…Wouldn’t it be fine to just survive on cup ramen for a while?
It was a fleeting thought, but it crossed my mind.
It doesn’t mean I’m uncomfortable with the others.
All the Star’s Flow members are great people.
It’s just that, simply put, there are too many people, and it makes me uneasy….
But having gotten used to Koga’s meals, I doubted I could resist that threat.
[Izumi Kainoh: Where do we meet this weekend…?]
In the end, I suddenly found myself participating in a super insider event called a “pajama party.”
★
The meeting spot was at Sakuya’s house.
This was my second time coming to Sakuya’s house after “Sakuya’s Time.”
“Ah! Welcome, Izumi-senpai!”
“Welcome, Izumi!”
“Ah, hello….”
As soon as I walked in, I was welcomed first by Utsumi and Sakuya.
Am I the second one to arrive?
While I wondered, a delicious smell started to tickle my nose.
“Inside, Saku-chan and Hikari are cooking. Aoba is watching from the side.”
…Looks like I was the last one.
Suddenly, I felt a wave of guilt wash over me….
As I walked in, just as Sakuya had said, Koga and Kurokami-senpai were cooking.
“By the way, Izumi-senpai, do you know? Hikari’s cooking skills are… incredible.”
“…Huh?”
“To be honest, I thought I was the best among the members! But it turns out Hikari is the best. Even if Koga and I team up, we wouldn’t stand a chance. Her girl power is on another level~.”
What’s that?
Sure, Kurokami-senpai is my mama position, but I’ve never thought of her as having high girl power.
It doesn’t seem to fit at all with Kurokami-senpai, who only does fat jokes on screen….
…Or maybe? Thinking it over might make it fit perfectly.
After all, her house is enormous, with bodyguards and maids.
Every time I visit, she’s always dressed in kimono.
I might just be thinking about her screen image, but she’s truly gentle and evokes the image of “high girl power…!”
I thought she was a perfect Yamato Nadeshiko the first time I met her.
“Ah, Izumi-chan. Long time no see.”
“Uh… Ah, hello, senpai….”
As I entered, Kurokami-senpai welcomed me with a kind smile… It was the very definition of freshness.
I almost wanted to shout “Mama…!” without realizing it.
But how can someone like her—who gets teased for not being able to do anything when the broadcast starts—be the mischievous villainess young lady?
I really can’t believe it….
★
“Let’s cut Sakuya’s Time short….”
“I-I think Sakuya’s curry is the best!”
“Mm…. Thanks, Aoba….”
Kurokami-senpai’s cooking was… Yes. Saying this might sound a little unfair to Koga and Sakuya, but it truly was on another level.
Of course, Koga and Sakuya’s dishes were delicious enough to make anyone gasp.
But Kurokami’s dishes felt like they completely transcended the realm?
Is it really okay to eat this for free? Those were involuntary thoughts.
“Everyone… don’t overpraise me.”
The person, rather embarrassed with her face flushed for being complimented, also exuded an air of Yamato Nadeshiko.
Anyway, leaving the compliments about Kurokami-senpai’s cooking behind, the next topic of conversation was about our upcoming 2nd anniversary.
“It’s already been two years….”
“Y-Yeah, it has.”
The fact that I have already been a VTuber for two years didn’t quite sink in.
It’s a short time if you call it short, and a long time if you call it long.
Thinking about it, a lot has happened….
“This time, we’re doing a group live for our 2nd years, right, Saku-chan?”
“Yeah. I thought it’d be better to do a group live rather than splitting the schedules.”
And just as Koga said, this time for our second anniversary, the five of us from the second generation decided to hold a group live.
Rather than doing separate lives over two days like last year, it was simply better to proceed as a group from the start.
Koga made that argument, and the rest of us all agreed, so the company gave the approval.
“So, are we proceeding without any guests?”
“Yup. Just individual stages, unit stages, and group stages… These will fill up our time easily.”
“Considering the MC part too, an hour will fly by in no time.”
The members shared the plans for our second anniversary while I quietly nodded along.
There’s nothing dumber than barging into a conversation and ruining the atmosphere.
Certain people are destined to converse in such settings.
As I listened to them chat, I reached for the shrimp tempura prepared by Kurokami-senpai.
“Uh, um… Izumi-senpai.”
“Ah, yes. Kaguya….”
Kaguya approached me to strike up a conversation.
★
Ever since she heard that Izumi was going to the pajama party, Aoba’s objective had been clear.
“I want to get closer to Izumi-senpai….”
Of course, they were already close enough to be considered somewhat friendly.
The unit “Taco Paz,” born from their first taco party, had been keeping regular meet-ups going.
Though not the regular collab level of the pure white sea, it was a distance where an unexpected collab wouldn’t be strange.
However, Aoba wanted more than that from Izumi.
A bond that would allow them to have steady collaboration times, like in the pure white sea.
In other words, she wished to build a relationship of their own.
To do that, Aoba determined that it was essential to have more conversations than usual at today’s pajama party.
But there was something Aoba overlooked.
“I’ve recently been listening to a song that I think Izumi-senpai would like….”
“Ah, yes. I-I’ll be sure to listen to it when I get home….”
“….”
“….”
The first issue was that Izumi was suffering from severe communication impairment which made conversations hard.
“I want to know the songs that Izumi-senpai likes….”
The second was that Aoba herself was a severe mental health condition sufferer, who would spiral into negative thoughts if conversations fell flat.
“After all. It makes sense that you wouldn’t want to tell someone like me. It’d feel like charming a beloved classic with dirt… Why did I even step into this? Stupid me.”
The dialogue between someone suffering from severe communication impairment and mental health issues naturally broke down in no time.
“Sakuya…. Is it okay to drink the beer in the fridge?”
“Ah, yeah. Remember, the one Aoba likes is on the left?”
“Uh… I’ll drink it well. Thanks.”
Aoba started silently drinking alone in a corner.
“Things feel so awkward now. I want to die… but I can’t do that here.”
“Uh, um… Kaguya….”
And then, approaching Aoba, who was drinking alone, was Izumi.
“Um, I also have a song I started listening to recently… but I couldn’t remember the title earlier… I-I don’t know if Kaguya would like it, heh heh….”
And seeing the pitiful smile from Izumi, Aoba thought,
“Izumi-senpai, you’re so kind. You really don’t need to worry about someone like me.”
Negative feelings vanished in a flash.
Thank goodness, thank goodness.
★
“Izumi… have you gotten bigger?”
“That’s… sexual harassment, you know?”
As I got out of the shower and into my pajamas, Utsumi made that comment, so I calmly pointed it out.
Of course, I had grown a bit recently, but….
But how on earth did Utsumi notice that?
I might have been mistaken all along.
The real psychic might not be Koga, but Utsumi.
“Is this how we should arrange the beds?”
Everyone nodded at Sakuya’s words.
Of course, since we gathered for a pajama party, the real fun starts now, but… It’s not bad to set up the sleeping arrangement beforehand.
After all, there would be some people like me that sleep early.
The order Sakuya set up was from the window: Utsumi, me, Koga, Kurokami-senpai, Kaguya, and Sakuya.
Sakuya, being the host, thought she’d sleep in her own room, but she stated that sleeping in a room during such gatherings would feel lonely, so she decided to stay in the living room.
Thus began our pajama party.
Everyone, except me, drank and snacked while chatting, and I, of course, dozed off first after about an hour of quietly observing.
★
“Yawn…. Should we sleep soon?”
With Sakuya’s suggestion, everyone nodded.
The time was already 2 AM.
They had been chatting a lot and even did an impromptu broadcast, so all of our stamina hit limits.
Of course, just because we lay down didn’t mean everyone would fall asleep right away.
They spent a little more time sharing stories before slowly dozing off, and the last ones to remain awake were Saku and Ayaka.
“It was fun.”
“Yeah….”
And while Saku was talking with Ayaka, her gaze had been fixated on one spot since the beginning.
“Ugh….”
As if sensing the gaze, Izumi began to stir.
“….”
“What’s wrong, Yuyika?”
“Nothing at all.”
Although she said that, Saku was looking at Izumi with a tension greater than any other time.
But perhaps that gaze only added pressure.
“Oh my?”
Izumi, who had been rolling over, quietly nestled into Ayaka’s arms.
“Kuh….”
After losing to Yukari and Nanase, I’ve now lost to Ayaka as well.
“…Is it really me that’s the problem?”
“What do you mean?”
“Just a feeling I have….”
Saku felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness and had to utter that again.
“Wow…. But Izumi sure is warm and soft, big sis.”
“Kuh…!”
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.