Fan Meeting.
Literally, it’s a gathering where idols meet their fans.
Star’s Flow is an idol production that represents virtual idols.
Thus, at this year’s Star’s Flow Festival, there was a time for fan meetings with VTubers and fans through a lottery.
Of course, to avoid chaos, the lottery wasn’t held on the day of the festival.
When purchasing the event tickets online, you write down your favorite VTuber, and after the ticket sales end, they separate people who wrote the same VTuber’s name and hold a lottery for them.
What if there were so few people that only I didn’t need to participate in the lottery…?
I worried about that, but the staff chuckled and told me it would be a problem if any member didn’t participate in the lottery.
Did Kaguya also have a similar concern? Upon hearing that, she let out a sigh of relief.
Anyway, our 2nd-year fan meeting time was approaching.
But sometimes there are people who have this question:
“How can a VTuber hold a fan meeting if the person inside can’t be seen?”
Well, it’s quite simple.
When someone who won the lottery enters the 1:1 booth, there’s a screen that shows the VTuber conducting the fan meeting.
And the VTuber looks at the fan through a camera inside the booth.
It’s the perfect completion of a virtual fan meeting.
“Haa…”
But after enjoying the embrace of Natsune and Hikari, I was meeting Izutomo, who definitely would try to tease me…
A sigh escaped naturally.
“Is something wrong?”
I heard Suzuha’s voice from the left partition.
“Oh, it’s nothing…”
Since the fan meeting hadn’t started yet, leaning over to Suzuha from the partition wouldn’t be bad, but… somehow, I felt like I’d relax too much and make a mistake, so I refrained.
“Huuh…”
On the right side, only Yukari’s breathing could be heard.
She was probably concentrating.
Yukari, who tends to struggle with RP, had mentioned during her first collab that she takes dedicated time to focus like this.
“Is it okay to fall asleep during the fan meeting?”
“Pfft! Yes, Nekoto! Don’t say weird things before it starts!”
But I think that focus was broken because of Aki.
“No, I told you yesterday that it’s not possible….”
Wait, was what she said yesterday serious?
“But the servants know me… No, they know Nekoto very well, so I think it’s okay….”
“Even so, the people who won through a lottery despite paying enter, so that’s not right, is it?”
Ayaka giggled, and I felt the tension that had just surrounded us dissipate.
Could Aki be aiming for this…?
“I’m a little sleepy right now…”
Yep, definitely not it.
Well, I thought this atmosphere suits us.
Suzuha kept us grounded, with Ayaka backing her up.
Then Yukari would lift the mood, and Aki would move freely, making everyone laugh and enjoy the moment together.
…What about me?
Maybe it’s not necessary to do something?
Well, as the youngest, I think it’s enough just to enjoy this scene…
Izumi, what are you saying?
“After all, the people who like us are coming, so don’t be too nervous. Just be comfortable like usual, and just have gratitude for the fans.”
I nodded at Suzuha’s words, who had probably already experienced this kind of fan meeting before.
“Is it okay to sleep with a grateful heart…?”
“Of course not!”
“Pfft?! Ah, I’ll focus for a moment, everyone please!”
Yukari seems to be having a hard time today…
★
Thus began the fan meeting.
There wasn’t anything specific we had to do.
As simple as it sounds, when a fan came in, we just had a brief chat.
We could start the conversation or respond to whatever topic the fan brought up.
And among them were some really strange folks.
[Natsune, if I say I love you, please reject me with a look of disdain!]
Honestly, I didn’t think there was anyone stranger than this person.
Of course, I’d turn them down if they said that, but something made me feel like I’d genuinely look down on them…
As I said that,
[On the contrary, it’s a reward.]
This guy replied with a thumbs-up.
This guy claimed he had been watching my streams from the beginning….
My hypothesis that all veteran Izutomos are just strange individuals was confirmed once again today.
[Even though you’re right in front of me, being rejected by someone I can’t reach is wonderful….]
No, this is not just strange; this is a dangerous person.
[In any case! I truly love you, Natsune! I’ll be counting on you from now on!]
“No, if you end like that in the end, it’s even more awkward….”
To my heartfelt reaction, the Izutomo left the booth grinning and waving.
By the way, she was a girl.
★
By the way, wasn’t there more female Izutomos than I expected?
Honestly, I thought that the female Izutomos would be less than 10 percent, but about 30 percent of the Izutomos I chatted with were female.
And it didn’t seem like those 30 percent of female Izutomos were normal at all.
Could it be that the majority of the abusive fans seen on my streams were female Izutomos…?
I really didn’t want to realize this truth…
As I thought that, I took a quick drink before the next Izutomo came in.
[Next guest, please enter!]
I heard the voice of the staff announcing.
And as the booth door opened and the Izutomo entered.
“Pft?!”
I almost spat all the water I had just drunk on the floor.
“Cough! Gah?! Hah, h-hah….”
Fortunately, I managed to avoid a disaster, but I almost choked just now…
[I’m glad Natsune’s reaction is good! It feels good to have worked hard!]
Hearing my cough, the Izutomo who just entered flashed a bright smile showing off their white teeth and gave me a thumbs up.
This Izutomo was a big, muscular man.
He was wearing a brown beret tilted slightly up, decorated with a silver choker around his neck.
His slightly unbuttoned school uniform revealed his impressive pecs.
A beige cardigan was tied around his waist, and of course, he was wearing a skirt.
Yes.
The muscular man standing before me… was cosplaying as ‘Izumi Kainoh’.
There’s no way anyone could look at this without any reaction…
“Wah, ha, hah….”
Just watching made me laugh so hard it was hard to breathe.
“Um, is that… me?”
Out of pure curiosity to confirm the cosplay’s inspiration, I asked, and the muscular Izutomo shook his head quietly.
[I am… Natsune, but I am not Natsune.]
“…Huh?”
What does that mean?
Ah….
I just realized.
“Are you saying that…?”
As I opened my mouth again, the muscular Izutomo nodded.
[That’s right. I am the legendary Overlord Natsune…!]
“Pfft?!”
Hearing that, of course, I remembered the Wilhelm Kainoh custom from ‘Spigra.’
Thinking back, that was a thing.
After that Spigra stream ended, for some reason, ‘Overlord Natsune’ trended on Naiter for a while.
There were a ton of fan arts about it, but I never thought there would actually be someone cosplaying it…
[Call me… Kainoh Izumi (real)….]
“Pfft! Hah!”
I couldn’t hold my laughter hearing that.
In no way could someone who said something like that be normal?!
But rather, the fact that he was so bold made it even funnier.
Thinking back, I believe that guy’s nickname was ‘Kainoh Izumi (real)’ back then.
“Haha! Hehe! H-hey, are you that Izutomo from back then…?”
[No, it’s not like that. Still, since I’m cosplaying and have won the fan meeting, I wanted to leave a solid impression on Natsune.]
“Pfft?! D-D-Don’t suddenly speak formally…!”
Is this guy trying to kill me with laughter today?!
“Haa, ha…”
I took a breath and tried to calm down the upward curve of my lips looking ahead.
“B-but you’ve definitely achieved your goal….”
I’ll absolutely never forget this.
As I said that, the muscular Izutomo smiled widely in gratitude, showing his gums.
“Ah, no… The thank you should come from me. It means you like me that much. Hehe…”
After a brief exchange like that, the Overlord Izutomo posed for me in various stances.
[I’ll keep supporting you! Natsune, you make every day so enjoyable!]
“Sure! Thank you so, so much…!”
Thanks to that, I could genuinely laugh my heart out.
★
Thus, the 2-hour long fan meeting came to an end.
In the end, a rather ordinary Izutomo showed up, leaving me with a somewhat disappointing feeling, but even so, they were Izutomos who made it clear they liked me.
So a simple word of support felt all the more touching.
…Wait.
Thinking about it, he had been wearing a happi with my illustration on it, so it felt like he wasn’t just an ordinary Izutomo…
Could it be that, after meeting so many bizarre Izutomos, my standards for normalcy have changed?
“It was fun!”
“Yes, me too…”
Seeing everyone smiling, it seemed like they felt the same way.
So I started sharing stories about the Izutomos I met today.
“…Huh? I don’t think there was anyone that strange.”
I could confirm once again that Izutomos are indeed strange folks.
I wanted to shout at them to reflect on themselves, but this time, there were hardly any Izutomos who tried to bother me, so I’d let it go.
After all, Izutomos turn out to be kind individuals when you look closer.
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They called Kainoh Izumi “Natsune” during the fan meeting, wrong VTuber name…