Star’s Flow 3rd generation. Tsurusaki Tsukasa, who plays the role of ‘Atlas’s Bodyguard.’
She is a bit shy around strangers, but unlike Izumi, she’s not a full-fledged introvert or has severe communication impairment.
Just an ordinary woman who had a strong desire to be recognized since childhood, someone you’d see anywhere.
The reason she applied to Star’s Flow 3rd generation was also a means to get recognized by more people…
And her wish to continue doing off collaborations with Izumi was part of that plan.
“Hmm…”
To be recognized, it was essential to know information about the opponent who would acknowledge her.
For Tsukasa, that opponent was her viewers who would watch her broadcasts, and obviously, the way to prove she was acknowledged was through the number of subscribers.
So, as soon as she got accepted into Star’s Flow 3rd generation after over two years of efforts as a personal VTuber, she immediately quit.
“Who would be the best partner…?”
That’s why since the moment her debut was confirmed, Tsukasa had been constantly thinking about how to increase her subscribers.
If we’re talking about safe methods, the obvious choice was to create couples with collaborations.
When a coupling is made, viewers usually subscribe to the partner’s channel as well.
For example, Natsune and Hikari’s “Black Star,” or Izumi and Suzuha’s “Pure White Sea,” or Ayaka and Yukari’s “Ayakari”…
But coupling with her peers didn’t yield that much efficiency.
Especially in places like Star’s Flow, where the concept of generations was strong, there were quite a few viewers who enjoy watching their favorites exclusively.
In other words, the best method was to create a coupling with a popular senpai and pull in subscribers.
So who should she choose as her partner?
“…It has to be Mei-chan, right?”
The partner Tsukasa had thought of from the beginning was obviously Izumi.
There’s a saying in Star’s Flow that if something goes wrong, think of Izumi first, and she was the hottest topic, maintaining the number one subscriber rank among the second-generation students while ironically having the most delicate personality on her broadcasts.
In simple terms, she was the best partner for attracting subscribers.
Yes, Tsukasa intended to use Izumi as a stepping stone.
Of course, what she said on her broadcasts wasn’t entirely a lie.
She did truly sign up for Izumi’s membership as soon as it opened.
…She just wasn’t her top favorite.
She simply liked the VTuber culture and had joined several VTuber memberships.
However, the fact that she signed up for Izumi’s membership as soon as it opened turned into a weapon she could use to appeal, “I want to collaborate with Senpai Izumi!”
Therefore, Tsukasa didn’t hesitate.
She could act out the concept of a junior who admires Izumi with no doubts.
In the beginning, she intended to use this concept to absorb some of Izumi’s subscribers through collaboration, and eventually, as time went on, she would draw the line and reduce her collaborations with Izumi.
Besides, she could always use the excuse that pairing with one person too much creates a routine in the broadcasts, so there wouldn’t be any issues.
After that, a brief mention of Izumi every now and then would suffice.
That alone would elicit reactions from the viewers like, “There’s Izuka-san…!” while cheering.
And regarding the fact that she was utilizing Izumi, Tsukasa felt no guilt at all.
She knew from the start that creating such concepts and using RP was the essence of the VTuber market.
“Come on, Mei-chan did the same, right?”
Using the fact that she had no previous life, she established the concept of being awkward in broadcasts, mistakenly letting out Yeo-sang as a blunder to gather people’s attention.
Mixing reality where she’s an introvert with communication impairment to create a unique broadcasting feature, and getting her colleagues to push that feature ahead.
Recently, she even thickened the assumption that ‘the person inside’ is a super cute girl, starting to hit that admiration territory too.
Tsukasa thought that what she intended to do was nothing compared to Izumi.
“Well, that’s what makes it fun…”
Of course, Tsukasa didn’t have a negative view of Izumi.
She believed that all of this was part of the charm of the VTuber culture.
In other words, she was just following along.
Mixing truths with lies and lies with truths, gathering people for recognition.
That was Tsukasa’s goal, to use Izumi merely as a stepping stone to reach that goal.
“Seriously, how could all of that be real…”
A breathtakingly cute girl who’s socially awkward and can’t even speak properly.
And she bursts out only a little Yeo-sang to avoid causing a big issue about being awkward on broadcasts, on top of being good at games?
What a well-written story… that’s what Tsukasa thought as she smiled internally.
“Whew… Oh, hello! It’s my first time meeting you, I’m Kaya Kayanoh…”
Before seeing Izumi in person.
“…Huh?”
What the heck is this cute creature?
That was Tsukasa’s first impression upon seeing Izumi.
★
“Whew… Oh, hello! It’s my first time meeting you, I’m Kaya Kayanoh…”
“Ah, nice to meet you. I’m Chihiro Kotone.”
Tsukasa’s first impression of Tsurusaki was… honestly, it was intimidating.
She had to slightly lift herself since her height was similar to Akabane.
…Well, actually, I have to lift myself for everyone except Suzuha.
Anyway, she was taller than me, and her black hair was long enough to reach her waist, with the feature being that it half-covered her eyes.
That made Tsurusaki’s stony mood feel heavier, compelling me to take a step back.
It was different from the dullness of my mom, sister, and Aki.
Tsurusaki had a frightening kind of stony demeanor.
Right. This is the feeling of those scary people you sometimes see in school…
“Um…”
“Eek…!”
“…Please take care of me, Senpai Izumi.”
“Ah, yes… U-uh, nice to meet you!”
…Huh? Is that not right?
Seeing her smile kindly makes her seem not scary at all…
…Well, after all, she’s a supportive junior who likes me enough to admire me.
Knowing not to judge someone solely based on appearance and atmosphere, I learned that at Kurokami’s house, yet I still made this mistake.
If I get to befriend Tsurusaki later, I’ll have to apologize for this.
B-but did she not notice that I was shocked just now?
“…Since I’m senpai, you can rely on me anytime…!”
“Yes!”
“Uh, heh…”
Okay. Looks like she didn’t catch on.
★
“I wanted to collaborate with Senpai Izumi from my debut, but to have it actually happening like this, it’s just so touching.”
From chatting a bit, I discovered something.
Tsurusaki was definitely a person who knew how to keep her manners.
I worried, “What if she gets too close right off the bat?” while watching her on broadcasts, but those worries were entirely unfounded.
That means she clearly separates between “Kainoh Izumi” as a VTuber and “Kayanoh Mina” as the person behind it.
Similar to how I carefully distinguish between Natsune and HatsuYuki.
…It feels like Suzuha may poke fun but surely that can’t be true.
At this level, surely, there would be no problems proceeding with the collaboration.
No matter how much the first meeting was burdensome and daunting, I am, after all, a professional VTuber who gets paid for my work.
“So, then let’s go into the room and talk about the broadcast…”
“Ah, yes!”
I shall show my impressive senpai aura, Tsurusaki-chan.
★
What on earth is this cute creature?
Tsukasa’s impression hadn’t changed in the slightest.
It was merely a greeting, yet for some reason, Izumi seemed frightened, hunching her body.
And the way she only lifted her gaze slightly to look at me while bowing her head was undeniably cute in a way that couldn’t be denied.
It was clear that this wasn’t an act.
Her body trembled slightly naturally, her gaze was shifting rather than focusing, and her hands tightly grabbed the bottom of her clothing—none of this looked like an act.
If that’s not an act… then she must have a genius-level talent for acting, Tsukasa unequivocally concluded.
“Um…”
“Eek…!”
“…Please take care of me, Senpai Izumi.”
“Ah, yes…! U-uh, nice to meet you!”
And even though I was just acting as a kind junior, Izumi’s gaze softened.
Perhaps she thought I didn’t catch her being shocked just now?
“…Since I’m s-senpai, you can rely on me anytime…!”
“Yes!”
“Uh, heh…”
How confident she was, that petulant display was almost comical.
★
After that, it seemed Izumi’s tension eased a bit, and she started to engage in conversation with Tsukasa little by little.
“If you hold the mic like this, the sound will be clean…”
“Is that so? That’s amazing, Senpai!”
Of course, staring into each other’s eyes was still impossible, and the things she was teaching were all things Tsukasa, with over two years of broadcasting experience, already knew.
“Hehe…”
However, seeing her beam up with pride after explaining, Tsukasa didn’t stop praising her.
And as those moments continued to repeat…
“Today, I’ve got my favorite macarons, and for dinner, we’ll…”
The desire to be acknowledged within Tsukasa began to transform little by little.
★
[【Chat】With Tsurusaki for an Off Collab! I’ll read macarons and play games tonight! #KainohIzumi#TsurusakiTsukasa#Star’sFlow]
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