19 Ch 18 - Slow Down, Girls Pt. 3!
We all ate, and we started talking about random stuff. We started off with talking about Miyabi's birthday, like how it went after the celebration this morning. Later on, some of us went to our own groups, and we had our own conversations.
"So...Shiro-kun, what're you planning to do after you debut?" Roberu asked.
"Hmm...well, the first week is just pure rapping." I chuckled.
"Eh? Rapping?"
"Wouldn't that mean you're just doing rapping streams? Like Takayan or something? Maybe a bit of Nqrse?"
"Ah, nah nah nah. I'm doing freestyle rap streams." I said.
"Eh? For one hour?!" Roberu asked.
"You know, I've heard about freestyles that go over 10 minutes, but 1 hour? That's too much…" Temma said.
"Not necessarily. It's me showing how to freestyle, then doing a freestyle with that exact technique, so the most I can freestyle might be 20 minutes."
"Ah...I see." They said.
"Well, what about the next week? What will you stream?" Roberu asked.
"Hmm...good question…"
Too many things to try. CS:GO, League of Legends, Outlast, Dead Island, Getting Over It...maybe even language streams.
"Well, one thing is for sure, next week will include games."
"Ooh, sweet!" Roberu said.
"Nice, we get to see what games you play!" Izuru asked.
"Do you play Apex?" Temma asked.
"Hmm...not as much, sadly." I said.
"Ah...that's too bad." Temma said.
"Yeah. Though, I don't mind. I'll find a way to play with you all." I said as I got a piece of my food into my mouth.
We all continued eating, and once we were done with our fun there, we instantly went back to the Holohouse.
"Alright...I guess I'll wear a supporter in advance so that when we dance, I won't have difficulty." I said.
I wore my clothes, and I went out, seeing some Holostars at the door.
"C'mon, guys! We can't be late for our singing and dancing practice!" Temma said as he did a bit of a high knee run.
"Got a question. Singing practice starts at 1 PM, but what about dancing? When does it start?" I asked.
"It starts right after singing practice is done." Temma said.
"Ah...I see...wait, where's Miyabi?" I asked.
"Oh, he's going to the Hololive studio to record vocals for a cover."
"Ah. Those, ey? A song or something special released by the Hololiver celebrating his or her birthday, huh?" I asked.
Temma nodded.
The others got dressed, and we started walking towards the building where we were supposed to practice singing.
I went inside, and I looked at the rooms. It had a number on the top of the door, and below that, it had the name of some people, which I'm assuming must be the teachers assigned to each of these rooms. I looked at Room 4, and saw the name of a teacher called "Akasuki Akina.
"Alright...guess I'm going in now." I said as I opened the door, and I saw a mature woman looking at her phone, before looking up at the door and looking me in the eyes.
"Ah, Shiro-kun! You finally arrived!" Akina-sensei said as she put her phone into her sling bag.
"Of course. I wouldn't wanna be late for another time. I already got scolded for being late in my teen years and, recently, on my first day of school. I don't wanna be late for the third time in my entire life." I said as I closed the door.
Akina-sensei giggled.
"I see...well, how about we stop wasting time and get straight into practice, huh?" She asked with a smile.
"Hai." I replied.
I sat down at the chair in front of her, and we sat facing each other. I had quite a loose pose, but nonetheless a proper one. She, on the other hand, was sitting very lady-like. She put her hands on top of her lap, and closed her legs.
"Now, before we get into singing practice, I want you to know, Shiro-kun. I'm not here to teach you how to get better at singing. I'm teaching you to get better at utilizing your voice. Basically saying, I'm only gonna teach you how to use your voice and make your own sound, okay? As much as possible, I don't want to teach you to sing like I do, okay?"
I nodded.
"Got it." I said.
"Good! Now, just one more thing before I start teaching you...you know what a 'mid-range' is, right?" She asked.
"Yup. What about it?"
"Can you sing a song you know with your mid-range? Something comfortable enough for your voice. You don't have to sing impressive-like. I just want to know what I'm working with so I can recommend the proper warm-ups, vocal exercises, and all those fancy vocal stuff."
"O-Okay. Ehem…"
I breathed in a considerable amount of air, and I started singing the following lyrics. It was William Singe - Please
"I've gotten good at letting good things go.~"
"I get uncomfortable when things get comfortable.~"
"'Cause I'm so used to watching good things flee.~"
"So baby, pardon me.~ It's just a part of me.~"
I stopped, and Akina-sensei grabbed her chin and squinted a bit.
"Impressive...n-no offense, Shiro-kun. I expected some sort of 'cap' from your voice, but you managed to control your mid-range well...Obviously, not world-class yet, but you're better than the average karaoke singer...did you sing as a child?" She asked.
"Hmm...kinda. My mom said I had a good voice when I was a child, but ever since I pursued hip-hop, I don't sing that much anymore."
"I see…well, if that's the case, maybe sing a song you're trying to learn? Something that involves higher notes that's a bit out of your 'normal range', huh?" She asked.
I nodded.
"Hmm...oh, this one." I said as I cleared my throat.
The song I thought of singing was "Girls Need Love".
"You girls need some dick.~ And I just need your love.~"
"Tired fucking with these lame others. Girl, you know you're the ooone.~"
"Won't you be my plug?~ Been tryna' see what's up.~"
"And we can't stop with a handshake. Baby, you gon' need more than a hug.~"
"Girl, just tell me that you want it.~"
Akina-sensei widened her eyes a bit as I sang the first few lyrics of the song. I can't tell whether she's surprised by the lyrics, or if it's my notes...Nonetheless, she's surprised.
"Okay...first off, you have an interesting taste in music…" Akina-sensei giggled nervously.
"S-Sorry. Please don't mind the swearing in English."
"Ah, it's okay. I understand most English songs nowadays include those words. I'm fine with it. However…"
"Hmm?"
"I'm amazed. You're definitely lacking some technique in your voice. Like, I can sense when you start sort of 'straining' your vocal cords as you reach higher notes, especially knowing you sound like you have a limited vocal range, but...wow. You have so much potential being a good singer."
"R-Really?" I asked and widened my eyes a bit.
"Yes! You really do lack some technique, but I can see you applying it, and it's amazing how, if I just teach you a bit more to apply it properly, you can start singing really good!"
"Eh...? That's not just to be nice? You think my voice can be good enough?"
"Yes! Oh, and just to be sure, do you mind singing a song that involves your falsetto?"
"Oh, sure."
I sang the same lyrics I sang earlier. Only this time, everything was sang in falsetto.
"...Hmm. Yeah, I think your falsetto has more room for improvement. It's good enough, but it can definitely improve more."
"Okay. Well, mind telling me what I need to improve more on?"
"Well…here's what I plan to let you improve on. Your vocal range, diaphragm, a bit of breathing control, and falsetto. Your breathing control seems fine, but I'll just teach you, in case you're not using the right technique, or you're close to doing it. Your vocal range definitely needs improvement, and so does your use of your diaphragm, so that you sing higher notes with ease. And lastly, your falsetto. It's good enough, but I can't sense enough air and force in it. It also sounds a bit wacky, so I'll teach you how to improve control on it too."
"I see."
"Well then. Without further ado, let's get started, shall we? Starting from vocal range, falsetto, diaphragm, and then your breathing control."
"Okay."
Me and her started practicing. We did vocal warm-ups first, obviously. Some warm-ups were familiar to me. Some were new to me. A few of the familiar warm-ups were the sighing, lip rolling, and the tongue against the hard palette while moving the jaw up and down.
We did a lot of practice for my other vocal fields that I needed to improve on, then came breathing control.
"Alright, so for this one, I need you to stand up, Shiro-kun." Akina-sensei said.
I nodded, and did so. She went close to me and went to my left side.
"So, please stand straight, and let me check your stomach real quick." She said as she put her left hand on my stomach.
Just when she did that, she widened her eyes a bit and blushed.
"W-Wait a minute...is this a…"
"Yes, I have a six-pack, Akina-sensei."
'I don't get the big deal though.' I sweat dropped.
"Woah...you really are a very toned man." She said.
"Yeah...used to work out a lot." I said and chuckled.
"Huh...well, try to breathe in while expanding your stomach, then sustain a note as long as you can. Try not to sound nasally or expend air unnecessarily, okay?"
"Alright....Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa." Akina-sensei let out a small "Ooh.." when I did that.
"It seems you don't have any trouble with air. I don't hear it, nor do I see anything wrong with your stomach. I assume you know some breathing techniques already?"
"Yes."
"Well then...I guess I don't need to teach you about that. However, feel free to ask me if you need help, okay?"
"Okay."
"Well, let's recap everything and practice with the time we have left, okay?"
"Yup."
And so we did. I tried singing a song, and I improved drastically after the whole session. My throat hurts a little bit, but it's okay.
After we were done singing, me and the boys went together to the building where I practiced dancing, we saw Akame-sensei, and we prepared for our dancing practice.
It was hard. Definitely a new song I learned. Never knew there were dance covers to Flamingo by Kenshi Yonezu. I was the only newbie there making so many mistakes, particularly the top part of the body...Gargh, dancing really is hard.
"Alright! Let's go take a break for now!" Akame-sensei said as we all breathed out.
"Dammit! No matter how many times we do that, I get tired in the end anyway! Frick!" Izuru said as he ran up to the bench, slightly stumbling.
"Hah...wooh! Damn, it's been a long time since we practiced some dancing!" Rikka said.
"Hoowee! Don't you think that was a good dancing session, Shiro-kun?" Roberu asked.
"Well...I guess it could've gone better." I said as I took a sip from my water bottle.
"Hah...sorry for being hella noob in dancing. I'm just good at footwork." I giggled nervously.
"Nah, don't worry. We were like you one time...!" Roberu said while stretching.
"Gotta admit, your footwork is good. Just keep up with the practice! Remember, if you wanna practice, there's always the rooms below the Holohouse you can use!" Oga said as he stopped stretching his arms.
"Well, I was the reason we kept repeating the song though." I sweat dropped and giggled nervously again.
"Eh, we've gone through worse. We're your senpais, after all, so you wouldn't know what torture we went through before." Roberu chuckled as he put something in front of my face.
"E-Eh?"
"Here. Want some flavored water? Might not help ya much, but it's refreshing." He said.
I widened my eyes a bit.
"R-Really? Is it okay?" I asked.
"Yeah! Just don't put your lips on it though, okay?"
"Hey, no fair! I didn't get to buy one!" Rikka said.
"Yo, I'mma take a sip after Shiro." Temma said.
"I have some if you guys want a sip." Astel said.
"Oh, really? Thanks, man!" Rikka said.
"Well, I'm fine with regular water." Aruran giggled as he took a sip of his water.
I giggled a bit, and accepted Roberu's offer.
"Thanks, Roberu." I said.
I hovered the tip of the bottle over my mouth, and took a sip, tasting something peach-ish.
"Mmm...I like peach-flavored water." I said as I handed it back to him.
"Refreshing, right?" Roberu asked.
"Un!" I said.
"Alright, in a few minutes, we're gonna go back. Make sure to hydrate yourselves. We gotta let you all familiarize the moves within this session, okay?"
"Hai! Akame-sensei!" We said.
We finished the whole dancing session. I did improve on the dance, though I still had some moves I needed more practice in. Especially the wavy arm movement. There were times we had to stop just so that Akame-sensei could correct my arms, then continue.
Despite those moments, it was a fun session. Mistakes were made, but we had good laughs. Some were tired as hell, but good laughs nonetheless. We finally went and changed into our normal clothes in the dressing room, and went out.
"Wooh! That was fun." I said as me and the Holostars started walking back to the Holohouse.
"Yeah. Honestly, that was kinda funny, how Shiro tried to keep up with Shien as we did that chorus part." Roberu giggled.
"Oi." I said as everybody laughed and I giggled.
"Well, you'll improve later on. I mean, we were just as stiff as you. Actually, you're better off, since you have good footwork." Shien said.
"Gotta admit, though. You gotta practice that shoulder part, Shiro-kun. You do look a bit awkward from the back." Oga said.
"Yuppo." I said.
We finally got back to our rooms, showered, and I got in front of my computer.
"Alright...I guess I'll go to Twitter and egosearch...oh, matter of fact, how are the clips going? Anything related to me in Youtube?" I said to myself as I looked at the clips on Youtube.
"...Oh, there's a few."
One clip is where Nene talks about me, another was Rushia talking about me, which I saw already, and then...there's Noel?
"Oh? Well, I guess I got two clips to watch."
I first watched Nene's clip. Some of it was from that singing stream where I gave red superchats to her. Another part of the clip was when she talked about my gifts, and what I did recently.
"So uh...wait, is it okay to talk about this?" Nene said as she giggled.
"Um...I don't know. I really wanna talk about this, but I'm scared you guys might think ill of Shiro-kun...please don't okay?"
The clipper then proceeded to highlight a few comments saying:
"We won't!"
"He's a chill dude. I don't see what's there to hate about him www"
"Sure, Nene."
"Alright, guys...so basically...Shiro-kun actually said before, when we all met him, that he has some issues regarding trust when it comes to girls. Like...he already got along with the Holostars. Matter of fact, they sort of spoil him." Nene said as she giggled.
"However, for somebody like us, he doesn't show any sign that he wants to get close to us. Like, for the Holostars, he noticeably wants to talk with them, and is willing to sit beside them, but for somebody like me, if I don't tell him to sit beside me, he's willing to sit somewhere else where he can't sit beside any girls." Nene giggled.
"H-He is a good guy, though. He claims to be 'misogynistic', but so far, he seems pretty nice towards us girls. Actually, recently, he hung out with Subaru-senpai! Yeah, yeah yeah...like seriously, out of all of us, he seems the closest with Subaru-senpai right now!"
I chuckled.
"Well, no wonder I got some sort of follower surge in my Twitter." I said.
I continued watching the clip.
"Yeah...but please, guys, don't think ill of him. He really is a good guy. Like, he gave me presents for my birthday, and willingly held it out for me. He even went a bit over 3k yen for my present. Wait, now that I think about...doesn't he just take his money for granted? Like c'mon! Save your money, Shiro-kun!" Nene giggled.
The chat then went:
"Kusa."
"What a chad lol"
"The hell? He's rich!"
"What a nice dude lol"
"I know right? He's too good, for real...hey, Shiro-kun! If you're watching this, take good care of your money, oi! You won't have enough to invest in original songs if you keep spending your money without consideration!"
I giggled and closed the tab.
"Ah...I appreciate my wife's concern, but eh. I don't give a shit!" I shouted as I pressed the spacebar to play Noel's clip.
"...Welcome, overseas viewers! My name is Shirogane Noel from HoloFantasy! Are you all doing well?" She said in a clearer English pronunciation.
I widened my eyes.
"Ah...that's why this is uploaded a couple minutes ago." I said.
The chat in Noel's chat started speeding up.
"WOAH! THAT'S GOOD ENGLISH!"
"NOEL, YOU HAVE GOOD ENGLISH!"
"Damn, Noel. Your english is better than I expected!"
"Sasuga K-cup!"
Noel giggled from all the chat's replies.
"Are you all proud of my English? Actually, mind if I talk a bit about it? You see...me and Flare were thinking of getting better in other skills, and we thought we would try to get better at languages! So we asked Kiara-chan and Shiro-kun for help! Yeah…"
"Flare wanted to learn some German, so Kiara-chan helped Flare. Me, on the other hand, was taught by Shiro-kun. Actually...I don't know, but there were a couple tweets saying that Shiro-kun is a bit doubtful when it comes to girls, if that makes sense...however, he's a really good guy. Like, he's reeeally nice. He accepted our offer for teaching a language, and he started teaching me English."
"And when he taught me, he gave me some praises like 'Oh, Noel, your pronunciation is getting good!', 'Noel, you're a fast learner!', 'Noel, you'll be able to talk in English in no time!'. Like seriously! For a guy that doesn't like to be around women that much, he's rather nice if he ever interacted with girls."
"Ah, yeah. He also said that I needed to focus more on my pronunciation, so that's why I'm not focusing on vocabulary and grammar yet. He said that my pronunciation is very awkward, so he said that I needed to repeat phrases and sentences until I get a good enough pronunciation." Noel giggled.
"Like, he's not being mean. He said that I'm better off sounding clear rather than being coherent in sentences, so…yeah! Props to Shiro-kun for teaching me some English! Shiro-kun, I'm doing my English pronunciation exercises, okay? I'm not neglecting it!" Noel laughed.
I chuckled and smirked.
"Glad to know. Your pronunciation is really good now, Noel." I said to myself as I closed that and went to Twitter.
"Alright...time to egosearch." I said as I went through my feed.
Now, I'm surprised by the Holocommunity. Obviously, I expected at least a few fans. However, there was WAY more fanart than before. I mean, my character is simple to draw, no fancy designs like Ollie's jumbled up hair, or anything detailed like Suisei's pattern on her shirt. It's just a dark green hoodie, black undershirt and mask, and black pants. It's just up to the situation for them to draw me.
Oh, but remember, it's like streamer, like viewer, so my fanart can vary from being hella cool, to being hella chaotic. Matter of fact, Walfie drew a smol Shiro.
Noice.
I also interacted a bit with other Vtubers. One of them was Anya.
"So, you think you're gonna be doing fine, dear kouhai?" Anya asked.
I replied with "Deez nuts".
Not long after, Anya liked it, and the comments...Oh boy.
"HAH! GOTTEM!"
"*insert laughing meme*"
"Yep. He's rubbing salt into Yagoo's wounds *insert sad Yagoo meme*"
I laughed from all the replies and growled.
"YES!"
I searched for more fanart, and whatnot. One thing caught my attention…
It was a drawing of me sitting with my hands in my hoodie's pocket as Rushia leaned on me, clinging onto my arm as we both slept.
A lot of comments were like "teetee!!!" and the like. Although a few gachikois could be seen, I didn't mind. They weren't even angry, just uh...'responsive'.
The pic though...it made me smile a lot. I retweeted a lot of fanart, but this HAS to be retweeted along with the other fanarts.
Calli also made a tweet, asking me something.
"So...how's it going, dear kouhai?"
I grinned and giggled a bit sinisterly.
"Lemme troll her for a bit."
I typed: "I'm drinking Hopon."
Later on, she liked it, and then commented: "Hopon? I tried searching it, but it's not appearing in my Google searches. Could you please specify?"
I snickered a bit, and started typing: "HOPON DEEZ NUTS, BIATCH"
She liked it again, but this time, responded with: "You're dead to me."
I laughed a lot, and liked her reply.
"I do not regret a single thing." I commented.
I retweeted the tweet, and quoted "Hey, at least I can die with no regrets UwU"
...and the comments were as follows:
"Oh god...OH GOD, NOT THE UWU"
"FUCKING CHAD LMAOOOO"
"He's got balls harder than my dad's belt to go against Death herself LMFAOOOO"
"Just tell your little sister necromancer to revive you Shiro, ez"
It was a nice afternoon. I was just chilling, and slowly working on the video for my debut. However, I had to dress up in the middle of working to prepare for meeting Rushia's family…
I won't lie. I'm a bit nervous. Although I won't tremble, it's kind of...nostalgic, in a way? It reminds me of the time my 2nd ex-girlfriend introduced me to her parents.
This, however, was me meeting Rushia's family, a girl who I have no romantic interest in whatsoever. Although she could make a good girlfriend, and she is hella cute that any man would be jealous if Rushia was in a relationship, I see her more as a sister figure than an actual romantic partner. I just hope that whoever will make her their girlfriend will be a good man.
I went outside, and then saw Rushia at the lounge.
"Hey, Rushia." I said.
"Ah, Shiro-niichan!" Rushia said as she got out of her seat.
"Ooh...you look pretty." I said.
"T-Thank you...I spent an hour thinking of what to wear…" Rushia said.
She wore a blue and black top with a long black skirt, red slip-ons, a bracelet, golden earrings, and a bit of lipstick on.
"Golden earrings? Heh. How interesting." I said.
"Y-You noticed it?" Rushia asked.
"I'm observant, Rushia. I'm dumb, but not stupid."
Being observant is one skill soldiers have to develop. Even just being able to address the elephant in the room is something you need to be able to have in your repertoire.
I was wearing a light red shirt, a watch, black pants, and white shoes.
Rushia squinted a bit and sniffed 2 times.
"...Did you put cologne on?" She asked.
"Yup."
I looked at the 3rd gen genmates beside her.
"So...you guys mind if I take Rushia out for a while?" I asked.
They nodded.
"Don't do anything naughty with Rushia, okay?" Marine said.
"I'm not horny like you."
Marine jumped a bit and groaned as the others laughed.
"Take good care of Rushia, okay?" Pekora asked.
"Yeah yeah." I chuckled.
"Be nice to her family, okay? And don't worry, they don't bite." Noel said.
"Yup! What Noel said." Flare said.
"Mhmm."
Me and Rushia went out, and we rode a taxi. As usual, Rushia clung to me. I guess you could say I felt uncomfortable with my arm being clung on all the time, so I decided to wrap my arm around her waist and pull her close. It's more comfortable on my arm since it feels free. That did not stop her from clinging to me though.
"...Shiro-niichan." She asked me.
"Hmm?"
"...Do you love me?"
"Heh...why'd you ask me that? Of course I do."
"...Hehe. Do you really love me?"
"Mhmm. I do."
"...I love you too, Shiro-niichan."
"Yup." I said as I patted her head, and she giggled once more.
When we finally arrived at the hospital, we went up, and I saw...two people sitting at a bench. They had green hair like Rushia. The man, which I'm assuming is her brother, has red eyes, but her mother had brown eyes.
"There's my mom and brother. Let's go to them, huh?" Rushia asked.
I nodded.
We went there, and when we got in their peripheral view, they waved. However, just like any normal human, they tilted their heads a bit when they saw me.
"Oh?" They said.
"Good evening, mom, onii-chan...this is the guy I was talking about. Please treat him nicely." Rushia said as she sat down.
I bowed a bit and said "Good evening. My name is Ishijin Shiro. I'm a friend of Rushia. It's very nice to meet you two."
I proceeded to sit down on the spot near Rushia, and the two bowed.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Rushia's brother."
"Nice to meet you too, Shiro-san. I'm very sorry to inconvenience you, a stranger, to help us in our situation." Rushia's mom said.
"Pay it no mind, Miss Uruha. I just wanted to help Rushia so that she won't be burdened as much anymore." I said while looking at her.
"I see...say, why did you really help us? It's not like you just wanted to mindlessly give money away just for helping, right?"
I looked down a bit and remembered my memories with Subaru, my closest best friend back when I was still in the military.
"I know what it's like to lose somebody precious, regardless if it's a family member or a very close friend. Whatever the case...no money can amount to the same as that of a person."
I held my left hand and tightened my grip.
"That's why when I heard about Rushia's situation...I was heartbroken. Doing all sorts of things just for her dad who's in a very critical state...even if I'd end up broke, if it meant that Rushia won't be in torture anymore, I felt like I could be content with life, knowing a fellow workmate of mine can finally relax."
I looked at Rushia's mom.
"And...that's why I decided to pay the remaining 6 million."
"I see...Well, you're one of a kind, aren't you?" She giggled.
I chuckled and smiled a bit.
"I don't think so...I bet you, somebody could've done this if they had the same amount of money." I said.
"Still, it takes a heart of gold to do it. Once again, thank you very much for going through the trouble!"
I nodded and said "I'm glad to help, even if it's just a little bit."
Just after I said that, the doctor in Rushia's father's room got out, and he looked at the ones sitting near the bench.
"It's okay for you to see him now. Just make sure to not let him move a lot, okay? He's just able to sit up and lie down only." The doctor said.
We nodded, and went inside.
"Dad...!" Rushia said as she ran towards her father.
"Rushia...!" Her father said as he caught Rushia in his arms, and they did their daughter-father bonding hugging session for a quick moment.
"Hey...it's glad to see you're back to normal now…" Rushia's mom said.
"Yeah...I'm glad to see Rushifer too." Rushia's dad said as he looked at Rushia's brother.
"Yeah...nice to see my old man talking again." He giggled.
"...Oh? Who's this handsome fellow?" Rushia's dad asked as he looked at me.
I bowed a bit.
"I'm sorry for not introducing myself yet. My name is Ishijin Shiro. I'm Rushia's friend." I said.
"He's also the one that paid for the remaining amount of money, which was 6 million, dad." Rushia said.
"Oh…"
He proceeded to bow a bit, and me, Rushia, and the other two jumped a bit.
"S-Sir, the doctor suggested you shouldn't move much-" I was cut off.
"I'm sorry to have you involved in my business." He said as he looked back up.
"A-Ah, don't worry. It's no big deal." I giggled.
He chuckled.
"You also seem to be very respectful...say, how about you all get a chair and sit down, huh?"
We nodded.
We proceeded to get chairs, and sat down near his bed.
"Ah...I'm very glad my lungs are back to normal, and I've regained consciousness…"
He looked at me.
"Say...why did you decide to pay the remaining money for the operation? You could've left us alone, you know? I don't see why you'd want to help a random stranger out of the blue." He giggled.
"...Well, Mister Uruha, I...I'm a workmate of Rushia. The same school she's from, and from the same job that she's doing. Just a day after I got to know her, I found out about your situation. Poor girl worked so hard just for your sake…" I said as I looked at Rushia, who was smiling back at me.
"...And I know what it's like to lose someone who's precious. Even though we're complete strangers, that doesn't give me an excuse to not help her and pay off the rest of the money for the operation."
"I see...do you come from a rich family?"
"H-He's a…" Rushia looked at me, before I nodded, giving her permission to tell her why I have money.
"He used to be in the military."
"M-Military? How old are you, young man?"
"20 years old. I'm a former general." I said as everybody in the room was shocked, except for Rushia.
"You didn't say he was a really high-ranked soldier, Rushia!" Rushia's mom said.
"Woah...I do not want to mess with you." Rushifer said.
"...I'm shocked…" Rushia's dad giggled.
"Welp, you seem rather stubborn. I guess I can't help but accept your offer. How shall we ever repay you, Shiro-san?" Rushia's dad asked.
"You don't need to. Think of it as charity, please."
"A free 6 million is considered charity? Please, let us invite you over for dinner, at least."
I widened my eyes, and so did Rushia.
"D-Dad, the thing is…" Rushia said.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Rushia?" My dad asked.
"Y-You see, Mister Uruha…" I said as I scratched my head.
"Take your time, Shiro-san…" Her dad said.
"..." I grabbed the top of my mask and breathed out.
"Please don't tell this to anyone, you 3, okay?" I asked.
They nodded, but did it slowly. I bet they were slightly confused.
"Sigh...Rushia is here, I'm here, Rushia's dad is here, her mom is here, her brother is here, his name is Rushifer, I have a watch on, and it's transitioning from afternoon to evening...okay." I said to myself as I pulled down my mask.
They widened their eyes a bit, and Rushia frowned a bit.
"S-Shiro-san…" Rushifer said.
"O-Oh dear...where did you get that, Shiro-san?" Rushia's mom said.
"That's...quite a big one." Rushia's dad said.
I nodded.
"I won't explain details, but this came from a fight I had months ago…"
I sighed.
"I appreciate the offer for dinner, but...are you even fine with this? I mean...it might bother you if I ate along with you all."
Rushia's mom went from a normal face to a smiling face.
"Of course we're fine with it." She said.
I widened my eyes a bit from the response.
"W-What?"
"Although it might look strange to you, Shiro-san, we don't mind people with that." Rushia's dad said.
"Yeah! Besides, it'd be pretty disrespectful if we thought ill of you after what you did for us!"
I frowned a bit.
"S-Still...eating dinner with you guys? Is that okay? I mean...I'm just a stranger that decided to help. I don't know if I could..."
Rushia held my hand.
"My family is really kind, Shiro-niichan. Don't worry. Besides, my family doesn't do this for anyone especially...I'd also to let you get close with my family, if that doesn't bother you that much…" Rushia said.
"...Sigh, I guess I have no choice, huh?"
I looked at Rushia's dad and mom.
"I-I'll accept your offer." I giggled nervously.
Rushia's mom clapped and smiled.
"Thank you very much! I promise you, just give me a couple minutes, and I'll cook you the best dinner you'll ever taste in your whole life!" Rushia's mom said.
"Too bad I can't come along with you. I would've liked to know you better, young man!" Rushia's dad said.
I giggled and smiled a bit.
"Yeah...but please rest well, Mister Uruha. I wish the best for your recovery." I bowed a bit.
"Oh yeah...before you go." He said.
"Hmm?" I said as I was about to stand up, but sat back down.
"What do you think about Rushia?"
"Oh...she's uh…" I said while looking her in the eyes. Rushia also looked back at me.
"A kind girl...very trusting, she's definitely an ideal girl a lot of men want. She's a really good friend, Mister Uruha."
"I see...if it's not much, would you like to make her your future wife?" He asked.
"D-Dad!" Rushifer said.
"D-Dear!" Rushia's mom said.
"W-W-What now?" I asked.
Rushia just blushed a lot. She couldn't even look straight into her dad's eyes.
"Sorry for the awkward timing, but...Rushia's really close to you right now."
"Eh?" Me and Rushia said as we looked at each other, then our eyes trailed down from our eyes to our hands...
"Woah...!" I said as I retracted my hand.
"I-I-I-IT'S NOT LIKE THAT, SHIRO-NIICHAN!" Rushia asked.
I blushed a bit, but not because I liked it romantically, but because it was rather embarrassing.
"W-Well...to answer your question, Mister Uruha…"
I bowed a bit.
"I'm sorry, but I don't plan in making your daughter my future wife, let alone my girlfriend."
I sat back up, and he widened his eyes a bit. Even Rushia herself...well, I guess I kind of knew she had feelings for me other than a "brother figure".
"Well...I sort of expected that reply...but please explain your reasons." He said.
"Well...as much as I love Rushia...I only see her as a sister figure and a good friend…"
I looked at Rushia.
"Although she could make a good girlfriend, I'm not interested in making her my girlfriend."
"So please, don't take it the wrong way. It's just that...I can't really see me and Rushia being girlfriend and boyfriend." I continued.
"I see...I guess I rushed it too quickly, seeing that you're a one of a kind. However, feel free to tell me if you'll change your mind. I like seeing kids like you nowadays. Those that have good decency and aren't selfish."
I smiled and nodded.
"Will do, Mister Uruha."
I stood up, and so did the others.
"I parked my car outside. Let me drive you 3 back home." Rushia's mom said.
We nodded.
She looked at her husband, and gave him a kiss to the forehead.
"Take care of yourself, dear, okay?"
"Okay."
"Make sure to drink water whenever you can, okay?"
"Yeah."
Me, Rushia, and Rushifer felt the loving aura from the two, and we felt a bit...bluish from the feeling.
"Just stop…" Rushifer and Rushia said.
"...I mean...I sometimes see my Old Man flirt with his wife, so I'm kinda okay...?" I said.
We went down from the hospital, and got inside the car. Rushia's mother started driving us towards their home.
I was sitting in the backseat with Rushia. Rushifer was at the front seat with Rushia's mom.
"Shiro-san, if it doesn't bother you, where did you used to live?" Rushia's mom asked.
"Back in Chiba, Funabashi."
"Ah...you're a Chiba boy, huh? Say, how's your mom and dad?"
I jumped a bit, but I tried to keep my feelings to myself. Although it broke my heart a bit, I didn't want to worry anybody in this car, not even Rushia.
"...They're good...though, I don't actually have a dad. I have a father figure named Motoaki Tanigo though."
Rushia and her mom widened their eyes, while Rushifer looked back at me with a bewildered face.
"Oh...I-I'm sorry to ask you a sensitive question."
"It's fine. I get asked that a lot. Don't worry about it."
"Still...you're quite the nice kid despite having somebody else act as a father, huh? You were taught well." She giggled.
"Say...Shiro-san." Rushifer asked.
"Hmm?"
"Motoaki Tanigo? That's Yagoo, right? Rushia's boss?"
"Ah…yeah...By the way, what do you mean 'boss'? Do you know Rushia's job...?" I asked.
"Yes. She works as a Vtuber."
"Eh...? Rushia, do most of the Hololivers' parents know their children's jobs?" I asked as I looked at Rushia
"Yeah...in one way or another." Rushia giggled nervously.
'Something tells me that some Hololivers got their job found out because their parents were persistent.' I deadpanned and sweat dropped.
We finally arrived at their house. Well, rather, it was an apartment. I did hear before that Rushia used to be a country bumpkin, but...this is in the city.
"Hmm...Miss Uruha, I heard before that you used to live at the countryside. How were you able to rent an apartment in the city?"
"Well...let's say Motoaki Tanigo was generous enough to let us stay here."
"Eh?"
"Shiro-niichan, it's kinda like this. If Yagoo knows that our family is really far from the school, and seems to be in a tight situation, he'll gladly fund our rent."
"Ooh...so basically, it's because of my Old Man that your family can live in an apartment?" I asked as we started going up the stairs.
"Un." Rushia replied.
"Miss Uruha, do you have any difficulty adjusting to the city?"
"Well...we've been living here for more than a year, so it's not that big of a deal now."
I chuckled.
"Glad to know. I'd understand, being a guy that used to struggle adjusting to towns."
If it wasn't for me and my mom going to the Philippines a lot of times, I wouldn't have been able to adapt to even villages when I finally got enlisted in the army.
We finally sat down, and me, Rushifer, and Rushia watched some Netflix. We were watching some Aquaman. I watched this already, thought the show was good enough, but...yeah. Out of the 3 of us, only I wasn't as hyped. Not that I hate it. It's just that I already watched it once, so I know everything.
"WOOH! THE FIGHTING IS SO COOL!" Rushia said.
"I know, right?! Damn, those chase scenes are cool as hell!" Rushifer said.
I sweat dropped.
'Well...he isn't wrong. The scenes do look cool.' I thought.
"Kids, be ready. The food is cooking!"
"Ah, okay, mom!" They said.
"Sure, Miss Uruha!" I said.
The food was finally prepared, and when we saw her get the soup to the table, I widened my eyes and blushed a bit.
"Oh man...this takes me back to the food back in my teen years…" I gulped.
"I told you I'd make the best dinner you'll ever taste in your life!"
'I mean...I'm fine with anything, but chicken...ooh, man. It's been a long time since I ate this sort of stuff.' I thought as I gulped again.
"Well, let's get to praying, huh? Oh, and Shiro-kun, it's okay to show your mouth now. We've seen it already in the hospital, you know?"
"Ah, yeah." I said as I breathed out and got the loops off of my mask, showing my whole face.
I licked my lips a bit, and chuckled.
"I wish it'd fade away faster…" I mumbled to myself in English.
"Well, I'm ready." I said in Japanese.
We put our hands together and said "Itadakimasu!"
We dug in, and talked about a lot of things. Mainly, it was just them getting to know me better. How it started, more details about my past life, and a couple other things.
"You know...I've never actually been to high school." I said.
"Eh?" They all said.
"Believe it or not, I only went through grade school, and matter of fact, I'm home-schooled."
"Eh? You never made friends?"
"...Technically, no. But you get the point. I never actually made friends in a school." I said and giggled as I took a bite.
I was pampered by the base and my teachers. My only friends were adults. I never actually made friends with those of my age...I wasn't necessarily lonely, but...sometimes, I do wish I had kids to play and talk with back when I was still young…
"Eh? Damn, that's quite harsh." Rushifer said.
"Well, I'm glad you've been able to make friends there in Rushia's school, huh?" Rushia's mom said.
Before I took another bite, I froze a bit, and thought back to my relationships with the girls.
Even though I'm Rushia's big brother figure...it's been a while since I ever thought of the concept of friends. I can tell the Holostars really treat me as their friend...but what about the girls? It's more of a case of me being there for them. Do we even try to hang out? The only "friend" I'm mostly sure of is Subaru, and even then...does she consider me a friend?
"...Yeah. I made a couple friends." I lied and took another bite.
Well...one thing is for sure, the Holostars are my buddies, which counts as friends.
We finished dinner, I waved bye and helped clean up with the dishes, and me and Rushia went down to the streets. It was troublesome having to negotiate with her mother. Sometimes, I hate how generous and hospitable people have to act...but you can't help it.
"Keep Rushia safe, okay? It's not like I don't like you, but don't be a bad guy in my eyes. Protect her at all costs, okay?"
"Whether it be a knife, a bullet, or a nuclear bomb, she's a disney princess stuck in a castle. You have my promise." I chuckled.
Rushifer chuckled back.
"Tell me if this guy is being mean to you, okay?"
"Jeez, onii-chan...I know you might be insecure 'cause I keep calling him Shiro-niichan, but he's a good guy, okay?"
"Insecure-" He jumped a bit.
"Don't worry about it. Rushia loves you, you know?" I giggled nervously.
"Sigh...well, be her big brother on my behalf, please?"
"Yup. I'll keep that in mind."
We rode a taxi back home, Rushia clung to me, and I looked out the window.
'Damn...so many interactions with women...I mean, I did used to do a lot of missions with my female companions, and especially had a lot of crushes, but...hoowee. I think doing 10 non-stop missions back in the military sounds easier than this.' I sighed.
I looked back at Rushia and patted her. When I did, I thought back to when my mind thought of "friends".
'Well...as long as they don't betray me or do anything like that, I don't mind even if we're just acquaintances...I will admit, having a lot of girls to interact with is rather stressful....'
'At least, after what happened between me and my mom, it is.'
