Ch 49 - We Forget The Remains, We Start Over Pt. 3

"...AH! This is too hard!" Rikka said as he stopped playing my electric guitar and softly slapped it.

"Hehe. Well, do know that it took me quite a while to get used to the fingering. Even though I was able to play by ear, it did take me days to get used to the riff." I said, putting my finger on the 7th fret of the E string.

Everybody was looking at me. Some of the Chinese, Indonesians, and even some of the JP. All of the HoloEN though were here.

"Jeez...how long have you been doing guitar?" Suisei asked.

"I dunno. Around 6 years old or so."

"6?!" Rikka said, along with others.

"I wasn't consistent though. I did like a month of practice then switched to piano. I only knew chords back then. I only got back to it seriously when I was around 15. Gotta say, it was a pain in the ass, but it paid off well."

"Eh...? No wonder you're so good." Rikka said.

"Heh. Well, if you practice efficiently, it can take quite a short amount of time. I can still fuck up the riff though." I said.

"Eh? Is there anything you can't do?" Rikka giggled.

"Well, I can only play very very basic drums. That's that."

"You say that, but I bet if Aki-senpai let you play her drum set, you'd play something like metal."

I snickered a bit and said, "N-No. I legit only know the basics. Even then, I only practiced it on my friend's drums. I never actually tried learning more since I could just produce drums on my computer. I am planning to learn drums soon though."

"Eh?"

"Oh yeah, mind if we return my stuff now? I got a Resident Evil 7 stream coming tonight, and I'd hate to be late for it." I giggled nervously.

"Ah, sure!"

"Wait wait wait wait! Play it one more time, at least!" Gura said.

"Yeah. I mean...you could be in a band outside of Vtubing, Shiro." Kiara said.

"Eh? You guys really wanna hear me do it again...?" I scratched my head.

"Yeah!" They all said.

"...Welp, if you all say so." I said as I breathed out and plugged the wire back to my guitar and turned the amp on.

When I did so, everybody was enthralled. They just stared at the guitar and my eyes while I was bopping my head.

When I was done, they all clapped. Varying speeds, but nonetheless, the same applause.

"Mhmm. I think that's enough for a demo of some of my guitar playing. Let's go now, Rikka. Help me please."

"Mhmm."

"Oh yeah, Calli." I switched from Japanese to English.

"Hmm? 'Sup, Shi?"

"You workin' on a new album yet?"

"Hmm...well, yeah. You wanna hop on for a feature soon?"

"If you want to. I was just wondering if you're still being the workaholic queen you are."

"I mean, it's Mori Calliope. Whacha expect?" She said as we both laughed.

"Well, I'll be looking forward to the album."

"If you want to, maybe I could…"

"Hmm?"

She went close to my face then to my ear. Thought she was going in for something like a kiss...that'd be a bit awkward and weird.

"Give you a sneak peek. Maybe even a feature." She said.

I looked at her, who was grinning and chuckling. It also made me chuckle.

"I'mma hold you to that." I said.

I looked at the others and went, "...Oh?"

"...Hey, is there something going on with you two? The rappers of Hololive?" Risu smugged and covered her mouth.

"N-No. We're not like that." I giggled nervously.

"Hey, Shiro-kun! Let's go return your stuff! You don't wanna be late for your stream, right?" Rikka said with a very very quick wink.

'...Nice save.' I chuckled.

"Well, anyway. Enough of this chit-chat, I'mma prepare for my stream and maybe kill time. See y'all."

"See ya, Shi!" Calli said.

"See you later!" The others said.

I looked at Kiara...What Calli did earlier did NOT make her happy. That's a frowning phoenix in my eyes.

But anyway, I started the stream, with my usual long ass intro, and got to the part where I was fighting Mia with a gun.

"You know, Privates...this kinda reminds of how I broke up with my 2nd girlfriend...yeah, we're going into personal territory with this one. You see, me and my 2nd girlfriend got 'freaky freaky' in her bedroom, and uh...I almost lost my V-card when me and her decided that that day was the day I would hit a homerun. But uh...stuff happened, and I instantly went from hard as a rock to limper than an incel…"

"Well, I was still hard, but I was getting uncomfortable really quickly. Although we didn't actually fight like this, I uh...pushed her off the bed so hard, she went unconscious-" I snickered, making me unable to actually say "unconscious" properly.

"Yeah...I was like...15 at the time? 14? 16? I think early 15. I was so strong back then, I could knock a person unconscious." I giggled.

"Yeah...remember, guys. That relationship lasted for a month. I uh...should've known better back then. But hey, I was a teen, hormones were raging, my ex also had raging hormones, we didn't know what was bad and what was good. We were just really horny. I grew past that now…"

"...'Bruh, did you even use protection?' Yes, I fucking did. I took the damn rubber off once I knocked her unconscious accidentally. Um...let's drop the topic now." I said and laughed.

"Oh god, bringing up this topic was a mistake. But hey, at least you all know I got up to third base...no, I didn't actually end up hitting a home run."

And of course, the chat's reaction:

"YA BE"

"YABAI wwwww"

"Hmm….CLIPPERS, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO"

"NEXT TRENDING MATERIAL COMING UP, BOIS-"

"...'You say that, but you said Sora and AZKi are not seiso in your song'. BWAHA!- Well...that's different. That's rap. Bruh, it's been a while since I fucking fapped."

"...Oh shit, did I just saw-DID I JUST SAW DAIJO IN THE CHAT?! HAHAHA!" I clapped and leaned back on my chair.

Daijo, my manager, just typed, "...Yeah, screw this shit. This ain't my job anymore. It's yours now."

"DAIJO! YOU'RE MY MANAGER! DO YOUR JOB, DANGIT! SO WHAT IF I ACT YABAI?! *inhales* SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"

"...Yeah, we're definitely getting the yellow dollar sign tonight." I snickered.

"Daijo, this is your fault for not bonking me in the earlier streams. Take responsibility, daddy.~"

And I laughed hella hard and almost cried when my stomach hurt after seeing his reply to it later on with, "...I don't get paid enough for this type of crap."

~March 29, 2021 10:00 AM~

"Aaaand...there we go...just 1 more drawing, and the whole Usseewa video is done!" I chuckled.

I heard a knock on the door and said, "Coming!" in English.

'Now that I think about it...I almost have no rest days at all. Everyday is just me helping the Hololivers. Not that I'm complaining, but uh...guess my duty as a soldier never left me, huh?' I sweat dropped.

And so, when I opened the door, I saw Calli.

"Ah, there you are, Calli. Finally awake."

"Well...you said you wanted to record my vocals in advance for the remix of 'I'm The General' once it reaches 10 million."

"Yeah. I mean, it's literally 7 million views right now, and if I don't work fast enough, the remix ain't gonna make it."

"Well, you did say you'd pay me. Jesus, how much yen is that now?"

"Hmm...for both going on a feature for my next album and the remix, about 1.2 million."

"Jesus...you don't mind paying that much?"

"Bruh. I made like the same amount with that much views on Youtube. I mean, the cut, and all that, it's good enough. Besides, it's only gonna get bigger once I release it. And plus, you literally paid me for going on a feature with you on 'Your Mori' a few days ago."

"Yeah…" She said, stumbling a bit and then falling on my chest.

"W-Woah. The fuck happened to you last night? You look and act quite flimsy." I grabbed her shoulders.

"I-I was streaming while drinking some cheap ass red wine, then I couldn't sleep 'cause I was preparing for my next album, not 'Your Mori', by the way, while talking with J-Chad. So I got like an hour of sleep, dude."

"Yeezus…" I said as I closed the door and guided her to the chair.

"Well, I would normally say to rest, but you're a workaholic bitch, so it's useless. Well, not like I'm your dad, anyway." I chuckled.

"Anyways...I can record vocals. I got the lyrics. Mind checking if it's good enough?" She asked as she gave me her phone.

"....Okay...those bars are lit...damn, you wrote this the past few days? It looks hella fine to me."

"Thanks." She smiled.

"I don't wanna take more of your precious sleeping and free time, so...how about we get straight into it?"

"Mhmm." She said as me and Calli started recording the vocals.

We did the adlibs, the lyrics, comping, and mixing. When it was done, I played it on my speakers to let her hear it.

"Yo...it sounds fucking amazing…" I said in the middle of the playing.

"...Calls? Calls, you beat?" I asked as she leaned on my shoulder.

"I...I feel a bit tired...Sorry, Shi, I-I need to rest for a bit…"

"...Okay." I smiled.

I patted her shoulder.

"Thank you for the vocals, by the way. Wanna rest on my bed?"

"Hmm...it doesn't stink, does it?" She asked as we both stood up and made our way to my bed.

"I don't know. The scent of men differs greatly from the scent of women, but hey, you need rest. Actually, your lips are hella white, I think you're pale-" I stopped as I saw a bit of orange hair coming through the door, before the door closed immediately, albeit it didn't make a sound.

"...S-Shi? What's wrong?"

"...Oh, it's nothing." I chuckled.

'...Kiara, was that you?' I thought.

"Later on, wanna go back to your room?" I asked as I lay her down on the bed.

"Yeah...I just need to rest for a while...oh, the smell isn't bad, after all." She giggled.

"Heh. Good to know. Just don't drool on my pillow, okay?"

"Got anything I can hug?"

"Hmm...well, I don't really use bodypillows or dakimakuras. But…" I said as I went to my closet and got a puffy bag with military camo.

"Here. My hammock bag. It's not too long, but I think it can serve as a mini body pillow substitute."

"Jeez, soldiers have a lot of shit, don't they?" She said, hugging it.

"Mhmm." We both giggled.

~~Kiara's POV~~

"Phew...hopefully Shiro didn't actually notice me..." I put my hand on my chest and breathed out.

"Though...Calli...Shiro, are you interested in Calli by any chance...?"

I clenched my fists and my teeth, but slowly relaxed it after a while. I was still thinking back to when Calli leaned on Shiro.

'Even if she was tired...she could've leaned on the table or so...M-Maybe she's not into me anymore...This is unfair…'

Too unfair...I wanna be selfish and take her all for myself...I know way more Hololive girls who are into Shiro as well...but wait, does that mean Calli is also into him...? Am I overthinking? Is it just a platonic relationship?

~~Shiro's POV~~

"Hmm hmm hmm...CYKA-...fucking hell, rookie mistake. Didn't check that angle...oh?" I looked at Calli.

"Eurgh...yo...Shi...how long was I asleep?"

"Actually...you've been sleeping for an hour. How's you, Calls?"

"I…I think I'm fine now." She giggled.

We both looked at my pillow, and uh...

"...Oh shit. S-sorry, Shi! I didn't mean to-"

"Nah, it's okay. I can just flip the pillow later on. No worries. A bit of drool will just dry away and stuff. You think you can go back to your room now?"

"Y-Yeah, I can…"

"Need water? I'll get ya some."

"N-Nah, it's okay...I'll just drink water in my room."

"Really? I mean, your throat might be dry."

"Nah, really...it's okay, Shi." She stood up.

"Where do I put this?" She said as she grabbed my hammock bag.

"Just leave it, I'll take care of it."

"Actually, I'll just put it here." She said, putting it near my closet.

"Thank you for letting me rest on your bed, Shi. I think I'll have to do some other stuff in my room."

"No probs. Take care, Calls." I said as I opened my closet and put the bag back.

"You too."

And so, after a game of Valorant and practicing some bass to make sure I wasn't getting too shabby, I got a call from Discord.

"Oh? Damn, who is it? I was in the middle of bass, jeez." I said as I looked at it.

I accepted the call and started the conversation.

"Ey, Amelia. What's up?"

"Sorry to disturb you, if you were doing something. I was wondering if we could do a game of Valorant. We'll be together, not opposing sides."

"Oh, you bored or something?"

"Hmm...more like bored but also curious. I've seen your Valorant streams. You're too good! An aimbot!"

"Heh...well, I was actually practicing bass, but a game or two won't hurt. Though, it's lunchtime right now, you good with that?"

"I don't really have a big appetite anyway. Can YOU handle it?"

"Well, I can eat some bread while playing. Let's go. I actually played some Valorant earlier."

"Sweeeeeet."

And so, we did two games. It ended rather quickly. Amelia was good for the most part, but when she would die...I would either die from laughter or have ear pain.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" Amelia screamed before a LOUD desk slam ensued.

"Yeezus, Amelia. My ears are quite sensitive."

"MY TEMPER IS MORE SENSITIVE!" She said to which I laughed.

"...Boom. Game won. Didn't even have to clutch."

"Wah? How?! There's no way! I couldn't even see that! Do you really do that, or use a software?"

"Nah, that's pure me. I detest aimbot actually."

"The hell? You're too fast. What the fuck?"

"Well...if you practice reaction time, you can do the same."

"Well...gg at least."

"Gg. Mind if I have lunch now?"

"Sure! Sorry for bothering you, again. I bet you have to change your lunch now."

"Well, it's not really too bad. Don't worry. Actually, Amelia…"

"Hmm?"

"Once it's April 6, I can collab with y'all. Wanna do a Valorant stream together soon?"

"Ah yeah! Do tell me, and maybe our managers can fit it in our time."

"Mhmm. Sweet. Gotta go now. Byeeee."

"Byeeee." She said as I ended the call.

"Anyway...time to cook." I said as I got out of my seat.

And so, when I went through the day, practicing music and rap, I then recorded a stream at 6 PM.

"Shiro on the mic, Shiro on the beat, Shiro with the heat, everybody, thanks for coming to my stream! Yeah, and you know I got the heat, bro. What's my name? Ishijin Shiro!" I clapped.

"Yes, from the title of this stream, we're gonna do a music stream! But it's not a rapping stream. It's a guitar playing stream! So...there's this famous band called 'Polyphia', right? I think you all know Tim Henson? He's an awesome guitarist like Ichika Nito. In Polyphia, they have a song called 'G.O.A.T.', and it has one of the most AWESOME riffs I've ever heard. I can only play the riff on the guitar, but I don't know how to play through the whole song."

"And so, for this stream, I'm hoping I can learn the whole song, and if not, at least a majority of the song. Here's what I have so far."

When I played the riff, the chat went wild, as always.

"Jesus, is there anything this guy can't do?"

"Bruh. Shiro too talented pls nerf."

"THE HOLY TRINITY. TIM HENSON, ICHIKA NITO, AND ISHIJIN SHIRO!"

"Holy shit, this guy can shred LMAO-"

"And uh...yeah, that's the whole riff...so...I'm gonna listen to the song and play in real time, but because of copyright reasons and stuff, I'll actually mute the original audio so that I can hear it, but you guys can't. And by the way, no drums will accompany me, so I'm just gonna go completely by my internal metronome." I giggled.

"Anyway...time to start!"

And so, I learned the song, up to around the middle and having to review what I learned, and put the guitar on the stand near my chair.

"HOOWEE! Time to take a water break, guys. My mind needs to relax. Wait for a bit…" I said as I stood up and drank water from my bottle.

"Mmm...refreshing...music is hard, man...but my dick is harder." I gave a short snicker.

"Okay...well, I'm still gonna take a short break, but lemme just play some songs to refresh my mind real quick." I said as I grabbed my Ibanez and put my index finger on the 5th fret of the high E string while plucking.

"...Oh damn, that sounded like Ina's BGM." I laughed.

"Dun dun...dun dun dudun...see?! I can play Ina's BGM on guitar!"

"...Oh, hi Ina! 'Make a very complex version of my BGM lol.' Nah, I won't. Thanks for stopping by though, Ina! Lemme play the whole BGM for you."

I played the whole thing perfectly, although with some cuts here and there while playing it slowly. I finished it till the end.

"Yay! Did it! Let's try...more distortion....OH SWEET JESUS, dial that back down. That was too loud." I chuckled.

"Anyway...I'll be taking my mind off the guitar for a while and setting my timer to a good 5 minutes. I'll be playing some tetris, so I'll be back 'ina' bit, Privates!" I giggled like a gremlin as I showed my loading screen and put my loading BGM on.

I got back, finally finished the whole song, and did my outro. The stream took a total of 1 hour and 45 minutes to finish. The reason why it took longer than usual was because I screwed up some parts when playing from start to end. Some were also practicing runs before I did an official attempt on finishing the song.

"Jesus...well, at least I ain't gonna get shabby anytime soon. My brain is drained." I sighed as I lay down on my bed.

I heard some laughter outside, seeping into my room. Curiosity got the best of me, so I had to get out of bed and check it out.

"Gimme gimme your love sotto-Oh, hey! You're done streaming, I assume?" Rikka asked.

"Mhmm. What y'all doing?" I asked, sitting in front of him with the other boys, like Suzaku, Kaoru, Roberu, and Miyabi. We were in the kitchen, actually. Not the lounge.

"Just chilling. Singing and all." Rikka said.

"Cool. What y'all singing?"

"We were gonna sing some songs. Hey, got some songs in mind? We'll let you play first if that's so." Rikka said.

"In that case...mind if I play one song?" I asked.

"Sure!" Rikka said as he handed his acoustic guitar over the table.

"Alrighty...This one song is actually a Filipino song. Surprisingly, it's in English though. I used to sing this for my girlfriend back then."

"Ooh...you're quite the romantic boy, aren't you?"

"Heh. Not really…" I said as I faced outwards to make the guitar playing easier while leaning back, and I happened to actually face HoloEN. Specifically, Ina.

"Oh hey, Ina. You enjoyed my playing of your BGM earlier?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah…" She said, though in a quiet voice.

'That was cute.' I thought and chuckled.

"Anyway…" I said as I readied to play a G note.

I played the chord progression, G, Bm, Em, D-G, C, G, A, D. However, I did the fancy intro, of course.

The song was "We Could Happen", by AJ Rafael.

[Verse 1]

"I'll hold the door. Please come in, and just sit here for a while.~"

"This is my way of telling you I need you in my life.~"

"It's so cold without your touch. I've been dreaming way too much.~"

"Can we just turn this into reality? 'Cause-~"

[Chorus]

"I've been thinkin' 'bout you lately.~"

"Maybe you could save me from this crazy world we live in.~"

"And I know we could happen.~"

"'Cause you know that I've been feeling you...I know you want me too.~" I sung this part while looking at Ina. It caused quite the reaction that even Ina was holding her face with both hands. Yeesh, shouldn't have done that.

*4 bars of guitar playing*

[Verse 2]

"Storms, they will come, but I know that the sun will shine again.~"

"He's my friend, and he says that we belong together.~"

"And I'll sing a song to break the ice. Just a smile from you would suffice.~"

"It's not me being nice. Girl, this is real tonight.~"

[Chorus]

"I've been thinkin' 'bout you lately.~"

"Maybe you could save me from this crazy world we live in.~"

"And I know we could happen.~"

"'Cause you know that I've been feeling you...I know you want me.~"

[Pre-Chorus]

"There's no other, there's no other love-~"

"-That I'd rather have, you know.~"

"There ain't no one, there ain't no one else.~"

"I want you for myself.~"

[Chorus]

("I've been thinkin' 'bout you lately.~"

"Maybe you could save me from this crazy world we live in.~"

"And I know we could happen.~"

"'Cause you know that I've been feeling you...I know you want me too.~") 2x.

[Outro]

"...I know you want me too.~"

"You know you want me, boo.~"

"I know you want me, I know you want me.~"

I ended the playing with a strong strumming and going down the fretboard.

"Wooah!" The boys said.

"You made Ina-chan blush. That's another girl down the list." Rikka giggled.

"Boi, she just happened to be the one I was looking at while I was playing." I deadpanned.

"Hey hey, just admit you're a playboy, Shiro-kyun.~ You seem to have the personality of one." Suzaku said, rubbing my shoulders.

"I'm not, though. Well, at least in my teenage years, I was. Now, I'm not." I giggled nervously and sweat dropped.

"Eh? So you actually were one?"

"WAS. I mean, I already made it clear that I only wanna settle down with one now." I waved my hand.

"Hey, let's go sing more songs, Shiro-kun!" Rikka said.

"Hit it. I might sing along if I know it." I said.

And so, for the rest of the evening, me and the boys had a karaoke session in the kitchen. We did make sure to quiet down to not disturb those streaming, especially the Holostars. Even though we had soundproof rooms, we made sure not to seep in too much noise.

I finally slept in my bed, turning the lights off, and just trying to get my body into sleeping mode. While I was sleeping though, my mind was having a dream...quite a horrific or enjoyable dream, depending on your interpretation.

'Hey, Calli…' I said as I faced her.

'Hmm? ...A-Ah!~' She moaned as I got near her and put my mouth against her neck, smelling her rather womanly scent, despite acting very boyish.

'You know, for a doof and a cool person, you're rather girlish, aren't you?' I said as I licked from her neck up to her ear.

'S-S-Stop...Shi...this is too…'

'Then stop me. Do it...' I said as I gave her kisses to the cheek and went back down to her neck.

No resistance, no words to tell me to stop. It's just her "guh"'s and submitting to my will.

'Heh, I knew you wanted it...we've been hanging out too often...you like me, don't you?' I asked as I put my hand on her waist.

'B-But...the others...we're too close to them...they'll find out, Shi...!'

'They won't...we just gotta keep quiet...Tonight, I'm gonna make you mine.~' I said as I kissed her neck and even sucked on it.

'G-Guh!~ ...S-Shi...d-do it gently, okay?'

'Sure...I'll do it gently…' I said as I put my forehead against hers.

'Shi...I love you...!' She said as she hugged me, and we slowly leaned into each other, ready to make contact with our lips.

"...CALLI, STOPPPPPP!!!" I shouted as I woke up.

"BZZZ.BZZZ. BZZZZ."

"...Hoh shit." I said as I stopped my alarm and breathed out.

~March 30, 2021 5:30 AM~

"Thank god that was a dream…" I held my forehead with my thumb and index finger.

'I should REALLY not hang out with girls that often, otherwise my high ass libido will do that to my dreams…' I deadpanned.

"Anyway...time to have breakfast." I said as I went to heat up water and sat down, watching videos.

'Forget the damn dream...do not fap yet, Shiro...you still have a lot to do before you can jack off to something…' I thought and groaned.

However, that dream, for some reason, stuck inside my mind like a damn unforgettable manga chapter. I really am so horny right now and wanna jack off, but this is morning time...! The time when men get horny! BEGONE, EVIL SPRITS! I SHALL NOT DO IT! NO!

"Hmm...ah yeah, I gotta go out to buy some oil for cooking later...wonder if I need anything else for lunch...?"

I guess buying a loaf of bread ain't bad either...I need to check what I need to buy later on so I can just go out once.

"....Alright, so oil, bread, vinegar, fish, and...coffee. Last, but not least, bass guitar strings and some alcohol wipes" I said as I put on a hoodie, combed my hair, and went out.

"Ey, Rushia. Looking fine this morning." I said, walking towards the exit.

"Oh? Morning, Shiro-niichan!" Rushia said at one of the couches in the lounge.

"Ey, Oga. The usual morning bird you are, ey?" I patted his shoulder.

"Yo! What's got you in a good mood?"

"The sun. I'm gonna go out and buy stuff. I usually like it while it's not hot yet but hot enough for a good morning. I'm gonna go out and touch some grass. See ya." I chuckled.

And so, I went to the mall, where I could buy everything I needed in one place, and I went to pick out the guitar strings and the alcohol wipes first.

"Alrighty...FUC-" I almost blurted out a swear word when I bumped into someone.

"G-Gomennasai! ...Oh, it's Calls." I switched from Japanese to English after realizing I bumped into Calli.

"Oh? Hey, Shi! Sorry for not looking where I was going!"

"Good to see you too, Kiara." I waved.

"Hey, Shiro! What're you doing?"

"Just played bass yesterday, and realized the strings were sounding a bit off. Turns out, I didn't change it for quite a long time. So, I had to change it again. I'm gonna go to the convenience store in this mall next to buy some food and shit."

"What a coincidence. We're gonna go there too to buy some stuff." Kiara said.

"What're you two doing here, actually? You seem to have bought some stuff."

"Me and Kusotori here had to buy some clothes. She's been wanting to buy new ones ever since our last Holomyth gatherings. I also wanted to buy some clothes too since I like some cotton shirts."

"Heh. You two look like a couple, honestly. I was never a Takamori shipper, but I love your interactions."

"We do? Thank you! That's what I was aiming for!" Kiara said, hugging Calli.

"W-Well, she is my best friend, after all. I don't know about the c-couple part." Calli blushed and looked away.

"Anyway, if we're gonna go to the convenience store, might as well go together, ey? Ikimashou." I said the last part with an English accent.

And so, we were walking together. Calli in the middle, Kiara at the left, and me at the right. Kiara though...it doesn't bother me, but she sometimes glances at my direction. I don't know what's up with that. It made me sweat drop. I was guessing jealousy, but I put my left hand in my pocket, so I don't know what she's worrying about.

But anyway, we went to buy some bread.

"Hmm...Oh, you need bread too, Calls?"

"Yup. Me and Kusotori sometimes share lunch, after all." Calli said.

"Calli, I'm gonna buy some shampoo." Kiara said.

"Ah, I just remembered, I needed new shampoo, Kiara. Thanks!" Calli said as she looked at the loaves of bread.

"...Oh-" I cut myself off as I made contact with Calli's hand.

"Ah!-" Calli retracted her hand quickly.

"Y-You get the bread." I giggled nervously and peeked at Kiara.

'...Kiara, I have no feelings for Calli whatsoever. She's all yours.' I looked away and sweat dropped.

"N-Nah, I got one already. See?" Calli giggled nervously.

"Welp, don't mind if I do." I said as I got it and stood up.

"Anyway, let's go to the counter and buy everything. Ey?"

"Yup!" Calli said.

"Y-Yeah…" Kiara looked away and frowned.

We bought the goods, and we finally went out of the mall.

"...Tsk. Goddammit, it's definitely gonna rain. Should've brought an umbrella." I said.

"Lucky me, I brought one." Calli smugged and showed it.

"Wow...you're so prepared, Calls." I deadpanned.

She opened it and held Kiara's hands.

"C'mon, Kusotori! Let's go!" Calli said.

"Oh? Y-Yeah…" She said.

We started walking down and I sighed.

"Well, at least a bus stop is nearby, so I can stop there and wait for a taxi as the rain comes by." I said.

"Mhmm! By the way, Shi. How's the progress in the album?"

"Oh, it's going well. Still wondering what I need to do for the album. Oh yeah, and the remix? Expect it to be uploaded by tomorrow or so. My views on 'I'm The General' just can't calm down." I said as we both giggled.

"Really? I can't wait! I've worked really hard on that verse, you know?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's literally 60 bpm, so we had to act like it's double time and make the verses 32 bars long. It was cool though, 'cause it really gave that mean and unapologetic feel, you know?"

"Yup!" Calli said.

"...Woah! Hey, Kiara. What's wrong?" Calli asked as she suddenly stopped. It looked like she was almost dragged to a complete stop when I looked at them.

"Kiara?" I asked.

"...Calli, can you please be honest with me?"

"Oh? What is it? No need to get all serious-"

"Are you in love with Shiro?"

Me and Calli widened our eyes.

"N-No! I just think of him as a friend. What're you saying, Kiara?" Calli giggled.

"Same here. Calli's not really like that in my eyes."

'I still hate that dream I got this morning.' I deadpanned away.

"...Then ask me, Calli. You seem to be getting too close to him, recently. Matter of fact, when I tried to wake you up, I heard you mumble his name…"

"Oh, that? I-I was just having a bad dream. Not like a nightmare, but a dream I wish I didn't have." Calli giggled nervously.

'Calli had the same dream too?' I sweat dropped.

"I saw you working with Shiro one time. You slept on his shoulder, and you were acting a bit too clingy. Why?"

"K-Kiara, why're you acting like this? I-It's not like I like him that way. I was just trying to get to know him." Calli said with a bit of sweat.

"Because I like you, Calli! I've done so much for you, the same way you did for me! We've had so many memories together!"

"K-Kiara, I made it clear though. I really am not interested in Shiro, in any way, shape, or form. I only see him as a friend." Calli sweated more.

"Kiara, I feel the same. Calli is nothing more but a friend and a fellow Holorapper."

"...Oh?" I looked up as I felt something on my shoulder. Then another. And another one.

"...Oh frick. It's gonna rain, Kiara. Let's get back quickly-" Calli said.

"NO! How about you and your BOYFRIEND, Shiro, just go together, while I run in the rain alone, huh?"

"K-Kiara, what the hell are you talking about? Stop this dramatic shit, let's go-"

"Well, guess what?" She said as she let go of Calli's hand by throwing it to the side.

Before we all knew it, the rain started coming down hard, and I had to put my hoodie up.

"Kiara, just talk it back at the Holohouse-"

"I ain't going to! I'm running back. ALONE!" She said as she zoomed past me while keeping her head low.

I turned around, and although tears and the raindrops were hard to distinguish, I heard a faint huff when she ran past me.

'...Oh God, no...I have to chase after her.' I thought.

"Calli!"

"E-Euh?"

"Go home alone and take these. Do whatever you want. Just keep it until I get Kiara back."

"A-Ah, what?- Hey, Shiro! SHIRO!" She shouted as I ran off to the distance.

"Goddammit! Jealousy is a bitch, ain't it?" I groaned.

I ran after Kiara with my hoodie over my head. Although the rain was getting heavy, and it was hard to see off in the distance, I could catch a faint orange hair in the distance.

'I hope Kiara won't get into an accident right now. She's not in shape either, so she might just push herself too far for running too fast!' I thought.

I finally went around the corner, and lost sight of her.

"Shit! Where'd she go?" I said as I actively looked to my left to check the alleyways as I ran past them.

"..Oh? There she is!" I said as I stopped immediately and leaned back to see her leaning against the wall with her back while holding her knees.

"Kiara!" I approached her.

"E-Eh? W-What're you doing?! Weren't you gonna go with your girlfriend?!"

"The hell, Kiara?! We're not into each other!"

"Well, that may be the case now, but soon enough! I know it'll develop into something fruitful!"

"No, it won't! It will never! Even if it did, I'll reject her! 'Cause I don't love her that way!"

"Oh yeah? Well, that doesn't matter!" She said as she approached me and grabbed my hoodie.

"Us Hololivers were so peaceful and all! We just hung out with each other with no worries, and the boys were all so polite and friendly! And the moment you showed up, the boys started acting wild, and even some of the girls are into you already! You think we don't know?! Rushia-senpai was in love with you! Roboco-senpai was into you! Mel-senpai said she had a crush on you when we talked in private! You know, how about you fuck me here in this alleyway?! I mean, you're the harem protagonist, after all! THE WORLD REVOLVES AROUND YOU!" She said in a loud voice before starting to inhale through her teeth intensely.

The rain blended in well with her tears, almost as if the rain was meant to happen. It felt like Kiara's emotions were translated in the rain. I can't say I blame it either. The loudness of the pitter patter even covered our voices, especially Kiara's cries of jealousy.

"Why!? Why?! WHY?! The moment you showed up, Hololive changed so much in that short amount of time! It's not even a month, and everything is going your way! You've got your music, you've got people that like you, you're just treating it as if you already know how it works! And we're here, struggling our asses off! You know, if you just wanna steal Calli, then now's the perfect chance! DO IT! I HAVE NO CHANCE ANYWAY! WHAT AM I GOOD FOR, AM I RIGHT?! CLEARLY, YOU'RE BETTER SUITED FOR CALLI!"

I clenched my fists. The rage I felt was as strong as the rain's impact towards the ground. I couldn't stand it anymore and had to vent out my anger, and that was with a slap to the face.

"...Kiara, get your shit together."

"..." She kept looking down.

"Know your worth, Kiara. Just because things are going smoothly for me doesn't mean I like it. You think I want a harem? It's been giving me stress lately. I only want to settle with one woman. You think it's easy for me to make music? I'm currently having artist's block. And besides, you've been going blind as hell."

"You made way too many memories with Calli. Calli was merely just making music with me. Your jealousy was misunderstanding everything." I continued.

"BUT WE'VE BEEN TOGETHER FOR TOO LONG, THE RELATIONSHIP MIGHT NEVER GO FORWARD!" She cried.

"It can! You just need to either push through, or forget the remains and start over!"

"But how?! Me and Calli have been together for so long, she might just think of me as a best friend now!"

"Then let me ask you a favor, Kiara!"

I held her shoulders firm and stared into her. Not her eyes, but into her. Kiara herself.

"Apologize to Calli and start over. You can scrape whatever memories you had made in the past, but once a broken heart has mended, it can develop into something new! If you really want to, you can do it! I know it! You know her way better than me! Think back to all those moments you've been with her!"

And that's when I visibly saw Kiara go back to reality. Like she just let go of her emotions and got an epiphany.

"...You're right...back then, Calli said she had a crush on me…"

"Mhmm...continue on."

"We also had times when we went to the beach together...went out and hung out in her old apartment…"

"Isn't it obvious? You can still progress forward! And even if she'll reject you in the end, you can at least be happy you had no regrets! It's better to be honest with your feelings than never get the chance to know what the answer is if you held back for your whole life! That's why...as the ex-General, this is an order, Kiara!"

"Forget the remains and start over with Calli!"