Ch 59 - The Girl I Like Pt. 2

Shiro didn't know what was happening at all. Not a clue. For a soldier who rose up the ranks mainly because of his extraordinary feats like his almost superhuman-like strength and his critical thinking, he felt powerless and his mind went blank. He couldn't think of a reason why Roboco and Matsuri would suddenly hug him like this.

"Uh...could you two get off of me?" Shiro asked, refraining from attempting to push them away for now.

"Nope! Not yet!" They said in unison.

"Are you getting flustered, Shiro-kun?~" Roboco asked.

She pushed her chest deeper into Shiro for a quick moment. Shiro slowly felt his blood rushing through his veins to get rid of them. However, he still had to hold back since the two were fragile, plus he got to feel boobs against his face for free, especially from somebody like Roboco. He would be lying if his words didn't contradict his little junior's current state.

"No, I'm not. But anyway, please get off. And especially YOU, Matsuri!"

Shiro pushed Roboco off gently, but he firmly gripped onto Matsuri's cheeks and squeezed it as his fingers sank in. Her cheeks did feel very soft, so he could do this all day.

"A-AAARGH!!! STOP IT!" Matsuri whined while hovering her hands over his.

"Nope. You're cuter this way, you little brunette bitch."

"I'M NOT A BITCH!"

"Yes, you are." Shiro restated and squeezed tighter while playing with her cheeks.

Matsuri kept pouting and made a cute face. The temptation to increase the force was high, but he held himself back 'cause he knew this would hurt her further. While this was happening, Shiro looked back at Temma.

"So, how's the novel?"

"I'm liking it. Seems interesting, actually."

"Nice." Shiro chuckled.

"Hey...when will you do that to my cheeks?" Roboco pouted.

"Oh, are your cheeks soft too?"

"You know you can hold something else other than my cheeks that're way softer.~" Roboco teased while looking at Shiro in a certain way. It lowkey seemed that there was more sexual tension than any adult video that Shiro bookmarked in Google.

"Um...no thanks." Shiro's eyebrows twitched as he blushed slightly.

The lounge soon filled up with the Hololiver's usual talking that could make it sound like a classroom with everybody's circles talking about their daily lives. Boys here, girls there. Matsuri and Roboco also went back to their respective circles, while Shiro got to talk with some of the Holostars who were able to catch some sleep.

However, there was one thing that stood out to him. Some of them weren't talking. It WAS the usual talking, but not the usual numbers. Rather, those who didn't talk were on their phones going crazy with their thumbs tapping away.

Initially, Shiro thought they were chatting with some of their in-real-life friends or went to search up something in Google, but he scanned the whole room and found that they threw a couple glances at him. Shiro just kept "talking" with the Holostars, but when he could get the chance, he'd observe even closer.

'The hell are they up to?' Shiro thought.

Even though Shiro wanted to know what they were up to, maybe he was overthinking things. The Hololivers weren't spies, nor did they even have the qualities of a fighter. Excluding Temma and Korone, Shiro knows full well they're just normal streamers, so he just shrugged it off and continued on with his tasks today.

"Say, anything interesting happening today, guys?" Shiro asked as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Oh? I don't really know. I still gotta finish my coffee before I get to work and such." Roberu said.

"Hmm...dunno, really. Try checking Twitter or something." Temma said.

"Alright, guess I'll check Youtube...Oh wow, I got something here."

"Hmm? What is it?" Temma asked.

"Calli's almost gonna reach 1 million and 250 thousand subs, while Shion is gonna reach 700 thousand." Shiro chuckled.

The Holostars were amazed at the sudden numbers and clapped a bit while even cheering them on.

"Yo! Man, I'm feeling old now. How long has it been since Calli-chan debuted? As expected of HoloEN!" Roberu said.

"They've come a long way, man. It feels nice that Shion-chan also got 700k subs." Temma said.

"I know, right? Hey, Calls! Calls!!!" Shiro said in Japanese before switching to English.

He stood up and went to where Calli was sitting. Shiro slightly noticed it, but the girls near her vicinity either instantly got their phones off or switched to another app.

"Yo, it's amazing how you got this many subscribers so quickly!" Shiro pointed to his phone's screen.

"Yeah...I'm even amazed by it. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve getting that many subs." Calli scratched her head and giggled nervously.

"Ah, trust me. You deserve it, Calls. Hey, Shion. Congratulations on your 700k subs!" He switched to Japanese.

"Oh? A-Ah, thank you!" Shion giggled more nervously than Calli did earlier. It had a tone similar to Aqua's. She was, after all, not really an ambivert, let alone an extrovert.

"So? What's your gift for Shion-chan, Shiro-kun?" Choco asked.

"Hmm...good question." Shiro closed his eyes and put his hand on his chin.

"...W-Wait, you're actually serious about giving her a gift?-"

"Of course. I mean, it's a special occasion. Should I not? I also need to think of one for Calli."

Everybody obviously heard that. At that moment, despite it being for a split-second and with complete silence, they knew one thing.

'SOMEBODY STOP SHIRO BEFORE HE SPLURGES HIS MONEY!!!'

"H-Hey, y-you don't have to buy me one. I'm fine, really!" Shion frantically waved her hands left and right.

"Nonsense. I'm buying you one, whether you like it or not."

"Seriously?! But it's fine! Don't splurge your money!"

"I bought a lot of things before. Not to mention, two Infiniti cars once and some sneakers. A mere 10,000 yen item ain't gonna stop me, jeez." Shiro waved his hand.

Gen 2 sighed, followed by everybody else doing the same thing. Of course Shiro would do something like this. He's Shiro, after all. The rapper who used to be called "White T" and was the youngest rapper of Japan. Not to mention, the money he received combined with his salary as a JGSDF officer.

"Well, you do you, Shiro-kun. Don't spend it on something too expensive, okay?"

"Don't worry, I won't." Shiro chuckled with his chest forward.

He already knew what to give her. Although he didn't want to force her going out of her comfort zone, a gift he planned for her was something related to fashion. Specifically, he wanted to buy her a nice dress. In case her family had some special occasions or so, she could use it. Another is food for her cat. Why wouldn't he buy for her cat too?

"Oh yeah. Calls!" Shiro went towards Calli and put his arm around her.

"W-W-What is it?" Calli blushed a bit as he got closer. Their cheeks were practically almost touching.

While this was happening, the others wondered if he had a crush on Calli. They did seem close, and the two were rappers and music producers. Then again, he didn't show too many signs with her in the past. Or maybe, he had a silent crush on her?

"Soon enough, when I get 1 million subs, let's make a nice single, ey? Of course, we're gonna work on it when you have time."

"Oh, that? Of course! I'm actually just waiting for you, since I have personal projects of mine. It won't bother me though if you ask me out of the blue."

"Is that so? Well then, expect me to barge in unexpectedly when the time comes." Shiro chuckled as he patted Calli on the back.

"Mhmm."

'...Wait, did he just pat Calli(-chan) on the back?' Everybody thought.

He didn't give her a small kiss, he didn't normally get rid of his hand nor lowered it to her waist, and he didn't even act flirtatious. Shiro gave her a simple pat on the back. This crossed out the possibility that he had a crush on Calli, since there's no way a guy would do that to a girl unless he considers her like a close friend. This made the Hololivers sigh.

"Alright, guess I'll go in a bit and then maybe make some music or so. I'll see." Shiro said, going back to his chair.

"Hey, I just noticed something, Shiro!" Subaru said.

"Hmm?"

"You're fast approaching 300k subs too!"

"Ah, really? Damn, I forgot to check my channel." Shiro chuckled and scratched his head.

Unlike his 200k sub celebration, he knew what to do beforehand, albeit not totally prepared. A 1 hour freestyle while playing something that requires a lot of concentration. Although Tetris could work, he wasn't in the mood nor would he be able to get far while doing 1 hour freestyles. Then that lead to CS:GO, a game he's very used to playing.

Combining his almost effortless freestyling skills with CS gameplay, he thought it was manageable. First things first though, he had to ask permission from Daijo.

"Shiro!!!" Subaru said.

"Hmm? Oi, wait a minute!-"

Shiro suddenly met Subaru's arms wrapped around his neck. Fortunately he had the mask on, otherwise his red face would've been seen by everybody. Although the Holostars knew about it, he still didn't want it to be seen.

"Congratulations! I hope the best for your 300k sub special!!!" Subaru said, digging her chest deeper into the back of Shiro's head.

"Ah, y-y-yeah. Anyway, for now, could you please get off of me real quick?!"

Shiro grabbed her wrists, twisted his head to the left, and then pushed her off swiftly but gently. His heart was used to hot and beautiful girls, but Subaru managed to make his heart pump fast. That was a close one before she could even feel it.

"Oh? W-Why?"

"Just uh...whatever. I was just a bit surprised." Shiro cleared his throat.

"Really? I'm pretty sure I shouted your name before running towards you though…" Subaru pouted.

"Wait a minute...did she just call you 'Shiro' without the '-kun'?" Roberu asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

It was there that Shiro noticed he was more or less busted, depending on how you look closely at it. Anybody but the JP could address him without "-kun", but Subaru was the first to call him by his first name without any honorifics.

"Why is she calling you without the honorifics?" Roberu asked.

This cued the other Holostar members at the table to look at Shiro with a slight smug. It only provoked Shiro even more to blush harder.

"She wanted to call me without an honorific to be more casual. No more, no less." Shiro quickly replied.

"Hmm?~ Welp, I guess that's that." Roberu said.

'Phew. Crisis averted.'

Or so Shiro thought. After the sudden reaction to Subaru's actions, all of the girls immediately picked up on this and they arrived at one hypothesis. Subaru was his crush.

A good handful of them concluded it, more or less, but others needed more evidence. More proof to see if Shiro really had feelings for Subaru. For all they know, he probably was just actually surprised from it since he focused on his phone. Then again, a soldier like him should be expected to act quick and be responsive to his surroundings.

"Oh, now that I think about it, Shiro…" Subaru started another topic.

"Hmm?"

"Your growth rate seems massive, so it wouldn't take long until you actually reach 300k. Wanna go somewhere with me after your stream?"

"Like...getting lunch or something?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, that sounds like fun. Better dress up in advance."

"Yay!!" Subaru said cheerfully, to which he chuckled and smiled as he went back to his phone. The others raised their suspicions even more from this gesture, but nonetheless, those who needed more proof were still on the move.

'Hmm...I wonder what they're gonna do?' Reine and Ina thought.

~~Misogynistic Hololiver~~

Around 11 AM, Shiro started his stream, and proceeded to freestyle for 1 hour while playing CS:GO. It seemed as if he had no effort in his freestyles and was focusing purely on gameplay, so it attracted a lot of viewers — amounting to a total of 39k —, but he did 3 things at once. Rapping, gaming, and looking at the chat for inspiration. In the end, he got 304k subs.

He dressed up, put on some cologne, combed his hair properly, and put on deodorant as he went to the lounge and waited for Subaru. There, he did some small talk with Miko and Pekora, and they chatted about some trivial stuff like what's been going on with the two, how they're doing well, etc.

"Well, I'm glad to know you two are doing well. You two are girlfriend and girlfriend, after all." Shiro smiled.

"Yeah!" They both said.

Seeing a relationship like this made him very happy. A loyal couple who resonates with one another makes him delighted. He wondered if he could get this relationship with Subaru one day, especially with how she is always cheerful.

"Hey, Shiro!" He heard her voice at the stairs as she went down.

"Oh? Ah-"

Yellow oversized shirt, denim short shorts, and white Vans. Shiro immediately put his hands in his pockets and arranged his junior quickly to make the bulge less noticeable for the public eye.

"Say, do I look okay? I wanted to go for something more casual, but I'm not sure if this looks fine…" Subaru said, looking at her shirt and legs.

"Y-Yeah. You look more casual, actually. I like it." Shiro giggled nervously.

'I like it a bit too much. Holy fuck, you're so hot, Subaru.' He thought.

He was very close to grabbing her and kissing her neck, but he had to hold back, even if his pants were starting to tighten.

"Let's go, Shiro!"

"Yeah." Shiro smiled and put his phone in his fanny pack.

Subaru acted like they were just going on a normal type of date, but little did he know that Subaru actually planned a little something special for Shiro.

Prior to going out, Subaru told the others to get one representative from each generation who was also free, and they had to tail both of them so they could get more clues as to who his crush was. About half of the representatives already arrived at a conclusion, but they still tagged along, because why not? If it could support their conclusion even more, then there seems to be no problem.

"Say, i-is this gonna work? I-I wanna go back and play some Apex-"

"Oh shucks, Aqua-chan. Imagine getting Shiro-kun into Apex more while training with him. Wouldn't that be great? Besides, he protected you that one time, so if anything were to happen to you, he'd be the regular ol' Shiro-kun!" Matsuri said to Aqua.

"Besides, he's like my best friend when it comes to exercising! It's my job to comfort him and give him my best advice when it comes to girls!" Korone said.

"You two are best friends?" Aqua asked.

"Nope! But we feel like it! Hehe.~"

Korone smiled and put her hands on her cheeks.

"He always gives me his water bottle when I consume mine and still feel thirsty. Not to mention, he's also giving me a few Taekwondo techniques! I've been practicing my kicks for a while!"

"Isn't that just a friendly gesture? He just wants you to be able to defend yourself." Matsuri deadpanned.

"I guess, but we always exercise everyday! I also feel way stronger than before thanks to his routine! Though, I still can't beat him." Korone giggled.

Shiro and Subaru finally got to the mall (With the other Hololivers tailing them, of course) and went to the food court. It would be the second time Shiro would take his mask off in public to eat together with Subaru.

"Oh? More meat this time?"

"Well, I got very hungry after freestyling for an hour while playing Counter-Strike, and not to mention, I exercised intensely with Korone yesterday, so eating like a hippo today wouldn't be too bad." Shiro said as he breathed out and closed his eyes.

Slowly but surely, he revealed the scar on his face once more to Subaru. The same old scar starting from near his left nostril to his right chin. Unlike before though, Subaru smiled and giggled. She even put her hand near her mouth when she did.

"W-What? Is my scar funny?"

"No...it's just that I love you're finally not afraid to show it."

This made Shiro a bit surprised. Of course, the more you face your fears and get out of your uncomfortable zone, the more you get desensitized, but he didn't feel too anxious at this moment. He felt mostly relaxed and calm.

Though, despite that fact, he still did feel uncomfortable. After all, the scar reminded him of his mom, and he hates thinking about that.

"Not really. The scar just brings back some bad memories I don't like to think about."

"Still, if you ever feel uncomfy, just tell me. I won't force you!"

"I got a bit desensitized from it. This is fine, I guess."

"Really? Well then, let's dig in!" Subaru said.

The two started eating and conversing. While this was happening, everybody else who were watching from far away and in a place where Shiro was unlikely to see them took note of what was happening.

He smiled, giggled, talked to Subaru with his top teeth showing, his body full of her attention, and even while eating, he started getting comfortable with his mask off.

"I see...maybe Subaru-chan really is his crush." Korone said.

"So that's what he looks like without his mask...h-he looks cool, to be honest. Just like an anime character!" Aqua said.

"Poor Shiro...it looks very big, I wanna try touching it." Sora frowned a bit.

"Oi oi oi. Don't take that out of context!!!" The girls quickly said.

"Though, I wouldn't be surprised if Shiro-kun actually likes Subaru-chan. He always seems to act differently around her." Matsuri pouted.

"Is that so?" Sora asked.

"Hmm…" Ina and Reine squinted while looking at the two of them.

'...I'm not jealous. Yup. He's just a fellow Hololiver.'

They both thought respectively, but their hands holding the bars near the edge of the floor say otherwise.

"H-Hey, aren't you two acting a bit different too?-"

"We're not jealous." Reine and Ina said in Japanese.

"Ah, r-r-r-right." Matsuri giggled nerovusly.

Going back to Subaru and Shiro, they were still having a lovely time eating their food while chatting about trivial stuff about their lives. This showed a great opportunity for Subaru to give him "that question".

"So...Shiro. Can I ask you something?"

"Ah, sure!"

"What do you think of the Hololive girls?"