Chapter 11 - Not a Cat!

The elevator shakes slightly as it slows to a stop. A shallow jingle plays behind me, and a waft of cold wind washes over me as the door slides open. 

I step forward. The elevator closes behind me. My escape is no more.

Not that I will escape. My heart might feel like it's about to explode from panic, but I've made my promise, and I don't make a habit of breaking promises. My Ma will literally rise from the grave and punt my head in if I do.

I take a breath. 

I make my way to the woman at a nearby counter, and she bows as she sees me approach. "Good afternoon, Suzuki-san."

"Good afternoon." I bow. "Are you part of Hololive's staff?"

She quickly shakes her hands. "Ah, no. But Shirakami-san and her staff are already inside the recording studio." She points her hand at a door down the hallway to her left. "You'll find them there."

I smile. "Thank you for the help."

The walk down the hallway is daunting, but just as I'm about to knock on the door, I hear someone sing. High-pitched yet clear, with inflections and an accent I've become quite familiar with over the past week.

It's a beautiful voice.

I smile. And knock on the door. "Excuse me." I begin. "This is Suzuki Aiko. Am I correct that this is-?"

Before I can finish my words, the door clanks open, and I have only a moment to catch a white blur that's speeding towards me. I manage to do so, and I barely manage to stop myself from crashing into the wall behind me.

Blinking away the blur, I look down to see a pair of…white cat ears?

"Oi!" Someone calls out. "I'm a fox. Not cat! Fox!"

I blink. Those words are-

"Shirakami-san?"

Shirakami Fubuki grins. "Aiko-chan!" She giggles. "It's so good to finally meet you! I'm a huge fan!"

"R-Really?" I laugh, hoping my cheeks aren't too red. "To think Shirakami-san watches me-, it's an honor." I then clear my throat. Fubuki only blinks as she tilts her head. I meekly point at the arms wrapped around me. "Um, can you let go, Shirakami-san. My chest kinda hurts."

She blinks, and then her face goes red as she leaps back with a shriek. "S-S-Sorry! I was just so happy to-, and I just-, I-" Her fox ears flatten onto her head, and she covers her face as she shrieks. "I'm so sorry…!"

I chuckle. "It's okay. I'm just as happy to be here." And I then turn to the rest of the people in the room and bow. "And-, um, good afternoon, everyone. I'm Suzuki Aiko." Thankfully, none of them seem annoyed. If anything, they look rather used to the antics that just happened.

"So, how is this going to go?" I ask.

Fubuki shoots up, and she smiles. "Good question!" She brings out her phone and opens a note-taking app. "So it's going be like this,"

Their schedule is pretty simple. They'll spend an hour getting to know each other first while the staff and composer continues to tune the recording devices. 

Then they'll do an hour of practice together. There's no concrete plan, but Fubuki says that it'll mostly be them singing together. 

Then an hour of rest to prep their voices for the actual recording session. All the while the composer will go back to the altered melody he'd made of「虎狼来」and tweak it to match both of our voices.

And finally, once all of that is done, we'll spend as much time as we need to record our vocals.

It's much longer than what I did for my own song, but I'm not surprised. We'll be doing a duet this time, and this is basically the first time the staff has worked with me. They'll need time to adjust what they've prepared.

…of course, that means that the first thing I'll do is spend an hour with Fubuki. An hour with a talent from Hololive.

I can already feel my heart rate spiking from the thought alone.

But before I can think any further, Fubuki grabs onto my hand, and she grins as she pulls me out the door. "Come on!" She says, her bushy tail wagging as she smiles. "This floor is ours for the day. Let's go to the lounge."

I swallow my growing panic and smile. "Let's."

…

Time passed too quickly.

When Fubuki first dragged me into the lounge, I was beyond terrified. I mean, I might not watch other streamers much, but it'd be a crime for me not to know Hololive. And now I found myself sitting before her.

Yet, just minutes in, I find the ice freezing around my heart melt away. 

Shirakami Fubuki is cute, and brave, and talkative. What hesitation she has melts when she hears the games I like playing off-stream, and then we find common ground in some of the men we like—silver foxes for the win!—and our conversation just continued from there.

But, through it all, there's an odd, persistent feeling in the back of my mind. As if I've heard her list of favorite games before. As if I've heard her talk at length about random things before. As if I've known her before.

It's…weird. 

That aside, we went back to the recording room once an hour had gone by. The composer played the melody for both of us to hear, and I engraved the sounds into my head as I read the lyrics over.

And then we began singing.

It's amazing, really. Fubuki was an amazing singer, even if she didn't think so herself. Her range isn't as vast as others, and her added ears make her off-tune at times, but she adapts frighteningly fast.

And I'm more than happy to compliment her voice. My voice isn't that low, but it sounds positively baritone compared to Fubuki's. But I made it work, occasionally using Synchronize to help us sync better. 

The staff looked surprised when I kept up with Fubuki's stamina—she is a Kami after all—but then a strange sort-of understanding fell between them all. I'm not quite sure what it is, nor why I felt like an odd misunderstanding was building, but I didn't let it distract me from singing.

Though I'm not surprised. My End is definitely abnormal when compared to others.

Endurance: C+ (D+)

Progress to Rank C: 2%

I barely managed to reach a natural End of D+ from all the exercising I did. It was hell. Nearly eight hours of constant stamina training every day would've killed a normal person. But I persevered, and the results show.

The hour of practice ended, and the somewhat stupefied composer politely asked us to rest as he made some last fixes on the song. And with a grin Fubuki had dragged me back to the lounge for some girl-time.

But half-way through our girl-talk, someone else comes into the lounge. She's…strangely familiar, and I can't figure out why.

Before I can think any further, Fubuki grins. "A-chan!"

A-chan smiles. "Good afternoon, Shirakami-san. Suzuki-san. I'm sorry for interrupting your break."

I wave my hand. "It's fine, A…chan?" She nods, and I give her a thumbs up. "A-chan it is. And it's okay. It's not like the door's locked or anything." I tilt my head. "So, is something wrong?"

A-chan hums. "Ah, no, I'm just curious." She coughs. "Is there anything you'd like us to order?"

"Hamburger!" Fubuki shouts immediately.

A-chan giggles. "Of course, Shirakami-san." She turns to me. "And you, Suzuki-san?"

"Ah," I scratch my head. "Maybe some sōmen? Anything that goes down easily, I guess." I smile wryly. "I have a feeling I won't be able to do much after I'm done singing."

Fubuki blinks. "But you're fine now, aren't you?"

I laugh tiredly. "Kinda. But I'm still holding back a little." Her confusion grows, and I can only offer a shrug. "You'll see what I mean soon."

A-chan also looks a little confused, but she nods. "Hamburger and sōmen." She writes them down on a small notebook she pulled out from her pocket. "I'll get them ready soon." She smiles. "I hope everything goes well, Shirakami-san. Suzuki-san."

"It will!" Fubuki says.

The confidence makes me smile. "Yeah." I say. "I'm sure it will."

Half an hour passes without us noticing, and suddenly Fubuki and I are back in the recording studio. There are a pair of headphones over my ears, and I can see the Hololive staff and the composer on the other side. The composer gives a thumbs up, and he twists a dial.

Fubuki smiles at me. "Let's do this!" She whispers.

I wink back.

The melody starts. Rhymytic bass, paired with a slow electric guitar riff. A music fit for a bar, or perhaps a relaxed dance floor.

The small warmth in my chest expands into a raging flame, and I can feel myself tiring as both Golden Voice and Synchronize activate.

I take a breath, and I sing.

…

On the other side, everyone watches eagerly as the first lines of the song are approaching. It'll be Suzuki Aiko's turn first, and then Fubuki's. It'll switch back-and-forth, before ultimately joining during the chorus.

The moment Aiko first begins, everyone is blown away.

They'd all heard the amazing vocals she had in the viral music video she released. But, somehow, that amazing voice sounds even more angelic. Even Fubuki looks surprised, with her jaw wide open as she watches Aiko sing.

Amidst all the awed audience, Tanigo Motoaki smiles.

A-chan breathes out. "So this is what she meant…" She turns to him and smiles wryly. "It seems you're right, Tanigo-san."

He closes his eyes. "My instincts are rarely wrong."

A-chan hums as her eyes roam over the audience. They look entranced. Hypnotized, almost. The only exception is her and Yagoo. It's no surprise—their daily lives are filled with mythical beings. It's no surprise that they've built a sort-of resistance to such a magical experience.

A-chan hums. "Her singing reminds me of Hakos-san. Or Ayunda-san."

Yagoo nods. "It does, yes." He smiles. "Her stage presence is enthralling." A-chan sends him a long stare. Half amused, half accusing. He raises an eyebrow in return. "Is something wrong?"

"Tanigo-san." A-chan narrows her eyes. "No."

His smile grows. "Why not?"

"Schedule, Tanigo-san. Schedule."

"I make the schedule."

A-chan stares, and then sighs. Yagoo laughs, sorry yet not at all.

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Author's note:

Oh god. This fic was a mistake. I'm now trapped in the rabbit hole again, and I can't get out.