Ch 68 - New Acquaintances, Old Faces Pt. 5

Once Shiro and the others had left, the police had finally arrived, going into the mall and securing the building.

"Hey! Freeze!" The police pointed their guns at Ryo and the others.

"Don't worry, latecomers. We came here first and neutralized the bad guys. We're just checkin' if they've got some things we can examine from them."

"Well, we're sincerely sorry to have dispatched late. That's our fault. However, it's fine now. The NPA are here, and there's no reason for the army to be here in the first place. Wait...why are you here?" The leader of the police ordered his men to look at the upper floors.

"That's classified information. Well, we were done with our business here anyway. You all do your jobs." Ryo looked at the three and signaled them to go out along with him.

"Oh, and also…" Ryo slowed down, standing next to the officer.

"This'll be real bad once Russian and Japanese citizens find out what the hell happened here."

"R-Russian?"

"Just check the IDs. You put two and two together, officer." Ryo said as the four walked out of the mall.

The officer looked at one of the bodies on the ground, and searched through all the pockets. He found an ID.

"My god..."

"What did that man say, officer?" The policeman behind him asked.

"...To put it bluntly, we're more or less screwed."

~~Misogynistic Hololiver~~

'Hoo, man. That was a trip. I hope they're not too traumatized. Though...I shouldn't be saying that when they're clearly shaking, breathing deeply, and cold like the Arctic.'

He sat in the middle while Haato and Hoshikawa were at his sides in the taxi. Shiro had to calm them down, but because he wasn't as close with them, the best he could do was to hold hands.

"At least they promised not to tell it to anyone and keep it between themselves."

"Hey, you two."

"H-Hmm? What?"

"You know, we've gotten familiar with each other a bit. Wanna go out for some yakiniku soon?"

"Eh? Yakiniku? That'd be nice…" Haato said.

"Sounds yummy...but that'll be a bit expensive, won't it?" Hoshikawa asked.

"Oh, don't worry. I can shoulder everything if you can't reach it. I've got money, after all."

"EH?! YOU'RE THE KOUHAI! DON'T!" They both remarked.

"H-Huh? I don't really care about this kouhai-senpai relationship thing when it comes to paying for food. Don't worry, I'm not broke. Besides, I eat a lot, so anything I order, I'll pay for it myself. You two can pay for your own. Sounds fair, right?"

"Well...even then, you're the kouhai. Isn't it Japanese tradition to treat the kouhai?" Haato asked.

"And isn't it also tradition for the inviter to pay for the invitees?"

The two kept quiet for a while, groaning and pouting at Shiro. "Well, it's still far from now. We'll talk about it again another time." He chuckled.

They finally got back to the building and went to the function hall.

"Hey, Shiro-kun! Welcome back-woah, why'd you tie the hoodie around you?" Roberu asked.

"Oh, it was so hot outside, I was sweating an ocean. Thought I'd take off my hoodie for a bit."

"Ah, okay! At least you're back!" Roberu nodded as he went back to chatting with everybody else.

"Hey, um, Haato, Hoshikawa, I gotta go to the bathroom real quick...Just tell the others if they ask, okay?"

"O-Okay." They said, sweating a bit.

As the double doors closed, Shiro instantly got his phone and texted Yagoo if he was free. There was no reply yet.

"Shit. I really need to inform him about this and see if this was planned beforehand or not."

Shiro sighed and put his phone back into his pocket.

"I'll just ask him again once he's free." Shiro said to himself as he entered the room.

After a couple minutes had passed, he checked the text again, and saw that Yagoo was done with his meeting.

Shiro: Old Man, where are you right now?

Yagoo: I'm currently in the Hololive HQ. What's the problem?

Shiro: Is there anybody near you? I need to talk real quick

Yagoo: No. Nobody is here. What's the talk all about?

"Yo, guys. I'll be out for a while. I've got something important to answer."

"Ah, sure! Go ahead, Shiro-kun!" Fubuki replied.

Once he was out in the corridor and went somewhere far, Shiro dialed Yagoo's number. He paced back and forth, waiting for him to pick it up.

"Pick up, Old Man, pick up-Ah, hey, Old Man! Thank God you picked up!"

"Well, what's the problem? Is it urgent?"

"Well, it all depends on what you'll answer. I'll get straight to the point. Are you absolutely sure about this meet up party not being leaked to a third party?"

Yagoo could be heard sighing on the other side. "Again with this? Look, I'm busy, so you should know something like this isn't appropriate-"

"Old Man, I was literally targeted by Russians."

"...You what?"

"Okay, so...have you seen the news? Has it reached the news?"

"Reached what? Wait, news? What happened?"

"Well, basically, me and a couple livers went to a mall, Hololive and Nijisanji. We were gonna go out when I had the urge to go to the bathroom, so I did. When I went out, some Russians came out of nowhere and almost killed me."

Shiro couldn't hear anything from Yagoo's side for a while. He must've been flabbergasted to hear the news. "A-Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Old Man. Not a single scratch on me. Though, I really need to know if this party is on lock. Not only am I doing this for their safety, but also for mine. I need to make sure those were the only guys after me."

"Shiro, I swear on my life that I would never ever put my talents at risk. I may have made some mistakes in the past, but this is the whole company we're talking about, not just one individual. I took extra measures to ensure your safety."

"Then…do you have any idea why I'd be targeted by Russians?"

"I have no idea…"

"I see...Well then, you can carry on with your business, Old Man. Sorry to have bothered ya."

"It's okay. Just...I just hope you're okay."

"Yeah, I am. Don't worry." Shiro said, hanging up the phone.

'Damn, if Old Man is correct, then who the fuck sent those guys after me? Not to mention, we went into the mall on a whim, yet they knew where I was. There's no way anybody would be able to plan that...unless…'

"...Are there more roaming around, I wonder?"

Assuming there was a mastermind behind it all, there was no way that anybody could have predicted Shiro going into a mall. If that was the case, and some Russians were after him, and especially had to be reported through an earpiece, there must've been more walking around the city.

"This is bad...I need to be more wary when I go home." Shiro clenched his fists.

What if they followed him home? What if they were going to harm the others? Who really is responsible for this? Could it be one of Adrik's past men? These were the questions inside Shiro's head. Anxiety filled his mind as he thought of the possible theories.

"Well...I'll just save the guns for later. For now, I need to be the V-Rapper everyone knows me for." Shiro closed his eyes and breathed out.

~~Misogynistic Hololiver~~

"Yo! How was it, Shiro-kun? Ya got to interact with some nice people, right?" Roberu wrapped his arm around Shiro's neck and poked him.

"Yeah, I guess." He chuckled.

Shiro looked back at the others to see some Hololive and Nijisanji livers walk together, like Haato and Hoshikawa, and Suisei and Toko. Unlike a majority of Hololivers who were about to head back to the school, some decided to hang out and catch up more with their close friends.

"How were your talks with your oshis, boys? Did you let out every little drop of blood from your hearts?"

"You bet! Man, that was such a nice experience! I'll never wash my hands ever again!" Aruran said.

"Tell that to your doctor when you're about to cause a bubonic plague." Shiro said, making the Holostars laugh.

"Oi oi oi! That was a figure of speech, you know?!"

"I know, I know. Well, I guess I'll never understand it…"

"...You say that, but you fanboy like hell for Ayame-chan, you know?" Astel blankly stared.

"Well, I won't deny it. Though...even if Ayame touched my hand, I'd still wash it. The memory itself is enough to keep me up at night." Shiro waved his hand.

"Say, we don't really have streams, so we got nothing better to do than just sleep or something. But Shiro-kun, don't you have something coming out tonight?" Kaoru asked.

"Ah, you mean my finally-releasing cover of Usseewa? It's scheduled, so I'm more or less free as well."

"Just before we go, by the way, did everybody get their stuff back there?" Shien asked.

Everybody nodded.

"Alright! Let's go!" He put his hand in the air.

"Damn, just like the boss you are." Oga chuckled.

"What do y'all wanna have for dinner?" Shiro asked.

"Wanna go somewhere else to eat?" Suzaku suggested.

"Eh? I don't think Shiro-kun can eat out in public yet. Can you?" Temma looked at Shiro.

"Well...if it's a restaurant where we can have privacy or where there's not a lot of people, I'm down."

"Hmm...are you saying we should eat in an expensive restaurant?" Aruran sweat dropped.

"That's one possible option."

"WE'RE NOT GONNA EAT WAGYU, OKAY?! IT'S TASTY AS HELL, BUT IT'S EXPENSIVE!"

"I didn't say we were gonna do that. Though...how about we all eat as a sushi restaurant? It doesn't get a lot of customers, and we can have a fun time chatting with each other. It's also reasonably priced for all of you, right?"

"Hmm...well, I guess a few thousand yen can be spent. What do you guys think?"

"I'm down, if you all are down." Izuru said.

"Sushi, huh? Sounds neat. It's been a while since I ate sushi." Roberu said.

"If it's decided, then hey, we're going, yo." Shiro chuckled.

The Holostars went to a nearby sushi restaurant and went to a table. Thankfully, Roberu went to do the ordering, so Shiro could stay still and give himself relief from having to expose his face's scar to people he didn't know.

"Say, are you really okay with showing that? You're not anxious?" Rikka asked.

"Well, honestly speaking, a little bit. However, not only is the scar sorta fading away, but the only stranger here is the chef. It's fine even if he sees it. Besides...I do wanna go back to normal as well. You know, to the point where I don't need to wear a mask anymore?"

"Eh?~ Well, you're making some good progress!" He clapped.

"Honestly speaking, whatever doubts you have about your face, you really look fine even with it. If you think it affects your appearance, it really doesn't. Maaan, I feel jealous! I wish I could be as good-looking!" Aruran giggled.

"Well, I don't really like comparing looks, but thanks for the compliment." Shiro chuckled.

"Hey, the chef is preparing our food! Now we play the waiting game!" Roberu said as he came back.

"Alright, important question of the night. Do we split the bill, or does one person have to pay for everybody?"

"Split the bill." They said, blankly staring at Shiro.

"H-Hey, don't look at me like that." He sweat dropped.

They finally got their order, and started eating and conversing with one another. It was a quiet restaurant, and a quiet night, but they made the atmosphere lively. A memory to remember about them strengthening their camaraderie.

~~Misogynistic Hololiver~~

"Man, the views of 'USSEEWA' are hella bussin'!"

Everybody went back to the Holohouse and Shiro went to his computer to make some music. When he stopped by YouTube to check his cover, it got 300k views in under an hour.

"Man, I can't believe everybody actually likes it. I do like the art myself. The music? I mean...I did work hard to make it good, after all."

Shiro smiled and closed the browser.

'I guess I should just forget whatever the hell happened earlier and thank God for letting me live to see another day.'

Or so Shiro thought. However, when he thought back to the gun with Adrik's logo on it, he couldn't help but feel like there's more to it than what Ryo said. It's not like he didn't trust him, but something about it felt one-sided, like missing pieces to a jigsaw puzzle.

'...I'm gonna do something real quick.' Shiro looked back at the screen.

He didn't wanna do it, and risk knowing something he wished he didn't know, but he couldn't sit still and let it slide. Shiro had to go to the dark web and see if Adrik's guns were truly sent to buyers and not for mass production and sold for all to see.

'It's ridiculous to overreact over a gun logo, I know, but there really isn't anybody else who'd be running over the business except for Adrik. He's the only one who could supervise and manage the whole thing.'

Shiro searched through articles, gun shops, black markets, Russian websites, and anything that correlated to Adrik's guns. However, minutes passed, and he couldn't find anything, nor could he get a lead.

"Damn, a cul de sac. There really isn't any production going on with it, huh?"

Shiro heaved a sigh of relief and closed the browser. "Well, at least that's a huge weight off my shoulders. I guess I'll just continue on with my music production. Gotta make some freestyle beats for the Privates, after all."

~~April 12, 2021 5:30 AM~~

"Say...Shiro-kun?" Korone started.

"What?"

"Don't you think there are a bit too many soldiers around?" Korone asked.

"Yeah...that's kinda odd."

A few blocks or so, Shiro and Korone would see a few soldiers standing idly on the streets and surveilling the area.

"Say, I don't mean to state the obvious or anything, but have you seen the news?"

"News? Ooh, you mean the mall where a gunfight happened?"

"Yeah! Like…don't you think that's scary?"

"Well...it is. It surprised me as well, as Japan has strict gun laws. I'm just one of the special cases."

"But aside from that, do you think that's why there are some soldiers around?"

"Maybe…"

'I really hope those guys from yesterday were the only ones. I don't plan in having to deal with a traumatized doggo too. Korone's too precious for this world, and she's just an innocent civilian."

After Korone and Shiro did their usual jogging and exercise at the park, they went back to the Holohouse and greeted the Hololivers.

"Yo. (Yo!)" Shiro and Korone greeted everybody.

"Oh? Hey! Koro-chan! Did you see some soldiers when you went out this morning?" Fubuki said.

"Oh? Yeah! We did!"

"Hey, Shiro-kun, do you know anything about this?" Oga asked.

"Bruh, I'm retired. How would I know? Also...what do you mean?" Shiro said as he looked at the TV with the others.

A news anchor was on the screen, showing a picture of the mall that Shiro and a few Hololivers went to. "Because of the incident that transpired, the mall is temporarily closed until further notice. As we speak, Yoshihide Suga, the current Prime Minister of Japan, and Vladimir Putin, the current President of Russia, are planning to have talks soon in order to assess their current relationship."

"For the meantime, the JSDF deployed soldiers all across Japan as a security measure, and plans to die down as soon as the situation is resolved. The Prime Minister reassures that this is nothing to panic about. That is all." The news anchor continued before showing another topic.

Everybody started to talk with each other about it, worrying what it might mean for Japan, and hoping that it's nothing serious, as stated.

Shiro started mumbling, "What the fuck? Relations? Talks? Not to mention, the commander-in-chief of the Ministry of Defense is the Prime Minister, so…"

"Fucking hell. Whoever planned the attack, you just officially fucked up both countries. Thank you very much, assclown."

"Hey, Shiro-kun! What is this all about?" Korone asked.

"Huh?"

"I-I know you're retired and all, but you were a past soldier, right? I-Is it really nothing to worry about?"

Shiro clenched his fists and looked at everybody. He was the type to be blunt, but being straightforward with his delivery might actually make everyone worry even more, so he had to slightly sugarcoat it while explaining the situation.

"Well, if the Prime Minister said that, then it should be safe. After all, this is probably a misunderstanding or something, like those Russians who shot up the mall were hired. Something like a mercenary, you could say."

'If they were part of let's say a terrorist group like Adrik's, sure. That's fine. However, the fact that Yoshihide had to talk with Putin...those guys must've been big shots.'

"Say...I also gotta say something, Shiro-kun." Roberu said.

"Oh?"

"You see, you may or may not have seen it, but the news showed footage recorded from someone showing a guy with white hair and a black hoodie fighting against the Russian men. Afterwards, some JSDF members came to help. By any chance, that wasn't you, right?"

Instantly, Shiro was walking on a tightrope. He was fine with lying about it, but he wasn't sure if the Hololivers who were there that day really kept their promise of not saying a word about it.

"I mean, I did see the footage. I even thought that was me, but rest assured, that wasn't me. I didn't even know that was happening while me and some livers yesterday went out."

"T-That has to be a lie!"

Everybody looked at who said that, and it was Rushia. Shiro felt his heart skip a beat. He wondered if she saw right through that lie, or if she heard it from somebody else.

"Shiro-niichan, it may have caught the guy from very far away, but there was no denying about that silhouette! It really looked like you! I'm sure everybody here could see it too! Not to mention, that black mask! Only a few people would wear that! There's nothing wrong with admitting it, you know? You were just trying to protect yourself!"

"H-Hey, Rushia. I promise, it's not me." Shiro said, sweating a bit.

"This is bad. I don't want them to know. I don't want them to worry."

"Rushia." Marine said. Rushia turned to her, and she continued, "I went with Shiro-kun yesterday, remember? I can vouch for him that he was not, at all, there. We were just roaming around Tokyo, and we didn't know the commotion happened during that time."

"...I see...Shiro-niichan, I'm very sorry for acting rude about it."

"Ah, no. Don't worry. Like I said, he looked like me, but I don't recall ever going to a mall of any sort that day."

Shiro smiled like it was second nature, but after seeing Sora, Suisei, Matsuri, Haato, and Marine's side eye with a nuanced frown, his heart started feeling the guilt building up inside him. They know the truth, and wanted to say it, but they had to respect Shiro's wish.

"I'm sorry, everybody, but I wanna leave that behind. I just want to spend time with my present family now. My friends, my colleagues. All of you."

And now, the lounge went dead silent. Everybody looked side to side, itching to see somebody break the silence or even just move a muscle. Shiro thought now would be a good time to break the tension.

"Well, the morning is awkward right now, everybody. How about we all continue having breakfast and doing our usual business, ey? We do have streams later, so how about we all talk about that instead, huh? As for me, I'll be going back to my room. See y'all." Shiro waved as he went to his room.

'Damn...it's an ugly thing, but I hope I didn't hurt them in any way. Those faces tell something, I tell ya.'

"Anyway, I've got a Russian CS:GO stream later, so I should worry about that instead. Out of sight, out of mind."

~~Misogynistic Hololiver~~

"'Think of your mind as a river. The faster it flows, the better it keeps up with the present and responds to change. The faster it flows, the more it also refreshes itself and the greater its energy. Obsessional thoughts, past experiences, and preconceived notions are like boulders or mud in this river, settling and hardening there and damming it up. The river stops moving; stagnation sets in. You must wage constant war on this tendency in the mind.'"

Shiro closed the book and heaved a sigh.

"Welp, guess what I've been doing recently is helpful. It's a good thing I reread this book. Anyway, I gotta drink some water."

As Shiro went to get water, he got a notification in his phone, so he grabbed it from his pocket and turned it on.

"Shiina? What's the message about?"

The message read, "Shiro-niichan, do you know about the park that's close to the school? You might know it as the place you jog at since I've seen you there once when I was also exercising there. I'd like to talk with you at that park tonight, maybe around 6:30. You don't have a stream at that time, right? I promise I won't keep you for too long."

"Shiina wants to talk to me? Why not here? Hmm...Well, I guess I gotta make time for my sister anyway, so I guess it's fine."

Hours passed, and it had reached nighttime. Shiro didn't want to wear anything too fancy, so he wore a dark red polo with jeans and pumas. He rode a taxi towards the place, and tried to find Shiina.

A girl with black and white hair soon saw Shiro, and she started waving at him as he walked briskly towards her.

"Shiro-niichan! Oh, I didn't expect you to wear a polo. What is this, a date?" Shiina giggled.

"Ah, well, since we're going out here, I might as well dress in something more presentable."

"Well...I guess this does count as a date, so that's one thing." Shiina blushed and looked away while smiling.

"Um...did you call me here for a date, by any chance?"

"Well, no, unfortunately." Shiina pouted. "But that's not important! Here, sit down with me!"

Shiro sat down, and they both were left with nothing but the two of them. "So, what did you wanna talk about?" Shiro asked.

"Well...you see, I have no idea if you told the Hololivers, but...that was you, wasn't it?"

"Who?"

"The guy who fought against the Russians. That was you, right?"

"...Jeez, the Hololivers also said that. I'm telling y'all, that's not me-"

"Shiro-niichan, don't lie to me. That was you. Am I right, or am I wrong?"

Shiro sweated a bit as Shiina stared at him. It was a new sight to see. He never really saw her to be the type to get angry like that.

"...How do you know it?"

"You may be able to fool the Hololivers, since your silhouette was vague, but I know for sure, that white hair, that hoodie, that stature, I know that it belonged to my big brother. Even my parents say so."

"Then...did you snitch on anyone else?"

"No. I'm not the type to share secrets for fun." Shiina softened her face and smiled. "But you know...everybody who knows you — your family, your friends, and your fans —, they know you were a soldier. They know you used to do things that would make anybody sick and traumatized. You basically almost died there! Don't you know how much this worried us?"

"Shiina, in my defense, I was targeted."

"T-Targeted?"

"I don't know if they're military or terrorists, prolly the latter since, no matter what I thought, I haven't done anything deserving of death from the Russian government, but what I do know is that they wanted me. I repeat, me. You know, everybody is panicking from how they think World War 3 is coming, but I'm slightly grateful that soldiers are roaming around, ensuring another incident like yesterday won't happen again."

Shiro continued, "Shiina, don't you get it? I'm anxious because I don't want to endanger my country. Sure, I'm worrying over my safety, everybody would want to live no matter how much they hate themselves, but I'm more worried of having to go back to active duty and finishing some unfinished business."

"And that is?"

"...I can't tell you." Shiro looked away.

There was a brief moment of silence, before Shiina broke it.

"...Shiro-niichan." She said as she scooched closer to him.

"Hmm?"

Shiina hugged Shiro's arm and dug her face in his shoulder. "I know it's unreasonable, but people love you. My parents, the Hololivers, me, everybody cares for you so much, even when you don't think so. When my parents heard the news, they instantly called me and told me to talk with you in private to ensure you were okay. They cared for you just as much, if not, even more than I do."

'I guess...if they did call me directly, I would've hung up sooner than later. That was a good call, no pun intended.'

"I know...the others also told me that. Hell, Suisei said the same shit you're saying, just done differently." Shiro patted her head. "But don't worry. Out of sight, out of mind. Let bygones be bygones. Your big brother is not going anywhere."

"...Somehow, I feel like that's a lie. All soldiers say that before something bad happens, like those cliche tropes in books and movies." Shiina chuckled but slowly frowned.

"Maybe. Promises are meant to be broken. I will say though, if I'm ever gonna be called back to active duty, I will return alive."

"I'm holding you up to that, okay, Shiro-niichan?"

"Sure." Shiro smiled.

"Sweet!" Shiina kissed him on the cheeks and stood up.

"H-Huh? Why the hell-"

"I love my big brother a lot! Am I not allowed to show my love?~" Shiina giggled.

'Eurgh...as long as we don't commit Alabama, I'm fine even if you kiss me or hug me a million times.' Shiro sweat dropped.

"Well, I didn't call you here just to talk about that..."

"Oh?"

"Wanna eat dinner together?" She said with a smile.