Ch 11 - Pick a Spot, and We Can Be Tourist!

"So....you familiarized yourself with the Holohouse, right? I mean, I toured you around the Holohouse before I took a shower." Subaru asked.

I nodded.

"The floor in the bottom is the singing and dancing rooms. The 1st floor is the lounge, kitchen, and the rooms of all the current Holostar members, and then the rooms on the top floors up to the most top floor are the rooms of the 0th gen to whatever the last gen is. There are 15 rooms in each floor, even the 1st floor where there's a huge space for the kitchen and the lounge. The other rooms are empty, and that's all I need to know." I said.

"Un! Well, now that we're done with our 'dorm', how about we try the student's dorm?" Subaru asked.

I nodded.

We went along the walkway of the 1st dorm and walked along as we saw the multiple doors of this dorm.

"So...over here is the 1st dorm. This is where the 1st years used to be. Actually, this used to be the only dorm here before, but then the 2nd dorm was made for the 2nd years. A 3rd and 4th building will be made in the other spots. Maybe they'll build more buildings for other purposes? Who knows?" Subaru said.

"Hmm...? I see..."

I looked at the whole walkway, and saw something on the ground.

"...Oh? Subaru, look." I said as I pointed.

"Hmm...?" She looked at my hand to see where I was pointing, then looked forward again to see what I was pointing at.

"Ah! Hey, a little figure...!" Subaru said, running towards the small object, and then crouching to pick it up.

"Hmm...? Oh, a little Gundam figure....!" She said.

"Oh...that's cute." I said plainly, bending down a bit to look at the figure more closely.

It was literally so tiny that it resembled a chibi robot. It held a gun on the right hand, a shield on the left arm, it had a blue chest, and everything else was white with some areas being red and yellow.

"Hmm...somebody must've dropped it...should we go into the classrooms and ask each one?" Subaru asked.

"Hmm...well, if it were me, I'd keep it for now. Later in the afternoon, the students will go out of the classrooms and go to their dorms or something. That's the time where we could try to ask the students if they own that. So I guess we'll be keeping that."

"Really? Well, I think you'll hold it. I don't think I could trust myself with this." Subaru laughed.

I giggled and got the little Gundam figure. I then put it in my sling bag, and closed it and let the sling bag hang again at my front.

"Welp, time to continue, I guess."

I hope I won't become a wannabe Pokemon trainer and catch some more figures on the ground. I don't wanna be a thief or some shit, and plus this is somebody's. It means that this object had some sort of sentimental value to its owner.

"Alright...so, carrying on..." Subaru said as she continued walking.

I followed her, and we went to the other dorm after going through the 1st floor's pathway.

We finished sightseeing the dorms and then we went to the mini-park.

"Over here is the mini-park...! Anybody can hang out here! Matter of fact, some of us were approached by some students to sing for them, or give them advice!" Subaru said as she sat at a chair with a long table. She scooched a bit so that she sat in the middle of the chair.

Subaru tapped the spot to her left and looked at me.

"C'mon! Sit beside me!"

"O-Okay..." I sweated a bit and followed what she said.

I sat down and put my sling bag on the table as I got it off of me.

"Sigh....damn, no wonder you guys like to hang out here. It really does have the atmosphere of a park, minus the birds." I looked up and closed my eyes.

'Despite the name though, this is a bit big for a 'mini park".' I thought.

I opened my eyes a bit and saw the sunshine come through the little holes through the leaves.

"And you guys stayed here for a year...? Damn." I said.

"I know, right? You'll definitely love it here...!" Subaru said.

I giggled.

"Yeah...I guess."

I looked around a bit, listening to the waves clashing against the pillars that support this school, and also the wind hitting against the trees calmly as the sunshine seeps through. It's really really relaxing that I can even imagine what it's like for everybody to chillax here.

"...Ah, shit." I said as I stood up slowly.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Subaru asked.

"Subaru, that's a bathroom, right?" I pointed at a little structure that had a men and women's sign that bathrooms would usually use.

"Ah, yeah. That's a bathroom."

"Protect my stuff and the Gundam figure, please. I gotta pee."

"Un! Take your time, Shiro-kun!" Subaru said.

'Damn. The time for my bladder to finally signal me to pee had to be this early. What the hell, man?' I thought to myself.

~~Subaru's POV~~

I looked at Shiro enter the bathroom as he went to the men's section, and I giggled.

"My progress with him is going good...! Subaru, you're doing well in making him socialize with the girls more!" I said to myself.

I looked at his sling bag, and did a little "Hmm..." as I thought back to the Gundam figure.

'Just to be sure, lemme check the figure.' I thought as I searched through his bag and looked for the figure.

'...Ah! Okay, it's there-...Oh?' I thought as I saw some sort of metal wire from another object inside.

"Hmm...?" I said to myself as I got the whole object where the necklace thing was inside from.

'Oh, it's his wallet...' I thought as I got the metal necklace-like wire.

And just when I got that, my jaw dropped. Like, I was never this surprised in my life to find out some information about somebody. Because of this, I had a couple of thoughts as to what Shiro might actually be. It made me look at Shiro at a possibly new light.

This metal wire was connected to something, and at the end...

'A-A dog tag...?!'

'Oh my god...please tell me this is just something he ordered for design...no way...was he really a soldier...?' I thought as I inspected the text on his dog tag.

It really has his name in it, and it even had his "number" there, and also his blood type....no way this is a real dog tag he used in the army...but then again, it's not even like the usual dog tags that everybody is used to seeing. This design is almost similar to those dog tags, but it's not the usual rectangular shape with rounded edges...

"....GASP!" I remembered that Shiro was still in the bathroom, and because some time passed, he might've finished his business already. I had to put this back quickly.

I put the dog tag back inside the wallet, and then returned the wallet inside his bag and closed the zipper.

~~Shiro's POV~~

"Alright...clean hands...and time to go back to Subaru...!" I said as I dried my hands and then ran outside of the bathroom, going back to Subaru.

I waved at her from the distance and she waved back, keeping up the smile from before.

"Hey, Subaru. Kept the stuff safe?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"You took a bit of a while there." Subaru giggled.

"Well, I didn't know I drank that much water." I chuckled.

"Well, I guess we had enough fun here in the mini-park...!" Subaru said as she stretched.

"Yup. So...mind taking me around the school more?" I asked.

"Un! Follow me! Let's go look at the rooms! The main reason why this school was made!" She said as she got out of the chair.

"Mhmm." I said.

She took the lead again, and we went to the other buildings where the classrooms and a couple other buildings were located.

"So...here we have buildings A, B, and C. These 3 buildings are for those that aspire to be idols, which consist of singing and songwriting. I was in B2-B. What's yours again, Shiro-kun?" Subaru asked me.

"A2-B."

"Ah, so the same floor and room but in a different building! What a coincidence!" Subaru laughed.

I giggled.

"Yeah...I was a bit surprised there." I said.

Every building here had a label on it. Building A had a big letter A on it near the entrance. Same goes for Building B and C. Matter of fact, every building here has a letter on it for identification.

"Well, what about those other buildings there?" I pointed at the other buildings that weren't Building B and C.

"Oh? Those? Well, those are the other classes, like music production class, and other stuff. Lemme tour you more around the buildings! You haven't seen everything yet!" Subaru said.

"O-Okay..."

"So...over here...! Over here is the music production class." She pointed at Building D to her left.

"This building over here is the Dancing class building!" Subaru pointed at the building across, which was to her right. It was building E.

"...Wait, what? 'Dancing class building'?"

"Yeah, why?" She asked.

"Wait, what's that building then that we went to before. The one where I took dancing class at? I never went to this building when I had to practice dancing."

"Oh, that? That's the building where the idols go to for dancing class. This one is for the students who strictly practice dancing only."

"Ah...no wonder." I said.

"Anyway...building D and E...oh, and here's the last building! Well, for now, at least." She said as she pointed at the building.

"Building F is the last building for now, huh...?" I said to myself.

Damn, building D, E, and F are wider than the rest of the buildings, what the fuck?

"This building consists mostly of clubs. This is also where the staffs' rooms are located too, like the teachers!"

"Ah, I see...say, do you have singing class today?"

"Nope! Tomorrow, I do." She said.

"Ah, I see...well, I guess we'll be touring around the school a bit more, huh?" I chuckled.

"Un! Hey, wanna check the clubs?" Subaru asked.

I nodded.

We went to Building F, and checked all the clubs. The first ones we went to were the normal clubs on the 1st floor, like Literature, Science, and Arts n' Crafts club. The ones after that were also normal like Journalism, Astronomy, and the Music club. All of the clubs were currently empty of members, but it was designed to fit the theme of the club's intentional purpose. Then came the clubs after the normal ones when we were in the 2nd floor.

"So...the only normal clubs on the 2nd floor are just the Mixed Martial arts club, and the Board Games club. So, have you wondered why the rooms in this building are smaller than the other buildings?" Subaru asked me.

I shook my head.

"Hit me."

"Basically, majority of the clubs here aren't actual proper clubs, but they're actually...!" She said as she opened one of the rooms.

"...Fan clubs!"

I widened my eyes as I saw this room being filled with Sora-related items. Sora plushies, Sora posters, Sora shirts, Ankimo, tables with Sora printed on it. This whole room was just filled with Sora.

"Woah...fan clubs, ey...?" I said.

"Mhmm...!"

I chuckled and went inside the club for a bit.

"Man...it really is full of Sora-related stuff. There's even Ankimo here....oh...?"

I looked at a whiteboard. It was full of numbers and slashes here. On the very top of the whiteboard, it read in blue ink, "Sora's schedules", with some stars on the side and some cute little doodles. I giggled a bit from it.

"Huh, even their writings give a similar vibe to Sora." I said.

"I know, right?! Look, even the piano here has Sora-senpai-related decals!"

"Eh?!" I looked back immediately and saw the digital grand piano.

I widened my eyes a bit and walked towards it to see it even closer. The decals all over it had some cute chibi Sora figures involving her doing different poses, and one of those poses was her doing a wink with a cute hand sign. Some of the decals on it was the star that Sora wore on her head, and you get the point. It wasn't put in stylishly either. It was very organized. Sasuga Sora fans, I guess...?

"Damn...when you say 'fan culture' in Japan, they don't hold back at all." I chuckled.

"I know, right?! Hey, let's go check out the other fan clubs!"

"Un. Lead the way, Subaru." I said.

We went to the other fan clubs. It was quite interesting. A lot of rooms didn't have a similar vibe. They all had their own unique twist to it. Take Suisei's fan club for example. It felt relaxing and as if you were in space, coming to earth along with your one and only comet idol. Even Roboco's fan club felt like you were in the future. Everything had its own unique vibe.

Then came Ayame's room...

"Hehe....Ayame plushies...." I said as I looked at the small cute blushing Ayame plushie.

'I wish I could have one.' I sobbed internally.

"Well, dreams are just dreams, I guess..." I said to myself.

"Hey, Shiro-kun!-"

"WHAT?!" I said as I turned around to Subaru immediately and hyperventilated.

"A-Ah...I-I was going to show you this little wooden figure carved to look like Ayame-"

I immediately ran towards Subaru and looked at the small figure.

"W-WAH!" Subaru jumped a bit.

"OH MY GOD! AS EXPECTED, AYAME IS SO FUCKING CUTE!" I said in English.

"S-Seriously, calm down, Shiro-kun!" Subaru laughed.

"A-Ah, sorry." I giggled nervously and scratched my head.

"Jeez, you're that much of an Ayame fan?" Subaru asked.

"Well...I mean, she was the 1st Hololiver I simped for, so...besides, her character is just really really really cute." I blushed a bit and scratched my head.

Subaru giggled.

"I see." She said, putting the wooden figure back in its regular place.

"Say...you mind if I ask you a question...?" Subaru asked.

"Hmm...?"

"Why do you like the Hololive girls, but not us? The real people behind those characters...?" Subaru frowned a bit.

I widened my eyes and looked away.

"Well...think of it like this. Back when I was just a fan, there was a 'border'. I could simp all I want, and you guys wouldn't care who I was, as long as you know that I was one of your fans." I scratched my head.

"Un. Un." Subaru said, telling me that she's really listening closely.

"And uh...you don't know my real identity, and I don't know your real identity...well, technically, I do, from some internet stuff that I accidentally found, but you get the point. There was a 'border'. Then when I finally got acquainted with you all, and finally became a workmate, that 'border' only exists when I'm alone in my room. When I'm with you all, I have to act a bit normal, which isn't really hard, honestly." I said.

I giggled.

"Don't get me wrong. It's not that I hate you girls. It's just that...you know. I have trust issues with real life girls. If it's just the 2d girls that I know, like the Oozora Subaru that streams with a very duck-like voice in Youtube, then why would I not support them?"

"Then...why did you even like Hololive in the first place?" She asked.

I chuckled.

"Well, let's just say that Hololive is the only hope left for me for not being completely misogynistic."

"I see..." Subaru went from a straight face to a smile.

"I'm glad you're trying to get yourself out of it." She said as she went towards the door.

I nodded.

"I won't assure it'll be fast though." I said.

I giggled a bit and closed my eyes.

"I'll be honest, Subaru..." I said.

"Hmm...?" Subaru looked back at me.

"...I think you're the 1st Hololive girl I can trust here."

Subaru first looked at me with her normal smile, then proceeded to widen her eyes and smile as she covered it with both of her hands.

"R-Really?! Do you really trust me wholeheartedly?!" Subaru asked me as if this is what she wanted all along.

"Of course, not wholeheartedly, but like...I think we can get along. You know...like friends or something." I chuckled.

Subaru ran to me, and then launched herself as she wrapped her arms around me.

"THANK YOU...!!!" Subaru said.

"W-W-Woah...!" I said, blushing a bit more than I'd like to and also widening my eyes.

"D-Damn...Subaru's got some nice boobs actually. That's hella soft." I thought as I felt her chest against my stomach.

"O-Oh...? What's wrong?" Subaru asked.

"G-Get off of me...!" I said as I pushed her gently and looked away while scratching my head.

"E-E-Eh...?! Why?!"

"T-That was so sudden..." I looked back at her and slightly glared at her.

"Eh...? Is it 'cause I'm a girl? Or maybe you have never hugged a girl before?" Subaru giggled.

"Nah...I've hugged a girl a lot of times, honestly. Just that...right after I tell you that I trust you, you immediately pounce and hug me?"

"I mean...I'm quite happy, since that's one of my objectives today. To gain your trust! I'm happy that it happened earlier than I thought!" Subaru said.

"Mhmm. Anyway, mind touring me around more of the fan clubs?"

"Un! C'mon! There's still more we gotta look at!" She said.

We kept going around looking at the fanclubs, taking a look around, and talking to each other, regardless if it was about the room or just some sort of topic that one of us brought up. We finally went to the area of the Holostars, and checked their rooms. It was nice, knowing some fangirls liked the Holostars, but then we finished checking Kaoru's room...and yes, even the retired Hololivers like Aloe, Kira, and Kaoru, have their fan clubs too. Even HoloCN. I'm surprised, despite the controversy behind that branch.

"So...there's no 'Shiro fan club' yet, huh?" I chuckled.

"Well...don't think of it as a 'nobody likes you' thing, okay? It's just a matter of time, cause the fan clubs are finally official the day AFTER your debut. So until then, you're gonna have to wait until Sunday." Subaru giggled nervously.

"Huh, I see..."

"Well, that's all for the fan clubs and other rooms...! Wanna check the other areas of the school? Like the Baseball court, the Tennis court, and other buildings?"

"Yup. Lead the way again, Subaru."

"Hai!" She said as she looked back and went past me as she jogged towards the stairs. I followed her lead.

We looked around the school campus. The baseball court was huge, the tennis court was huge, the basketball court was huge. Hell, now that I recall the building I went to before when we would do dancing practice, this school campus is humongous! I mean, this whole school does look big on the outside, but what the fuck, man? If you ever watched the movie "Mortal Engines", this could be Japan, cause of how big this fucking school is.

"Damn...now that I actually know the whole school in and out, this school is rather big, huh?"

"Un! Yagoo must be very rich to achieve this, huh?" Subaru asked.

I smiled under my mask and giggled.

"Yeah..."

"Damn, Old Man. From being an ex-salaryman to being a CEO and having this? I mean, let's be real, you may have problems, but you made it, you dang Old Man." I smirked.

"...Oh? Hey, it's almost 10! Let's go to the cafeteria!" Subaru said.

I nodded.

By the time we got close to the cafeteria, the school bell rang, and me and Subaru took a seat.

"In a bit, the students will come here to the cafeteria." Subaru said.

I nodded.

"Well, that was a nice tour. Thanks for being my guide." I said.

"Don't worry...! I proposed the idea, so I gotta follow through the whole thing." Subaru said, biting her biscuit.

I looked down at my sandwich, the same one I ordered last time and sighed.

'Damn, this scar is really hampering my normal life.' I thought and deadpanned.

"...Oh?" I said as I felt a vibration on my right leg, and let my right hand reach the source of the vibration.

"Hmm...? What is it?" Subaru asked.

"Roberu asked where I was." I said as I got my phone and replied "In the cafeteria" on the phone.

I put my phone back in my right pocket, and looked back, seeing the bathroom.

"Hey, Subaru." I said, looking back at her.

"Hmm?"

"If you see the Holostars coming inside the cafeteria, please wave at them and tell them to sit here." I said as I stood up.

"W-Where are you going...?"

"I didn't wear a hoodie, so I gotta eat in the bathroom. I'll be back in a while!" I said as I turned my back towards her and ran towards the bathroom.

~~Subaru's POV~~

I looked at Shiro with a slight frown as he ran off and then sighed while closing my eyes.

"Seriously, I feel bad for him...having to avoid being seen by others just to hide whatever happened to his mouth or something..." I said, taking a bite of my biscuit and thinking back to our tour.

'...I think you're the 1st Hololive girl I can trust here.' I recalled what he said to me when we were in the Ayame fan club. I didn't notice it, but I smiled a bit, knowing I've done a good thing today, which was to make Shiro slowly get out of his "misogynistic" state and finally start trusting us a bit more.

I heard the doors of the cafeteria open, and I saw students coming in. There were a lot of students, just like before. I smiled normally, looking at everybody coming inside the cafeteria.

"Ah...the sight of this never gets old..." I said to myself.

After a while, I saw some familiar hair colors standing out in the crowd. After a while, I saw the faces, and I had to do what Shiro told me to do.

I stood up a bit, and waved my arm left and right in the air, hoping to catch the attention of the boys. They all "oh?"'d at me, and then they went towards me.

"Hey, Subaru-senpai! Where's Shiro-kun?" Roberu asked me.

"Ah, he's in the bathroom, eating."

"Eh...? In the bathroom, eating...?" Roberu asked as he sat down.

I nodded.

"Hmm...poor Shiro-kun." Kira said.

"Must be hard on him to not show his actual face, even to us." Oga said.

"Yeah...oh, there he is!" I said as I looked behind Suzaku.

They all looked at the direction of the bathroom, and Shiro put his right hand up for a second before letting it drop down by gravity. We all waved at him and said "Shiro-kun!"

~~Shiro's POV~~

"Hey, guys!" I said as Suzaku and Kaoru made way for me, letting me sit down in-between them, and it was us with Subaru. Of course, each table couldn't fit 14 of us, so the other Holostars were at an adjacent table.

"Done eating, I see?" Roberu asked.

"Un. You guys still gonna eat?" I asked them.

"Yup!" Roberu said, getting his sandwich out and giggling like a gremlin. The others also did the same.

"Guys, ready to dig in?" Roberu said, looking at everybody. The boys nodded, and they all looked at their food.

"Itadakimasu!" They said and took a bite of their snacks.

Subaru laughed at the sight, and I just giggled looking at all of them.

"Hey, what was your snack right now?" Kaoru asked.

"Oh, it's the same one as before. Spicy ham sandwich."

"Man, you like your spicy sandwiches, huh? Shouldn't you eat something healthy?" Roberu asked.

"Says you who's eating a sandwich too that consists of chicken." I said.

"Oi, fuzakenna." Roberu said.

We laughed at the little joke there. I kinda covered my mouth from it.

"So...still gonna tour around with Subaru-senpai?" Roberu asked.

"Not really...I mean, Subaru, that was the whole school, right?" I asked her.

"Un! There's no more touring to be done, honestly."

"Eh...? Really?" Roberu said.

"If that's the case...hey, Shiro-kun!" Kira said.

"Hmm...?"

"We were talking about it a bit, and we thought about hitting the arcade this afternoon. Around 3:30 PM. You up for it?" Kira asked.

"Hoohoo...! Arcade? What're we doing? Just hanging out...?" I asked, leaning against the table.

"Mhmm...!" Kira nodded.

I chuckled.

"I'm in."

They all widened their eyes, and some of them clapped, some of them shouted, some of them did a little gesture, and a few of them jumped out of their seats and hopped around.

"Oi, really?! Well then, it's official! Shiro's first official hangout with the Holostars!" Roberu laughed.

I giggled.

"Alright, calm down, guys! It's just a little fun hangout! No need to freak out." I said.

"I mean, you didn't hang out with us last night, so it was nice to hear you're able to make time to do it today." Roberu said.

I looked at some of the others, going back to their seats. I giggled a bit.

"So...3:30 PM, right?" I asked them.

They nodded.

"Just a little fun hangout." Roberu said.

"Heh, well, this'll be fun." I giggled.

~~???'s POV~~

"So...are you able to recall where you lost it?" My friend asked.

"N-No...but it must've dropped at the same path we took towards our classroom. I mean, c'mon, there's no way it got dumped into the ocean." I said, eating my sandwich.

"Well, are we gonna go search for it after lunchtime?" My other friend asked.

"I don't know about you two, but I will really have to search for it. It's very precious, you know? I mean, you got this for me! I wasn't able to get a lot of tickets, and plus you sacrificed some tickets you saved for yourself just to then use it for that little figure for me!" I said, frowning a bit.

"Well...it's not that hard for me to get all of that back again, you know? If it really is lost, we could go to the arcade once more and get that again." My other friend said.

"But still...! It's really precious! You worked hard for it! I'm not just gonna give up on it, you know?" I said.

"Well, I guess it's decided. Let's search like hell after lunch, and find that little Gundam figure!" My friend said.

"Yeah! Don't worry, you're not alone! We'll help you find it!" My other friend said.

I smiled at them, and said "Thanks, guys."

'Seriously though...where could it have gone to...?'

~~Shiro's POV~~

We were having a fun chat, talking about some stuff, and also a bit of what's going on with Nene's birthday.

"Oh, so she's having fun doing some Karaoke?" I asked?

They nodded.

"Good thing none of us Holostars are streaming right now!" Roberu giggled.

"Well, that's good...what about the others? Are they gonna be disturbed?" I asked Roberu.

"Hmm...probably not."

'"Probably."' I thought and deadpanned.

"Oh yeah, Shiro-kun. Mind accompanying me later after snacktime?" Subaru asked.

"Hmm? Why?" I asked her.

"I wanna buy something for Nene!" Subaru said.

"Oh. Is it because you didn't buy her a gift?"

"Well...that, and a couple other things." Subaru giggled nervously.

"Aight. I'll do it. Why me though?"

"Oh, c'mon! You're a man! Isn't it a man's obligation to give a woman protection and security?" Subaru laughed.

I blinked twice and blushed a bit.

"Um...well, whatever....Oh, now that I think about it, I could buy Nene some chocolate." I chuckled.

'Good timing. I was also gonna go to the printing shop to see if Miyabi's shirt was done too.' I thought.

"You know, I wonder something." Kira asked.

"Hmm?" I said.

"Why did you buy a gift for Nene-chan? She was happy enough when we greeted her. Why you, of all people, would be one of the Hololivers to buy her a gift? Especially knowing you're 'misogynistic'?"

I looked down at the table, recalling Nene's smile when she saw my gift for her, and especially seeing her flex it to the other Hololivers.

"Heh. Well, it's a birthday. If possible, why wouldn't I try to buy a gift? Besides, I like the Hololivers. I'm just not used to the uh....the actual people behind it." I scratched my head, leaned back a bit, and looked away.

"Eh? So it's like that, huh?" Kira giggled.

"Oh, now that I think about it...you bought Miyabi-senpai a gift?" Roberu asked.

"Mhmm. You'll be a bit surprised as to what I got for Miyabi." I chuckled.

"Oi! Miyabi! Shiro-kun's bought you a gift!" Roberu said, turning to his back to tell Miyabi that's sitting on the other table.

"Heh. Look forward to it, by the way!" I said to Miyabi.

"Oh, you did? It better not be 120 tissue boxes, unlike Nene-chan!"

"...Huh? 120 tissue boxes?" I blinked twice.

"Ah, yeah! We GOTTA talk about that." Roberu said.

"Oh yeah, let's get straight to the point. Basically, Nene-chan's gifts from her fans just came a while ago, and you would not believe when we saw a HUGE damn group of objects that came in. Like...could you imagine tissue boxes in the form of a BIG REFRIGERATOR?!" Shien said.

I put my right forearm on my mouth and almost laughed.

"W-W-What the fuck?" I said to myself in English.

"Eh?! Are you kidding me?! Did she put it in her room now?" I asked in Japanese.

"Yup! I'm not kidding when I say that she almost has no space in her room left!" Roberu laughed.

"Her room is messy unlike our rooms. Imagine how messier it became when she tried to organize it!" Aruran giggled.

"Ah, yeah. She also got a fire extinguisher, by the way!" Oga giggled.

"WHAT THE FUCK-" I said to myself in English once more and just let out a little laugh.

"Ah, damn. She's having it tough." I giggled.

All of a sudden, the speakers in the cafeteria started playing Rushia's BGM. "2:23"

"Ah, so the cafeteria sometimes plays music, huh?" I said.

"Yup!" They said.

"Heh. That's interesting." I said.

We continued conversing with each other, talking about nonsense. The usual thing that people do. When snack time was finally over, we went towards the Holohouse and finally got inside.

"Oh? Ah, Nene's still here." I said.

Nene looked at us and waved. I also saw Haato near her.

"Hey, Shiro-kun! Subaru-senpai!" Nene said with her usual happy smile.

"Hello!" Haato said.

We waved back.

"Hey!" Subaru said in an energetic tone.

"Yo." I said in a plain tone.

"My birthday's been really fun! Oh yeah, I couldn't hold myself back, Shiro-kun. I wore the shirt you gave me!" Nene said.

"Heh. Nice to know you like it." I said.

"Ah, by the way! I got defeated by Haachama-senpai in Othello!" Nene said.

"Oh, really? That's too bad." I chuckled.

"Yeah! Nene-chi was too easy to beat, for real!" Haato said with a smug tone.

"Urusai!" Nene said, and the girls giggled.

There were also a good amount of people here. A couple girls, boys, and whatnot.

"Oh yeah, Shiro-kun, play with me, please!" Nene said.

"Hmm? It's okay?" I asked.

"Un! C'mon! Let's play Othello!"

I giggled.

"Well, Subaru, going outside can wait. Lemme entertain the birthday girl for a bit." I said to Subaru.

Subaru nodded.

"Well, I don't know how to play Othello, but let's see if I can beat you." I said.

Translation: I'mma rape you 'till you cry like a little bitch, Nene. Kukukuku.

Nene patted her left side, and I sat to where she patted. Subaru sat to my left when I finally got down. I did blush a bit when Subaru leaned a bit too close to me, and her chest touched my arm. Nonetheless, I didn't care, and I had to do what Nene wanted me to do. Play with her.

We started the game. I was black, Nene was white.

"Alright. I'mma start here." I said, putting a disc on D3.

Nene put a disc on C3.

"Ah, kuso!" I said, trying to play with her for a bit.

I put a disc on E6. She put one on F4. I put one on G3, and she put one on G4. I put one on F3, and she put one on F6. I put one on H4, and she put one on D2.

"Ah, dangit! You're gonna win this if I don't do anything good...!" I said.

"Fuzakenna! You have more pieces!" Nene said.

We giggled a bit and I looked at the board once more.

"Just 'cause I have more pieces doesn't mean I'll win in the end, you know...? This isn't chess." I said as I put one on C2.

She put one on B2, and I put one on G6. She went F5, and I went A1. Ultimately resulting to an eventual win.

"Ah, no! I put one on the corner!" I said as I slowly went to a gremlin laugh.

'Time to stop trolling. Now's the time to trashtalk.' I grinned.

"Oi, fuzakenna! You know how to play Othello, don't you?!" Nene laughed.

"Of course. I think YOU don't know how to play, busu (ugly woman)." I said.

"I'M NOT UGLY!" Nene said as she put a disc on D6.

I went to C7, she went to C4. I went B4, she went H7. I then went to B1.

"Eh? Is your brain THAT smooth, Nene-chwan? How about you just give up or something?~" I said.

"Urusai! I'm gonna win this!" Nene said as she placed a disc on C6.

"Hmm? Should I place a disc over here?" I said as I moved my cursor to B7.

"Y-Yes! Please put one there!" Nene said.

"Hmm...nope!~ I'll put it here, you noob!" I said as I put one on F7.

"Eh? Over there? You're gonna lose if you do that!~" She said as she went to C8.

"Really? What does a noob like you know?~" I said as I put a disc on H6.

At this point, Subaru and Haato were laughing quite a lot. Subaru though was laughing hella loud.

"Eh?~ Over there? Are you stupid, Shiro-kun?~ You really want me to take a free piece-" She said as she put one on H5, making me grin.

"Ch-Ch-Chotto! Wait! No! I messed up!" Nene said, making Subaru and Haato laugh even more.

"Are?~~ Nene, just GIVE UP!~" I said as I put a disc on H8.

"YADAAA!~~" She said as she put the switch down a bit and grabbed my right arm, shaking me a bit.

I laughed and covered my mouth.

"Sorry!~ I can't help it!" I giggled.

She took the Switch again and looked at the screen.

"Eh...? Where do I go...?" She said.

"Oi, Nenechi! Go here!" Haato said, pointing at H2.

"Oi, no coaching! Omae!" I said.

We all laughed, and nonetheless, Nene followed Haato's order. I went to H3. She went F2, and I blinked twice.

"Um...Nene...?" I said as I proceeded to move my cursor to H1.

"...Oi, chotto, CHOTTO, CHOTTO! CHOTTO!~~~" She said and put a hand on her mouth while laughing.

"Um...Nene? Are you sure? I'm gonna win shortly, you know?" I said.

"H-Hey, I'm the birthday girl! Give me a chance, hey!" Nene laughed.

"C'mon, Shiro-kun! Give Nene a chance!" Subaru said.

"Yeah! C'mon! Aren't you a man? A real man respects a woman!" Haato said.

"A realer man makes a girl cry." I said as I put it on H1.

"OI! STOP IT, PLEASE!" Nene said as they all laughed. I just grinned a lot. This does take me back to when I played games with my 2nd ex and just bullied the shit out of her. Good times....good times.

She went E7, and I went E1. She went D1, and I went E8. She went G8. I went C1, and she went E3. I went C5, and she went A4.

"Oh, okay. You fighting back, for real." I giggled.

"Eh?~ You're losing, Shiro-kun?~ I thought you were pro?~" Nene teased.

"I just said you're fighting back. Who said you would win?" I said as I put one on G7.

She put one on D7, and I put one on F8. She put one on B5, and I put one on A3. She went A2, and I went B3. She went H5, and I went A5. She went E2, and I went F1. She went G1, and I went G2. She went B6, and I went A7. She went A6, and I went D8.

"E-Eh....? Wait, this is hard..." Nene said and put her hand against her mouth while looking at the screen.

I whistled a tune and rocked side to side a bit.

"C'mon, birthday girl, you need to make a move.~ I mean, OBVIOUSLY, I win, but you know..." I shrugged.

"SHUT UP!" Nene playfully punched me in the arm, and I laughed.

"Eh...?~ This is really hard!" Nene said.

"Hihihi.~ Shiro-ojisan is waiting for your turn, Nene-chwan...!~" I said in a very deep voice.

"S-S-Scary." Nene said, and we laughed at it.

"T-That's a very oji-san voice!" Nene laughed.

"Sorry..." I chuckled.

After a while, Nene played in B8.

"Alright, any last words, ma'am Nene?" I asked.

"....I hate you." She said and giggled.

"I love you too, dear wifey.~" I said as I put a disc on A8 and finally, B7.

I clapped.

"Well, at least your intelligence is the same." I said plainly.

"I'M NOT THAT DUMB, OI!" Nene said, and we laughed.

"Eh? Really? Shiro, you played Othello before?"

"Kinda. I played a good amount of board games before." I said as I stood up.

"Better luck next time, Nene. If we play again, you better beat me." I chuckled.

Subaru also stood up.

"You got it! I'll make sure to beat you next time!" Nene said.

I chuckled once more and looked at Subaru.

"Well, we're gonna be going, Nene. Me and Subaru got some business to take care of. Have fun celebrating the rest of the day." I said.

"Un! See you later, Nene-chi!" Subaru said.

We waved bye to each other, and Polka also went to Nene, along with Aloe. I went to Subaru's room to accompany her to get her wallet and a couple other things, and then we walked out of the Holohouse, going towards the bridge.

"Hey, Subaru." I said as we kept walking.

"Hmm?"

"You know, I do gotta thank you for magically wanting to go out to buy something."

"Why?" Subaru asked.

"You see..."

"Oh...? WAH-" She yelped when I put my hand on the right side of her head and pulled her close. Because I was on her left side, it did look a bit uh...awkward. Like we're some sort of "couple", but we're not.

"You see, I have a shirt in a printing shop that is one of Miyabi's gifts."

"Oh...?" Subaru said as I let go of her slowly and stood straight again.

"The other ones are a handwritten letter from me, and 2 little penguin figures."

"P-Penguin-"

"SHH!" I quickly put my right index finger against my mouth.

Subaru covered her mouth briefly, and then finally went to talk again.

"A-A penguin...? Are you serious? Why?" She whispered.

"Well...months ago, he fought against cheaters in Fall Guys, and his character was a penguin, if I remember correctly. So I thought 'Hey, why not? That's the greatest gift of all mankind, right?'" I giggled.

"SERIOUSLY?! WHAT KIND OF BRAIN DO YOU HAVE?!" Subaru said, punching me in the arm playfully.

"A genius brain, that's what." I giggled again.

We finally got our Uber on the bridge, and the uber drove us to the mall. As it drove us, me and Subaru just talked about some stuff like what our likes are.

"Still...that's surprising, Shiro-kun. I never knew you actually were a bit studious and also was into a lot of things that involved your brain."

"That's me. That's the past anyway. Nowadays, I'm more of a music guy now."

"It's also surprising. Say, can you try to do those tongue twisters in English?"

"Hmm? Why?"

"I mean, I just wanna hear you speak in English. Your English is very good, you know? You almost sound too foreign to be a pure Japanese that speaks English!"

"Eh? Really?" I chuckled.

"Well, I was influenced a lot by the internet that used to be filled with a lot of American people, so it's no wonder my accent sounds a bit American."

"Sally sells sea shells at the sea shore." I said in English.

"Eh? Wait...Sarry...serusu..."

"Sally sells sea shells."

"Eh?! Wait wait wait, Sa-...Saaa....rry...?"

"Sally."

"Sarry."

"Sally."

"Sarry."

I snickered a bit and put my forearm on my mouth.

"I can't help it! I'm not good at English!" She laughed.

"Okay, lemme teach you how to pronounce 'L' in English. You know how we pronounce 'R' in Japanese?" I asked.

"Un!"

"Move your tongue to the left part of where you say "R" in Japanese. That, or put it in the middle."

"Eh? So it's like...Ar-Aru...Elu..."

"Yeah, like that." I said.

"Eh? Wait, is this how you say it..? S-Sa...rly.?"

"Close. Try to put your tongue to the left even more?"

"Eh? So...Sa...lly?"

"Mhmm! You got it now! Try to not 'flick' though. Don't say 'Elu'. Say 'El'."

"Eh? Wait, so 'R' is 'Ar', and...'El'?"

I nodded.

"You'll get used to it the more you pronounce and hear the difference between 'R' and 'L'." I giggled.

"Eh...? English is hard..."

"Nah. You just don't try, Subaru. Just listen to pure English for a couple of minutes, regardless if you understand it or not. You'll be surprised by how much you learned. Trust me, I'd know from experience. And ESPECIALLY try to listen as to how you pronounce words, like....don't say 'Maya Nemu Issu Shiro.' Say it as 'Mai Naim Is Shiro.' I know it's hard, 'cause I've been there, but just try as much as you can. You'll improve soon."

"Eh...? Okay." Subaru giggled.

I smiled and looked forward again.

"Well, put that to the side...let's have a fun time when we get to the mall, okay?" I asked her.

"Un! Let's!" Subaru said.