Ch 23 - Let's Talk Pt. 1

"Waaah...! Sora-chan, thank you so much for the humidifier!" Miko hugged Sora while crying like the usual baby she is.

"Ahahaha...you're welcome, Miko-chi." Sora patted her back while sweat dropping.

I chuckled at the sight of everybody enjoying the birthday and talking with each other as they ate the food.

It also seemed like Rushia and Marine were getting...close. They were holding hands when I just did a quick glance. I guess our conversation last night went well. It does put a smile to my face when I see Rushia laughing and talking in a happy tone.

"Mmm...the cake is delicious as hell! You sure you don't wanna eat some, Shiro-kun?" Roberu asked.

"Nah. Eating some cupcakes were already enough for my tummy. Don't wanna get fat, you know?"

"Oh, c'mon! Enjoy yourself for a bit, eh?" Roberu giggled as he elbowed me while dropping his fork on his plate that has cake on it.

"Nah, nah. Trust me, I'm fine. I just need water, and my stomach shall be full now."

'Besides, if I eat chocolate cake, I won't stop eating it, so I should avoid that to both avoid calories and to not get addicted to the chocolate. Eurgh, the thought of eating it somehow makes me lowkey disgusted because of the sugar overload, not that I won't eat it though…' I thought.

"Oh yeah...Shiro-kun." Roberu said.

"Hmm?"

Roberu looked at Astel, and Astel and Oga looked back at Roberu before they finally nodded.

"Come with us to the mini-park later after we're done cleaning up the lounge with the others. We have something to talk about that may or may not be concerning to you."

"Hmm? Okay…"

'I wonder what it might be? Roberu's face seemed rather serious with it, but not where he's being forceful, but more like he doesn't want me to do this since he experienced it himself…'

After the whole thing was done, for now, and we cleaned up everything, the boys tagged along with us four, and we went to the mini-park of the school.

"Alright...now, we can really talk business here…" Astel said.

"Yeah...now, Shiro-kun, what we're about to say is something that you're gonna have to keep in mind." Roberu said.

"We're speaking this out of experience, and plus, we don't want our kouhai to experience the same thing again." Oga said.

"Un. Because your debut is coming up, we want to make sure you won't get too attached…" Rikka said.

'"Attached"? What's he implying here? The only thing I can think of is relationships.' I thought.

"Now...without further delay...like what Rikka-kun said, because you're about to debut, you gotta know one thing before you finally start developing good relationships with the Hololivers." Roberu said as the wind starting to grow a bit stronger, giving us a small chilly feeling to our bodies.

With the straightest of faces, Roberu said the following sentence,

"Don't fall in love with any of the Hololive girls, as much as possible."

I widened my eyes a bit. I had to look at the others to see what their reactions were, and they were just as serious as Roberu was. Both to my front and left, the Holostars looked at me with either a slight frown or very narrow eyes.

"...Um...why?"

"You may or may not know what's up with the girls, but there's no way you must've missed the hints they've been throwing around." Roberu said.

"Un. You see...most of the girls are either bisexual or lesbian. Ollie is one of them." Astel said.

"...I have a question. Did any of you boys fall in love with one of the girls too?"

"Yes." Oga, Rikka, Astel, and Roberu said instantly.

I widened my eyes a bit and clenched my fists.

"...I see. Who did you fall in love with before?"

"I used to fall in love with Matsuri-chan." Rikka said.

"She was really beautiful when I first met her when we met up in the Holohouse. We had a good relation, although we were distant since she would usually hang out with the others, especially Luna-chan and Fubuki-chan. Before I knew it, she already took my heart...but when I confessed to her...well, you know how it goes. I got rejected since she liked Fubuki." Rikka giggled with a sad smile.

"I fell in love with Iofi...I thought she was cute, and she was exactly like an alien...so out-of-this-world. I've had a huge crush on her for a long time, but...as you can guess, as time went on, I confessed my feelings for her...and she rejected me 'cause she liked another person, which...you can guess that it's Risu." Oga said.

'I see...shit, my heart's already feeling the pain, and it's not even me who's experiencing the heartbreak.' I thought as I bit my lower lip and clenched my fists more.

"I almost fell in love with Ollie. Like Oga and Rikka, I...I was about to confess my feelings for her, but...I accidentally eavesdropped in their conversation one time when I a-almost went to the lounge as I got out of my room...she said she only saw me as an onii-chan, and actually liked most of the Hololive girls, so she still has to reassess her feelings." Astel's voice wavered a bit as his fists clenched slightly.

"She won't ever fall in love with me, nor will she fall in love with any of the boys." Astel said.

I clenched my fists more and I breathed a bit faster.

'Oh god...what if Subaru doesn't actually like me like that? I mean...shit, do I actually have a crush on her? But if I do have an actual crush on her...what if she actually likes one of the Hololive girls? Shit, if that's the case, who is that girl...?' I thought.

"And I uh...hehe, as embarrassing as it is to say, I...I fell in love with Sora-senpai."

"S-Sora?!" I said to confirm what I heard was true.

'Sora? The senpai of all the senpais? He fell in love with her?' I thought.

"Un. I was just mesmerized at the beauty...both in appearance and her aura." Roberu said as he clenched his fists hard. I could also sense his breath and mouth recalling the pain he "experienced" in the past.

"She was literally a goddess to my eyes...and I was so excited when I finally joined Hololive, since I could finally meet her and work in the same company. I was even more excited when Yagoo finally established this school, making all Hololive members live in the same building. And, as you'd expect, I went and confessed to her...which failed so miserably." Roberu chuckled.

"Grr...!" I gritted my teeth and stood up as I put my hands on the table.

"S-Shiro-kun...!" Rikka said.

"I...I'm sorry to hear your heartbreaks...it must've been hard when it happened."

The boys chuckled as they heard that.

"Well, we've gone past that now. We're clean, and the pain isn't really that painful now." Roberu said.

"Though, we'll admit...the pain does linger at the back of our mind whenever we think about it, so...you know." Rikka chuckled.

"...Wait, what about you guys? Kira? Aruran? Miyabi? Suzaku? Temma? Izuru? All of you?" I asked.

"Well...aside from these four, none of us really loved the girls like that." Aruran said.

"Yeah. I guess they weren't really our type, so we just ended up focusing on our work instead." Temma said.

"Besides, I don't think I'd make a good boyfriend." Izuru giggled nervously and sweat dropped.

"And uh...I'm a trap." Kira said.

"Me too." Kaoru said.

"That's not really an excuse if we're talking gender-wise." I sweat dropped.

I mean, even an effeminate-looking man could get a girlfriend.

"Besides, none of them are interesting for me, to be honest, so I guess we just loved our fans more." Shien said.

"I see...well, since you guys talked about who you loved, I guess I'll also confess something." I said.

"Heh. We were just about to ask you about that." Roberu said.

I chuckled.

"Well...I think I...I think I have a crush on Subaru."

They all widened their eyes and looked at me. Some even leaned on the table.

"What?!" They said.

"Oh? Was it that surprising?"

"Well, not really." Roberu giggled as they all went back to their seats.

"It's just that...I guess we sorta knew, at the same time, not really." Oga said.

"I mean...no matter how much I tried to push her away, she was just...so friendly...so active...I guess I just liked that type of person." I scratched the back of my head.

"I see. However, heed our warning, for real, Shiro-kun." Astel said.

Astel wrapped his arm around me and pulled me a bit closer.

"Don't ever take any signs for granted. Most probably, you're just gonna end up as best friends." Astel said as he got his arm off of my neck, and I sat up properly.

"We're not saying you cannot fall in love, because we said 'as much as possible', but that's exactly why you need to NOT think of them as a romantic partner, because chances are, this is just another type of drama story where you won't end up with the girl you like in the end." Roberu said.

"We may not be experienced, Shiro-kun, but remember, girls can be rather unpredictable and sly. And if you fall for the traps, you're gonna be the one who'll suffer in the end." Oga sighed.

I looked down and thought back to my moments with Subaru.

That time when she hugged me as I told her that she might be a girl I can trust, that time she clung to me, that time she pouted when she heard that Roboco and I went out...I think she likes me, but...maybe they're right? Maybe Subaru doesn't actually think of me that way?

"Well, whatever the case, I have some experience with women, so I'll look out for these so-called 'traps'." I giggled a bit.

"So? With that knowledge in mind, you're ready to become a Holostar member and be a part of Hololive production?" Astel said.

"Un. Besides, I'll be more focused on my work, so it's less likely I'd deal with that type of bullshit anyway." I chuckled.

"Alright...! Shiro's got the point!" Roberu patted my back as he stood up.

"Better follow your senpais...!" Suzaku said.

"And don't forget to vent out in the server. We're your buddies, so feel free to ask for help too if you need it." Rikka said.

"Yup!" I said as I also stood up, and we started walking back to the Holohouse. As we walked back, we talked about some potential collab ideas. Calling first dibs on me when making a collab song, regardless if it's a cover or an original, is quite chaotic. It made me laugh, to be honest.

And, as of this moment, it seems Miko is finally streaming her birthday live. Nice. The viewer count is exploding more than an NTR ugly bastard's sperm.

I told the Holostars that I had to talk with Shinove regarding my EP, so they had to go to their rooms first. I then went to the Hololive building in the school, then went to Shinove's office.

"Shinove-san! Is it okay for me to come in?"

"...You may come in." He said through the door.

"Well, don't mind if I do." I said as I opened the door and saw him working on his laptop.

He sighed and put his laptop to the side as I got a chair and sat in front of him.

"So? What might be the occasion?" He asked as he got his water bottle and started drinking.

"I wanna have an album cover made for my EP album." I said as he instantly spat the water out with a calm face.

"Kuhagh! Y-You're joking, right? You do know you're gonna need producers, audio engineers, and-"

"All I need is an artist who can draw my album cover. The instrumentals, vocals, lyrics, and mixing can all be done by me."

"Hmm...are you sure? You don't need help in the technical aspects?"

"Nope! I can do all of it myself. Though, I want my album cover to be drawn."

"Hmm...that, I can do. I can take care of the arrangements. But I have three questions."

"Please ask away." I said.

"First, would you like the artist to take care of the album cover, or would you also like to suggest something for the cover? Maybe let your creativity guide him?"

"The latter, please. I'd like to put in my own suggestion and then let him freely do whatever they want with it."

"I see...second, would you like to have the MV done right now?"

"It doesn't have to be done right now. Hell, I could even wait for half a year, but what's important is that we need to get the album out before the official MV, and even then, I'd like to plan things for my MV. So essentially, not now, but it can be done slowly."

"I see...third, when would you like to release the album?"

"Hmm...if possible, at most, by the month of April to the 2nd week of May."

"Oh? That's quite a long time. Though, it does take a while to make a very detailed album cover."

"I don't really care for a detailed album cover, but I'd like it to be flashy. That's why I want a simple album cover. Both to get the album done quickly to release it and because it'd make it stand out more if it's simple, kinda like Calli's 'Dead Beats' EP."

"I see...well, I can make the preparations. Now, I also have one more question in mind..."

"Hmm?"

"Have you even finished the songs already?"

"Half of them."

"...Sigh. Are you even sure about this idea?"

"I'm confident it will be finished within my assigned deadline."

"But you still need to record, right? And you do know you're gonna have to record in our own studio here, right?"

"Yes. But no worries. I already have the ideas in mind. I can get it done quick, but I'm more worried about the cover, since if there's no cover, then I'm more or less fucked." I said.

"Heh...alright...but I shall assign a deadline for you, okay?"

"Heh. Sure. What's the deadline?"

"I expect you to finish all the songs of your EP by the end of March. Can you do that?"

"Hai. It won't take more than a week to finish it." I chuckled.

"Heh. I'll take you up on that." He said.

"Though...when I give a sketch for the album cover idea, do I give it to you, or the artist themselves through Discord?" I asked.

"You can pass it to me. You can also pass it to the artist. It depends on you. Though, I think it's better if you communicate directly with the artist. It'll be better to have good communication." He chuckled.

"I see...well, that'll be all for me. Excuse me as I go back now."

"Alright. I'll go contact the artist. As soon as you get a request through Discord, notify me, please." He said.

"Hai." I said as I stood up.

"Thank you for lending me your time." I bowed a bit and went outside.

"YES! Now I don't have to worry about my EP anymore and just have to focus on the music!"

Now, I guess I should do the sketching first. When the artist finally comes, I need to give him the idea, then I'll leave it up to him as to what he'll draw, since creative freedom is of the essence here.

I finally went back to my room, and I started drawing on MS Paint for now. Yes, I will use my mouse for this, and it shall come out as shitty, but I don't have a choice, to be honest.

I also tweeted a few things. As usual, I did my language puns.

"How do you reply to your parents when they tell you to take a shower?

oke

wwwwwwwwwwwww"

Comments: "Tub/Bucket in Japanese is 'oke'. The rest is self-explanatory, cause I'm a funny guy."

And these are the following comments to the tweets.

"Ah...just when I thought he was done with his pun rampage."

"Oke"

"Oke"

"You ain't funny. You're PUNny. UwU"

"Goddammit SHIRO! STAHP IT WITH THE PUNS!"

"He's too powerful to be stopped lol (insert Shiro gif doing a Dababy 'let's go' pose)"

And I also did a few retweets and liked some fanart.

Though, that was just a side task. The real task I did was obviously the sketch.

After it almost reached lunchtime though, I got a ping from Discord.

"Oh? I wonder who pinged me..."

I looked at it, and it was a friend request…

"Ah...BerryVerrine, ey?"

I heard of this guy...really good art from what I saw. Might be promising.

I accepted his request, and told Shinove that I finally got in contact with my artist, to then he replied with an "Okay". We did our introductions, and you get how it goes. We talked a bit as to what details I have for my EP. After we got to the part where I had to tell him what my EP's cover might be, I gave him three pictures.

The first picture is me close up at the camera with my sleeves rolled up a bit to show some of my forearm's skin, and my hands crossed into an X, like what my PV showed in the end.

The second picture is me sitting on a chair while leaning on a table that has a map on it. There is also a knife that's stuck vertically on the table around the left corner at the opposite side of the table. At the right corner of the same side, laid my iconic Five-seven.

The third picture was me, but separated into two sides in front view. The left side of me is me walking along the streets normally with my right hand out of my hoodie's pocket. The right side is me wearing winter gear for soldiers while carrying a knife on my left hand as I walk forward.

We talked about it, and he said that he'll put it into consideration, since he thought all three can be good but he's still getting ideas as to what he might do. He said that he'll just notify me when he gets some sort of idea, and will ask me about my opinion as soon as he gets the whole thing done.

So, with that out of the way, I'm gonna have to buy myself lunch...So, I did my usual thing. Put on a hoodie, my mask, my wallet, my phone, and I went outside.

I rode a taxi towards my usual place, and I bought my usual food. I thought of also buying two Snicker bars since I might get hungry in the middle of my stream, so I went to the convenience store. When I went to get a Snicker bar, I saw a redhead with big boobies crouching as she grabbed two chocolate bars, and it looked like she was deciding whether to take one or the other.

"Hmm...Snickers? Or Toblerone...?" She said to herself.

"Hey, ponkotsu-senpai." I said.

"WAHA!" She shouted as she looked at me.

"Oh...phew. It's just you, Shiro-kun." She said.

She wore a white long-sleeved sweatshirt and a black skirt. She also wore what looked like a black cat hat. Kinda cute, if you ask me.

"Why don't you just buy both the Snickers and Toblerone?" I asked.

"I mean...I'm worried I might be getting fat, so I'm trying to pick one or the other…"

"You're getting fat regardless if you're choosing chocolate."

"DON'T TRY TO ADD SALT TO MY WOUNDS!" She said.

"Well...you do you though. They're about the same calories, so just pick whatever."

"...Wait, why are you here?"

"I was gonna get myself some Snicker bars." I said as I got two of them from the lower shelf where Miko was getting it from.

"Anyway, since we coincidentally met up, and it's your birthday today, go pick anything you want. I'll pay for it." I said.

"E-Eh?! What about your fare for going back?" She asked.

"Don't worry." I chuckled.

"I have a lot of money on me everytime I go out in case I get into unexpected situations where a lot of money is involved. So don't worry. Just get what you want. I'll even take you back to the school too."

"R-Really?"

"Yup. I always keep my word." I chuckled.

"Now go get what you want. Let's go to the counter together once you're done."

"O-Okay…"

Miko picked some chocolate, some drinks, and especially a LOT of chips. Well, it's not like I can judge her for her health, since that's her decision, so the best I can do is just sit back and see where her nutrition will take her mind to.

We put the basket on top of the counter, and I said "Hey, Miko. I'll help take the products out of the basket too."

"Okay…OW!-" She blurted when my forearm hit against her right forearm when I took out some chips.

"Ah, fuck! I'm sorry!" I said as I looked at her arm.

"I-It's okay. I just wasn't careful…" She said as she grabbed the inner part of her forearm.

I observed how she grabbed it. It's not like she was trying to grab the part where it hurt only, which I do know the area where Miko got hit actually. More like, she was also "keeping her forearm 'in check'". This made me squint my eyes in secret and made assumptions.

'Weird...she's not just grabbing it. She's sort of swiping her left thumb on her right forearm...I guess I'll find out after this.' I thought.

'If she cut her arm, that's concerning. I'm not that good of a therapist, so worse comes to worst, I'll have to convince her in some way to go get a therapist...I just looove sticking my nose in places where it shouldn't be in, don't I? Then again…'

I frowned a bit internally as I got more products out for the cashier to scan.

'If Miko is in need of help, then I just have to step in. After all, I can't forgive myself if I bail out of that principle of mine where I have to help those in need. Even if she's a woman, it doesn't matter. My feelings can't get in the way of what's needed to be done.'

Me and Miko finally bought everything, and we rode a taxi back home. So far, it doesn't look like she's aware of me being suspicious about her forearm.

"Hey, Miko." I said.

"Hmm?"

"Want me to help you sort out the snacks in your room?"

"Ah, no! It's okay! I'll do it myself!"

"Really? It seems like a lot."

"Don't worry…"

"Besides, you've been a great help. I don't want to inconvenience you any longer." Miko mumbled, which I heard, making me squint my eyes a bit.

"Hmm? What did you say? I didn't hear you properly, Miko." I lied.

"Oh, nothing! I just said that you're a really nice guy. Ehehehe…" She said.

"I see." I smiled and looked forward again.

'You're kinda sus, Miko.' I thought and clenched my hands a bit.

Me and her finally returned to the Holohouse, with me paying for the fare, and we started walking back home.

"Om...nom…" She said as she took a bite of her Snickers.

"Couldn't resist the urge, huh?" I said.

"Un! I love chocolate...!"

"Welp, don't blame me if you get fat."

"I WON'T GET FAT!"

"Ah, yes. Using your phone a lot will stop phone addiction." I said while deadpanning.

"THAT'S A DIFFERENT THING, YOU KNOW!" She said while having slight tears in her eyes.

"Well, you get the point anyway." I sighed.

After we got back to the Holohouse, it seemed that some were here at the lounge.

"Oh? Konnichiwa!" The HoloCN girls, and a few others from the JP branch said.

"Nyahallo!" Miko said.

"Yo." I said as I just walked straight to my room.

"H-Hey! Shiro-kun!" Mel said.

"Hmm?" I said as I slowed down a bit.

"I-I got something to give you for this afternoon. S-Sorry to disturb you this lunch, by the way."

"Ah, no. I was just about to eat my lunch, so no biggie." I said as she brought something while going towards me.

"H-Here..." She said as she handed a gift bag to me.

"Oh...?"

"I-It's a watch…"

I widened my eyes.

"WATCH?!" I asked as I held her shoulder with my other vacant hand.

"K-Kyah!" She yelped.

"How much did it cost?!"

"I-I-It costed around 7,000 yen!" She said.

"...Phew…" I sighed as I looked up.

"Thank god you didn't spend above 10,000." I said as my face looked like my soul almost left my body.

"A-Are you okay?" Mel asked as she and the other girls sweat dropped.

"Yeah...by the way, you didn't just drain your life savings with this watch, did you?"

"E-Eh? No…"

"That's good...I was kinda worried you might've pushed yourself a bit too much for this gift."

"Well...think of it as thanks for what you did for me…"

'"Thanks"? Oh...I think she meant about that time where I put the three guys into jail.' I thought.

"Ah, well, it's no biggie..." I said as I scratched my head.

"W-Was I not thoughtful enough for the gift?" She asked as she tucked her shoulders in a bit.

"Nah...thanks for the gift, Mel." I said as I patted her head.

"E-Eh...?!" She said as she blushed, and the other girls blushed.

"S-Shiro-kun!" Miko and Mel said.

"Um...Shiro, you're a bold man, I see…" Civia said behind me.

"Hmm? Don't girls love being pampered?" I asked Civia.

"N-No...Well, yes, but no...but they do…" Civia giggled nervously.

'Make up your fucking mind, woman. Do y'all like it if you're patted or no?' I thought and deadpanned.

"Well, I guess that's enough." I said as Mel jumped a bit out of surprise from getting my hand out.

"I'll be sure to wear your gift the next time I go out, Mel. Once again, thank you so much for the gift."

"Ah...hai…"

…And all of a sudden, I felt tension in the atmosphere. With my quickness, I had to break it.

"Well, you all have a nice lunch this noon. Miko, you should also be going back to your room. I also gotta eat mine too." I said as I started walking to my bedroom.

"Ah, hai! (Okay!)" They said as Mel went back to eating with the others, Miko went upstairs, and Civia went back to eating lunch with her friends.

I ate lunch, washed the dishes, and put my clothes in the laundry except for my T-shirt and shorts. I hung them on a hook for now.

"Man...still can't believe Hololive staff actually come here every other day to get our laundry and clean up our trash cans." I said as I went to my computer and sat down with my boxers on.

"Hmm...Oh? Calli?" I said to myself as I looked at Discord.

I clicked and it said, "Shiro, mind if I talk to you about a possible collab idea after your collab ban gets lifted?"

"Ah...I see. Well, guess I should answer my senpai right now." I said.

Shiro: Sure, what's up?

Calli: You see...remember that time I asked you if it was okay to teach me freestyle techniques in rapping?

Shiro: Ah, shit. I forgot that. Sorry. I was a bit too busy in my work.

Calli: It's okay. I also forgot about that. That's also why I'd think that it can be a good collab idea.

Shiro: I see...so what you're trying to say is that, if we ever get to collab, you'd like me to teach you?

Calli: Well...more like we talk about rapping AND that

Shiro: So teaching and talking about rapping?

Calli: Yes.

Shiro: Seems okay for me. Btw, slr. I was eating lunch

Calli: It's okay. I was also eating lunch. You must be busy, preparing for the debut and all that.

Shiro: Sorta. Doing some songs for my EP, so I'm currently gonna be busy for almost the whole afternoon 'till evening, then tomorrow, gonna do other stuff.

Calli: I see...good luck on it!

Shiro: Yuppo

And that ended our short conversation in Discord.

"Time to go to Miko's room now and get down to business, I guess…" I said to myself.

I wore my shirt and short again, got out of my room, and went upstairs.

Since each floor contains 15 rooms where the Hololivers live, the 1st to 3rd gen live on the second floor. Funnily enough, the 0th gen, Gamers, and 4th gen, live on the 3rd floor. That one vacant room on the 3rd floor has yet to be taken over by a future Hololive member.

'I wonder what Miko is doing right now...?' I thought.

She's not cutting herself, is she? Oh fuck, I gotta hurry to the third floor if that's the case!

I went up to the third floor finally, and I said, "Miko? Can I come in?"

"..." A long pause ensued. I could hear Miko's movements inside, but I didn't hear a reply yet.

"W-Wait, please!" She finally said after a moment of silence, and then she opened the door.

"H-Hey, Shiro-kun...what brings you here?" She asked.

'Long sleeves as well, even for home clothes…It's time to confirm it.' I thought.

"Are you busy right now?" I asked.

"N-No. I'm just going through Twitter." She said and giggled a bit.

"I see...I'd like to talk with you for a bit."

"Oh? About what?" She asked.

"Well, excuse me for a bit." I said as I made my way in and she closed the door.

"So...? What would you like to talk about?" She asked.

"Well…" I said as I immediately grabbed her right forearm, making her grunt a bit.

"O-Ow...!" She teared up a bit as I used a bit of my strength to raise her forearm upwards, and then I rolled the sleeve down.

Miko gasped and widened her eyes as we both saw what she had been hiding for I don't know how many months or years.

"Mind explaining your true feelings?"