Minami Kotori, the girl I just met during cleaning duty this morning. She introduced herself after we bumped into each other in class—right at the most embarrassing moment of my life. I can still feel my cheeks heating up from the memory. Despite that rocky start, we ended up chatting briefly before the homeroom teacher arrived.
In that short time, I discovered we had so much in common personality-wise that it was almost uncanny. If we'd met earlier, I'm sure we'd be best friends by now.
But fate doesn't seem to favor that kind of simplicity.
The problem is that we each have our own loyal followers, groups that just happened to clash the moment they crossed paths. This is almost poetic in its absurdity: Both groups, sharing the same roots of delinquency, are now locked in an intense rivalry.
If only we'd met earlier, I think to myself. Maybe we wouldn't be caught up in this mess. Maybe we wouldn't have even ended up with these groups at all. But "maybe" is a word that carries no weight in the present.
For now, I'll deal with it the only way I know how—by not dealing with it. I've never been interested in managing the affairs of these brats. Even though they constantly try to drag me into their petty squabbles, I refuse to partake. What is there to even discuss?
Tomorrow, I'll talk to Kotori. I'll clear things up with her directly and hope we can resolve this peacefully. After all, if we're as similar as I think we are, maybe we can find some common ground.
Until then, I won't overthink it. Tonight, I just want to relax.
After wasting my time meeting with those kids, I headed back to the dorm. Strangely, Irana and Viola weren't there. The room was eerily quiet without them.
Where could they be? I wondered, glancing at the clock. Maybe they went out to buy bubble tea? If so, they'd better bring some back for me.
What? I like bubble tea too. Who doesn't?
Did you ever hoped for food or drinks when your siblings or parents go out? I'm the type who'd sulk if they didn't bring anything back. But now that I think about it, is that normal? Maybe I'm just selfish.
Either way, with the room empty and boredom creeping in, I needed something to do while waiting. Sleep wasn't an option yet—I wasn't remotely tired.
I considered playing mobile games, but lately, nothing had caught my interest. Maybe because I play all those gacha game? Every single one ended up draining my wallet because I couldn't resist the temptation to skip the grind and just buy what I wanted.
If I can buy it, why bother grinding? That's my excuse every time.
Instead of gaming, I decided to watch Yucube.
After opening the app, I scrolled through my recommended videos when something caught my eye. A Vcuber named Sakimiya Aria.
Her name immediately struck me. Sakimiya, the reverse of my family name, Miyazaki. The kanji arrangement is flipped. The only difference is that my name is written in katakana, while hers is in hiragana.
But it doesn't end there.
Her avatar? Shoulder-length blonde hair and a sailor-style school uniform. The resemblance is… uncanny. Almost eerie.
Even her debut date—it was my birthday. Just a month ago.
Coincidence? Maybe. But it feels too deliberate to ignore.
What is this?
She's live right now… let's watch.
"...Where did I put the workbench? Chat, can you help remind me?"
Oh, it seems she's playing Maincraft. And it looks like she just started playing it. For some reason, her voice sounds familiar.
"...Sssst..."
[Careful, Aria-chan, there's a kreepa!!]
"Hmm? ...what's that sound?"
"...Kaboom!!!"
Whoa... Did I just witness a golden moment from this livestream?
"Ugh… kreepas again!!"
[wwwwww... kreepas 5... Aria 0.]
[Aria-chan, find some sheep, get their wool, and make a bed. Or find a place to hide until morning.]
[The kreepas are definitely going for a high kill streak… wwwww.]
[...I'm pretty sure the workbench she's looking for is in her inventory… wwww.]
[Aria-chan, you should've learned by now that if you hear that sound, it means there's a kreepa.]
It seems this isn't the first time she's died because of a kreepa. Poor her; she seems clueless about how to play this game. I'm sure her viewers asked her to play this just to see these hilarious moments from her.
I'll donate some money to cheer her up.
Miyazaki Aria✓-$100
Don't be sad… beginners often die because of kreepas.
Huh... since when was my account verified?
"Thank you for the donation... Miyazaki... eh..."
[Arya-chan's alt account?]
[Aria-chan, why are you donating to yourself?]
[Is that really Aria-chan's alt account? Or just a fan's fake account?...]
[...But that account is verified...]
[I checked the channel, and there's nothing there. The profile picture is just an anime girl with short hair who looks like our Aria. Except her hair is black, not blonde. She also gives off this cool ikemen vibe for some reason.]
[If I remember correctly, Aria-chan mentioned having a twin during her debut.]
[Ooooh... is that her twin's account? When's her debut!!]
Eeeh!!!... what's going on here?
This is really weird. I don't know how my account got verified. Now, because of the verification, the viewers think I'm connected to this Vcuber. But I don't even know who she is. I see the chat mentioning that she has a twin. Could this girl be Irana?
"Onii... ahem... Onee-chan, you're back? I bought you some bubble tea."
Oh... Irana and Viola are finally back. She even brought me bubble tea, just as I'd hoped! Wait... if Irana is here, then this Vcuber isn't Irana.
"I can't believe you're watching me now, Aria... fufufu. You usually don't watch Vcubers at home."
Who is this Vcuber anyway? She's acting all familiar too...
"Aria, what are you watching? Is that a Vcuber's livestream? I heard her calling your name..." Viola, who's holding a bag of food, asked me.
Let's welcome them back first and grab that bubble tea.
"Hey, you guys... Where did you go? Eating out? Isn't there free food in the cafeteria?"
"Yeah... we just got back from buying food. I wasn't in the mood for the cafeteria food. It's really bad," Irana said.
"I hope you're not buying food outside often. Don't waste money when there's free food. Money doesn't grow on trees, you know," I said, taking the bubble tea from Irana.
Irana glanced at my phone... the Vcuber livestream was still on. And... ugh... my hundred-dollar donation was still visible in the chat.
This is so embarrassing...
"Says the one who just donated a hundred dollars to a Vcuber... hmph," Irana said.
I just wanted to cheer up that Vcuber. You wouldn't understand even if I explained it. Should I tell the truth or just lie? Ugh... let's lie!
"It's not like that, Irana... look, it's because of her name."
Irana and Viola then simultaneously looked at the Vcuber's name.
"Eeeeh... is that you, Onee-chan? Are you a Vcuber!!"
It seems Irana doesn't know who's behind this Vcuber either.
"How could I be a Vcuber?... And look, she's still streaming right now. Do I look like I'm streaming right now?"
"That's true... but this Vcuber's name is so similar to yours, Onee-chan. Do you know her?"
"Yeah, Aria, do you know her? I heard her call your name earlier like she knew you," Viola added.
I want to know who she is too.
"I don't know. But it seems like she knows me. Her debut date is also on our birthday, Irana. Her voice also sounds familiar."
Irana then seemed to think about something.
"So you donated a hundred dollars because you wanted to know who she is?" Viola asked.
You're absolutely right, Viola. It's definitely not because I have impulse control issues when it comes to money.
"Yeah, that's exactly it, hahaha," I said with a totally not suspicious smile.
Wah... Viola, don't look at me like that. I'm being honest here. It's not because I have a spending problem, okay...
"I'm going to call someone. Onee-chan, Viola, keep an eye on that Vcuber," Irana said.
Who's she going to call?
"Ooooh... finally... we found iron... chat, we found IRON!!"
I looked back at my phone screen to watch the Vcuber. She's really a beginner.
"Hmm... hold on a second, someone's calling me... hold on, chat. I'll answer this first."
[Pause the game first!!...]
[...Imagine if a kreepa blew her up while she was gone.]
"...Pssst..."
"...Kaboom..."
[Called it... wwwwww.]
[wwwwww Aria-chan, you poor thing.]
[kreepas 6 Aria 0... wwwwww.]
The Vcuber got a phone call... could it be from Irana? Viola and I simultaneously looked at Irana.
"...Sorry to bother you... just wanted to confirm something. Yeah... love you too. Okay, that's all..."
Irana then hung up the phone. I looked back at my phone.
"I'm ba—huh?... wait... how did I die?!"
I turned back to Irana.
"Who did you just call, Irana?" I asked, curious.
"I called—dad"
"Huh?!"
"Hahaha, just kidding… I called Mom. That Vcuber is Mom."
"Huh?!"