Chapter 17. [Sleepover Party]

<N~, “Otsukare-sama deshita”>

Angu-ogu stretches out her body.

The stream is safely over, and we’ll finish our activities for today.

<Well, it’s time for me to go home. My mom will be worried.>

I heard that Angu-ogu is going to stay at Ah-nee’s house.

I’m tired too. Too many things have happened today.

I was so nervous because I had my oshi next to me.

I tried to stand up with that thought in my mind.

“What? Iroha-chan, you’re leaving? You should stay the night!”

“Eeeeee, you’re annoying! Don’t cling to me, Ah-nee. It’s too hot!”

“Then tell me you’ll stay the night, come on!”

<I want to play with Iroha more, too.>

<What? I want to play with Iroha more, too. Ah, umm, umm, umm, …… Ugh, okay, don’t look at me like that. Wait a minute, I’ll check with my mom.>

<I won.>

Sleeping over with my oshi!

Ah-nee aside, being under one roof with a girl your age is a lot of things to deal with as a fan, and an old man. Ah, not to mention Ah-nee (twice, because it’s important).

I send a message to my mom.

She replies a few moments later.

[Okay. Don’t be rude. Mom will be home late starting today.]

It was mutual.

Why is it that only at times like this do I easily get permission?

I gave up.

“Mom said I can stay over.”

“Okay, if we decide to do that, first we need to go to the bathroom! Let’s go to the bathroom, ooh!”

“Bbbaa bath!? Wait a minute! As expected that is!”

<Wait, wait, Anego! Bath means all of us together! Seriously! Maybe that’s normal in Japan, but it’s still way too difficult for me!>

We desperately resisted.

As expected, Ah-nee also gave up while being booed, probably because she thought 2 to 1 was inferior.

I thought it was ……, but while I was taking a bath.

Boom! The bathroom door was opened suddenly.

“Iroha-chan~! I’ll wash your back~!”

“Gyaaaaaaaa~~~~!”

Anego’s done it!

In the end, Angu-ogu and I took turns guarding the gate in the dressing room to protect each other from Anego’s intrusion.

<Iroha-chan, No, Iroha. We are now comrades-in-arms. I’ll call you by your first name from now on.

<You’re right, Ogu. Let’s stand together against the king of wickedness and tyranny!>

By the time we got out of the bath. We were shaking hands.

Before I knew it, the walls and tension were gone.

……Hey? Does it seem we’re getting further and further away from my ideal relationship between VTubers and their fans?

Or is A-nee aiming for this? No, no. She’s just doing what she wants to do.

In addition, another person tried to break in while I was taking a bath.

The one who appeared while Angu-ogu was slightly out of her seat was.

“Iroha-chan, you can’t do it with Ah-nee, but it’s okay if it’s Mai, right? Mai will wash your back! It’s already locked?? It can’t be helped, I brought a 10-yen coin properly. Oh. Huh? It won’t open!?”

I washed my hair while silently holding the key.

Through the bathroom door, <Anego’s family is nothing but hentai!> and I heard Anguogu’s cries as she returned to the changing room.

*  *  *

We spread out the futon, and the three of us lay down side by side in the shape of a river.

What, you mean you don’t sleep with Mai in a 2-2 split?

I felt my chastity was in danger, so I decided not to.

Mai was crying, but I didn’t care. She deserved it.

I asked Ogu if she wanted to sleep with the four of us. I had been worried that her VTuber career tended to exclude her from the group, but she didn’t seem to mind it.

<How long will Ogu stay in Japan?>

<Until the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow I plan to get up early and go somewhere. I’ll even take a night off from streaming to do some sightseeing!>

<You didn’t get to go today. Where are you going sightseeing?>

<We’ve been waiting for that question! There was one place I wanted to go to when I came to Japan! That’s maid cafes!>

<Maid cafes!>

<And I also want to look around the anime goods stores! And the game arcade is a must!!!>

I was taken aback, but I was soon convinced.

Angu-ogu loves Japanese anime culture.

She is a foodie and got interested in Japan from Japanese food. She then expanded her interest to Japanese music games and anime.

She often sings anime songs in her stream.

<Yes! It’s summer vacation in Japan now, right? Let’s go with Iroha too!>

<Eh, okay! Then let’s go together. Oh, no.>

<Why not?>

I admonished the tension that was about to rise.

I answered while looking up at the ceiling.

<I have cram school tomorrow. My parents want me to take the junior high school entrance exam.>

<Hmmm. Iroha doesn’t want to take the junior high school entrance exam.>

<It’s not like I don’t want to do it, but more like it’s annoying.>

<Haha, I understand. I was made to take the junior high school entrance exam too. I mean, I’ve been studying since “pre-school”.>

<Pre-school?>

<Let’s see, a school that children attend from the age of two?>

<Like preschool?>

<Hmm? Is it similar to preschool? Since then, I’ve been told to study, study for kindergarten, five years of elementary school, three years of junior high school, and four years of high school.>

Come to think of it, the education systems in Japan and the U.S. are different.

But it is a very unexpected career path.

<Surprising, isn’t it? I was born into a good family. My parents are very strict in their professions. I have a very strict mama. I can’t study though.

<Really?>

<Yes. I’m what you call a dropout. I was always getting angry at her every day. I got so fed up with it that I ran away from home!>

<What?>

<So I ended up dropping out. I still can’t get along with my mom. But now that I could earn money from streaming and living like this, I’ve found that what I learned at school is surprisingly useful. I am very grateful now.>

<So, are you still in favor of taking the exam?>

<No, I don’t think so. At least in my case, there were far more bad things than good things.>

<…… I see.>

<Yeah. Sometimes I think about it. I wonder what would have happened if I had gone to a normal school. Maybe I would have gone out with friends and not become a streamer.>

<That’s a little sad.>

<I guess so. I can’t imagine my life without being a VTuber now. I don’t want to give it up.>

<……!>

<I think that what is important is the will of the person. Parents should not force their children to take junior high school entrance exams. And just as unfortunate is that they can only choose the same school as everyone else. Parents need to increase their children’s choices as much as possible.>

<At least, that’s what I wish I could have done.> Angu-ogu concluded.

I pondered for a while.

Angu-ogu waited for me silently while I thought about it.

<……Yes, I’ve decided. I’m not going to take the junior high school entrance exam.>

<I see.>

<I’ll make it clear to my parents after the summer vacation. The summer course fee is a waste of money, so until then, I’ll continue to attend cram school diligently.>

<Haha! Yeah, I think it’s a good idea. The future that Iroha wanted to see was not beyond the junior high school entrance exam.>

<Yes, I’ve thought of one thing I want to do. It’s-.>

“Gugo-go-go-go-go! ……Gukah, Supi.”

<<……>>

We silently woke up and looked down at Ah-nee’s face, who had decided to have a good night’s sleep.

I thought she was awfully quiet, but it seems she fell asleep right away.

She was sleeping quite comfortably.

We cowered our shoulders, thinking it would be bad to wake her up by making too much noise, and crept under the covers. When we closed our eyes, the morning was just around the corner.

*  *  *

<Anego, do you understand what I’m trying to say?>

“Ah-nee …… you.”

“S-sorry, I’m sorry …….”

The next morning, Angu-ogu and I were sitting on the floor looking down at Ah-nee.

Our faces were bruised and blue.

“No, no ahaha. I didn’t know I was such a bad sleeper. I didn’t know.”

<Anego~!> “Ah-nee~!”

“Hiiiiiiii! I’m sorry!”