Nazuna Haname is the 'pure and innocent' idol of the popular Vtuber group 'Eclipse Palette.' But she has a secret she can't tell anyone: she's genuinely, hopelessly in love with her groupmate, the flashy gyaru Vtuber Kaname Grace.
During a live collab stream, Nazuna accidentally blurts out her true feelings. Not as a joke, but with a bright red face and streaming tears, she confesses 'I love Kaname-chan!' in front of thousands of viewers. The chat explodes. But instead of outrage, fans go wild:
Nazuna Haname Can't Tell a Lie - Kurogane's Cold-Hearted Notice and Kokuyousei's Warning
Two days had passed since she saw Kaname's tears at Midori Park.
In the dimly lit room of her apartment, "Corpo Hanamizuki," Nazuna sat frozen, clutching her smartphone. On the screen, a cold, impersonal message from Kurogane Erina glowed.
*"Come to Conference Room 'Spectre,' 12th Floor, Corundum Tower, at 10:00 today. This is a work order."*
The moment she read those words, the pit of her stomach went cold.
"Meow."
Mochi, her white cat, rubbed anxiously against Nazuna's legs. The fluffy fur tickled her faintly trembling bare feet. Nazuna smiled weakly and stroked Mochi's head.
"...Yeah. It's fine. I'll go."
There was no way it was fine. But she had no choice but to go.
She peeled off her worn-out loungewear and pulled a plain dress from her closet. It felt like putting on mourning clothes.
The bustling crowds of Shibuya were, contrary to the state of Nazuna's heart, as noisy and bright as ever. The massive glass facade of Corundum Tower glared back at her, reflecting the intense summer sun.
As she passed through the automatic doors at the entrance, the cold air conditioning clung to her sweat-dampened skin. It felt like the coldness of the building itself.
The twelfth floor. Prism Gate Productions headquarters.
The moment she stepped onto the floor, a chill ran down Nazuna's spine.
It was too quiet.
The staff acted as if she wasn't even there, not a single one meeting her eyes. Only the sound of keyboards clacking echoed impersonally. The silence made it painfully clear that she was already a "problem," an "existence that was finished."
She knocked on the heavy door of "Spectre."
"Come in."
The voice from inside was as cold as ice.
Steeling herself, Nazuna opened the door. Inside the conference room, blinds were drawn over every window, leaving it dim. On the far side of the rectangular table sat Kurogane Erina.
Her jet-black hair was pulled back into a chignon, without a single strand out of place. Her narrow, dark eyes fixed on Nazuna, appraising her. Her face was utterly devoid of expression. Like a meticulously carved ice sculpture.
"Sit down."
On Erina's desk, three large monitors were lined up, displaying countless pieces of Nazuna's streaming data. Viewer count graphs, Super Chat amounts, word clouds from comment analysis. Everything about her existence as a Vtuber had been converted into cold, hard numbers. On Erina's left breast, a small brooch glinted dully. It was an old, flower-shaped ornament, strangely incongruous with her coldness.
Nazuna sat in the chair as she was told.
Erina operated her tablet, projecting a clause from a contract onto the giant screen covering the wall. In bold letters, it read: "Contract Article 14 — Prohibition of Romantic Relationships Between Talents."
"There's no room for excuses."
Erina's voice held no sentiment whatsoever.
"Your streaming data, your social media analysis results — it's all here. This is a scandal that can't be dismissed as just a 'streaming gag.' This is an act that fundamentally damages the brand of the product that is you."
"B-but... that was..."
Nazuna tried to protest with a trembling voice. *Those were my true feelings*, she wanted to say.
But Erina cut her off.
"Be quiet."
With just those few words, it felt like the temperature in the room dropped even further.
Erina switched the screen. It now displayed the face photos of several Vtubers, along with article headlines detailing their fates.
"'Popular Vtuber Goes on Hiatus Due to Slander.' 'Personal Info Leaked, Streamer Retires.' 'Agency Bankrupt After Flaming Scandal.'"
She read each one aloud, flatly. Like a record-keeper reading a list of war dead.
"Do you understand? This is the reality caused by what you call your 'true feelings.' The 'Celestia Shock' three years ago. A top talent's romantic feelings destroyed everyone involved. Death threats, mental breakdowns, families torn apart — I've seen countless hells that can't be quantified."
Erina's voice wavered slightly for the first time. Was it anger, or some other emotion?
"To survive in this industry, emotions are nothing but a risk. Your romantic feelings are just noise that I need to eliminate."
She slid a single document across the table in front of Nazuna.
"A three-month suspension of activities. And today, you will hold an apology stream to your viewers and correct everything by saying it was all 'just a streaming gag.'"
"...That's..."
Nazuna's vision blurred with tears.
It meant death as a Vtuber. More than that, it was an order to cut out her own heart, her feelings for Kaname, as "noise," with her own hands.
Nazuna stood up, kicking her chair back.
"Are you telling me to lie?! But these are my true feelings!"
Her desperate cry, however, echoed hollowly before Erina.
Erina looked up at Nazuna with cold eyes. Her expression hadn't changed from the start.
"Vtubers are products. Personal feelings are a risk. You stream pretty ideals and earn money. That's the job. This is also to protect you. Obey."
With that declaration, Erina clicked her heels sharply and walked out of the conference room.
The sound of the door slamming shut pierced Nazuna's heart heavily.
She collapsed on the spot. Teardrops fell, one by one, staining the carpeted floor.
It was all over.
Her admiration for her *onee-san*, her dream of being a Vtuber, her feelings for Kaname — all of it had been excised as "noise with no commercial value" and thrown in the trash.
She didn't know how long she stayed there.
Eventually, she staggered to her feet and left the office with the gait of the dead.
Her heart was filled with a cold emptiness.
—She wanted to cling to her cat, Mochi.
As if fleeing, Nazuna returned to her apartment, "Corpo Hanamizuki." When she opened the door, Mochi meowed once and ran to her feet.
She collapsed into a sitting position in the entryway and hugged Mochi tightly. The fluffy fur and the warmth of that small life were her only emotional support now.
"Mochi... what am I supposed to do?"
Should she do the lying apology stream and survive as a Vtuber?
Or should she stay true to her feelings and lose everything?
The two choices Erina had presented kept spinning around and around in her head.
She looked at the clock on her smartphone.
The deadline for the apology stream Erina had ordered was ticking closer, minute by minute.
That was when it happened.
A light, cheerful electronic sound, *ping*, broke the silence.
A DM on her personal social media account.
Seeing the sender, Nazuna's heart leaped.
Kokuyousei Aria.
A name she'd never heard before. But the account had hundreds of thousands of followers. She seemed to be an independent Vtuber.
With trembling fingers, she opened the DM.
*"Good evening, Haname Nazuna. So, are you the poor little thing being led astray by Kaname?"*
It felt as if a cold hand had gripped her heart directly.
Following that, an image was sent. It was a group photo of young girls. Next to a top talent laughing radiantly in the center, a much younger-looking Kaname and a silver-haired girl were laughing with their arms around each other's shoulders.
*"You know this group, right? Lunatic Circle. I'll tell you how your precious Kaname destroyed us."*
The message didn't end there.
*"I have something to talk about tonight. Don't you want to know the true face of Kaname Grace?"*
Along with that message, the address of "Black Prism Studio," located in a multi-tenant building in Minato Ward, was sent.
Nazuna caught her breath.
In the previous episode, at Midori Park, Kaname had said, painfully: *"What do you even know about me?"*
(*I really don't know anything about Kaname-san's past.*)
Why she drove herself so hard. Why she muttered things like "I make people unhappy." She knew absolutely nothing about the reasons.
Nazuna hesitated, wondering if she should contact Kaname.
But her fingers stopped.
If this was a past Kaname never wanted touched. Asking her directly might hurt her even more.
(*But I have to know.*)
Nazuna made her decision.
She didn't know if this warning was out of goodwill or malice. Even so, if there was someone who knew Kaname's past, she had to go there.
Without even changing out of her crumpled dress, she dashed out of the entryway again.
"Sorry, Mochi. I'll be back soon."
The designated address in Minato Ward was on the third floor of an old multi-tenant building.
It was unimaginable from the exterior. When she opened the heavy iron door, a jet-black world spread out before her. The floor, the walls, the ceiling — everything was black. Heavy, gothic-style furniture and black roses decorated everywhere. The faintly sweet, somewhat decadent scent of roses hung in the air.
This was Black Prism Studio.
"Welcome. You came, you poor little pure-hearted thing."
A voice came from the streaming booth in the back.
Kokuyousei Aria slowly revealed herself.
Her long silver hair, reaching down to her waist, was intricately braided, with several black rose ornaments swaying. Her right eye was a deep crimson that seemed to draw you in, her left a dark purple. Those odd eyes looked at Nazuna, amused yet cold, as if appraising her. On her hands, she wore fingerless gloves adorned with black jewels.
She elegantly offered tea and sweets, as if welcoming an old friend. But behind that theatrical smile, something seething was hidden.
Nazuna timidly sat down on a black leather sofa.
Aria sat in the chair opposite her, slowly crossed her legs like an actress on a stage, and spoke.
"I'll be blunt. You don't know anything about Kaname, do you?"
Her voice was clear, yet laced with an ice-cold venom.
"...No. That's why I came here."
At Nazuna's honest answer, Aria gave a small laugh.
"So pure. Maybe that's why she chose you. How ridiculous."
Aria placed a tablet on the table and began showing Nazuna screenshot after screenshot, and DM logs from that time.
"Three years ago. Lunatic Circle was everything to us. Among us, the top talent, Celestia, was a light everyone admired. Kaname was Celestia's best friend."
The theatrical tone vanished from Aria's voice.
"But Kaname leaked Celestia's personal information. Her address, family structure, past medical history — everything, anonymously posted on a forum. That was the start of the 'Celestia Shock.' Celestia's spirit broke, and the group disbanded. Dreams, hopes — that woman destroyed everything."
Nazuna was speechless.
On the screen was the image of the former top talent, emaciated beyond recognition, with hollow eyes. Countless heartless words abusing her. It was the record of hell itself that Erina had shown her.
"I know it's hard to believe. But this is reality. That girl only brings misfortune; she can't make anyone happy. I — the me who trusted Kaname from the bottom of my heart — am proving it with my own experience."
Aria's crimson and purple eyes wavered with anger, and a deeper sorrow beyond that.
She was a victim who had been hurt.
Nazuna's mind went blank.
*There's no way Kaname would do something like that.* She wanted to scream that.
But the evidence before her eyes, and more than anything, Aria's own deep wounds, were not lies.
However — even so.
Nazuna clenched both hands tightly under the table and looked up.
With tear-filled, earnest eyes, she stared back at Aria.
"...Aria-san, you really do hate Kaname-san, don't you?"
Aria's eyes widened for a moment.
"But,"
Nazuna continued.
"Even so, I believe in Kaname-san. Because I know her. The kind *onee-san* who couldn't leave me alone when I was crying in that little park fifteen years ago. The weak person who was crying alone, holding a loneliness she couldn't tell anyone, on that late-night stream. So — no matter what happened in the past, the Kaname-san now is the person I love."
It wasn't a baseless "belief."
It was a resolve to believe in the "now" of her that she had seen with her own eyes.
Aria froze for a moment, as if stunned.
Then, softly
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.