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 - I Can't Tell a Lie! I'll Destroy Everything in a Rock-Bottom Apology Stream
In a room at Corpo Hanamizuki, the faint chirping of insects echoed softly.
The soundproof panels affixed to the walls sealed the room's air in heavy stillness. The streaming monitor lay sunken in blackness, the microphone still toppled over.
Haname Nazuna sat slumped on the tatami mat.
The screen of the smartphone clutched in her hand was damp, blurring slowly.
"……Why won't you answer me?"
Her voice trembled.
Since that day, since returning from Kokuyousei Aria's studio, she'd lost count of how many times she'd called. Ten? Twenty? She'd stopped counting last night. Every time the dial tone repeated its mechanical drone, something deep in her chest was scraped away, little by little, bit by bit.
(*Kaname-san...*)
Just calling that name in her heart made the back of her throat burn hot.
Aria's words swirled endlessly in her head, a vortex.
*"Kaname betrayed her best friend."*
*"Your pure, innocent feelings are nothing but poison to that girl."*
*"You can still turn back now."*
No. Absolutely not.
(*Because, at Midori Park...*)
Fifteen years ago, the kind older girl who couldn't leave her crying alone. The fragile person who wept alone on a late-night stream, saying she "had no right to be number one to anyone." The one who held her hand, smiled bashfully, and said, "It's not as bad as I thought."
There was absolutely no way—none—that all of it was an act.
That's why she wanted to confirm it.
She wanted to hear about the "Celestia Shock" that Aria mentioned from Kaname's own lips. What really happened. Why they said she betrayed her best friend.
But.
The last message she sent was displayed on the smartphone screen.
*"Kaname-san, I want to talk. I heard about the Celestia Shock from Aria-san. Did you really betray your best friend?"*
No read receipt.
Only the call history piled up, hollow and meaningless.
"……I believe in you, though."
Her voice was drenched, ragged with tears.
Nazuna hugged her knees. The cold sensation of the tatami seeped into her bare feet.
"Meow."
Mochi, the white cat, rubbed against her worriedly. Fluffy fur brushed against Nazuna's trembling hand.
"Mochi... I don't know what to do anymore."
Nazuna hugged Mochi tight.
The small body was warm in her arms. The cat's heartbeat pulsed steadily against her. But even that warmth couldn't erase the coldness in her chest right now.
(*Kaname-san is running away from me.*)
That, more than anything, felt like an answer.
She wanted to deny Aria's words, but Kaname wouldn't say anything. Her own feelings of "belief" spun their wheels, hung in midair, reaching no one.
(*Maybe I really... don't know anything about Kaname-san.*)
That thought stabbed into her chest like a sharp shard of glass.
Nazuna placed her smartphone on the tatami.
The screen went dark.
Silence descended upon the room.
The wall clock ticked, ticked, its mechanical sound marking time.
9:40 PM.
Twenty minutes until the deadline Erina had ordered for the false apology stream.
And then—
Bzzzzzzzzt.
The smartphone on the tatami vibrated.
Nazuna's shoulders jolted.
She looked at the screen.
Incoming call.
Kurogane Erina.
For an instant, her fingers froze.
(*I don't want to answer.*)
She knew it in her head, but her fingers moved on their own. Tap. Call connected.
"……You're late."
The voice that leaped into her ear was cold, like biting ice.
"You agreed to start the apology stream by 10 PM."
"……Yes."
Nazuna forced the word out.
"If you disobey this order—you understand, don't you? It's not just your problem. It will affect the activities of all Eclipse Palette members. Do you intend to destroy the careers of the other four with your selfishness?"
"……"
Her breath stopped.
The faces of the other members floated in her mind. Everyone had welcomed her warmly when she joined the group. Encouraged her during collaboration streams. Even threw her a surprise party for her birthday.
All of them—because of her.
"You have two choices. Open the apology stream, even if it's a lie, and dismiss everything as 'streaming content.' Or lose everything."
Erina's voice contained no emotion whatsoever.
She merely laid out the facts, like cold, hard numbers.
"Numbers are everything. That's reality. Your romantic feelings are nothing but noise in this industry."
"……I understand."
Nazuna said it, her head still bowed.
Her voice was so small it surprised even herself.
"I'll do it. The apology stream."
"Good. A wise decision. Start the stream at exactly ten o'clock. The prepared apology statement is in the shared folder."
*Click.*
The call ended.
Silence returned to the room.
Nazuna couldn't move, still clutching her smartphone.
Her fingers trembled minutely.
"……I'm sorry, Mochi."
The cat on her lap tilted its head quizzically.
Nazuna slowly stood up.
She sat down in front of her streaming equipment.
She turned on the monitor. Pale blue light spread through the dim room.
She displayed the apology statement Erina had sent on her tablet.
The cold, mechanical text was arranged in orderly lines.
*'I, Haname Nazuna, deeply apologize for the great trouble and concern I have caused everyone due to my inappropriate remarks.'*
*'The romantic feelings for Kaname Grace that I expressed during my stream were entirely an act for the broadcast and are not factual.'*
*'I sincerely regret that my rash actions have resulted in betraying Kaname Grace, the members of Eclipse Palette, and all of our fans.'*
As her eyes traced each character, one by one—she heard a creaking, straining sound deep in her chest.
(*This... is true betrayal.*)
Betraying Kaname.
Betraying her own true feelings.
But.
(*I have to do it.*)
If she didn't, she'd cause trouble for everyone.
With trembling fingers, Nazuna launched the streaming app.
Started OBS. Checked the avatar's movements. Checked the microphone volume.
All mechanically. Killing her emotions.
10 PM.
Nazuna pressed the start stream button.
—In that instant.
The other side of the screen erupted into motion, as if exploding.
The viewer count skyrocketed.
Five thousand. Ten thousand. Twenty thousand. Thirty thousand—the numbers climbed dizzyingly.
The comment section began to flow like a waterfall.
*'Here she comes.'*
*'Liar.'*
*'Traitor.'*
*'So it wasn't real after all?'*
*'Pretending to be pure and innocent, but you were in love?'*
Each word was like a sharp knife.
With trembling hands, Nazuna displayed the prepared apology script on her cue sheet.
Her throat was bone-dry.
"……G-good evening. This is Haname Nazuna."
Her voice was hoarse.
The flow of comments grew even faster.
*'Your voice is so quiet!'*
*'Are you crying?'*
*'Isn't this just an act?'*
Nazuna desperately chased the text with her eyes.
"……Due to my, in-inappropriate remarks..."
The words stuck in her throat and wouldn't come out.
The viewer count exceeded eighty thousand.
The highest number ever.
But each one felt like a spectator gathered to condemn her.
*'If you're gonna cry, don't do it in the first place.'*
*'I'm disappointed.'*
*'I'm unsubscribing.'*
Nazuna looked at the next line.
*'My statements regarding Kaname Grace were all an act for the stream.'*
This one line.
She opened her mouth.
"M-my... statements... regarding Kaname Grace... were..."
Her voice wouldn't come out.
The back of her throat tightened painfully.
Her vision blurred with tears, and she couldn't read the words anymore.
(*I can't say it.*)
From the bottom of her heart, she heard a scream.
(*There's no way I can say something like that.*)
Because those were—her true, real feelings.
Her first love, cherished for fifteen long years.
To call it a lie. To call it an act.
There was no way she could say that.
The comment section began to stir.
*'Huh?'*
*'Isn't this kinda bad?'*
*'Is she crying?'*
*'Did she freeze?'*
Nazuna couldn't move.
Her voice, her fingers, her tears—nothing would stop.
She just kept crying in front of the screen.
One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes—.
Silence dominated the stream.
The viewer count didn't drop. If anything, it was increasing.
Eighty thousand people watched with bated breath, waiting for something to happen.
And then—.
Something inside Nazuna snapped.
She raised her head.
A face messy with tears and snot.
But her eyes alone stared straight at the camera.
"I'm sorry...!"
Her voice shook.
"I just... I c-can't... tell a lie!!"
It was a scream.
A cry so loud she thought her throat might tear.
Without pause, Nazuna yanked the cable from the streaming screen.
*Cut.*
The monitor went dark.
The comments, the viewer count, everything vanished.
Silence returned to the room.
Nazuna collapsed on the spot.
"……Uu... uuu... fu... uuu..."
Wordless sobs were swallowed by the soundproof panels.
It was all over now. Everything.
Her VTuber career. Her relationship with Kaname. All of it.
—At that moment.
Bzzzzzzzzt.
The smartphone that had fallen onto the tatami vibrated again.
Incoming call.
The name displayed on the screen.
Kurogane Erina.
With trembling fingers, Nazuna tapped it.
"……Come to the office. Right now."
Erina's voice was quiet, beyond anger.
That was somehow even more terrifying.
---
Nighttime Shibuya blazed with glaring neon.
Still in her sweats, Nazuna walked unsteadily, clutching a convenience store bag. She'd taken the train, not wanting to waste money on a taxi.
The stares around her stung.
She knew herself that her eyes were red and swollen.
(*I won't be a VTuber anymore anyway.*)
Her lips twisted in self-deprecation.
Corundum Tower was brilliantly lit even at night.
She thought absently that it looked like a giant tombstone.
Twelfth floor. Prism Gate Productions headquarters.
The floor was deserted.
Only the conference room, "Spectre," had its lights on.
She opened the heavy door.
"……Come in."
Erina sat in the same spot as that day.
Her jet-black hair was pulled back into a chignon, not a single strand out of place. Her narrow, dark eyes fixed steadily on Nazuna, as if seeing right through her.
The only thing different from usual—was a single document placed in front of her.
"Sit."
Nazuna sat in the chair as she was told.
Her legs were trembling.
Erina slid the document toward Nazuna.
"Haname Nazuna. I am delivering Prism Gate Productions' final notice to you."
Nazuna looked at the document.
*'Notice of Indefinite Suspension of Activities'*
*'Notice of Expulsion from Eclipse Palette'*
The letters seemed to warp and distort before her eyes.
"This marks the end of your life as a VTuber. Return your equipment and account by noon tomorrow."
Flatly, like a death sentence.
Nazuna stared at the document, unable to move.
But—.
Something welled up from the very depths of her chest.
(*After all, I...*)
She raised her head.
"……Erina-san."
Her voice trembled.
"You knew, didn't you... that I can't tell a lie...!?"
Tears overflowed.
Erina's expression flickered—ever so slightly.
She was silent for a moment.
Then, in a very small voice, she said:
"……I knew."
Nazuna gasped.
"I knew, which is exactly why I wanted to protect you. Before you lost everything—like that girl did."
Erina's hand gently touched the brooch on her left chest.
An old, small flower ornament.
The moment she saw it—Nazuna understood.
(*This person lost someone too.*)
During the Celestia Shock. A precious talent.
That's why she was so desperate.
"……That's all. Leave the room."
Erina returned to her usual expressionless mask and stood up.
Without another word, she left the conference room.
Her retreating figure looked just a little smaller than usual.
Nazuna was left alone in the conference room.
She clutched the documents.
The paper crinkled loudly.
---
It was past midnight when she returned to her apartment.
Without turning on the lights, Nazuna collapsed face-down on the tatami.
"……I'm not a VTuber anymore..."
"Meow."
Mochi approached from the darkness.
"Kaname-san hates me to
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