Nekomiya Hinata has always been troubled behind the scenes of her streams.
She is a popular VTuber, but her true self is just a small girl who loves games. One day, Hinata receives a big offer from a game company to hold an FPS tournament named after her. She is overjoyed, but behind the scenes, former colleagues and rivals are scheming to bring her down.
Supporting Hinata off-stream is her manager, Aoba Mio. Cool and composed, Mio is actually Hinata's biggest fan and has been silently protect
Hinata's Little War - A new daily life, and a premonition of the next battle.
The sky over Akihabara felt somehow heavy.
The clamor of Electric Town reached Hinata's small ears as if from a great distance. The footsteps of passing crowds, the anime songs spilling from storefronts — everything had lost its sharp edges, blurred into a haze.
*(So this is StreamVox's Tokyo office.)*
Walking half a step behind Aoba Mio, Hinata looked up at the building towering before her. The Japan branch of the nation's largest streaming platform. Roughly 18 million monthly active users. The sheer size of that number pressed down on her now like a physical weight.
"...Nervous?"
Mio, walking ahead, spoke without turning around. Her blue-black long hair was tied back neatly as always. Her deep indigo, narrow eyes were hard to read.
"Yeah... a little."
Hinata gave a small nod. Her red twin-tails swayed faintly over her shoulders. The bedhead at her crown had somehow held its cat-ear shape this morning, but the humid air had left it slightly wilted.
"No problem. I'll do the talking. You just listen beside me."
Mio's voice was as calm as ever. But Hinata could tell. Mio's right hand, inside her suit pocket, was clenched into a tight fist.
*(Mio-san is nervous too.)*
*(For my sake.)*
Hinata squeezed her own hand.
The two of them passed through the automatic doors.
At the reception desk, they stated their business, and a young female staff member — polite, but with a smile that felt somehow mechanical — led them to a meeting room. White walls, pale gray sofas. The view from the window looked down over the streets of Akihabara. But Hinata had no room to enjoy the scenery.
A few minutes later, a man in a suit entered. Mid-thirties, perhaps. Thin silver-rimmed glasses, a slim tablet in hand. The practiced ease with which he offered his business card marked him as a veteran of such negotiations.
"Takase, from the Account Management Division of StreamVox Japan. Thank you for taking the time to meet with us today."
Takase sat down across from Hinata and Mio. He straightened his back and placed the tablet on the table. The gesture belonged to someone who had sat through countless negotiations of this kind.
"Let me get straight to the point. I will explain the situation regarding the freeze on Nekomiya Hinata-sama's account."
Takase operated the tablet, pulling up several documents.
"Currently, your account has been frozen at the request of a third-party organization. This third party is an external auditing firm contracted with our company, and they hold the authority to request temporary freezes on accounts suspected of unauthorized use or terms-of-service violations."
"When will this third party reach a decision?"
Mio's question was quiet, but sharp.
"The review typically takes between two weeks and one month. In this case, alongside the hacking incident, reports have also been filed regarding past stream content, so the review covers a wide range of items..."
"We can't wait two weeks."
Mio's voice dropped a register.
"The Hinata Cup is right around the corner. Nekomiya Hinata is the face of that tournament. With her account frozen, she can't announce the event, can't stream — nothing."
"I understand how you feel. However, under our terms of service, we cannot lift a freeze without waiting for the third party's review results."
Takase's voice remained strictly businesslike.
"Take a look at this."
Mio took out her own tablet and held it out in front of Takase. The screen displayed graphs and figures.
"This is Nekomiya Hinata's streaming performance data from the past year. Average concurrent viewers, total Super Chat revenue, attendance numbers for collaboration events. All of it represents contributions to this platform. And this — this is data showing viewer support. Even after the account freeze, tens of thousands of posts on social media are calling for her return."
Takase stared at the tablet screen.
"...I see. Impressive numbers."
"Then why can't you issue an emergency release?"
"Performance and policy are separate matters."
Takase spoke quietly.
"However impressive the record, lifting a freeze before the review concludes would set a precedent. That would compromise fairness with other users. We can only respond in accordance with our terms of service."
"Fairness...!"
Mio's voice trembled slightly.
"She's the one who was hacked. She's the one whose past stream incident was spread through malicious editing. So why does the victim have to have her activities restricted like this?"
"We fully understand how you feel."
Takase bowed deeply.
"However, it is policy."
That single phrase froze the air in the meeting room.
Hinata clenched her fingers on her lap. Her nails bit into her palms.
*(Policy, policy, policy...)*
*(I just want my place back.)*
*(What did I even do?)*
A dark emotion churned deep in her chest. Anger? Sorrow? Resignation? She couldn't tell. The only thing she felt clearly was that the cold, mechanical response before her stood like an unyielding wall.
"...Understood."
Mio rose slowly.
"Thank you for your time today."
"Thank you for coming in. We will contact you again once the review results are available."
Takase also stood and bowed politely.
Hinata stood up unsteadily. Her legs felt weak.
*(Is this it?)*
*(My streams still aren't coming back?)*
As she left the meeting room, Hinata glanced back once. Takase had already returned his gaze to the tablet screen.
Outside the office, the air felt lukewarm.
The bustle of Akihabara swallowed them both.
Hinata began walking in silence. Mio walked beside her, saying nothing.
After a while, Hinata spoke quietly.
"...Mio-san."
"What is it?"
"If I went back to being a normal girl... would you be my friend? Not my manager — my friend?"
Mio's feet stopped dead.
Hinata stopped too.
Passersby flowed around the two of them.
"...Why bring that up all of a sudden?"
Mio's voice was slightly hoarser than usual.
"Because, Mio-san, you're always my manager... but that's because I'm Nekomiya Hinata, right? If I were just some girl who liked games, would you have ever even looked my way...?"
Hinata spoke with her head lowered.
"That's not true."
Mio's voice rang out, strong.
When Hinata looked up, Mio's deep indigo eyes were fixed directly on her.
"...I was saved by watching your streams."
Mio began to speak, slowly, carefully.
"It was right around when you debuted. I was working at a different company. Every day, buried under numbers and deadlines, yelled at by my boss, unable to get along with my coworkers... going to work was pure agony."
Mio's voice had lost its usual composure.
"One night, on the train home, I happened to find your stream. A small girl, desperately playing an FPS. Your skills were still rough, but your voice, your smile... somehow, my heart felt lighter."
"Mio-san..."
"After that, I watched your streams every night. When you laughed, I felt like I could try a little harder tomorrow. When you were frustrated, I felt frustrated with you. Your streams were my only emotional support."
Mio's eyes were faintly glistening.
"That's why I decided to become your manager. I wanted to protect you. Whether you go back to being a normal girl or not doesn't matter. As long as you keep streaming as Nekomiya Hinata, I'm on your side. Not as your manager..."
Mio paused.
"...As your friend."
Those words seeped slowly into the depths of Hinata's chest.
*(Mio-san was saved by my streams.)*
*(My streams were someone's emotional support.)*
*(I was saving someone.)*
Tears spilled from Hinata's eyes.
"Mio-san... thank you..."
Hinata took Mio's hand.
Her small hand wrapped around Mio's cold one.
"Then, next time, it's my turn to be your support."
With her face a mess of tears, Hinata smiled as hard as she could.
Mio's eyes widened for just a moment, and then she smiled softly.
"...Yeah. I'm counting on you."
That smile was the first real smile Hinata had ever seen from Mio.
In the twilight of Akihabara, their two shadows stretched long.
The next day, Hinata sat on her bed at home, phone in hand.
*(I should call Koyori.)*
Since that day they parted on the rooftop of NovaCrest, she and Koyori had only spoken over the phone.
Hinata tapped Koyori's number.
One ring. Two rings.
*'...Hello? Hinata?'*
Koyori's voice came through the receiver. Hinata could almost see her fluffy pink-gold bob swaying on the other side of the screen.
"Koyori, how are you doing?"
*'I'm good! But what about you? You've been working hard with Mio-san, right?'*
"Yeah... I guess. We went to StreamVox yesterday, but the account still isn't back..."
*'I see... but don't give up. If it's you, Hinata, you'll definitely get it back.'*
Koyori's voice was as bright and gentle as ever.
"How's NovaCrest? You started music lessons, right?"
*'Ah, you'll listen!? Yes! I had my first music lesson the other day! The teacher was so kind, and she praised my voice... I was really happy.'*
Koyori's voice was bouncing with energy.
"That's great! I love your singing too, Koyori."
*'Ehehe, thank you. But...'*
Koyori's voice dropped just a little.
*'At night, when I see the timeline without your streams, I get really lonely. I still can't get used to not hearing your voice at that hour...'*
"Koyori..."
*'Ah, but I know this is selfish of me. You're going through so much right now, Hinata. I shouldn't be saying things like this. Sorry.'*
"Don't apologize. I miss hearing your voice too."
Hinata gripped her phone tightly.
"Koyori, I'm going to keep being a streamer, no matter what. Until you grow and come back, I'll keep fighting in my place."
*'...Hinata.'*
"So you grow as much as you can in your place too. And the next time we meet... let's both be able to say we've gotten stronger."
*'Yeah...! I'll do my best too. I'll get so strong I won't lose to you.'*
Koyori's voice was trembling with tears.
*'The next time we meet, I'll be stronger... so you can't lose either, Hinata.'*
"Yeah. It's a promise."
After hanging up, Hinata collapsed onto her back on the bed.
*(Koyori's working hard.)*
*(I have to work hard too.)*
Staring at the ceiling, Hinata quietly steeled her resolve.
That weekend, Hinata spent time alone at home for the first time in a while.
A single room in a Setagaya apartment. The small 1LDK held two gaming PCs, streaming equipment, and roughly forty plushies. The fridge was, as always, mostly energy drinks and convenience store meals.
*(I should clean up...)*
Hinata looked at the cluttered floor. But her body wouldn't move.
*(Today is a do-nothing day.)*
*(Once in a while, that's okay.)*
Hinata hugged a stuffed bear and sank into the sofa.
That was when it happened.
—*Ding-dong.*
The intercom rang through the quiet room.
*(Huh? Who is it?)*
Hinata got up from the sofa and headed to the door.
She peered through the peephole. No one was there.
*(My imagination?)*
Hinata timidly opened the door.
No one was there.
Instead, she noticed a white envelope in the mailbox.
*(A letter?)*
Hinata took the envelope from the mailbox.
There was no sender's name.
*(What is this...)*
Hinata returned to her room and opened the envelope.
Inside were a single letter and a single slip of paper.
The letter was handwritten.
*'To Nekomiya Hinata-sama. I always enjoy watching your streams. Your FPS skills are truly amazing. I wish you success with the Hinata Cup. I will continue to support you.'*
It was a warm fan letter.
Hinata couldn't help but smile.
*(A letter like this... it's been so long...)*
But the next moment.
Hinata's smile froze.
The other slip of paper.
On it, in cold, mechanical print, were these words:
*'Setagaya Ward, XX — Nekomiya Hinata-sama's Residence'*
Hinata's home address, printed with exact precision.
"Huh... what is this..."
Hinata's hands began to tremble.
*(My address...)*
*(Why would something like this...)*
Hinata checked inside the envelope again.
Bu
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