Confessions From the Shadows: My Eyes Were Always on You, Sakura Miko
Hololive Production. A place where countless talents sparkle and shine. Everyone's eyes are glued to the stars laughing on stage. But not mine. My eyes were always on that girl in the corner of the hallway, practicing her dance moves desperately, messing up again and again.
My name is Shirase Kotone. As a plain, ordinary staff member, I have always watched her from the shadows. Miko-senpai—Sakura Miko. A person who stumbles so many times, looks like she's about to burst into tears, yet still ma
Confessions From the Shadows: My Eyes Were Always on You, Sakura Miko - The Little Devil's Gaze — A Secret Exposed
The air in Streaming Studio 3-C felt different from usual.
As Shirasawa Kotone organized the cables, she felt the notepad swaying in the pocket of her dark green staff jacket. Three days until the birthday event. She had to improve Miko-senpai's streaming setup, even just a little. With that single-minded focus, she fixed her large, cat-like brown eyes on the monitor readings.
(A 0.3-second video delay… that bothers me.)
Just as Kotone was about to jot down the numbers in her notebook—
*Bang.*
The studio door flew open.
"Miko-senpai! Are you here!?"
A buoyant voice rang throughout the room.
Kotone reflexively looked up. Standing in the doorway was a girl with long, straight silver hair swaying behind her. On the right side of her back-length hair, a thin braid was woven just below her ear. Her pale, snow-like blue eyes sparkled with boundless curiosity.
The new talent, Kobayashi Yukino. Having debuted only a few months ago, she was one of the most energetic presences in Cover Tower. Nineteen years old, if she remembered correctly. With a lack of reserve that let her get close to even senior talents, she was already something of a celebrity within the company.
"Wah, Yukino-chan!?"
Miko, who had been preparing behind the streaming equipment, blinked rapidly. Her waist-length, sakura-pink hair swayed softly with the movement. She had no stream scheduled today, so she was dressed in casual, private clothes. Her hair, simply tied back with an elastic band, lacked her usual cherry blossom hair ornament.
Yukino strode purposefully into the room.
"Miko-senpai! Yukino came here with a request!"
Unconsciously, Kotone tightened her grip on the cable in her hands.
(A request…?)
Deep in her chest, she felt a tiny, stinging prick. A pain she had never felt before.
Miko tilted her head, smiling cheerfully.
"A request? What is it, you're being so formal."
Yukino took a step closer to Miko. Then, with a beaming smile, she said:
"Your birthday event, senpai! Yukino wants to sing with you! I admire you so much!"
—*Clatter.*
The cable Kotone had been checking fell from her hands.
For a moment, both of their gazes turned toward Kotone. Yukino glanced her way. The corners of her mouth curved upward, just slightly.
A chill ran down Kotone's spine.
(That look, just now…)
It was a fleeting moment, as if she were peering straight into her heart.
"Eh… with me?"
Miko looked surprised. But her expression quickly softened into a smile.
"Yes! Yukino watches all of your streams, senpai! I love your 'Nyahallo!' greeting, and the way you go 'au au' when you mess up in a game—I love all of it, everything!"
Yukino's words flowed without hesitation. With a directness that was almost moving, she grasped Miko's hands tightly.
Miko's cheeks flushed a faint cherry-blossom pink.
"G-geez… if you praise me that much, Miko gets all embarrassed, you know…"
"So, is it okay!? Will you sing with me!?"
"Yeah! Of course! If it's with Yukino-chan, it'll definitely be fun!"
Miko squeezed Yukino's hands in return.
"Yay! Miko-senpai, I love you!"
Yukino practically bounced as she threw her arms around Miko.
Miko, laughing shyly with an "ehehe," wrapped her arms around Yukino's back. Her expression was genuinely, deeply happy.
—She's not mine alone.
Kotone felt the center of her chest tighten with an audible, crushing pressure.
(I knew that. I knew it, and yet.)
Miko-senpai is a talent. She has countless fans. She's loved by so many people. I'm just one of them. My head has always understood that.
But—
Right before her eyes, someone other than herself was touching Miko-senpai. And that fact was this painful.
Deep in her chest, she felt something dark and viscous swirling.
Jealousy.
Put into words, it was an utterly ugly emotion.
Kotone desperately composed her expression and picked up the fallen cable. Her fingertips trembled slightly. She let out a deep breath, careful not to let anyone notice.
(I'm just staff. Just…)
At that moment, Yukino turned toward her again.
Still embracing Miko, she looked at Kotone over her shoulder. In those pale blue eyes dwelled a deeper color, different from the innocent sparkle they'd held moments before.
Like a cat that had found its prey—
(This girl… she knows.)
Kotone's throat went dry with a rush.
There was no recording, but a brief meeting was held. They discussed stage positions for the event and the song's structure. Yukino stayed glued to Miko's side the entire time. Miko, too, was laughing happily.
Kotone continued checking the audio equipment from a spot slightly apart from the two of them.
"Kotone-san, why don't you join us?"
Miko suddenly called out to her.
Kotone hurriedly shook her head.
"No, I… well, I have to check the equipment."
Her voice grew small. It was a habit of hers. The more she wanted to convey something, the more her words retreated down her throat.
"Kotone-san, you always seem so busy."
Yukino said this, tilting her head. Though she was smiling, her eyes alone were fixed on Kotone, observing her intently.
"Kotone-san is really diligent, you know. She even came up with that streaming project the other day!"
Miko said it like she was covering for her.
Yukino's eyes widened just a fraction.
"Huh… so that project that turned the controversy around, that was you, Kotone-san?"
"That's right! Isn't she amazing?"
"Amazing! So you're not just some quiet staff member after all, Kotone-san!"
It was hard to tell if Yukino's words had a barb to them or not.
Unable to even muster a polite smile, Kotone just silently looked down.
(Just some quiet staff member…)
It was the truth. She didn't even have the right to feel hurt by being told that.
The meeting ended, and Miko left the room first.
"Well then, Yukino-chan, see you tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to the event!"
"Yes! Miko-senpai, thank you so much!"
Waving her hand, Miko walked down the corridor. Kotone briefly watched her retreating figure.
Only Kotone and Yukino remained in the room.
Kotone silently began coiling the equipment cables.
(I need to finish cleaning up quickly and get back.)
She could feel Yukino's gaze on her back.
Yukino made no move to leave. Leaning against the wall, she toyed with her silver hair, watching Kotone work intently.
"You really are diligent, Kotone-san. All the other staff members have already gone home."
"…It's my job."
Kotone answered without taking her hands off the cables.
Yukino let out a small laugh.
"Hmm. Is that so."
Then, slowly, she approached Kotone.
The only sound was the faint scuff of her studio sneakers against the floor.
Kotone stopped her hands.
Yukino came to a stand right beside her. Close enough that their shoulders might or might not touch. From her silver hair drifted the faint, sweet scent of shampoo.
"Hey, Kotone-san."
A voice like a whisper, right by her ear.
Kotone's body went rigid.
Yukino tilted her head, peering up at Kotone's face from below. Those pale blue eyes were right there, impossibly close.
"What do you think of Miko-senpai?"
—Her heart stopped.
(Wha… what is…)
The words wouldn't come.
"I can tell right away, you know. That kind of gaze."
Yukino's lips twisted into a crescent moon shape.
A mischievous, devilish smile.
This girl knows. She knows, and she's choosing these words deliberately.
The cable slipped from Kotone's hands. It hit the floor with a light clatter.
"…What are you talking about?"
The voice she barely managed to squeeze out was hoarse. She couldn't fully hide the trembling.
Yukino giggled softly.
"You don't have to play dumb. Or… maybe I'm just imagining things?"
The head-tilting gesture. Kotone realized for the first time that it was a mannerism of hers.
Yukino took a step back from Kotone.
But she didn't break eye contact.
"Yukino wants to get close to senpai. Really, really close."
This time, her eyes were direct and earnest.
"So—I'd appreciate it if you didn't get in the way."
A sweet voice. And yet, hidden within it was a sharp blade.
"…Get in the way? What do you…"
"You know exactly what I mean."
Yukino's voice lost all warmth.
"You're just a staff member, right, Kotone-san? The Talent Relations Guidelines—TRG. You know them, don't you?"
Kotone's heart thumped with a sickening sound.
TRG.
The cold wall that prohibited private, intimate relationships between talents and staff.
"If, by any chance, something happened that caused trouble for Miko-senpai… Yukino wouldn't be able to stay quiet about it."
Yukino smiled, airily.
But her eyes weren't smiling at all.
(She's threatening me.)
She's using the secret she knows as a shield.
Kotone clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms.
"…I am just a staff member. Nothing more, and nothing less."
"Hmm. Well, as long as that's true."
Yukino's demeanor shifted in an instant, and she was back to being the innocent junior.
"Well then, Yukino will be off now! Keep up the good work, Kotone-san!"
Leaving those words behind, Yukino exited the studio with a lightness that seemed ready to break into a skip.
Alone in the studio, Kotone stood rooted to the spot.
(I've been found out.)
The secret she could tell no one had been discovered by the most dangerous person possible.
Inside her chest, emotions swirled chaotically.
Jealousy. Fear. And—despair.
I want to get closer to Miko-senpai. But if I do, I don't know what this girl will do.
"…What should I do?"
Her voice reached no one, vanishing into the quiet room.
When she returned to the manager department office on the sixth floor, the air felt heavier than usual.
Kotone was just about to reach her desk.
"Shirasawa-san. A moment."
Team Leader Tachibana Ryou was standing beside her desk. A few strands of gray were mixed into his short, neatly kept black hair. His gentle brown eyes, though tired, peered down at Kotone from behind his glasses.
Ryou touched the back of his neck with his right hand. A habit of his when he had something difficult to say.
"What is it?"
"I have a new assignment for you."
Ryou got straight to the point.
"Kobayashi Yukino—I want you to take on support duties for the new talent as well, concurrently."
—What?
Kotone's mind went completely blank for a second.
"…Yukino-san's?"
"She has momentum. But being new, there are still many things she doesn't know the ropes on. I've determined that your observational skills and experience are necessary."
Ryou's voice was as calm and gentle as ever. And yet, his words mercilessly gouged at Kotone's heart.
"Um… what will happen to my duties for Miko-senpai?"
Kotone desperately pushed back. She put all her strength into keeping her voice from trembling.
Ryou furrowed his brow slightly.
"It's concurrent. You'll continue supporting Miko-san. However, I want you to dedicate an equal amount of time to Yukino as well."
(An equal amount of time—)
That meant the time she could spend with Miko-senpai would be cut in half.
Yukino's words from earlier echoed in her head.
—I'd appreciate it if you didn't get in the way.
(Did Yukino-san… do something?)
No, that couldn't be. They had only just met. But—this timing was far too convenient.
"…Couldn't you assign another staff member instead of me?"
"Shirasawa-san."
Ryou's voice dropped just slightly lower.
He took off his glasses and stared intently into Kotone's eyes. A habit of his when listening to someone.
"This is a work directive. I am not asking for your opinion."
Kotone gritted her back teeth.
"…Please, at least let me focus on supporting Miko-senpai until the event. I'm begging you."
"After the event is fine. But the concurrent assignment is decided."
There was no room left for argument in Ryou's words.
"…Understood."
Kotone nodded weakly.
As Ryou put his glasses back on, he softened his voice just a little.
"Yukino is a good kid. I'm sure it will be a good experience for you, too. And besides…"
Ryou cut himself
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