Vice President WATAME's Rebellion: The Tsunomaki Hololive Takeover Plan! - The Sheep's Awakening and the Pirate's Trump Card

In a dimly lit room, Tsunomaki Watame sat slumped on the floor. She hugged her knees, burying her face in them. The room's lights were off. The curtains remained tightly shut. A small six-tatami apartment. Stacks of documents piled against the walls. A suit discarded on the floor. In Watame's hand, she clutched a single letter. A letter from Fuwawa. "Uuu... *hic*..." Tears fell, drip, drip, onto the wooden flooring. The sheep ears atop her head drooped limply, and her long, beige-tinged white hair was a disheveled mess. Three days. Three full days had passed since she'd been driven out of the company. Watame had barely slept. Food wouldn't go down her throat. She had simply been reading this letter over and over, crying all the while. (*Watame... was trusted.*) (*The president was watching over me all along.*) The words of the letter repeated endlessly in her heart. *'Watame's kindness, and her ability to truly see things. I thought that was more amazing than anyone else.'* Those words made her happy, but they also hurt. She couldn't help but feel pathetic for failing to live up to that trust. Only the sound of Watame's sobbing echoed through the quiet room. —At that moment. BANG!! The door flew open with tremendous force. It hadn't been locked. "Watame!!" Marine stood there, arms akimbo, feet planted wide. Her deep navy ponytail, like the depths of the sea, swayed. Her golden eyes burned with anger and impatience, and the anchor tattoo on the back of her right hand glowed pale blue in the fluorescent light from the hallway. "Hieee...!? M-Marine... how did you..." Watame hurriedly raised her face. A face messy with tears. Eyes swollen bright red. Seeing that, Marine was at a loss for words for a moment. But she immediately tightened her lips and thrust out the smartphone in her hand. "Listen up. This is—my trump card." Marine tapped the smartphone screen. Audio began to play from the speaker. *'—That is correct.'* A cold voice. Nerissa's voice. *'If we hadn't cut the vice president loose, we couldn't have brought down the president. This was the most efficient purification of the company.'* *'Then why did you choose Watame...!?'* *'Because she is incompetent. She was the most suitable for removal.'* The emotionless voice reverberated through the room. Watame's shoulders trembled slightly. "...This is..." "Yeah. It's a recording from when I cornered Nerissa! That woman confessed so easily. With this, we can prove your innocence. If we make this data public at the board meeting—we can turn this around!" Marine's voice was brimming with excitement. But—Watame remained looking down. "...I see." A small voice. "—Huh?" Marine's movements stopped. "Wait just a second. What do you mean, 'I see'!? We can prove your innocence! We can crush Nerissa!? Be happier about it!" "...But." Watame tightly gripped the letter in her hand. "Watame... going back to the company and getting revenge... I feel like that's not right." Marine's golden eyes widened. Watame continued in a trembling voice. "Beating Nerissa-san and thinking *zamaa*... somehow, it feels different from what Watame wants to do..." "—What the hell are you saying." Marine's voice dropped low. The plastic bottle in her hand trembled. "Watame... the president gave me a letter. She said she'd believed in Watame since three years ago. Watame was just being protected. And despite that, I was trying to take over the company..." "What does that have to do with anything!!!" CRASH!! Marine hurled the plastic bottle in her hand against the wall. Water splattered everywhere. The sound of plastic shattering echoed through the cramped room. "Eeek...!" Watame shrank back, curling up her body. Marine's shoulders trembled with rage. In her golden eyes flickered a flame of emotion that seemed about to overflow at any moment. "Don't screw with me... Don't screw with meeeee!!" Marine grabbed Watame by the collar and yanked her close. "You didn't do anything wrong, but you got framed by Nerissa and kicked out of the company!? Aren't you frustrated!! If you say you're not frustrated—I won't forgive you!!" Marine's voice wasn't just anger. Sadness, and frustration. And then—a painfully tender kindness, born from her feelings for Watame, was mixed in. Watame looked straight into Marine's golden eyes. Marine's fingers, still gripping Watame's collar, were trembling. "You—you're allowed to be angry for yourself!!" Tears—spilled from Marine's eyes. In that instant. Something deep within Watame's chest burst open. (*—I'm allowed to be angry.*) (*—Watame is allowed to be angry.*) "...Wa... Watame..." Tears gushed out like a waterfall. "I'm... frustrated...! I'm so frustrated...!!" Watame cried out loud. "Watame didn't do anything wrong! So why do I have to be kicked out!? I tried so hard, for the company...!" "That's right! That's the spirit, Watame—!" "I just wanted to live up to that trust! I just wanted to be useful to the president!" Watame held out the letter in her hand. "This—read it...!" Marine took the letter and traced the tear-stained words. *'Watame's kindness, and her ability to truly see things. I thought that was more amazing than anyone else.'* *'I've always hoped that someday, Watame would change the company in her own way.'* *'I love you, Watame.'* Marine's hand trembled. "...So that's how it is." Marine slowly folded the letter, then placed a hand on Watame's shoulder. "You don't want to take over the company—you want to protect it. Fuwawa's company. And the you that Fuwawa believed in." "...Yeah." Watame nodded, her face a mess of tears. "Watame was—a failure as vice president. Always just doing whatever the president said, never able to stand up to anyone. But even so, the president believed in Watame. So—" Watame wiped her tears and raised her face. "This time, Watame will protect the company. Exposing Nerissa's wrongdoing—it's not for revenge. It's to protect the company. And—to answer the president's feelings." Her eyes were direct and unwavering. There was no hesitation, no cloudiness. Marine—smiled. "Haha... You really are the best." "Huh?" "Those eyes! That face, Watame! Right now, you're brighter than the brightest star in the sea!" Marine ruffled Watame's hair messily. Her fluffy white hair became even more disheveled. "S-stop it, Marine...!" "Let's go, Watame! I'm not letting you sleep tonight! Tomorrow's board meeting, we're definitely going to win!" Marine pulled out a massive amount of documents and a laptop from the backpack she'd brought. Notes on board meeting resolution rules. The company's organizational chart. Copies of accounting ledgers. The two of them spread them out on the small table in the apartment. "The board has five members. We need at least three votes to win. Fuwawa—I don't know how she'll act." "The president... I think she'll definitely hear Watame out." "But there's no doubt the chairman and Nerissa are in cahoots. The outside director too—this guy's probably got ties to Zeppeki Holdings." "Then... what should we do?" "Alright, listen closely. The decisive thing is—this recording data." Marine took out a USB memory stick. "The audio of Nerissa confessing she 'removed Watame because she's incompetent.' With this, Nerissa's credibility as a witness will hit rock bottom. And also—" "And also?" "Knowing that woman's personality, she'll definitely slip up when cornered. Once Nerissa gets emotional, she might blurt out the chairman's name. If she does—we can expose the chairman's embezzlement suspicions all at once." "W-will it really go that smoothly..." "It'll be fine! I'm with you! And besides—the one who'll decide things in the end is you, with your words." Marine pressed the USB memory stick into Watame's hand. The coldness of the metal spread across Watame's palm. "With this, we can defeat Nerissa. But—how you use it is up to you. Not for revenge. To protect the company. To answer Fuwawa's trust. With your words, with your feelings—go slam it into them." Watame gripped the USB memory stick tightly. "Got it." A small, but powerful voice. "Watame—will definitely protect the company." There was no more hesitation in that voice. The indecisive self she'd been until now was pathetic, infuriating—but that's exactly why she would change. Watame raised her face and looked straight at Marine. "Marine, thank you for everything. Watame... wasn't alone. Because you were here, I was able to make it this far." "—What's with that, all of a sudden." Marine's eyes were a little moist. But she absolutely wouldn't admit it, and poked Watame's shoulder as if to hide her embarrassment. "I-it's not like I said that for your sake or anything!" Watame hurriedly made an excuse. Marine burst out laughing, and then, through the night, the two of them continued to refine their counterattack scenario. —The next morning. The sky over Minato Ward was perfectly clear, without a single cloud. Watame pulled her suit out from the back of the closet. A suit she had ironed, spending the whole night smoothing out the wrinkles. She had worn this many times as vice president. When Fuwawa asked her for tea, when Nerissa glared at her in meetings, when she first exchanged words with Marine—always, it had been this suit. Watame stood before the mirror. She put on the suit and straightened her collar. Then—she removed the hat she always wore. From within her fluffy white hair, her sheep horns and ears emerged. They had been a complex. Embarrassed when people touched them, she had always hidden them. But—now it was different. These were a part of Watame. Proof that Watame was Watame. "Alright." Watame left the room. She descended the apartment stairs and stepped out onto the main street. The Minami-Aoyama district was bustling as usual. But—after three days, the scenery looked completely different. The Minato Garden Minami-Aoyama Building came into view. The building that housed Kadomaki Company. Watame stopped and looked up at the building. It stretched straight up into the high, cloudless blue sky. Here—she had cried so much. She had been troubled so much. She had laughed so much. And now, she had returned to protect it. "—Kept me waiting, Watame!" A voice came from behind. Turning around, Marine stood there. With her usual fearless grin. "Marine, what about the president?" "Just went to negotiate directly in the president's office. Told her to 'convene an emergency board meeting.' From the looks of it—it'll be called any minute now." "I see..." "Alright, let's go, Vice President! Let's go take back your company!" Marine slapped Watame on the back with a *thump*. Watame took one step forward. The automatic doors opened to both sides. A cool breeze from the air conditioning gently brushed her face. Watame raised her head. There was no hesitation—none at all. Watame walked forward, on her own two feet.

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Episode 6

Name: Vice President WATAME's Rebellion: The Tsunomaki Hololive Takeover Plan!
Author: Novelia

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