She's Pretty Cute, Huh
After Kaede, who had been wandering around the shop interior, returned, the three of them settled into a corner of the cafe. Even though they weren't planning to discuss anything too detailed here, it was still best not to let anyone overhear.
For some reason, Kaede plopped down next to Yui instead of Miho and stuck right to her side. Miho watched with a somewhat exasperated expression, but Kaede couldn't care less.
"So, you're Yui-chan, right?"
"Y-Yes... I-I'm Ito Yui... Call me whatever's comfortable..."
"Yep yep, good girl. You can even introduce yourself properly—you're such a sweetheart. Want some candy?"
"Are you a grandma or something?"
"Th-Thank you..."
"...What? You actually have some?"
"Why would I offer candy if I didn't have any? That'd make me the weird one, Miho."
"...I should've kept my mouth shut."
Yui, who had been glancing anxiously back and forth between the two while accepting the individually wrapped little candy, peeled off the wrapper and popped it into her mouth for now. Seeing that, Kaede squealed with delight, pulled Yui into a hug, and ruffled her hair wildly. Yui ended up with her face buried in Kaede's chest, her eyes going wide.
The bizarre atmosphere lingered for a while, and even after Kaede finally let go, Yui's gaze stayed glued to Kaede's breasts. Of course, Kaede noticed, and with a grin, she crossed her arms and lifted them up, making their size even more prominent.
"Does it bother you that much?"
"Ah, s-sor, sor—sorry... I'm sorry..."
"It's fine, they won't wear out from looking. If Yui-chan wants, you can dive right in anytime."
"...You're messing around."
"But don't call me mama, okay? Our company's official mama is over there giving us the scary glare."
"Who're you calling mama? I never gave birth to a daughter like you. Anyway... um... Ito-san?"
"Y-Yes!"
Miho slowly eyed Yui, whose face was tense with nerves. Even though Miho herself wasn't particularly tall among women, Yui was a whole head shorter, with a slender frame that matched her tiny height and a voice so lovable it could melt brains... She was an incredibly adorable girl.
Miho knew it wasn't the case and figured something like that couldn't have happened, but she couldn't help thinking of Reiko and harboring suspicions. What if... this girl couldn't separate business from personal and did something? What if she's already made a move...? Knowing Reiko's preferences that people in the company whispered about, Miho couldn't help but doubt.
"Um... you don't have to be so tense. We're not here to evaluate you or anything... We just want to get to know Ito-san a bit, since you might become a coworker at the company."
"Yep yep. Now, take a deep breath in... and out... Nice and slow. Relax~"
Kaede was practically acting like a real big sister, sticking close to Yui and fussing over her in all sorts of ways. Age aside... Yui's appearance did stir maternal instincts, but Miho had never seen Kaede act like this in all their years of friendship. Of course, Miho agreed that Yui had that "must protect and care for" vibe. With her scrawny little body and that timid voice, anyone would feel the urge to drag her to a restaurant and stuff her full. Miho, who naturally loved looking after others, felt that impulse even stronger.
"So, if any of our questions feel too hard to answer or awkward, you don't have to respond. We're not prying into your privacy or anything... Um... well..."
Miho trailed off there, suddenly at a loss for words. What did people usually talk about in situations like this? It had been so long since she'd been in one that she couldn't remember. She and Kaede were veteran members, after all. The last time they'd had a chat like this was probably about two years ago... and her hazy memory from back then didn't offer any clues. She recalled it hadn't been a particularly special day anyway, and it really hadn't been.
As Miho hemmed and hawed without asking anything substantial, Kaede jumped in instead.
"I heard you're 21—do you go to college? Mind if I ask about your high school?"
"Y-Yes... N-No college... I went to ○○ High..."
"Huh? ○○ High? Isn't that a girls' school? I remember it had a super high deviation value¹."
"R-Really? I thought it was pretty normal... N-Nothing special..."
She's so cute, Miho thought, staring blankly at Yui. Miho, who could be pretty blunt and objective about herself, usually disliked people who stuttered like that. But finding even that endearing... was it just because her looks swayed the judgment? Still, stuttering was a big flaw for a broadcaster, so Miho, arms crossed, asked:
"Um... might be sensitive, but... can you work on the stuttering?"
"Th-That... D-During work, it's fine... If we're not face-to-face..."
"Ah, so it's just nerves."
It was an issue in daily life too, but Miho didn't need to know or care about that. As long as she could broadcast properly, it was no problem.
Now Kaede, who had been gently petting Yui's head, chimed in.
"So... you'll be working with this voice, right?"
"Th-This state...?"
"Your voice."
"Ah, haha... W-Well, various reasons... Ahem. I'll be using this voice."
To Kaede's question—"You're broadcasting with this voice as-is, right?"—Yui surprisingly said no and switched to her broadcast voice. Why change such a heavenly-cute voice? Both Kaede and Miho thought the same thing immediately. Of course, the broadcast voice was cute too. Its base was inherently lovable, and the vibe felt like a kid awkwardly pretending to be an adult—for some reason, that image fit perfectly. And it matched the Yui right in front of them amazingly well.
Considering how VTubing overlapped with voice acting, Miho couldn't quite understand hiding such a cute voice, but digging into it felt like invading delicate territory, so she held back. Kaede felt the same. Yui wasn't showing it, but there might be trauma or bad memories tied to that voice, or even if not, it was just too distinctive and easy to pinpoint. Plus, Reiko had likely approved it, so there were reasons. Miho nodded to herself.
The three chatted about this and that afterward. Trivial, unimportant small talk. Just time to get to know each other and melt the awkwardness. After a short while, they naturally moved to the main purpose of the meeting.
They arrived at Vicone's office. It wasn't huge—didn't occupy a whole floor—but it had a space labeled "studio." In truth, it was just a room with a few PCs shoved in, flashy name aside. A space to brag "We have one of these," nothing more. Even for off-collabs², there was rarely a need for multiple PCs, so it felt even more pointless. No AC either, which made it worse. Thus, the studio only got used occasionally—like now, for newbies mingling with veterans.
"Yeees, stream's started... We jumped straight into the game before even greetings."
"No need for boring intros~"
"Wha... Well, yeah, but... still, with a newbie today?"
"Ehh? Who's that? Some arrogant super-genius loli quietly spectating while these two handle greetings and opening talk, waiting her turn!?"
As soon as the words ended, the two glanced at Yui with chuckles. Yui took a quick breath, then looked at her monitor and spoke.
"G-Greetings... to Nanonamin, Sakitomo, and all listeners. This body is Tensai, here to play with two seniors today. We'll have a long association ahead—best regards."
"Everyone hear that? Quick, applause! Tensai-chan introduced herself so perfectly—what're you all doing?"
"Hold on, what's with the kid-talk? This body isn't a child, so cease such treatment."
"No, you look like one everywhere."
"Nanoha-senpai, judging by appearance is poor form. And to Saki-senpai too—while it's up to you how to address this body, I'd appreciate the respectful title of Doctor—"
"Ah, game's starting. How's Tensai-chan at P1? Beginner?"
"...No beginner, this one."
The conversation flowed like water. Contrary to Miho and Kaede's initial worries, Yui blended in naturally, and they thought it wasn't bad at all. They'd seen her draft design and settings, and through the consultation, confirmed what character she'd play. Not all streams, but most split into aggressors and receivers—like tsukkomi and boke, similar yet different. Simply: the teaseable role and the teaser-gets-laughs role. Yui—Tensai—fit the "teaseable" perfectly.
A character trying to act mature and serious, but her cute, lovable looks made it seem like a kid playing pretend, treated as an adorable mascot by those around. A common setup in anime and games—familiar and easy to accept for both performers and viewers. Cliché worked because people loved and enjoyed it that way.
Saki ignored Tensai's haughty speech demanding respect, slapping on "-chan" instead, while Nanoha lobbed sharp tsukkomi at random. The improv stream started with them shredding Tensai, smoothly continuing through gameplay. Despite claiming no beginner, Tensai died pathetically every match with zero highlights; Saki teased her then died similarly. Nanoha struggled solo and perished. The somewhat predictable but natural flow lasted about two hours, ending with Miho clapping.
"This good? It's hot, and this feels solid."
"Seriously... Why no AC here? Barely played and it's stifling... Ugh, gross."
"G-Good work..."
It wasn't a real stream anyway, so no worries about it still running. They just quit the game, leaned back in chairs, and fanned themselves.
Kaede's face and body were flushed red; not content with hand-fanning, she flapped her knit top to cool off, earning a grimace from Miho.
"Kaede, that's vulgar."
"What's wrong? Just us girls. Right, Yui-chan?"
"Eh? Y-Yeah..."
Yui, who didn't seem to overheat, stared blankly at her monitor until called, startling and glancing at Miho, then Kaede. Spotting Kaede practically flashing her belly and chest while flapping her clothes, Yui blushed faintly and looked away.
Miho thought it was definitely cute. Yui was, well... incredibly honest. She didn't try to act cute for others. She just was cute. No forced aegyo or pretense. And Miho loved that about her.
In this VTuber world, you encountered all sorts. People pure and sweet on-stream turned totally different off-stream—she'd seen it plenty. From that angle, Yui's genuine purity and kindness were super rare.
...Wanna see her more. Debut's probably locked in.
Miho thought that as they left the stuffy hot room.