Foolish Gachi

After Senior's shocking confession.

Senior suddenly widened her eyes and began avoiding my gaze. Looking at her, I thought she'd finally come fully to her senses—but I had no idea what I was supposed to say to her now.

Of course, Senior seemed to be in the same boat. She kept her mouth shut tight.

And so a brief stretch of silence stretched between us, neither able to hear the other's voice.

"Um..."

Senior opened her mouth.

"What I said just now... do you remember all of it?"

Remember it? Well...

"No. I don't really remember."

"R-really?"

"The shock from that last line made me forget everything."

"...Huuuuuh."

Watching Senior hang her head and groan, I wondered if it was wrong of me to find her a little cute.

I wanted to say something comforting and was about to call out to her when—

"Ah."

Suddenly, as if something had just occurred to her, Senior pulled her phone out of her pocket.

Huh? Her phone was in there the whole time!?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Without noticing my internal surprise, Senior unlocked her phone at an angle I could see. And on that screen...

"Ah... I forgot I put it on silent for class..."

As Senior stared at the endless list of missed calls with her mouth hanging open, I did the same, staring at the names in the call history.

Eve, Tita, Bibi... and even Thomas!?

Thomas—the person who created Utopia. In other words, Utopia's CEO.

I'd already learned that from Senior's shocking confession a moment ago, but seeing those names in her call history made it feel real all over again.

Senior really was...

"Um... Gachi. I'm really sorry, but I think I need to call the boss."

"Ah, yes. Then I'll just step out to the restroom."

"Yeah... sorry."

"It's fine."

Even knowing Senior was Kiri, I couldn't sit there listening to her professional conversations. Besides, I needed to calm down anyway—might as well splash some water on my face in the bathroom.

But... would I actually be able to calm down?

Even after washing my face ten times, I still couldn't settle down. So I returned to the ER as nothing more than a cleaner-faced Go Gachi.

There, Senior sat with her head hanging, all the strength drained from her body.

"Senior!? Are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you hurt?"

"Hm? Ah... yeah, it hurts. My ears, my head, and my heart."

"What?"

"Well..."

According to Senior, she'd just gotten off the phone with Thomas—her boss, from her perspective—and after being told how worried everyone had been, she'd gotten quite the earful of scolding.

On top of that, Eve and the other members had called afterward, and consoling the tearful, fretting girls had completely wiped out her stamina.

"Haa... Why didn't I take it off silent."

"Well... considering you didn't come out even after I knocked pretty hard on the door for a while, I doubt you would've been able to answer even if a call came through."

"I know... I'm just venting. Hoo... But Gachi."

"Yes?"

"Um, about... just now..."

...Ah. I'd been deliberately not bringing it up, trying to act natural.

Looks like we're heading right back into awkward territory.

What do I do... what am I supposed to say.

"Hold on. It's the boss again."

"Ah, then I'll step outside."

"No, it's just a text. One sec... Huh?"

After checking the message from Thomas, Senior's eyes went wide with surprise, and she turned her head toward me.

"Um... she says she's coming here?"

"...What?"

"She's worried, and also her place is pretty close to here."

"Then..."

What if she finds out I'm here? Wouldn't that look bad for Senior? She's a VTuber idol—having some random guy show up at her room at night and take her to the ER wouldn't sit well with an idol company CEO.

Plus, the accidental Kiring-out had already happened.

Yeah... better to make a run for it.

"How long will it take?"

"She said she'd already left when we hung up, so less than five minutes."

"Then I'll head back first. It probably won't look good if she sees us here together."

"Ah... yeah. Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for. More importantly—you're really okay, right?"

"Don't worry. I'm fine now, for real."

"That's a relief."

Genuinely relieved, I suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me. Had I been tensing up without realizing it?

"I'll get going."

"...Hey, Gachi."

"Yes?"

I turned back as Senior called out to me, just as I was trying to leave with as normal a goodbye as I could manage.

"Thank you. I haven't said that yet, have I?"

...Maybe I needed to check into the ER myself.

"Having you there with me... it put me at ease."

Well, of course it would.

"Hehe, somehow just saying thank you feels super embarrassing."

Looking at Senior smiling so cutely like that—

My face was burning hot, as if I'd caught a cold.

After leaving the ER, I was cooling my feverish face with the cool night wind.

"Hoo... I just can't calm down."

Senior was lethal in so many ways.

The secret she'd been hiding, that smile of hers...

"E-excuse me!"

Someone's urgent voice called out to me as I walked alone, lost in thoughts of Senior Wa Sol.

Looking in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the direction of the sound, I saw a woman wearing sunglasses even at this hour of night, breathing hard as she looked at me.

"Me?"

"Yes, haah. I'm sorry... haah, haah. Which way is the ER entrance?"

Ah—maybe she was sick herself. Or maybe someone she knew was in the ER.

Either way, she seemed in a hurry.

"Go around that corner and turn left—you'll see it right away."

"Thank you!"

She was so rushed she shouted her thanks while already running. Tall, and from her voice and presence she seemed to be in her early thirties.

Judging by how desperately she was sprinting, it probably wasn't her who was sick—someone else. She seemed really worried.

I watched her back and hoped that whoever she cared about would be okay, then continued walking home.

As I walked, I tried to organize everything that had just happened in my head, and also thought back over Senior's behavior up until now...

"Senior... looking at it this way, she never really tried to hide it."

On days Kiri streamed late into the night, she'd sleep in.

She used Kiri's verbal tics exactly as they were.

When I said I didn't watch Kiri's streams, time itself seemed to freeze.

The day she said she'd found someone to compete with, Kiri threw down a challenge to Eve.

And every time she came out of the mansion with me, it was always after Kiri's stream had ended.

"...At this point, I'm starting to think maybe I'm just dense."

Of course, the odds of a VTuber I know being someone around me are basically zero.

But with this many hints, I should have at least been suspicious...

"What if Eve is around me too? She might be surprisingly close by."

Still reeling from the earlier shock, I was spinning these delusions when one important thing hit me—something solid enough to yank my mind from fantasy back to reality.

"But starting tomorrow... how am I supposed to act around Senior..."

Facing this practical problem head-on, my head honestly started to hurt.

When someone comes out to you like that, what exactly are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you supposed to do...

Hmm...

I kept mulling it over until I was almost at the mansion, and the answer I landed on was:

"...I'll pretend I never heard it."

I'd considered all sorts of things, but this still seemed like the best option.

Of course, if Senior ever ran into trouble because of this secret, I was ready to help. And I wouldn't go saying things like "I don't watch Kiri's streams" in front of her again, the way I had last time.

But I had no intention of openly showing that I knew.

And this would be better for Senior too. Having an acquaintance who accidentally learned your secret hanging around could make anyone anxious.

"I should tell Senior I'll pretend today's thing never happened. That should put her mind at ease."

At the time, I had no idea what those words would mean to her.

Even after getting home, I couldn't put my phone down.

Maybe Senior, now back home, would call me. I knew it was late and she had no obligation to, but I'd been the one who took her there... and I was a little hopeful, so I stared holes into my phone.

"...If she hasn't called by this hour, she's probably not going to, right?"

That was the Friday version of me talking. By now the clock had passed midnight and the day had flipped to Saturday. Ready to give up, I was about to turn off the lights in my room when—

The familiar ringtone rang out, and I found myself hoping with everything I had that it was Senior.

And that wish came true.

And then our conversation cut off. Normally Senior would never let something like this happen, but she must still have been hung up on the Kiring-out from earlier.

...Hoo. I'll go first.

"Um, Senior—about what you said at the hospital... after you woke up."

"What!? Ah! Yeah! That!"

Yep, she's completely flustered.

Makes sense. She'd suddenly had her identity as Kiri exposed.

So let's put that worry to rest.

"I'll pretend I never heard it."

Words meant for Senior's sake.

Words that held nothing but that intention.

"...Huh? Pretend you... never heard it?"

The words Senior spoke in that moment carried an emotion I'd never felt in anything she'd said today—or ever before.

"Yes. So please don't worry about it either, Senior."

"...R-right. I see..."

I had no idea what that emotion meant. The words I tossed out so casually in that moment—how deeply they wounded her...

I had no idea at all.

Like a fool.