Volume 4—Chapter 82: Someone is watching me
It feels weird… I feel like something is watching me.
Oh… who am I kidding? Someone is watching me.
“Hi domo!! Aria desu!!” I throw on a big smile and a cheerful wave at the camera.
This whole Vcuber job is something I never wanted. Honestly, sitting here acting cutesy into a mic while strangers type nonsense at me feels more embarrassing than standing on stage naked. But… this is my mother’s wish, so here I am.
The chat scrolls past faster than I can read, filled with emotes, jokes, and random nonsense. Some of them are already picking on me.
“What? Second Aria, you said? Come on… It’s not my fault that someone misspelt their name to use the daug… I mean, sister name. I am Aria… and she is Aira…” I laugh nervously, scratching my cheek. My words almost slipped, but no one seemed to catch it. Thank goodness.
The chat just spams more laughing emojis, totally oblivious. I let out a tiny sigh of relief, quickly masking it with another forced grin.
Why did I have to do this… I could just ditch and disappear, no one would miss a Vcuber who only streamed because her mom shoved her in front of the camera.
But no… I can’t. This is for her.
I need to stay filial, to follow what she says. If that means humiliating myself with silly voices and fake giggles for internet strangers, then so be it. At least this way, maybe the same tragedy from my past life won’t repeat itself.
I clench my fists on the desk, hidden just out of frame, then lean back toward the mic with a wink.
“Anyway! Let’s get this stream started, shall we?”
“What shall we do? Hmm… I don’t know… play a game?” I tilt my head, pretending to think hard for the camera… Well, my PNG model was doing the thinking. Also, I already know I’m terrible at games. If I play something right now, I’ll probably die in the tutorial and get laughed at for an hour straight.
“What game is that available?” I mumble while scrolling through my desktop. The chat starts spamming suggestions I’ve never heard of, half of them sounding like nightmare-level competitive shooters. Yeah… no thanks.
“Let’s just do AMA… Ask me anything!” I clap my hands together dramatically and smile. The chat immediately explodes with questions flying faster than I can read them.
“Aria-chan, what shampoo do you use?”
“Are you single?”
“Do you like pineapple on pizza?”
“Can you bark like a dog?”
I blink at the screen, trying not to laugh. “Eh? Shampoo? Why do you people want to know that? What are you gonna do, sniff my hair through the internet? Creepy!” I puff my cheeks in mock annoyance, earning a flood of laughing emojis.
Then another line catches my eye. “Am I single?”
I tilt my head, pretending to think hard. “Hmm… let’s see. Do game characters count? Because if they do, then I’m in at least five very serious relationships right now.” I grin at the scrolling flood of “LMAO” and “waifu thief” comments.
The chat eats it up, but behind my smile, a small sigh settles in my chest. The truth is much simpler, and much lonelier. Of course I’m single. It’s not like I have time for anything else.
“Don’t worry though,” I add, raising a finger at the camera with mock authority. “If I ever do get a boyfriend, you guys will be the last to know!”
The comments explode with mock outrage and crying emojis. I chuckle, masking the twinge of bitterness before moving on.
“Alright, alright, next question!” I say, forcing the energy back up as the stream rolls on.
Another question scrolls up: “Can you meow like a cat?”
I groan loudly into the mic. “What am I, an animal soundboard?! Fine, just once! Nyaa~.” My voice cracks slightly, which makes the chat absolutely explode with “LOL” and cat emojis. I bury my face in my hands. “I regret everything.”
Still, I keep up the act, tossing in exaggerated reactions, fake flustered smiles, and little sarcastic remarks. On the surface it’s fun, but inside, I remind myself why I’m doing this. For Mom. To keep her happy. To not repeat the mistakes of my past life.
“Alright, alright, next question!” I say, forcing my energy back up as the scrolling flood of text never stops.
But before I could read another question,
“Onee-chan!!!” Irana burst through the room.
I jolted in my seat, startled… but more importantly…
“Huh? What did you do in mo…” Before she could finish the word “mom,” I quickly clamped my hand over her mouth.
“Hmph?” Irana looked at me in confusion, muffled noises slipping out.
The viewers, of course, had no idea what really happened. All they heard was the sudden voice in the background. The chat went wild, assuming it was my twin sister. Well, technically Irana is my twin sister, but as far as they know, my twin is Aira… who is actually my mother.
I let go of her mouth slowly, praying she would catch on. Thankfully, Irana is not dense like me… well, in my case, I only pretend to be dense, but that is beside the point.
“What’s going on?” Irana whispers, rubbing her lips where my hand had just been.
“I’m streaming,” I murmur back, trying to keep my voice steady while keeping my eyes on the scrolling comments.
Her eyes widen. “Streaming? Why are you doing it instead of Mom?”
“Technically… not instead. The persona uses my name.” I tilt my head toward the screen.
Irana leans in closer, squinting at the monitors and all the setup. “Wait, hold on. You’re using your real name for a Vcuber stream?”
“I know, right? It’s ridiculous,” I say with a forced smile. “But Mom insisted. She wanted me to stream under my real name.”
Irana frowns, lowering her voice even more. “Geez, that’s dangerous. If someone connects it to you outside, it could be bad.”
Before I can answer, the chat begins to react to her voice.
“Eh?? Did I just hear Aira??”
“I can’t hear anything”
“Who was that voice just now???”
I freeze, biting my lip. Of course they would think that. They cannot see Irana barging into my room, only hear her muffled whispers. They only know about Aira… naturally they think that was her.
Suddenly, an idea sparks in my head. Irana’s voice… it is similar to mine, maybe only a slight difference in tone. The viewers probably wouldn’t notice if she spoke in my place. What if…
“Irana, can you do me a favor?” I whisper, keeping my voice low so the mic doesn’t pick it up.
She tilts her head, confused. “What is it, Onee-chan?”
“Take over for me. Just talk a little. Pretend you’re me.”
Her eyes widen. “Ehh?! You want me to what?”
I don’t give her the chance to argue. With a quick push, I guide her toward the mic and headset, then slip out of my chair. “Just keep it short! They won’t know the difference!” I hiss, before darting out of the room.
“I-I don’t think this is a good ide…” Her protest cuts off as I shut the door behind me and run down the hall.
Back in the room, Irana hesitantly leans toward the mic. The chat explodes with messages, oblivious to the switch.
“Aria-chan sounds… a little different?”
“Maybe the mic shifted LOL.”
“Still cute tho!”
“Nyaa~ again pls!”
Irana gulps, fidgets with the mouse, and mutters nervously, “Uh… hi… Aria here…”
The audience buys it.
And I, now safely away, can finally breathe… relieved that my ridiculous plan might actually work.
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