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“It’s already this late? I’m about to start streaming, so I’ll catch you later.”

While we were relaxing on the sofa after dinner, sitting side by side, Ibuki’s phone vibrated and her alarm went off.

It was already late at night, the kind of time when most people would be thinking about heading to bed. But my childhood friend’s job was streaming. It only made sense for her to work when most people would be watching.

“Got it. Want me to make you something to drink?”
“No, I’m good. I’ll just grab something myself.”

I was technically living here as a guest, so there was no way I should be interrupting the person who actually owned the place while she was working. And yet, maybe something had gone wrong with me lately—I kept thinking childish things, like how I didn’t want to be apart from Ibuki, not even for a moment.

“Yukino…? You okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“You looked kind of lonely, that’s all.”

Even though she was supposed to head to her streaming room, Ibuki sat down at my feet and held my cold hands in hers.

“Did I really look like that?”
“You did. Did something happen?”

Ibuki and I had spent more time together than we ever had with our real parents. So maybe it was only natural that we could sense each other’s feelings without saying a word.

“Hmm… Can I be a little selfish?”
“Of course. Say whatever’s on your mind.”

Lately, Ibuki had been agreeing with everything I said like some kind of full-support bot. Which was exactly why I needed to be careful not to burden her. And yet, just because I felt lonely, I was about to trouble her again.

“I want to watch you work. Can I sit with you while you stream?”
“Huh?”
“I promise I won’t get in the way. I just want to be with you.”

I squeezed her hand back and looked into her eyes. She seemed a little surprised—probably hadn’t expected me to say that—but after a single blink, her face lit up with a big smile.

“Of course! I’m happy you’re interested in what I do!”
“Thanks.”

I was a little curious about her work, but really, I just didn’t want to be apart from her. Still, there was no need to go out of my way to correct her.

“Ohh… so this is what it’s like.”
“Wait, haven’t you been in this room before?”
“This is my second time. The first time, I didn’t know you were working and kind of barged in by accident.”

Back when I didn’t really understand what kind of job Ibuki had, I’d carelessly stepped into the room and ended up causing a lot of trouble. Ever since then, I’d been careful not to enter the streaming room no matter what. So in a way, this was my first time actually taking in how it looked.

“Alright, I’m gonna get set up, so just sit there, okay?”
“Okay. By the way…”
“Hmm?”

As I watched Ibuki boot up her computer and start fiddling with some unfamiliar software, my eyes caught on a few functions I didn’t quite understand. Since the stream hadn’t started yet, I decided to ask.

“Why is everything glowing like that?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, your keyboard’s lit up, the logo on your mouse is glowing, and even the PC case. Is there a reason for all that?”

They weren’t just lit in a single color either—they shimmered in a whole range of hues, almost like a rainbow. It was kind of pretty, but I couldn’t figure out why. When I used to work, none of the office equipment glowed, and I was pretty sure none of my coworkers’ setups did either.

“Uhh… why, huh… I don’t know. I don’t think there’s a reason?”
“No reason?”
“Yeah. Probably just for show.”
“For show… a computer…?”

A glowing computer, just for show? I couldn’t make any sense of that. But since her stream was about to start, I swallowed the rest of my questions.

“Oh, right. On stream, I go by ‘Yui,’ so if you ever talk to me, just keep that in mind, okay?”
“I won’t talk. I’ll be quiet, I promise.”

I’d done at least some research on Ibuki’s work. If a voice other than the streamer’s suddenly popped up, it could seriously startle the viewers.

“Check, check, check… Ahem. Okay, starting now.”

Ibuki turned back to the screen, her expression sharp and focused. That serious look she only wore when concentrating was rare, but I always thought it looked cool—I really liked it.

“Konyuiiii~”

I could’ve stared at her side profile forever, but this was a rare chance to watch her work up close, so I figured I should pay attention to what she was doing. I looked over at her screen—and instantly regretted it.

“…!!”

I clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle the scream that nearly slipped out.

“Alright, today we’re picking up where we left off with that horror game I mentioned last time.”

The screen showed what looked like the dilapidated interior of an abandoned hospital, overlaid with a creepy-looking title written in jagged, eerie letters. Just one glance made it clear it was a horror game.

“I didn’t finish it last time, so I really want to beat it today.”

Ibuki dove into the game without a care in the world, but I was left frozen in place, barely holding back tears.

I was the one who said I wanted to watch her work, so leaving the room now wasn’t really an option. But if I stayed like this, it was only a matter of time before I screamed. Thanks to Ibuki’s kindness, she had connected an extra pair of earphones for me, so I could hear the game audio loud and clear—which only made it even scarier.

She knew I was bad with this kind of horror stuff. So why hadn’t she said anything beforehand?

I couldn’t take it anymore. I took out the earphones and focused only on Ibuki’s profile as she played, looking like she was having a great time. As long as I didn’t hear the sounds or look at the screen, it wasn’t scary anymore.

For nearly an hour, I just stared at Ibuki—the face I’d seen more often than my own parents’, probably even more than my own reflection. And before I knew it, the stream had ended.

“I kept feeling eyes on me the whole time. Something up?”

Ibuki turned toward me, taking off her headphones. Since I’d been watching her the whole time from the side, our eyes met immediately—and for some reason, that made me feel a little shy.

“You never told me you were going to play a horror game…”
“Huh? I didn’t? But it’s fine if you’re not the one playing, right?”
“How is it fine?!”

Ibuki had a high tolerance for scary stuff—unlike me—so she didn’t seem to understand what it felt like to be easily frightened. Sure, playing a horror game myself would’ve been terrifying, but just watching one I’d never seen before was bad enough.

“Seriously? But that one wasn’t even scary, was it? I thought it was one of the tamer ones.”
“Where, exactly?!”

This was just like those people who love spicy food telling others, “It’s not even that hot,” and completely tricking them. To someone like Ibuki, who could walk through haunted houses without flinching, nothing on a screen was even remotely scary.

“Aw man… so it was too much for you.”
“I can’t anymore. I won’t be able to sleep alone for a while. I won’t be able to go to the bathroom at night either. Might not even be able to bathe by myself…”

Maybe it was pathetic for an adult woman, but I’d always been hopeless with anything ghost-related. When we all went to a haunted house in Tokyo as kids, I’d clung to Ibuki for a whole week afterward—so scared I could barely function.

This time I’d only glanced at the screen for a bit, so it wasn’t that bad, but still—I probably wouldn’t be useful for a few days.

“Haven’t you gotten even worse than before?”
“Shut up… Just sleep with me tonight, okay?”
“Ugh… Will I survive this?”
“And please bathe with me. If you can, wait outside the bathroom door when I need the toilet too.”
“You sound like a little kid.”
“I can’t help it…”

Yeah, it was embarrassing acting like this at my age. But I was scared, so what else could I do?

Before we went to sleep that night—curled up together in Ibuki’s bed—I made a silent promise:
Next time she let me watch her stream, I’d make sure to ask what kind of content she’d be doing beforehand.

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