From VTuber♂ to VTuber♀ - Chapter 15

One January Day) I Met a Strange Person

Spacing out while watching the snow, my head began to feel heavy.
The snow had really piled up.
I shook my head from side to side, and the snow gathered on my padded hood fell off with a soft thud.
So cold. Seriously freezing.

When I let out a breath with a soft hoo, a white puff floated up into the sky.
My body had gone completely cold, and I felt like death—but I still didn’t feel like going back.
Until I felt less gloomy, I planned to just sit here and watch the snow fall.

Creak, creak, creak—

“…Hm?”

Just as I had that thought, I turned toward the familiar sound coming from the playground.
Footprints stretched across the white, snow-covered ground, leading all the way to a swing.
Someone’s using the swings in this weather?

Judging by her height, she looked like a full-grown adult, yet despite the snow pouring down, she was silently swinging back and forth.
She’ll catch a cold at this rate.
Not that I was in any position to talk—I’d been sitting on this bench all this time—but swinging in the snow was on another level.

Creak…

“Wait. She’s coming this way?”

I’d just been watching this stranger on the swing for a while.
Now, as the swing gradually came to a stop, she got off and started walking toward me. I blinked.
Maybe I’d stared too obviously.

Then again, who stares so intently at someone swinging in the snow? She probably thought I was weird.
If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve moved somewhere else earlier.

As I watched her draw closer, wondering what I should say, a shadow suddenly loomed over my head.

{Whoa—}

“…Japanese?”

{I thought it was a snowman, but it was a person… Wait, this kid is super cute~}

“…?”

A tourist from Japan, maybe?
But there wasn’t anything touristy around here.

I tilted my head but couldn’t look away from her.
Also, she just kept saying how cute I was…

Maybe I didn’t need to worry about seeming weird after all.
I guess this body had some value… Even after staring so much, I wasn’t being treated like a weirdo.

{She’s like a snow fairy~ But why is a kid out here all alone? Did she get separated from her parents? Poor thing…}

“…”

I hadn’t been separated from my parents or anything—I was just feeling restless and needed some air.
Still, she seemed really kind, worrying about a random kid on the street.
Or maybe she just thought of me as a lost child.

Even though she was standing right in front of me, she couldn’t seem to leave, likely because she was worried.
I could speak Japanese, so maybe I should tell her I’m fine and she could go.

‘No, if she finds out I understand her, she might get embarrassed…’

Better to just stay quiet. For the sake of her dignity.

We stared at each other for a bit.
If this was a staring contest, I definitely lost.
It was the first time I’d held eye contact with a stranger this long—and it was kind of embarrassing.

When I finally looked away, I heard a small chuckle from her.
Then she brushed the snow off the bench beside me and gently sat down.
Just as I flinched at the movement, she spoke again.

“Did you get lost?”

“…Korean?”

“Oh, I can speak Korean. Sorry for mumbling in a weird language earlier.”

“…It’s fine.”

So she could speak Korean.
Good thing I didn’t say anything dumb. I never imagined she’d understand.
Her warm gaze felt oddly burdensome, and I turned my head forward again.

It wasn’t like I had anything to say.
Maybe she picked up on my lack of interest, because she let out a disappointed “ehhh~.”

“If you’re lost, I can take you home! Look, see this? This tells directions, so I’m sure our little princess can get home safe!”

“…I’m not lost, though.”

“O-oh, really?”

She sighed in Japanese, muttering something like “She’s gonna catch a cold if I leave her…”
Honestly, I was fine. If I caught a cold, I’d just deal with it.

…Though with this body, that might actually be dangerous. That did make me a little uneasy.

“…Did you come to Korea for a trip?”

“Hmm? Yeah, sort of. I came to meet a friend. He lives nearby, but I got lost—ah!”

Someone who couldn’t even find her friend’s place was offering to take me home?
I sighed internally as I watched her dig through her pockets.

She seemed to be alone, so she probably came by herself.
Why would she travel abroad without a guide or plan?

Even if Korea was relatively safe, there were plenty of things that could go wrong in a foreign country.
Still, her Korean was so good, it was hard to believe this was her first time here.

“Hey, um… this apartment—uh, apartment? Do you know how to get here?”

“…Yes, I do.”

The address on the paper she held out…

It was so familiar, I worried it might show up in my dreams.
Of course—it was the address of the one-room apartment I’d been living in until just recently.

—

[Online Comments]

[Toya said she found a fairy.]
[She was swinging at a playground when she saw what looked like a snowman on a bench. But it was actually a person—and a super cute little girl www]
— Is it snowing in Korea right now?
— Apparently it’s coming down hard ww
— She was swinging in the snow??
— It’s -6°C in Korea right now. So bold, Toyapi…
— -6°C? Seriously? www
— It’s still above freezing here in Japan… that’s murderously cold.
— She could’ve waited for better weather lol
— What if she catches a cold from this?
— Nah, Toya’s never taken a break for health reasons ww
— I just hope she’s not pushing herself too hard.
— She takes care of herself. She’ll be fine ww

[Did Toya lose it from the cold?]
[She said she met a white-haired, red-eyed girl while swinging in the snow at -6°C. Sounds like something a frozen person would hallucinate. Like seeing an oasis in the desert.]
— She really might’ve seen her though ww
— I thought snow fairies were only in Japan, but apparently they live in Korea too…
— I want to see a snow fairy too! I want a white-haired, red-eyed girl!
— Wait, white hair and red eyes? Isn’t that albinism?
— Poor kid if she’s albino… that’s a tough life.
— So that girl saw Toya’s wife, huh?
— Hey, there’s no “wife.”
— How dare anyone else see my Toya’s future wife… Unforgivable!
— Otaku really are something else…
— Y’all are gross.
— Still… I kinda wanna see her too lol

[Is there a photo of Toya with the “fairy”?]
[(Photo of Toya and the girl holding hands.JPG)
Only their hands are visible, but we got something lol]
— She’s shown her hands in cooking streams before, so I guess it’s fine.
— But seriously, the kid’s hands are tiny. Definitely a child.
— Awwwwww
— Are you freaking out just from seeing hands??
— LMAOOO
— Let’s ban the creeps, okay?
— (Activate Pedo-Banishment Protocol)
— (Pedo-Banishment Protocol Initiated)
— 2D’s fine, but if you act like this about real kids, I’m calling the cops.
— Her skin looks almost translucent. Is she really a fairy or something?
— Her skin’s so red… is it from the cold? Or is it just so pale you can see the blood vessels?
— Why was she sitting alone on a bench in that weather?
— Hope she wasn’t actually lost or anything…

[Toya really is a legend…]
[She posted a schedule, suddenly announced a break, then said never mind, then canceled that too, flew to Korea, swung in the snow at -6°C, met a kid (who’s albino!!) sitting alone on a bench, and now they’re walking hand in hand…]
— What even are you saying lmao
— Am I the only one confused?
— I don’t get it either
— The scary thing is… it’s all true lol
— Can’t even downvote, because it’s all facts lol
— Who starts their new year like this? Only Yatogami Toya.
— Not even her fans have seen something like this before, right?
— Toya is truly a legend…
— If the building was in the photo, I’d go find it.
— Don’t. There’s a boundary between streamers and fans for a reason.

—