My Childhood Friend, Who I Made a Promise To Spend the Future With, Dumped Me... But Ever Since I Started Dating a Beautiful Girl From School, My Childhood Friend Has Been Acting Strange - Episode 24

“Sorry for telling you so suddenly.”

“…Wait… You were a VTuber?”

Toma and Suzuha sat across from each other, separated by a table filled with donuts and other treats.

“That’s right. I’ve been a virtual streamer since my second year of middle school.”

“Wait, then… That stuffed toy…?”

“Yeah. It was sent to me through an online shop. At first, I was surprised, but when you mentioned the stuffed toy during one of my streams, I had a feeling it was from you. At that time, the only stuffed toy I had received from a viewer was that dinosaur.”

Toma Suzuki had once been a devoted fan of a VTuber, never missing a single stream.

Even back then, he actively participated in the comment section.

When Toma was in his third year of middle school, during his winter break before entering high school, he decided to use the money he had saved up to buy a large dinosaur plushie as a gift.

But just a few weeks later, the VTuber he had been supporting announced her retirement.

That time was incredibly painful for him.

Although he had only followed her for a little over a year, she was the first VTuber he had ever truly supported.

That deep emotional attachment made it hard for him to accept reality, and he found himself feeling down until he entered high school.

“…Are you really that VTuber?”

“I am. But I know it’s hard to believe, especially when I just suddenly told you like this.”

“…I… I believe you. Or rather, I want to believe you…”

Toma looked at Suzuha Kamiya from across the table as he spoke.

“But if you really are that VTuber, can you tell me why you retired? You must know, right? But if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you.”

His voice trembled.

The desire to believe in her was stronger than his doubts, and only after speaking did he realize how abrupt his words were. Slowly, he regained his composure.

“…I think I should tell you. If we’re going to be together from now on, I don’t want to keep secrets. Besides, I know I can trust you to keep this between us.”

Perhaps because she trusted him, Suzuha was willing to open up.

She seemed a little nervous, placing her left hand over her chest.

“I-I promise I won’t tell anyone!”

“I know. Toma, I trust you.”

She looked relieved and then gave him an affectionate smile.

“To be honest… I was being harassed.”

“Harassed!?”

“Yeah. When you’re active online, a lot of people watch you. There were kind and supportive comments, but there were also people who harassed me.”

“I see… The internet is convenient, but it also has its dark side.”

Toma listened attentively, responding with understanding nods.

“At first, those harassment messages were rare. If I got a bad comment, I could just delete it. But then, I started receiving threatening emails on social media too.”

“That’s really bad.”

“Right? So, I talked to my mom, and we even reported it to the police.”

“And did that solve the problem?”

“Y-Yeah… Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“They found out who was behind it. But… I grew up in a single-parent household, and we didn’t have a lot of money. So, the only way to resolve it was for me to stop being a VTuber.”

“So, that’s why you decided to retire.”

“Yeah… But now you know for sure, don’t you? That I was really that VTuber.”

“Yeah. I believe you. You’ve shared so much with me—there’s no way I can doubt you now. In fact, I want to believe in you.”

Toma felt a rush of emotions but took a deep breath, keeping his excitement in check.

“But, Suzuha… Why did you become a VTuber in the first place?”

“Like I said earlier, I was raised by a single mom. I wanted to earn money for my family. I didn’t want to keep relying on my mom.”

“You really care about your mom, huh?”

“Yeah. She’s been through a lot because of me. I can’t just keep depending on her forever.”

“You’re amazing, Suzuha. I could only support you by watching your streams.”

“But you did support me, Toma. You always showed up for my streams. That meant a lot to me. There were others who left kind comments too, but you even went to my live events.”

As Suzuha reminisced, her words carried warmth.

“You mean the in-person fan meet-ups? Yeah, I went. I got to talk to you there. Well, not directly—just through a screen.”

“That’s right. I remember you too, Toma. I could see your face, but I couldn’t show you mine. I’m sorry about that. But now, we can talk face-to-face. It feels like a miracle.”

She smiled gently.

“When I saw you at school after I entered high school, I felt like it was fate. But I wasn’t sure, so I couldn’t bring myself to talk to you in our first year. Then, when we ended up in the same class in our second year, I finally knew for sure that it was really you. That’s why I spoke to you. I was so nervous, you know? I kept thinking about how to start the conversation.”

“I see… I’m really glad I met you too. After you stopped streaming, I felt like there was a hole in my heart. It was tough.”

“It really is a miracle, huh? I never imagined we’d meet like this.”

“Yeah. It’s unbelievable.”

They gazed into each other’s eyes in the quiet space they shared.

“I only ever interacted with you through a screen before. But now, I want to know more about you. I want to make more memories together.”

“Me too.”

As they reminisced about the past, they felt truly connected for the first time—not through a screen, but in reality.

Their long-separated feelings had finally found their way back to each other.

And yet—

“Suzuha, are you planning to start streaming again?”

“Huh? Why do you ask?”

“Well… There’s been a rumor going around on social media that you made a new account.”

“…That’s not me.”

“…Wait, then who is it? A fake?”

The atmosphere, which had been warm and heartfelt, instantly froze at Toma’s words.

If that account wasn’t hers…

Then who was behind it?