The Story About How I Was Fired From My Company and Then Picked up by a Possessive Streamer With Over 5 Million Subscribers - Chapter 144-145

Chapter 144: The Reality I Don’t Want to Accept

“Hah… hah… Kanna-san…!”

I chased after her, but she was hard to catch up to. Thanks to running with Rinmei every day, I still had stamina, but even so, she was fast…! Wasn’t she supposed to be bad at sports?!

“Please wait, Kanna-san! Listen to me!!”

“No! I don’t want to hear about my father right now!”

She covered her ears as if trying to block out my voice.

“Why are you forcing this reality on me?! How can you say that so calmly?! The father now isn’t my father!!”

With that, she ran even faster. At this rate… Damn it, I’m going to lose sight of her…!

“Kanna… san…!”

There was no way I could keep up with her… and soon, I lost sight of her completely.

◇

“Hah… hah… hah…”

Kanna, out of breath and feeling her body reach its limit, placed her hands on her knees to steady herself, halting her overworked legs.

Looking around, she realized she was in a park, or something similar. She could see the cityscape clearly.

“…They’re not dead… My mom and dad… they’re alive…”

Wiping the tears that overflowed from her eyes with her hands, Kanna sat down right there.

Miyamoto Kanna was supposed to grow up in a happy household. Her parents, though they returned home late due to work, loved her dearly as their daughter.

Kanna also loved her parents, who showered her with kindness and affection.

But in a single tragic incident, Kanna’s parents… passed away.

Her happy family… suddenly shattered.

“A-ah… I… I… hah… hah… ahh…”

Memories she shouldn’t have flooded into her mind.

Becoming an orphan after losing her parents, living alongside two children named Sayaka and Rinmei, and her inseparable connection to streaming—these memories overwhelmed her.

“That’s not true… That’s not true!!!”

Even after inheriting those memories, Kanna’s mental state remained that of a child.

She refused to acknowledge it, refused to believe it… Various emotions erased the memories she had been reliving.

But no matter how many times the memories were erased, they resurfaced in her mind.

Kanna’s thoughts were now trapped in a cycle of memory reconstruction and destruction—a torment her current self couldn’t possibly endure.

“Hah… hah… I… I can’t breathe…”

She began to panic, falling into hyperventilation. The worst-case scenario Kyoko had feared was now unfolding.

(…Why… Why do I have to go through this…? I just wanted to live with my mom and dad…)

“…Help me… someone…”

It was a desperate plea from the depths of her heart.

She didn’t want to accept this reality. Accepting it would mean truly being alone in the world.

But deep down, she knew she couldn’t keep running from the real world forever.

Even so… Kanna lacked the courage and strength to face it now.

“Kanna-san!!”

But that was only true if she were truly alone.

Running toward her was a man, the same one who had forced this reality on her earlier. Despite her breaking down into this mess, he hadn’t abandoned her.

(…Eiji-san…)

The name surfaced unconsciously in her mind, leaving her puzzled.

Who? Who is Eiji…?

“Kanna-san, first, calm down. Take deep breaths. It’s okay, breathe slowly and deeply.”

As he gently rubbed her back and spoke kindly, Kanna slowly began to breathe deeply, following his voice.

Though she now saw him as someone entirely different from the father she once knew… strangely enough, she felt reassured.

After a while, her breathing began to stabilize, and Yusuke let out a small sigh of relief.

“…Who are you?”

But the crisis wasn’t over.

Kanna, whose memories and childish mentality had fused with her true self, remained in a fragile and dangerous state.

Meeting her gaze directly, Yusuke refused to look away.

“…Kanna-san.”

—

Chapter 145: My Pathetic Self

“…What are you? Why do you keep following me… when you’re not even my parent…”

Her tone was different from when Kanna-san’s mind had regressed. Even so, it was obvious she hadn’t returned to her normal self.

Her memories were in disarray, and it was causing her personality to fracture. If this continued, her mental state might completely collapse.

“…Kanna-san.”

“Stay away from me!!”

I tried to approach her, but her voice grew rough.

Looking at her, I could see tears welling in her eyes.

“…Just leave me alone already… someone like me, who’s all alone now…”

“…I can’t. I can’t just abandon you, Kanna-san.”

“Is it because I’m a pitiful child?”

Her eyes, darkened with despair, looked at me as she asked.

“Do you think I’m pitiful? Is that why you’re helping me out of pity? I don’t need that kind of help.”

As she spoke, she gripped the railing tightly. Even though there was no blood, the sight pained me.

“…It must be nice for you. You have your mom and dad. You live such a happy life… I have nothing left anymore.”

“What I believed in and waited for turned out to be cruel. Do you have any idea how that feels? Of course, you wouldn’t. Someone like you, who’s never lost anything, could never understand… someone like me, who’s been left behind…”

Her words carried an overwhelming sadness—an emotion so strong it overshadowed even her anger.

“…When I was with Sayaka-chan and Rinmei-chan… I was happy. My heart felt full… I thought we were like a real family… but now, all of that feels fake.”

“…Sayaka and Rinmei are your family, Kanna-san. No matter what anyone says.”

“That’s just us licking each other’s wounds.”

“No matter how much us orphans gather together, it’s all the same. In the end, I’m still alone, no matter who I’m with. I have nothing left.”

…So that’s how much Kanna-san has been suffering inside.

Worrying about her family every day, yet trying to live like a family with Sayaka and Rinmei… but constantly fighting off those creeping feelings of unease…

Thinking about it that way, I realized how fortunate I was.

I had my parents, proper ones. I had friends at university and coworkers who cared. I had people I was connected to…

…But isn’t that true for you too?

You have Sayaka and Rinmei. You have Kyoko-san, who acts for your sake. You have so many people who watch your streams… Kanna-san, you’re surrounded by people, aren’t you?

I wanted to tell her that—use my words to convey it—but I couldn’t say a thing. My inability to speak up felt… pathetic.

While I was lost in those thoughts, Kanna-san widened her eyes and stared at me.

“…Why are you crying?”

When she pointed it out, I touched my face.

…Hah. What am I doing? Kanna-san is the one suffering here, and yet…

But once I realized it, I couldn’t stop the emotions I’d been holding back.

“…Kanna-san. Please… come back.”

There are people waiting for you. So many people who eagerly look forward to your streams. You’re not alone anymore.

But even as I thought that, the words that escaped my mouth were different.

“I can’t understand your feelings. I can’t share your pain… and I hate myself for that. If I could take your suffering in your place, I would… but I can’t!”

I lost my balance and stumbled, but even in that state, I couldn’t stop.

“All I can do is plead with you like this… I want to repay you, but I can’t even do that. I… I’m pathetic…”

…What am I even saying? Kanna-san must be hurting a hundred times more, yet here I am, complaining…

“…Why… why is someone like you, a complete stranger, crying for me? Why…?”

Kanna-san looked at me, bewildered. Seeing someone shed tears for her seemed to shake her heart.

Then, something slipped from her fingers and fell.

It was… the ring I’d given her as a gift.

“…Ah.”

Kanna-san looked at it, stunned.