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

The next day, I left home early in the morning and now find myself at a certain pool.

The reason? There’s a large-scale project going on. When I got the message this morning, I was surprised…it reminded me of my job.

“Soji! Is this okay!?”

“It’s all good, Yusuke! When I give the signal, go ahead!”

Hearing Soji’s words, I nod while holding the water balloon in my hand.

“Manaka, get ready to start recording the video.”

“Uh, um…does this look weird?”

“Haha, you’re too nervous just because Yusuke’s here. Relax a bit.”

“…I envy how easy going you are, big brother…seriously, I wish I could be like that.”

While chatting like this, I glance over and see Manaka peeking at us from afar.

I wave at her, but for some reason, she looks away. What was that about?

“Alright, let’s get started.”

Soji turned on the camera for filming. At that moment, I could see the two of them instantly shift into a professional mode.

“Hey, everyone! I’m the older brother, Sōsuke!”

“And I’m the younger sister, Manaka! Together, we’re…”

‘The Ashida Siblings!!’

Even though I’m just hearing their voices, it feels like I can see the flashy captions and effects on the screen. After doing this for four years, they’ve really become veteran streamers.

“Alright, everyone, take a look at what we’re wearing today. That’s right, we’re in swimsuits!”

“Yep, look at this! Ta-dah! Cute, right?”

Manaka twirls around, showing off her swimsuit to the camera.

“Well, let’s set my little sister aside for now.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”

The sibling banter continues for a while. Although their casual tone is less rough than off-camera, just watching them is enough to make me smile.

“So, big brother, what are we doing here today?”

“Glad you asked, Manaka. Today, we’re doing a special event here!”

Soji spread his arms dramatically, trying to emphasize the scale of the project.

“And the name is…Filling the Pool with a Ton of Water Balloons!”

“Yay!”

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, but preparing everything took a lot of work, so we couldn’t make it happen until now.”

“We couldn’t have done it without all the people who helped us. Seriously, thank you so much.”

“Thank you.”

Both of them bow in gratitude. Yes, today’s plan is to fill this huge pool with a ton of water balloons.

After somehow getting the pool manager’s permission, we’ve been preparing the water balloons until just now. It’s been a lot of hard work.

“We’re ready to start, so let’s get those balloons in! Go ahead!”

Manaka shouts towards me, signaling that it’s time.

I move the truck forward, and the massive pile of water balloons — up to fifty thousand — begins to pour into the pool all at once.

“Whoa! This is amazing! How many are there?!”

“I think it’s about fifty thousand…Look, the pool is already filling up with water balloons.”

Manaka is ecstatic, while Soji calmly analyzes the situation. But even he seems shocked by the sight.

“Big brother, come on! Let’s jump in! I want to play!”

“Yeah, I want to get in too…Alright, let’s go.”

Both of them, clearly excited, leap into the pool filled with water balloons.

“Wow! There are so many…Oh, ugh, I swallowed some water!”

“Haha! Come on, big brother! There’s so much here, don’t just stand there, let’s have fun!”

“You’re on…Take this!”

Armed with a bunch of water balloons, they start a water balloon fight that feels like a snowball battle.

Both of them are so good-looking, even their antics turn into a perfect scene for the camera.

“So this is what the Ashida siblings are like these days…”

…They haven’t changed a bit. Back in university, it was the same. I’d handle things behind the scenes, while the two of them executed the plan…Only a high-spec sibling pair like them could pull off these kinds of things.

“I never thought I’d get to support the two of them again…”

…I’m genuinely happy. That’s the only thought that comes to mind.

I watch over them as they keep playing until the water balloons run out.

◇

“Wow…I really went overboard today.”

“I feel the same. But it’s been a while since I had this much fun playing.”

After the event ended, the two of them, tired from playing, sat down and chatted while looking at the pool.

“Good job, you two. That was fun to watch.”

“Yusuke…Are you serious? It was just us messing around, wasn’t it?”

“Really? I thought it was fun. What do you think, Soji?”

“Well, I’m not sure what to say…But if Yusuke says it was fun, then I’d call the project a success, right?”

“Yeah, that’s true. For some reason, if he says something is good, it tends to be popular.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

I hand them towels as we resume our old banter, just like back in the day.

“Alright, I’ll start cleaning up. Yusuke, you can sit there and relax.”

“Wait…but aren’t you tired too?”

“It’s fine. I’m the kind of guy who knows when to take a hint, you know?”

“…That just makes me more irritated. Get going, Soji.”

“Haha, I will.”

Soji laughed cheerfully as he stood up with his strong build, stepping back into the pool to clean up the leftover water balloons.

“Um…Yusuke.”

“Hm?”

“…What did you think…of my swimsuit?”

“Huh?”

Seeing her ask shyly, I take another look at Manaka.

She’s wearing a light blue swimsuit with frills. It’s very cute and quite different from her usual confident personality, creating a bit of a gap that makes her even more endearing.

“…It looks good. You’ve got a great figure, so if you carry yourself with more confidence, it’d look even better.”

“Are you telling me to wear something more revealing?”

“Why would you think that? That’s not what I meant at all. Just…have a little more confidence in yourself.”

“…I see…Well, thanks…”

She thanks me, looking a bit embarrassed, which makes me smile.

“What? What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing, I’m just happy to see you two streaming up close again.”

“…You really mean that?”

“What, don’t you believe me?”

“…I act so differently when I’m streaming…Don’t you think I’m just putting on a character?”

“Well, sure, you act differently, but that just shows how passionate you are about it, right? I actually want to cheer you on. Keep going.”

“…You’re as weird as ever.”