The Story About How I Was Fired From My Company and Then Picked up by a Possessive Streamer With Over 5 Million Subscribers - Chapter 67-68

Chapter 67: The Past

“This is a story from when we were young,” Karen said, speaking nostalgically about her past.

◇

She and the others had no parents. Just like the famous YouTuber KANNA and the singer known as Scarlet, the pasts of these new-generation rookies were equally dramatic.

Even so, they always smiled. Life was tough, but because they spent every day together, they could still laugh.

It was during such a time that she—Sayaka—appeared.

◇

“Who’s this kid?” Rigel asked, looking at the girl with curiosity. He seemed deeply interested.

“I found her in front of the house. I figured we should bring her inside.”

“A suspicious kid like this? And her eyes…She looks like a dead person.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t be so picky about the details. Hey, what’s your name?” Sakurin asked Sayaka brightly, her eyes sparkling in contrast to Sayaka’s silence.

But Sayaka gave no response.

“It looks like she needs some rest for a while.”

“Are you sure, Karen? Bringing someone like her into the house?”

“Yeah. It’d be cruel to leave her out there. Sakurin, can you prepare a bath for her? Ren, get the food ready.”

“Sure thing!” Sakurin cheerfully replied.

“Understood, leader,” Ren responded before they both went off to handle their tasks.

“Ugh, whatever. I’m not getting involved. Taking care of kids makes my muscles weak.”

“We’re still kids ourselves, you know.”

“Sh-shut up! That’s got nothing to do with it!” Rigel stomped off to his room, his heavy footsteps echoing.

“Geez, what a pain,” Karen sighed. But even as she sighed, she was sure of one thing:

—Their lives would soon become richer.

◇

A few weeks passed since Sayaka arrived. Gradually, she started smiling more often, and before they knew it, they had all grown close, like a real family.

However, she still wouldn’t talk about herself. Especially about her parents…

“I ran away from home…They probably don’t even care,” she said, repeating the same line over and over.

An adult might have thought it best to search for her parents, but at that time, they were still just children.

“Then stay here with us,” Rigel bluntly suggested. Sayaka’s eyes widened a little, and the other three looked as if they’d been struck by lightning.

“Wh-what’s with those looks?”

“Are you feeling alright? Hold on, I’ll go get my special medicine…”

“Are you mocking me!? And I don’t need it! Your medicine tastes awful and doesn’t work!”

“Now, now, Rigel-chan, don’t get so riled up. There, there, calm down,” Sakurin teased.

“You too, Sakurin! Stop treating me like a child or I’ll kick you!” Rigel snapped.

“How about we take you to the doctor? Don’t worry, you’re tough enough that even a quack doctor could patch you up,” Karen joked.

“Hey, Karen! Don’t take me to a quack! I’m not sick!” Rigel yelled, as usual, poking fun at the others. But in the middle of it all, Sayaka couldn’t quite keep up with what was happening.

“…Is it really okay?” she asked timidly.

“Huh? What do you mean, Sayaka? Of course it’s fine. We’re family now, aren’t we?”

“…!”

“And if those people won’t look at you, then just get popular. Make them see you,” Rigel said confidently.

“…Popular?”

“Yeah. As a streamer.”

Karen sighed, realizing where this conversation was going again.

“Are we really going over this again? I’ve told you before, there’s no guarantee it’ll work.”

“Why are you giving up before we even try, Karen? You never know until you do it! And besides…”

Rigel clenched his fist, and for some reason, Sayaka couldn’t take her eyes off him.

“We’re going to make it big…We’re going to be stars in this streaming world.”

“Stars, huh? You keep saying that, but it doesn’t sound very concrete.”

“But it sounds wonderful to me! Like being an idol!” Sakurin chimed in.

“You two aren’t even listening! Seriously…Sayaka, what do you think?”

“Huh? What do I think…?”

“If there’s someone you want to notice you, wouldn’t streaming be the way to go?”

Sayaka didn’t understand. Why would becoming popular make them see her? What did it mean?

But even so, watching him, her heart began to race.

“…Yeah. I think it sounds wonderful…!”

Before she met her destined partner, Yusuke, also known as Eiji, the concept of streaming had already taken root in Sayaka’s mind. And the spark for it was born from these conversations with them.

And then, not long after, Sayaka suddenly disappeared from their lives.

—

Chapter 68: A Series of Surprises

“…This is the past we know about her.”

“…That can’t be.”

Listening to their story, I was shocked. I never imagined that Sayaka and these four people shared such a history.

“Honestly, I don’t know what happened after that. But just around the time we started streaming, Aoi Tenharu’s name came up. I thought it might be a coincidence, so we made contact…and we were right.”

So, it was purely by chance that these four and Sayaka were called the “New Era”…

“So, now that you know this, what are you going to do? I doubt this will make her continue streaming.”

“…No, that’s not true.”

By knowing her past, something becomes clear…something that she truly needs.

“Hehe…you’re quite an interesting person.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve never seen someone so desperate for someone else before. It’s refreshing. Is Sayaka-chan that important to you?”

Sakurin narrowed her eyes and smiled as she asked me that.

“…Well, something like that.”

“Oh my, dodging the question, are we? Hehe.”

I didn’t mean to dodge it, but seeing her laugh while covering her mouth made me feel like I had.

“Either way, it’s up to you now, Eiji. We’ve done what we can…now it’s up to you to see how you can stop Sayaka.”

“…I will definitely stop her.”

—I’ll use everything I have.

After exchanging a few more words with them, I left the house of the “New Era” rookies.

◇

“…I’ve gathered a lot of information…I think I have a good understanding now.”

By the time the sky had turned a deep blue after sunset, I had collected all the information I could about her.

First, about her parents. It seems they were quite toxic, and the more I learned, the more I found myself frowning.

She also had a younger sister, apparently. Her name was Shigure Yugiri. Unlike her older sister Sayaka, she was brilliant, both academically and athletically. She had won numerous awards in competitions and was considered a prodigy. Unfortunately, she passed away in an accident.

From what I gathered, their parents spoiled Shigure while neglecting Sayaka.

“…So that’s why she said things like they abandoned her or didn’t care about her.”

The reason she clings to those words…it seems to stem from constantly being compared to her sister and feeling ignored by her parents.

“…There was also a time when she went missing for a while…that’s when she went to those four, huh?”

It seems that she eventually felt the need to return home, but left them without saying a word…her darkness runs deeper than I imagined.

“…Can I really dispel that darkness?”

For a moment, that thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head. What am I getting weak for? I decided to face this, didn’t I?

“…I’ve been thinking about it so much, and now I’ve already arrived at the house.”

I can’t let them…especially Sayaka…see me like this. With that in mind, I opened the door and was left speechless.

“Ah! Eiji-san! Welcome home!”

I mean, it’s only natural.

—For some reason, Sayaka was standing at the entrance wearing nothing but an apron.