When I Started Capturing the Academy Princesses, Things Turned into a Battlefield - V2 Chapter 18: Knockout

Chapter 18: Knockout

With a dramatic yell, Tsuchiya burst through the door and wedged herself right between me and Shiranui.

I blinked in shock—completely caught off guard.

Shiranui, though, didn’t even flinch.

It was like… she’d been expecting this.

“Knew you’d show up. I saw you tailing me, Misuzu.”

“—!”

She was following her!?

Okay, credit where it’s due—that level of persistence takes guts…

But girl, there’s a fine line between passionate and creepy. Even between best friends, boundaries exist.

Tsuchiya, clearly busted, scrambled to fix her expression.

“T-That’s not it! I had… an emergency! Yeah, that’s it! I needed to talk to Tsubasa-chan!”

“An emergency, huh?”

“Yup! So, let’s go talk over—”

She reached out toward Shiranui.

“Sorry, but not this time.”

With a calm motion, Shiranui lightly brushed her hand away.

“Eh?”

“This conversation is important. Actually—this is the perfect time. Misuzu, I want you to hear it too.”

Tsuchiya looked like she wanted to protest.

But one look at Shiranui’s serious expression, and she backed down.

She stepped aside… but not before shooting me a glare sharp enough to cut steel.

Hey! I didn’t do anything!

“It got cut off earlier, huh. Like I said before—I want Misuzu to hear this too. So I’ll say it again. I have another identity besides Tsubasa Shiranui. As Feni the Immortal Phoenix, I work as a Vtuber.”

“WHAA!?”

Unlike me—just nodding along in awkward silence—Tsuchiya stood frozen like a statue, completely blindsided.

It was like the words wouldn’t even register.

Well… yeah.

That’s probably how anyone would react after their best friend suddenly drops, “Oh by the way, I’m a Vtuber.”

“Was it okay to tell Tsuchiya?”

“I figured I’d regret it if I didn’t. And… I kinda felt like she’d find out eventually.”

Yeah, if they were going to stay close as best friends, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

She could walk in on her setting up a stream, or overhear something suspicious.

Way better to come clean than risk a messy reveal down the line.

That kind of decision? Definitely not my place to step in.

“You know what a Vtuber is, right, Misuzu?”

“O-Of course I do! I mean… I haven’t really watched many or anything.”

“I’m that Vtuber. And Kanbara-kun here? He’s a very important viewer of mine. Right, Valhalla-kun?”

“—!”

Now it was my turn to freeze.

She knew.

She knew my account name.

Sure, we’d talked about Vtubers before, but I’d never once told her what username I used.

And for good reason.

I’d sent some truly tragic superchats.

If she ever saw one of those cringe compilations floating around online, I’d never recover.

Then why didn’t I just change that username?

Because I was already recognized, okay!?

Changing it now would’ve been way worse.

If I tried to hide it after getting exposed, I’d 100% become a meme.

‘Long-Text Guy Rage-Quits and Changes His Name LOL’—yeah, no thanks.

I’m not walking into that trap.

“H-How do you know my account?”

“Remember when you dropped your phone and I picked it up? I saw it then.”

“…You recognized the name and the icon, didn’t you?”

“Exactly.”

So I was busted from the start, huh.

…Wait.

If Shiranui is Feni, then—

That means she’s seen everything in my cringe donations!?

Cold sweat trickled down my face.

If she’s really Feni, then she’s definitely read those long, overly emotional superchats.

She even read them out loud on stream—with way too much energy and cheer.

And that wasn’t all.

I’d sent a mountain of embarrassing messages.

Wordy confessions, cheesy one-liners, overly heartfelt ramblings…

And now she knows all of them?

The fact that my favorite streamer knew the full extent of my fanboying was doing weird, dangerous things to my brain.

But still—those messages were meant for Feni the Immortal Phoenix, not Tsubasa Shiranui, my classmate.

…Wait, but if they’re the same person, then what even is the distinction anymore!?

While my mind spiraled into a pit of confusion and secondhand shame, Tsuchiya finally snapped out of her shock.

“R-Really? That’s actually kinda cool! I mean, yeah, I was super surprised, but streaming’s a legit thing now. Honestly, it doesn’t feel weird at all to me that Tsubasa-chan’s a Vtuber.”

Tsuchiya, now back to her usual self, responded with a steady, supportive nod.

“Ah—wait, the reason you got close to Yuma-kun, was it maybe…?”

“We had a shared interest.”

“Ah, that makes sense! I get it now. So that’s why you two hit it off so well!”

Tsuchiya visibly brightened.

She probably felt relieved now that the mystery was solved.

There was nothing shady about it—it was just a mutual hobby.

Simple, harmless.

“Tsubasa-chan being a Vtuber, huh? Maybe she’s like a charming prince online?”

“No… my Vtuber side is more like… another version of me.”

“…Another version?”

Shiranui took a deep breath, like she was preparing to bare something personal.

“Misuzu, I’m a girl.”

“—!”

“To be precise… there’s a big part of me that’s very girly. I’ve never said it out loud before, but I love cute plushies. I wear frilly clothes when I’m home. When I was little, I used to dream about being a fairytale princess.”

It might sound completely different from the image most people had of Shiranui…

But the Feni the Immortal Phoenix I knew?

She was honestly more girly than anyone.

She talked about snuggling plushies, proudly admitted her room was pink, and once went on a ten-minute rant about her favorite ribbon-themed mug.

“Okay, nope, nope! That’s way too much for me!”

Tsuchiya twisted her usually refined expression into full-on panic mode.

“That’s way off from how I imagined you! Tsubasa-chan’s supposed to be the coolest prince ever…”

“Sorry, but I’m not a prince.”

Tsuchiya flinched like she’d just taken a direct hit.

She started trembling like a leaf in the wind.

Shiranui turned her gaze from Tsuchiya to me.

She took a deep breath—like she was steadying herself—

And then—

“Kanbara-kun. There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.”

“O-Okay…?”

“…I like you!”

She blurted it out, her cheeks burning bright red.

“When I first started streaming as Feni the Immortal Phoenix, I was honestly terrified. People always told me I seemed kind of boyish, so I didn’t know if anyone would accept the girly side of me. But you did, Valhalla-kun. You said I was cute. You made me feel seen.”

Her voice wavered, but she pushed through.

“And when I realized Kanbara-kun and Valhalla-kun were the same person… I couldn’t stop watching you. Every time we talked at school, every time I saw you online—it made me happy. At home, I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

She took a breath, still flushed from head to toe.

“That’s why… I want you to support Tsubasa Shiranui too!”

Her voice this time was soft, almost fragile.

Not like a cool, aloof prince—but like a bashful princess asking for love.

The look she gave me, full of nervous hope, hit me like a truck.

“I-I…”

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Suddenly—right in front of me—Tsuchiya let out a dramatic scream and collapsed to the floor.

She looked like a boxer who’d just taken a clean right hook to the face and dropped on the spot.

After crumpling down, she gave a little twitch… and then went completely still.

“…”

“……”

Shiranui and I stared at Tsuchiya in silence, our expressions somewhere between What just happened? and Is she okay?

Sure, getting a confession from my favorite streamer was already a lot to process.

But watching the goddess of my second-ever crush just keel over like that?

Yeah… I was emotionally wiped.

“Um… you’re totally overwhelmed, right?”

“Y-Yeah. In so many ways I don’t even know where to start.”

“It can’t be helped. I… think I’m kinda overwhelmed too.”

Fair enough.

Your best friend just passed out in front of you.

No one would blame you for feeling a little rattled.

Shiranui cleared her throat, trying to re-center the mood.

“A-Anyway… Yukina said she’d wait for her answer until the cultural festival, right? So… I’d like to ask for the same. Until then, I want you to seriously think about it.”

“Ah… yeah. Okay.”

My brain was already running on fumes.

All I could do was nod.

Shiranui gave a small smile, then quietly stepped over to where Tsuchiya had collapsed.

“I can’t just leave my best friend like this, after all. Misuzu, let’s go.”

“…”

“Sorry. I don’t know if she’ll fully accept it, but I’ll explain everything properly.”

She gently took Tsuchiya’s arm and helped her up, rubbing her back with quiet care.

The way she moved—so smooth, so composed—it really did feel like watching a prince lift a fallen princess.

Even with the confession still hanging in the air, even with things still a mess… she handled it all with grace.

As I stood there, stunned and speechless, it finally clicked.

That nickname—Princess Prince—

It wasn’t just something people said.

It really was made for Tsubasa Shiranui.