"We meet again."
"…Yes."
On the school rooftop, I was eating lunch together with Himeji-san.
The reason things turned out this way goes back just a little earlier.
In the morning, I got out of bed and glanced at the clock.
"Um… what time is it? Oh, it's only 4 a.m.?"
When I was supporting my sisters, I often pulled all-nighters, and even when I did sleep, it was usually just three or four hours.
Short sleep had become completely normal for me.
"There's still plenty of time before school starts. I'll do some stretching, go for a run, do strength training, make breakfast, and even pack a lunch! Time to make up for everything I couldn't do because I was too busy!"
After that, I completed my usual workout routine and, for the first time in ages, cooked a proper meal for myself.
"Finally, top it with minced chicken over the rice and… done! With this balance of protein, fat, and carbs, the nutrition feels perfect!"
The result was a colorful, nutritious, and satisfying breakfast and bento.
"I need to replenish after that workout. Ah, it's amazing to have time for a relaxed breakfast! But still… I wish I had a smartphone for moments like this. Since I have time, I could watch Hoshizuki Kaguya's stream for the first time in forever…"
Hoshizuki Kaguya is a VTuber I've supported for a very long time.
She started back in the early days of VTubers, before they became widely accepted by the general public.
She has a small, cute, princess-like avatar and a sweet, charming voice to match.
She mainly does game streams and chats, and her overwhelming cuteness draws in viewers who feel a strong protective instinct toward her.
While I endured the bullying from my mother and sisters, the one thing that always soothed my heart was watching Hoshizuki Kaguya's streams and videos.
At first, there were only a handful of subscribers, including me.
But during the years I became swamped with support work and couldn't watch, she grew into an incredibly popular VTuber with over a million subscribers.
"But I can't watch if I don't have a device… sigh."
With nothing else to do, I just spaced out and killed time.
Well… this kind of idle time is actually precious, isn't it?
And now I was standing in front of the blackboard in the classroom.
"I'm Sakasegawa Atsumu, a transfer student from ○△ High School. Nice to meet you all."
To avoid unnecessary trouble, the fact that I had previously attended Yumekoshi Academy was kept secret.
Apparently the chairwoman arranged that too.
"His face is kinda hidden by the bangs, but he looks pretty cool."
"Oh, he's small and cute, right?"
"Is that really a guy? He looks kinda delicate."
"Yes, yes, everyone settle down and get along. Sakasegawa's seat is… oh, there's an empty one right next to Himeji."
Himeji? That's a name I've heard before…
"Ah!"
Looking where the teacher pointed, to my surprise, there sat Himeji-san—the same girl I met and saved just yesterday.
"What's wrong? Haha, I get it. You're surprised by how beautiful Himeji is, right?"
"Well… something like that."
No, that's not it at all.
Anyone who knows me would be shocked.
(Well, she really is beautiful, though.)
I moved to my assigned seat.
In the aisle leading to the desks, a boy had one of his legs stretched out in the walkway, as he was grinning provocatively.
I instantly understood what he was trying to do, so I calmly stepped over his legs without reacting.
"Hey!"
"What is it?"
"You bastard, you mocking me?!"
"I'm not mocking you. I did fix your ripped pants, though…"
"Huh?! What the hell is this?!"
"I added a tiger appliqué on the knee and a bee on the thigh… Sorry, would a bear have been better? Or maybe an elephant…"
I can sew because I often did minor adjustments to costumes on set during shoots and sometimes helped with costume design.
I was going for this season's high-fashion vibe, but maybe it didn't land?
"I tore them on purpose! Don't fix them!" He seemed upset.
"Huh?"
Wasn't he stretching his legs out so someone would notice and repair the tear?
This was a problem way beyond fashion choices…
"Pfft, he got completely owned."
"Oh, he ripped them on purpose? That's so lame."
"The appliqués are actually kinda cute!"
"On the contrary, it might be cutting-edge fashion…"
"You're a transfer student, aren't you?"
"Or rather, in just one moment?"
The boy called Kongou was trembling with rage.
"Um… Kongou-kun, sorry about that. Want me to redo the damage later to make it look more natural?"
"You don't have to! And you guys stop staring!"
The classroom fell completely silent.
"Hey, Kongou, what are you yelling about?"
"Tch…"
With just one word from the teacher, the situation instantly calmed.
Kongou-kun seemed to forgive me somehow.
Maybe he actually likes the design.
Thinking that, I sat down in my assigned seat.
"So you're attending this school too, Himeji-san. Looks like we're classmates from now on."
After sitting down, I immediately spoke to her.
"That transfer student is talking to the Ice Queen."
"Oh man, he's dead."
"Rumor is no one has ever managed to talk to Himeji-san."
"We're not even worth her time."
The class became even noisier than before.
(What's going on? Was it a bad idea to talk to her?)
"N-nice to meet you… I look forward to it."
Himeji-san bowed her head deeply.
(We were just talking yesterday, so this is normal, right?)
"Seriously?"
"The Ice Queen actually spoke?!"
"That's the first time I've heard her voice!"
"Wait, isn't her voice super cute?"
"Tch, what's with that guy?!"
Just talking caused that big of a reaction?
What kind of person is Himeji-san exactly?
As for Himeji-san herself, her expression stayed the same, but her face was bright red.
I knew she was shy, but maybe speaking in public is really hard for her?
I'll talk to her more later when no one's around.
"We meet again."
"…Yes."
On the school rooftop, Himeji-san and I were eating lunch together.
I figured it might be hard for her to talk in front of everyone, so I invited her during lunch break.
She then brought me up here.
There was a commotion in the class at the time too, but… why?
Is it unusual to invite a friend to eat together?
"I really thought we'd never see each other again, so I'm shocked we're in the same class at the same school!"
"…I, I was surprised too."
"By the way, why does everyone call you the Ice Queen?"
"Th-that's…!"
Himeji-san's face turned even redder.
"It's strange, right? You being called the Ice Queen. I figured there had to be some reason."
I can't imagine the kind person who cried for a stranger like me being an "Ice Queen."
"It's… embarrassing, but…"
And so, she began to explain, little by little.
To summarize her story:
Himeji-san is extremely shy and has trouble speaking to people—she describes herself as having a communication disorder.
Even when someone talks to her, she freezes up and can't find words, which makes it look like she's ignoring them.
At first, a few people tried talking to her, but eventually everyone stopped.
Then rumors started spreading that she must be some kind of refined young lady from a wealthy family, which is why she wouldn't speak to "commoners" like them.
Various other rumors flew around, and at some point she earned the nickname "Ice Queen."
"I see…"
(She's so beautiful that it's easy for people to project that kind of image onto her, I guess.)
That's just my speculation, but it makes sense.
"Even when I wanted to deny it, I couldn't bring myself to speak… So, Sakasegawa-kun, I have a request!"
"What's wrong? Anything, just say it!"
"I want you to… talk to me here during lunch every day!"
Himeji-san said it with her eyes tightly shut and in a louder voice than usual.
"…Huh?"
"I-I didn't mean to… I'm sorry…"
Himeji-san looked down dejectedly.
"No, no! I was just surprised—in a good way! Of course! We're friends, after all."
"…Friends?"
"Huh… we're not?"
Himeji-san seemed somehow dissatisfied.
Maybe we're not friends…?
"No, no… we are friends!"
"Right, right!"
"…Hmph."
Himeji-san puffed out her cheeks, looking a little sulky.
That's cute… is it a habit?
"First, talk to me a lot here… and then maybe one day I can talk to everyone else too. When I stream, I can talk so much, so why… I hope someday I can speak as freely as I do there…"
"…! A stream? What are you talking about…?"
"Um… Himeji-san, you're the VTuber Hoshizuki Kaguya, right?"
"Wh-wh-wh-why… do you know…?!"
"Do you remember the name 'V-san'?"
"…!?!?!?! Sakasegawa-kun is… V-san!?"
"That's right! Well… it's not actually pronounced 'V', it's 'Five'…"
A long time ago, I played on the number 5 in my name and wrote it as the Roman numeral V.
Well, it doesn't really matter how you read it anymore.
"How did… Hoshizuki Kaguya… know…?"
"Well, that's… oops."
I suddenly noticed the time—lunch break was almost over.
"How about we continue this after school? I wanted to hang out anyway!"
"That's fine…! I, I'd like to talk more with you, Sakasegawa-kun…"
"Then it's a promise!"
And so, we agreed to hang out after school.