Chapter 13: Showdown with the Captain — The Bond Between Sisters

[Day of the showdown, early morning]

Yui had an old photo album open.

A photo of seven-year-old Misaki holding her as a baby. A record of a warm family, from back when their parents were alive.

"Thirteen years ago..."

The night of the car accident. The words twenty-three-year-old Misaki had sworn to her sixteen-year-old self came back to her.

"It's okay. I'm here. I'll protect you, Yui."

Her sister, one year out of school, had given up her own life for her.

Tuition, living costs, all of it carried by Misaki.

Cutting into her own sleep, working until midnight, and never once complaining.

And then, ten years ago, the day her sister collapsed from overwork.

This time I'm going to protect this house.

Yui had sworn it, watching her sister sleep.

She'd started VTubing for the same reason: she wanted to make things easier for Misaki.

But she had no talent for it. Two thousand subscribers in two years.

Supporting Misaki on that was a dream inside a dream.

Which is exactly why the shock hit so hard when she found out what her sister could do as YUICA♡.

"What I couldn't manage, big sis did in a few days..."

She really is special, my sister.

Since then she'd taken on every bit of training without a single complaint.

Although the resignation-agency job did look pretty rough on her.

She isn't the big sis of twenty days ago anymore. Isn't the YUICA of twenty days ago either.

Obviously she didn't think twenty days of training could stand against five years of technique the Captain had piled up.

But at life advice and a roasting match? There's a way through.

It'll come down to the wire, she thinks.

And after that, if the Captain pushes her into evolving further mid-match...

Big sis can surely—

No. Wrong.

She can absolutely do it. She'll win.

If I don't believe that, who will.

[Just before the showdown, 7:45 p.m.]

"Big sis, are you okay?"

Yui was watching me with concern.

Fifteen minutes until the showdown went live.

I was still sitting in my chair, hands shaking like leaves.

"N-no I'm not okay! I'm not remotely okay!"

"Look! There's already over a hundred and fifty thousand people in the waiting room! That's more than three sold-out Tokyo Domes standing there waiting for me! There is nothing to do but shake!"

Every time the waiting-room number on the screen ticked up, I got dizzy.

If this were a manga, I'd be so rattled the art itself would be falling apart.

"Calm down. Just do what you always do and you'll be fine."

"But she's the number one VTuber in Japan! And me, up until yesterday I was training at weird part-time jobs... I really can't do this, can I."

"That's exactly why you can."

Yui put a hand on my shoulder.

"You've been fighting reality, big sis. All this time, and right now too."

"That's why you understand what people are sick of, what they actually mean, what's going on in their heads."

"You can see what the other person is really asking for."

"I am fully aware of that, but self-esteem doesn't just come bubbling up on command. I've been doing the gloomy shut-in thing for years here."

"It's an away game with a huge crowd watching. You bright, popular people have no idea how terrifying that is~"

"Yeah, yeah. Big sis, look at this!"

Messages had come into YUICA♡'s DMs.

Message after message of support from the pigs came up.

"Everyone..."

"See? You're not alone anymore."

I nearly cried. People I only ever met through a stream.

And somehow they feel like comrades I've had for years.

Precious people who say they like someone like me.

That's right. I'm not alone anymore.

"Right. Let's do this."

I hit the go-live button.

[8:00 p.m. — stream start]

The instant the battle collab went live, two hundred thousand people's worth of chat exploded.

The screen was split, my feed and the Captain's side by side.

The Captain was in her usual red military coat, wearing a flawless smile.

My own face, meanwhile, was tight with nerves, or so it looked to me.

"Greetings, people of the galaxy. You must be delighted to witness a historic moment tonight."

The Captain, Seira Hououin, delivered her greeting with room to spare.

"Ah, um... g-good evening, everyone. This is YUICA."

My voice was shaking.

Seeing me like that, the pigs cheered warmly.

The Captain: "Heh. Stiff as a board, aren't we, Landmine Princess? So scared you've got morning wood that won't go down?"

A jab, right out of the gate.

Right. The Captain is the top V in the country and she still doesn't flinch at a dick joke.

It's part of why she's popular.

YUICA♡: "Oh dear. Straight for the dick joke. Somebody's rattled. Truly the 'Summit of the Galaxy,' Your Majesty. Did you leave your dignity back at the base?"

I answered her provocation without overthinking it, straight from the gut.

On technique I have no chance whatsoever.

But I've been through hell myself these twenty days.

So I'd decided to throw everything I currently am at her, on instinct.

The pigs got loud, sounding relieved.

The Captain's listeners, the ones they call the Mob Corps, were getting loud too.

The Captain: "Dignity, you say? Coming from the one who calls hers 'you pigs'—hold on. Did you just tack 'Your Majesty' on there? Were you mocking us?"

YUICA♡: "Oh, caught me. I'm sorry, 'Captain, Your Majesty.' By the way, which cosplay shop did you buy that uniform at?"

The Captain: "Who are you calling a cosplay hag?! This is the honored uniform of the Galactic Navy, I'll have you—ah. You didn't actually say hag."

YUICA♡: "So you are aware of the dated vibe coming off it. And that royal 'we' you use for yourself, do you do that at home too? Is your mother coping?"

The Captain: "What kind of edgelord would? I couldn't walk around my own neighborhood!! And hey, if you get doxxed your family cries too."

YUICA♡: "Don't lump me in with you. My insults are an expression of love."

YUICA♡: "Did I say you could speak human language without permission? Pigs."

The Captain: "Even as affection, 'pigs' is a bit much, no? Our own 'Mob' Corps has considerably more class."

The Captain's listeners, as expected. Their reactions and their sense of distance are both excellent.

On playing off our listeners, the two of us looked about even.

After that light skirmish, the host and the commentator made their entrance.

"Thank you all for waiting! Hosting tonight is yours truly!"

"And on commentary, as our special guest, we have Hikaru Amachi!"

What appeared on screen was a good-looking YouTuber with a clean, easy smile.

Ten million subscribers. A heavyweight of the industry.

The chat surged.

"A very interesting card tonight, wouldn't you say, Amachi?"

At the host's cue, Hikaru Amachi's face turned serious.

"The first thing I want to say is, a lot of people seem to be predicting a landslide for the Captain, but..."

"My prediction is different. I think YUICA has a real chance of winning this."

"Huh?" Amachi's prediction came out of nowhere and I actually startled.

"And that's because tonight's contest is life advice."

Hikaru Amachi went on with his commentary.

"Seira Hououin is top class in Japan at singing, at dancing, at games, at illustration, and obviously at talk. She's a genius who can go toe to toe with a specialist in any of them."

"But her single greatest strength is exactly that: the total package."

"Meaning tonight's matchup is different?" the host prompted.

"Tonight is life advice, which is YUICA's specialty. Seira's biggest weapon, that all-around ability, is sealed off."

"If I had to put it as a comparison... it's like a rookie pro boxer challenging an MMA champion under boxing rules."

"I see! So that's what makes it an even fight."

A murmur went through the arena.

"That said." Hikaru Amachi's expression tightened.

"Seira Hououin will have prepared something to flip a disadvantage like that. She's a person who cares about winning."

"But there's a genuine contest here, no question."

"Most likely this whole setup is her own way of putting on a show for all of you."

Hearing that, the Captain smiled fearlessly.

"Well. That's about the size of it. Landmine Princess, are you ready?"

"Yes. Of course I am. Captain."

My nerves had come undone, strangely enough. If anything, I found I wanted to enjoy this fight with her.

And my energy shifted into the focus of my usual stream mode.

"All right, let me explain tonight's rules."

The host got things moving.

"First, two rounds of life advice. For each problem, one of them answers first and the other second. Points are awarded on the reaction of the person asking and of the viewers."

"If the two rounds end in a draw, we go to overtime: a talk battle."

"Weighing the content of the match and the viewer vote... the final decision on the winner goes to our judge, Hikaru Amachi!"

The Captain: "Also, a contest needs some tension riding on it, doesn't it?"

YUICA♡: "Yes. I'd agree with that."

The Captain: "As a forfeit, how about this. The loser becomes a subordinate of the winner."

YUICA♡: "...I have no objection."

The host waited for the storm of comments to settle, then carried on.

"Now we'll determine who goes first in round one..."

We both looked at our screens.

"The draw is in. YUICA♡ goes first!"

"Huh? I'm going first?"

The tension spiked.

Going first has its advantages, but it also means showing your hand first.

Still, on life advice, my one strong suit, it shouldn't be a problem.

"Then let's call out the first person seeking advice for round one!"

(To be continued)