My Childhood Friend, a Vtuber, Treated Me Like Trash—I’m Never Producing For Her Again
“Oh, I wonder if modern people really need to exercise…? Since we have modern civilization, isn’t it unnecessary to go out of our way to spend our precious time working up a sweat…? After all, modern civilization developed to make our lives easier, so exercising feels like we’re voluntarily rejecting those benefits… Isn’t what’s really required of modern people mental ability rather than physical ability…?”
Mizuta’s pathetic excuses went on and on.
It was the first time I’d ever heard her speak so fast.
She could almost be a rapper.
“I’m very sorry to say this, Mizuta,”
“Yes…?”
“You say mental ability is more important than physical ability, but Mizuta, when it comes to your actual studies…”
“Ugh… T-That’s so unfair! How dare you throw the facts in my face…!”
Is that really unfair?
“A-Anyway…! I can’t even study, so sports are totally out of the question…!!”
I don’t know what the connection between studying and sports is, but it was clear she genuinely hated the idea.
I guess I’ll just have to try persuading her with a VTuber-related argument.
“Think about it carefully, Mizuta-san. You’ve only been a VTuber for a little over a year, so for now, streaming for long hours at night isn’t that much of a strain, right?”
“Y-yes…”
“But since you started as a VTuber, hasn’t fatigue been building up little by little, and haven’t you started feeling aches and pains all over your body?”
“W-well… That’s true…”
I rattled off a litany of health risks that increase with age, one after another.
Insomnia, fatty liver, hyperlipidemia, stomach pain, herniated discs in the neck and lower back, dizziness, and so on.
Finally, I even brought up cases of sudden death.
“Of course, exercise alone won’t solve everything.”
“Eek… So being a VTuber is something you have to do at the risk of your life…?”
“That’s why I’m saying you have to build up your stamina and adopt healthy lifestyle habits from the start—otherwise, you won’t be able to keep it up for long. Even if you work hard to grow your channel, it’ll all be for nothing if you get sick right when you’re at the top of your game, right?”
I know it sounds a bit old-fashioned, but at the end of the day, health comes first no matter what you do.
Streamers, especially VTubers, tend to have irregular lifestyles.
That’s exactly why they need to be even more careful.
“I’ve been thinking lately, Komachi-san… don’t you think that if you steer the conversation toward VTubers, I’ll just go along with whatever you say…?”
I flinched inwardly.
“N-no, that’s not it. Well… I did think that just a little bit.”
“Why are you looking away!? I don’t think it was just a little bit!?”
Mizuta-san has a strangely sharp intuition only at times like this.
◇
Still, perhaps my persuasion worked, because Mizuta-san reluctantly agreed to exercise.
So, starting today, we’ve decided to do some simple exercises after school, even if it’s just for 15 minutes before dinner.
After all, consistency is the most important thing when it comes to exercise.
“Ugh… I’m already exhausted…”
“Come on, it hasn’t even been five minutes yet.”
And we’ve only done some stretching so far.
Mizuta-san’s stamina was worse than I’d imagined.
At this rate, I wonder how she ever managed to spend five hours making her lunchbox and even do a livestream in the evenings.
“Well then, for today, let’s stick to the relatively low-impact seated forward bend and sit-ups.”
“Eek… Komachi-san, you’re way too strict…”
If this is “Spartan,” then the kids on the sports teams must be going through hell every day.
“Alright, try sitting down.”
“Y-yes…”
On the mat spread out on the living room floor, we sat facing each other with our knees straight, the soles of our feet touching.
We clasped hands lightly.
“Okay, here we go.”
“G-go easy on me…”
“Of course.”
It’s strictly for Mizuta-san’s health.
Naturally, I have no intention of pushing her too hard.
I slowly leaned my upper body backward while pulling her clasped hands toward me.
“Mmmph…!”
Her upper body gradually tilted forward, and she began to tremble.
In sync with that, her ample breasts swayed slightly beneath her white T-shirt.
“Hmph…!!”
Somehow, her voice was starting to sound increasingly erotic.
Is it because my brain is rotten?
Or rather, I’m holding Mizuta-san’s hands completely naturally right now, aren’t I?
The unnecessarily soft sensation transmitted through her palms, and her breasts swaying right in front of me.
Both of those things are mercilessly disrupting my thoughts.
“H-how does it feel…!?”
“Ah, yes.”
I’d been so completely distracted that I’d forgotten to check on Mizuta-san.
Pull yourself together, me.
If this keeps up, I might end up betraying her trust.
After slowly returning Mizuta-san’s upper body to its original position, I continued speaking.
“You really are stiff.”
“Ugh…”
Her fingertips didn’t even reach her toes.
It’s almost a mystery why she’s this stiff, even though she doesn’t have any extra fat around her stomach.
“W-well, Komachi-san, now it’s your turn to show me just how flexible you are…!”
“Ah, yes. Then next, Mizuta-san, please pull me.”
To be honest, I’m not that good at sports either.
Since I’ve spent most of my after-school hours and days off helping Yue, I haven’t had time to exercise properly.
My performance must have dropped significantly from before.
Just like I did earlier, Mizuta-san slowly leaned my upper body backward while pulling on both my hands.
I lowered my head and exhaled.
(Ah, sure enough, I’m reaching my limit right away.)
My times used to be a little above average, but now I’m probably just average at best.
Just as I was thinking that, Mizuta-san suddenly pulled with all her might.
“Whoa!”
“Guh—!?”
Mizuta-san and I let out our screams almost simultaneously.
Our clasped hands came apart, and right after that,
—Thud!
A dull thud echoed across the floor.
Wondering what had happened, I looked up.
“……Huh? Mizuta-san?”
“I-I’m so sorry……”
Mizuta-san was lying on her back, like an upside-down frog.
Apparently, she’d lost her balance just by leaning her upper body back a little.
“Waaah… Komachi-san, you’re so flexible…”
“It’s not that great. I’ve gotten pretty stiff myself, so I guess I need to practice like this with Mizuta-san.”
“Komachi-san, it really seems like you can do anything…”
It’s not really like that, though.
In the end, no matter what I do, I’m just a little above average.
I always stop right there.
As Mizuta-san spends more time with me, she’ll eventually realize that limit too.
“Well then, shall we move on to sit-ups next?”
“Ugh… For me, that’s absolute hell…”
“Still, it’s something we have to do. Well, let’s not push too hard at first—let’s aim for 10 reps.”
“Y-yes…!”
Mizuta lay down on the living room floor again, this time with her knees bent.
I sat cross-legged and firmly held her legs in place with my own legs and arms.
I hurriedly shook off the creepy thought that Mizuta’s legs were surprisingly flexible.
“Okay, here we go.”
“Phew…!”
Mizuta-san clasped her hands behind her head, gave a little pep cheer, and began to sit up.
Shaking all over like a cell phone on silent mode, she somehow managed to lift her upper body up to near my face.
I desperately averted my eyes from her breasts, which were swaying wildly beneath her white T-shirt with every movement.
“Haa, haa… I-it’s sooo hard…”
“…That was only the first rep. Come on, let’s do the second one.”
“Y-you monster…!”
Mizuta laid her back on the floor again and, shaking her whole body even more violently this time, sat up.
It felt like the time it took for each rep was doubling, but I figured there must be some value in seeing it through, even if it took a long time.
“F-four…!!”
“You’re doing great. Let’s aim for five reps for now.”
Ten reps seemed completely out of the question.
…Mizuta really is hopeless at exercise.
On top of that, from an outsider’s perspective, she was drenched in sweat as if she’d already done fifty reps.
Even so, she somehow managed to squeeze out, “F-five…!!” and achieved the revised goal I’d set for her.
“Whew…”
“Good job. Alright, my turn now.”
“Y-yes…”
When I let go of Mizuta-san’s legs, she lifted her hips slightly, trying to hold onto mine.
At that moment, she let out a startled “Eh…?” and her body swayed.
“Mizuta-san!”
Danger—the instant I thought that, I reached out to catch her.
But I was too late.
I lost my balance too, and the two of us tumbled to the floor, tangled together.
That was when it happened.
“Hey, Tsubasa! Together with the girl next door again today—”
Before I knew it, my dad had come home.
As soon as he saw us, he was speechless.
…Because of the way we’d fallen while tangled up, it looked as if Mizuta-san had pinned me down.
As the three of us froze in place, my dad spun around and turned his back on us.
“Ah, uh, come to think of it, I forgot about some work I had to do and just came straight home. I’m going to work late, so, um… well, you know. Yeah.”
“No, it’s a misunderstanding!”
I never would have imagined that I’d end up in the middle of a scene straight out of a romantic comedy cliché.