Morning of the Next Day

From Yūki’s Perspective

I sat at home for a few more minutes.

The mask with the small white cat was lying on the table next to me.

I kept picking it up, then putting it back down.

“Streamer…”

“Me?..”

I still couldn’t believe it.

My phone quietly vibrated.

Kurosaki-kun:

“The room is ready.”

“Come over.”

I swallowed involuntarily.

He…

Had already prepared everything?

That fast?

I looked at the mask.

Then took a deep breath.

“Since I already promised…”

I carefully put it on, left my apartment, and knocked on the door across the hall.

Almost immediately I heard footsteps.

The door opened.

“Good morning, Amano-san.”

Kurosaki-kun greeted me as if nothing unusual had happened.

His face wore a calm smile.

“Come in.”

“G-Good morning…”

I was still a little embarrassed.

Yesterday evening kept flashing through my mind.

The way he had stroked my head.

The way he said he wouldn’t allow me to speak badly about myself.

For some reason, being next to him made me feel small again.

He noticed my hesitation and smiled quietly.

“Don’t be scared.”

“I’m not going to bite you today.”

“K-Kurosaki-kun…”

I puffed out my cheeks without meaning to.

He just laughed and gestured for me to follow him.

We walked down the hallway.

And stopped in front of the door that had still been closed yesterday.

Kurosaki-kun calmly opened it.

“Come in.”

I took a step inside…

And froze.

…

The room was nothing like a normal room.

A large desk.

Two huge monitors.

Beautiful glowing panels on the walls.

A professional camera.

A microphone on a long boom arm.

Neat shelves.

Soft lighting.

A comfortable chair.

Everything looked like…

I had accidentally walked into some famous streamer’s studio.

I slowly turned to Kurosaki-kun.

“This is…”

“Everything…”

He nodded calmly.

“Yes.”

“For you.”

My eyes widened.

“F-For me?!”

He looked at me like he didn’t understand why I was so surprised.

“Of course.”

“This is your workspace now.”

I looked at the room again.

Then at him.

Then back at the room.

“This is…”

“Really expensive…”

“Probably…”

He shrugged.

“Money can be earned again.”

“But a good opportunity shouldn’t be wasted.”

I lowered my gaze.

My chest felt very warm.

No one…

No one had ever done something this big for me.

“Kurosaki-kun…”

“Thank you…”

He only smiled.

“You can thank me later.”

“When you reach your first hundred thousand subscribers.”

I instantly turned red.

“A-A hundred thousand?!”

“That’s impossible!”

He looked me straight in the eyes, completely calm.

“It’s possible.”

“You can do it.”

“Just trust me.”

His voice sounded so confident…

That I wanted to believe him.

Even if only a little.

I looked at the room once more.

Then quietly exhaled.

I still had a lot of doubts.

But…

If Kurosaki-kun was this sure…

Maybe…

I should at least try?

I looked up at him.

“Okay…”

“Then…”

She smiled shyly.

“Show me…”

“How all of this works.”

A satisfied smile appeared on Kurosaki-kun’s face.

“Now that’s the right attitude.”

He walked over to the desk and turned on the computer with one movement.

The monitors lit up.

Soft light ran across the room.

“First rule.”

“A streamer should never be afraid of the equipment.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“That sounds scary.”

“On the contrary.”

He pulled the chair closer to me.

“Sit.”

I carefully lowered myself into it.

The chair turned out to be surprisingly comfortable.

Kurosaki-kun stood next to me.

So close that I had to look up again.

“Look.”

He calmly began explaining.

How to launch the program.

How to start a stream.

Where to read the chat.

How to pin messages.

How to add moderators.

How to block troublemakers.

How to mute the microphone.

How to switch scenes.

He explained everything surprisingly clearly.

Without complicated words.

Without rushing.

If I didn’t understand something…

He patiently explained it again.

And again.

Until I finally started doing everything myself.

“Try it.”

I carefully pressed the right button.

“Like this?”

“Exactly.”

“Good.”

For some reason, his calm praise made me want to try even harder.

Almost an hour passed.

And only now did I realize with surprise…

That I had already completely stopped being afraid of all these buttons and settings.

Kurosaki-kun was right.

When there’s someone next to you who calmly explains everything…

Even the most complicated things stop feeling impossible.

A little more time passed. I was already switching scenes and reading the test chat quite confidently when Kurosaki-kun suddenly walked over to a large black bag that had been sitting in the corner of the room. I hadn’t noticed it earlier.

He picked up the bag and calmly held it out to me.

“Change into this.”

I looked at him in confusion, then at the bag.

“W-What?..”

“The costume arrived this morning. Try it on.”

I took the bag. It was quite heavy. Something rustled inside.

“Right now?..”

“Yes. So I can see how it looks on you. And immediately understand what needs to be adjusted.”

I felt my heart suddenly start pounding hard.

“But… I can change at home…”

“No point. Everything you need is here. And there’s a normal mirror.”

He had already turned toward the door.

“I’ll step out. Change calmly. When you’re done — call me.”

“Wait, I haven’t even—”

The door had already closed.

When Kurosaki-kun left the room, I stood there for a few more seconds, clutching the bag to my chest. Everything inside me was trembling.

I slowly took out the costume and unfolded it on the table. White and light-blue fabric rustled softly. Next to it was a smaller package. I opened it and froze.

Inside was a wig.

Long, almost white with a slight blue tint, exactly like the shrine maiden’s in the game. Voluminous, with several thin braids.

I slowly ran my fingers through the wig’s hair.

“He even ordered a wig…”

My heart beat harder.

I started changing.

First I took off my usual clothes. I was left only in my underwear. The cold air of the room touched my skin, and I shivered involuntarily. Then I took out the costume.

I put on the short skirt first, then the main one — short, with high slits on the sides. The fabric tightly hugged my hips. I tried to pull it lower, but it still remained quite short. My hips were fuller than most girls’, and the costume emphasized this especially strongly.

Next came the top.

When I fastened the last hook on my chest, I immediately understood — it was going to be tight.

The costume was designed for a slimmer figure. But I… I had always had a large chest. Full, heavy, F-cup, if not bigger. The fabric stretched tightly over it, and the deep neckline became even deeper. A noticeable valley appeared between my breasts, and the neckline itself could barely hold them. I tried to adjust the fabric a little, but it didn’t help much — my chest was still very prominent.

“How… form-fitting it is…” I whispered quietly, feeling my cheeks burn.

I looked down. My waist was quite slim, but my hips and chest made my figure noticeably fuller and more feminine than most of my classmates. The costume sat on me… very revealingly. Too revealingly.

I quickly put on the stockings. Thin, semi-transparent, with lace tops. They tightly hugged my full thighs and fastened to the garter belt. Just seeing this in the mirror made me feel even more embarrassed.

Last was the wig.

It turned out to be surprisingly heavy. I carefully put it on, arranged the long almost-white hair, and tied several braids the way they were in the game. When I finished, I slowly raised my eyes to my reflection.

And froze.

The girl in the mirror looked nothing like the usual me.

Long light hair from the wig beautifully fell over my shoulders and back. The costume tightly hugged my full figure, emphasizing my chest and hips. The neckline was so deep that I involuntarily covered my chest with my hand, but even that didn’t help much. The skirt ended quite high, exposing almost the entire length of my thighs above the stockings.

I slowly turned sideways, then with my back to the mirror. With the movement, the skirt lifted slightly, and I quickly fixed it.

“This… is me?…” I whispered quietly.

My voice trembled.

My cheeks were burning. My ears too. I could feel how hard and fast my heart was beating. It was very embarrassing. But at the same time… there was something else. A strange, warm feeling somewhere deep inside. Like I was seeing myself not just as “quiet and ordinary,” but… different.

More feminine. More noticeable.

I looked at myself in the mirror again. Ran my palm over my waist, then a little higher — over my chest. The fabric was thin, and even through it I could feel the warmth of my own fingers.

“How… revealing it is…”

“Why… did he choose exactly this costume?..”

I tightly squeezed my fingers on my thighs and quietly, very quietly called out:

“Kurosaki-kun…”

“I… changed.”

My voice came out thinner and weaker than I wanted. I stood in the middle of the room in the full shrine maiden outfit, with the long light wig and a deeply flushed face, waiting for the door to open.

The door slowly opened.

Kurosaki-kun walked in calmly, as always. But as soon as he took even one step inside — he suddenly froze.

For a few seconds, silence hung in the room.

I immediately felt how his gaze had changed.

Before, he always looked calmly. Slightly appraising, but calmly. Like he was monitoring how I was completing his “training.” But now… now he was looking differently.

His eyes slowly slid over me from top to bottom. Over the long light wig, over the deeply cut top that stretched tightly over my chest, over the short skirt and white stockings. He looked openly. Hungrily. Without his usual restraint.

From that gaze, goosebumps ran across my skin. I felt hot and scared at the same time.

I mechanically squeezed the hem of my skirt with my fingers.

“W-Well…” I began quietly, my voice betrayingly trembling. “How…?”

He didn’t answer right away.

He took a few slow steps, walking around me. I could physically feel his gaze sliding over my hips, my waist, my chest. I wanted to turn away, to hide, but my legs for some reason wouldn’t listen.

When he was standing in front of me again, I carefully raised my eyes to him.

There was a barely noticeable smile on his face. But his eyes… his eyes remained just as heavy and open.

“You’re beautiful,” he said quietly.

I flinched.

“W-What?..” I exhaled, feeling my cheeks instantly flare up. “Don’t say… things like that…”

I lowered my gaze to the floor.

“I’m… a little chubby…”

The words came out on their own. The usual ones. Defensive.

Kurosaki-kun frowned. Not strongly, but noticeably enough.

“No,” he said calmly but firmly. “You’re not chubby.”

I timidly raised my head.

He was looking straight into my eyes.

“You have a full figure. And that’s exactly what makes this costume look so… expressive on you.”

He made a short pause, then continued more gently:

“You have a beautiful waist. Beautiful, soft curves. The costume sits on you the way it should sit on a grown girl, not on a flat mannequin.”

I blinked in confusion. No one had ever said anything like that to me. Especially in such a calm and serious tone.

Kurosaki-kun slightly tilted his head, continuing to look at me.

“Even your hips. They’re noticeably different from Miu’s.”

I looked at him in surprise.

“Huh?..”

“Hers are athletic and toned. But yours… are different. Softer. More feminine.”

He smiled with the corner of his mouth.

“And there’s nothing wrong with that. On the contrary. It’s also very beautiful.”

I couldn’t help but look at my reflection in the mirror. Just a minute ago it had seemed to me that the costume only emphasized everything I didn’t like about myself. But now… I was trying for the first time to look at myself through his eyes.

And unexpectedly, I felt something inside me shift slightly.

Kurosaki-kun took one more step closer. Now there was very little space between us.

“So stop calling yourself chubby,” he said quietly but confidently. “This look turned out exactly the way I wanted to see it.”

I slowly raised my eyes to him. My voice came out very quiet:

“…Really?”

He nodded.

“Really.”

“And if you stop hiding your figure yourself and feeling embarrassed about it… then others will also start seeing in you what I see right now.”

I couldn’t answer anything. I only tightly squeezed the fabric of my skirt with my fingers and looked away, feeling my cheeks burning again.

But this time…

I didn’t want to argue with him.

We stood in silence for a little while. I still couldn’t fully move away from his words. It was warm and strangely calm in my chest.

Kurosaki-kun looked at his watch and nodded calmly.

“Alright. Let’s try starting the first stream.”

I tensed up.

“Right now?..”

“Without viewers for now,” he said calmly. “We’ll just practice. You’re in costume, I’ll be nearby. If something goes wrong — we’ll stop immediately.”

I nodded slowly.

“Okay…”

He gestured at the chair.

“Sit.”

I carefully lowered myself into the large black chair. It was comfortable, but right now it felt like I was sitting on an electric chair. My hands trembled slightly when I placed them on the armrests.

Kurosaki-kun stood behind me.

I heard him take a step closer. And then…

I felt his hand.

He calmly but confidently wrapped his hand around my neck.

His fingers rested on my skin — large, warm, strong. His thumb lightly pressed against the back of my neck, while the rest encircled my throat. Not strongly. But enough to make me immediately tense up.

My heart pounded sharply.

“What is he…”

From the suddenness, I couldn’t even move. A strange current ran through my entire body. It instantly became hot inside — somewhere deep in my lower stomach. I felt my breathing become uneven.

This movement was… too intimate. Too confident.

And at the same time… for some reason it wasn’t scary.

I sat there, not breathing, feeling how his fingers slightly squeezed my neck. My mind went blank. Only heat and a strange, shameful anticipation.

Then his hand simply… let go.

I heard a quiet rustle, and a second later a black mask with a white cat appeared in front of my eyes.

Kurosaki-kun carefully put it on me, adjusted the straps behind my ears, and lightly ran his fingers through the wig’s hair, arranging it.

“There we go,” he said quietly.

I slowly exhaled. Only now did I realize that I had barely been breathing this whole time.

He walked around the chair and stood to the side, looking down at me. There was a calm, slightly satisfied smile on his face.

“Ready?”

“…Ready,” I answered quietly.