At 10 PM on the dot, GrimSmile went live.
"What's up souls? Look at you... still alive and-" The boy grimly smiled at the number of viewers. "-writhing."
Why was there so many today?
"I must commend you all for your insistence on gathering with me this late hour, especially the stragglers in the back, to what do I owe this new addition of lost souls?" Staring back at the screen was a boy with grey eyes wearing a silver wig and glasses. The chat went wild with comments.
Gourmandy: My mom told me to watch you.
SantaPanda: My mom won't let me watch any other streamer but you now.
Tero: I'm not here because I want to be either.
A bunch of newbies were saying the same thing, but he managed to spot a familiar username.
CreepyMaidDollita: Your tomb looks different today GrimSmile!
"My tomb looks different? Thank you for noticing CreepyMaidDollita! I moved to another necropolis." GrimSmile's swiveled around in his seat, taking in his new room decorated with unopened boxes before facing the webcam once more.
The chat flooded with comments from familiar usernames, making him slightly relieved.
Speculation over his recent break confirmed their suspicions.
It excited his Japanese fans to know that he could possibly live somewhere within the same area as them.
As these inquiries were made, GrimSmile didn't seem to be reading the chat but staring at a corner in the room.
He folded his arms and legs, smelled his upper lip, and hummed.
"Hmm, hmm, let's see. Since I'm moving house what better way to make myself at home than playing a horror game about haunted houses?"
The chat surged with excitement begging him to go forward with it. GrimSmile scratched his cheek.
"Let's see… there's still the last bit of The Demon At My Ex-Girlfriend's Mansion that I need to finish right?"
The chat's speed increased again, moving faster than a blink, it became unreadable. GrimSmile squinted he could only manage to read two comments before they ascended into oblivion. Leaning back he adjusted his spectacles.
Omighost: Finally! I've been waiting for you to finish this since two years ago! Yesss!
Ringa:: Haha, the fans on Whotube are gonna be so pissed they aren't watching his livestream tonight, I know my older siblings are. We've been waiting for this since forever!
GrimSmile pulled up the game on screen and accessed his save file.
"Would you like to load your save file? Why yes. Yes, I would. Thank you- AGHHH!"
As soon as he pulled up the file, his webcam was toppled. The view of GrimSmile falling back in his seat as four furry paws touched down on the floor could be seen by everyone watching.
"Everything's alright guys… it's just a cat. The necropolis had been abandoned for quite some time, having a couple of stray cats making this place their haunt… it's not surprising. I mean, the likelihood at least." They heard him ramble as he struggled to get up.
CreepyMaidDollita: Omg! Are you alright GrimSmiles?
Ringa: Must be a sign the universe doesn't want you to finish the playthrough.
As GrimSmile's sat up and glanced at the comments, the intruder stuck its face in front of GrimSmile, it's golden green eyes widening at him.
"Mreoooow!"
GrimSmile had expected a stray cat to be more skittish but quite contrary to his expectations the ginger tabby rubbed against him, slapping GrimSmile's face with his tail as he did. He couldn't help glancing at the box by his open door. It was still there, and it was highly likely his trap failed. GrimSmile's gaze flitted back to the cat, more specifically to the cat's collar.
He was just now noticing it.
The cat sat still on his lap stretching out its neck almost as if begging him to take notice.
Dangling from the silver collar around the cat's neck was a prism-shaped bell folded like a locket. Upon opening, a tiny scroll rolled around a USB fell out into GrimSmile's palm. Upon unfolding it, it read:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
{Hotaka,
This is Hikaru, you'll look after each other for me, won't you?
Grand Kat}
___________________________________________________________________________________________
The handwriting. GrimSmile sat there in shock. His heart thumped loudly inside his chest as he looked over to Hikaru who sat staring back at him.
"Meow?"
"How. . .how is this possible?!"
The cat, Hikaru, tilted its head.
"Mya?"
The last time he had seen Grand Kat they were playing on his PlayCube, one last time before Hotaka returned to America. By this time his parents had divorced, and both his parents had remarried, Hotaka had gotten so used to flying back and forth between Germany and America. Grand Kat bestowed him the honor of letting him play test the game he had been developing. It was after his return that Grand Kat was reported missing two months later.
If Grand Kat had gotten a cat, he would have called him and video chatted, the two shared everything that happened to them with each other this way. Hotaka stared at the cat now, he brushed aside the long bangs of his wig as he sat in a corner and stared at the cat who sat staring back at him.
The cat approached, it hesitantly placed a paw on his thigh.
"Meeeeeewr?"
[Are you okay?]
Hotaka was hesitant as he patted the cat on the head. The cat tolerated his petting for a while, when it had enough it ducked and ran over to the back of the room. Hotaka watched it sit still and watch him, it's gaze glancing at the USB.
Maybe just maybe, his Grand Kat was closer than he thought him to be.
Hotaka hooked up the USB to his PC immediately. He expected to find the usual notification that something had been hooked up to his computer but what immediately happened was a screen popped up.
"Sorry for what I'm about to do Hotaka," Somewhere someone was gazing up at the night sky, behind him stood people hidden in the dark, their eyes glowing. eerily "But I need your help."
"Souls, I'm sorry," GrimSmile apologized to his viewers who had yet to see what was going on to the still toppled camera. "I won't be playing that game today. Perhaps this will be a good thing, I've got a special something from my Grand Uncle, why don't we open the file and take a look at what it is together? Ah-"
He fixed the camera.
Hotaka's tablet lying nearby on the floor suddenly lit up, catching his attention it's screen glowing a brilliant red.
He picked up the tablet. "From the looks of the file the name of it is Ha^-#%&!---
[The Broadcast has ended.]