Rin plopped down onto the bed in the corner of the streaming room and let out a long sigh.
It was 3 PM now, and the girls had just finished going through hundreds of Superchats on stream.
Asako dragged a beanbag over to the foot of the bed and sat down, groaning. "Just how many of those Superchats *are* there?"
Rin sighed again and said, "We haven't even finished a quarter of them yet." She pulled out her phone and tapped on her calendar app. Staring at the dates, she frowned and said, "I might have to schedule another Superchat reading stream to finish them off."
Alpha walked over, carrying a chair. She placed it down next to Asako and said, "Should we do another collaboration stream to help?"
Rin waved her hand. "It's fine. I'll make a note of any meant for you and Aneue when I read them and pass them on later."
Asako leaned back on her beanbag and stared at the ceiling. "Those fans of mine are way too enthusiastic... Didn't they even realize it wasn't my stream they were Superchatting in?"
Rin sat up and smiled. "It's cute though, isn't it? Your fans are a bit rowdy, but they suit your image."
Asako scoffed. "Rowdy? As if. They're just like those trashy thugs that used to follow me around in high school. All lip and no respect."
Rin laughed and said, "Maybe Aneue just attracts those sort of people?"
"Tch." Asako shook her head and then crossed her arms.
Alpha reached into a bag near her chair and pulled out a pair of water bottles, handing one to Rin and one to Asako.
Rin smiled and said, "Thanks Onee-chan!"
Asako grabbed hers with a nod and said, "Thanks."
Alpha sat down in her chair and pulled a water bottle out for herself before saying, "I'm surprised at how excited everyone was for the collaboration." She unscrewed the cap of the water bottle and then took a sip. Afterwards, she frowned and said, "It makes me a bit worried for the concert. There were so many people chatting that UTube broke..."
Rin took a long sip from her water bottle and then nodded. "I know, right?" She set the bottle aside and pulled out her phone, scrolling back through the livestream. "A lot of the messages in the chat are still missing usernames."
Asako chuckled. "Looks like John really hit the jackpot with this. Mixing Anime and idols... he's basically printing money."
Alpha frowned. "That's not true. I'm sure that things would be the same even if we were ourselves on camera."
Asako took a long swig from her water bottle and said, "Maybe for you and Rin, but me?" She shook her head and said, "As if anyone would be interested in a girl like me."
"Aneue would be surprised..." Rin muttered.
"Hm? What was that, Sis?"
Rin smiled. "Nothing, Aneue!"
Asako frowned, but then shifted her gaze to Alpha. "Anyway, it's not that I'm complaining about all of this. Even though it's a bit stressful having to come up with ideas on what to stream, it's pretty fun."
Rin leaned forward and said, "It really is! Not only that, but everyone's so kind and supportive when I sing and dance for them."
Asako smiled. "It's good that you're having fun, Sis- Wait." She paused and then said, "What about school though?" She tilted her head and said, "I know Sakura nee-chan said you took some time off to take care of her, but won't it be hard for you to stream when you go back to school?"
"Ah." Rin swirled her water bottle a bit and then shook her head. "It's fine. I finished the mandatory schooling already, so there won't be a problem." She stared off into the distance and said, "It would have been nice to meet new friends next year in high school... But it's fine!" She smiled and said, "I have big sisters now and made friends with all the Ohana! Not only that, but we're getting cute kouhai soon, so I can make even more friends!"
Asako frowned and then sat up. "It's true that you only need to go to school up to ninth grade, but Sis... You know that's not enough, right? If you want to do anything after this idol gig's over, you need a proper education." She paused. "Well, I guess with how much money we're all making, you might be set even when you retire, but even then, it's not good to rely on it. This." She waved her hand around the studio and said, "It's all something that could disappear at any moment. UTube could just shutdown one day, you know? Things are going well right now, but..."
Alpha scoffed and then turned to Rin. "Don't worry, Rin. Even if UTube was going to disappear, Papa would just buy the company and run it himself."
Asako blinked and then gave Alpha a weird look. "John has that much money?"
Alpha crossed her arms and puffed out her chest. "Papa has enough riches to buy everything in this tiny world and beyond. If he wanted to, in a single day he could-" She froze and then glared at Asako.
"Tch." Asako took a swig from her water bottle and said, "Almost worked."
Alpha shook her head and said, "You should be careful about your probing, Asako-chan. If you dig too far, you may have to leave the mortal world behind."
Asako waved her water bottle and said, "What? You gonna silence me or something like Betty said?"
"No." Alpha set her water bottle aside and said, "Despite your cheek, you're fun to be around. It's refreshing having someone so stupidly outmatched trying to beat me."
"Oi."
"...But for your sake." Alpha frowned and gave Asako a concerned look. "...Would you please stop? I don't want these fun times to change."
Asako froze and then averted her gaze. "...Sorry, Alphy."
"It's fine."
Rin blinked and looked between Alpha and Asako. "Um... Aneue? Onee-chan? What are you two talking about?"
Asako coughed and said, "Don't worry about it, Sis."
Alpha smiled. "What Asako-chan said. And you should just focus on having fun streaming with the Ohana. If a problem does come up, your big sisters will handle it."
Rin frowned. "I don't like being treated like a child... but I guess if you two are trying to protect me..." She hummed and said, "I guess that's fine. It's nice having big sisters looking out for me... but I hope Aneue and Onee-chan will tell me what you're talking about someday."
Alpha looked to the ground and quietly said, "I hope so too."
An awkward silence filled the air. But before any of the girls could react to it, a soft chime echoed in the distance. The sound of the elevator arriving on the top floor.
"Oh!" Rin blinked and turned towards it. She waved at the opening elevator door and said, "Hi Meggie! Sorry you didn't get to- Eh?"
The elevator doors opened and Meggie walked out. But she wasn't alone.
"My, my. It seems like your cute Alphy made some friends, Zhaojun." A beauty with a curvy body barely covered by a red silk gown.
A beautiful crimson-haired woman in a sakura kimono looked around the room and frowned. "Betty's not here after all... Hah."
Yet another beauty with silky black hair walked out of the elevator. Unlike the other two, she wore casual clothes, a plain hooded sweatshirt and jeans. She also had a guitar case on her back. After taking a quick look around, she turned to the crimson-haired woman and said, "Don't worry, Sister Daji. Knowing her, Betty is likely working on a fun project somewhere else."
Rin blinked and tilted her head. "Who are you?"
"Ah." Wang Zhaojun adjusted the strap of her guitar and smiled. "My apologies. We are-"
Before Zhaojun could finish, Alpha jumped out of her chair and let out a happy squeal. "Auntie Zhaojun! Little Auntie Daji!"
Xuannu adjusted her silk gown and chuckled. "What? No love for me, Alphy?"
"A-Ah!" Alpha bowed her head. "S-Sorry Auntie Xuannu!"
Xuannu chuckled again and waved her hand. "It's fine. I was just joking... But I'm amazed. To think that a little bit of relaxation could make Alphy so cute."
Alpha raised her head and blushed. "T-That..."
Zhaojun smiled. "I told you. My Alphy is the cutest." She walked forward and then held out her arms towards Alpha. "Now, would you give Auntie a-"
Before Zhaojun could finish, a pink blur rushed forward and scooped Alpha up in the air. Daji hugged Alpha and spun her around, pressing her face against Alpha's chest. "Ooh, how are you this cute now?! My Betty is beautiful, but to think that Alphy could be so adorable!"
Alpha turned a deep red and squirmed, trying to get free. "L-Little Auntie Daji-! P-Please let me go!"
Daji squealed and hugged her tighter. "Even your voice got cute too!" She turned to Zhaojun and said, "Zhaozhao! Can I keep her?! I'll let you visit!"
Zhaojun narrowed her eyes and quickly walked forward, pulling Alpha away from Daji. "No. Alphy is my niece."
"Aw... but we're sisters, aren't we?" Daji glanced at Alpha, a strange glint in her eyes.
Alpha flinched and ducked behind Zhaojun.
Meggie pouted and stared at the ground. "Onee-chan isn't that cute..."
Xuannu laughed and pulled Meggie into a hug. "Don't worry, Meggie. Auntie Xuannu will make sure that you're the most beautiful of them all when you grow up."
"L-Let me go! Auntie!"
Rin blinked and said, "U-Um... You still haven't answered who you are..."
Asako stood up, carefully eyeing Daji while blocking her path to Rin. "That's right. I want to know too..." As she stared at Daji, Asako frowned and said, "Are you Betty's mom?"
A pink blur shot forward towards Asako.
She flinched and quickly moved in front of Rin, blocking her. But the blur wasn't headed towards Rin.
Before Asako could react, Daji grabbed her hand and stared at her with bright eyes. "Really? Do I really look like my beautiful Betty?"
"U-Uh... Yes?"
Daji squealed and then stepped back, pumping a fist in the air. "Finally! Someone who thinks I look like my cute niece!"
Xuannu rolled her eyes and said, "There would probably be plenty of people who think that if they saw you two together... though I doubt anyone would dare to say it in front of that princess."
Zhaojun sighed. "You two, stop messing around. We still have yet to introduce ourselves." She shifted her gaze to Rin and Asako and then bowed her head. "My apologies for intruding on you three, but we met Meggie and heard that you were finished with your stream, so we wanted to visit." She raised her head and let out a serene smile. "My name is Wang Zhaojun, Senior- I mean, John's junior sister."
Asako frowned. "Junior sister...?"
Rin blinked and then tilted her head, thinking. "Mister John has sisters?"
Daji nodded. "Yep! And hi!" She waved and said, "I'm John's little sister, Su Daji! Nice to meet you!"
Asako's frown deepened. "Su Daji...?"
Xuannu smiled. "I suppose it's my turn then. My name is-"
"Ah." Asako glanced at Xuannu and said, "It's the drunk cosplayer."
Xuannu froze and then pointed at Asako. "How rude! I was definitely sober that day!"
Asako tilted her head. "So then you usually aren't?"
Zhaojun sighed and covered her face. "...Perhaps I should have come to visit by myself..."