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Eight years have passed since the graduation of Kaguya, the summer break wonder of a streamer and virtual idol. By this point, it was fair to say that she had left the public’s consciousness. And yet, even this many years later, she had small pockets of otakus singing her praises.
Her producer, IroP, chief among them. Though she had found success at the side of Yachiyo Runami, biggest idol of her time, she would find any chance she could to express gratitude and amazement towards Kaguya, who had all but disappeared.
Only her close friends knew where she was now. And the one closest to her had been tirelessly working towards letting her take center stage again, with as few compromises as possible. There would be no return of the one-summer wonder without her incredible vocal range.
That being said, Iroha’s research team was busy enough getting the remote neural interface that would serve as a base for their android tech to work. Their YC model was a successful proof of concept, but had more in common with a toy than an actual human body. So, with a fresh lab low on funding and still too far from their goal to request some more, it was Professor Sakayori’s job to take her notes out and flesh out the plans calling for a voice prosthesis.
And so began a long day spent reading papers, writing emails and taking notes on who to call. There was always a silver lining to those, though; her coworkers had just as much passion as she did, if not more. Maybe a destructive amount of it, she shouldn’t have to be the one reminding anyone to take proper lunch breaks…
Iroha’s road home was just as uneventful as ever; just short enough to finish a playlist she had made over a break.
Kaguya’s voice would not leave her mind. Her output during her few months of activity was truly extraordinary, in no small parts thanks to her own hard work, but the one who made her compositions worth listening to was always Kaguya. A gifted lyricist whose beautiful voice could convey emotions in a way so genuine her fans would argue no one ever matched her.
But there is someone just like her, isn’t there?
IroP, her composer and producer, had been hired by the Tsukuyomi agency shortly after her co-star’s graduation. And in practically no time, she was composing fresh masterpieces for the agency’s biggest star, Yachiyo. An awfully convenient rise, considering she was revealed to be related to the lead of the same agency’s biggest group, but none could question her talent.
Upbeat songs composed by a workaholic perfectionist, with lyrics written and sang by an idol with an unfathomable hunger and love for the small joys of life. Not much had changed since then, all in all.
So when Yachiyo asked for an android based on Kaguya instead of her current self, she switched gears immediately. The proof of concept still ended up based on Yaccho’s small, chibi design, but the half-finished nervous system in the lab would go to Kaguya. And as the playlist reached its last track, Iroha got reinvigorated. What they were aiming for was a collab concert so amazing, it’d never fade from memory, just like the one celebrating the Yachiyo Cup!
She was so invigorated, in fact, that as soon as she entered her apartment, she sent Yachiyo a message, asking her…
“Wanna make today’s stream an improv one?”
Yachiyo’s response was practically immediate. “Well, isn’t that sudden~”
“I got inspired on my way home, gotta use it while it's there”
“It’s been a while, so sure!”
And a sticker of a chibi Yachiyo waving glow sticks.
“Eat something first, then we can meet in my room before the stream starts”
And a smooching sticker. She's too cute.
“Hi everyone! We got a surprise for all of you today~★”
“Uhh… heeyaaa!”
The live chat feed IroP was keeping a nervous eye on loved it. Another awkward greeting they would add to the list!
“IroP was free today, so we’re going to do an improv stream! Maybe we’ll get the start of a new song today, who knows?”
“H-hey, don’t set the bar this high right away! We have to do warm-ups first, you know?”
She was obviously playing it up for the camera, but only a little bit. It wouldn’t be the first time they "accidentally" committed to a new song live.
Chat was just as excited as ever, though.
“IroP is the one who warms my heart up”
“She’s so diligent”
“YachIroP for life”
Oh no, shippers… She was as terrible at hiding her feelings as ever, so it was time for a distraction.
“L-let’s just get started, warm-ups! What do we do for warm-ups?”
“How about your very first original song?”
She can’t mean the one I did with Dad, right? No, it has to be…
“Do you mean Watashiwa Watashino Kotoga Suki?”
“I’m sure Kaguya wouldn’t mind if I sang it~”
“…She wouldn’t, no. But it’s been a while since I last played it.”
“Well, this is just warm-ups! Make sure to clip any bloopers, everyone!”
“You’re cruel…”
But by the end of the song, she figured the only clips that would get any traction would be Yachiyo’s emotional voice cracks. Getting halfway back to her old voice had to be heavy on her, and harder than it was for Iroha to wing a full song with only one instrument.
But they still had a few hours of streaming ahead of them, no time to reminisce now. Yachiyo’s chat had plenty of silly requests, and she wanted to try singing a bit in other languages too.
Iroha, of course, was happy to oblige. Yachiyo’s voice was always a pleasure to hear.