The Fox At Her Door

The moment my sister pushed me into the apartment, I knew I was in trouble.

She didn’t even take off her shoes. She just marched straight into the living room, spun on her heel, jabbed a finger in my direction, and declared:

“Ren. Sit!”

“...Am I a dog?”

“Sit!”

…So I sat.

She crossed her arms, narrowed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

“I recognized her voice.”

“...Whose?”

She stared at me like I was the dumbest man on earth.

“Don’t play stupid. Her.” She pointed at the wall connecting my apartment with Yuna’s.

She tapped her temple. “I’ve watched her since the very beginning of her career. Do you know how many clips I’ve seen? How many streams I’ve watched in secret because mom doesn’t allow me to stay up late? I know her voice better than some people know their own mothers.”

“...That’s a weird brag.”

“Focus!”

She threw her hair over her shoulder dramatically.

“I recognized her voice way back…”

I blinked. “...What? When?”

She pointed at herself proudly.

“I’m the little sister in this story. Obviously I figured out the heroine's secret identity around... like, chapter 5… That’s literally my job, duh.”

“...That’s not– How does that even…”

“Shhhhh. It’s canon now.”

I rubbed my face.

I was too tired for this.

“Okay.” I sighed. “When did you figure it out? Actually.”

She flopped onto my couch, sat up with purpose, like she was about to give a dramatic speech.

“The 1st time I met her… when we ‘accidentally’ stumbled upon the heroine whilst shopping. The shopping arc. Yes, this early! Be proud of me!”

“...It was… that obvious to you?”

“Well… not 100% at the time… but YOU should’ve definitely known since the 1st collab!” She sighed dramatically. “Ren, your emotional awareness stat is like… 5… Out of 100. It was totally obvious back then.”

“Thanks.”

She waved her hand dismissively.

“Also, during the collab… when you were in the same team… I heard some weird noises coming from Yuna’s apartment. So I checked Luna’s stream and compared them to the sounds she made. Loud noise coming from Yuna’s wall… a couple seconds of delay… and then BOOM a loud noise in LunaZero’s stream. Multiple times.”

“You KNEW since back then??? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Isn’t this obvious? It makes the plot more interesting. The slow-burn would’ve been ruined.”

Of course. I facepalmed.

She went on:

“But now, everyone knows. No matter which social media app I open, my entire timeline is flooded with LunaRen edits. People are already making AMV’s of you 2 with Luna’s song.”

“...And we’re not even dating.” I said.

“That’s NOT what the internet believes.” She leaned forward. “So. Spill it. Everything. Now! From the look on your face you know more than I do.”

I looked at the floor.

How was I supposed to explain this?

The man outside her door. The contract threats. The forced confession on stream.

“...It’s complicated.”

She rolled her eyes. “Ren, everything with you is complicated. I want the short, emotionally devastating version.”

I sighed.

“Fine.”

I told her.

Pretty much everything.

How Yuna had been terrified that night. How she’d cried into my shirt. How her boss, the CEO of her agency, had cornered her. How he’d threatened her. How she was probably forced into lies she didn’t want to say, because of some stupid contract.

When I finally finished, she didn’t say anything for a few seconds.

It must hit her pretty hard, realizing that all those things didn’t just happen to her favorite VTuber…but to her friend.

“...She must be really scared.” she whispered. “All alone in that apartment. Pregnant… stressed… and dealing with a psycho boss on top of it.”

I nodded silently.

My sister took a pillow and hugged it really tight.

“And you like her.”

I froze. “I–”

“You like her.”

“I didn’t–”

“You LIKE her.”

I buried my face in my hands. “Can you not say it like that?”

She smirked.

“If it makes you feel better, she totally likes you too.”

“...She literally just said on stream we were dating because someone forced her…”

“Yeah, but that’s not what I mean.” She poked my chest. “She likes YOU. The you who brings her food. The you who carried her to the hospital and the you who worries about her every second of the day.”

“You’re reading too much into it…”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Ren, she calls you first when she needs someone. She feels safe with you. She told you things she probably never told anyone else.”

I swallowed.

Because part of me… a quiet, terrified part… wanted to believe that.

“Even if she did.” I murmured. “She’s dealing with so much. I don’t want to add another burden.”

“Now you start sounding like her.”

My sister’s expression softened again. “You’re a good guy, Ren. That’s why she trusts you. Why she likes you.”

I stared at my hands.

I didn’t feel like a good guy.

I felt useless.

Watching her struggle behind a locked door, while a man with a contract dictated her entire life.

A sudden thought hit me.

"Do you... think she knew I was Renno all along?"

"...She might've known. I'm not sure. That's why you have to ask her yourself. So..."

My sister clapped her hands suddenly.

“Okay! New side quest unlocked! ‘Cheer Yuna Up Before She Collapses From Stress’.”

“...What?”

She jumped off the couch like a general preparing for war.

“We need to get her to open the door.”

“That’s easier said than done.” I muttered. “She ignored me all day yesterday. Even though I brought her food again.”

She stopped and looked at me.

“Ren. Think for a second. You’ve been bringing her food every day. Sometimes twice. That’s normal for her now.”

“...And?”

“...So food alone won’t do it.”

I frowned. “Then what will?”

She tilted her head, studying me.

“What’s something that would make her feel… seen?”

Nothing came to mind.

My sister sighed and sat down across from me.

“Ren, you were miserable before she came into your life.”

“...I wasn’t miserable.”

“You absolutely were.” she shot back. “You streamed, you ate, you slept. That was it. No excitement… no direction."

I looked away.

“And now?” she continued. “You worry, you care, you cook more, you panic when she doesn’t answer her phone. Don’t you like this version of yourself a lot more?”

I felt my chest tighten again.

“You’re happier. Even if you don’t want to admit it.”

I swallowed.

“...What does all of this have to do with getting her to open the door?”

She smiled softly.

“Ren. You’re thinking like an idiot again. Tell her she didn’t just show up in your life… Tell her she changed it.”

“But how should I? She isn’t reading my messages, how will I be able to get through to her? Even if I write something… what if it's too much for her now, and she doesn't even read it?”

“Then don’t rely on words alone.”

“...What do you mean?”

She smiled.

“Do you have something that already says what you can’t? Something we can attach the note to? Something that would make her think of you the moment she sees it?”

I stared at the floor…

Then something clicked.

“...The fox plush.”

My sister blinked. “Huh?”

“The one from the festival. From the goldfish scooping stall. She gave it to me.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh.”

“She looked… really proud. Like it actually meant something to her. And she gave it to me…”

My sister grinned slowly.

“Oh, that’s GOOOOD!”

“I still have it, it’s in my room.”

“Then that’s your weapon!”

—----------------------------

2 hours later, we stood outside Yuna’s door.

We had:
Homemade onigiri, soup in a thermos… and the cute little fox plush.

My sister handed me a pen.

“Write.”

“...What?”

“I already told you, duh. Not the usual ‘please eat’ stuff. Something real.”

My hand hovered over the paper.

My mind went blank.

Then… Yui's words echoed in my head.

You’re happier since you met her.

I took a breath, and wrote.

I know everything now. I know who you are. But it doesn’t change how I feel. Please… don’t ignore me. I want you in my life. And I need you more than you think.

–Ren

I folded the note carefully and tapped it to the fox plush.

“...Is that too much?” I asked quietly.

My sister shook her head.

“No. That’s exactly enough.”

We placed everything gently infront of her door.

She continued:

“And now… it’s time for the legendary ding-dong-ditch care package drop!”

“Please never call it that again.”

She cracked her knuckles. “10 rings, fast, chaotic, keep her confused.”

“What–”

“GO!” She hammered the doorbell.

DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING!!!!!

“STOP!!” I hissed.

“RUN!!!” she yelled, already sprinting away.

I fumbled for my phone while being dragged down the hallway.

I typed fast:

There’s food outside your door. I’m not here btw. Please eat.

My sister elbowed me.

“Add something cute.”

“No.”

“Add something cute!”

“...Please eat :)” ?

She nodded. “Good enough.”

We retreated into my apartment like 2 criminals who had just robbed a place.

My sister flopped onto the couch, out of breath but satisfied.

“There. This will get her.”

“...Unless she heard all of that right now and thinks we’re insane.”

“She already knows that, don’t worry.”

—--------------------------

An hour passed.

We waited.

My sister nudged me. “Maybe she didn’t see it yet.”

“Maybe.” I said, though anxiety squeezed my chest again.

But then…

DING DONG!

My sister shot upright.

“Ren. That’s her!”

“...Yeah.”

My heart jumped somewhere between my throat and my tonsils.

I reached the door, hand trembling slightly, and pulled it open.

Yuna stood there.

Hoodie over pajama shorts. Eyes still a little puffy from lack of sleep.

She held the fox plush tightly against her chest.

When our eyes met, she whispered:

“...Ren… can we… talk?”