Chapter 26:

No Stream Today

The VTuber Next Door Is Pregnant

For the last 2 days, my life had taken an unexpected turn. I went from top streamer to taking care of my pregnant neighbor full-time.

3 meals a day.

Grocery runs.

Regular “did you drink water?” checks.

“I’m not a houseplant.” Yuna had grumbled yesterday when I showed up with tea and a bento.

“That’s true. Houseplants don’t lie about how much they ate.”

She’d looked away.

But she ate, and she drank. And for 2 days, she laughed a little more, and apologized a little less.

If you ignored the part where she still streamed late into the night for an agency that treated her like a disposable product, things were almost peaceful…

…Until the blood happened.

—--------------------

“Ren…?”

Her voice shook as she stood in her doorway that afternoon, one hand gripping the frame, the other pressed between her thighs.

“There’s…something wrong.”

My eyes caught the red first. A smear on her wrist, dark spots on her skirt, and tiny drops on the floor.

“Don’t move.” I said, stepping forward. “Sit down… slowly.”

She slid down the wall, breathing shallow.

“I went to the bathroom and…” Her voice thinned. “There was blood. It stopped a little, but I don’t know if that’s normal–”

“It’s not.” I cut in. “We’re going to the hospital.”

Her eyes widened. “N-Now? But I have to stream in 3 hours!”

“Yuna.”

She flinched.

“You are bleeding. The only schedule that matters right now is the doctor’s.”

She bit her lip, then nodded.

“Do you… think something is wrong with the baby?”

“I’m sure it’s fine. But the doc is gonna tell you more than your chat.”

I grabbed her hospital bag… The one she’d never really unpacked after the 1st emergency.

“Can you stand?”

“Yes, if you help me up.”

—-------------------

The ride to the hospital was quiet.

She sat reclined, one hand on her belly.

“You okay?” I asked again.

“Y-Yes.” she lied.

“I’m sorry.” she added suddenly.

Lately, I’d been proud of her for apologizing less. But I guess that’s not something you can change overnight.

“For bleeding?” I snapped. “Yeah, how dare you not schedule your medical emergencies for a more convenient time.”

Her lips twitched despite everything. “You’re rude.”

“No, you’re ridiculous.” I laughed.

At the red light, she stared at her belly.

“...Do you think I’m stressing the baby out?”

“Yes.” I said bluntly. “After all, the doctor said last time that stress is the worst thing for you right now. And you haven’t really been relaxed lately.”

She winced.

“...But that’s not on you. It’s not your fault.”

—--------------------

The doctor's face when he saw us was a mix of recognition and “are you serious?”.

“You two again.” he sighed, flipping through her chart. “I was hoping I wouldn’t see you until delivery.”

“Same.” I muttered.

They monitored her, checked the baby, did whatever mysterious medical things doctors do.

Finally, the doctor gave us an update.

“It’s not active labor.” he said.

I exhaled hard.

“The bleeding is likely stress-related. The baby’s heartbeat is stable… but your body is very clearly telling you it’s had enough.”

Yuna stared at the blanket.

“You’re high-risk.” the doctor continued. “No late nights, no prolonged sitting… no stress. If this continues, we risk premature birth.”

She swallowed.

“Is this… my fault?”

The doctor paused.

“It’s not about fault.” he said. “But you do have a choice in what you put your body through right now.”

Choose the baby. That’s basically what the doc said just now.

—-------------------------

On the way home, she was mostly silent. Until:

“I should’ve listened better. To you, to the doctor… to my body.”

“You tried to. You stopped streaming for 2 days after the last incident. If that bastard hadn’t shown up–” I stopped.

No. I was chasing the wrong thought. None of that mattered right now. What mattered was her.

“If I stop streaming without telling him, he’ll…”

“Get angry?” I finished. “Threaten you? Guilt-trip you?”

She nodded.

“And we’ll handle that.” I said. “Sakura and I. We will. The contract, the evidence, all of it. You don’t need to fight right now. Your only job is to rest, until the baby is here.”

She let out a shaky laugh. “Why do you sound more like my doctor than my actual doctor?”

“I stop when you stop worrying me. We have a deal?”

She laughed under her breath. “Deal.”

—----------------------------

Back in her apartment, she moved carefully.

I helped her out of her shoes, poured her water, made her soup.

“I’m not hungry.” she said automatically, then corrected herself. “I mean… I should eat, right?”

“Look at you, learning.” I said gently.

“...I’m scared.” she admitted. “Of stopping. Can I really just stop now?”

“Yuna… in these last 2 days we saved loads of screenshots. We’ve got a whole bunch of evidence. It’ll be okay.”

“...What if… everything disappears?”

“Then it disappears.” I said.

She blinked, stunned. “You can’t say that so easily.”

“I can. Because I’ve already been there.”

“I ran away too, remember?” I continued. “After the doxxing, in Tokyo. I thought if I didn’t stream, I’d vanish. But I had to, so that people would stop showing up at my door. I thought that everything I’d built would crumble, and I’d be nothing again.”

I let out a breath.

“But when I stopped… When I came back here… the world didn’t end. I… found you, instead.”

Shoot. I didn't want to phrase it like that.

She stared at me, her eyes widening.

“...I- I mean...I’m not saying it wasn’t terrifying. It was. But I’m still here… Sakura is working with some people on the legal side, my family has your back. I have your back. If the channel disappears… if you have to pay a huge amount of money… we’ll deal with it.”

“So… you’re saying… even if the worst happens, I shouldn’t worry? Even if my whole career disappears?”

“...Yes. Even if that happens… we’ll build you a new one. One that doesn’t try to kill you. One where you don’t have to be someone else every night just to be loved.”

She looked down at her belly, the room was quiet.

For a while, the only sound was the hum of the fridge.

Finally, she spoke.

“...I’ll stop.” she whispered. “At least for now. No more streams, no more pretending everything is fine while I feel like I’m suffocating… I promise.”

She looked determined.

I felt something ease in my chest that I hadn’t realized was tight.

“Good.” I said.

“...Just like that?” she asked, almost offended.

“Just like that.” I stood up. “That’s the bravest decision you’ve ever made. You should be proud.”

She stared at me as if I’d told her the sky was green.

Then, slowly, her shoulders slumped. As if a weight she’d been carrying alone finally lifted.

—--------------------

Later, she sat curled on the couch, hugging a pillow.

“Now that I won’t stream today…I won’t be able to sleep.” she murmured. “My body thinks nights start when I go live.”

Then, quieter:

“Ren… I’m scared it’ll happen again. The blood. While I’m alone.”