Threshold

"So Hinata," my father asks me as I look up to him. "Do you think it'll do well?"

I'm ten years old, and I'm sitting on my father's lap as he sips a cup of coffee on a snowy December morning. The winter break has just started, so no school. I look at the screen.

How could I have forgotten this? This was towards the end of my father's life. This was before the world went to shit for me. Our last happy Christmas - or at least, one of the days leading up to it.

"She's kinda cute." I say as I point to one of the girls onscreen, to my father's surprise. I'm ten years old. I don't think about girls yet. But for some reason, the one with the twintails and the soft smile just seems...comforting. The girl on the screen just appeals to ten year old Hinata.

It looks like she's lonely, for some reason. Or sad.

Or...something I can't quite parse.

"Sweetie, don't turn our boy into a massive otaku like yourself." My mom teases as she enters the room, holding a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. "You aren't going to be a nerd like your father, are you?"

"Oh come on dear, like you're one to speak." My dad says, laughing. I laugh alongside her as I take the hot chocolate from my mom. A sip. It burns, and I almost end up spitting it out. Dad chuckles again.

"Careful, careful!" Mom says. "Uh, hey, honey?"

"Hmm?" Dad pats me on the back, signaling for me to get off, and I let him up as I continue to peer at the girls. I'm so oddly engrossed that I don't notice my mother's face shifting. Dad ignores her face, peacocking as he strikes a funny pose. "What could my one and only possibly want from me?"

"How...how is it going with the housing stocks lately? I heard it's a bubble. Taro, I think this could be a trap..."

Dad sighs, as if to say "not this again," and looks to her as he drops the pose.

"Tadashi's a genius. I trust his judgement."

"That's the thing. I don't trust Tadashi either."

"You know his record-"

"I mean him as a person. He's not trustworthy."

"Well, I trust him. Besides, I need money for the new game. We're on the verge of bankruptcy, and we need a small cash infusion to get this game out." Almost apologetically, a smile returns to his face. "Hey, after that, I'll buy you anything, okay?"

If dad trusts Tadashi, then Tadashi's to be trusted. Right? I ignore the boring conversation of my parents as I look at the cute girls on the screen.

Girls are lame and boring. But girl in the twintails seems to have a smile so bright, like it's-

"...alright. If you trust him, maybe I do as well..."

"That's the spirit." Dad smiles and nods. "Good to see we're on the same page."

"Y-yeah..." Mom sighs, and looks to me, a soft, almost sad smile appearing on her face, which turns to a brighter laugh as she looks at me. "You really are turning him into an otaku, aren't you?"

"Nonsense. He must get this from your side. I know the kind of games you like playing."

"They're fun!"

"Well, can't argue with you there, given what I'm into." The two saunter over and look at me. "Hinata, you really like that one, don't you?"

"I...no, I don't. I just think she'd be the most popular character, that's all!" I say, defensively, but it's futile.

She's cute. I want her.

"Alright, alright. I get your game, I get your game." My dad smirks as he looks at the screen once more.

"Ahaha, who is that?" My mom asks slightly sheepishly. My dad turns to her, with almost a hint of proud arrogance.

"That's the first heroine I designed for the game. Her name is Chisaki." Dad kneels down in front of me, and gives me a proud smile as he strikes another fancy pose, in his usual larger than life manner.

"W-wow, looks like Hinata's got a good eye then!" Mom says.

"He does. Hinata, I henceforth retroactively dedicate the creation of Chisaki to you. So take good care of her name, okay?"

***

Two thousand views. 

I proudly watch from my seat as I watch a replay of the stream. I'm trying to delete as many of the rude comments I got in the earlier sections as possible. No more. No one steps on Hinata anymore.

As I reach the ending, I am once more, hit with the unsatisfying ending of the stream. This time, I actually chuckle at it. I will admit, it's kind of funny. The seething of the chat almost makes me feel as if I am one with Chisaki, and that I am laughing with Chisaki at the viewers.
"CHISAKI WTF"
"NOOOOOOOOOO"
"CHISAKI YOU BITCH"

My chuckle turns into uncontrollable laughter. This is comedy gold. Chisaki, you and I are going places. I look over my channel. There's some three thousand subscribers already, almost four.

Also, the cash is insane. Feeling cocky, I reach for my phone, and ring the bank up.

"Hello? This the bank?"

I wait for a response, but all I get back is the automated voice message.

Well, thus is life. I hang up the phone and lie back in my chair, wondering what to do next. For some reason, the bank not working right now has completely sapped my energy to do anything. I sit there for a good five minutes, just staring off into space. And that leads me to thoughts. Many, many thoughts.

I had a dream last night. After I exited the game. A dream of an old memory.

Maybe Chisaki was right. I maybe should have stayed. Maybe I should apologize to her. Am I really allowed to just exploit her for money like this? After all she's done for me?

There's her side to the story worth considering, is there not?

I abandoned her. Again.

"Hey." I hear a knocking noise from outside, breaking my stupor. It's a woman's voice.

Ooh, a woman's voice? Heh.

Who the hell would be knocking at my door? Paparazzi? I must already have paparazzi. Maybe it's a stalker fan? I wouldn't mind if it's a cute girl though-

"Hello? Room 102, I know you're in there!"

I angrily get up to the door and push it aside. It's just some middle aged lady. I roll my eyes, of course it is. Jesus Christ, do they not know who they're dealing with here?

"What?" I snarl at them.

"Uh...you ok, friend?"

"Huh?"

"I'm the next door neighbor? Remember me?"

"Oh, right! I remember you!"

No, I don't.

"I already contacted the police about it, but they were stalling. You...you sure you don't-"

"No, I don't need anything." I condescendingly snarl at them. "Now if you will excuse me, I have important business to attend to, so will you please leave me alone?" The woman shifts uncomfortably, as if she doesn't want to leave, but after a moment, finally nods her head.

"Alright. I won't bother you too much then. Sorry." 

I pause. This person is trying to help me. Should I really-

The phone rings, informing me of a new milestone reached. My lips curl upwards, unable to contain the euphoria within. I twist it into an intimidating smile, as I roll my eyes at them, and give a final response.

"Great. Now fuck off."

My future is with the game.

I shut the door (or at least, as much as I can get it to close), and sit down on in front of the computer. I click back on my channel, SaekiKatanaBlade, and look at the sub count. Four thousand subscribers. Wait, did I really gain a few hundred subscribers in between my phone call to the bank and now?

I greedily type in a question on my channel for a second stream, and wait for a few minutes. Should I start another stream? Should I? A part of me is really excited. Not just the money, but the attention too. Finally. I feel like I'm getting the success I deserve. Ah Chisaki. You've turned into my cash cow.

A pang of guilt from the previous moment bubbles up again, but I quickly suppress it. That's right, I'm headed to the big leagues. I don't need to worry about anything. Besides, I have weapons now. I'll just shoot whatever the hell tries to kill me. In the meantime, perhaps I should go finally watch that PixelParker reaction video on me.

...

As I navigate to the PixelParker video, I'm hit with a deluge of notifications already telling me that they'd love to see me enter the world. The next hour or so is filled with me watching the video, then pausing every now and then to read the various responses that come trickling in. As I scroll down onto the PixelParker comment section, I'm also hit with just how many people want to see more of it.

Well have no fear, my subjects. The Saeki Gaming Guru is here. Even the big three are impressed by my uh, acting chops. I guess you can say we're like friends. Maybe I'll give PixelParker a talking to the next time I meet him.

As the video ends, I am still being hit with excited pleas for a new stream.

All as it should be. I can't stop winning, can I?

There's a strange folder in my desktop filled to the brim with cool premade thumbnails for my streams, and a small text file saying "I made these for you, I hope you appreciate~" titled "From Chisaki with love." So what if she's invading my computer? It's free labor.

"Oi, Chisaki!" I shout into the computer camera. "I'm on my way, so you better bring in the fun, you hear?"

No response. Whatever, I'm sure she's heard it.

I ready up the streaming platform, and once more, I put on my headset. The hero must return.

Chisaki, you and I are REALLY going places. 

The world goes white.