In The Name Of Justice

“Good night now, my beautiful purrs!!! I’ll be sleeping underneath in your bed, Nyaa.”

This, in front of your screen, is the lovable Vtuber by the name of Nekotama Mashumaro, He’s a cat boy Vtuber that has a cute personality and has the charisma of an actual cat. He wears a cat ear headphones with a wardrobe of purple and blue throughout his outfit.

The way he acts just gives attention throughout the community, This mysterious Vtuber debuted at the rise of the Dark Wings Sightings, people make jokes that Mashumaro is so superior that the Dark Wings stopped but some always speculate that the Dark Wings is Mashumaro, which almost gave him trouble.

Behind the avatar is the reckless Shigeru Takeda, always keeping the act to earn money from this hobby of his in order for him to die peacefully. Every time he puts up an act in front of the camera, he’s slowly dying inside cause of how out of character he is.

It’s thanks to this mask he found while fighting someone who’s on the hunt for him.

He swayed his head from the camera signing as a goodbye sway, then he read the chat for the last time, seeing everyone’s smiles from the chat as he ended his stream.

He took off the mask from his face, as his true emotions are ready to burst out from his chest.

“AHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I HATE THIS SO MUCH!!!!!” Takeda screamed his lungs out while rolling on the floor

The mask dispels any negative feelings of the user who wears it and changes their personality to their state before they felt any negative emotions, to Shigeru’s case, He turned into a reckless, charming, hardworking man. Which surprised him cause he’s always been broken as long as he can remember, and considering that no hints of being that kind of person.

But he thought that this might be a good cover for him, and after he thought about it, he became even more popular due to him collabing with other Vtubers, interact with fans even more, and creating merchandise. This made him somewhat rich, not entirely.

Takeda calmed down from his sudden breakdown, as he always does every single stream he does. Lying down on the floor, He took the mask beside him and he took a good closer look at the mask thinking about its uses.

“I have a feeling you might be useless after I die I guess,” He said while looking at the mask “Thanks, For showing who I was before this nightmare I’m currently facing”

Now that the mask is broken, he’s starting to hit rock bottom.

…

‘Oh gosh, why of all people to meet, WHY A FAN?’ Takeda slowly started to panic internally ‘What if she discovers I’m the lovable Nekotama Mashumaro? My cover will blow up.’

“Oh, Takeda,” Ibuki asked the sweating Takeda who’s trying to keep a smile “Could it be…”

‘Oh gosh, here is it’

“Are you also a fan of Nekotama Mashumaro?”

‘Ah yes, Just think that way please’ He thought as he finishes his bowl of ramen

Shigeru placed his bowl down, as he took a deep breath while closing his eyes. He thought of this question as a life or death question that puts his Vtuber hobby at risk of being exposed, not just that, some might discover he’s the Dark Wings user.

“What if I told you I am?” Takeda tried to give a smug look but all he suddenly heard is a loud thud, he opened his eyes only to see an ecstatic look of Ibuki, in front of his face. The closeness of each other’s faces just made Takeda made his heart skip a beat from this beautiful face that is beaming with confidence in front of him.

Ibuki started to breathe heavily while sparkles circling her, Shigeru can’t himself in this situation but to submit from her presence. This is just too much for him, she might be an airhead but she is indeed beautiful, just her being close is enough to make him submit.

“When did you start watching Mashumaro?” Ibuki started to ask Takeda questions related to the Vtuber

“Ever since he was debuted”

“What does he call his fanbase called?”

“Purrs”

“Why does he called them Purrs?”

“It’s because a cat’s purrs are a sign that needs cuddling”

“Does he have an original song?”

“No”

‘How long does this keep going on? How much stuff does she know about my character?’ He thought as the questions kept piling up

“Where does he sleep?”

“Uhm… miss, I believe that you’re scaring the customers” One of the waitresses came to their table told Ibuki

Ibuki suddenly snapped back, only to see a tomato-faced Shigeru, she looked at her surroundings, only to see unnerving stares from the customers inside the store. Realizing what she did embarrass Shigeru, she stopped with the guilt, printed on her face.

“I’m sorry for suddenly asking you those stupid questions” Ibuki tried to keep smiling but she looked down as she started to tear up

Shigeru starts to sweat and chills in his body as he started to panic that this might cause a scene, adding a huge to Shigeru’s broken reputation.

“No, no, I get it, You’re just passionate for him and got excited when talking to a fan” Shigeru tried to comfort Ibuki but no matter what, It’s just kept getting worse

‘Damn it, I need that mask right now,’ Shigeru thought ‘Oh, yeah, it broke.’ he felt a huge disappointment as he remembers the events back then.

‘I need to come up with a different topic before this blows up, it kinda sounds that I’m dating but that doesn’t matter. Think Shigeru think, something simple, something that can be talked about in our daily lives.’

Shigeru thought so hard about this, He felt like his life is on the line and the person in front of him is a living bomb that is about to blow up in tears. His mind is just currently in shambles, giving him random ideas. Shigeru tends to panic at someone pretty in front of him, especially people that started to get emotional. He’s not only doing this just because it’s a pretty girl in front of him or for him to protect his reputation, he’s doing this cause he still feels genuine guilt for making someone emotional, it may remind him of, who he is in his forgotten past but no matter what he does, he just has the urge to help, especially someone close to him. Without giving too much thought to it, his mouth started to spew words that he shouldn’t have spilled.

“So, you know about the Dark Wings user right?”

Hearing those words, Ibuki suddenly looked up, brimming with hope in front of his face as tears stopped forming around her eyes. But to Shigeru, he messed up, big time.

‘OH NO!!!! WHY THAT?!!’

“Uhh, NO! NO! I-I didn’t-” Shigeru expected a snapped reaction coming from, cause from what he heard, all Mental users need information as to where the Dark Wings user is, whether humans or Mental users, they’re being interrogated that can lead up to death and Shigeru has to take the blame.

To his surprise, Ibuki suddenly chuckled which lead to her laughing, seeing Ibuki with a smile, made Shigeru’s chest feel relieved. Seeing people smile because of him always made his day, that’s why even though he’s always dying inside because of his Vtuber hobby, his day is just filled with slight happiness coming from people who watch and deeply support him.

“Gosh, the way you panicked is just hilarious.” Ibuki wiped a tear from her eye out of laughter.

Shigeru took a sigh of relief as he thought that she’s taking it as a joke. But he’s not ready for what’s about to come.

“Looks like I’m being caught, hehe,” Ibuki said, which gave Shigeru a shock “My sensei told me that if a person started talking about the Dark Wings in a public place, means they’re a Mental user.”

“Uh, what do you mean by that?”

“You see when normal started talking about the Dark Wings, that person usually receives bad luck for 2 weeks, which proven to be false. My sensei captured the bastard who causes this rumor to start, some people still believe about it so yeah, we rarely encounter people talking about the Dark Wings freely, so that makes you a Mental user.”

‘Hmm… I see, is it true that I brought suffering towards anyone I encounter, maybe someone knew about it and just trying to bring that up to ruin me. It could be, there’s a cult related to me’ Shigeru suddenly thought about what the cult would look like if they met him, leaving himself with a bad taste in his mouth for thinking about it.

“I hate it when they trying to make my hero the villain”

Shigeru turned back his attention to Ibuki, shocked at what he assumed to be a compliment.

“Hold up, can you repeat that again?”

“When the people started talking about the Dark Wings?”

“No, not that, I think you said something about a hero”

“Oh- hehe, It’s true that the Dark Wings user is my hero”

Shigeru couldn’t help but feel flustered about it, which made him interested to hear more as to why that is. He never receives a single compliment outside from his Vtuber avatar, and it’s also due to his reckless attitude while wearing the mask.

“As you can see, this also applies as to why I also love Mashumaro so much. I became a Mental user as they expected me to be, but I didn’t and they just locked me out, thinking that this must be my fate until the Dark Wing Incident happened. Seeing the broadcast of his escape is just too much for me, I can hear his sadness and anguish through his screams, so I rooted for him to escape. Seeing him escape made me realized that, we Mental users suffered so much, but that doesn’t mean we have to give up, looked down upon, just because we have supernatural abilities, that doesn’t mean we’re gonna be used as something that doesn’t make us human, we all humans before we become these beings that they called monsters, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who sees the Dark Wings this way. It just baffles me as to why he has a bounty as same as that of fictional teacher that has tentacles as his limbs”.

For once, he never talked to someone passionate about him or his Vtuber avatar, Shigeru’s life has been looking at everything through research, that’s why he’s afraid of talking to die-hard fans, especially from his fandom, but after hearing Ibuki, he started to change his mindset towards die-hard fans.

On the other hand, he was astonished that there’s a Mental user who got inspired by his existence, he always thought to himself that his existence was a mistake, that he shouldn’t have existed. His mind started to fill a lot more curiosity, as to why, why are they being influenced by him, the Dark Wings.

He might find his true goal other than just finding the way to the other side of human life, thanks to Ibuki here.

But what surprised him more is that Ibuki admires both the Dark Wings and Mashumaro, which is basically all him.

“Uhm, this is the same reason as to why you also admired Mashumaru right?” Shigeru asked with a slight stutter from his voice

“Yup, he’s the cherry on top” Ibuki replied with a sweet smile, which to Shigeru sounds like a genuine threat. The sweetness from her smile just made Shigeru gulped.

Other than fear, this gave Shigeru a sense of safety from Ibuki, she’s no threat to him and shows huge support to his existence. Shigeru can tell from Ibuki’s voice that she’s not lying when she said those, so he wanted to test Ibuki if she actually stays true to her own words. The other thing that Shigeru hates other than die-hard obsessive fans, the fake fans, especially the ones from his fanbase.

“So Ibuki,” Shigeru leaned forward, crossing his hands together, giving the serious tone to Ibuki, she prepared herself for what’s to come out of Shigeru’s mouth.

“You sure do get influenced by the Dark Wings I see, Alright, then lemme ask you this. So, let’s say you walk in an alleyway, you encountered a mentally unstable man, you decided to help him and then you realized that he’s a wanted criminal that has the bounty of one of the most wanted criminals then you figured it out that he’s the Dark Wings user, what would you do?”

‘Since she’s admired me and my Vtuber avatar, I also influenced her escape from her past, if that’s true, even just this simple question, if she answered right, is enough for me to trust her and take her words as facts. My onee-chan told me these types of questions are the most impactful in order to gain someone’s trust, but simple answers aren’t allowed so if she’s going to answer, she needs to answer from her heart.’ Shigeru thought deeply, cause he knows that the answer was obvious from based from

“That’s just a stupid question, You already know what my answer is, you’re clearly up to something but I’ll guess I have to give you an honest answer” Ibuki held her chest as she looked at the sunset outside in the window.

The sunset illuminates through Ibuki’s blue glistering hair, a small gust of wind flurries through the window, making her hair softly swayed to the other side, Shigeru didn’t realize himself but he was gazing at what appears to be a rosy red color on Ibuki’s left eye, as Ibuki is about to speak, she felt embarrassed at Shigeru gaze.

“Uhm, You look beautiful” Without even realizing it, Takeda said those words which made Ibuki even more flustered that her face looks like it’s about to burst

“Ehh, I-I apologize.” Shigeru bowed thrice

“No, no, it’s fine” Ibuki waved her hands continuously, signaling him that it’s fine “You’re actually the first one who complimented my eye, It’s not like you get to see someone with a different eye color, hehe.”

Shigeru sighed out of relief, but he still thinks the fact that Ibuki’s eyes are beautiful. Ibuki cleared her throat and took a deep breath as she held her chest tightly.

“If he’s a criminal, of course, I have to turn him in, but there’s no justice as to why he does what he does, I wouldn’t feel admired if I discovered that the Dark Wings is nothing but a one-sided criminal that does bad deeds only to satisfy themselves, even though they’re mentally unstable. But here’s the thing, every single being has a purpose, even those who consider them as vile and disgusting, I would gladly listen to the Dark Wings user as to why he does what he does since based on what I heard, he was being experimented, thus turning him into a “monster”, so I want to change him for the better, free from the pain of his past and give him the justice that he deserves. If he’s beyond redemption, I wouldn’t hesitate to turn him in, if not, I would take matters to my own hands, by killing him myself.” Ibuki held her chest tighter as she finished her answer.

Shigeru was left speechless at Ibuki’s honesty, He was actually expecting a biased answer but it subverted his expectations, he still doesn’t want to believe that she would kill the Dark Wings if it’s beyond redemption, it’s just common sense to put him down.

“Is that so...?” Shigeru pushes his glasses upwards “What makes you think as to why you should kill the Dark Wings when needed?”

“If it’s for the safety of the world, I think we should take action, for the sake of Justice”

“Justice you say?”

“Oh, I think I forgot to mention, I’m a student at this school, a new student actually” Ibuki handed a school brochure to Takeda “You see, this school is the symbol of Justice, and it’s specifically for Mental Users only. It’s called ‘Justice’s Academy for Unstable Individuals’.”

“Mhm, thank you cause it’s not plastered everywhere in this brochure” Shigeru replied with a sarcastic tone, Ibuki couldn’t help herself but chuckle

Shigeru on the other hand is surprised, memories of the ones who tried to kill him just by looking at this logo. He came to the conclusion that whoever is in this academy is trying to kill him for the sake of justice. Shigeru just laughed it off, as many attempts from this academy tried to kill him but failed miserably. He basically held no grudges against these people, since he’s practically unkillable, at least that’s what he’s thinking.

But one person stands out the most, the one who’s trying to kill him for revenge. He basically feels sympathetic towards that person, probably one of the reasons why as to why he wants to kill himself peacefully so that these people don’t have to hold this heavy burden that they have to feel when facing the Dark Wings.

Upon hearing Ibuki’s answer, he starting to feel hope, hope that he’s trying to find all this time since his escape. Seeing someone who’s passionate at a person who thinks of themselves as a burden to others is just refreshing to Shigeru that it made him flustered just thinking about it, even though he’s getting praises every single time he streams.

But what Shigeru is scared of coming from Ibuki is her die-hard fan personality.

“So, Ibuki, why did you enroll in this academy in the first place?” Shigeru asked

“It’s probably the only academy where Mental users can attend school without being caught for being a Mental user, it’s also free for all ages.”

“You mean kids can attend this academy?”

“Yes, it’ll be a tragedy if a kid is in the academy”

“Oh...kay...?” Shigeru continues to read the brochure “So, how long have you been a student in this academy?”

“It’s my first year actually”

“And you have a lot of knowledge about this school by yourself?”

“No, my sensei told me about the academy 2 years ago, I spend my time analyzing the structure and analyzing the academy before I decided to enroll myself. You might never know someone might try and betray you”

“Damn, you’re always prepared.” Shigeru took a sip on his bowl

“Of course I am, I might encounter the Dark Wings and consider me as a hostile enemy, hehe” Ibuki started laughing, with the smugness painted on her face.

Shigeru slammed the bowl and started laughing, for Ibuki not knowing that the person she’s talking about is in front of her. He looked at her with the smugness on his face, feeling confident.

“Do you actually think that you’re gonna be able to defeat the Dark Wings user?”

“Oho, Is that a challenge, I would gladly accept that” Ibuki crossed her arms, still smiling with the smug look

Both of them stood up, slammed both hands on the table, the two looked at each others’ eyes, Shigeru thought that this might be a good idea for how strong Ibuki is, he still wants to test her if she has what it takes to be at the same level as the Dark Wings user.