Break it Down to Build it up

I can’t believe I’m really doing this for her. It’s most definitely not because she’s the person behind Mimie Misumi. If anything, that’s the real detriment. If there was any reason for me to be waiting just around the corner of the store for her to show up, then it would have to be how pushy Sena is.

It’s really annoying. Makes me wonder how I could even come to like her character if this is who’s behind it all. Though it’s not like I’m much better either. It’s my own fault that I continue to be led like a dog on a leash by not saying no.

Oh well, once she’s done using me for this. I’ll be finally free from giving her tech support. And the sooner the better, so it’s nice to see her showing up right on time.

“Hello!” She greets me warmly, while I don’t give her one anywhere near her enthusiasm.

“You already picked out the case?” I ask. It’s impossible for me to choose parts if I don’t have a clue on what it’s going in.

“Yep” She pulls out her phone and gives me a picture of what it looks like.

“That’s a lot of… Glass.” Curse this modern era of people caring for looks over function. These are computers, not showpieces. It might make sense for someone like her as it’s related to her success as an online creator. But she’s also a VTuber, they’re not known for showing off reality. Fortunately, and unfortunately, it’s a huge case. So there should be no limits on what I can pick for her to install. It’s gonna be a pain to setup though.

With all this known, I take her inside the shop and we go through each aisle to get everything needed to make this computer a reality. I ask her the same questions I have for anyone looking for good computer parts. How much power she wants and how much she’s willing to spend.

The latter doesn’t seem to phase her much from how she speaks. It’s like she has a blank check to make this the world’s best computer, when she would be good with something that provides better value.

“You’re the one who watches streams.” She says, slyly leaving out that I happen to watch her stuff. “Don’t you know more what makes this stuff better?”

“I’d hope you…” I’m about to tell her that she should know this stuff as well, but stop myself to avoid giving it away. “Sure, but it’s your computer at the end of the day. You know your use cases better than me.”

After going through a bit of a debate on what she should and shouldn’t purchase. We finally have everything in order as we roll up to pay for all this. Of course I need to receive a comment over this whole ordeal.

“You’re really going above and beyond for this lady.” The guy running the store at this time, who happens to also be the one I had to fill in that night, says. “Just be careful with him, Yuito’s inexperienced with women.”

“Just shut up.” I say, standing by impatiently for Sena to pay for all this. Why am I surrounded by a bunch of irritating people? “Boss is going to love that I got a nice client. So don’t be surprised when I get promoted over you and remember this.” He simply laughs at my threat, knowing full well I won’t go through with it.

“Yuito, I’m just ribbing you.” He replies. “Anyway, thank you for your purchase.” At least he still remembers to show common courtesy to Sena.

Now with all the parts purchased here and the special items for looks back at her place. It’s time for me to return to that mess she calls a home to do some off hours work. At least since she knew I’d be coming ahead of time, it shouldn’t be that bad.

***

“Huh?” I can’t help but react to the sight once I’m back inside her apartment. It’s not better at all. “Sorry, but you didn’t clean since the last time I was here?”

“What are you talking about?” She replies as if I’m the crazy one. “I did the dishes.” At least the sink is empty, so Sena’s not lying there. But it doesn’t mean much when half of them are just sitting next to it instead, still unwashed. “Besides, between work and streaming. I don’t have any time to do cleaning.”

I’ll admit, having a full time job and also what’s essentially a full time gig in streaming means little time for caring other things. How does she think this is an acceptable way to live? Not to mention how this is somehow fine to have a guest over in this condition.

“Whatever, let’s just get this over with.” I wonder if telling her I was a fan was a mistake? Sure, I didn’t know the truth at the time, but it feels like she’s a bit comfortable with me knowing I’ve watched her streams. The cynical side of me feels that she’s only using that fact to take advantage of me, but if that’s the case, then it’s working.

Pulling out the case she bought, I tell her to take a step back. There’s way more glass than I’m comfortable anyone without training work with. Even with my skills, it’s a bit worrisome, but at least I know to treat this with the respect it deserves.

Not it’s time to get to work on pulling out her old computer and ripping the hard drive out to transfer files over. It’s one of those old ones, where the speed pales in comparison to the modern SSDs. So she’ll definitely feel the improvement on daily use too outside of games. There’s only one problem as I’m doing my usual work. It has nothing to do with the computer itself, and more what’s going on around me.

“Why are you still so close?” Sena’s watching over my shoulder at a distance that’s much to close for my personal space.

“It’s so cool to see you working.” She answers, keeping her eyes glue on what my hands are doing. Something about having someone watching over and judging my work makes me nervous. Even if she’s rather positive about it.

“Do you like it when someone’s watching over your shoulder?” I ask her a rhetorical question, hoping she’d get the hint.

“It’s part of the job.” She laughs. I probably shouldn’t have asked that sort of question to a streamer. “Even at the office, people are usually keeping an eye on me and talking. So I’m used to being a little distracted on the job.”

“Then I guess I better get used to it too.” It’s pointless getting her to understand. Though it’s more than simply her leaning over my shoulder. Sena’s so close that I can feel her presence right behind me without having to see her. Including that light touch of her breath tickling my ear.

After what feels like an eternity thanks to her, I finally get the hardware all put together. “Now comes the scary part.” I say. It’s time to see if I didn’t make any mistakes and that this will start up first try. “You do the honors.”

She presses the power button and fortunately I was perfect in my job as all the fan light up in that rainbow puke known as RGB lights. They spin up, falling into a quiet hmm as her computer goes through the start up process.

“Whoa! So pretty.” Her eyes light up, matching the new colors of her computer as Sena stares mesmerized by their flowing colors. You’ve seen those streams where people share their computer setups, right? I’ve always been so impressed by some of the fancy lights they have, and now I have it too.”

“It’s pretty impressive.” I say, but I’m not that impressed. I’m more of a subdued person, so all these bright lights are more annoying and in vain for someone like me. “Looks like all your data transferred fine on its own. So I don’t think you need any more help from me now.” It seems that now can be considered the official end for our working relationship. This time for sure, I’ll cut her off.

“I do have one more question.” She says. Doesn’t hurt me to answer, so of course I give her the nod. “How did you become a fan of Mimie?” That’s not at all what I expected her to ask. After all the work I just did, it would’ve made more sense to have lingering computer questions so she can handle future problems. This is much more personal considering our relationship.

“Why do you want to know?” I ask in response, breaking a little bit of a sweat.

“I’ve never met a fan before.” She explains. “No one at work in interested and I don’t have many friends. You seem real nice though, and I’ve heard scary stories about crazy fans. So I’m glad that it’s you I’ve met.” That’s certainly a compliment if I’ve ever heard one. “So I want to know, why do you like my online persona?”