A Comment From Isolation

"Hmm, not since that year in high school, but I had teenage hormones running through me at the time, so that's pretty normal" Marine said.

"If I can guess from what you're telling me so far, you feel jealous about not dating someone in Hololive, right?" Fubuki asked.

"I wouldn't attribute to the origin of what I'm feeling to jealously. I just feel lonely, and now that I think about it, there's..... a mixture of regret to it. Like, if I knew it was possible to actually date someone, maybe I could had made Shion fell in love with me" Marine said.

Fubuki and Rushia didn't know how to respond to the new information. Even words of sympathy were buried beneath their sense of loss for Marine.

"That in itself is a small factor" Marine said as tears were building up in the corner of her eyes. She quickly muted herself to reach for a tissue to dry her eyes and blow her nose.

Marine unmuted herself shortly after. "The rest of my feelings...."" She paused. The words weren't coming up. Was there another reason why she was so upset and lonely? It couldn't be just her regret about Shion?!

"Marine-chan, why did you mute yourself?" Rushia asked.

"I was blowing my nose" Marine said, as easy as if she was voicing herself in Hololive Graffiti.

"I can hear you trembling, Marine-chan. You don't need to put on a brave front for us" Fubuki said.

Fubuki's words hit Marine deeply, as if her own mother or older sister were saying those same words to her in her most vulnerable moments.

"Now that I verbalized it, it's probably all to do with Shion. Even if it's just for a week, I wonder what it would be like to date her for real. What if things went further when I was sleeping over at her house and we started to secretly date. Would I had find out more things about myself then I currently know?" A tidal wave of self questions washed out from Marine as she finally gave herself permission to ask those deep questions.

"Wait a minute. Slow down Marine-chan, I couldn't keep up" Rushia said.

"What Marine-chan said is that she regrets not taking a risk with Shion" Fubuki said. "What I want to add is that it's ok to have regrets. How could you have known it could be possible to pursue a relationship with Shion? Not every person would know what to do in a possibly romantic situation. It's a trial and error process" Fubuki said.

"Is that why you're so adamant about you and your chat just being friends?" Marine managed to say a joke to lighten the mood somewhat.

"Haha, I do apply those lessons from what I learned about getting flirted with" Fubuki said.

"If you wonder what it would be like to date someone, I could date you for a while" Rushia said.

For an instant, anger bubbled up in Marine. Although she was able to restrain herself from lashing out at Rushia. Not everyone knows she doesn't want to be pitied, especially in the romantic/sexual area.

"That's nice of you to say, Rushia-chan, but I want the real deal. Do you like like me?" Marine asked. It wouldn't hurt to ask.

Rushia couldn't bring herself to say the words at first, but if she wants Marine to be truthful, then she has to live up to it as well. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any romantic feelings for you. I do appreciate you as a friend that I can rely on, and I hope you'll rely on me as well" she said, trying to soften the blow her words have.

"It's fine, Rushia-chan. You are a fair maiden, what could a woman like I date someone like that in Hololive" Marine said, lowering her voice intentionally for a comedic moment.

"Are there any other girls you would like to date besides Shion?" Fubuki asked.

"Maybe Aqua a little, but I think she's more suited for Shion then I am, though Shion is still an old man pervert, I don't know how Aqua is able to handle her despite her innocence" Marine admitted, laughing to herself while fighting her emotions.

"Well, we're here for you, Marine-chan. I'm sure you'll be able to charm someone into dating you one day. You are funny, have a lot of great stories to tell, and are talented enough to be an employed virtual idol" Rushia said, her normally quiet voice translated into a passionate speech.

"But I'm old, wouldn't someone prefer their romantic partner to be someone younger and cuter?" Marine asked.

"You can beat that by experience, I'm sure the right person will fall heads over heels for you" Rushia responded.

"Are you sure?" Marine asked.

"Absolutely!" Rushia asserted.

Fubuki was glad that Rushia was still up. She wasn't sure she could had cheered up Marine like Rushia could.

"Ehhh, I'm still not sure myself, but if you say so Rushia-chan, then I might have a chance" Marine said.

"That's right. You might get hurt in the future, but I know someone with your strength would be able to go through any trial" Rushia said.

Rushia's encouragements lifted Marine's spirits. It's not like her worries went away completely, but knowing that she has friends to rely on made it bearable.

"Thank you, Rushia-chan and Fubuki-senpai. I'll be happy to talk to you more, but I'll need to make an explanation video for my stream comment" Marine said.

"Are you going to talk about Shion in that video?" Fubuki asked.

"Maybe someday when I already tell Shion, but for now I'll just say it was the Valentine's Day mood getting to me. It shouldn't be a problem since I have Hololive and the fans cheering me up. I'm sorry for making you two spend part of your night listening to my problems" Marine said.

"No no no, anytime. I may be limited, but I vowed I would help anyone from my generation to the best of my ability" Rushia said.

"It's my responsibility as a senpai to be relied on by her kouhais. It's what I learned from Sora-senpai" Fubuki said wistfully, as if she was remembering a time when she debuted.

"That's awesome, Fubuki-senpai you are amazing in your own way" Marine said.

"Thank you, I try my best" Fubuki said.

"You too, Rushia-chan, you may be cute but I also admire you for your hard work. I hope to boost that side up in our next collab" Marine said.

"Oh really, then I'm looking forward to it" Rushia said, not as worried as before.

"Ok, then I'll talk to both of you later" Marine said.

"Talk to you later" Fubuki and Rushia said as they ended the call.

Marine smiled and let a few happy tears rolled down her cheeks. She took out another tissue to dry her eyes and face. She's not sure if she'll have these amazing friends forever, but she'll appreciate them for as long as she can.

Who knows, maybe one day, one of her friends will end up as her long term romantic partner?