HoloWorld: Alternative!

Chapter 1 (Vol 1) - Life Short-Lived

"Oh, it's Irys...Wait, SHE'S LIVE NOW?!" Hajime blurted out.

Normally, this would surprise anybody, so everyone on the train looking at him was justifiable, but the fact that you're not supposed to talk loudly or shout in a train especially in Japan made it slightly more embarrassing for Hajime.

"A-Ah. I apologize, everybody." Hajime bowed a bit as everybody slowly went back to their business.

He tapped the notification, and turned the phone sideways as he started watching the live stream.

Hololive. It was Hajime's favorite streaming and idol agency. Composed of members called "Virtual Youtubers", or simply "Vtubers", their job as streamers are not to only play games — as much as it was the norm — but they're also known to sing, dance, and talk with the audience; all while using an anime character. Though, in Hajime's opinion, as much of an "idol agency" it was, he considered them more like "entertainers and comedians" despite their idol characteristics.

It got his attention as he was scrolling through Youtube once and got recommended a clip of one of the talents trolling with another fellow talent. One clip led to another, and another, and another, until he finally knew every one of the current members of Hololive.

He was engrossed in Irys' stream. Too engrossed, in fact, that he had just realized the train announced his stop, which made him panic and quickly bolted out of the train just in the nick of time before the doors would close.

"Damn! Man, that was close!" Hajime said after taking a deep breath. "I really should take some time off my phone for once." He said with a chuckle.

After that embarrassing moment of inattentiveness, he proceeded to make his way towards his apartment. His homecity was Okayama, so it was pretty crowded in the streets. That's why when Hajime finally reached his apartment, he felt relief as he could finally get away from all the noise and enjoy the peace and quiet he had in his home.

"I'm home!" Hajime greeted, but nobody responded. Well, as a college student living alone, there was never anybody to begin with, but he always greeted as a habit of being Japanese.

Entering his lovely room, he put his bag near a cabinet and took off his uniform and put it in the laundry as he went to his tiny kitchen to grab a glass of water. All that walking and especially that time on the train definitely made him thirsty.

However, as he drank, Hajime felt a presence looming over him from within his room. Slightly spitting out some water out of surprise, he looked to his back and everywhere just to find nothing. He knew he was alone, and he locked the door, but he could've sworn he felt something watching him.

Though, he brushed it off and thought maybe the dehydration made his mind a bit woozy. He had to make dinner anyway and take a shower to refresh himself.

After taking a shower and dressing in a new change of clothes, he took out some ingredients from his fridge. A carrot, a bit of meat he stocked, and potatoes; he craved pork potato and carrot stew. The thought earlier about being watched was completely out of his mind by then, but the sensation came back.

It wasn't a presence watching over him, but rather, Hajime watching over himself, although the vision was slightly blurry. It was like he was able to look through the eyes of the presence itself. Yes, eyes. It didn't feel like he was imagining looking through something like a camera, but rather, it felt like he looked through the eyes of something.

"W-Woah! What the..." Hajime shook his head and blinked multiple times. It worked in getting rid of the thought, at least. However, he knew that it was a strange experience. Whatever it was, it was strange to see himself watching himself, especially when it felt ethereal, like it came from another world.