The V-tuber Who Became Obsessed With Me

Chapter 104: Another way

( this Chapter is told from raina’s pov)

I woke before the sun.

For a few moments, I lay still beneath the sheets, staring at the ceiling while the room sat in perfect silence. Sleep had become something fragile over the past month, never lasting long enough to leave me feeling rested. Every night ended with my thoughts chasing each other through the dark until exhaustion finally claimed me, and every morning began with those same thoughts waiting exactly where I’d left them.

I reached for my phone on the bedside table.

No messages.

No missed calls.

I already knew there wouldn’t be.

Thirty-one days.

Thirty-one days since Ethan had stopped answering me.

I closed my eyes for a moment before setting the phone back down. It hurt a little less than it had during the first week, but only because pain had settled into something familiar. It had become another part of my routine, like brushing my teeth or making my bed.

I pulled on a hoodie, tied my hair into a loose ponytail and left my room as quietly as I could. Running had become the only thing that quieted my mind, even if only for an hour. If I kept moving, I didn’t have to think quite as much.

I had barely reached the staircase when a familiar voice drifted from the sitting room.

"Yes, I understand what the situation entails."

I froze.

Grandfather.

His voice was calm, measured, carrying the quiet authority that had made powerful men lower their heads without being asked.

"I know."

A pause followed.

"Just keep an eye on him."

Something about those words made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

Without thinking, I stepped back into the shadow of the hallway, pressing myself against the wall before I could question what I was doing.

I hated listening to conversations that weren’t meant for me.

Once, I never would have dreamed of it.

But ever since the warehouse, I’d begun to realize how much of my life had been built on conversations I had never been allowed to hear.

"I understand," he said again.

Another pause.

Then his voice became quieter.

"We’re going to have to get rid of him eventually."

My breath caught.

For one desperate second, I searched for another meaning.

Maybe he wasn’t talking about a person.

Maybe it was a company.

A business deal.

A witness in a lawsuit.

Anything.

But I knew my grandfather.

I knew the way he spoke when he had already decided someone’s fate.

Get rid of him.

The words settled like ice inside my stomach.

Who?

Kuro?

Ethan?

Felix?

Or someone else entirely?

I strained to hear the reply on the other end, but whoever he was speaking to kept their voice too low for me to make out.

"I’ll expect another update this evening."

His chair scraped softly against the floor.

"I have to go."

The call ended.

My heart lurched.

Footsteps.

They were coming closer.

I slipped farther back into the corridor just before Grandfather rounded the corner.

He walked past without noticing me.

Immaculate suit.

Perfect posture.

The same composed expression he wore every morning, as though the conversation I’d just overheard had been nothing more significant than discussing the weather.

He disappeared down the opposite hallway.

Only after his footsteps faded did I realize I’d been holding my breath.

I leaned against the wall and exhaled slowly.

Whatever was happening...

I wasn’t supposed to know about it.

That frightened me more than the conversation itself.

Because once upon a time, Grandfather had told me everything he believed I needed to know.

Now he was making plans behind my back.

Plans involving someone whose future had apparently already been decided.

And somehow...

I couldn’t shake the feeling that Ethan’s face kept appearing every time I tried to imagine who that person was.

I went for my run anyway.

The morning air was cool against my skin as I left the estate, carrying the faint scent of salt from the ocean. Usually, running helped organize my thoughts. The steady rhythm of my footsteps gave my mind something simple to follow until everything else became quieter.

Today, nothing grew quieter.

Every sentence from Grandfather’s phone call replayed itself over and over.

Keep an eye on him.

We’re going to have to get rid of him eventually.

I pushed myself harder.

One kilometer.

Then two.

By the time I reached the edge of the neighborhood, my breathing had settled into a steady rhythm.

That was when I noticed it.

A black SUV sat outside one of the security gates.

I didn’t recognize it.

As I continued running, another unfamiliar vehicle came into view farther down the road.

Then another.

Men in dark suits stood at positions that had been empty yesterday.

Two near the entrance.

Another pair walking the perimeter.

One posted on the roof of the neighboring building with binoculars.

I slowed without realizing it.

Protection.

That was what Grandfather would have called it.

Except this wasn’t protection.

Protection was two bodyguards.

Protection was someone opening car doors and walking a few steps behind me.

This...

This looked like preparation.

My eyes swept across the estate.

More cameras.

Temporary barriers.

Several men I recognized from the Arashigumi compound in Japan.

Not ordinary security.

These were the people Grandfather trusted when something important was about to happen.

A cold uneasiness settled over me.

Without thinking, I glanced over my shoulder.

A man was walking on the opposite side of the street.

For one irrational moment, I was certain he was following me.

My pulse quickened.

He reached into his jacket.

I stopped running.

Then he pulled out a phone, answered it, and kept walking without so much as looking in my direction.

I let out a quiet breath.

The fear hadn’t disappeared.

It had simply found somewhere new to live.

Ever since the warehouse, every stranger felt suspicious.

Every parked car seemed to linger a little too long.

Every unfamiliar face made me wonder whether Grandfather had sent someone to watch me.

Or whether someone else had.

Trauma changed people in strange ways I’d know because this is the third time I’ve felt like this and it isn’t getting any easier.

You stopped asking whether something was possible.

You started asking how long it had already been happening without your noticing.

I looked back toward the estate one last time.

Something was coming.

I didn’t know what.

I didn’t know when.

But I knew enough to recognize the signs.

And somewhere else in this city...

Ethan was living his life without the slightest idea how close he still was to my grandfather’s shadow.

My decision came before I had fully formed the thought.

I turned around and began running home.

I needed to see Ethan.

Today.