"Heyo, Masteralz here and welcome to the FINAL episode of our Re;Birth2 gameplay," I said out with an enthusiastic smile.
Hi, my name's Masteralz, or just Minamoto Minazuki, a small YouTuber with at least 10 thousand subscribers. Yeah, it's not that big of a deal, but hey, I love my subscribers, and I don't really care about the money, even though I leave monetization on because I do need it.
I moved out of my parents' house when I was 15 because I can't stand hearing them bicker non-stop over the family business. My family owns quite a company in all of Japan, earning at least a million yen EVERYDAY. But I don't just borrow money from them because I have this YouTube channel.
If it wasn't for Noble-senpai, I wouldn't have gotten this much subscribers maybe. Noble, or Lost Pause, is a fellow anime and Let's Play YouTuber with at least 600 THOUSAND subscribers. He's the one that got me hooked on a game series named Hyperdimension Neptunia. To be honest, I NEVER heard of the game until I came across Noble's LP of it. Sorry. At one point of Noble's video, he mentioned a fanimation that I did for Hyperdimension Neptunia. That's when I started picking up subscribers. I feel indebted to him, so I try to make better content, content that my subscribers will like.
"…Well, that was quite an ending, guys! Beautiful! And if you guys are wondering, I just watched a gameplay of the Conquest Ending. NOT gonna go to that ending. I don't want you guys to see me breaking down, which I DID everytime Gear... you know what I mean... in the gameplay video…"
My life isn't that eventful to be blunt with you guys. Don't expect anything going south with me.
"…That is all now. The name's Masteralz, and see ya guys next time, sayonara!"
*click*
"Wow, that was quite a game, can't wait for Mega Nep V2, if I can get the money, that is, hehe..."
I look at the time. 11:00 am.
"Guess I'll go shopping for lunch..."
11:25 am, I come out the supermarket, and I saw a lot of sales around. Like, a LOT!
Thank God I survived the stampede of people.
*Flashback to a few minutes ago*
"Everyone, may we remind you that just for today, we've slashed all our items from around 15 to 40 percent, as thanks for your patronage with us. Happy shopping!"
Woah, really? They're giving a discount sale out? Oh man, what a lucky day! Well, not really...
Right now, there is a stampede of people, crushing me as they try to get to the discount steak. I also want that discount steak. But what do I do...
I can't just use my Masteralz identity cause I'm not really well known... And there is NO way I'd have a chance encounter with a subscriber...
"Um..."
Hm?
"…A-are you M-Masteralz?!"
"Wait, how do you know my channel?"
"Oh man! I watch your videos! I always wanted to see you in person!"
I nervously chuckled, "Hehe, I'm not that much popular, ya know?"
"I don't care, you've made me happy like how Noble does."
"You watch Lost Pause?"
"Yeah, that's how I got to know your channel!"
Noble... Such a good guy...
"Ahaha, that makes sense... You here for the sale?"
"Yeah, I survived the pile of people and got myself 2 steaks," my 'fan' said.
"Wow, you're lucky to come outta there in one piece."
The guy laughs, "Ahaha, maybe. Say, why don't I give you a steak? On the house, Masteralz."
Eh?! I... Eh... What do I say in this situation?
"N-nah, man, you earned it. I'm just gonna buy fastfood."
"Care if I joined you? These were for my siblings anyway..."
"Uh, sure," I said with a smile. My first interaction with my own fan. I'm getting goosebumps. I... I've never done anything like this... Okay Minamoto, just calm your mind and nerves.
"Then it's settled!"
"Oh, so your name's Minamoto? Wow... Well, since you told me your name, I'm Ren. Ren Tohsaki."
"Nice to meet you, Ren. Well, I gotta go. Oh, before I leave, why don't we exchange emails?"
"Ah, okay," Ren said as he pulls out his smartphone, and after pressing it a few times, he shows me his email address.
"*tap* *tap* *tap* Aaannd done. Hehe, just send me a message anytime, Ren. And don't worry about the V Generation gameplay. I'll play it before V2."
"Okay, well, my siblings are waiting for me at home, see ya!"
I wave goodbye to the raven-haired boy as he disappears into the crowd. He told me a bit of his backstory, and it's a sad one, it is.
Apparently, he and his siblings were one of a few people who lost their loved ones in the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. His parents died when their house was crumbling down and Ren was still in it. Apparently, he didn't know what to do in an earthquake, even though Japan experiences earthquakes quite a lot. I even gave him a bit of my money to help him and his siblings.
Flashback:
"Here man."
I took out a thousand yen. It should be the least I can do to help him.
"N-no, I can't, it's your money, you need it..."
"Come on, I'm being nice and honest here, and it's the least I can do to lessen your burden. You take on a lot of part-time jobs, right? Just stash this or something..."
I honestly want to help him more, cause I also lost my gramps in the earthquake, he died of a heart attack from all the panic.
"…" he fell silent, nervously trying to think...
He IS a fan of mine, so I have to keep their smiles, even though I have problems of my own, as long as I see people smile because of what I can do, it'll also make me smile.
"You really are a good guy, you know," he said as he takes my thousand yen.
"It's the least that I can do..."
Ah, the park, I look at the time, 1:00 pm. I take a seat on a bench and think about things.
So, I'm Masteralz, a not-really-famous YouTuber who wants to give smiles. Just now, I met one of my subscribers and learned of their backstory. I gave him a thousand yen, and I exchanged email addresses with him. So yeah, the start of my interaction with my fans.
I look at the sky. What if I got a 100 thousand subscribers? Will I get a bigger chance to meet one of my fans? Can I handle the pressure? Can I be like Noble? Man, thinking about YouTube is mind boggling. It was then that I felt something hit my leg.
"Uh, mister?" a kid said, probably referring to me, while pointing at what hit my leg. A ball. I pick it up. It's a red ball, quite small to be either a basketball or a volleyball. Maybe those balls that you play with kids. I throw it back to him without any excess force. When he caught it, he said, "Thanks, mister!" with a smile.
Smiles can somehow light up my day. This is why I started my YouTube channel, because when people smile, they make me smile as well. They make me feel... happy.
Well, that's enough pondering on my life for now. Looks like it's noodles for dinner.
5:00 pm. I recorded my first episode of the V Generation gameplay, along with an Overwatch episode. Wow, that was tedious than I thought. Okay, now I'm getting ready for dinner. As you guys know already, I'm having noodles for dinner because I didn't accept Ren's offer. Now I feel like I'm regretting it.
*ring* *ring*
Huh? My smartphone's ringing. Must be a call from mom.
"*tap* Hello, Minazuki here."
"Ah, hey my little champ!"
Ah, sheesh, I knew it.
"Aw sheesh, mom."
"Ehehe, just wanna talk to my independent son," mom said.
"DAMMIT AYAKA! WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO SELL OUR PRODUCTS!"
Wow, dad's a blabbermouth as always.
"SHUT UP KASHOU! JUST SHUT UP! I'M TALKING TO OUR SON HERE!"
"God, mom, dad. Please shut up."
"Ahaha, sorry..."
See what I mean with bicker everyday?
"So, I just wanna talk to you about us sending you a million yen as allowance..."
Pfft... What?!
"WHAT?! Didn't I tell you folks that I don't really need THAT much money?!"
"Aw, come on, we wanna be good parents for once, we miss you once in a while, even though it's been a year since you lived alone."
"If only you guys stopped bickering for once, I'll think of coming over," I reasoned with her.
"But, it's the family business we're always fight about. It's inevitable."
"Yeah, and irritating..."
You'll understand when you're the only child of two entrepreneurs who made it big.
"So, Minamoto Minazuki, son of Kashou Minazuki and Ayaka Minazuki, I've asked you this many times but, how do you like my old home?"
"Did you really have to say your whole name, mom? Anyway, as always, it's fine, I've adapted to it for a year now, remember?"
"Ahaha, hey, how about your YouTube channel?"
"You guys manage it right, since I'm 16 and all, well, it's okay I guess. My subscriber count is growing in a steady rate and I got to meet with a fan of mine..."
"Oh, really now Minamoto?"
"Really. Well, since it's dinner time and all, I gotta hang up..."
"Aww... Come on, son..."
"DAMMIT AYAKA DROP THE DAMN PHONE!"
"YOU'RE MAKING DROP THE PHONE?! FORCE ME!"
Ah, they're lively again. Well, I'm gonna be the one to hang up.
I put down the phone. And I realize, I do miss my parents. Maybe I'll visit them from time to time.
Taking my noodles, I turn on the TV and eat.
"Hello, everyone, we have breaking news. It seems that every email address in Japan is under seige, with a mail from someone named HIST," the news lady said. An email virus? Oh man. Maybe Ren got affected as well. Wait how about mine?!
"…People have been reporting that after reading the HIST mail, they take notice of a link and after clicking it, some computers get hacked while others overheated. Please take caution when you spot this email..."
People have nothing to do, so they make some kind of prank virus. God, are people THAT bored with their life? Looks like I gotta stay alert later.
8:00 pm. I'm currently rendering the first V Generation gameplay video. While at it, I decided to check my emails.
From kentrenton32 (Yahoo)
Hey, it's Ken Tohsaki. How are you doing?
I decided to reply with, "I'm fine, thanks."
From YouTube
Congratulations for hitting your 10 thousand subscriber mark. Hope to see more of your content and your channel grow.
From tdxdgrant44 (Gmail)
Hi, I'm wondering how do you make your videos. Like what recording software and editing software you use. I'd really be thankful. From a fan of yours.
P.S. When will you start the V Generation gameplays?
Reply:
It's not that special. I use Open Broadcast System for the game recordings, and Sony Vegas for the editing and rendering. Hope that'll help you out. And also, V Generation gameplays will be uploaded soon. :)
A few minutes later, the render is still in 37% so I decided to check out my spam mail. I haven't caught sight of that HIST mail so maybe it's on my spam.
Buy gift cards, buy membership cards, my mail is full of spam, it's a good thing Yahoo has a separate folder for them. If this got into my main folder, I'd go all out delete mode.
It has been an hour, and my render is now on 78%, that was quick.
I... finally caught sight of the HIST mail from the pile of junk mail. God, that was exhausting. It says:
From HIST
You have been chosen for a special job. This is not scam, this is not spam. We need your help. But first. CLICK HERE
Hmm... The text itself is suspicious. I started to run a few antivirus programs and have them analyze the link. Avast? No virus. AVG? No virus. Norton? No virus. Wow, no virus.
Then, how did it...
No, no, it can still blow your PC. You can't afford that. Oh wait...
Now that mom mentioned that she's giving me a million yen…
You only live once.
*click*
"…"
"Umm... Nothing..."
Well, that's a bit anti-climat-
*thunder*
Huh, thunder. Guess it's gonna rain-
Eh, eh?!
What the?! Why are all of my stuff floating?!
What in the-
CRASH
GAH!
I got hit.. by a book... what the... hell's... happening...
That's all I can say before fainting.