The V-tuber Who Became Obsessed With Me

Third person’s POV

By Tuesday morning, Ethan had lost count of how many times he had called the number.

It had become a habit he couldn’t seem to break. Every few minutes he would unlock his phone, scroll to the unfamiliar number, press the call button, and listen as it rang into silence. Sometimes it rang until the network disconnected. Sometimes it went straight to voicemail. The result was always the same.

No answer.

He had tried texting too.

Nothing.

The meeting had been supposed to happen on Friday . Instead, the caller had postponed it , promising to make contact again on Sunday . Two days had passed since then, and the silence was becoming unbearable.

Every hour without news gave his imagination another opportunity to betray him.

What if they had changed their minds?

What if Jade had become a liability?

What if the next phone call wasn’t a negotiation at all?

He dropped his phone onto the bed and scrubbed both hands over his face, but the questions refused to leave him. They followed him into the shower, lingered while he dressed, and sat heavily in the passenger seat as he drove across the city.

By the time he reached the correctional center, he had convinced himself of only one thing.

He needed to see Kuro.

Not because Kuro could solve any of this. Ethan wasn’t even sure he intended to tell him about Jade’s disappearance. But lately it felt as though every answer in his life only led to more questions, and somehow visiting Kuro felt like the only thing that still made sense.

The familiar routine began the moment he stepped inside.

His identification was checked twice before he emptied his pockets into a gray plastic tray. His watch, wallet and phone disappeared into a locker while another officer guided him through the metal detector. Only after another round of paperwork was he escorted deeper into the facility.

The corridors felt just as cold as he remembered.

Steel doors buzzed open one after another before locking behind him with heavy mechanical clicks that echoed through the hallway.

The visitation room came into view.

This time there was no table separating visitors from inmates.

Instead, a thick pane of reinforced glass stretched from one wall to the other, dividing the room into two identical halves. A black telephone hung on each side, waiting in silence.

Ethan stood there for a moment, watching the empty chair on the opposite side.

A side door opened.

Two correctional officers escorted Kuro into the room.

Ethan immediately noticed the difference.

Kuro still looked thinner than he had before prison, and the loose-fitting uniform did little to hide the weight he had lost, but something about him had changed. The constant tension that had shadowed his face during their last meeting was gone. His shoulders were more relaxed, and although there was still sadness in his eyes, it no longer looked like it was consuming him.

He looked... settled.

Not because he belonged here.

Because he had finally accepted that, for now, this was where he was.

The moment Kuro spotted him, a genuine smile spread across his face.

He crossed the room, sat down opposite the glass, and lifted the receiver.

Ethan did the same.

"It’s good to see you," Kuro said, his smile widening. "I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me."

Ethan couldn’t help smiling back.

"I don’t think that’s possible."

Kuro studied him for a second before chuckling.

"You look exhausted."

"I could say the same thing."

"You could," Kuro admitted with a laugh, "but you’d be wrong."

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"I’ve finally accepted that these walls aren’t disappearing overnight." Kuro leaned back in his chair, one hand loosely wrapped around the receiver. "Fighting reality every day is exhausting. Once I stopped doing that, things became... easier."

He shrugged lightly.

"I’ve been sleeping better."

"The food still isn’t great, but it isn’t nearly as bad as everyone outside thinks it is."

Ethan let out a quiet laugh.

For reasons he couldn’t explain, hearing Kuro joke about prison food eased a weight he hadn’t realized he was carrying. He had spent the past few days imagining the worst for everyone he cared about. Seeing Kuro adapting instead of falling apart felt like a small victory in a week that had offered him none.

"My hearing is coming up soon," Kuro continued. "The court assigned me a lawyer a few days ago. He seems to think we’ve got a decent chance."

"And what do you think?"

Kuro looked down at his hands for a moment before offering a crooked smile.

"I think I’ve learned not to expect too much."

"You shouldn’t give up before it starts."

"I’m trying not to."

"You won’t be doing it alone."

Kuro looked back up.

"What do you mean?"

"I’ll be there," Ethan said without hesitation. "Whatever happens in that courtroom, I’ll be there."

For a brief moment, Kuro simply stared at him.

Then he nodded once.

"Thanks."

The word was quiet, but Ethan knew exactly how much it meant.

A comfortable silence settled between them, the kind that only existed between people who no longer felt the need to fill every gap in a conversation.

Kuro eventually broke it with a faint smile.

"So... enough about me. How are you holding up?"

The question hit Ethan harder than he expected.

His fingers tightened around the receiver.

For one reckless moment, he almost told him everything.

He almost admitted that Jade had vanished somewhere between airport security and the boarding gate. That a stranger had been controlling his every move with anonymous phone calls. That every passing hour made him fear he was running out of time.

The words rose to the back of his throat.

Then he looked at Kuro.

This was the first time since his arrest that Ethan had seen genuine peace on his friend’s face.

Telling him now would destroy it.

Kuro couldn’t do anything from inside these walls except worry, and Ethan refused to burden him with a nightmare he was powerless to stop.

So he forced a smile instead.

"I’m doing alright."

Kuro narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced.

"You’ve always been a terrible liar."

Ethan laughed softly.

"I’ve just had a lot going on at work."

"Work?" Kuro shook his head with a grin. "When has work ever not been keeping you busy?"

That was enough to steer the conversation elsewhere.

They talked about books Kuro had started reading in the prison library, complained about the cafeteria food, and laughed over stories Ethan shared from the office. The conversation stayed deliberately ordinary, and for the first time in days, Ethan found himself pretending, if only for a little while, that the rest of his life wasn’t slowly falling apart.

The announcement signaling the end of visitation echoed through the room, cutting their conversation short.

Kuro glanced toward the correctional officer waiting by the door before returning his attention to Ethan.

"I guess that’s my cue."

Ethan gave a small nod and slowly rose from his chair, still holding the receiver. Neither of them seemed eager to be the first to hang up.

"You’ll come back?" Kuro asked.

"I will."

"You’d better. Prison gets boring faster than you’d think."

Ethan smiled.

"I’ll keep that in mind."

Kuro chuckled, then his expression softened.

"And Ethan..."

"Yeah?"

"Take care of yourself."

The words caught Ethan off guard. He had come intending to check on Kuro, yet somehow his friend had ended up worrying about him instead.

"I will," he said quietly.

Kuro studied him for another moment, as though he could see through the smile Ethan was forcing, but he didn’t press any further. He simply nodded before placing the receiver back on its hook.

Ethan did the same.

For a brief second, they stood on opposite sides of the glass, exchanging one last look before the correctional officers escorted Kuro away.

Ethan watched until the heavy steel door closed behind him.

Only then did he turn and leave.