Natsuki's widened eyes stared at me for the longest time. Her jaw was even dropped which looked so funny I let out a giggle.

"Wait you're a boy?!"

"Yeah."

"B-but you're so cute!" Natsuki pointed at me.

"Well, not really…"

Natsuki began eyeing me from top to bottom. "I was really comfortable with you because I thought you were a girl."

"Really? You think I can pass off as a girl?"

"Well duh!" Natsuki raised an eyebrow. "Unless you have really wide shoulders, you should be able to wear a dress. I bet I can dress you up and make you the cutest thing."

"Thanks," I said to her.

"Still, you had me fooled there. Wait, do you still cross dress?"

"I don't really go outside much. I'm afraid of people IRL. It's another reason I do freelance."

"Hm." Natsuki folded her arms. "You're not afraid of me."

I was about to say because you're not real but thankfully I didn't. Natsuki's real, just differently.

"I guess you're the only one I'm not afraid of." I giggled.

Natsuki smiled brightly. I think I'll never see any other smile brighter than hers.

"Hey," Natsuki called, "how about we go outside?"

"Go outside?" I raised an eyebrow. "Are you already bored here?"

"No, I mean I'll dress up like the fine thing you are and I'll watch over you! Of course, I'll be choosing your attire."

My eyes widened at her statement. "O-outside? And cross dress?"

"Yeah! So you can build confidence."

I wanted to say no really outright but I didn't want to disappoint Natsuki.

"But you're in the computer… How are you going to watch over me? This doesn't sound possible…" I felt bad for making excuses but they were legitimate excuses though.

Natsuki folded her arms and closed her eyes, probably thinking of a solution. She then looked at me with a grin.

"Give me thirty minutes. If I manage what I'm planning, then promise me you'll go out with me."

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. Why do I have to promise? It's not like she can make a desktop computer portable. But the determination in her eyes made me believe that she can do it.

"Okay. I promise."

Natsuki went back to the game computer. I left her to work on whatever it was she was planning. I still had my doubts but seeing her so motivated gave me a glimmer of hope for her success. I decided to look for more commissions to work on. Popular artists tend to fill their commission slots immediately upon opening them. Sadly I've yet to experience such. I tend to get one or two but never all of eight. Maybe I need to lower my slot count…

I then noticed a notification from my Twitter. I opened it and it was from creusetsan. She's an online friend of mine though I'm not that close to her. She commissioned me to make a fanart for a game. Guess what that game was? Yes, it's Doki Doki Literature Club. She specifically asked for a portrait pin-up of Sayori. When I accepted the job, Creuset left instructions and then silence. I wasn't able to ask where Sayori came from. Only when I finished the commission and contacted Creuset was then I was able to ask her. She sent me a download link for an installer and also told me not to tell anyone about it since it wasn't released yet. It got me excited that I get to see a video game before anyone! When I saw that it was a visual novel, my excitement tripled. That's when I thought that Creuset must be a developer for the game or at least has some connection to Team Salvato. Of course when I finished the game I thought of contacting Creuset to see if she really was connected to Team Salvato but I was afraid she'll think I was trying to get something out of that. Or maybe I just have a bad case of anxiety.

Anyways, I opened the notification and saw Creuset retweeting my works which was actually pretty nice of her. She even left a message saying I am a good artist for a good price. I felt indebted to her now. She doesn't have much followers herself but hey, I'm getting promoted by a commissioner. That never happened to me before.

My screen was suddenly occupied by Natsuki.

"Done!" She announced. "Brace yourself because I'm gonna surprise you big time!"

I was already on the floor as she finished her sentence. I probably won't get used to her appearing between screens.

"What, you found a solution?" I said as I climbed back onto my chair.

"Took me just thirty minutes to figure it out. Watch." Natsuki disappeared from the screen.

"Natsuki?" I called out then went to my game computer. "Where are you?"

My phone rang so I went back to my work computer and unplugged it. I unlocked my phone and—

"Yo!" Natsuki greeted from the phone screen which made me yelp and drop my phone. "Hey, watch it!"

I immediately picked it up and checked for any damage; thankfully there was none. "You're… on my phone? But how?"

"You won't get it. It's really something you only get when you're a body of data. Does that make sense?"

"Of course," I lied.

"No you don't. Anyways, promise time!" Natsuki grinned. "Now you have to show me your wardrobe so we can pick your getup."

"Oh… Right…"

"Don't tell me you forgot?"

"No! It's just…"

"Just show me your wardrobe already!"

I took out most of my clothes out of my dresser and now they were laid on the bed for Natsuki to see. Jeans, shirts, sweaters, and hoodie were all over the place. Natsuki just had this glare at my clothes as if she condemn them. I'm not sure if she did though.

"Uh… Natsuki? You haven't decided?"

Natsuki continued to glare at my fashion choice.

"Um…"

"No, " she mumbled.

"What? No what?" I wondered.

"THIS! WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?!"

I pulled the phone away from me as her voice hurt my ears. It's amazing how much volume she can produce from a phone.

"You're not being serious right now, aren't you?!" Natsuki accused, pointing a finger at me.

"But these are all my clothes! I don't have anything else!"

Natsuki glared at me this time and I wished that glare just remained with my clothes.

"Where is it?" Natsuki questioned.

"Where is what?"

"Oh, you're going to be like that huh? Come on, take out your best clothes."

"This is all I have… " I looked away from her intense gaze.

Natsuki folded her arms. "You are the worst liar I have ever met. If you don't show me your hidden clothes…"

I looked at Natsuki again. There's no way she had anything to blackmail me with. I mean, I only met her today.

"I'll delete your Love Live game progress on your phone."

For a second, I was dumbfounded by her words. Delete my game progress? But doesn't it have online saving or cloud thingy?

"I guess you don't believe me." Natsuki then showed the Love Live app screen on the settings. "One way I can delete your account is by transferring the account to another device. Looking at your account, you sure have plenty of rare cards. If I post the transfer codes online, surely someone will grab the account. Now, do you understand what I'm saying?"

My eyes widened. My account… I spent so much money in there just to get Ruby UR cards… It's quite the collection to be honest. I even have the— WAIT NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BRAG ABOUT MY RUBY COLLECTION!

"Wait! Don't do that! I spent a lot just to get those UR cards! Don't do it!"

"Then you will show me the rest of it."

I don't know how much I had spent on that game. To be honest, I haven't played it for a while. I actually forgot about it when I got hooked on Doki Doki Literature Club. I shouldn't be bothered by her threat.

"I yield," I said in a defeated tone, covering my face with both of my hands.

"Very good," Natsuki nodded.