Welcome, one and all, to the second chapter of "The V-Tuber Fables"! This one's... a bit different.
One of my favorite independent V-Tubers (of which I have many faves) is Haruka Karibu, a Canadian caribou who, among many other things, just wants to make people happy and drink lots of Tim Hortons. Recently, Haruka did a "re-debut" stream to debut her new model, and we learned something personal about her. Namely, her struggles with autism growing up. As someone on the spectrum myself, I can certainly relate to her struggles, just wondering what people think about me for just being me.
Thus, this idea was born, about maybe wanting to give little Haruka a friend, a true friend and not those ankle-biters who mocked her.
So, let's get into it! This is chapter two of The V-Tuber Fables. Welcome... to A Caribou and a Friend.
It all started on that one day in fifth grade.
Eleven-year-old Nick Kelly was just heading out for recess, ready to try that new swing they'd just installed (the old one had been here for a long time, and had finally had its day just last week), when he heard some other kids talking.
Normally, he wouldn't really bother listening in unless they addressed him first, as his mom and dad had taught him to do.
But when he heard a specific sentence...
"Wait, you mean her? Oh, yeah, the freak."
Something about the way that the boy said the word 'freak', that malicious edge to his voice, personally set Nick on edge himself. He followed the gossiping boys' gaze to a nearby fence, where a lone girl about his age could be seen sitting down against the fence, trying her best to not stick out. She had bright, emerald-green hair that fell to about her shoulders, green eyes, and most interestingly, a pair of fluffy caribou ears and antlers.
"Oh, you're looking at her, too, huh?" the first boy laughed, catching Nick's attention. "Isn't she a weird one?"
Nick didn't know how to react to that, since he hadn't really seen this girl much. He was rather new to this school, after all.
"So, what's weird about her?" Nick asked. He personally didn't think this girl was weird, but he was curious as to why these boys didn't seem to like her.
"Well, she flaps her arms around a lot, she won't talk, and she's just bizarre in general," a second boy chuckled. "If you want my advice, Nick, just ignore her. She's a freak anyway."
The boys marched off, laughing the whole way, but they thankfully didn't notice Nick clenching his fists in anger.
Nick turned around, towards the caribou girl, and made a decision.
He was going to go and talk to her.
Nick brushed some sand off of his shirt, then walked over to where she was sitting, and sat down by her. She didn't initially respond, worried about what he would think of her, so Nick figured it was up to him to get the ball rolling.
"Hey."
She looked up at him, now wondering why he hadn't left like everyone else had.
"What's your name?" Nick asked.
No response came initially, and now she was scared. Because she couldn't talk, he might think he was ignoring her. Like everybody here.
"Can... can you not speak?" Nick asked. A quick shake of her head confirmed his thought, but though he was curious as to if she was mute or if it was something else, Nick didn't press the issue any further.
Just then, Nick had an idea, reaching into his backpack and pulling out his notebook and a pencil before handing it off to the girl.
"You can write on this, if that's okay," Nick stated, trying his best not to say anything that might scare her off.
She initially just looked at him for a few seconds before taking the pencil and writing something down in the notebook. When she handed the notebook back to Nick, he smiled.
My name is Haruka Karibu.
Nick retrieved another pencil so he could write his response.
My name is Nick Kelly. It's nice to meet you, Haruka.
And this continued for a good few minutes, both Nick and Haruka writing in the notebook one after the other, and filling at least four full pages with their replies.
Are you new here?
Yeah, I just moved to this town a few months ago.
My parents and I moved here from another town, too. It was... hard.
I feel you there. That kind of change is tricky to deal with.
What do you like to do for fun?
Well, I like writing. I've got a very active imagination, so I have lots of ideas going around my head. I wanna be a writer someday, so that's why I write stories a lot, to bring my ideas to life.
That's cool. What do others think of your stories?
It depends on who I'm showing them to. Some people think I'm a bit weird about it, but it seems like a lot of the students like how imaginative I can be.
Must be nice.
Nick hesitated to write his next question, considering he didn't want to hurt Haruka's feelings, but he wanted to know.
Haruka, is it okay if I ask... why you can't speak?
Haruka glanced at Nick, initially expecting a taunting glare like the other kids, but she just saw a concerned look staring back at her.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad this time.
She hoped.
It took slightly longer for her response this time, but she pushed through.
I have autism. I forgot how to speak when I was young.
Haruka prepared herself for the teasing, the mocking, everything the other kids had said about her in a negative light.
She could hear Nick writing something in the notebook. When he handed it to her and she saw his response...
...she started to cry.
Well, if that's why those other kids make fun of you, then they're idiots. Haruka, I know it might be hard being different, but trust me when I say that I can relate. I have Asperger's Syndrome myself, after all. But my mom taught me an important lesson. "The people who will accept you for you are your true friends."
Nick was scared at first when he saw Haruka crying, thinking he'd said something wrong or hurt her feelings.
But those fears were quelled when he saw what Haruka had written in response.
...do you want to be my friend?
Nick's reply was instant.
Yes, I do. And I mean it, Haruka.
Allowing a few more tears to fall, Haruka smiled at Nick.
That was when he knew that this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, as cheesy as that line was to him.
As the next year went by, Nick would occasionally visit Haruka at her house when school and everything permitted. He was glad to know that Haruka was slowly opening up again thanks to his friendship and that of his own friends, who were thankfully very supportive of Haruka.
Naturally, Haruka had been slightly nervous, still unsure if Nick was going to ditch her eventually like the other kids who had only pretended to be her friend. However, Haruka had quickly learned that Nick was not and would never be like "those jerkfaces", Nick's words.
Nick was interested to know that Haruka's mother had been teaching her sign language as a way to communicate, since Haruka had forgotten how to speak during her childhood. Nick often wished he could use sign language so he could have another way of talking to Haruka when he was away from his notepad. (She really liked writing in that thing, apparently, ever since they'd become friends, and Nick's own mother was very amused when he told her why he needed a new notebook.)
At the moment, Nick and Haruka were watching a fun cartoon that Haruka really liked, laughing at the silly teenage antics of these three best friends from California who also happened to be spies for a top secret agency.
"You know, I had no idea this show was part-Canadian until you told me about it, Haruka," Nick admitted. "Everything I knew about this show said it was mostly French."
Haruka made a silly face in response. She was much more expressive these days, and she conveyed that most often with her range of funny faces.
Suddenly remembering something, Nick reached into his backpack and pulled out a Tim Hortons cup. Nick had learned that she really loved ice capp from this place.
"Oh, hey, I got you this," Nick stated. "Your mom said it was okay, too."
Haruka's eyes lit up at the sight of her favorite beverage, and she reached out to claim it from Nick.
Just then, before Haruka started taking swift sips like she usually did...
"Thank you."
Nick did a double take at that, staring closely at Haruka, who seemed to be just as surprised as he was.
"...d-did you just speak, Haruka?" Nick gasped.
It took a couple seconds for Haruka to respond when she realized that, yes, she did just speak. Her voice was a little hoarse and creaky, but that was understandable after not having used it for so long, but she actually, honestly spoke.
Naturally, Haruka's mother had heard, as she has rushed right into the living room upon hearing Haruka speak.
"M-Mom?" Haruka asked, still unsure if this was real or not.
But from the happy smiles on both her mother and Nick, it was very real.
With that, the damn broke completely, and Haruka started happily crying while hugging both Nick and her mother.
"I can speak! I can actually speak!"
Her doctors and other workers were very pleased to hear about this development, even as they helped her get her voice back to her full potential.
Nick was nothing but supportive the whole way, wanting nothing more than for Haruka to be able to speak freely again.
This would continue into their middle school years, including such times when...
"GACK"
Fourteen-year-old Nick's train of thought was interrupted when he found himself tumbling out of his bed and directly onto the floor. Thankfully, the floor was pretty well insulated by the carpet he landed on, so no one downstairs was going to hear it if they were all asleep.
As they well should be at 2:36 A.M., according to the clock on Nick's nightstand.
"What's up, sleepyhead?"
Nick looked upwards to see Haruka, dressed in her fluffy green flannel pajamas and grinning teasingly at Nick.
"Trying to do the sleep thing," Nick teased. "What's up, Haruka? Can't sleep?"
"Kinda," Haruka admitted, even if Nick could see right through her at times. Maybe he could, given how long they'd been friends. "Honestly, it was just another stupid bad dream. Nothing to really worry about. I have 'em all the time, and..."
"Hey, if it's about what it tends to be about, then it is a big deal to me," Nick answered before patting the spot on his bed. "And it's just you and me right now, since everyone else at the slumber party is stuck in la-la land."
Haruka just chuckled, knowing not much got past her friend, and sat down by him as he intended.
"What was it about?" Nick wondered, though he probably already knew the answer.
"Oh, just some of those idiots from elementary, calling me the usual riff-raff," Haruka explained. "Only difference is... you weren't there to talk to me. Nick, I know this sounds silly, especially after all the progress I've made, but... I still have these fears that you were gonna ditch me... I guess..."
Nick interrupted anything Haruka might have had to say by scooting over and giving her a hug, which surprised her at first. The most physical they'd ever gotten was an occasional high-five after conquering a particularly tricky challenge in the games they'd played together.
"Hey, Haruka, can I tell you something?" Nick asked, to which Haruka nodded. "I never had any ulterior motives when I approached you that day. All I ever wanted from you was to be your friend. And besides, if I did ditch you after everything we'd been through, I couldn't really call myself a friend to anybody, now could I? The point is, I'm here to stay, Haruka, and that's never going to change, no matter what life plans to throw in our faces. So don't worry about a thing, 'kay?"
Despite her own worries, Haruka couldn't help but smile as she hugged Nick back. "Am I lucky to have such a true friend that'll remind me of that when I'm feeling down," Haruka giggled. "Seriously, thanks, Nick. You rock."
"You have said that multiple times, especially tonight," Nick chuckled.
"Yeah, that game of Smash got pretty nuts at the end," Haruka laughed before she decided to give into an impulse and kiss Nick on the cheek. "I know I say this a lot, too, but... thank you for being my first real friend, Nick."
"You know I've got your back until doom do us part," Nick proclaimed.
"And even then, it'll have to take us kicking and screaming 'HUEAGH'," Haruka stated, making a funny squeaking sound that always amused Nick.
"Dang right," Nick responded. "...well, nuts, now I'm not sure if I can get back to sleep right away."
"Oh, that reminds me, I've gotta show you this really cool thing I discovered lately," Haruka replied as she dug out her phone and went onto YouTube so she could show Nick what she'd seen.
As they chatted the night away about all kinds of interesting topics, Nick was once again overcome by that feeling of happiness, which let him know he'd made the right choice in talking to Haruka when they were younger.
He hoped that what they had would never change.
A few years later...
"Is everything set up back there, Nick?" Haruka asked as she constantly looked back and forth.
"Looks like we're good to go," Nick responded after giving all of the relevant tech a once-over. Today was a big day for Haruka, as she was preparing to make her V-Tuber debut. V-Tubers, or Virtual YouTubers for short, had been growing rapidly in popularity in the past couple years (especially recently, given the... ahem, circumstances), and now that she was on her way to college, Haruka had considered giving the V-Tuber thing a shot. "You still nervous?"
"Is it written all over my face?" Haruka chuckled. "Man, I didn't think I'd be this nervous, though..."
"It happens to a lot of V-Tubers on their first day, from what I've seen," Nick answered. "So you're not the only one. ...everything okay?"
"...I guess the biggest thing I'm worried about is... will they like me?" Haruka asked. "Do you think they'd like me for just being me?"
"Hey, I wouldn't worry," Nick proclaimed. "Remember, we did extensive research on how to get this V-Tuber thing started, and just about everyone we've seen in their chats has been extremely supportive. We all have our own little quirks, so just be you and I know it'll work out. After all..."
Despite her nervousness, Haruka couldn't help but smile as she remembered what Nick had 'said' to her that fateful day on the playground.
"...the people who will accept you for you are your true friends," Haruka proclaimed, her confidence swelling up once again. "All right, let's do this!"
Haruka switched the feed on her computer so it would show her virtual avatar, and after some nervous laughter, started to address her audience.
Despite chuckling a bit at the way Haruka said that one of her favorite foods was Tim Hortons, Nick couldn't be happier for Haruka. She was most definitely about to gain many more friends from across the internet, and they both wouldn't have it any other way.
Nick did often wonder what would have happened if he hadn't been there to talk to Haruka that day in elementary, but he usually pushed those traitorous thoughts to the furthest recesses of his brainspace.
He was just glad he'd made the decision to reach out to her.
And he was glad that their friendship was still strong, despite the odds.
Nick was the type to cling to the friends he had, considering an incident in his youth that had made him swear to never take friendship lightly out of fear of losing those friends.
In all honestly, Nick couldn't have asked for a better friend.
Never change, okay, Haruka? You're perfect just the way you are.
So, a little history.
I started watching V-Tuber stuff back in 2016 with the advent of Kizuna Ai, but I didn't really get INTO V-Tubers until about June 2020.
Haruka Karibu was actually brought to my eyes while I was looking up stuff about Ironmouse in June 2020. After watching a compilation of her funny moments, my recommended feed gave me another compilation from that same channel about this adorable Canadian caribou, and well, the rest is history.
I've said back in Mousey's Strange Journey that Ironmouse is the reason I truly fell into the V-Tuber rabbit hole, but it turns out that I found Haruka because of Ironmouse! Ain't that something, huh?
...and, Haruka? If by some miracle you read this? I love you, and I'm so glad I learned about you. Forever proud to be a part of your totally-not-a-cult!
And that's all for now. I'll see you all in the next chapter of The V-Tuber Fables! Everyone say it with me: HUEAGH
Stay gold,
The Blue Time Ranger