~Act 1~
Chapter 1

Kirino and Kyousuke stood in Kirino's room, Kyousuke held Kirino's flight ticket to America in a clutched fist.

Kyousuke hammered Kirino with questions, "You're leaving tomorrow?! When were you going to tell me-" Kirino swung a leg around and kicked Kyousuke in the ribcage, sending him flying on to her bed and causing him to drop the ticket.

"I shouldn't have to tell you!" Kirino defended herself, "And get off of my bed, you perv!" She quickly ducked down and grabbed the ticket.

Kyousuke stumbled back onto his feet, he shook his head with a chuckle. "Fine, go ahead and leave for America. It'll be nice and quiet without you here. Maybe I'll finally get to live a normal life without you."

Kirino's face turned a shade of crimson, she clearly wasn't happy to hear anything like that. She struggled to find a way to reply to such a harsh statement, but she eventually screamed "Fine! I'll go to America and I'll have a great time without you being there to annoy me!" She angrily shoved Kyousuke out of her room and slammed the door in his face.

Kyousuke laid in bed that night, thinking about Kirino. He was torn in half over Kirino leaving. He knew it would be easy to relax without her around, but he also knew that he'd miss being there to act as a big brother towards her. On the other side of the wall, he could hear Kirino screaming nonsense and pounding the walls with her fists. She was clearly upset over something. Kyousuke didn't really know what she was so angry about, but he had a feeling it had something to do with him.

Kyousuke was suddenly awakened by loud thumps coming from Kirino's room, he glanced over at his clock, which read "8:27 AM." He could hear her grumbling to herself while slamming suitcases shut. He muttered to himself, "Is she just now packing her bags?" He reluctantly dragged himself out of bed, and found himself knocking on Kirino's door. She violently burst through the door and glared at her brother. "M-Morning..." he mumbled towards her, "Are you still packing?" Kirino didn't respond to him, brushing him off entirely. "I thought maybe I could help-" with that, Kirino slammed the door back in his face, a sight he's all too familiar with.

It was now 9 o'clock, and the family, excluding Kirino, was eating breakfast. Daisuke, Kyousuke and Kirino's father, set down an empty bowl on the table and eyed Kyousuke. "Where is Kirino?" He directed towards Kyousuke.

Yoshino, Kyousuke and Kirino's mother, stepped in from the kitchen and answered "She's still packing."

A few minutes later, Kirino came downstairs, toting 3 suitcases. She tossed them down beside the door and let out a sigh of relief, even though she had more suitcases to carry. As she would be gone for a year, a lot of packing was required, and careful planning was essential. She gave a final hug to her parents, while making a show of completely ignoring Kyousuke, and made her way toward the door, with her parents following close behind.

As the front door closed, Kyousuke realized two things; one, he was alone, leaving house with an eerie silence. He felt an air of uneasiness, but also a great feeling of relief. Two, Kirino was now heading to the airport, ready to leave Japan, and all he could think of was how Kirino was irate with him. What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to tell her to stay? Would it have made any difference? Who was he to tell her to miss this opportunity? It's not like it mattered now, she was already gone. He laid on the couch and stretched his legs out, he was prepared for his year of relaxation. Maybe now his dream of living a normal life (at least for a year) would finally come true.

Chapter 2

Kyousuke laid in his bed. It had been about a week since Kirino left, but Kyousuke couldn't help but sulk. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about her. Suddenly, he heard his cell phone vibrate, which he had to dig around to find. He flipped it open and answered with a rather depressing "Hello?"

To his surprise, it was Kuroneko, in her calm, monotone voice who replied, "Hello, big brother." Just hearing her use the term made Kyousuke blush slightly. She continued on, "I heard that Kirino left you."

Kyousuke furrowed his eyebrows, "Pft. As if I need her," he brushed off her teasing with a wave of his hand, "Why did you call anyways?"

The line was silent for a moment, Kuroneko wasn't sure how to word what she was about to say. "You're about to be my senior..."

Kyousuke was a little confused at what she meant by that, but he didn't feel like questioning her vague way of speaking. He smirked and decided to call her bluff, "Yeah? You should come over and celebrate!" There was an even longer pause from Kuroneko, with a sudden dial tone when she hung up. Kyousuke chuckled to himself, "I guess she doesn't like parties," and laid back down in his bed. His eyes felt heavy, despite it being midday, he closed them and dosed off for what felt like a few seconds when he heard the doorbell go off. As he made his way downstairs and reached for the door; he chuckled to himself and thought 'What if it actually was-' but his joke was suddenly brought to an end when he flung open the door and saw a short, black haired girl standing at the door.

Kuroneko stood staring at him with a blank face, "Sorry for the intrusion."

Kyousuke, shocked, stood frozen. He snapped back to reality and finally welcomed her in. "I-I guess you should make yourself at home." Kuroneko took a seat on the couch.

She looked around the living room and kitchen curiously, "It's just you?" Kyousuke nodded back to her as he walked into the kitchen, grabbed two drinks, and returned, offering one to Kuroneko. They both snapped their cans open and took a sip at the same time. The room fell silent, the two trading glances at each other. Kyousuke finally spoke up "Uhm... We could go to my room and play a game or-"

Kuroneko blankly stared at him. "You want to take me to your room? You want to do naughty things to me? I thought you had feelings for your sister..."

Kyousuke's face lit up with anger as he yelled "I DON'T HAVE ANY FEELINGS FOR HER!" Kuroneko smirked, something about teasing Kyousuke never ceased to amuse her. Her eyes seemed to pierce through him while she commented "You didn't deny wanting to do naughty things." Kyousuke could only bury his face into his palms and groan.

He convinced Kuroneko to come up to his room, but on the agreement that they only play Siscaly. Of course, Kuroneko being one of the top national players, completely destroyed Kyousuke in every match without breaking a sweat, or taking a scratch of damage. Her fingers moved with blinding speed, pressing each button quicker than Kyousuke's eyes could even register. Despite Kyousuke really having no desire to play the game, he was determined to contiously rematch Kuroneko, hoping he'd at least get one hit on her. Kuroneko giggled with each easy victory she got.

What felt like a short amount of time actually turned out to be several hours of gaming. Kyousuke looked at his clock and realized that his parents would be back at any moment. He quickly got up and flicked the game off, to Kuroneko's surprise, he looked for an excuse, "H-Hey, my parents wouldn't be too pleased to see that I've had someone over without them knowing, so..." Kuroneko got the hint and headed out the door. He let out a sigh of relief and knew that he had just barely dodged a bullet.

At dinner time, everyone sat together, as usual. Yoshino suddenly asked "What are you smiling about?" looking dead straight at Kyousuke.

He stammered for a moment, he couldn't possibly explain that he had a girl over. He just waved a hand and went with a simple "I'm just feeling good today, that's all."

Later that night, he laid in bed, something he could never get tired of doing, and thought about the time he spent with Kuroneko. He was surprised he had so much fun. He wondered what Kirino would think about the two getting along. He laughed and figured she probably wouldn't be too happy with it. He finally remember that he had her phone number, and with a few quick presses of the number pad, he had Kuroneko on the phone.

"We should hang out more often."

Chapter 3

For the past few days, Kuroneko had been calling Kyousuke with what seemed like pointless rambling, talking about her favorite anime, comming over to his house and playing Siscaly. By now it started to seem normal. Today seemed especially important, it was his first time going over to Kuroneko's house. She had called him last night and asked him to come over the next day, which seemed a little strange to Kyousuke, but he assumed she had her reasons. As Kyousuke headed towards the door he heard his mother call out to him, "Are you going to see your girlfriend?"

Kyousuke froze with his hand on the door, it suddenly occurred to him that the two had been hanging out a lot in recent days. He started to question their relationship in his mind, wondering if she had any feelings for him. He thought about dating Kuroneko, it didn't sound all that bad. He'd never be able to keep up with her otaku hobbies, but it was something he thought he could work arou- No, wait, what was he thinking?! He can't date his little sister's friend! Kirino would kill him! Why would Kuroneko even like him anyways? He was so caught up in thought that he forgot his mother was hounding him, he turned back around with a sigh and finally replied "She's not my girlfriend."

Yoshino shook her head and commented, "When will we meet her?"

Kyousuke ignored the statement and continued out the door. He took a few steps, thinking about the long, yet relaxing walk down there and felt a thump hit his chest. He looked down and realized he bumped into Kuroneko right outside of his house. "W-Wha?!" Kyousuke was taken aback.

Kuroneko stared at him puzzeled, "How would you know how to get to my house without me escorting you?"

Kyousuke thought for a moment, then realized he was a complete moron. "We could've met up somewhere and walked together..." Kyousuke suggested, but it was too late, the two were already walking together. The two walked in complete silence, side by side.

The ice was finally broken when Kuroneko stopped without warning and turned in front of Kyousuke, impeding his walk. She stared into Kyousuke's eyes with her pointed velvet eyes, her face entirely red. She took a step towards Kyousuke, her legs shaking, before Kyousuke could even question her, she quickly wrapped her arms around his torso, pressing her cheek against him. She looked up at him once again and whispered, "Thank you."

Kyousuke was a little more than confused, but he decided to go along with it. He returned the hug, which made Kuroneko's face light up even more, he smiled and asked, "What did I do?"

Kuroneko's eyes trailed down to her shoes, but she managed to reply, "Y-You've just been really nice to me. I appreciate it."

Kyousuke couldn't help but laugh slightly, "Well, Kirino isn't around, so-"

Kuroneko jerked back, letting go of Kyousuke, and giving him a death glare, "You're using me to replace Kirino?!"

Kyousuke couldn't help but sigh, placing his hand on top of Kuroneko's head, "You're not replacing her. I'm just saying; without her here, I've got a lot of spare time."

Kuroneko's eyes welled up a little, she wasn't sure what that meant, "I'm just a form of entertainment?"

Kyousuke moved his hands onto her tiny shoulders and gently shook her, "No! I'm saying I didn't have much time to hang out with anyone individually. You are an important friend to me now!"

Kuroneko sniffled and smiled meekly, she layed a hand on one of Kyousuke's, who started to remove his hands from her shoulders. Before he knew it, they were holding hands for a split second before she jolted her hand back. Kuroneko turned her back to Kyousuke and continued walking down the sidewalk, Kyousuke shook his head to himself and caught up to her.

They eventually made it to Kuroneko's house. She stopped in front of the house and froze for a moment. She looked over at Kyousuke shyly and asked, "Could you wait outside for a moment?" She quickly opened the door and disappeared into the house.

A short while later the door opened again, to reveal three figures emerging from the house. Kuroneko's sisters, Hinata and Tamaki, saw Kyousuke and just knew that they had to bombard him. Hinata, the second oldest, began with, "You're Ruri's boyfriend?" She turned to her older sister, "He's real?!"

Kyousuke was a little concerned over the fact that Kuroneko's sisters knew about her otaku ways, but he decided against mentioning it, "No. I'm just her friend. Kirino's big brother?"

Hinata smirked, "Oh, the bitch! Can I call you the bitch's brother?"

Kyousuke shook his head.

Tamaki hid behind Hinata a little, and meekly whimpered, "Big brother?"

Kuroneko stared at Kyousuke, the look in her eyes alone said 'Sis-con.' Kuroneko followed behind her sisters, gently pushing them with her hands, "Go. Play."

The two ran past Kyousuke, giggling. Kuroneko bowed to Kyousuke with an, "I apologize for my sisters' behavior."

Kyousuke grinned, scratching the back of his head, "It's fine. They weren't any trouble." Kuroneko opened the door and stood aside, letting Kyousuke walk in first. Upon entering the house, Kyousuke realized just how different Kuroneko's lifestyle was. Their house was a traditional Japanese style, unlike the modern apartment look of Kyousuke's.

Kuroneko immediately took to the kitchen commenting, "I'll make something for us."

Kyousuke, of course, had no reasons to object such a nice gesture. Within a few minutes, Kuroneko sat down two glasses of tea and two bowls of miso soup. While Kyousuke took his seat at the table, Kuroneko took a moment to take out her colored eye contacts, revealing her normal blue eyes. The two enjoyed the snack and chit-chatted with delight. Once the dishes were put away, Kuroneko returned to the table, looking at Kyousuke with concern in her eyes. She stammered a little, "K-Kyousuke... I..." she crawled around towards him.

Kyousuke jerked backwards, crawling a little away from her. "Kuroneko?! What are you trying to say?!"

She inched closer towards him, "I feel like we've been connected, but..."

Kyousuke, looking down at her with a blushing face, asked "But what?"

Kuroneko paused, she looked down towards the ground, "Kirino. You two... you're kind of..."

Kyousuke had to stop her right there "There is nothing going on between us!"

Kuroneko looked up at him, "I... I like you, but I don't think Kirino would like that."

Kyousuke shook his head, "Kirino isn't here, is she?"

Kuroneko brought herself back to sitting on her knees, right in front of Kyousuke. "But, do you like me?"

Time suddenly seemed to stop, Kyousuke had a million thoughts in his mind, he wasn't sure how to answer her. She was sweet and cute, but something felt wrong about being with her. Kyousuke sighed, "Give me some time to think about it?" Kuroneko was less than pleased with that answer, but she couldn't deny him.

The rest was of the day was wasted away with the two hanging out and chatting idly. Kuroneko's sisters came back into the house after a few hours of being bored, and kept poking fun at their sister and her "boyfriend." Before long, it was time for Kyousuke to head back home. Both the regular guy, and the otaku laid in their beds that night, ending the day with more questions than answers. Kuroneko felt a pit in her stomach, she hated the fact that she confessed to him so easily, but she knew that Kyousuke was too dense to figure it out on his own, too. Overall, she was pleased that Kyousuke didn't reject her at first.

Kyousuke, however, came away with more anxiety than the confesser. He had recieved a confession, from Kuroneko of all people! It would take a lot of thinking just to be able to understand how to properly feel about it.

Chapter 4

Three days passed. Kyousuke and Kuroneko haven't talked to each other since the "day of the confession." Kyousuke laid in his bed, which was starting to become his favorite place to think and be. He couldn't make up his mind about Kuroneko, to date or not to date? It was a tricky situation, right? Sure, he kind of has feelings for her, but are they really compatible? The two were different in so many ways, but the phrase always was; 'Opposites attract.' With a sigh, Kyousuke slapped the palms of his hands onto his face, and fiercly rubbed his face, groaning the entire time (As if that would help him think).

He flipped out his phone and with the press of a button, dialed his childhood friend, Manami Tamura. As the phone rang, he realized he hadn't talked to her since Kirino left. They had some catching up to do...

Once Manami was caught up on the story, she chuckled, "Do you like Kuroneko?"

Kyousuke had to stop and think... "Yes? No? Maybe. I don't know."

Manami got a bright idea, which she got a little excited about, "You should go on a first date with her!"

Kyousuke wasn't sure how that would help at all. "Uhm... What?" He couldn't help but question her.

"If you go on a first date," Manami explained, "It'll give you a chance to see how you really feel about her!"

Kyousuke thought for a moment. He knew it sounded like a great idea, but wouldn't a first date mean that they'd be boyfriend and girlfriend? He nodded "Yeah, I'll call her and see. Thanks, Manami." The two hung up and Kyousuke rang Kuroneko.

"Yes?" Kuroneko answered, trying to retain her nearly bursting excitement.

Kyousuke stammered, he wasn't sure how to bring the topic up, until he accidentally blurted out "So, our first date..." which brought up the topic quite nicely, albeit abruptly. "Uh... Is there anywhere you'd like to-"

"Akihabara." Kuroneko interrupted.

"EEH?! Akihabara?!" Kyousuke couldn't help but scream, "I'm not an otaku like you!"

Kuroneko grinned on her line, "Great. We'll meet at..."

After the call, Kyousuke flopped back onto his bed. He was anxious about the date tomorrow, and even more anxious about the meeting place. He ended up staying up half of the night just worrying before he finally passed out from lack of sleep.

Kyousuke stood tall in Akihabara. Despite it being a Thursday, the district was jam packed with people. He wandered around a bit, narrowly avoiding the crowds, until he found the building. He wasn't sure if Kuroneko was already there or not, so he decided that walking in was his best bet. Upon opening the door, which rang a bell, he heard a female voice ring out "Welcome, master!" He realized he'd never get used to being called 'master.' Kuroneko's idea for a date was a maid cafe, the favorite cafe of Kirino, Kuroneko, and Saori, another otaku friend. Kyousuke asked the overly excited maid "Is there a Kuroneko, or Ruri Gokou here?"

The maid pointed over to a table, which the short lolita was sitting at, then smiled and bowed to him. Kyousuke took a seat with Kuroneko, who was already grinning from ear to ear. They ordered their drinks and idly chit chatted. It was really peaceful and quiet, despite the occasional "Master" and "Mistress" that could be heard around the cafe. Kyousuke couldn't help but wonder, he asked Kuroneko "Why did you bring us here?" She chuckled, and replied "I have an idea." Their drinks came around and Kuroneko took a quick sip of her's.

"We have a place to go to after this" Kuroneko commented. Once they had finished their respective drinks, and talked for what felt like forever, they were ready to head out to the next stop. They found themselves in front of AniMate, the anime store. Kuroneko stepped through the door without hesitation, but Kyousuke took enough time to look through the window and think about what he was doing with his life.

Kuroneko went straight for an anime boxset, grabbing it straight out of the rack and smiled at Kyousuke. "I'm buying this." she turned the boxset around to reveal it to be Maschera, her favorite anime.

Kyousuke cocked his head, "Don't you already have that?"

She nodded and murmured "I'm buying this for you. You're going to watch it, and keep it as a gift from me. Plus Kirino will hate the fact that you have my favorite anime."

Kyousuke sighed, but he couldn't reject her offer. She handed over her Yen to the clerk and purchased the boxset, and with that, the two were done shopping. They walked up and down the sidewalks for hours just windowshopping and talking idly. Kyousuke enjoyed every moment of it, to his surprise. Before long, it was turning dark, and the two realized that they'd been out far too long, so they parted ways. "We'll have to plan another date soon." Kyousuke cheerfully suggested. Kuroneko nodded in agreement.

Kyousuke entered the house, calling out "I'm home~" as usual.

His mother swung around from the kitchen and teased Kyousuke yet again, "When are we meeting her?"

Kyousuke finally came out and admitted, "If you want to meet her, I'll have her come by tomorrow." He grinned, knowing it'd be the perfect chance to watch Maschera with her.

Later that night, he called Kuroneko and offered his idea for tomorrow, with which Kuroneko couldn't disagree with. With another date planned, he laid in bed once again, and thought to himself 'Maybe being with Kuroneko won't be too bad.' He was very happy, and actually excited to see where the relationship would go.

Chapter 5

Ruri Gokou woke up early on this bright, sunny, and almost cheerful feeling Friday morning. Eight in the morning to be exact. It was a special day for her, not because it was a Friday, and Friday's are usually special for students, but because it was going to be her second date with Kyousuke. He was supposed to come over to walk her to his house, where she would meet his parents, and the two would watch her favorite anime together.

Nothing sounded more perfect.

She sprung out of bed, quickly putting her regular "Kuroneko" attire on, carefully inserting her colored contacts, and brushing her hair, then she rushed into the living room, when she saw her sisters and realized she needed to act calm and collected. She paused in front of them for a moment, "You're both up already?"

They nooded with bright eyes. She was glad her parents would be home so she could go out and not have to worry about her sisters. "I'll make some breakfast."

The sisters smiled and exclaimed, "Okay!" together. The smell of her cooking awakened her parents, who came down with sleep still in their eyes, but nevertheless happy to see breakfast already made. Everyone sat together at the table, they all smiled and ate their meal, the two younger sisters chit-chatting between each other, the two parents quietly enjoying their food, and Kuroneko trying her best to contain her excitement about her date.

Kuroneko got a sudden shock when her mother chimmed in with a quick, "So, where are you going again, Ruri?"

Hinata's mouth twisted into a grin as she called out, "She's going on a date with the bitch's brother!"

Her mother gave her a sharp glare over her profanity while Tamaki giggled at her sister's wit.

Kuroneko stared a hole through her plate, scratching her chopsticks against it, "I-I'm going out... to a friend's house. That's all."

Her father cut in, "Kirino's house?"

Kuroneko silently nodded her head, avoiding eye contact with her father. It wasn't entirely a lie, Kirino does live there, and she is Kuroneko's friend, but Kuroneko isn't specifically going to see Kirino, considering she's not even there. After everyone had finished their breakfast, Kuroneko volunteered to clean up, while Tamaki watched Stardust Witch Meruru on the TV.

Before long, there was a knock at the door and Kuroneko's heart skipped a beat. Hinata's heart, however, didn't and she answered the door with blinding speed.

Kyousuke stood, looking down at Hinata, a little confused, he smiled and asked, "W-Where's Kuron- uh, Ruri?"

Hinata turned and pointed to the kitchen, where Kuroneko was cleaning the dishes. Kyousuke took a step inside the door and Kuroneko called out, "I'll be there in a second! Make yourself at home."

Kyousuke noticed Stardust Witch Meruru on the TV and grinned, with a bit of disgust in his mind. "That's my sister's favorite anime." he mentioned towards Tamaki. She smiled and replied, "It's my favorite, too!"

Kuroneko finished up the dishes and was ready to head out the door when Tamaki stopped her by rushing her down and hugging her. She looked up at her big sister and whimpered "Bye. H-Have fun with Kyousuke." Kuroneko's face quickly changed to red. She patted Tamaki on the head, brushing her hair gently "Don't worry. You just have fun here." With that, Tamaki went back to watching her show and Kyousuke and Kuroneko headed out the door.

They walked down the sidewalk in silence, until Kyousuke blurted out, "About my folks..." he paused, "They're not... normal." He was at a loss for words. "They cherish Kirino, and tend to overlook me. My mom, while kind, likes to tease a lot, and my dad... well, he's really strict. He was raised in the serious buisnessman style of life, so he's kind of like that."

Kuroneko shrugged it off, "It'll be fine." she said in her regular flat voice. The two arrived at Kyosuke's house, he paused with his hand on the doorknob. He was more than a little anxious to have Kuroneko meet his parents.

Kuroneko stared with a quizzical look at Kyousuke's hand on the doorknob, then looking back at him. "Are you getting second thoughts?" Kuroneko teased him.

He sighed, "Not at all." then flung the door open, and let Kuroneko walk in first. She walked in, taking her shoes off at the door, putting on the guest shoes, and turned the corner to see a huge surprise.

Kyousuke turned right behind her and immediately froze when he saw streamers hanging from the walls and ceiling, and a large banner on the wall that read "WELCOME KYOUSUKE'S GIRLFRIEND!" in big rainbow colored letters. Kyousuke stumbled on his words "Y'know, you could just come back and meet them some other day..."

Underneath the banner, in his usual "head of the house" chair, sat Kyousuke's father wearing a party hat, staring straight through Kyousuke and Kuroneko. His mother was nowhere to be seen, yet. Kyousuke turned and started towards the door in embarassment, until his mother popped out from hiding under the kitchen cabinets. She walked around behind Kyousuke's father, and disappeared behind the chair. She popped back up holding a cake, with poorly drawn stick figures of a boy and girl holding hands in icing.

Kyousuke klonked his head against the wall and wondered to himself 'Is this what a normal life is?'

Kuroneko turned to Kyousuke and whispered "I thought you said your parents weren't normal, not 'My parents are cripplingly insane!'"
Kyousuke began hoping that everything he saw in front of him was just a dream, no, an eternal nightmare. Kyousuke's mother burst out into laughter, his father even cracked a smile. "Did you see the look on his face?!" She cried out in between fits of laughter.

Kyousuke couldn't help but scream "You put all this effort into one joke?!" He was a little scared to see what they could possibly do next. His mother wiped a tear away, while his father stood up and starting inspecting Kuroneko.

"She's small... How old is she?" He bluntly asked.

Kuroneko eyed Kyousuke while she replied "15."

Daisuke turned to Kyousuke and glared, "You're dating a younger girl?"

Kyousuke stammered, looking for a good comeback, "It's not about age, is it?"

Kyousuke's mother came around and handed out slices of cake. Kuroneko got the stick figure girl, while Kyousuke got the stick figure boy... Of course. Everybody sat down at the table and enjoyed their cake. Kyousuke watched Daisuke, as he was watching Kuroneko most of the time.

Yoshino called out "Why don't you tell us about her?" as she smiled.

Kyousuke thought for a moment, "Well, her name is Ruri Gokou. As mentioned earlier, she's 15, and she likes to go by the name of Kuroneko."

Daisuke questioned "Black cat?"

Kuroneko nodded without a response.

Kyousuke continued "She's a good friend of Kirino, and she has similar interests and hobbies-"

Daisuke stopped him again, "An otaku? You, of all people, are dating an otaku? That explains what she's wearing!"

Yoshino calmed down Daisuke with a simple "He's almost an adult, he's free to date whomever he pleases." Daisuke glared at Kyousuke before muttering to himself and finishing off his cake.

Once the cake was finished, Daisuke and Yoshino left to let Kyousuke and Kuroneko continue their date, but not without a strict "Stay out of your room." from Daisuke.

Kyousuke finally felt like he could breathe easy again, and they began watching Maschera on the living room TV. Kuroneko suddenly leaned over and pecked Kyousuke on the cheek. "You weren't wrong about your parents."

The rest of the day went smoothly, with Kyousuke being a little bored of the anime, and Kuroneko happily commentating as the action went on. As they quickly went through the box set, and the daylight vanished, the two had began to run out of topics for conversation. As Daisuke and Yoshino returned home, the anime ended, and Kuroneko got ready to head home. She quickly hugged him and the two parted ways yet again. Later that night, Kyousuke could still hear the sounds of Maschera ringing through his head, along with the smack of the small kiss Kuroneko gave him. Overall, it wasn't a bad experience.

Chapter 6

Kyousuke sat on the couch, peering at the front door, waiting with barely hidden excitement. His eyes quickly shifted down towards his phone in hand, looking at the time; 12 PM. He sighed, and slumped back into the couch, when the door flung open and a girl's voice rang throughout the house, "I'M HOME!" Kirino stepped through the threshold, dropping some luggage on the ground.

Kyousuke stood up, with a slight smile, while his parents came rushing from upstairs.

Kirino leaped towards her parents, squashing them with a hug and giggling. "Let me tell you all about America," she started the story, as she released her parents and walked towards Kyousuke, "I got all kinds of fancy clothes and-" She stopped to look at Kyousuke's face. She blushed a little and wrapped her arms around her brother's torso quickly. Kyousuke was shocked, and scrambled to wrap his arms around her, too.

"I missed you..." Kirino muttered, "There was hardly any eroge games in America."

Kyousuke sighed, but continued hugging his little sister. "Since when did you become so cute?" Kyousuke stammered.

Kirino's head jerked violently up towards Kyousuke's face. Before Kyousuke could say anything to defend himself, he was headbutted by Kirino's bright orange hair.

Kyousuke jerked upwards in his bed, waking up. What a weird dream, He thought to himself. He reached around for his phone, flipping it open and looked at the time; 8 AM. He groggily rolled over onto his right side and huffed, staring at the wall between his and Kirino's room.

It took him a few minutes of thinking about Kirino to remind him that he had her cell phone number in his phone. He flipped the phone out once again and dialed her number. As the phone rang, all he could think about was his secret crush he had on her since childhood. The phone picked up, and Kirino's voice boomed from the other end. "What do you want?" Her voice harshly jabbed Kyousuke's ears.

"Uh, I just wanted to check up on-"

Kirino quickly interrupted, "I told you before! DO. NOT. CALL. ME. UNLESS IT'S IMPORTANT!"

Kyousuke stammered, "What if this is important?" He smirked.

Kirino's voice picked up louder, "Then what is it?!"

Kyousuke was at a loss for words, he sat in silence for a good minute while Kirino grew impatient. Before Kyousuke could think of anything decent to say, the line went dead. Kyousuke sighed, gloomily tossing the phone back onto his bed. Landing with a thump, Kyousuke did the same as he flopped back into his bed. He rolled over onto his side and fell back asleep.

Kyousuke's eyes slowly opened back up to see Kuroneko leering at him from above. "Ah! What the-?!" He rolled back over, hitting his back against the wall with a thump.

Kuroneko peered down at him, grinning. "Wake up you lazy bum." she snickered.

Kyousuke stammered for words, "Wha- How'd you get in?"

Kuroneko smiled, "Your parents let me in." She slowly crept over towards Kyousuke's desk, sitting down in front of it. Kirino had allowed Kyousuke to borrow her laptop while she was away in America, which sat happily on his desk, and was mainly used by the couple to play Siscaly. Kuroneko sat, crossed legged, staring at Kyousuke expectantly.

Kyousuke groggily rose out of bed and muttered towards Kuroneko, "Hey, today's not really a good day, y'know?"

Kuroneko slumped, "What's wrong?"

Kyousuke stood up, walked in silence towards Kuroneko, and patted her head gently. "I'm just feeling a little under the weather." He smiled, "I've been thinking a lot recently."

It had been two months since Kirino left, and all could he could think about was how much he missed being there as a big brother for her. Kuroneko had been coming in every day and playing games with Kyousuke, but it still wasn't enough to take his mind off of missing Kirino. Kuroneko's head tilted towards the floor, Kyousuke could tell that she was bummed out. "H-Hey. Tomorrow? We can hang out tomorrow." Kyousuke grinned.

Kuroneko sulked more, "You've been different for a while." Her head peered towards him, "You seem like you've been upset." Kyousuke reached a hand out towards Kuroneko, laying it on her head, and petting her softly. She closed her eyes, admitting to enjoying the treatment.

As Kuroneko left, Kyousuke's head began to drown in questions and thoughts. He reached for his phone yet again.

Kyousuke sat in the nearby park's bench. An elbow resting on his knee, which also held his head. He felt slightly dozy, but he forced himself to stay awake as he waited. Before long, Manami could be seen by Kyousuke from across the park, walking bright and happily towards the bench that housed Kyousuke. He grinned, Manami reminded him of a puppy, always happy to see and please it's master. Manami, almost skipping with joy, came to a stop at the bench, softly sitting down, and staring at Kyousuke with wide eyes. Kyousuke sighed, he began to explain the situation, how he enjoys being with Kuroneko, but can't decide how he feels about Kirino.

Manami gasped in shock, "YOU WHAT?! YOU LIKE YOUR SISTER, KIRINO?!"

Kyousuke's eyes shrunk, he quickly put the palm of his hand over Manami's face, "I THINK THEY HEARD YOU IN AMERICA!"

Manami backed out of Kyousuke's grasp and took a deep breath, It was such a shocking thing to hear, especially for a girl such a herself. "But... Kuroneko..." She mumbled.

Kyousuke sighed. He knew it must have sounded awful. "I just don't know who I like more... I feel like I shouldn't lead on Kuroneko like this, but..."

Manami looked at Kyousuke with concern in her eyes.

"Who should I pick?" was all Kyousuke could muster out.

Chapter 7

Manami's eyes trailed down to the floor, "Well... Who do you like more?"

Kyousuke slumped back in the bench with a deep sigh. He gave the question a good milling in his head. "I've really enjoyed being with Kuroneko so far. Besides, I can't be with Kirino, right? She'd never do something like that..."

Manami smiled halfheartedly, "Go for it."

Kyousuke laid in bed that night, thinking hard about Manami's advice. He knows it would be wrong to be in love with his sister. As he reached for his cell phone once again, he thought to himself; This is the right thing. With a quick press of a few buttons he was calling Kuroneko.

"K-Kyousuke?" She stammered, surprised to get a call from him after what happened last time. Kyousuke let out a sight of relief

"Is everything alright?" Kuroneko questioned.

Kyousuke nodded his head, despite being on the phone. "Yeah." Kuroneko wasn't convinced by Kyousuke's words, but before she could say anything Kyousuke continued, "Do you want to meet up tomorrow, at the park?"

"Of course." Kuroneko replied, "When did you have in mind?"

Kyousuke shrugged, "Around noon, I guess."

Once Kuroneko agreed, the two said their goodbyes and anxiously returned to their homes. They were both a bit excited for the next day together.

As Kyousuke walked into the center of the park, Kuroneko glanced over and saw him. He raised a hand up in a wave towards her while she blushed a bit.

"I want to apologize for what happened, I was a little out of it." Kyousuke flashed a grin in Kuroneko's direction, who only nodded.

Kuroneko's eyes drifted back towards Kyousuke's face, who quickly wrapped his arms tightly around her. As her face became shades of red previously unknown to man, she entangled her arms around Kyousuke's waist, pressing her face into his chest. Kyousuke smiled, "You know, I could really get used to this." Kuroneko slowly removed her face from Kyousuke's torso to look up at him with a curious stare. "I mean, I could get used to the relaxing days we have together. They're nice." He corrected himself.

Kuroneko grinned back at her companion and stood on the tip of her toes, removing her arms from Kyousuke's waist and moving them to lock around his neck. The two stared into one another's eyes for a moment before Kyousuke leaned his head down towards Kuroneko, who looked away in embarrassment for a moment before finally agreeing. The couple's lips met without a second of hesitation, a few of the park-goers ogling the young pair. Neither of them wanted to break off the kiss, both fighting a battle of romantic endurance. The two released their grips around each other and trailed down to take the others' hands in their own. Kuroneko finally released Kyousuke's lips from the amorous prison in which they had been held captive, grinning from ear to ear. The two spent the rest of the day under the shade of a tree; with Kuroneko in Kyousuke's lap, no longer afraid to hide anything.

Chapter 8

Kyousuke woke up early, 7 AM to be exact. He couldn't escape the feeling that today was incredibly important. Despite the feeling, the day had an uneventful start; eating breakfast with the family in almost complete silence, and ending up sitting on the couch staring into the TV mindlessly. Even while staring into the TV, he couldn't shake the feeling that today was supposed to mean something. He watched as his parents both left the house, which he didn't bother to question, and watched again as Kuroneko entered the house, again not questioning a thing. A few months had passed, and by now Kuroneko was pretty much accepted by Kyousuke's family; allowing her to come and go almost as she pleased. Kuroneko joined Kyousuke in the act of sitting on the couch and idly staring into the TV.

Kyousuke's eyes glanced over at a nearby clock, and gasped out loud, which startled Kuroneko. "What?!" Kuroneko barely managed to ask.

"I just realized it was noon already." Kyousuke tried to play it off as a joke.

Kuroneko gave a blank stare towards him. "Isn't Kirino coming back home today?" Kuroneko cocked her head slightly, remembering her rival.

Kyousuke immediately shot up from the couch, "What?! Is she?!" He stammered around the house looking for a calendar, searching through the pages with an index finger and stopping on the current date. SHE IS?!

"Did you forget, Kyousuke?" Kuroneko smirked at her partner's foolishness.

Before Kyousuke could try to defend himself, the door swung open with the force of a rhino. "GUESS WHO!" A familiar girl's voice called into the idle house, which immediately stopped and turned into an angry tone, "What is THAT doing on the couch?!" It was indeed Kirino, and Kyousuke knew he was screwed, since she already saw Kuroneko.

"I stole your big brother." Kuroneko snickered towards Kirino. Kirino's head immediately whipped towards Kyousuke, "What is the black thing saying?"

Kyousuke shrugged a shoulder and muttered something under his breath.

"What was that?!" Kirino demanded.

"I SAID WE'RE DATING!" Kyousuke finally let out.

Kirino, shocked, took a step back in silence. "You can't date HER!" Kirino tried to reprimand her brother.

Before Kyousuke could ask why, their parents stepped through the door. "Oh, your girlfriend's here? Why don't we all have lunch together?" Kyousuke and Kirino's mother happily suggested.

Kirino, Kyousuke, their parents, and Kuroneko all piled around the table, eating in silence. Kirino occasionally glared at Kuroneko, who would stare back with a blank expression. Kyousuke finally spoke up, "So, how was your trip, Kirino?"

Kirino beamed at the opportunity to get into something she could talk about at length. "The flights back and forth were crazy! Did you know you can't have more than 3.4 ounces of certain things? Like peanut butter!"

Kuroneko smirked at Kirino's remark, "Did you try and sneak peanut butter onto the plane? Were you planning on ruining the peanut butter economy?"

Kyousuke stepped in, "There's a peanut butter economy?"
Kirino glared at the two and was furious at their comments, but held back her angry remarks. The five of them enjoyed their food in peace... mostly.

Chapter 9

It was a chilly night, Kyousuke laid in his bed, unable to sleep. He wrapped his blanket around his body as if he were a burrito. Kyousuke, however, couldn't get the day off of his mind.

After dinner with the family, Kirino began to hammer Kyousuke and Kuroneko with reprimanded words. "I can't believe you're dating that thing!" Kirino growled.

Kuroneko hissed back, "You're upset that I stole Kyousuke from you?"

This was about to become one ugly catfight.

Kirino's face was a deep color of red, growing more and more angry with each insult that was tossed around. Kyousuke was sure this wasn't as friendly as an argument over anime.

Kyousuke thought he heard something bump in his room, but paid no mind to it. He closed his eyes, trying not to think about the ugly day he had. However, Kirino had other plans, as she was now on top of Kyousuke and slapped him from his slumber.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Kyousuke couldn't help but scream, but Kirino put a hand over his mouth with blinding speed. She put a finger up to her lips to signal silence. Kyousuke glared at Kirino, he'd stick his tongue out and lick the palm of Kirino's hand, who immediately retracted her hand in disgust, "EW! What are you doing?!" Kirino demanded.

Kyousuke was befuddled, "What am I doing? You're the one in my room at..." He'd look at the clock on his desk, "One in the morning!"

Kirino sighed, wiping her wet hand on Kyousuke's leg. "Do you love her?" was only thing she muttered after several moments of silence.

"What?" Kyousuke was yet again confused, "Who?"

Kirino barked, "Don't play dumb! Kuroneko! Do you love her?!"

"Oh."