My Youth Capriccio

by Starlight Naruru

Naruto Namikaze is a normal fifteen-year-old high school student. He has a distant relationship with his sister Naruko, who always treats him rudely. One Day in Spring, he encounters a foreign girl playing the piano on one of his travels to a junkyard and helps her in many ways as he discover that her name is Weiss Schnee.

4. The Trouble Sister

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One night had passed since that offline meeting, today, after school, I was walking home, side by side with Karin.

"Hey, lately I've been sleeping with this bear-shaped body pillow. It's reaaally comfortable."

"Mhm."

I continued to give half-hearted replies and generally ignoring the casual, and suddenly I heard a worried voice.

"… Naruto? Are you taking a break from studying today?"

"Nah, I was planning on going to the library with you as usual, but… why are you asking?"

Did she realize that I wasn't really listening? But, that's how I've always acted… and also, if she really was angry, then it would be pretty obvious and she would have blurted it out already. So… was it because it was bothersome to help me study three or four times a week, even though there wasn't a test anytime soon? No, I don't think that's right either… as I thought about these things suspiciously, Karin listlessly looked at the ground.

"Because… you've really just seemed tired ever since morning…"

"Ah, is it that?"

That's probably true. I mean, yesterday, my life was quite unexpectedly difficult, after all. I'm really mentally drained from that. Even after the meeting had disbanded, Naruko keep grumbling at me. That idiot was going on like "That was the worst! Today was such a terrible failure! Tch… and who exactly was it who came up with the idea to go to the offline meeting?" and so on… although, it's true that she was first excluded by the others at the offline meeting, and then got stuck in an endless argument with Kuroneko… but in the end, wasn't it fun?

What an insincere person, this girl. People might be tempted to think that she was being pretty cute. But keep in mind that for an hour and a half, from the seat next to me, all I was getting is rapid-fire complain from her.

Haah… For the umpteenth time today, I gave a heavy sigh. Lifting my shoulders, dejected, I spoke. "Well… lots of things have happened. And you're right, I'm not really in the mood for studying today. I'm really tired."

"Ah, I see… that's too bad… but if that's the case, I guess it can't be helped…" Karin assumed the same posture as me, looking dejected. Karin had always done this; when I'm in a good mood, she would laugh with me, but when I'm down, she would feel down right alongside me. Every single time, Karin goes through so much trouble for me. She's so good natured and has such a large amount of sympathy.

"Karin, Let's go all out and have fun today."

"Huh?" Looking quite shocked, Karin turned to face me. In the middle of her eyeglasses, I could see her eyes blinking in surprise.

"I said, let's go and have fun today. You don't want to?"

"N-No. I-I'm not against it." Karin shook her head.

"I see. Well, do you have somewhere you want to go? If you want, we can go as far as the next town over… should we go see a movie or something?"

"U-Uh…" Fidgeting with and readjusting her glasses, Karin was deep in thought.

Yes, please think about it carefully. Although I was trying to recall how much I had in my wallet, for this outing I was willing to spend it all. Also, it wasn't a bad idea to treat my always so helpful cousin to a fun day out once in a while.

"A-Anywhere is fine?"

"Yeah. Anywhere."

"Okay then, I won't hold back in that case."

With a loose smile, Karin proposed the following.

"I want to go to the park in the center of town."

"… You didn't even hesitate for a second, and picked the absolutely plainest option, didn't you? Did you really need to ask 'Anywhere is fine?' before giving that answer?" I had really wanted to treat her to something, so I said something rather selfish…

"H-Huh? Why are you getting angry? Didn't you say that we could go anywhere?" Karin continued on with a sour expression.

Yeah, I guess I did say that, but… geez, she couldn't be any more different from those three otaku from yesterday, could she? If I had made the same offer to those three yesterday, they would have definitely emptied my pockets.

"Well, fine. But at least let me treat you to a drink or something."

"Ah, thanks… then, I'd like some tea. Hot tea please."

"Yeah yeah, the usual, right?"

Seriously… she doesn't spend a lot of money, does she? How could she possibly smile so happily at something that just costs 220 yen? So, after walking for a little over fifteen minutes, we came to the central park in the town next to ours. It was a rather well-known park, at least according to the tourist's map, and it was definitely very spacious.

It felt like a restful place, with its water fountains, benches, ponds, bridges, and rose gardens. There was also the attraction of a charming museum in a Western-style house. The grounds were surrounded by a tree-lined walking path, often used by families and the elderly. During spring, the sakura blossoms would go into full bloom, and this area became a must-visit flower viewing spot.

"Here you go, as always."

"Thanks. Itadakimasu."

Rustle. I took out a bottle of hot green tea I had bought from the convenience store, and handed it over after opening the cap. Sitting on a bench, Karin took the piping hot tea and wrapped it in a handkerchief, holding it carefully. Draining half my tea, looking to my side, I noticed that Karin had not budged.

"Something wrong? It's not hot enough to burn you."

"Huh? Hehee… it's nothing."

Karin hugged the tea to her chest, and for some reason began to smile. I don't understand at all. Drinking another sip of my tea, I exhaled with a haaah. The tea hit the spot. I could feel myself being warmed to the core.

"Mm… I mean… it's nice, isn't it? Being like this… it'd be nice if things could stay like this forever."

"… However you look at it, you're thinking a bit too hard, aren't you? You must have been a bonsai in your past life."

"That would still be fine, if I could still help you, Naruto."

After that, for a little wile, we basked in the sun while making small talk. Just by being by my side, Karin always made me feel like I was relaxing on the porch of a quiet rural house.

"Ahh… I'm getting sleepy…"

It did seem nice to take a midday nap here. Although, it would be nice if I had a pillow… and just as I thought that, I felt a poke on my shoulder.

"Na-Naruto?"

"… Hm? What?"

As I turned my sleepy eyes to Karin, for some reason she had spread her arms out wide. With a nervous expression and flushed cheeks, Karin whispered.

"G-Go ahead."

I had no idea what she wanted me to do, so I inclined my neck suspiciously. And then, I caught sight of a certain something over Karin's shoulder.

Huh? Could that be… without thinking, I slid towards Karin and stared.

"… Naruto."

"Ah, sorry. So, what was it?"

When my gaze returned to Karin, I found her staring at me intently with upturned eyes. W-What is this silent pressure coming from Karin? She seemed a bit angry, and her face all the way to her ears was red… and also… "…Are your glasses fogging over?"

"Ugh… Naruto, you idiot…" She quickly turned the other way.

I blinked in surprise. "…why are you angry? That's unusual for you."

"Hmph. You're just thickheaded." As she huffed in anger, she briskly wiped her glasses. She put her glasses back on, and asked another questions. "…But also, what exactly were you looking at?"

"Ah, look, this here."

Karin turned in the direction I was pointing. There was a small plaza there, in which kids often played soccer or grass-lot baseball. At the moment, there were two wagons stopped there.

"Over there… what exactly are they doing there? A shoot for a TV drama or something?"

"Probably. But I don't think it's a TV drama. See, that's not a video camera, right? That was a flash, wasn't it… ah, they're taking photos."

In the spirit of curiosity, we approached the wagons. From the walkway, we looked at the grassy plaza. Several employees were working, adjusting what looked to be lighting equipment, talking with girls who were probably the models.

"A fashion magazine photo shoot… right?"

"Do you read those a lot?"

"Ahaha… not often. When I'm buying clothes, I usually just ask the store employees for advice."

As I thought. Well, in any case, I also agreed that it probably was a fashion magazine photo shoot.

It seemed they were taking photos with an evening background. The stylish girls were striking various poses, as they were bathed in the flashes from the cameras. It wasn't as simple as smiling for the camera and doing a simple pose. An atmosphere of strictness floated about the place.

I might be stating the obvious, but models don't have easy jobs at all. There were only two who were having their photos taken, but there were also a number of girls who were obviously models waiting on standby to the side.

"Whoa… look look Naruto That girl is really cute~"

"Ah, you're right. She's cute."

"Hm? That was a pretty unenergetic response."

"Hey, that blond-haired girl… isn't that Naruko?!"

"Eehhh?!"

Karin and I were taken aback with surprise.

Karin, who knew nothing about Naruko's side job, was especially shocked. Blinking rapidly, she turned to Naruko, she looked back and forth from Naruko to me.

"I can't believe she a model, I know she's cute and beatiful, but … Naruto you know this?"

"… Ah, well, I didn't know it either. Probably "

"What do you mean probably?"

"I mean, I was surprised too…"

She had told me before… that she was working as a model or something… I didn't have any reason to think she was lying, but I guess it never really hit home. That is, until now, with her right in front of me. So she was telling the truth.

I took another long hard look at the blond haired model. She was sitting in the chair, and seemed to be in a meeting with one of the staff members.

She's mixing with the adults so easily, and is so focused on doing her job. Somehow or other, I had to revise my opinion of her now. I've been underestimating her. Making light of her. When she told me she was a "model," I thought it was something like some teenage girls playing around. I had an image in my mind of them being flattered by the photographer, getting excited, and having their pictures taken.

But… the Naruko in front of me now was engrossed in deep conversation while staring at the model getting her picture taken with the most serious expression I've ever seen. At the same time, someone was quickly straightening out the imperfections in her outfit, and fussing about her hair… although, the atmosphere around the model who was being bathed in camera flashes was much more lively. Naruko was probably waiting for her turn, so the air around her was more tense.

"Heh… It's pretty amazing, isn't it?"

"… Yeah, pretty amazing."

I had thought that the photo shoots would take place in a more showy location where they would be playing around carelessly. It wasn't like that at all. Although, with such a cursory glance, I really couldn't say anything with confidence. But certainly, they were earning not a small amount of money for getting their pictures taken. So it couldn't have been as easy-going as I had imagined.

"… It's really amazing… it's as if they live in a completely different world…"

"Yeah." Even if you didn't say that to me, I understood all too well. She was an extraordinary person, living in a world completely separate from us normal people. Although, I had momentarily forgotten about this since we had just gone out together the other day.

"You know Naruto, sometimes I really envy Naruko. Even though we are related, I can't compete with her at all. From as far as I can remember, she's always had those good looks. compare to me I just average girl."

"You really shouldn't talk like that. Betwen me, Naruko, and Menma, you're the one with the best brain."

"But that the only thing I good at it…"

"Don't compare yourself with her, okay. You're Karin not Naruko."

"… Thank you, Naruto. You very kind."

(◕ω◕✿)

A few days later during homeroom in the early morning, when our homeroom teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka (age 29 turning 30 in two months time, single) brought that girl into the classroom, the atmosphere of the class froze in an instant.

I didn't notice the change in the atmosphere due to me snoozing while listening to my discman. It was only after Karin, who was sitting in front to me, turned around and prodded my shoulder, that I hurriedly removed my earphones. Regardless of whether it is homeroom or not, the classroom will always be filled with chatter in the early morning. However, I could only hear a few of my classmates whispering at the time.

"Hey, she is…"

"Yup, should be."

"Weiss Schnee."

"Eh~? The very person? Didn't they say that her whereabouts are unknown?"

I took a look at the lecture stand, and my discman nearly fell onto the ground. The girl on the stand tied her long snow-white hair in side ponytail style. Since it was the same exact hairstyle as that in the advertisements, everyone recognized her instantly. It was indeed Weiss Schnee herself. She was wearing our school uniform, but it felt like someone was playing a joke on us. What's with this?

I didn't catch what Hiratsuka Sensei had said, and for a moment I couldn't understand the fact that she was transferring into our school.

"Let us have Miss Schnee do an introduction of herself." She said that leisurely, and passed the chalk to her.

Weiss pinched the chalk with only her thumb and index finger. After staring at it uneasily for some time with her face turning pale, she spun around to face the blackboard. Just then, the chalk slipped from her long slender fingers, and the unexpectedly sharp breaking sound broke the silence of the classroom.

An asphyxiating silence followed. All Weiss did was motionlessly stare at the shattered chalk. Hiratsuka sensei was just stroking her hair slowly, but even for us students who had just been in school for a months, we all knew that action was a sign that our teacher was uncertain of what was happening.

"Well…" She barely made a sound, and after picking up the chalk which was broken in half, she handed it to Weiss. However, as Weiss took the chalk, her fingers were already trembling in full sight for all to see. At last, Weiss looked at the floor and shook her head. She placed the chalk into the chalk-holder.

"I don't want to write my name." Just as she said that, it felt like the air of the classroom was electrified. Wait, what exactly is this french lass saying?

"It's just a name, so that should be fine, right?" Hiratsuka sensei said. She was speaking slowly and in a low tone, but she was obviously at a loss of what to do since her hands were moving about next to her thighs.

"I don't want to."

"Why?"

"I don't like my family's name."

Weiss's words had an effect similar to pouring liquid air into the already frozen classroom. I noticed Weiss's expression as she bit into her lower lips. It was the same as that day, the day when we first met, the expression she had when we parted. But of course, I didn't say a word. The one to save the day was Chiaki sitting at the next of me.

"It doesn't matter, Hiratsuka Sensei. We all know her name already."

"Yeah. Her name's Weiss Schnee, right?"

"Yup~"

The atmosphere of the class became really strange. Whispers like "She's that pianist" and "I've seen her on TV", were going off one after another. I noticed that Weiss's slender limbs were trembling slightly due to the reaction of our classmates. I was perhaps the only one to notice the signs of danger.

"Ah, if so…" Hiratsuka sensei looked at Weiss, and said calmly, "Weiss, do you have anything to say to your classmates?"

A girl suddenly raised her hands and asked, "May I know when you'll be releasing your next album?"

That question spearheaded the onslaught of questions.

"Didn't you say you would be studying at the College of Music?"

"There isn't any new advertisement with you in it. Why is that?" Some of the guys who were still confused about the situation asked, "What advertisement?" Weiss answered

"It's that insurance ad. You mean you don't know?"

"Ah, that ad. I do."

"Hmm? Really?"

The classroom suddenly became noisy.

Weiss was looking at the ceiling with a stern face, and it was then when she suddenly spoke with a sharp, ringing voice, "Please forget everything."

The silence that engulfed the classroom was like the frozen surface of a lake. Weiss's strained voice continued to reverberate in the classroom just like back then.

"… I'll be gone in November, so please forget me."

Not one person spoke after hearing Weiss say that, nor did anyone know what should be said. The thing that saved us from being at a loss of what to do, was the bell that signified the end of homeroom.

"Okay then… Weiss, please take a seat over there." Hiratsuka sensei pointed to the back of the classroom. As I came back to my senses, I realized that there was an unoccupied seat to my left.

"The class representative is Uzumaki-san, so feel free to clarify with her about any doubts that you may have." Hiratsuka sensei then clipped the attendance records and the already bundled lecture notes under her arms, and briskly walked out of the classroom.

Weiss took a gulp, and regulated her breathing slightly. She then surveyed the classroom once with a hostile and wary stare, before quietly stepping down from the lecture stand. The classroom was dead silent. Everyone stared at her every movement as she walked down the aisle between the desks.

Could it be that Weiss would disappear in an instant should the stares stop for a brief moment? Nah, that sounds so incredibly stupid, it's impossible, but I still joined in anyway. It was perhaps due to all the staring, but Weiss was deliberately hiding her face as she passed by my seat. The sound of footsteps suddenly stopped next to me.

"Ah!" She noticed. Weiss pointed her slightly shaking finger at me, and shouted in shock, "W-W-Why are you here?"

I hugged my head with my arms, and laid on the table. I realized that everyone in class had their eyes set on me. Give me a break.

"What? You two know each other?" Karin looked at Weiss, and then at me.

I repeatedly shook my head, as though I wanted to wipe the table clean with my forehead. "No no no, I don't know her. She must have gotten the wrong person."

But Weiss said, "Why are you lying!?"

"You're the one who wanted me to forget you, right?"

"See, you remember! I've asked you to forget me!"

Aaaaaaaaahhhh… I don't know anymore.

"Mmm, that's why I'm telling you, I've forgotten everything already. Who are you again?"

"Liar!"

I guess our conversation must have sounded really retarded. The discussions between our classmates were getting louder and louder, while Chiaki and Karin curious stare was even more piercing.

Second period was olden literature which I hated the most, but at that very moment, the sight of that old hag language teacher was like a savior in my very eyes. Even if I factor in her unbelievably beautiful face and that celebrity status of hers, Weiss is the type of girl like my sister that I do not want to get close to willingly.

Ever since the day she transferred here, she would be surrounded by groups of curious girls and guys and was asked a lot of questions. But except for the occasional "Don't know" and "I do not wish to answer", she hardly answered any of the questions.

"Why did she transfer here at such a strange time?" During our lunch break, Chiaki looked at the group of people and softly asked, "Our school is just an ordinary high school, and she picked fine arts as her elective. So why?"

In our school, we have to pick either music, fine arts or calligraphy as our arts elective. Honestly speaking, it's rather strange for a pianist to not pick the field in which she's good at.

"Just ask the person in question and you'll get the answer."

Chiaki shook her hands and said, "I can't break past that human wall that's surrounding her."

She then took some of the stuff from my bento and ate them with huge bites. Recently, I've prepared more food in my bento, in anticipation of her grabbing a portion of it.

"Then again, when and where did you meet her?"

"In my dreams…"

"Naruto, you want to take a trip to the infirmary?"

"N-No. Man, it's tough to explain everything."

"There's still a long way to go before lunch break is over, so you can explain everything from the beginning."

Chiaki's eyes were giving off an unyielding look despite her smile. As I was trying to avoid the topic, she had already finished my bento as quicky as she could.

Weiss continued with her anti-social behavior during lessons without caring the least bit, she didn't take notes, and her textbooks frequently dropped onto the floor. There were some teachers that didn't give her any special treatment despite her being a transfer student, and immediately asked her to go up to the lecture stand, but she insisted on remaining at her seat by replying, "I don't want to." To be honest, I thought she was really cool, since I couldn't have done that even if I wanted to.

From what Chiaki told me, all she did during physical education was sit and look on from the sidelines. During lunch break of the second day after her transfer, it seemed like Weiss was finding the situation of being surrounded by the curious girls to be slightly unbearable, and had sought for my help quite a few times by looking at me pleadingly through the gaps of the human wall. Well, I can't help even if you want me to. Most of the questions asked by the girls were mundane things like, what sort of place the studio was like; which celebrities were at the broadcasting company, and if she had met any of them.

Just as I was about to pull out my chair and scoot away from that group of people, I heard someone slamming the table with a sudden bam. I turned my head over, and saw Weiss standing in the center of the group of girls, and pointing at me through a slit in the human wall.

She said with tears in her eyes, "Go ask that guy over there. That pervert owns all of my albums, and he should know a lot about me."

Weiss kicked the chair down, then ran past me and out of the classroom in a flash. Countless stares landed on me, and Takurou Serinuma one of my close friends was the first to speak, "What's the relationship between this pervert and Schnee?"

"Who the heck are you calling me a pervert!?"

"From the conversation you had with her, it sounded like you knew her beforehand."

"Yeah, so what."

Dammit that girl, she actually said something as irresponsible as that, just so she could run away from all of them…

"Naruto, Kushina oba-chan is music critic, right? She should know plenty of things about her. Could you ask a few questions when you get back home? Things like why Weiss chose to study at this school. Weiss refuses to say anything about herself." Karin said that to me.

I doubt my mother know things like that. You think the world of classical music is small? Though I was thinking of that, I just gave an ambiguous nod so as to escape from the scene.

(◕ω◕✿)

Another few days passed. Coming home from the school, I went into the living room and saw my mother, who seemed to have just come back from shopping. While putting things into the refrigerator, she hummed happily to herself and seemed to be in a good mood. Did something good happen?

Holding a wheat tea in one hand, I asked her. "Mom, why are you so happy? Do you need to go see a doctor or something?"

"Shut up, Naruto! It's not like I'm drunk or anything, it's just that, just now, the lady next door gave me a compliment. 'That child of yours is really impressive,' she said."

"Oh? My, I'm blushing. So… in this idle chatter, what exploits of mine was she praising?"

"Of course it wasn't about you."

Hmph! Well I knew that! But adding that "of course" to the beginning just really made me lose faith in her! Keh, she's just really looking for trouble down the line.

"Ahh… so it was Naruko…" I murmured while my face twitched in irritation, and my mother's face burst into a huge smile as if she were saying "I'm glad you asked!" I didn't really ask anything, though.

Yeah, yeah, well excuse me for being your good-for-nothing son. Please, go on about your pride and joy daughter.

"Yesterday during club activities, somehow or other she did amazingly well, and it seems she'll be participating in a big tournament later. The lady next door heard from her daughter."

"Oh? And what type of club is she in?"

"What? You don't know, even though you're her brother? She does track, you know, track… geez, you two seriously don't have a good relationship, do you…"

"Shut up."

Hey hey, give me a break… she has good looks. She excels at schoolwork. And now she's also a sports prodigy? Dammit, enough already. This stuff does exist only in manga, where there are characters that are just good at everything. But because this was reality I was really bothered by this all… well, I guess they did exist. This type of freak-like being.

"But, she has time to do club activities? Studying and playing with friends… doesn't she have to do a lot of other things?"

"Well, of course, she has to keep up with schoolwork and other things too. Otherwise, I really wouldn't approve it. You might not know, but she's also working as a magazine model."

"Mmm." Well, yeah, sure. It probably wasn't very easy to get that stubborn person to let her go off and do something flashy like being a model.

"She made a promise with me. Let her do whatever she wants, and she'd be sure to keep up with everything else."

"Ahh…" I responded in a vague way.

Mom grinned broadly. "And now… she's really pretty famous in the neighborhood. She's also so polite when she goes outside, and greets everyone properly… and also like me she has such beautiful looks, doesn't she?

"Huh?" I raised my eyebrows in complete disbelief, but mom continued on without paying me any heed. Well, certainly, they both know how to completely ignore other people when they're talking.

"She's also really popular with the elderly! She really makes me proud too! All the others are so envious of her."

"But isn't all that politeness just part of the agreement with you? Her motives aren't exactly pure, you know."

"Not pure? That doesn't really matter. Even if she didn't talk it would be the same, wouldn't it? Naruko would still be great — that wouldn't change."

She's being so blunt about it. Will she really be alright, my mother? But well, she did have her reasons. Naruko put a lot of time and effort into doing this in order to keep her freedom, and she managed to come out with great results. That at least I had to recognize. It's not like wanting to do something is the same as being able to properly do it. At the very least, it would have been impossible for me.

"Hmm…" Although lately, whenever people talk about Naruko it's always been "She's so great!" this and "She's great!" that. Do people not know any other words? Although it's possible I'm just speaking from prejudice.

Well, whatever. Honestly, it's not that amusing to hear my sister's praises at every turn. It makes me feel like my own shortcomings are being emphasized. This is sort of a shameful way of thinking about it, though.

As these complicated thoughts flew through my head, my mother said something unexpected. "Now that I think about it, lately that girl's been more lively than usual. Although, it's probably a change that only I've noticed."

"Oh?" As I raised my eyebrow, my mother said something crazy.

"It's… definitely a boy, isn't it!? Naruto, do you know anything about it?"

"A b-boy?"

"Yes, there's no mistaking it. She met a boy — that's why she's smiling so much now!"

That's not it. Do you really think there would be a boy that would go out with that? If there was, I'd give in and concede that he is a god. But my mother clearly didn't agree, so she excitedly investigated

"So, you don't know? Even a vague idea would be fine."

"Why would I know? I have a bad relationship with her, remember?" I answered as if it was obvious, and my mother stared with me with pursed lips.

"Seriously, Naruto, you're useless, aren't you? You really should try harder. Your sister is doing so well, so it's obviously not a problem with the genes."

"Tch. Unfortunately, mom, I guess those genes came from your side… I'll just have to go the straightforward way and keep studying."

At my sharp parting shot, I left the room. Putting my hand on the doorknob, I opened the door with a clang!

… Naruko has been more lively than usual, huh? Well, I do have a guess as to the reason.

Maybe… although it seems unbelievable. Being shown her surprising hobby, being complain by her at every step, being made to play an eroge, being taken along to the offline meeting, being dragged around Akiba… maybe the life counseling that I was forced to give seems to have had a bit of an effect on her.

(◕ω◕✿)

Couple days later, in the evening, I finally finished "Loving my Little Sister." Honestly, it was a troublesome, difficult ordeal to get through.

I mean, it wasn't as if it was boring. It was just that this game had already driven me insane a countless number of times. Already having a real little sister, I had to endure playing a little sister capture game like this, and somehow or other survived up to this point.

I did something pretty impressive, if I say so myself. No… seriously, I'm really, really happy… I'm seriously filled with emotion. Setting aside my impressions of the actual game, I feel an extraordinary sense of accomplishment. Why am I getting so excited over this? A warm feeling broke forth from inside my chest…

Yes! I did it! Happy happy! Horaay! I want to shout my triumph out to the world! Haha! I won't ever have to grovel to those little devils ever again! I won't have to listen to their whispers of "Onii-chan, is it okay?" and cry tears of blood ever again!

"Yaaaaaaaaahooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

I was showing an idiotic and rare amount of high energy. But even I couldn't stop this excitement! And then, suddenly… on the computer I had borrowed from Naruko, the END credits began to roll.

Sitting at the desk I usually worked at, I stretched my back muscles with all my might and let out a breath.

After that, the feeling of accomplishment slowly dwindled into nothingness… my chest tightened. The high spirits of just a few moments before came quickly crashing down. It was my first time feeling the strange emptiness that lingered right after finishing a galge. Nothing good can come of this. What was up with this feeling, as if a wise man had just achieved enlightenment? Hm… and why was I so worked up a few moments before?

"Well, let's go return the game then."

With a clear and serene determination, I stood up. I left my own room, and knocked on the door to Naruko's room. Kshh. The door opened slightly, and my sister poked her head out. As usual, she glared at me as if she was looking at her sworn enemy.

"What? Do you want something?"

"I'm here to return the game"

Geez, this girl… in the end, reality and games are different, aren't they? Here, I definitely couldn't go through event sequences and generate good will that way. There seriously had to be bugs in the difficulty level of this game.

Naruko took the computer from me, and spoke with a doubtful tone."You finished it?"

"Yeah, I finished it."

"Hmph… and?"

"Well…" Hey, Naruko… what's with that evil professor expression?

"Well, it was really interesting?"

"In what ways? Be more specific." Naruko began her emotionless cross-examination.

Ah… I see… right now, I was stuck in one of those "decision points" like in the game… but, the affection points the little sister in front of me had for me were already completely in the negative. So, if I made a poor choice, my life would end… and in this game of real life, there were no saves and reloads… my fate would be decided by a single decision. Dead or alive. Well, wasn't this great.

"Ummmm… Chino's scenario? The latter half was… a good story, I think. That is, when their parents didn't like their relationship… and Chino ran away from home… and then the main character chased after her… and the background changed to that setting sun… that scene."

"…"

Upon hearing my response, Naruko shut her eyes and was silent. Perhaps I had managed to give a correct response… or not. …But honestly, I had just picked the scene I had played most recently. Clicking furiously like that through such emotionally burdensome scenes, do you honestly think I could remember all of them, idiot!?

At long last, Naruko opened her eyes. With narrowed eyes as if she was looking down at me, she spoke. "W-Well… I guess you sort of understand then."

Ooh… somehow, it seemed like I had given a correct response. Heh… and then I thought about this once again.

This is soooooooooooooooooo ridiculous! This seriously isn't funny! Why do I have to talk with my real little sister about little sister games!? I mean, I had already tried very hard to help her make friends so I wouldn't have to talk about this stuff in the first place! First, tell me what happened with those people, can't you!?

"But, you still have room for improvement. That isn't the only good scene in the game. For example…"

"W-Wait."

Interrupting Naruko when she started trying to speak, I tried to change the subject.

"We can talk about that stuff at length later… but first tell me. What's been happening with those people we met at the offline meeting?"

"Huh? Ah… those people." Naruko pursed her lips, and with a blunt tone, beckoned me into her room. "Come in."

It seemed that she didn't think it would be appropriate to continue this conversation in the hallway.

"… Okay." I followed her and entered.

Naruko put the computer on the table and sat on the bed. She cracked the joints on her neck, and spoke in an extremely uninterested tone. "In short, we've been keeping in touch, even now. Through mail and through messages."

"Oh? Then you've become friends."

"Friends, I wouldn't say… more like conversation partners? Really, we just talk with each other. They tell me things that I wouldn't know, for example… well, it's pretty useful at least."

Wait, that sounds exactly like friendship, doesn't it? She's just dead set on not using that word, it seems. When you're hiding your true personality, you don't have trouble with calling people friends, so why can't you be straight with the people you can be completely open and honest with? Well, it's not like this is unexpected…

"So, you haven't met with them in person again?"

"Yeah. That black one seems to live relatively close by, but that red one is a bit far from me. So they're thinking of organizing another offline meeting… well, I guess it can't be helped, right? I'll go for their sake… yeah."

"Huh… I see…" It seems like I did a pretty good job. Not only did I clear the game, but it seems that I succeeded in getting Naruko to make friends she could talk openly with.

My mother had said that Naruko has been looking pretty happy lately… and it also seemed that she had become more self-sufficient and stopped relying on me. It seems that she intended to go to the next offline meeting by herself. So, everything seemed to be going pretty well, and there was no more need for our "life counselling" sessions.

Geez… So, I guess that my work is done. Feeling refreshed, I spoke. "Hey, Naruko. Don't go carelessly dropping your DVDs again, alright?"

"Shut up, idiot. Do you really think I would repeat something stupid like that?"

"… Look who's talking. That time, just by shaking you a bit you were so flustered that you were so easily caught in my obvious trap, and tried to cover up your carelessness with your short temper."

As I reminisced with a grin on my face, Naruko blushed and threw a tissue box at me.

"Oops." Moving my neck, I nimbly dodged it. Then I proceeded to escape from the room. Shutting the door behind me, I heard a bang! as something else collided into the door.

She'll always be like this, won't she? She's pretty frightening, isn't she? Well, whatever. Naruto's life counsenling services at this time was officially closed!

(◕ω◕✿)

It was a Sunday evening, and when I returned home from Karin's place, the house was strangely silent. There were no sounds of cooking coming from the kitchen, nor could I hear the television or the sound of any talking. It was unnatural.

Taking off my shoes, I felt a tingling sensation and slapped the back of my neck. A strangely tense atmosphere floated about. I could feel goosebumps rising on my skin. Something was definitely strange. This was different than the home I was used to.

"…?"

Raising my eyebrows, I walked through the hallway while trying to keep absolutely silent. I stopped in front of the door to the living room. An ominous feeling washed over me as I placed my hand on the knob, and I hesitated for a Moment.

Gulp. Swallowing deeply, I opened the door.

"… I'm… home…?"

When I entered the room, I saw Naruko and Mom sitting across a table from each other on the sofa having a meeting. Both were silent. Mom's face was absolutely expressionless, so I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but Naruko was frozen solid, and was hanging her head. And then…

"Ah." Everything became clear when I glanced at the table.

On top of the table, as Mom might put it from her line of work, there were two pieces of evidence. First, there was the brand-name handbag that Naruko often carried with her. Second, there was something that I had definitely not forgotten. It was the "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" DVD case, with the copy of "Loving my Little Sister (18+)" inside. The DVD case was open. The evidence was more than enough. There was no use in arguing about who was guilty.

"… Hm." While blinking a number of times, I came to understand the situation.

IS SHE A HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE IDIOOOOOOOOT!?

Idiot! What a huge idiot! This situation was already so pitiable, I felt tears coming to my eyes! Didn't you say that the one thing we had to do was to not expose your secret!? And she was careless again and dropped her DVD… didn't I already warn her not to do that!? She had repeated her blockheaded mistake once again! She's done the same thing as when she exposed her secret to me! Why, if she's so talented everywhere else , does she have to fail at this one thing!? How can she be so careless… ahh… what should I do? I have no idea…

"Naruto, just a minute, Naruto…"

As I was standing in the open doorway, frozen, I heard Dad softly calling to me. Dad pulled me into the hallway, and softly closed the living room door.

"… Uhh… Dad, did something happen?" The question came out quite strained.

"Well, that is…" The answer Dad gave me was roughly what I had already guessed.

Naruko had accidentally dropped the DVD case in front of Mom, and she managed to see what was inside. I wanted more details for what had happened, but it seemed like Dad also wasn't there the minute it happened, so he didn't seem to know much more himself. The most likely case would be that, as it happened with me, she bumped into Mom here in the entryway, but it wasn't likely that the case would have opened by itself when it hit the ground. Rather, it could have been that Mom saw the anime DVD, and opened it up.

I can't begin to imagine what Mom's face looked like when she saw the 18+ label… and as expected, Mom was quite shaken by it. I was also shaken by it, and exhaled deeply. In the first place, why exactly was she walking around with that thing in her bag? A number of questions welled up, but in either case, this was just a miraculous state of affairs. This really wasn't a problem you could explain away as a mere blunder or an unlucky coincidence. Maybe this was fate, wasn't it?

"Naruto… you don't seem very surprised about this."

"Well, yeah. After all, I don't know much about it."

But Dad didn't give up his line of questioning.

"Could it be… that you already knew about this?"

"Huh? Knew about what?"

"… I mean… that… that is… that Naruko had… that kind of thing." Dad said awkwardly.

How should I respond to that? If I wanted to protect myself, then it was clear that I should play dumb. However… she had taken my life cousenling, and I had put effort into helping her, so strangely enough I was her partner in crime. And, I also caught a glimpse of her important hobby, in Akihabara… I can pretend to be uninterested all I want, but I was already in too deep.

"… Well yeah. I knew."

"… Then why did you not told this to me or your Mom… could it be… she was influenced by you?"

I knew he would say that.

"No, definitely not! Think before you speak, Dad. In the first place, I don't even have a computer, and you know there's really no place in my room for me to hide anything."

"If you put it like that, I guess… well, whatever. In any case that was definitely Naruko's possession."

Crestfallen, Dad let out a long sigh. It was a reaction at finding out such a stellar daughter would be carrying that sort of thing.

"It's been a long time since I've seen your mother so angry. At this rate, this isn't going to blow over anytime soon. What should we do with this…"

Dad pondered the situation for a little while, but with an "ah, right," seemed to have thought of something.

"Naruto, I'm going out for a bit, so please go back to your room."

"… What? You're going out?"

"It's not like I can do anything from here, you know how stubborn your mother is. I'm going to Ichiraku to buy special ramen that your mother loves, at least with that maybe she'll calm down a bit."

It was like he was trying to appease a raging demon or something. But, I understood where he was coming from. In this household, there was nothing as scary as Mom's thunder.

Dad left, and for ten minutes I stayed anxiously in front of the living room door. I can clearly hear Mom yelling at Naruko from here.

Having her secret hobby exposed to Mom, how was she trying to explain it anyway? I couldn't even imagine what she would say… but to that woman, I couldn't see any excuse working. She was so convinced of her own beliefs that she would never concede to anyone else. Also, she was surprisingly sharp. It wouldn't be wrong to say that she could see through lies very well.

"… Ugh… what's going to happen…"

It was ten more minutes before Naruko appeared in the doorway. Strongly kicking the door open, Naruko flew out with a frighteningly devilish expression on her face. Her face was bright red with anger, and her eyes were swollen and bloodshot.

"Na-Naruko…?"

"Get out of my way… Get out!"

Naruko quickly walked towards me, and with a glare filled with hatred, pushed me out of the way. Like this, it felt like there was very little I could do to calm her down. Naruko's breathing became more and more audible as she headed towards the entranceway and began to confusedly put on her boots.

"Hey, Naruko… where are you going?"

"Shut up! I can go where I want!"

"Wait a second."

As Naruko began to leave the house, I tried to chase after her, but… Bang! Naruko slammed the door shut behind her.

Should I chase after her? No… before that… I returned back inside. I wasn't sure, but I was considering asking Mom to tell me the details of what had happened. I had to do that if I wanted to know what had caused Naruko to get so enraged. Although I can vaguely imagine what went on.

Very cautiously, I entered the living room, and for some reason Mom was handling a vacuum cleaner. In the corner of the living room, a crystal ashtray sat overturned… could it be that Mom lost her cool and threw that? What in the world could have unfolded here?

Mom silently operated the vacuum cleaner. In the dead silence, the echoing sound of the vacuum stood out like a sore thumb. A tense silence, the kind that persisted right after a familial conflict, dominated the mood of the room. At long last, Mom stopped vacuuming, and in a low, deep voice, mumbled this.

"Naruto please sit there for a bit."

"A-Alright…" Doing as I was told, I drew near the table and sat down on the sofa.

She was probably planning to interrogate me about Naruko's situation. Or maybe she was going to lecture me. Naruko was really stubborn when it came to this, so my name probably didn't come up. But, knowing Mom, she could probably guess even without firm evidence that I was involved. It would be pointless to try and play dumb.

Well, it was what it was. I also didn't have any intention of confessing that I had given life counseling to Naruko. That was just common courtesy. I turned my eyes to the top of the table. The damning evidence, the open DVD case, was still placed on top. Next to it, I saw a single scrap of paper.

It seemed like the scrap was an advertisement for an anime and manga specialty shop. There was a huge image of 'Madoka,' and right underneath was this description: 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part 1: Beginnings -First Limited Edition has finally arrived! Customers who bring the box from a previous edition to the shop counter will receive a signed postcard by the popular Madoka voice actress as a gift!'

… Ah, I see. With this, a few of my questions have been answered… the day I had found her Madoka package, why was she carrying the package with her, outside when she didn't have any otaku friends to call on? And why did she have the package with her today? Well, she probably planned to bring the it to the store counter, and get a signed postcard. It wasn't something that took much time to do, so she probably thought it would be good to just do it quickly… but of all the times she could have done it, today… that was the most terrible timing.

For now, with this, I understood that when Mom discovered all this, Naruko had come back from the meeting. That's probably what happened. Once she came back, she went to her room, put Madoka into her bag, and when she thought "well, let's go get that signed postcard," she bumped into Mom… I could imagine that flow of events. I don't really know what happened after that, but, well, it was clear she had somehow or other seen the contents of the DVD case. And then that was enough to hold a family council like that… what a miserable story.

And then… after having tidied the room with the vacuum, Mom sat across from me. As if by reflex, I grew anxious and corrected my posture.

"Naruto, did you know about this?"

"… Yeah." I could not respond any other way.

"I see. I won't ask why you know about it already. I'm not here to chat."

Mom's stare was not just frightening, but it seemed to pierce into the very center of my soul.

"…"

How far had she guessed about my involvement with this crime? I felt my spine shiver.

"We have never bought things like this for you two. Do you know why?"

Picking up the DVD case with one hand, she spoke about both the anime drawing on the cover and the contents of the case. The 18+ indication only applied to the contents of the case, but Mom did not make such a distinction. Not being able to make any objection, I stayed silent. Trying to avoid Mom's gaze, I looked downwards. Every time Naruko or I have received a lecture from Mom, it's always like this.

"It is because things like this are bad influences for you two. The news also often talks about these things, how playing things like these games will rot your brain. I don't mean that you should just swallow every story the television tells you…"

Well, in either case, they were worthless things, right? That's what Mom's facial expression was saying. Mom's understanding of the subculture was outrageously low. She would apply her so called "common adult knowledge" stereotypes to everything, and only through this filter could she view Naruko's hobbies.

… Although, just a while ago, my own opinions about otaku were similar to those of Mom. I could buy manga and CDs with my allowance, but Mom would definitely never allow me to buy games. She always told me games were good for nothing. People who played games were all idiots. For this reason, Naruko was in quite serious trouble.

"Well, that's how it is, more or less. People say that these things are bad influences. And also, people who only play those games all the time are… what? They're otakus, or something… and otakus are hated, right? So, nothing good can come of these things. So there is no reason for you two to buy these."

"… But That is…"

Just as I was barely beginning to talk, Mom broke me off.

"I guess you want to tell me 'well, Naruko spent her own money.' … I know that, and I'm not going to dwell on that issue. Whether it was makeup, or showy clothes, or handbags… from the start, I believed that I should set down rules to control the various things that someone like her shouldn't have… but Minato told me that they were necessary to make friends, so I couldn't resist. I gave up and let her do what she wants."

"So makeup and handbags are alright, but anime and games are not?"

"Obviously. That world is believed to be bad, so I cannot allow Naruko to have such things. Especially since, if I do say so myself, Naruko is quite a talented daughter. If she becomes addicted to a worthless hobby, I have to correct her and put her back on the right path before she is completely lost."

As an otaku, Naruko would be completely lost. So, she would stop that from happening. That was the gist of what Mom was saying. Honestly, by getting hooked on eroge, as a female junior high school student my sister had already gone bad, so I really couldn't say anything in response to Mom. And then… seeming to have finished her lecture, Mom stood up from her seat and began to leave the living room.

A chill ran up my spine.

"M-Mom? Where are you going…?" Panic, I chased after Mom, and called out to her.

She was trying to go up the stairs. Up there, there was nothing but my room and Naruko's room. Could it be…!? Mom said exactly what I had feared.

"I am going to investigate Naruko's room. She might be hiding other things like this from me."

"W-Wait! Wait just a second please!"

Crap, Naruko's complete collection is…! From the foot of the stairs, I looked up at Mom and held her back with my loud voice.

"And if that sort of stuff was there, you would have already found it! You clean that room every day! Even the ero books I had hidden in my room, you found all of them, didn't you? There isn't any reason she has anything hidden up there! The one you found in her handbag is definitely the only one she has."

Naruko had probably also told her the same thing. If for some reason, Mom discovered all her other eroge, then I have no doubt that she would throw them all out. Even when faced with the unpleasant task of confronting Mom, I'm positive that she would try to defend her collection to her dying breath.

"So, what. If I look for them, but don't find them, then it will be fine."

No, you're definitely going to find them this time. If this continued, her entire collection would be discovered. Just from what she showed me the last time, she had at least twenty or thirty! Furthermore, Naruko had said there were things in there, she was too embarrassed to show me, so those things were also in there, weren't they? If Mom ever discovered those things, she will completely blow up. Not good… even putting it lightly, this was not good…

"W-Wait a second! Mom!"

Mom rapidly ascended the stairs. I chased after her hurriedly, getting in front of her and blocking her path with both arms outstretched.

"Move aside, Naruto!"

"I won't!"

Mom lightly twisted my wrist, and repeated herself.

"Move aside!"

It seemed that until the very end, Mom was going to try to get me to move of my own will.

"I won't move!"

Twist twist. Dammit… she' strong. The pain in my wrist intensified.

"Whatever the situation, just going into someone's room without their permission and rummaging around is bad, isn't it? I mean, even for parents, there are things you can do and things it would be bad to do. So I won't move!"

I bore the pain and made my case. It looked like I was going to try to defend my sister's collection. Although, I have no idea what became of that girl. Also… if your daughter is in possession of suspicious things, then as a parent it's your duty to scold her and confiscate the items. Mom was just trying to fulfill her duty as a parent, and even if Naruko cried and yelled about it, it was her own fault in the end.

So, why in the world was I here enduring this pain, doing something that could not possibly do me personally any good? Well… because! Somehow or other, she had taken my life counseling… and furthermore I remembered how she had shown off her collection to me with such a proud expression.

I remembered how she forced me to play an eroge, constantly asking my impressions, if there was a way or how I wanted to do something for her. And then, I remembered the Starbucks at Akiba, how they had began to argue even though it was their first time meeting, and how much fun the group of otaku seemed to be having. It really wasn't something to be thrown away. And that's why I was doing something crazy like this…

"Mom… please leave this to me… let me talk to her. At least wait until then, please. Throwing away her precious things when she isn't even here… that's a terrible thing to do, isn't it? Please, I beg you!"

As my pleas became desperate, Mom watched me with suspicious eyes.

"Naruto, you…"

I know exactly what you want to say, Mom. Why is it that I'm protecting my sister so desperately like this, when we don't seem to have a good relationship? Indeed… it's strange however you think about it, isn't it? I personally know all too well how strange it seems!

For a while, we glared at each other in silence. With a strict expression, Mom seemed to be thinking about something… at long last, she let go of my wrist. "Alright. I will wait. I won't go into her room."

Mom was a woman who would honor any promise she made. She would never go back on her word.

"Alright, I leave this to you, but I want you to promise me Naruto, as her older brother you have the duty to make sure all of these things are thrown away. All of them, without a single exception. Do you understand?"

"… I understand. I'll talk with Naruko… and I'll definitely do that."

I had no choice but to answer like that. From her order, I knew that even without going into Naruko's room, Mom was convinced that she had forbidden objects there. It can't really be helped. By standing here and resisting Mom's attempts to get into her room so strongly, I might as well be loudly shouting "there are suspicious things behind this door!" And, if I break this promise, Mom might not forgive me and throw away every single thing in that collection without leaving anything behind… I had to tell Naruko that. On top of the grave seriousness of this duty, the task would be terribly difficult and I would gain little from it.

… Dammit. Well, Naruko… at least I bought you some time… although… I shouldn't expect any gratitude from her. Heh…

(◕ω◕✿)

Having managed to stop Mom, I went to look out for Naruko. But, I had no idea where she could have gone after rushing out of the house like that. I didn't even have a guess. As the sun was setting, I ran off into the town without a particular destination in mind. Should I call her cell phone? But she probably not answer it.

"Dammit… where the hell did that girl go…?"

The park, the shopping district, the arcade, the school, in front of the train station… I could not see the conspicuously pretty form of my sister anywhere. She's not here either…! Shit! Where else should I look… dammit!

Just like the protagonist in the game my sister lent me, Naruto Namikaze had flown out of his house looking for his sister, dashing into the sunset-lit town. Images of cute little sisters ran through my mind. In the game, Naruto met his little sister again in the city dyed with the color of dusk. Out of breath, while looking up at the sunset, the protagonist saw his little sister appear in front of him.

Well, that was just a game. In reality, the scene in which I found my little sister was a far cry from such a romantic scene filled with promises. It was the evening, in the shopping district in front of the station. I was running by the side of the arcade, when… a familiar head of bright yellow hair was attached to someone angrily and violently striking her drumsticks against the drums in a taiko game. Completely ignoring rhythm, she continued with a Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!.

Do you want to break it or something!? Stupid. Unconsciously, I murmured to myself. This idiot. Even though I've been so frantically looking for her… agh, my head began to hurt. Well, this was how it is. It wasn't that dramatic after all.

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die like that!"

Why in the world is she yelling words like that!? I drew near to my highly praised sister who was in the middle of throwing an angry fit. From behind, I lightly tapped the back of her head.

"You, die!"

Bang! As Naruko turned around she swung the drumstick with her. I took it completely in the face.

"Guahh…"

"… What… it's just you…"

"Idiot! Without even figuring out who I was, you hit me!? What if I was a store employee coming to tell you to calm down!?"

Dammit, she really can't control her anger, can she!? However, it was hard to believe that the Naruko who had turned around and the Naruko who was so angrily yelling for people to die were one and the same. Her tone of voice and her facial expression were incredibly sorrowful.

"… What did you come here for?"

"What did I come here for… well, you ran out of the house… so I came to look for you."

"… Gross… what the hell is that? Don't mix up games and reality…"

"Shut up, you. Shouldn't you be thanking me?"

"… Huh? Why do I have to do that?"

"Because after you left I went through a lot of trouble. Mom tried to go into your room, you know…"

"… Wha-"

Naruko watched me with weepy eyes, and began to tighten her hands over the back of my neck.

Ahh! That hurts Idiot!

"… And you stopped her, right?"

"Dammit, why do you say that as if it's obvious? I'm your brother, not your manservant. Hey, you understand that, don't you? But of course I stopped her… I risked my life for you."

"Alright, sorry… and t-thanks."

"Geez…for now, let's go somewhere else. We stand out too much here."

We found a nearby Starbucks and moved there. Even though it was early summer, it was slowly growing dark. Dressed in plain clothes, Naruko and I sat across from each other in front of a small round table. Guests in this place were generally college students and office workers who were coming back from work. High school students, perhaps coming back from club activities, were nowhere to be seen. We were in the middle of that.

What did the people around us think of us, I wonder? We had not said a single word to each other since before. Wearing an angry aura, Naruko had been continually glaring at me with her bloodshot eyes… not being able to bear the silence any longer, I spoke without really thinking.

"Hey… Naruko."

"What?"

"What are you going to do? After this."

"… I don't know."

As I thought. If she went back home, our mother would be there. I'm not surprised she doesn't know what to do. In fact, Naruko asked me just that.

"… What do you think I should do?" she asked.

She was in such a rut and had no choice but to depend on me, and I felt cornered. It was the same as that other time. That's why I couldn't respond with "How should I know?" here. Even if that's really what I thought.

Throw away everything, without leaving a single one. I still haven't told Naruko what Mom said to me. In our house, Mom's word was absolute. What would she think when I told her that she had resolved to destroy her entire prized collection? It would be troublesome if she threw a fit here. For now, I have to figure out what exactly happened.

"Before we talk about anything else, Naruko, there are a few things I want to ask you. Is that okay?"

"… What?"

"What exactly did Mom say to you? You two really seemed to be in a heated argument."

I asked this question to clarify exactly what position Naruko had been put in. Unexpectedly, at that Moment, Naruko panicked.

"…!?"

"… Naruko…?"

It was the Moment I had asked my question. Naruko's face flushed bright red, and her entire body began to shake. Holding her chest with one hand, her other hand tightened into a fist on top of the table. Her cute face was jumbled up. I could feel the extent of the violent emotions stirring inside her, to the point where it was quite unpleasant.

Anger. Regret. And, just a bit of resignation. Frustration. Frustration. Frustration frustration frustration frustration frustration… and sadness. Those kinds of unbearable feelings were keenly being transmitted to me. What exactly happened in the living room back then? But, just by how Naruko was acting right now, I could guess that something must have happened.

"…hless…"

My sister, with her head downcast, whispered darkly. When I asked "What?" Naruko violently beat her hand on the table.

Bang!

"She called them worthless! The anime I like! My games! The offline meeting I was going to today! Everything everything everything! E…even though… they're… not like that…and I… I couldn't…"

After that, she degraded into mostly sobbing, and I couldn't really make out what she was saying. As she hit the table with her fist, Naruko kept her head down and convulsed with sobs.

"You couldn't say anything back… could you?"

"Yeah…"

Drip, drip. Her tears fell in drops onto the table.

As the person she had come to for life counseling, it took me not too long to understand what was happening. Today, Naruko had faced our mother's wrath. Her important things, which she had shown me that time, were being trampled underfoot. That's why Naruko was so angry now, that she was deathly frustrated, and why tears were flowing from her eyes. I too had things that were important to me. If she had dismissed those things as worthless, even I would have blown up in anger. Definitely. Even if it was Mom, I would strike out. If I didn't do that, I wouldn't be able to calm down. Naruko feels the same way, doesn't she?

"I couldn't say anything back… and then… I took the crystal ashtray and tried to hit her with it… but she caught my arm… ahh… this is so frustrating…"

Finding a blunt weapon there so quickly… she's seriously pretty frightening. I couldn't hear much of what was going on in there, but to think such a battle was unfolding… I take back what I said about having the same feelings. Dammit… she wasn't trying to to kill her, Right?

"Here, Naruko, use this handkerchief."

"… Ugh… dammit… my makeup…"

I gave her a handkerchief, and she wiped her face. She then excused herself from the table for a little while. She fixed her makeup. And in the meantime, we both calmed down, and started over. Huh?

"Hey, what are you looking at!" I glared at the people around me, and the inquisitive stares quickly turned away. I'm glad that we're here at this time. At this time, neither Naruko's nor my classmates should be around to see what's happening.

As I downed the rest of my iced coffee, Naruko came back with all her makeup taken off. Quietly, she sat down across from me. It's not like I would ever say this out loud, but she's pretty cute without her makeup on, isn't she? Because I was thinking that…

"… Hey?"

"Hhm? What?"

I suddenly spoke up in a rather suspicious way. The makeup-less Naruko then began to talk, in a very subdued tone of voice.

"Do you think… I'm weird? Liking that kind of stuff… is it bad?"

"Naruko…" Looking at me with tear-filled eyes like that, how exactly am I supposed to respond that?

"At the very least, that's what Mom said. But it's not like she was being especially strict. Any normal parent would say something like that, I think that's obvious. You said it yourself, right? You have a public image to maintain, so you can't expose your secret to anyone else."

"But… I mean… already… it's already been exposed…"

"Yeah. So, it's too late for that. We can't change the fact that it's been exposed." I spoke with as much sincerity and goodwill as I could muster.

"So, you have to choose."

After saying that, I fell silent. I focused intently on my sister's eyes.

"You mean… whether or not to give this hobby up?"

"If you can do that, then this all will end peacefully. If you stop being an otaku, your problems will vanish. Mom will stop being angry, and the constantly ticking bomb that's always ticking away next to your public image will also go away… you know, you're amazing. You're great at sports, you excel at school work, you work as a model, you're also in an afterschool club… you're really managing to do some very difficult things. I honestly believe that. And, without that one hobby, you would be absolutely perfect, don't you think…? Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"… I know. I know more than anybody that I'm good at a lot of things. If I stop being an otaku, just about everything would be perfect… I've known that from the start."

Naruko tapped lightly on the table with her fist. Calmed down, she spoke.

"But, I won't stop. I definitely, absolutely won't stop. Because… the things I like… I really like them! For me to stop anyways… I don't want to do that. I can't do that…"

"I see. But as far as Mom's concerned, this has nothing to do with your feelings. You have to correct yourself if you're doing something bad… she'll say that to you until your ears fall off, won't she? No matter how much you like these things, to Mom they'll always be good for nothing and worthless. And if she tries to force you to stop, we can't really do anything about it, can we?"

"Even so!" Naruko shouted with a serious expression.

"I won't stop. I won't stop doing what I like to do. You said it yourself before, didn't you? I am both sides of me… if I got rid of one of those sides… if I stopped doing one of them, I wouldn't be myself anymore. I know that I'm a child, so I have to listen to what my parents says. That's obvious, so I can't resist what she says… but, even if my entire collection is thrown away… even if that becomes no more, I would still be the same person… so, the one thing I definitely won't do, is stop doing the things I like to do."

… That's what she said. Even if her entire collection were thrown out. Even if her cell phone and computer were taken away, and even if she couldn't connect to the internet anymore, she wouldn't stop being an otaku. She would definitely not stop. Because that's what she likes. If I got rid of one of those sides, I wouldn't be myself anymore…

"I see."

You're an idiot. Seriously an idiot. I can't believe how much of an idiot you are. Are anime and eroge really that important? You have to be stubborn and defend them to your dying breath? I don't understand. Seriously, I don't understand at all. It's a hobby that nobody would praise you for, so why do you think it's so important? How can you be having fun with these things, collecting them, raising a fuss about them? Ahh… geez… it's not like otaku are all like this. Even so, it's not like I expected her to say anything different.

"It's not bad."

"Huh?"

I spoke with a brazen smile to my confused sister.

"I said it's not bad. That's my answer to the question you asked before."

I slowly stood up.

"Naruko."

Looking at Naruko's face, I pointed at my own face with my thumb.

"Leave it to me."

(◕ω◕✿)

As I hurriedly returned home. Naruko was still at the Starbucks. I gave her clear instructions to wait there for an hour, and then to head home afterwards. I was really the only one talking and I never heard a response from her, so it's unclear whether or not she actually heard what was I saying. In either case, until she actually felt determined enough to head back, she wouldn't return home. Before that, I intended to settle the matter with Mom. Even if it seems impossible. But, I can't help it!

"Throw away everything that's in your room."

"Stop being an otaku"'

Could I really say those things to her!? Not only did I understand her feelings, but anybody who says such things I can't forgive! Even if that person is Mom! Right now, there was really only one thing that I understood. Naruko is my sister. Whether or not I hate her, whether or not I don't care about her, whether or not she's an annoying brat… I have to help my little sister. That's how it is.

Thirty minutes later, I found myself standing outside the door to our living room. With Dad's help, somehow or other we prepared everything as we had planned. Putting the finishing touches on, I instructed Dad not to come into the room, and with that the preparations were complete. But… honestly, there really wasn't any guarantee that this would go well. To put it bluntly, the possibility that this idea would crash and burn was pretty high.

I opened the door to the living room. Mom was sitting on the sofa, still angry. Noticing me coming in, she glanced at me and scowled.

"Naruto, don't forget your manners."

"I-I'm home."

Dammit. She looked even more frightening now. I came to a stop around three meters from her on the side.

"Mom… I have something I want to talk about."

I began to talk.

"Did you find Naruko?"

"Yeah… I came to talk… to you."

"And?" Mom pressed me without paying me even a glance.

Honestly, I was grateful. Eventually I would have to look her in the eye and make my case, but for now I really wanted to avoid eye contact. The surrounding atmosphere became very heavy. It was strangely hot, and I had trouble breathing. Sweat began to pour down my face, spilling off the bottom of my jaw.

"And?" Mom pressed me once more with the same words.

"I would like you… to approve of Naruko's hobby."

It may be my imagination, but the Moment I said that, the room fell gravely silent. The only sounds I could hear were those of my own heartbeat and my ragged breaths.

"Naruto."

Talking low and without expression, Mom responded.

"Earlier, I told you that it was your duty to throw away all those things. Every single piece, without leaving a single one. And you responded 'I understand. I'll talk with Naruko, and I'll definitely do that.' Isn't that right?"

"Yeah."

"Honor the promises that you make."

After her short statement, she once again fell into silence… I see. What she's saying is correct. However you think about it, the person who's mistaken is me. I understand that. But… I can't retreat now.

"That's what I wanted to talk about."

"Are you breaking a promise that you made?"

Each one of Mom's words echoed heavily. Gritting my teeth, I raised my voice.

"It has nothing to do with me. She won't let anyone stop her, and won't let anybody throw away the things she's been hiding. She also won't listen to reason. Please listen to me, Mom. Listen to my reasons for doing what I did."

"Fine… go ahead."

"Certainly… Naruko's hobby is not something an average girl would have. So, in her usual crowds there wasn't really anybody who shared her hobby."

Taking a single breath, I continued.

"… So, she tried to find friends who had the same hobby… and, she looked in a lot of different places, and somehow or other found some good people… she even met them in real life for the first time."

"…"

Mom continued stare at me, and silently listened to me. The pressure of silence was extremely frightening. If I think about it, today was pretty unpleasant for Mom as well. To think that her beloved daughter whom she's raised all these years would come out and say "Actually, I love eroge." And, when she tried to scold her and set her straight, she tried to beat her to death with an ashtray. On top of that, her son then came in, uninvited, and begins to chatter about defending her sister's outrageous hobby.

"… That was just recently. Today, she was coming back from meeting those friends in an offline meeting… I mean, a meeting for people with the same hobby… you probably already heard this, right?"

"… Uh-huh."

"And then, you called her hobby worthless… don't make fun of her when she's tried so hard! Even though you don't know that much about her hobby, you're making such quick judgments about it!"

Because my sister regrettably couldn't say anything, I was telling her what Naruko felt in her place. Even though these weren't supposed to be my feelings, even though this entire situation really wasn't my business, I was honestly getting angry. At some point, this was no longer "somebody else's problem."

"With my own eyes, I've seen her 'important things.' I've also met with people who love the same things. Of course there's prejudice against them, and there's no helping that, since they really are an odd bunch. How they speak, how they act, how they dress — at any rate it's all pretty odd. Honestly, I can't understand where they're coming from at all. But!"

I remembered. That scene in Akiba, and my own feelings.

"It's really not a bad thing, I think. They really seem like they have fun when they're together. Even though it was their first time meeting, they could argue so loudly, and raise so much of a commotion. They really love what they love! Naruko, and those others, being able to get seriously angry like that — it's not something to be taken lightly! Naruko, and those others, being able to get so entranced by the things they love… seeing it, I felt sort of embarrassed, but at that time, they were already dear companions! Frankly speaking, they were already friends!"

"Of course, I can't even begin to understand her hobby. I really can't! But! Is something you can be entranced by like that, can that something really be that bad!? If you think about it, shouldn't that be a pretty important thing!? Right!? That's not something you can so casually throw away, you know!"

"So, you want me to forgive her? For a worthless hobby that can have nothing but a bad influence."

Mom stood up and faced me. She pierced my heart with a gaze that was a hundred time scarier than anything Naruko could pull off.

"You say that it's nothing but a bad influence, that it's a worthless hobby…?"

It was here. I decided to play my trump card. I quickly closed the distance between me and Mom, and dumped out everything in the bag onto the table.

Bang! The first thing I threw at Mom was Naruko's report card.

"Just look at these unbelievable grades. She's even one of the best in the entire prefecture. And her great performance isn't limited to just the present. If there's anyone who knows how well she's been doing in school, it should be you, Mom."

"So what? Naruko is just keeping the promise she made to me. That's all it is. That's why I can forgive her for wearing such flashy outfits, and can allow her to be a model."

The next things I threw at her were numerous trophies and awards. The most recent one was from a big track and field tournament just last year.

"Look at this. And this. And this and this…! Just look at it! Second place, outstanding, excellent… they're all like that! This one she got when she was still in elementary school! This one is from kindergarten! See!? Mom! Your daughter is so incredible, don't you see!?"

"I know. So what?"

"Don't say 'So what?'! You're being really petty! To be that good at sports and to be that smart, and also to have so many other talents… she's so talented, Isn't that amazing!? So what if she has one, and only one, strange hobby!? Isn't it fine!? Look at all her other talents! Your daughter, your pride and joy, has just one thing you can't tolerate, and just because of that, you lecture her to death, you make her cry, you try to throw away her important things… isn't that right!?"

"That was just a parent disciplining their child."

Dammit. I had tried with all my might to appeal to Mom, but she didn't seem the least bit moved. She's really stubborn. But, I still had more!

Bang! I threw a very thick book at her.

"… It's album. So what?" Mom's tone of voice softened just a bit.

In that beautiful thick album there were large numbers of photographs of Naruko, from the time she was born until now. Photos of a baby Naruko sleeping. Photos of Mom holding Naruko. Photos of Naruko playing a leading role during kindergarten's sports festival. Photos of her kindergarten graduation ceremony. Photos of her elementary school entrance ceremony. Photos of Naruko finishing at an athletic meet. Etc. etc. Of course, all the photos were taken personally by Mom, with a single lens ridiculously high-end camera. Just with this album, it was obvious what Mom thought of Naruko.

"Naruto… I asked you why you brought this out."

"Don't rush me…"

Bang! I threw another thinner book at her. Mom's expression suddenly changed.

"…!?"

"I asked Dad and he lent this to me. This is your's treasured possession, isn't it?"

The book I had shown Mom was a scrapbook. In it were arranged cutouts from a teen magazine. These cutouts were all of a familiar blond haired model, wearing the latest fashions and posing confidently. The photos went on and on, on and on. For dozens of pages. It's likely that from Naruko's debut to the present, every precious photo of her was in here for safekeeping.

"You were happy, weren't you? You buy all her magazines, you cut out all her pictures, you collect them…"

"D-Don't say stupid things. I had to keep track of what kind of things she was doing for her job."

That remark… so it was just because she was her daughter…

"And? You had to keep track… and what did you find out? Was it the same kind of showy, flashy job that you were prejudiced again?" I spoke while turning through the scrapbook page by page.

"It was different, wasn't it. If it wasn't, you wouldn't have kept this scrapbook so carefully all this time like some kind of treasure… that's true, isn't it?"

I felt like I was walking on a tightrope. My eyes met those of Mom. I didn't flinch, and I didn't look away. Mom let out a long exhale.

"But, it's not something she needs to hide. Even now, though, I'm not sure what to think about that."

"Then, how about this?"

From my chest pocket, I threw the last photo at her.

"!"

It was a picture of Naruko, Kuroneko, and Rias. This was a photo that Rias had just taken today with her cell phone camera. While I was talking with Naruko at the Starbucks, I had looked through the photos on her cell phone and printed this out… she definitely argued before letting me borrow this though.

"Is this also something you need to hide?"

"…"

It was a photo of Naruko with her friends at the offline meeting. The three people squeezed close together to fit into the small frame of the shot. One person was standing in front with her arms outstretched, leisurely setting up the cell phone camera. The other two were in the middle of the argument, but somehow still managed to look at the camera.

"It's a worthless hobby that can only have a bad influence on her?"

I could almost hear their loud chatter… and behind their scowls their true feelings were hidden… it was that kind of pleasant photograph. At least, that's how I saw it.

"You might not want to admit it, but this is something that she has!"

And then…

"This album where she's with the family too… and these pictures of her modeling, and these pictures of her wearing the latest fashions, and these pictures of her stylishly posing. And even these photos of her with her otaku friends, raising a fuss with scowls on their faces… all of these are Naruko! Only when all of these things are there is she Naruko! If even one is missing, she wouldn't be herself anymore!"

These words that I was throwing at Mom welled up from deep inside me, and were my own sincere feelings.

"Don't you see…? Looking at this, If you don't know anything about something, don't judge it like that!"

As Mom gave me a grave stare, she responded.

"… I understand what you're saying."

Blood vessels popped up on her face, and her expression became terrifying. She's seriously a demon. I flinched a bit.

"For now, I will take back what I said about her hobby being worthless. I agree that I do not know anything. I acknowledge as well that I am prejudiced against these things. Alright, then. I will defer to you and forgive her for having this hobby."

"… S-Seriously!?"

By this time, I had already given it all I had. I was shouting, fueled solely by the Momentum, without a shred of a logical argument. It was honestly a jumbled up petition. But even so, through my frantic efforts, it seems that I had gotten something through to her. 'I will forgive her for having this hobby' … The Moment these words were spoken, I had won this battle. But Mom continued.

"But there is one more thing. I cannot possibly ignore the indecent contents of that case. This is not a question of whether it's good or bad. This isn't related to whether or not I know about these things, or whether or not I have prejudice against these things. This is about the fact that this was an 18+ product."

Ah, at last, this issue came up… there was no ignoring the logic behind Mom's words. If it's an 18+ product, then it would be bad if someone under 18 had it. But, if Mom went through with what she was saying… then we would have to throw away the majority of Naruko's collection. That would be defeating the purpose. But however I thought about it, Mom was right. She was right, but… there was room for argument. After all, I had predicted that eventually we would come to this point. And so, just in case, I had thought of a few ways of dealing with this.

"…"

I had prepared for this… but honestly speaking, this was the one topic I didn't want to discuss. This was the first time I felt such a storm of conflict raging in my chest. I had already made up my mind to decisively push forwards in this direction. I spoke.

"… Naruko doesn't have any age-restricted things…"

Upon hearing my words, Mom closed her eyes as if she was trying to restrain herself, and her eyelids began to tremble. And then, suddenly, she opened her eyes.

"You… at this point you're still trying to lie to me…!?"

"I'm not!"

I had gotten something from those people, and I had changed. I had become an idiot. I had become an embarrassing person. For that reason, I could put such a ridiculous plan like this into action.

"THIS IS MINE!"

For me, this was the worst thing I have ever said in my life.

"This is definitely not Naruko's! I'm the one who owns it, it's mine! So it's alright if you don't throw it away, isn't it!?"

Blood vessels appeared on the her's forehead, and she responded expressionlessly.

"I don't understand these things that much, but this is something you play in a computer… and in this house, the only person with a computer… should be Naruko…"

Dammit. I had to come up with an excuse in the spur of the Moment.

"That's because… Naruko lent me her computer!"

"Wha-What!? I-I see… Y-Y-You used your sister's computer, in her room, to play games in which you do indecent things to little sisters?"

"It was really fun! You got a problem with that?"

Smack! "Aww!"

She slap my face very hardly.

Am I a dumbass!? At the very least, I should have said that I used a laptop to play it in my room! Dammit… but, not just yet! As if I could bear to let it end here…! I raised my head and continued my plea. Listen to me…! Listen to my saintly, virtuous explanation!

"In any case, that's mine, I said! I'm a boy, so having ero books is ok, right!? Even Mom, when you found my collection under my bed, you said it was ok! And, how is that game different from the books!? Is there really a difference!? Is there!? There isn't, is there!? So don't you dare throw them away! You better listen well, Mom. Anime and eroge… I… LOVE… THEM! You could say I adore them! If you throw these away, I won't be me anymore! EROGE ARE MY HEART AND SOUL!"

With all the power I had left, I let out a desperate, jumbled up scream.

"UNDERSTAAAAAAAAAAAAND!?"

Receiving the full brunt of my soulful cry, Mom teetered around as if dizzy.

"Y-You… you…"

As if she had been dealt a severe blow to her head, Mom grasped her temples.

"YOU IDIOT SON! Do whatever the hell you want! I don't care anymore!"

What a huge yell. I haven't ever seen her flip out like this before. But Thankfully, it didn't seem like she was planning to kill me. Breathing deeply and moving her shoulders up and down, she quickly turned around and with loud footsteps left the room.

Alright, this was my victory. While my cheek red and I held onto my cheek, a smile floated to the surface.

Hmph… how's that, Naruko… your collection… I protected every piece, without leaving a single one.

Heh heh heh… even though, as you could expect, I did it in a pretty sloppy way.

(◕ω◕✿)

The loud turmoil of the Namikaze household had calmed down by the following morning.

When I arrived at our usual meeting place, Karin was already waiting there for me. And, also as always, swinging her bag forwards and backwards in front of her skirt, she called to me with a smile.

"Naruto, good morning."

"Good morning, Karin."

It was an exceedingly normal, commonplace morning. Ahh, this feels great. As I thought, this was how I wanted to spend everyday.

"Na-Naruto. What's with that face?"

"Hm? Ahh, this?

"Well… lots of things have happened."

Geez. That was the honest truth — lots of things have happened… these few days have been especially tense and eventful… so much so that I probably won't forget these happenings for the rest of my life. That bratty sister who looks at me as if I was garbage. Her secret hobby, and our life counseling sessions. In these past few days, I've spoken to her enough to last for few years. And, I feel as if I've learned just a smidgen more about her, about things that I did not know before.

"I see… lots of things happened…"

"Yup. Lots of things happened."

It wasn't something anybody else could give to me.

"Good work, Naruto… you tried hard, didn't you?"

Karin paid me a loose, appreciative compliment, even though she didn't know anything about what had happened.

"Yeah, Thanks."

It was after school on the same day. Coming home from school, I saw my sister in the living room on her phone, just like she was on that one day some time ago.

"I'm home." I gave a greeting out of courtesy, but not only did I not get a response, she didn't even look in my direction.

In her sailor uniform, she sat deep in the couch with her legs crossed in her extremely short skirt. She was on her cell phone and giggling about something or other. Certainly, that smile was cute, but it would never be directed at me. As I was thinking these thoughts…

"Huh!? Did you really watch it!? The DVD edition!? Then how the hell did you come to that conclusion!? I can't believe it, I guess that's what I get for asking for the opinion of a chuuni girl… well, whatever… you should seriously get over being so emo. See ya."

What kind of conversation was that supposed to be…? I watched in interest as Naruko nonchalantly cut off the conversation and tossed her cell phone away from her. Well, even she's changed a little from before, perhaps. Even without me, she seems to be doing well… doesn't she? At any rate, with this, all her problems have been resolved. So, again, in terms of the unusual life counseling sessions… my work was done.

While I continued to talk to myself in my head, I opened up the refrigerator. I took out a pack of wheat tea, poured it in a glass, and gulped it down. Haah. Filled with many emotions, I let out a heavy breath. Feelings of relief, of satisfaction, and of just a bit of loneliness passed through my head. Shrugging my shoulders, I tried to leave the room.

"Hey."

"… Hm?"

I stopped with my hand on the doorknob, and turned my head. As I turned, my sister, in her usual blunt way, said something unthinkable.

"I still need life counseling."

… Seriously?

"And… also, uh…"

Naruko hesitated, and our eyes met. It was only one word. With an awkward smile…

"Thanks, big bro." She said that, her words clear. Afterwards, she quickly turned the other way. She might have been slightly blushing.

"…"

With my mouth hanging open and eyes staring, I couldn't do anything except be dumbfounded. It's been long time since she call me that. As I wondered if I was seeing or hearing things, a thought passed into my head. My sister can't possibly be this cute.

.

.

.