-Gremory Rook, Hellcat's Ramen-
Doppelganger, a German term for a look-alike of someone who's currently alive or has existed in the past. Most common cases within the human world (the mortal, non-supernatural side) includes someone having a similar face with another, unrelated person who is already dead. Rarely, chances occur when two completely unconnected people have a similar enough appearance to call themselves the same; physically. This is considered a case of doppelganger but the chances of such a thing happening is too low to even be considered an odd.
In a slightly more supernatural perspective, doppelgangers are usually monsters or supernatural ability users who are disguising themselves to further their own means. Whether it is for nefarious purposes or for a just cause, the magic to fake one's appearance is one of the few readily available spells out there for those who chose to live in the mortal world. Needless to say, this version of the doppelganger is the one with more chances of actually happening. After all, with a spell that can remake one's look to anything, an example is needed and with an example comes a likeliness; sometimes too much.
In my current case, I can't tell if I am encountering the first version of the doppelganger or the second. While she could very well be in the first category, there's something about her that tells me she's the second. The doppelganger lookalike in this case is one for my senpai, Issei Hyoudou.
Her name is Ryuudou Seiko. She is an average girl who leans towards the looks of an introvert. Her long bangs, messy brunette hair, loose clothing and perpetually blushing expression paints her to be someone who'd be class president one hundred percent of the time, no matter where she goes; as strange as it is with her likeliness to Ise-senpai.
With only this, I would say that she's someone who, by chance and coincidence, is like Ise-senpai only in looks. That she is someone who just happened to fill out the criteria for the version of doppelganger. This assumption, however, is only if I take into account her physical appearance. What makes me suspect her for being in the second category is the lingering scent that sticks to her body but does not exude from it. The girl's scent is heavily caked with the smell of dragons (and ramen, oddly enough).
"Umm, Devil-san, w-where are we going?"
As if my thoughts provoked her into action, the girl named Ryuudou Seiko speaks up for the first time since I've told her to follow me. I glance sideways to meet her nervous gaze. She's furrowing her eyebrows apprehensively above her stylish glasses.
"...Somewhere private."
I give her a partially truthful answer so calm her down. It seems to do the trick as she nods genially and looks back to the street we're walking on. I did not lengthen or shorten my pace and work to keep it the same speed. In truth, I have no idea where we're heading.
Ryuudou Seiko and I met ten minutes ago when she approached me with a contract flier for the club. I, in panic at seeing the girl who I labeled as a doppelganger of Ise-senpai, suggested that we should go somewhere else before she states her wish. That was ten minutes ago. Now, ten minutes later, I run into the problem of not knowing where to go.
"...Ah, Devil-san, i-if you don't mind, we can go to my house. It's nearby."
As if sensing my troubles, Ryuudou Seiko, speaks up again to give me a suggestion. I think about it and nod. Her house will be a good environment for me to get to know her better; allow me to gather more insight on this girl who could the second variation of Ise-senpai's doppelganger.
"Good idea."
I simply state my agreement to her idea and she, in turn, beams happily to the fact that I agree.
"It's over here, Devil-san."
Pointing a finger in another direction from where we were heading towards, Ryuudou Seiko takes a turn towards that path. I slow down marginally so that the brunette teen can go ahead to lead the way. As she crosses me, I notice something.
"My name is Koneko."
"Ah, my name is Seiko. It's nice to meet you, K-Koneko-san."
I did not give her my name. Though I knew hers from the label on her handbag, I notice that we have not introduce ourselves to each other in the ten-ish minutes that we've known each other. As she introduces herself to me, I also take note that her stutter reappeared again.
"...Um, Koneko-san, can you tell me more about the wish granting process?"
A few seconds after the name introduction, we fall back to the previous silence. Ryuudou Seiko did not seem comfortable with keeping this quiet so she begins making conversation. I meet eyes with her as she looks at me with a questioning gaze. Even her eyes are the same shade as Ise-senpai's.
"You give your contracted devil an acceptable goal for them to complete. It's not really mystical."
"Acceptable, is it? So there's a limit to what kind of wishes you tolerate?"
"Yes. Too ambitious is bad."
"Ah, I see. So your way of keeping checks and balances is with individual judgement."
I think about a proper explanation and tell it to her straight. For ridiculous wishes like "conquering the world" or "destruction of an entire race", it will not be taken because it is not acceptable. For things like "help me with my deadline" or "get me a girl/boyfriend", it is acceptable for a devil to do. The key phrase "acceptable" really takes the mystical out and makes devil contracts more mundane.
Ryuudou Seiko puts a hand under her chin and nods understandably at the idea. She mutters things about "trust" and "faith" under her breath. I specifically hear her whisper "how should I state my wish then" with a perplexed face. Did she have a wish that goes against common sense? Will this wish from Ise-senpai's doppelgänger be absurb even to her? Because I know of Ise-senpai's regular erratic behaviors and can easily sense it coming, it doesn't bode me well that I'm sensing something from his doppelgänger.
"O-over here, Koneko-san."
As we enter a four way intersection in the street, I begin to pay attention to where we're heading. I stiffen a bit in surprise to see that Ryuudou Seiko is leading me to a new, rich neighborhood full of large houses and mansions. I recognize the street very distinctively because my master, Rias Gremory, has a house based here as well; a gift from her brother.
Minutes passes by as we cross through the neighborhood and I become a steadily more apprehensive since the houses are becoming increasingly larger and larger. Finally, Ryuudou Seiko stops in front of a formidable looking estate that could easily fit a soccer field or two inside.
"It might be a bit noisy since they're constructing something in the yard but it shouldn't bother us in my room."
Ryuudou Seiko goes up to the gate of the mansion and rings the doorbell. She smiles apologetically for the noise that I did not even notice until she mentions it. I look around the iron fence gate that borders the mansion to see a construction crew building on something big under blue plastic sheets.
I hear a creak from the front door and turn my attention back to the gate of the mansion. A maid with silver hair is walking out from the front door. She is smiling pleasantly at Ryuudou Seiko's direction.
"Welcome home, Seiko-sama. Did you bring a friend today?"
"I'm home, Matsuri and yeah, this is Koneko-san."
The two greet each other as the maid, Matsuri, opens the gate for us. When Ryuudou Seiko and I walk in, the maid deftly takes our school bags from our hands and lead us to the front door. The gate closes automatically behind us.
"I will get you some refreshments, do you have any particular requests?"
"I don't have any request. Is there anything you want, K-Koneko-san?"
"None."
The short conversation ends with the maid bowing politely and leaving to one of the many doorways in the corridor of the front door. Ryuudou Seiko stares at the maid for a long second before turning to me. She points her index finger at another doorway.
"My room is this way."
She leads me up a flight of stairs, two more corridors and a doorway to get to the room. By the time I get to the room, I've completely lost track of where I am in the mansion; I'm somehow in a room with a balcony view when I clearly remember walking towards the center; away from any possible windows.
"Please have a seat. Matsuri will be coming with snacks and drinks in a second and then I'll tell you my wish when she leaves."
Ryuudou Seiko flourishes her hands to her surprisingly normal room and goes to the closet. For someone who lives in a mansion, I expected her room to be twice the size of my apartment and decorated with all kinds of expensive things. Instead, I am shown to a room about the size of a hundred to maybe a hundred and fifty square feet.
From her closet, Ryuudou Seiko pulls out a few pillows which she sets near the low-lying table in the middle of the room. She takes a seat on one of the pillows and I take mine on another; facing directly opposite of her. From the corners of my eyes, I see my bag and hers sitting in the room's corner. Did the maid bring it up to the room and left before us? She must've went a faster route.
Knock Knock
"Seiko-sama, it's Matsuri. I'm coming in."
True to Ryuudou Seiko's words, the maid appears almost immediately after we've taken our seats. She came through the door with a cart rolling along behind her. On the cart sits a pot of steaming, fragrant tea and several plates of sweets and confectioneries.
"Since you've brought a friend home today, I decided to use something a bit more special than what you usually ask to drink. It's still regular oolong tea though, so that you can keep yourself alert."
The maid puts down two small plates and tea cups in front of us before she begins pouring us tea. While she does so, she holds a one-sided conversation Ryuudou Seiko. The brunette girl stayed silent and allowed the maid to do her task without a word.
Once the maid was done pouring us tea, her pot is completely emptied. Serenely, she returns the pot to the cart and begins to load the content on it onto the low-lying table. Cakes, puddings, snacks, chips and and assorted amount of sweets are laid out in front of me and Ryuudou Seiko.
"I didn't know what would fit your taste-bud so I brought in a little of everything. Please help yourself and be sure to ask for more of the ones you like. I'll bring more immediately."
She smiles pleasantly at my direction while saying this before she takes her cart and leave the room. Again, I notice Ryuudou Seiko looking at the maid's departing back with an odd expression. I'm not good enough at being able to differentiate between emotions based on looks but I can tell it's something along the line of agitation.
"...Please help yourself, K-Koneko-san. As Matsuri said, there's a little of everything."
After the maid leaves, Ryuudou Seiko returns her attention to me and says this with an unsteady smile. I nod and pick the nearest thing to me; a fluffy slice of cake with sparse decoration and cream on it. Ryuudou Seiko does the same with a simple looking slice of cheesecake.
"It's good."
I take a bite from the cake slice and compliment it the instant it touches my tongue. I did not say that to be courteous or anything, the cake is very good. Ryuudou Seiko agrees with me since she's eating her own plate two bites at a time. We both finish our plates within minutes and end it with a sip from the cup of tea; something that was also praiseworthy.
"Before I say my wish, can I ask how you deal with wishes that centers around affection?"
While Ryuudou Seiko slowly sip away at her cup of tea, she asks me this. I was deciding on which plate to try next when she does. I look at her, who in turn was looking at her cup of tea with a slight blush on her cheeks. Affection, does she mean something like love?
"It depends on the wish. If it is love, then I will help you try to get together with the one you like. I have helped some clients with confessions and such things before."
Ryuudou Seiko blinks and looks up from her tea cup. She gives me a thoughtful look and then nod slowly.
"I see, so you'll help as more of a consultant. I remember you said that nothing mystical is involved."
"Yes. Magic is only used in the wishes that requires it. I don't usually take on those kinds of requests."
I never really learned any magic and trained my body instead. Any wishes involving magic is better off being given to my master or Akeno-senpai. Sometimes, even Gasper is good for those kinds of requests but I don't go out of my way to do so.
"Okay. Then my wish, Koneko-san, is to help me get Matsuri-senpai to notice me."
A beat passes. I process the wish. I mull over the wish and what facts I was given. I respond a moment after vaguely understanding the wish.
"Matsuri-senpai... as in your maid?"
"Yes. She is the Matsuri I'm referring to."
I feel my eyebrows furrow a bit at the girl's answer.
"Can you give me more details?"
Ryuudou Seiko smiles, nods and pulls out a television remote, a stack of paper and a photo album from somewhere.
Uzumaki Matsuri, Ryuudou Seiko's senpai, is someone who is co-working with Seiko for a job as an actor in an up-coming superhero show called "Ramen Days". The show, a rushed project, is scheduled to be shown on air in a couple of weeks and the episodes have not been recorded yet. With only the script finished, the show's producers are working overtime to get the set up and running so that recording can be done.
Uzumaki Matsuri, who was hired to play as the show's heroine, was employed through a rushed process. The person who hired her for the job did not take into account that she lived across the island of Japan and, as a result, found out too late when she called that person about living arrangement near the set (or even how to get to the set from her home on the other side of Japan).
By this point, everything was already set into motion and there wasn't enough time to hire someone new for the role of heroine. One of the producers stepped up and offered Uzumaki Matsuri a place to stay in the form of his home. This producer is Ryuudou Seiko's father. Uzumaki Matsuri agreed to the offer and, in turn, made it her job to keep the house clean during her stay in the Ryuudou house; as a kind of repayment for the producer's kindness. Somewhere during the process, she effectively became the house's first and only maid.
As for Ryuudou Seiko's wish of "help me get Matsuri-senpai to notice me", the story only delves deeper between her and Uzumaki Matsuri. As an actor who got hired by pure credentials alone, Uzumaki Matsuri is an extremely talented person. Vice versa, Ryuudou Seiko, the daughter to one of the producers, is a novice who is only taking her first step into the career of acting.
The two, theoretically, should've share the relationship of senior and junior. Instead, Uzumaki Matsuri took in her role too well and the relationship they share becomes that of a maid and her master. Uzumaki Matsuri is beyond courteous to Ryuudou Seiko and Ryuudou Seiko can do nothing but accept her senior's acts of courtesy.
"A-as you can see, Matsuri-senpai's really to nice. She almost never tells me what I need to work on and only encourage me on."
"...Not very productive."
"Y-yeah."
Currently, I am watching a recording of Uzumaki Matsuri's and Ryuudou Seiko's script rehearsal. True to her words, the senior within the group of two did nothing but give the junior ineffective praises for the sub-par performance. When Ryuudou Seiko says a line and mess up into of a bundle stutter, Uzumaki Matsuri would say that she's doing fine and continue to urge her on. When Ryuudou Seiko properly tosses out a line without a tick, Uzumaki Matsuri would again praise her and urge her on.
If I was only told this, I would think that Uzumaki Matsuri is a bully to Ryuudou Seiko. Seeing it play out, however, is a different story. Uzumaki Matsuri seems to genuinely care for Ryuudou Seiko and it shows in her actions. Every praises, urging words, encouraging smiles and joyful applauds were done and said sincerely.
"Sometimes, I don't even know what I should be focusing on; the inflection of her praise or the lines I'm supposed to be practicing."
Ryuudou Seiko pauses the recording at a point where she's stuttering away at another line in her script. She sighs tiredly and rewind the video by a few frames to get a clear shot of Uzumaki Matsuri's encouragingly smiling face.
"So, with the backstory out of the way, I'll say my wish again, K-Koneko-san. Please help me get Matsuri-senpai's to notice me. I want her to see me as someone who she can be strict to, not as someone who she has to coddle to teach."
"...I accept your request."
Seeing as the wish was doable and that Ryuudou Seiko is a reasonable person to make a contract with, I see no reason to reject. I put my hand into my skirt's pocket to pull out my phone. I blink in confusion when I felt nothing. Searching my other pocket gave the same result. I scrunch my eyebrows.
"Is something wrong, K-Koneko-san?"
"...I'm missing my phone."
I go over to my book bag to look inside. Again, I end with no results. From the corner of my eyes, I see Ryuudou Seiko tilts her head. I clarify things for her after remembering that she doesn't know more than the bare basics of contract making.
"My phone has a contract app. We use it to figure out contract payment."
"That's... surprisingly modern."
She seems at a lost for words. I did tell her that it wasn't all hellfire and brimstone but I also can't blame her; Lord Ajuka's inventions usually leave a loss for words. What I'm really worried about, though, is where my phone is.
"Um, may I get your phone number, K-Koneko-san? I can call it to see who has it."
Ryuudou Seiko joins me by digging in her own book pack. She successfully finds her phone and opens it to the call function. I thank her and tell her my phone number. She calls it quickly and after three rings, the other side picks up.
"Hello, hello? This is Koneko's phone speaking. Koneko-chan is not here right now to answer so please call back later if it's important~"
I hear a familiar voice from the other side. A moment of thought connects the voice to my previous client's for today, Murosaki-san. I gesture to ask for Ryuudou Seiko's phone and she quickly hands it to me.
"I'm Koneko."
"Hello Koneko-chan~. It's me, Murosaki-kun~. I have your phone here if you want to pick it up."
"I will."
"See you soon then, Koneko-chan~!"
I hang up the call and hand back the phone to Ryuudou Seiko. In my head, I plan out what I'm going to do next while outwardly speaking an apology to her.
"It looks like I can't make a contract with you today. I apologize."
The girl smiles serenely in response. She seems to have been expecting it.
"I-it's okay. We can do it tomorrow."
I nod in response to her suggestion.
"Yes. Should I meet you somewhere or should I come here?"
She hums and looks at the only clock in the room. As if calculating something, she takes a moment before answering me.
"I-it would be easier for you to come here maybe at three... no w-wait, four?"
She looks away for a moment and adjust her glasses. I tilt my head and nod again. Two hours after my school lets me out and with no clients in waiting, Four o-clock tomorrow is an acceptable time. I store everything I took out from my bag back inside. Ryuudou Seiko passes me by and goes to the room's only door. She holds the handle while waiting for me to finish.
"I-I'll get you to the front door."
Once I was done with getting everything, Ryuudou Seiko walks me to the front door. She takes another path from the one we originally went on to get to her room. On the way, we pass by a large kitchen being manned by only Uzumaki Matsuri. She gives me a box of pastry to take home. I graciously take it. I like her food.
After I left Ryuudou Seiko's house, went to get my phone from Murosaki-san and returned home to my apartment, I check the device I've just retrieved for any calls I might've missed. On the top list of recent calls is a number that I'm guessing is Ryuudou Seiko's. I marked that number with her name.
Below her number is my master's; Rias Gremory's. I put her on the list of people I should call back and continue scrolling. There was no other notable numbers that I should give a call back to but I did add Ise-senpai's name on to the list of people I'll have to talk with. His prank call a few hours ago was not acceptable and left me very hungry.
I scroll the list back up to my master's and press the call button.
Ring ring ring ring click
"Hello? Koneko-chan? Is that you?"
"It's me."
"Well then, I'm glad you've got your phone back. Be sure to keep your things in better care."
"Understood."
"Now then, I supposed you're calling back to see if you've missed any important news?
"Yes."
"I was just calling to make sure you're safe since you didn't return to the clubroom."
"I'm fine."
"That's good to hear. Well, if that's all, then have a good night, Koneko-chan."
"Ah, news."
"Hmm? Did something happen?"
"New customer, troublesome."
"Is this person a troublesome person who you've accepted as a customer or a person who has a troublesome wish."
"The first."
"Well, I suppose if you're bringing it up, we shouldn't be talking over the phone. Come over so we can talk, I'll prepare some tea. You should probably sleep here as well the story is going to be long."
"Thank you."
"Of course, Koneko-chan."
I get up to go pack a spare change of clothing, a toothbrush and stuff it into my book bag. When I come back to the living room, a crimson-red magic circle is waiting for me. I turn to the kitchen to grab the box of cake from Ryuudou Seiko's house as an after-thought.
Once I'm certain that I've got everything I need, I step into the lazily spinning circle and let it do its magic. A moment later, I find myself to be in the living room of Ise-senpai's house. I look around to see Ise-senpai watching a comedy television show with Aisa-san in the living room. Akeno-senpai is pouring some tea for my master by the dining table. The two are discussing something so I don't think they've noticed me. Ise-senpai, however, does.
"Yo, Koneko-chan. What's up?"
"Ah, good evening, Koneko-chan."
Ise-senpai and Aisa-san both greets me when I step out from the magic circle. Ise-senpai takes the remote control by his side and lowers the volume of the television.
"Hello Aisa-san, Ise-senpai. I'm here to meet Rias-senpai."
I bow to them as a return to their greetings before making my way to my master's side. Ise-senpai and Aisa-san both share a look before they get off the couch to follow along. I guess they can tell that I'm slightly peeved at something CoughIse-senpaiCough. Ah, Ise-senpai seems to have heard that. He's looking confused. I glare at him at the corners of my eyes.
"Hello, Koneko-chan."
"So you're here. Take a seat."
Once I enter the dining area, my master and Akeno-senpai both gives me a greeting as well. I take a seat facing my master. Akeno-senpai takes a seat by her side. Ise-senpai takes the other side and Aisa-san sits by his. With everyone seated, my master stands up, clears her throat and speaks first.
"Earlier, Akeno and I received some concerning news from Sensei. It seems the Khaos Brigade is acting strangely once again on a global scale. Sensei didn't disclosed anything else but he warned us to be careful. He also said that there's a strange disturbance in the Tokyo area altogether so he will be gone for a few days to check on that. I will repeat his warning and tell everyone here to be careful."
A chorus of affirmative is raised from the table. My master nods approvingly to our response. She then turns her gaze to me and continues speaking.
"Now, with that out of the way, it seems that Koneko-chan's received another eccentric customer she'd like help with. Koneko-chan?"
My master takes her seat and gestures at me. I put down my snack while gulping away the last bite I took. Mentally, I gather everything I need to say about Ryuudou Seiko that's troubling. Everyone around me is putting on an empathetic smile. It seems they've mistaken the kind of eccentric that I'm having trouble with this time.
"The new client is a girl named Ryuudou Seiko..."
-Oppai Loving High School Boy's Ramen-
Naruto, Dert, Matsuri, Koneko and I sit in my crossdressing self's room mulling. Well, I'm really the only one who's mulling. Dert and Naruto are cooperating in making a script for the "upcoming hit-show", Matsuri is peacefully sipping away at a cup of tea and Koneko is finishing the rest of the food I bought earlier.
"What the hell is with this scenario?"
Deciding to take charge of the non-existing conversation, I pick up a fork and tap it against the cup of tea sitting in front of me. It makes a clear dinging sound which gathers everyone's attention.
"What scenario?"
Naruto quizzically flicks a brow upwards as he turns to me. He puts down his pen and paper to re-position himself so that he could talk to the whole group. Dert does the same by standing up and taking a seat on the bed.
"I mean this thing with the acting, the mansion and... Matsuri-senpai? Why?"
I point a finger in Matsuri's direction to get everyone to notice how she's still in her maid uniform. I'm not exactly sure why she's still wearing it but she seems pretty casual about its existence. Naruto and Dert shrug their shoulders. Koneko seems pretty out of it as she always does while she's enjoying a meal.
"Naruto-sama and Dert-san both had trouble ad-libbing a story to correlate with your supposed background."
Matsuri answers in the end. Both Naruto and Dert did not meet my eye when I look at them. They pretty much confirmed Matsuri's statement without saying a word. I sigh. Well, this makes the backstory make a slight bit more sense; Dert and Naruto are crappy liars.
"Okay, so you two suck at lying. Good to know. What about the acting thing and this mansion?"
Dert perks up on this one and brings out a suitcase from under the bed. From the suitcase, he pulls out several pictures and blueprints which he spreads on the table we're all sitting at. Koneko moves her plates over to make room while the rest of us just pick up our warm cup of tea.
"I'm glad you ask."
Dert happily says this with a bright and cheerful smile on his face. He finishes laying out the pictures and pull back to allow us to see the whole thing. Half of the pictures are plans and designs of a neighborhood. This one, in fact, if I'm reading it right; I remember some of the building designs here from when I first came a bit ago. The other half is the plans for a large hospital area the size of a neighborhood.
"Over here, we have the schematics for this neighborhood in this world. As you can see, it's an area filled to the brim with an overabundance of vitality."
He points a finger towards the blueprints and pictures of the neighborhood. Like he says, the pictures paint a colorful image for us to see. There's trees, flowers, blue skies, flying birds and people walking about merrily livening up the neighborhood.
"Then there is our world's version of this exact area; an abandon hospital area slash still operating secret research facility."
Looking closer at the hospital that Dert announced is now an abandoned hospital, I realize that I've seen it before. It's the hospital that Dert brought me and Koneko to when we jumped into Naruto's memory with the... something something mind something machine. I guess that's why it's there. The place is also Dert's secret base.
"Like with Naruto-san's ramen shop, it seems that something happened in this world for a different result than ours. Apparantly, I never deemed this area important enough to buy and built upon so another took my place; a guy named Mao Rushi Fer according to what I've seen."
Yet again, Dert reminds us of how much his common sense is different from ours. Well, mine in particular. Naruto, Matsuri and Koneko look pretty unfazed by the "buying a neighborhood" thing.
"Is there anything particular on this land that made you buy it in our world?"
Matsuri curiously asks Dert this while she's looking at the picture of the abandoned hospital. For the scale of the place and for it to be abandoned, there must be a reason for it to still be in Dert's ownership, right?
"Just some rare metals that I could do without. There's actually not much left in Japan so I guess owning it is special in and of its own."
Dert casually says this and sink his arm elbow-deep into the suitcase. After a second of digging around he pulls out with a chunk of glowing purple rock(?). He nonchalantly hands the rock(?) to Matsuri who gingerly recieves it. I'm guessing this is the rare metal he's talking about.
"That doesn't answer my question."
Going back to the topic, I point this out to Dert. Dert, in turn, sips from his cup of coffee and points at the glowing rock(?) that is now being closely observed by Naruto and Matsuri.
"Like I said before, that's rare metal. I can do without it but I can also do with it."
I flick up an eyebrow at the middle aged man's response.
"So you bought this mansion-"
"-In order to hoard up the precious metal, yes. It's not like the owner of this land is going to do anything meaningful with it."
Dert seems to read my mind so he smiles enigmatically while taking drawn out sips from his cup. A bad liar and a hoarder, it's good to know that a large chunk of Japan's economy is being put to a good cause.
"Alright, what about the acting thing?"
Koneko sets down her plate of food and looks me in the eyes with a tense gaze.
"More fame equals more snacks."
Fame equals... Did she use all the money that Naruto gave her with the card? Because I get the feeling that she wasted all the money that Naruto gave her from him selling the original Ramen Days idea to our world's Metube. Oi, Koneko-chan, there was a figure with six digits in that card that was handed to you. Just how much did you eat for your "snacks"?
"Where does all that food go?"
I look back to the table to see that the mountain of food I bought before has now become a mediocre crater. Seriously, Koneko-chan, where do you put it?
"...Quiet."
"Gah?!"
I get a glowing purple rock(?) thrown at my face for asking that very meaningful question. Before impact, I saw Koneko's face lightly blushing. Hey, if you're conscious of it, don't do it. I know for a fact that you're only eating so much for taste enjoyment! If it's for your growth, then I don't see it because I see nothing about you that's growing, not even your stomach!
"Koneko-chan's questionable diet aside, Issei, have a look at this."
Naruto hands me the script that he and Dert were working on earlier and a slides over an open laptop. I take a look at the laptop first to see an open video file. I press play.
["DunDunDunDunDunDun"
"In this world where humankind thrives as the dominant species within the land, there is a gap between the three types of humans. There are those who cook for themselves. There are those who cook for others. There are those who do neither."
"Within this world full of turmoil, only those who are self-sufficient are the ones who can be said to be successful in life. Yet, those who aren't will argue otherwise. In the end who is right? Who is wrong?"
"I Derty Ramen, am obviously right! My instant ramen, with its convenience..."]
I start to mess with the time and watch the majority of the video by skipping through. Once I get to the end, a ninety seconds music clip plays, finishing with the title screen, "Ramen Days". If I remember correctly, this was the premiere episode for the show, "Ramen Days" that aired after Naruto sold the idea. I quizzically look and Dert and Naruto to see if I'm missing anything but they just gesture towards the script.
I take the stack of paper and skim through it. After two pages, I pause and go back to read from the beginning; only more carefully. I then play the video again at on a certain time and read along using the script. It matched written word for video action word.
"...Hey, why are you two rewriting the plot of "Ramen Days" for your script for "Ramen Days"?"
"Because it's free."
"Because I liked the idea."
Dert was the first one to answer and Naruto was the second. Of course, I've already seen through their answers already but I still felt the need to ask. It's a part of what I'd like to call my common sense to ask.
"Why?"
""Because there's almost no repercussion in not doing this and because we're going to get a ton of money if it works.""
Yeah, I figured as much. They've probably figured that I've figured as well since that reply sounded very well rehearsed. I look at Koneko and Matsuri with a raised eyebrow. Koneko was looking wistfully at her diminished plate of snacks. Matsuri is sipping her tea with an impassive smile.
For money, for snacks and for Naruto's amusement, that's basically all that it takes for this group to ignore their common sense. I sigh.
"...Yeah, sure. How're we doing this?"
I'm not any better though. I'm in this so that I can fund my growing porn collection. If anything, I'm the one who's probably the most deviant in the group. Dert and Naruto smiled widely and welcomed me into their fold with open arms. My common sense seems to cry.
