Love, Eroge, Music & Other Craziness

by Geek Girl Naruru

Namikaze Naruto 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 a piano on one of his travels to a junkyard and helps her in many ways as he discover that her name is Weiss Schnee.

9. Naruko & Ayase

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It wasn't until the next morning that I saw Naruko once again. Both my parents and I were gathered around the dining table. My sister, last to appear, seemed to be acting as if nothing had happened. If this were a manga, the depressed heroine would have come out looking terrible with shadows under her eyes. But both her hair and her makeup were as tidily put into order as always.

It was normal for Naruko not to talk while she ate, and she silently ate her curry. Giving her a sidelong glance, I felt that this all was a bit anticlimactic. What's up with her?

"Naruko, training camp begins today, right? Aren't you nervous?"

"Who exactly do you think I am, Dad?"

It was a statement brimming with confidence and said in complete seriousness. My little sister was someone who could say things like that naturally, and moreover continue to produce results to match. At this time, I couldn't help thinking about how it only took her a single day after breaking off relations with her close friend to get back on her feet. I was impressed. You could go so far as to say that I was moved.

After we had gone to make summer memories for her, Naruko, as she had mentioned before, would become incredibly busy until summer ended. Even after she returned from her one week training camp, she would go to practice day after day, and after she came back she would shut herself up in her room. These kinds of days continued until the month's end.

After Summer Comiket had ended, my sister and I had not exchanged a single word. She didn't come to me for life counseling again, and I didn't try to talk to her about what had happened with Ayase. And even though I had promised to battle her in the game, up until now that still hadn't happened. In other words, I had no idea what the situation between Naruko and Ayase had become after that incident. There was a lot of questions I wanted to ask Naruko. But I didn't. I also didn't try to call or email Ayase about the matter. It's not like I was friendly enough with them to meddle that much.

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_ஜ39ஜ_

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Before I knew it, summer vacation was over, and the second school semester had begun. Lately, perhaps because of all the unpleasant rain and thunder we've been getting, my sense of seasons had gone to hell. The temperature would go up and down and up and down, so I had to be careful in choosing my daily attire. Today I was with Karin going to school.

"Hey, hey, Naruto… it's been a while since we've done this, hasn't it?"

"Hm? Since we've done what?"

I sent a puzzled look to my cousin beside me, who had suddenly broken into a grin. Karin's eyes arched in the middle of her glasses, and her expression slackened.

"I mean, walking together like this."

"What are you talking about? The new semester started today, so isn't it pretty obvious we'd be doing that?"

After I naturally responded appropriately to her comment, Karin thinned her lips and looked up bitterly.

"That's not what I meant. Uuhh, you don't understand at all, do you, Naruto?"

"If you ask me, you're the one who doesn't understand… geez."

If I still have so much trouble understanding Karin even though we've been together for a long time, there's probably no way I can understand other women…

Walking along like that for a bit, Karin spoke in a very natural tone of voice.

"Hey, there seems to have been something on your mind lately."

"What do you mean?"

I turned the other way and feigned innocence. Karin chuckled.

"'I don't quite know what's bothering you… but I can tell that whatever it is, you don't want to talk to me about it. But, I can't let that go. No matter how much you say it doesn't have anything to do with me and refuse my help, I can't just stand by and pretend nothing is happening.' How about I say that?"

"Huh… where did you learn how to say cool things like that?"

"Cool, right? It's what you said to me a while ago."

"Is that right?"

Ehh… I could just play dumb here, but if I do that, I have a feeling that this situation is going to get to be more and more of a headache.

"What the hell… you're going to be the death of me."

"Same to you."

As I gave up with a painful expression on my face, Karin cheerfully laughed while nudging me with her bag. It almost seemed like we had returned to midsummer. And it wasn't as if the scent of sundried grass coming from her had anything to do with that feeling.

"But, seriously… there's nothing bothering me… honestly."

"… Is that right? I'm pretty sure there is, though…"

Well, if you say so, maybe there is. But, honestly, nothing comes to mind.

"Hmm… maybe it's something… you're not conscious of?"

"Hm."

"Ah, I remember you said something about Naruko… does this have something to do with that life counseling you gave her?"

"Definitely not." I responded instantly, announcing that conclusion in a forceful tone of voice. When I did that, Karin clapped her hands together.

"Ah, I got it. So it's that."

"No, it isn't!"

What the hell just happened!? But Karin seemed to be convinced in her beliefs, mumbling things like "haha, you really aren't very honest with yourself" with a know-it-all air.

"At any rate, even if there is something bothering me, it has nothing to do with my sister. Alright?"

"Yeah, sure. Well, can I ask you something else then? Has there been something bothering Naruko lately?"

"…"

What the hell… I don't like this. I don't like this at all… it seems like she's been leading me around by the nose all this time… she said that she was asking me something else, right? she's pretty impertinent, this one…

When I refused to talk further, I realized that we had arrived the usual T junction on the way School. And then, with perfect timing, or should I say, terrible timing, we saw my beleaguered sister.

"Ah… that's… Naruko… right?"

Karin didn't seem confident in her assertion, which is natural considering they rarely interacted. Even though Naruko was usually seen hanging out in a throng of people, for some reason, she was alone today.

"She seems a bit down…"

"Really? I can't tell."

"She really seems pretty depressed. I'm her brother after all, so I could at least tell that much. Usually, she would be walking at a rapid pace with her head held high. She wasn't someone who you would expect to see hunched over like that."

… What is she doing, acting like that…? Come on, don't look so depressed in front of other people. That's so not like you. At some point, I had begun to bite my lower lip. For some reason my chest really hurt looking her like that.

"Hey, let just go."

"Umm, are you sure to leave Naruko alone like that?"

"Yeah… "

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_ஜ40ஜ_

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When I got back home Naruko was in the living room on the couch, hugging a cushion and burying her face into it. On the table, there was a glass of cola she had drank a bit of. Unlike during summer vacation, it was very clear that she was depressed.

Well, so what? I couldn't even begin to guess what to say to her in the first place. It's not like I was worried about her, but if something was bothering her it's not like I couldn't at least hear her out.

"Hey Naruko… you didn't even turn on the lights…"

I began to move to turn on the lights, but I hesitated, and in the end decided to leave the living room in its dimly lit state. I walked to my sister's side. My sister did not make even the slightest movement while her head was still buried in the cushion.

After a bit of hesitation, I steeled myself and began to speak.

"Naruko. What's wrong? Did something happen at school…?" I ask softly

"Not really." She vacantly mumbled while her face remained attached to the cushion.

It was incredibly difficult to make out what she was saying. But, I was relieved that she at least responded. If she were set on completely ignoring me, then there was nothing I would be able to do. So, let's take one step forward at a time.

"Did you forget your homework… or something…?"

I knew that wasn't the case, but I just wanted to test the waters. Naruko shook her head from side to side. So that wasn't it.

"Well then… did Ayase… say something to you?"

"…"

I tried asking the real question, but this time I got no response. No response whatsoever. Without losing heart, I asked another question.

"Could it be that… she broke her promise and spread rumors about your hobby…"

"Ayase would never do something like that!"

I widened my eyes at her angry response. If this were right before Comiket, I would feel happy that her friend was trustworthy… but how should I react to Naruko's words now?

"Did you make up with her?"

"…"

Once again, no response. Naruko dug her face even deeper into the cushion. Seeing her do that, I could tell that she probably didn't make up with Ayase… dammit, this is going nowhere. I began to pull on the cushion.

"Come on, Naruko. Look at me for a bit. If you don't tell me anything I won't know what's going on."

"Leave me alone."

Naruko stubbornly tried to hold onto the cushion. Disregarding her attempts, I just pulled more strongly. And then…

"Dammit! I told you to leave me alone!"

Naruko yelled, suddenly letting go of the cushion. As the pillow slipped out suddenly and I lost my balance, Naruko faced me and spoke even more angrily than she had been speaking before.

"What the hell! Just because I've been talking to you a bit more lately, don't go getting used to it and acting like you're my brother or something! Don't think you can just come in here and start acting like my brother after all these years! Don't get the wrong idea! You're never been care with me before!"

"…"

Ah, is that so? What a pathetic brother I am. I couldn't agree more. But… I tossed the cushion on the floor. Whoosh! With that, I vigorously plopped myself down on the sofa. I sat right next to my sister, our eyes at the same level, so I could listen to her better.

"I don't care if you call me gross," I said. "It's fine, so say it all you want. Just go ahead! At any rate, I'm the hentai idiot brother who made the terrible mistake of ignoring to my sister after all! I won't let you run away until you tell me what's going on. If you think I'm annoying, then you're best off just accepting it and giving me the whole story."

At my incoherent rambling, Naruko made a strange face.

"W-What… are you saying?" She seemed bewildered even though she was angry at the same time.

"So, you didn't make up with Ayase?" Ignoring her confusion, I asked my question.

It was a rather forceful way of doing things, but the way things were going, it didn't seem like she would talk about it by herself. So I really had no choice but to interrogate her like this and deduce the situation from the answers she gave. Well, I did only have one guess as to what had happened, and it probably wasn't that far off from the truth.

She probably really hates that I'm meddling in something that's none of my business. Who in the world would want to go through so much trouble for the sake of someone like that? But, I had already decided that I would do this. I had already told myself that I would do this. I had no intention of stopping without finishing what I had started. After all, the blood of my stubborn mother ran through my veins.

"Well?"

"Making up with Ayase…"

Maybe having realized that yelling wouldn't get her anywhere, Naruko dropped her aggressive tone, and glared at me with tear-filled eyes.

"There's no way… I could make up with Ayase… after… what happened…"

"Ah… I see."

That menacing glare… just thinking back to it gave me the shivers. No matter how close they had been in the past, given how harshly Ayase rejected Naruko, it's no wonder that it would be difficult for them to make up. But, judging from her reaction, what had her on the verge of tears definitely had something to do with the situation with Ayase.

"But… you seemed completely fine the day after you had that argument with her…"

And that's why I had assumed that she had quickly got a hold of herself, had called Ayase and patched things up, and that the entire incident had reached some sort of conclusion. So, what exactly happened to her right after the new semester started?

"I mean… I had to go to the invitational track and field training camp… so I couldn't just be depressed all the time."

"What? Was the training camp that important to you?"

"That's obvious, isn't it…? A lot of people other than me wanted to go to the training camp and had trained hard for it… but in the end I was the one selected. Do you really think I would go there depressed and just make it all go to waste?"

And so, she put off her depression until after the camp.

"… In shoujo manga sometimes you'll read about protagonists who don't do well at a big competition after they get rejected by a guy or have an argument with their friends… but screw that, I say. That's that, and this is this. Screw off, I want to say to her… I would never be like that, never."

"I see…"

She said that as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I see… as I thought, my sister might look like a showoff on the outside, but she was strangely tough, hard on herself and on others, and an incredibly serious person.

"Have you called Ayase at any point after the incident?"

"No. I tried a few times… but she would never pick up… and I was also pretty busy."

"So that means… when you saw her today, it's been a while since you've faced her…"

"Yeah."

So it seemed that there was no reason to think that my sister had made a quick recovery from this and didn't care at all. It was just that she had other things she needed to do, so she had just endured it in the meantime. And then the things she had to do got done, the new semester started, and she came face to face with Ayase again. Having to look at the reason for the breakup up close… that was what caused Naruko once again get depressed? That's why, in my eyes, it had seemed that she had already recovered, but then one day she suddenly seemed to fall into a gloomy mood again?

That doesn't sit well with me. I think that's really quite incredible, but no matter how I look at it, it doesn't sit well with me. I can't even explain why it doesn't sit well with me, but it really doesn't. You… why… why did you… dammit! I don't even know how to put it…

"And today? Did you talk with Ayase today? At least for a bit."

At my question, Naruko didn't respond, instead biting her lip and looking downwards. Hm, so she couldn't talk to her, could she…

Personally, I'm not very well informed on the details of Naruko's school relationships. But, seeing her walked dejected and alone when I'm used to seeing her always surrounded by a large group of friends… her relationship had probably soured with those people. Naruko and Ayase were probably at the core of that group of girls, so when they saw that Naruko and Ayase had broken away from each other, they too probably also distanced themselves. Her friend who had always, always supported her, in her work, and at school. Ayase had said that of Naruko, and Naruko also had once proudly praised her friend. The bonds between those two were sincerely irreplaceable. That's why she was here, wasting away like this. This just makes me sick. it pissed me off.

"So… what are you going to do?"

"What… am I going to do…?" Naruko muttered weakly.

It seemed that she had completely used up the fierce energy she had used to scream before. Seeing my sister like this was just something I couldn't swallow. I didn't try to patronize her even for a second.

"That's obvious, isn't it? What are you going to do to make up with Ayase?"

"I… already told you… there's nothing I can do."

What is she saying? What exactly is she saying?

"She's your close friend, isn't she?"

No response. I tried again with a harsher tone.

"You're alright with how things are? Breaking up like this."

"Shut the hell up!"

Whoosh. Instead of sending a response my way, she sent a counterattack. Cling Clang! Irritated, Naruko shook off my arm and threw many of the things on the table to the floor. The crystal ashtray was upset, and the bottle of cola violently fell to the floor. The atmosphere suddenly tensed. The explosive situation continued for another few suspenseful seconds.

"Well? Well what!? Haven't I just been telling you to stop meddling…? Just leave me alone! It has nothing to do with you!"

"That's true."

It was true. It's not like she needed to tell me that. This situation really had nothing to do with me. It wasn't as if I was trying to turn this into a life counseling session like before, to let all the progress I had made go to waste. Right now, this was just an issue between my sister and her estranged friend. However…

"I don't like it."

"Huh?"

"I don't like it, I said! I don't like seeing you give up so easily! She's your close friend, isn't she!? Your best friend!? Didn't you say that yourself!? But, then, how can you give up so easily!? There's no way you can be satisfied with how things are!"

"…"

"For you, that's how you think about Ayase… right?"

I couldn't say that I fully understood what Naruko's relationship with Ayase was like. I also couldn't say that her relationship with Ayase was the same as my relationship with Karin. But… it was close at least, right? Didn't she say that Ayase was a close friend, that she was her best friend?

"And if that's true, then this must be really hard on you. From the end of Obon until now… how many days have passed? And in that time, you couldn't see her, she wouldn't pick up the phone… it was clear she didn't want to talk with you…"

If it were me, I wouldn't be able to take it. It would be intolerable. I didn't even want to think about it. And so, I really couldn't swallow the fact that Naruko was giving up like this.

"But even then, why are you giving up so easily!? That's not like you at all! The Naruko I know would fight against this! No matter how ugly the fight would get! No matter how unfavorable the odds were! Getting depressed like this at a time like this, and especially lashing out in anger… is that honestly something you would do!? You're acting just like a loser!"

"It's none your business!"

Bam! Something suddenly hit my face.

Naruko had picked up the cushion, and struck my head with it as strongly as she could. It didn't exactly hurt, but for a second I couldn't breathe.

Not even getting a chance to recover, this time an attack came to my stomach. I could almost hear a thud as a violent front kick was sent to my abdomen. Not being able to bear the attack, I crouched, and Naruko swung the cushion down at my head at a steep angle.

"W-Wait… stop…"

"Shut up!"

Bam!

"Do you have any idea how I felt going through summer vacation like that?!"

Bam!

"Why are you telling me that I shouldn't be OK with the way things are!? Don't you think I already know that?!"

Bam!

"But what the hell can I do!? I did something and now Ayase hates me, and she doesn't plan on giving in! I have no idea what I should do…!"

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Again and again and again, with every overflowing bit of emotion, she struck me. I continued to endure my sister's strikes… dammit. That hurt. Both physically and mentally.

"Don't give up? Struggle even if the odds are against you? That's not like you? Don't screw with me! What the hell do you think I should do!? Don't think it's that simple!"

Between her sobs, Naruko continued to beat up on me.

"Do you think I didn't try to do anything about this!? Do you think I didn't try to fight against this? You don't know a damn thing! Not a damn, single thing! Not a thing!"

Each time I was hit, I had a feeling that I understood Naruko's true feelings a bit more. At the same time, a new source of anger welled up in me.

This idiot. Why couldn't she have just been straight with me before? Why did she have to be so uncooperative? As I thought, she was hit pretty hard by this. She was just acting strong and hiding her real feelings. And then she says she was able to put up with her feelings during summer vacation? Bullshit!

And then there was me. Why the hell was I such an idiot? Just because she isn't straight with me, I can't understand what my own sister is feeling? Even though I should know better than most the pain that comes from feeling like you had a break with a close friend! I guess I was still an immature good-for-nothing. She was my own sister, so why did we have such a hard time understanding each other?

Tightly closing both her eyes, Naruko clicked her tongue vehemently. As if she was trying to dispel her tears through pure anger. I suddenly realized that her attacks had stopped. Naruko breathed heavily, and lowered the cushion loosely to her side while biting her lower lip tightly. She looked like she was trying to keep herself from crying further. Finally… in a voice I could barely hear, she muttered haltingly.

"Big bro… help me…"

Even while she tried so hard to hide her weakness and look strong, she couldn't hide the tearful tone of her voice.

"Say that sooner, you idiot. Have you forgotten that I'm your brother?"

(◕ω◕✿)

When I finally pulled myself together in face of the dull throbbing pain, I was the only one left in the living room. It seems that while I was tumbled over in pain, my sister had returned to her room.

With a thud, I plunked down onto the sofa, and looked up at the ceiling.

Alright… should I do it? I thought about that while in a surprisingly refreshed mood. Once again, I had to exert effort to destroy the problems that were hounding my sister. And what's more, my opponent this time would be Ayase, that girl who had a dark side of her personality that had completely blindsided me. It would be incredibly annoying and dangerous.

Haah… being an older brother was not very easy… as I sigh, I began to push buttons on my cell phone. The display showed the phone number of "Ayase Aragaki." I heard the sound of the call being made.

There might have been a reason why Ayase had suddenly had such a complete change in personality. I thought about it. I mean, I still couldn't really believe that what had happened really happened. To think that such a gentle, kind, sincere person… such a good person like Ayase… could suddenly flip out and turn into a completely different, terrifying person, and then break off relations with a good friend like Naruko…

It was just that Naruko's hentai doujinshi habit was exposed before her eyes, right? Well, I guess "just" is not the right word. The situation was a bit more serious than that… it's really a bit incomprehensible, you know? And I mean, that's the feeling I got from the bits and pieces of Naruko's words I had collected from earlier. So… definitely, something was up… something.

On my fifteenth attempt to make the call, I got a response.

"Yes?"

"Hey, it's been a while. This is Naruto."

"Did you want something?"

It was the same harsh tone as before.

"I want to talk to you about Naruko."

After a few silent seconds, I got a response.

"Did Naruko ask you to do this?"

"Do you think she did?"

"No."

Immediate answer. I guess she knew all too well that Naruko was not that kind of person. Suddenly, we both sighed. When I first met Ayase, I had never thought that I would be having this kind of serious conversation with her.

"Well…"

Well, how should I start this…? As I struggled to find words, she went first.

"If you're asking for me to make up with her, I refuse."

She doesn't even want to talk about it… she probably acted like this towards Naruko today at school too. And Naruko was probably pretty shocked by that.

That girl… she has an absurdly high sense of responsibility, and if she has a reason she'll try hard to bear her problems… but once those reasons went away, she suddenly became quite fragile… to be treated like this by a close friend was probably quite hard on her.

"So… you won't accept that she has this kind of hobby?"

"Correct. I cannot be friends with someone who has things like that. I said that the other day too."

Ayase flatly refused, and continued her statement.

"I could ask you too what you think of all this. That your sister has a hobby like this… well, I don't really even have to ask. Because I saw you with her at that place together."

Hey, I still haven't said anything, you know. She's just going on by herself and drawing her own conclusions. Now that I think about it, for as long as I've known her she's been that kind of person.

"Yes, everything is your fault. It's all because you dragged Naruko into… into that kind of…"

"Wait, no. That's…"

She has it all wrong! What a terrible misunderstanding…! It was the opposite! I was the one that got dragged in!

"Don't make excuses, please. I can't believe this… why did this happen… Naruko wasn't that kind of person! You're her brother, so you know, right? She was an amazing girl! Someone who was respected by everyone, who people relied on, myself included…"

"Wait just a second!"

"Don't make excu —"

" — I told you to wait, didn't I!? Calm down! Listen to what I have to say!"

I forcefully interjected with a shout, and finally, I managed to break Ayase off from her monologue. She seemed quite disgruntled at having been cut off before she could proudly tell me to not make excuses.

"What is it then?"

"Did you talk with Naruko today?" I really needed to be clear on what exactly had happened. Could it be that she… "Or, did you not? Did you just ignore her… or something?"

"No, we talked. Just a bit. But there was no point."

If I interjected, she probably would get angry, so I waited for her to continue.

"I was really close with Naruko. That's not true anymore, but we were really close, Naruto-kun. So… don't you think it's obvious I want to heal our relationship, that I want for us to go back to the way things were?"

Yeah… breaking up with a close friend was really hard. It was definitely clear that she would want to heal their relationship and return to the way things were. I had just experienced something similar, after all… I know. All too well. I understand, and that's why I'm here talking to her like this. I wasn't sure how Ayase was taking my silence… but she kept on going.

"So… that's what I told her. 'Can you stop doing things like that?' I asked her. 'I want us to be friends again, so I really don't want things to turn out this way. So could you throw it all away and forget about it?' I asked. During summer vacation, I also couldn't stop thinking about this… but I couldn't go against my own feelings… still, I really like Naruko… and I want to continue to really liking Naruko… so I tried to compromise with her on this."

When she spoke like that, the frightening atmosphere dispersed, and Ayase returned to the kind girl who had deep feelings for her close friend. I really don't think I was mistaken when I got the impression before that she was a good person. But… in the next instant, the atmosphere chilled.

"And what do you think Naruko said to that?"

I can guess. I can probably imagine what she said precisely, word for word. What she probably said first was…

"'Definitely not,' she told me! I couldn't believe it… even though I had begged her like that…! Even though I had asked her to make up with me…! 'Definitely not,' she said… that's so terrible…"

Don't cry… Dammit, she's much harder to deal with than my mother was. No matter if it was my sister or her, I felt helpless when a girl began to cry in front of me. I spoke, trying to cheer her up.

"But… she doesn't mean that she doesn't want to make up with you, you know?"

"It's all the same! She means that that hobby is more important than I am, right!? I thought we were close… but that was completely not true…!"

"Well, what about you?" With a more aggressive tone of voice, I asked my question.

"Certainly, you might say that Naruko is not like normal people and has a not-so-great hobby. Well, let me just ask, do you really think that something like that is enough of a reason to cut off your relationship with Naruko? Do you really think, just because she likes something you don't understand, that's a good reason to start hating a close friend? So, what about that?"

"Something like that? Something like that, did you say?"

"Yes, I did. So what? Don't get me wrong… I have not the slightest of intentions of supporting her hobby. But, I don't think her hobby is something that should break apart two close friends."

"That's because you also have the same hobby, isn't it?"

NO! I wanted to say, but she probably wouldn't believe me. What's more, honestly, after spending time with my sister and her friends, and after going to that event, my prejudices against otaku had died down. So, it was true that I saw these types of otaku hobbies in a different light than Ayase did. But, even so. Was there some other reason for all this? I really couldn't believe that just because Naruko had a weird hobby, Ayase would cut ties with her.

"Maybe. But if I have to say it, you don't exactly understand what Naruko's hobby is about either, right? You're hating something without even understanding it."

I tried to convince Ayase with the same line of reasoning I had used on my mother. But…

"My mother is the president of the PTA." Ayase spoke sharply.

"PTA?" Having such a strange word coming at me seemingly out of context, I tilted my neck. What exactly did that have to do with what we were talking about?

"Sometimes I help my mother when she has periodic meetings… at those meetings, we sometimes have guest speakers, journalists who have spoken on television before… what they tell us is that Japan, as a nation, is one of the most prominent suppliers of child pornography in the world, and suspicious products like that run unchecked especially in Akihabara. It's a really serious problem, if you ask me… the same person told us that the House of Representatives recently was presented with a petition asking them to enact a law regulating the manufacture and distribution of adult anime and games featuring young girls."

"… Adult… regulation… petition?"

What was going on… I had a bad feeling about where this was going…

"Yes. To summarize, it was something calling for the regulation of adult games and anime. It was originally a petition presented by members of the House of Councilors. If you do those kinds of things, you would unwittingly destroy your mind and lose your humanity."

Although Ayase was speaking in a very orderly manner, she gradually got more and more worked up.

"There were a few products mentioned on a handout they distributed at the meeting. There were manga and computer games in which you defile little girls, lock them up and enjoy doing perverted things to them… I couldn't believe that there were people who would look at these things, who would play with them and actually have fun while doing it. I don't even really want to remember what happened in that incident… but certainly, the things Naruko had at that time were all those types of things, right? Yes?"

Faced with the waves of disapproval coming off Ayase, I didn't really know how to respond. So, the PTA did things like that too? Really, petitions…? Regulations…? Nothing but pointless thoughts and questions ran through my head.

"That kind of disgusting hobby… if you can even call something dirty like that a 'hobby'… to find out that a close friend had something like that… isn't is obvious that I would try to stop it? Would a friend really just give her permission to do this kind of thing and approve of it? I really don't think so, so if she definitely won't give it up, I can't continue to associate with her. Even if she was a close friend."

If this were a few weeks ago, I probably wouldn't have had a single problem with what she was saying, and would have approved of it as a commendable way of thinking. I mean, even now, I had to admit that Ayase's overly serious line of reasoning was sound… I cocked my head to the side. But I don't have to tell her that, right? Was I acting this way because I already was well on my way to being an otaku? Had my head gone funny? Considering what we were talking about, I didn't want to argue back against this girl and make myself seem like a big hentai… but before I knew it I had opened my mouth.

"Well, I mean, from your point of view, it probably seems disgusting or dirty… if that's what you say you think, then all I can say is 'ah, alright.' But, this really isn't something worthy of such an overreaction… I mean, they're just books and games, right?"

"What if I told you that under influence by those things you call 'just games,' people have committed crimes!? There was that incident before summer vacation, that was on the news… umm… the 'Siscali Attempted Murder Case!'"

"S-Siscali… Attempted Murder Case!?"

"Yes. Did you not know? Hold on… just a second. I know I have it around here…"

I heard a clattering noise on the other end of the line. It seemed as if she was preparing the appropriate documents.

"It was a case where a man tried to electrocute a girl to death and was caught. That man was part of that group of potential criminals they call 'otaku,' and seemed to do what he did under the influence of the 18+ game 'Little Sister Wars–Siscalypse.' He confessed that he wanted to act like he did in the game and yearned for the game characters… they also confiscated a large number of disgusting books and games from that man's room."

In her anger, Ayase threw her judgmental words at me.

"Among the disgusting books that Naruko dropped that day, there were even a few that were listed on this document! I saw 'Siscalypse' written on some, right!? Doesn't that mean Naruko has the same game as that murderer did!?"

I see… I see. I see all too well… I know exactly what's going on now. I can understand now why you suddenly became so hysterical when you read that doujinshi, and why you became so pale then. In other words, she really was just worried about Naruko. Her important friend might have turned into a potential criminal. Like that, Naruko might destroy her mind and lose her humanity.

… What should I do? What should I do… what should I do… what should I do!?

So, that's what this situation had become. Ayase continued her speech in a bitter tone.

"So, alright? How can you justify something like that… those types of games and manga, and everything similar to that kind of thing… it's unforgivable that such things exist in this world! And the people who want such things, and the people who make such things, everyone is the same: potential criminals! These are things we need to closely regulate and harshly control! And these things are absolutely not things Naruko should give involved with! Give me back my Naruko! Give her back!"

Click. And I was utterly shut down. I tried to redial her number, but Ayase didn't pick up again.

"What the hell…"

I sighed heavily. I had expected the conversation to be tough, but it had been even more difficult than I had imagined. Ayase wasn't just simply speaking out of the pure prejudice against otaku that many girl high school students possessed. She was trying to get Naruko to stop her hobby for Naruko's sake. Up to that point, her actions were identical with my mother's that one time. But Ayase had presented real evidence that supported her opinion, her disgust against otaku. She was a very difficult opponent. Probably even more than my mother had been. I wouldn't be able to change her opinion without trying my utmost.

"'Siscali Attempted Murder Case,' huh… to think I would hear something like that at a time like this…"

If I thought about it now, the reason why Naruko had become so depressed is probably because she had met with Ayase while Ayase was acting like that. It was truly a helpless, lamentable situation. But, what just happened? What was up with that argument? From what I heard, and her one-sided tone that was filled with genuine worry probably had something to do with this, she was definitely quite persuasive, and her argument even had a basis in real fact. But… how should I put it… there was just something I couldn't accept about her line of reasoning.

Honestly, it might be because I had met Naruko's otaku friends, and even had gone to an event with them… and had felt a feeling of friendship budding with them. Or rather, it might have been because I had played the very game, "Siscali," that had motivated that crime, had practiced it, and had even cleared it… so probably, I was biased in favor of it. I didn't know what it was, but for now I knew I couldn't accept what she had said. Even I wouldn't say that there weren't bad influences that existed in games, manga, or on the Internet. Your precious time melts away to nothing; it's not really a good thing to waste your childhood watching bishoujo anime, and the only place they talk so proudly about playing eroge are on restricted communities. Once you go outside and look at it from the perspective of normal common sense, it wasn't something you could puff your chest out about. I mean, that's why Naruko had been so troubled back then when she couldn't find anybody to talk to about her own hobby. People could say that these things have a bad influence on her. But, just by being an otaku, could a good person really be turned into a bad person, or could someone who would never commit a crime really be transformed into a criminal?

For example… if you read a manga in which they kill people, or play a brutal game, would you really start to want to kill people? I mean, maybe the guy who killed the other person was an bad person in the first place. If he was just a normal human, people wouldn't have an issue, right? It wasn't games or whatever that was the issue, but rather was a problem with his character, wouldn't you say? But let's say for the sake of argument that he fell under the evil influence of games and became a criminal. Even if he hadn't played games, wouldn't he have just found some other reason to commit crimes? However you say it, reality will always be a much stronger influence on people than games. It was impossible to make a game that was more real than reality. It was impossible to even think about what that kind of game would be like. So, even if she had evidence like that, it just didn't convince me. It's just that, this was my own personal opinion, and didn't go further than that. It was impossible for me to convince Ayase with this personal opinion alone.

"What should I do?"

Naruko and Ayase both wanted to make up with each other. But Naruko had absolutely no intentions on giving up her hobby, and Ayase had absolutely no intentions on approving of that hobby. They couldn't meet eye to eye. And… even if their relationship would never be the same, I wanted to see them make up with each other. And also, I couldn't tolerate the thought, couldn't stomach the fact that close to me, two good friends were being breaking up with each other. Because I can relate to how painful such an experience can be. So I wanted to do something if I could. Even if this wasn't about my sister, I would feel like that.

First of all… that girl had said that otaku were "potential criminals." That included not just me and Naruko, but Kuroneko and Rias as well. Of course, I didn't really care what bad things people said about otakus in general… but if someone spoke badly about my friends, could I really just stay silent about it? Obviously not!

(◕ω◕✿)

After that, I thought for a while about the situation in my room. About how I could get them to make up with each other. About how I could get her to take back those ugly things she had said about my friends. About what I could do and what I couldn't. Things I should do… there were a few things I could do.

First, I would borrow Naruko's computer, and look on the Internet. Then, I could… ask for help on this situation… from someone… they could lend me their strength, and then could help me achieve my goals more effectively, then that would be great. I would do what I could. So, I had to exhaust every thread of strength I had. But, who exactly should I ask…?

The person I would feel most comfortable talking about this with, the person who was the best informed about these types of situations, was Rias… but I wanted to leave that option aside for now. Kuroneko too. I had said I would exhaust all my strength… but I didn't want to worry those two over this matter. They've already helped us out more than enough… I really didn't want to ask them to help me out of this messy situation on top of that. Well, certainly, Rias would probably say something like "there's no need to thank me" This was why asking Rias or Kuroneko for help was, to me, the last of the last of options.

Speaking of Naruko, she had probably also done whatever was in her power to do to resolve this situation. She probably had exhausted all possibilities available to her. And even then she was reduced to such a sorry state, so even if I went to her at this point and asked for advice, no good ideas would come out of that. Instead, we probably would just end up arguing again. So… then… the remaining candidate was…

I meditated on it for almost a minute, but finally I narrowed my eyes, my mind in a complicated state. There was someone. If I really wanted to, there was just one person… someone who would seriously give me advice, who was incredibly well-informed about things like the "Siscali Attempted Murder Case" or the "PTA meeting" or the "regulations on bishoujo adult material," someone who would never tell anybody else, and from whom I could hope for effective advice… and that's my father

"Alright…" Finally making up my mind, I went to meet my dad.

Finding just the right time, I walked towards the living room. In the living room, my dad was sitting on the sofa and enjoying his favorite jack daniel's happily, I could not see my mother anywhere. Maybe she had gone to take a bath.

"Dad…"

"Oh, Naruto. What do you need?"

"I want to talk to you about something"

"Hm… is it about your future?"

"No…"

Sorry, that's not it, Dad… I'm really, really sorry. I feel really bad about this… please listen…

"I need advice on something… mainly on the 18+ games thing…"

"…!"

"… I think I'm getting a bit hard of hearing. Sorry Naruto, please say that again."

Oh god this really awkward.

"Em… um… Dad… the truth is… a little bit ago, I accidentally dropped some 18+ goods on the road, and one of my good friends, a girl, now hates me. What should I do?"

"Hack! Cough! Hack! Hack!"

The drink spilled out onto his face.

"Cough! Cough! Hack…!"

My father looked just like he was having an heart attack. He grasped onto his chest with one hand, while the other flailed randomly in midair.

Crap! Even I was at a loss for words. I jumped the gun and asked him straight on!

"A-Are you alright, Dad…!? H-Here's some water!"

I held a glass full of water out to him, and my dad took it and gulped down the contents.

"Haah… Hah, hah…"

He stood up, drenched in sweat, and his shoulders moved up and down. He clunked the glass down hard on the table.

"W-What the hell Naruto! Of all things, what in the world are you trying to ask me advice about!?"

I stretched both my hands out in front of me and spoke apologetically.

"Well, I mean, at an event I bought a lot of ero manga, and I banged into her on the way home…"

"Who the hell was asking for details!? That's not what I meant!"

"I-I know…"

…ohh… Dad… even when you're angry, you can retort appropriately like that…

"So, what is going on? This matter was already laid to rest, wasn't it? If there's a reason for you to be bringing it up again."

"There was something I wanted to confirm with you Dad! Please… listen to me! I beg you! Help us through this!"

I prostrated myself and begged him.

"Okay go ahead."

"There was some case I heard about the other day, and I wonder if you knew about it…"

With an extremely awkward expression, my father listened to my story from start to end.

(◕ω◕✿)

When school ended I hurriedly went to Naruko and Ayase's school. After finally able to convince Ayase to talk with me we moved to the roof to talk more privately.

"So? You said you had something to talk with me about. What is it?"

Her eyes gave off the impression that she was expecting to enter into a duel at any second. She was clearly on her guard. It was to be expected, but it was still an undesirable situation.

"That's obvious, isn't it? I want to talk about Naruko."

"That conversation is already over."

Ayase flatly refused.

"If that's all you wanted, then I'll be taking my leave."

"Wait wait, hold on a bit. Why are you jumping to conclusions like that? Please, just listen to what I have to say."

"Is there a need to? My thoughts and conclusions are just as I told to you yesterday. If I can, I want to get Naruko to change her ways. To get her to stop that hobby, and return her to her right senses. But…"

Ayase calmly made her statement, and then bit her lip. She didn't have to go on for me to know what she wanted to say. Naruko would never throw away her hobby. Even when her public image is threatened, or when her parents strongly disapproved, she would always like what she liked. I had seen her ridiculously stubborn determination first hand.

"Why would she… go that far…"

That's… really something Ayase can't understand, I think. Why is it that, even though she was warned so earnestly by her close friend, such warnings went in one ear and out the other? Even though Ayase had not said anything that was obviously wrong… whether it was that the hobby Naruko had was disgusting and repulsive, or that someone like Naruko really shouldn't get close to things like that.

Could it be, that I was mistaken in thinking they were close friends…? It was natural that I would think something like that. This girl hated otaku even more than my mother did. She had been taken in by the one-sided otaku bashing that existed in the world, and had embraced a strong prejudice against them. Of course, within that prejudice there were things that might not have been far off the mark. In Ayase, aside from her prejudice, there was a part of the otaku psychology that she just might not be able to accept. At a glance, she was a girl who prided herself on cleanliness and purity.

"What kind of people do you think are the most prejudiced against otaku?"

Naruko had said to me. The answer was girls in junior high school… she was probably speaking with her own close friend in mind. She was a very serious, pure, kind, honest, and a bit prejudiced person… my evaluation of Ayase was not mistaken. She was definitely not a bad person. I would instead say that she is an extremely good person. How many friends of mine can I count that would get this angry for my sake?

"… Naruto-kun. I have a request."

"What is it?"

"Won't you talk to her too? I really do want to get her to stop."

Ayase still was under the impression that I was an otaku. She thought that I was repulsive and disgusting, that my mind had broken and I was just a potential criminal. And yet…

"Please help me. My… my own words don't seem to get through to her… so…"

To think that she would lower her head to someone that she hates as much as me. This was probably the reason she even want to talk with me here today. Because she wanted to get her most important friend back. She wanted to save her from going down a bad road. In some ways, doesn't it seem like I'm the bad guy here? It's not like I can claim to be the good guy in this situation…

"I can't. I really can't."

"No matter what?" Ayase asked me while bowing.

"Yeah, no matter what."

Even if I did talk to Naruko, it's not like I would be able to get her to stop. In the first place, that wasn't what I had come here to talk about. Having been bluntly refused by me, Ayase quickly raised her head. Was it just me, or did it seem like the light had gone out in her eyes?

"Her reputation is going to be destroyed, you know? Even if I said that?"

"You wouldn't do something like that, I think."

"How would you know what I would and wouldn't do?"

"Because Naruko told me so."

I didn't give any response further than that. Ayase's eyes widened, and I saw the light return to them.

Well… this seems to be a good time. I've finished reaffirming the situation, so let's get to the main topic at hand.

"So… Ayase, to put everything briefly, what you're saying is the following. 'Naruko's hobby is disgusting and repulsive and she should not have it.' 'But even so, Naruko won't throw her hobby away.' 'So, I cannot hang around such a person. And I can't make up with her.' That about right?"

"Yes. And?"

The problem here was simple. So, from here, how should I get these two to make up with each other? First, there was Ayase's demand that I should go and try to talk Naruko out of her hobby. But, needless to say, I would not choose that option. And that limited what options I could take. What are those, you ask? Well, just watch. For now, there were a few things I could try. Including my ace in the hole. I had even taken off from home to prepare that one. Honestly, I didn't know if it would work or not, but I could only try and see.

"You said a lot of things to me on the phone back then… and I did a bit of research on them."

"Research?"

"Yeah. In summary… about the Siscali Attempted Murder Case, what various commentators have been saying about otaku on the news, the PTA meeting you participated in, the child pornography issue in Japan, and etcetera."

Yesterday, when she was throwing blame around while weaving various examples into her argument, I could not respond at all. So… earlier, I had gone to my dad who was police detective, to ask for his wisdom on the matter.

"Of all things, you're coming to me to ask about that…?"

And after that, even though he looked less than pleased throughout, he explained things to me in unexpectedly fine detail…

"But what a coincidence… I happen to know about that case. About the petition on bishoujo adult anime and games as well. At the very least, I should know more about these things than that girl… hmph, of course, it was just because that case coincidentally caught my eye that I know about it…"

"You mentioned that her mother was the president of the PTA… you're probably talking about congressman Aragaki's wife, right? If that's true, then I also coincidentally happen to know about the meeting that her daughter participated in. If I recall correctly…"

"That document you talked about… I have a copy as well… last month, a coworker at the station happened to give a copy to me."

"Oh, I know that journalist quite well. Coincidentally, I happened to do a bit of research on him recently.

After that incident with Naruko and Mom, Dad went and researched various things about otaku, examined the rumors going around on television about these things, to try to understand this thing that his two children were trying so hard to protect. Amazing, isn't it? My dad, that is. Studying up a bit on otaku like this. For our sake. In order to protect us from getting involved in anything truly dangerous… that's pretty great, really. Although, if he started playing eroge too, I'd run away from home and go get adopted by the Uzumaki household.

"The document you were talking about, it's this, right?"

"That… what's that?"

Taking out the document I had prepared for this meeting from my bag, I thrust it at Ayase.

"Let me just put it outright. What's written here is utter nonsense. There is no clear evidence linking the otaku hobby with these crimes as you had suggested. Not for now, at least."

"Eh…?"

For a moment, Ayase stared blankly at me as if she couldn't process what I just said, but her expression stiffened immediately.

"B-But! On the news, there was… and it was a congressman too…!"

"The petition that you brought up that was submitted to the House of Representatives was also based on shaky evidence. You said that when people played eroge, they would unconsciously break their minds and lose their humanity? Well, then it's a matter of how exactly you know that's true. Because, if someone could lose their mind just by playing games, then he probably wasn't a decent person to begin with. Just think about it."

"I-I did think about it! This is all just your own personal opinion, isn't it!?"

"Yeah, it is. But, I'm not the only person who thinks this way. There are people in the Diet who also are more conservative on this issue. There was another petition, with hundreds of signatures, in which people requested that if we change the laws against child pornography, we should not be hasty and take a very cautious approach. I might be stating the obvious, but there are several different opinions on this matter. The Diet is a suitable place for debates like this after all. Just because a petition is handed to the House of Representatives, that doesn't mean that the contents of that petition are definitely correct. So, even if I give you this document right here, that does not form the basis for rejecting the otaku hobby.""

Trying to keep her temper, Ayase shouted.

"But, in reality, there are people like this who have become criminals, haven't there been!? The commentators have all said that, haven't they!?"

"In regards to the 'Siscali Attempted Murder Case,' that was blown completely out of proportion. While it's true that outside of Siscali, the criminal had a lot of other 18+ games, the contention that his games were the cause of him falling into crime is an outright lie. Certainly, he said that he 'mimicked the game characters and tried to electrocute a girl,' but he later retracted that statement. 'I wanted to rough up a girl, so I waved my modded stun gun around,' he later said… of course, it's not clear which one of his statements is true. Taking a close up look at his motives, there's absolutely no need to talk about the influence of these games. It's just that, when they first were reporting on this matter, it was very easy for them to make a connection between the 'influence of games' and the 'attempted murder.'"

All in one breath.

"And then the media made it out to be this huge thing and labeled it with the name you know, as the 'Siscali Attempted Murder Case.' And at that critical moment, the famous commentators continued to beat on otaku, and kept on talking about the eroge they found in the criminal's room and showing pictures of Akihabara. It's pretty difficult to just take it all back and apologize after doing all that. I'm not sure that's really why, but for now, I can say that I've yet to see a single news article where they admit that it really wasn't the game's fault."

"That's… but, that person's always helped out my mother so much…"

Ayase desperately flipped through the document I had handed over to her. It was almost as if she was trying to find something in there that would refute what I was saying.

"I'm not saying that every single thing he said was an outright lie. And I'm not saying that every journalist who bashes otaku is a fraud. But at least this time, to push the things he himself believed in, that journalist manipulated the situation to fit his own views. If you think I'm lying, go and look into the matter yourself."

"…"

Ayase clearly seemed shaken, and bit her lip. I could hear her grumbling "Lies… it was a lie, a lie lie lie" almost as if she was chanting a curse, and it was honestly quite unsettling. She was a clean, pure, honest person, and so when she was lied to like this, she rejected it to that extent… it was pretty amazing.

"… You said otaku were just potential criminals, so won't you take that back? I mean, there are probably bad people who are otaku too. But they aren't all like that. Remember when you asked if those two people were Naruko's friends? Those two really strangely dressed people. They were my friends. They're reaaaally good people! So please, don't lump all otaku together and speak badly of them like that!"

This matter was something that was just as important to me as getting Naruko and Ayase to make up with each other. The one thing I had to get Ayase to take back was her remark about all otaku being criminals. That was one duty I, as their friend, could not neglect.

"… Naruko said something similar, you know."

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing… I understand, to the very end, I was mistaken on this matter. There is no such connection between otaku and criminals. Satisfied?"

"I see! Then…"

"But, I still have no intention of approving of Naruko having that kind of hobby."

Rejected. Ayase didn't even let me pursue the issue. With creases forming across my forehead, I asked.

"Why?"

"Why? That's obvious, isn't it!? So there isn't a connection between this and crime… so what, I ask!? There's still no mistaking that it's a dirty, repulsive hobby, is there!?"

"You may think that. But, and I might be repeating myself here, I don't think that's enough to justify breaking up with a close friend. I'm not telling you to accept her hobby. However I think about it, those things are not good things. I understand that much. But, can't you just pretend you didn't see anything? Pretend that you didn't see anything… and just be her friend like you have been up to now? She knows herself all too well that this hobby isn't something she can make public. That's why she's gotten so good at separating the two sides of herself."

"That's true, isn't it? Hiding it so well… and continuing to trick us like that."

"She wasn't trying to trick you. There was just no need for you to know! Of course, she was also trying to protect her public image… but first and foremost, she didn't want to lose her close friend! You two are close, right? Why can't you even understand what she was trying to do here!?"

"Liar! That's a huge lie! After all, Naruko thinks that this hobby of hers is more important than I am, doesn't she!? Even though today and yesterday, I begged her to stop! Even though I begged her to heal our relationship…! 'I definitely don't want to,' that's all she could say…!"

"That's not right! That's definitely not what she meant by that…!"

"Shut up! Don't act as if you know what's going on! What do you know about us!? I know Naruko better than anybody else does! But even then, to think she would do that kind of…! That person wasn't Naruko! It was someone else! Definitely someone else! An imposter…! Give her back! You're hiding the real Naruko somewhere, aren't you!? Give me back my friend!"

This is hopeless. Completely hopeless, I think. I really can't convince this girl. To this girl, this situation probably seemed like Naruko had joined some strange religion or something. Ayase truly was concerned for Naruko's well-being, truly valued Naruko highly, and truly was fond of her. That's why she couldn't condone the present situation. She couldn't condone her friend corrupting herself.

That's not like you. You're not like that! A certain someone had once said something similar… and had gotten angry with similar sentiments. But what gives me the right to criticize Ayase? We're birds of a feather, really. Projecting a certain image of someone in our minds, but realizing that in reality that person was different, and then getting angry about it. And then getting sad about it. And then falling into despair over it. It was really a selfish thing. But this was a pitfall that occurred naturally when people got together. Especially for friends, or for people we loved and respected, that's the way we wanted things to be.

There was only one person in the world who could refute these feelings from the other side. There was only one person who could hit me across the face, who could kick me in the privates, with a shout of "don't screw with me!" Yes.

"Stop screwing around! Shut it with the 'imposter imposter' nonsense!"

Yeah, just like that.

"…"

"Naruko…!?"

At the sudden loud scream, Ayase and I simultaneously turned around. The uniformed form of Naruko was walking quickly towards us from the door. Her head was held as high as it always was, and she came towards us at a fast pace.

"Ah, Naruko you finally here"

"You shut up too. Don't butt your face into our business. This is something I have to do myself!"

That's true, isn't it? You knew that all along, didn't you?

"Okay then. Sorry for intruding."

Do your best, Naruko. It wasn't like I was expecting my thoughts to reach Naruko, but at that moment Naruko seemed to get reenergized and turned to face Ayase. She confronted her close friend with a tense expression.

"Ayase… listen to what I have to say."

"… I don't want to listen to anything an imposter like you has to say."

Ayase shook her head stubbornly. She shouted with bared fangs.

"Let me meet the real Naruko!"

"What is 'the real Naruko'?"

The Naruko that stood before me was a completely different person than the Naruko who was completely overwhelmed by Ayase back in that other incident. She haughtily puffed out her chest, and with energy that matched the intensity of the furious Ayase, she faced her opponent head on.

"A beautiful girl, someone with distinguished fashion sense, a sports prodigy, and someone who excels at her schoolwork. She has a lot of friends, she is looked up to by everyone at school, has a great rapport with her teachers, flourishes in her club activities, is even a model outside of school, is relied on by everyone, is loved by everyone… she's absolutely perfect, amazingly cool, super cute, really beautiful. That Naruko Namikaze, you mean?"

I didn't know anybody else who could so confidently praise themself like that. It must be refreshing to be able to go so far with self-praise. She really loves herself, doesn't she?

"Is that what you mean by the real me?"

"Yes! That's Naruko, isn't it!? Even when we go out shopping, even when we're surrounded by boys in town, even when there's something in school I don't understand, even when I feel overwhelmed with modeling, even when we put on a show at the culture festival… to me you were always… you were always with… but…"

"But it's strange for me to get close to such a hobby? It's impossible? It's not like me? I'm dirty and repulsive, an imposter? Sorry, Ayase, but that's a complete misunderstanding."

"… Mis…understanding?"

"Yes, so just listen to me… although, I'm not sure if I can say this well…"

Facing her bewildered friend, Naruko began to speak.

"Well, for me, I really love those manga that you hate and think are repulsive. I also have many of those 18+ games that you think are dirty and make you nauseous, and I love those as well. No matter how many times I watch anime with cute little girls, I can't get enough, and just looking at all the goods I bought is enough to make me happy. It really is a strong love like that. You could say I adore them. No matter what anybody else says, that is me."

Ayase looked like she wanted to say something, but it seemed as if she couldn't put it into words. Sorry, Naruko was saying. Sorry that I'm not the person you hoped I was. But, this is me. That's what it sounded to me like she was trying to say.

"So, I know that you're really worried about me, but please don't be. I definitely don't want to give up this hobby. It's something I like. What I like is what I like. If I stop it, if my hobby becomes no more, I would not be myself anymore…"

Like she had once done with me before, Naruko let out her own feelings. She laid herself bare. As if she couldn't understand what was happening before her eyes, Ayase shook her head a number of times.

"… It's something that's more important to you than your friends? That hobby…it's more important than me!?"

"That's not true!"

"But —"

Naruko cut off Ayase before she could continue, and shouted with all her strength.

"— I love you just as much as I love eroge! It's not a lie! Why won't you understand!? If I could just choose one, I wouldn't have been so troubled to begin with! My school friends as well! My otaku hobby as well! All of these things are incredibly important, precious things that I can't throw away, and that's the reason why things have come this far, isn't it!?"

"W-W-Wha…" Having been struck with that heavy killing blow, Ayase stumbled a step and wavered.

She probably was flushed bright red because there was not a shred of dishonesty in Naruko's words, and her message had gotten completely across. I didn't know if she was angry, happy, embarrassed… or some combination of the three. Facing her blushing, bewildered friend, Naruko put on the pressure.

"Alright, Ayase? I don't have any intention of throwing away any of these things. Neither my friends, nor my hobby, so I've decided! I'm definitely going to make up with you! And I'm definitely not stopping my hobby! You have a problem with that!?"

Well, things just got serious. This idiot! Don't say something so unreasonable! But… there was nothing more like my sister than this arrogant, haughty side of her. This was the genuine, bona fide Naruko Namikaze. Ayase probably understood that as well. She really was this kind of person. Her close friend should know about that, right?

"You're… not lying? I'm also really… important to you…?"

Ayase seemed to be taking a few moments to digest what Naruko had said, and finally spoke.

"I… understand your feelings. I also… misunderstood in a lot of places. I got taken in by other people's opinions… and said some terrible things… that was wrong of me. Sorry. I'm really… sorry."

Ayase bowed very deeply.

"I… also want to make up… with you, Naruko…"

"Yeah." Naruko smiled shyly.

From the beginning, both of them had wanted to quickly make up with each other. Now that they had been able to speak frankly with each other, it seemed that they had finally come to understand that… geez, what a roundabout way of doing things. They should have just done that from the very beginning… well, I can't say I acted completely correctly too. I also had misunderstood her feelings, got angry, and was worried without knowing what to do about it.

"I love you just as much as I love eroge!" She certainly got her feelings across. It was a hopeless situation to the end, but she got them across with her strongest words.

… I mean, to think that she was able to solve the issue saying something like that… I felt it was a just a bit counterintuitive. if anybody else had used that line in any situation, they couldn't possibly hope for results this good. Here and now, all the more because Naruko was facing Ayase, those words had their effect.

"Hah… somehow…"

In any case. I'm glad everything got resolved. That's what I thought, but… as Ayase looked downwards, she continued in a frustrated tone with a "But…"

"… As I thought, this is hopeless… I definitely want to make up with Naruko. I want to make up with Naruko… but I can't approve of your hobby…!"

She mumbled things like a certain someone had a while ago. Naruko and I both simultaneously widened our eyes.

"W-What are you saying!? Didn't you say you were going to make up with me!?"

"… I… sniff…"

After Naruko angrily yelled at her, Ayase began to cry. Blinking a number of times, she wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, and choked out her words through her tears.

"Because… because… I really can't do it… Naruko… I-I….. those types of games and manga… I honestly hate them… I really hate them… even if they don't make you a criminal, they're dirty, repulsive, disgusting things… I might be overreacting… but… sorry, it's useless…"

"…"

As expected, Naruko also was in pain, and recoiled. We had proven that there was no connection between otaku and crime. That misunderstanding had been settled, and Naruko had gotten her feelings across. But in the end, there was still the matter of the characteristic psychological prejudice of junior high school girls. It was a negative image that couldn't be wiped away. This particular situation was truly futile. It wasn't a matter of misunderstandings, but was squarely in the realm of Ayase's personal principles.

"W-What should I do…? Naruko… what… what should I do…?"

Ayase gazed at Naruko with desperate eyes. No matter how she tried, it seemed that her feelings did not allow for compromise. She wanted to make up with Naruko. But, she couldn't approve of otaku. She also couldn't just pretend nothing had happened. This inflexibility came from her belief in cleanliness.

"…"

And then Naruko, who had been driven into a corner… "Uugh…"Suddenly turned and faced me. "Do something!" she seemed to be saying to me.

… You want me to do something here!? You're turning to me now!? Even though you had told me to not to butt in…!

"…Naruko… I… I… ugh…"

"Uuuuuughh…"

Blink, blink blink blink . "Fast! Do something now!"

She seemed to want to tell me with the rapid winking she was sending my way. But… even if you tell me to do something… ugh… I mean… I did happen to prepare a trump card for situations like this… but… this was… honestly, I really didn't want to do that. I did prepare it just for this meeting, but however I think about it, it wasn't a good thing. But maybe, with this, they could actually make up with each other…

Ugh… dammit, if I think about this any longer, it'll soon be too late. Screw it! I should just go for it! Dammit! Don't blame me if something bad happens! After you hear my brilliant explanation, don't regret it, alright!?

"Hold on, Ayase. Listen to what I have to say."

"?"

Ayase watched me through her upturned, tear-filled eyes. I started speaking boldly.

"You think that this hobby we're obsessed with is dirty… and no matter what you can't approve of it, so you can't make up with Naruko. Right?"

"T-That's obvious, isn't it… because, because…"

Well, that's what teenage girls were like, wasn't it? It would be unreasonable for me to just tell her to approve of it.

"Well, let's remodel that opinion of yours then. Take a look at this…"

From my school bag, I took out a thick book I had just borrowed today from the library.

"… The Odyssey… and… the Nihon Shoki?"

… She recognized them, right? Yes, what I just handed over to Ayase was the ancient Greek epic poem "The Odyssey," and the oldest record of Japanese history, the Nihon Shoki. I also handed over a third book, entitled "Egyptian Myth–Osiris and Isis." As Ayase stood puzzled by my intentions, she wiped her tears and her gaze dropped down to the books.

"Izanagi and Izanami… Cronus and Rhea… Osiris and Isis… and then…"

Labels were taped onto the books, so she probably knew where to look. Ayase scanned the books from start to end, and she became even more bewildered.

"What's this for?"

"Those are all stories of older brother and younger sister deities. There are alternative theories, but… these siblings all got married a long time ago."

"Umm… excuse me, but what exactly do you want to say? What does this have to do with Naruko's hobby?"

"Well, just hold on. Just keep what I said in mind. The real article I want to get to is this…"

I slowly took my trump card out of my bag.

"T-That's…!?" Naruko raised her voice in astonishment.

If you want to know why, it's because the things I took out of my bag were the treasured "little sister hentai doujinshi" Naruko had bought at summer Comiket. I handed the hentai doujinshi casually over to Ayase. Ayase blinked in surprise, but began to flip through the books…

Smack! Her hand slapped me across the face.

"Awwwwww…!"

"W-Why are you showing me this!? Do you have a death wish or something!?"

Is that something you should be saying after you slap me!? What the hell, this girl!? Dammit Naruko, this the second time I got slap by woman because of you!

"D-Disgusting! D-D-D-Disgusting! How shameless, you pervert!"

"Disgusting? You're wrong… you're mistaken, Ayase! Those books are not disgusting at all! The books I just handed over to you are all written with the same topic in mind!"

"Wha-!?"

"What are you saying?"

Naruko's mouth hung half open, and spoke as if she had just realized what was happening. After all her brother is going through to convince Ayase, she's being quite uncooperative.

I spread my arms wide, and proclaimed my argument to Ayase.

"Just think back! That collection of ours that you called dirty… they're all drawn works of art on the love of an older brother and her younger sister! Am I wrong!? Is there even one exception!? There isn't, is there!? So how are these different from the hard covers I just handed you!? Just because one is older and one is newer!? If I mixed them together, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference!"

"W-What did you just put into the same category as these national myths?!"

"Incest doujinshi, of course! Got a problem with that!? What's drawn in those ero books are the stories of love between an older brother and younger sister that have been passed down by humanity since ancient times. It's the most beautiful, precious literature in the world. Yes, our strong feelings for these things are definitely not evil at all!"

Because… I quickly pointed to the things in Ayase's hands, and shouted at top of my lung.

"THOSE ARE THE PROOF OF THE LOVE BETWEEN NARUKO AND ME!"

There was no mistaking that this was the most idiotic thing I've said in my life.

"Eeeehh!?"

"W-W-Wha-…"

Both Naruko and Ayase looked at me with their eyeballs stretched out of their sockets.

"Wha… what outrageous things are you running your mouth with-mmph!"

In an instant, I hugged Naruko and smothered her face, cutting her off. She wriggled and squirmed in protest, but I wrapped her arms around her back and somehow also pinned those down. As I hugged her tight out of "proof" of our mutual love, Ayase stared at us, dumbfounded.

"W-W-W… What are you…!?"

Just like Ayase had done back when she had gotten angry, I went on and on without letting her speak.

"It's just as it looks, Ayase. We love each other! That's why we have to collect these stories of forbidden love! Don't call our love for each other dirty! It's literature, didn't I say!? There are drawings of naked girls in there? There are passionate ero scenes in there? That's not the true substance of these works! They aren't as trashy as people like you claim they are!"

As I continued to ad-lib, I gradually became more and more emotional, and soon wasn't even conscious of what was coming out of my mouth… the line began to blur between where the act ended and where my true feelings began. Before I knew it, my mouth was moving unconsciously and the words were flowing out on their own.

"Naruko's hobby is what reconnected the sibling ties that had been broken between us. If I hadn't found out about her hobby back then, we would have continued to have a cold relationship with each other. I couldn't do anything to help the number one sister by my side. I would say that it had nothing to do with me, and would only watch as my sister cried…! So I'm thankful from the bottom of my heart! Thankful for all of this otaku hobby that you say is so dirty! Because this hobby existed, I was able to start a real sibling relationship with my sister! And I stopped just standing by watching my sister cry, making terrible excuses of how it didn't have anything to do with me! Can anybody dare to deny these feelings I have!? I'm not lying, these things are proof of our love for each other! So, just listen to me, because… I…"

I hugged my struggling sister close with all my strength, and shouted.

"I LOOOOOOVE NARUKOOOO!"

After I shouted this from the depths of my soul, all the light extinguished from Ayase's eyes. She let the books drop to the floor.

"…"

Even though I had released her from my hold, for some reason Naruko stood stock still, her mouth flapping open and shut. While Naruko unsteadily waved from side to side, Ayase came closer and took Naruko by the hand as if to steal her from me… and hugged her close.

"Naruko… let's make up. Right away."

"A-Ayase…?"

"I'm sorry… sorry… for saying those things are dirty, that I can't approve of them… this isn't a time to be making such a big deal over the little things… I'm really sorry… I didn't realize…"

"Eh? Eeh?" Naruko seemed completely bewildered as her close friend hugged her tight and wailed.…

I did it. Even I didn't think that would work this well. After all, Ayase was strongly prejudiced. But Naruko's hobby, and these doujinshi were not just dirty things. If I pleaded that point desperately with her, even if the argument didn't completely make sense, I thought that perhaps she would accept what I was saying. Hm… it seems that my speech didn't completely go to waste.

"Geez, well that was all pretty troublesome."

With a cynical smile, I started heading towards the two girls…

"D-Don't come any closer, hentai!" Ayase hugged Naruko close as if to protect her, and gave me a glare.

… Huh?

"… Uummm… who are you talking to?"

"Shut up! Don't talk, hentai! Hentai hentai hentai! You're making my ears bleed!"

Huh… well this was a bit different from what I was expecting! I was correct in thinking that she was really prejudiced, and she had seemed to have accepted my argument… but didn't she jump to an incredibly strange conclusion here by herself!?

Ayase stared at me with her empty, dark eyes.

"As I thought, you're the source of all this evil…! Never touch my close friend again! You're dirty! Repulsive! Disgusting!"

"A-Aya… se…?" Still holding onto Naruko's hand, she quickly began to distance herself from me. She swiftly turned back around one more time, "Urgh… you're Idiot!"

Giving me a glance she left her sharp parting remark with me.

"…"

I was left alone in the rooftop.

"… And everything went according to plan!"

Isn't that great, Naruko? At least You were able to properly make up with your close friend.

"Hah… how pitiful…"

Well, there's no helping it. This was just the result of my carrying out my own will, and doing what I wanted to do. At the very least, I didn't regret what I did, so I would quietly accept the consequences. I mean… I was at least able to achieve my goal of getting Naruko and Ayase to make up. In the end, my embarrassing actions… they weren't all wasted, right?

(◕ω◕✿)

It was after school on the next day. When I came back from school, just like she had done in the past, my sister was on the phone in the living room.

"I'm home." As I gave the standard greeting upon returning home, not only was there no response, but she didn't even glance in my direction. In her sailor uniform, Naruko was sitting deeply in the sofa with her legs crossed under her extremely short skirt, and was nodding at something while on her phone.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Thanks, Ayase. There's nothing to be worried about… yeah… mm… ahaha… really… mm… oh yeah, do you want to go shopping together tomorrow?"

And that's how it was. Having been branded with the stigma of the "hentai brute older brother," it's not like I could have asked her directly about it, but it seemed that their relationship was doing relatively well. Because, at any rate… it seemed like usual day, they were calling each other and chatting on the phone.

She couldn't permit Naruko to have such a dirty hobby, but also didn't want to separate from her… Ayase was imprisoned in a paradoxical situation, but by using me as a scapegoat, it seemed that she had found a loophole out of the paradox.

After that incident, I had gotten an email in my inbox.

"To the big liar Naruto-kun,

Because of you, I could make up with Naruko. Don't think that I have approved of Naruko's hobby, and don't think that I am withdrawing the opinions I presented yesterday… but while I can't come to a compromise, and while I can't accept her hobby, I've decided to move on. There's no helping it. But, don't think that I've given up! I will definitely save Naruko from your evil influence one day! I will definitely not lose to you!

PS: If you ever do anything dirty to Naruko, I'm going to kill you!"

W-What the helll!? This girl is total sicko! I'll never wanted to meet face-to-face with this girl again!

I drank down my tinge of doubt with a bottle of cola. From the refrigerator, I returned to the living room, and passed by my sister's side.

"Alright, Ayase, I'll see you tomorrow at school." Naruko cut off the phone call, and looked bashful.

When I saw her looking happy like this, the entire conflict with Ayase and the stigma that had been passed down to me all seemed like trivial matters. Just now, I could think like that. I'm glad. Well, at any rate… with this, now, our life counseling session to make fond summer memories for her had come to an end. This was the last time. Certainly, this time was the last time. At long last, I could return to the quiet, normal days I had wished for from the bottom of my heart. Now, I wouldn't be forced to play eroge, and wouldn't be dragged to absurdly tiring events… it was nice. Shrugging my shoulders, I tried to leave the room.

"Big bro."

I already had my hands gripped around the doorknob when I stopped. Then, my sister spoke with her usual blunt tone of voice.

"Come here for a second."

… What does she want with me now?

"Why do you look so confused? Come on, quickly."

"Alright…"

Giving up, I did as my sister had ordered. Naruko looked down and seemed to have a hard time saying what she wanted to…

"… Umm… Bro… when you shouted that back then… how serious were you being?"

"Does that matter?"

Why was she asking this all of a sudden…? I mean, let's just drop that subject, please! I'm begging you! When I looked at her with pleading eyes… the atmosphere around Naruko completely changed.

"Y-Yes… it does matter…" She looked downwards, grasping tightly onto the hem of her skirt, and her cheeks were flushed.

… What? What was up with that… that strange response? That's… not like you at all… bewildered, I asked.

"Why?"

"… You don't know?"

From her position on the sofa, she looked upwards, hot in the head, and gazed at my face. When our eyes met, I realized that Naruko's eyes were wet. Her face was red, as if she had caught a cold.

"Well… because…."

And then Naruko, as if saddened and helpless at seeing my actions, looked like she was about to cry. She stood up from the sofa, and desperately caught my sleeve.

"Do you really… not know…?"

Well… maybe… there was that… but how should I respond…? Seeing me completely perplexed and unable to speak, Naruko resolved herself and began her confession. She spoke while looking downwards, trying not to make eye contact.

"You're too slow… idiot… don't make me say it… it's embarrassing…"

Gulp. I gulped down a mouth of saliva.

"I… I… I thought about what you said back then… and then… umm… that is… urg… this is hard to say… s-so… please just listen?"

After that, Naruko resolutely raised her head, and faced me directly. Then, she gathered her strength. You…! What are you trying to say?

"I… a-also love you… Big Bro."

WHAAAAAAAT!

"S-S-Seriously!?"

"Is that what you thought I would say? Are you seriously getting that worked up over it? You hentai siscon."

"Wha… t-t-t-thi… this…"

My mouth and eyes opened wide, I couldn't do anything but stand there in mute amazement. I mean, just look at my face! Dammit! Daaaammit! Daaaaaaaammmmiiitt! This is impossible! This girl! …! Crap…! My head was burning up, and I grabbed it with both hands, twisting my body harshly back and forth.

"Kyahahaha! That's so lame! Y-You're such an idiot… you were actually being serious, weren't you?! Grooooss~~ ahahaha!"

Laughing uproariously and pointing at me, Naruko finally wiped away her tears, and poked my stomach with her elbow.

"Come on, how long are you going to stand there looking like an idiot? Let's go, you siscon brother!" She pulled strongly on my sleeve, and lightly turned around. A daring smile appeared on her face.

"You promised to play me in Siscali, remember?"

.

.

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