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.

22. The Jealous Sister

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Today after school I Invited Weiss to my home. As we were talking, we arrived at the entrance to my house.

"Alright, go on in."

"Okay."

We took off our shoes and went up into the house, when… right then, we happened to come across Naruko.

Having just gone into the house, Weiss's eyes met with Naruko's as Naruko came out of the living room. Both parties had their mouths opened blankly, and their eyes widened. Shit! I completely forgot! She was here! I immediately went pale.

A moment passed, and then…

Naruko's expression completely changed. Her eyes slanted upwards, and she glared sharply at me then to Weiss. It was also different from that time she found out I had been looking at porn-sites and transformed into a demon. She was looking at Weiss as if she was her arch-enemy. I heard her grind her teeth with a creak. In just a few moments, the atmosphere in the entranceway to my house had turned bizarrely awkward.

"… N-Naruko…?"

What the hell… what's with this unpleasant attitude…? Why did she seem so pissed from the moment Weiss appeared? In any case, this was bad… no matter how you looked at it, she didn't seem like she was in a mood to play nice… to think that I would come face to face in a situation like this…

What's going to happen…? I was scared at this sudden development… which honestly was largely my fault in the first place.

"Umm… you're Ruto's little sister, right?"

"Ruto?"

"Ah, I mean Naruto. My name is Weiss Schnee, I'm Naruto's classmate. Nice to meet you."

Completely oblivious to the atmosphere, Weiss waved her hands, and gave a friendly greeting.

"I do know exactly who you are. You're the pianist girl who caused that ruckus with him last year, right?"

I could almost hear the sound of a sword slice as Naruko said that to Weiss. Dammit this was terrible. It was the worst way to treat a guest that her brother had brought home.

Weiss seem feeling guilty gave Naruko a apologetic smile.

"… Yeah, I really sorry for what happen back then. That Incident was not Ruto's fault but mine, he just following me because I asked him to. Please don't blame him for that. "

"Is that so? What a troublesome girl your are." Naruko replied curtly.

This girl! Saying something a delinquent might say to bully someone like that… as her brother, I really should have a right to get angry at her attitude right now.

"Hey, Naruko… cut it the hell out! don't talk like that to her!"

"Huh? Look who's talking."

Naruko grabbed hold of my collar.

"Let me borrow you for a minute."

"H-Hey!"

Being pulled by my sister, I was separated from Weiss. I was dragged right to the middle of the living room.

Bang! Naruko's hand slammed the living room door shut. Still pulling on my collar with all her might, Naruko gave fleeting glances to the entranceway where Weiss was still standing. Her face closed in on me from the side, and she whispered to me menacingly.

"W-What the hell is this?! W-Why is that woman here!?"

"… Well… I invited her… over…"

"Haahh!? I never heard anything about this!"

"Well… I never said anything."

"Tch! Just stop it! Drive her out right now!"

"As if I could do that! Just calm down a bit."

Still grabbing onto my collar, Naruko muttered grumpily. She was obviously hiding something, but I really didn't see any reason she should dislike Weiss, considering they barely have had much opportunity to interact before.

"Tch," Naruko clicked her tongue, and glared at me even more strongly. "Anyways, I said I don't like this at all! You, why the hell did you bring a girl over specifically on a day our parents aren't home? I can't believe this… it's so gross~~!"

"It's not like I timed that on purpose!" Well, no, it was on purpose, But what I'm trying to say… it's absolutely not like that at all!

"Even if that were true, it has nothing to do with you, right? You call your friends over too. You have no right to complain."

When I made the natural counterargument, Naruko's face flushed even redder.

"Huh? So… so, if I brought a boyfriend home, and we did e-e-ecchi things in the living room, you saying you're fine with that!?"

"How the hell did it get to that!? We're not doing anything like that, so that example is completely inappropriate!" Also, you don't even have a boyfriend! Don't run your mouth off so much with weird things! Dammit, this is pissing me off!

"In any case. There's no way I can kick her out at this point. I have no idea what you're getting all twisted up over, but if you don't want to see her then you get out yourself."

"W-Why are you being so casual and trying to drive me out now!?"

"You've got it all wrong, dammit!"

What the hell has this girl been saying up until now…? Ugh, I'm so beat… also, it seemed that the sounds of our unsightly sibling argument had carried to the entranceway.

Click. The living room door slowly opened, and Weiss peeked in. She spoke in a worried tone.

"Hey… you two… please don't fight over me."

"…"

"…"

Together, Naruko and I looked at Weiss… and together we turned our faces away.

"… Tch, so annoying." Naruko clicked her tongue once again. She seemed incredibly annoyed.

Seriously, cut it out. No, you know what? I'm just going to tell her that!

"Naruko —" But although I opened my mouth, Weiss cut me off. She faced Naruko and looked straight into her eyes.

"Hey, since I came here, you acts nothing but hostile towards me, does my presence here bother you? If so then maybe I should just go now…"

"Y-You…!" Naruko glared brazenly at Weiss.

"I don't like you… I really don't like you! Just looking at you is pissing me off… you're so annoying!"

Why the hell is she so angry about. It almost looked like she was trying to shoot Weiss to death with her glare alone.

"You just remember! I'll make you regret this!"

Naruko spat out those resentful words at me, and left the living room. Thud thud thud thud thud thud! I heard her ascend the stairs in irritation.

"What's wrong with your sister, Ruto?"

"I have nooooooooo idea."

(◕ω◕✿)

After that I made tea for two people in the kitchen and returned to the living room. I saw Weiss sitting on the sofa, with her hands joined together in front of her chest, waiting for me.

"Tea that Ruto made… I'm pretty excited. Thank you."

"… You're making way too big of a deal about this, Weiss."

"No, that's not true," Weiss drank a sip of the tea I had put on the table. "It's delicious… I can feel all the weariness leaving my body."

"Ah… thanks." Shocked, I smile once again.

I sat opposite Weiss, and took one sip of my own tea. Weiss was here, we were drinking tea, and were just having a nice leisurely chat… this was one of the happiest time I had at my life.

"Hey, isn't dinnertime soon? You told me before that your parents aren't home, right? Do you want me to cook you something."

"R-Really? I don't want to bother you, Weiss."

"It's okay, do you have something you want to eat?"

"I'm fine with anything." As long as it's something you make.

"Mmm, alright then. Leave everything to me."

Weiss pat her own chest confidently and stood up. She rushed into the kitchen, and with practiced motions put on an apron.

"Alright, I'm going to use your kitchen then."

She turned in my direction and gave me a smile. Her smile just wrapped anyone who saw it in a nostalgic warmth, and a happy atmosphere filled the air. My exhaustion, which had persisted until just a few moments ago, was extinguished from my body by its very roots.

"Yeah, use it however you want."

Weiss nodded cheerfully, and began to cook. "Humm humm " She hummed Blackbird melody happily as she worked, washing the vegetables with water, and beginning to go to work on them with the kitchen knife.

"You really seem to know what you're doing in there."

"When Mama was still around, we used to cook together."

I gazed at Weiss from behind as she briskly and happily worked away, this should have been the first time I had seen Weiss in our house's kitchen, but for some reason it felt like she had always been there. Soon, good smells began to waft through the air. It was the smell of chicken soup.

"… Hey, you've been staring at me for a while… is something wrong?"

"Nah, I was just thinking about how lucky the man who had you as his wife."

"I-Idiot! What are you talking about! " Weiss face flushed red.

Hahaha… she so cute. Gradually, a feeling of contentedness filled my chest.

Then, around one hour later, dinner was done.

"It's done." I saw the apron-wearing form of Weiss carrying the food to me.

"Thanks for your hard work," I said, standing up from the dining table. I wanted to help her set the table and lay out the food.

"Ahh, it's fine, just sit Ruto."

"No, please let me help."

And, like that, we began to set up for the meal together. In the middle of that, Weiss glanced upwards at the clock.

"I wonder if your sister will come down…"

How good-natured could one person be? Even though Naruko had been bitching so much earlier, she had made Naruko's portion without a word of complaint. And what's more, her line sounded like it came right out of a newlywed bride attending to her malicious sister-in-law.

"I don't care. Just leave her be and let's eat alone."

"Ruto, we can't do something like that! She is your sister!"

Weiss didn't seem to want to agree. Although, I was expecting her to respond this way anyways. But no matter how much I didn't like it, I took on the role of the belabored husband who had to go and pacify the fire-breathing sister-in-law.

"Okay. I'll go and call her down."

"Please don't argue with her like you did before, alright?"

"I'd like for that to be possible, but…" We'll see what happens.

As Weiss continued to worry about me, I left the living room. I went up the stairs, and headed for my sister's room.

Knock, knock.

"Hey Naruko Weiss made dinner and she made it for you too. What do you want to do? Want to come down and eat with us?"

When I faced the door and called out to her, the door opened relatively soon, and Naruko's head peeked out.

"Dinner? Alright, fine fine, when I'm done on the phone I'll come down."

"… Got it."

Well, that went better than expected… I thought she was going to be much more difficult. She seemed grumpy as usual, but her attitude now was still much more preferable than what it had been before.

"You in a better mood now?"

"Hmph, not really."

She's in a better mood, isn't she? So she managed to calm down in this half hour? How unusual.

… Well, granted, Naruko had obviously been the one in the wrong before, so maybe she even regretted her actions. I conveniently interpreted Naruko's sudden mood upturn in a way that suited me. Even though it was pretty clear that this wasn't the case if I just thought about it a bit more.

Well, anyways. Descending the steps and entering the living room, Naruko might have been in a better mood, but she didn't apologize for her actions, but rather approached the dining table silently.

"… This Hungarian food, I'm not sure if these suit your tastes, but please." Weiss said.

"It's fine… " Naruko replied.

When she ate with the family, she usually was like this too. She didn't watch the television, didn't talk, but just silently ate her meal. If Mom spoke to her she responded, but other than that she didn't speak during meals. In that respect, she was just like our Dad.

"You're really fine with that little?" I asked her that.

"Look, the side dishes look really high in calories, so I can't eat that much. If I ate that all then I'd get fat."

"I-I see…" The side dishes today might all be high in calories, but they were all things that I liked.

"W-Well then, let's just enjoy ourselves. Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu."

"… Itadakimasu."

We began eating in a strangely heavy atmosphere.

Lined up on the dining table were plates filled with a few people's worth of fried bacon, cabbage, and tomatoes. Salami and sausage in paprika sauce. A few pickled veggies. Chicken soup with vegetables and thin pasta dumplings or as Weiss called it "Húsleves'. Leaving the point that these were all pretty high-calorie aside, there was nothing unusual at all about this menu.

I took the chicken soup and began to taste it. It's Delicious. A taste that stimulated your appetite. An exquisite flavour with simple seasoning, yet remained in your mouth without making you sick of it. I sipped that soup mouthful after mouthful and before I noticed it, the bowl was already empty.

"So… Ruto, how does it taste?"

"Its delicious. I love it. "

I took a bite of the crispy bacon, and praised her from the bottom of my heart. I took another bite, and then a third, without waiting for a response.

"Really? I'm glad."

Weiss seemed relieved, and smoothed down her chest. She also seemed to be worried about how Naruko liked the food, but unfortunately, Naruko was silently moving her chopsticks and not saying a word. This is what always happened, and if I pressed her for an opinion we would just end up fighting again, so I didn't say anything.

"This bacon, why you put onions and shiso in it?"

"Ruto told me before he liked it that way…"

"Hey, she specially made it for us, so at least say it's delicious."

"Hmph."

"Naruko, Weiss gave it her best to make these."

"Oh, Really. Then I'll also give my best by eating them."

And like that, the meal progressed, until the time I had just finished drinking down my second bowl of chicken soup…

With a clang, Naruko neatly lined up her tableware. With somewhat of a frown on her face, she faced Weiss.

"…T-Thanks. It… It's delicious, this soup." Naruko mumbled silently while looking the other way.

"Really? Thank you." Weiss replied happily.

Intrigued I looked at her. Weiss's cheek were slightly red and accompanied by a big smile. For a moment, I was captured by that smile.

"I'll take my leave." Naruko quickly and silently stood from her seat, and with a quick bow, went out of the living room.

Seeing Naruko off with a shocked expression, Weiss looked at me for an explanation once Naruko had disappeared from view.

"She said delicious."

I couldn't do much except shrug. Naruko wasn't the kind of person to lie in situations like this. She was probably speaking from the heart when she complimented Weiss. My message seemed to get across, and all the tension left Weiss's body. She showed me a loose smile.

She gave out a huge sigh and smoothed down her chest, "Hehehe… for some reason, I was really happy."

Geez… it's like this was some sort of marriage test being given by an ill-tempered sister-in-law. But if that were the case… did she pass or not? At these sudden, incredibly pointless thoughts, I couldn't help but laugh.

(◕ω◕✿)

After we done eating I brought Weiss to my room. Crack. I turned the knob and opened the door, and turned my gaze to the desk right across from us…

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" I gave out a huge shout and dashed to my study desk, hugging the laptop that was showing a H-scene from an eroge on the screen! And hiding it from Weiss's view. With the most desperate expression on my face.

W-W-W-Whyyyyy was Naruko's laptop in my room? Why… why did something like this…!? Calm down. Calm down and think, Naruto! How did it all fall to this? Who the hell set up such a sudden-death trap like this in my room? No, no, no, no! I don't even have to think about it! Right ntow, the only people in the house were me, Weiss, and just one other person! Crap, crap, crap! Fucking Naruko!

She had left the living room in such a bad mood, and then she seemed to be in a better mood… don't tell me she felt better because she had set up this trap in my room! Why the hell did she do something like this!? This is way overboard! I-I'll kill her… that girl… I'm definitely going to kill her later!

"Ruto… what's wrong?"

Looking back with my forehead soaked in cold sweat, I saw Weiss peeking in my direction near the entranceway. At my sudden, eccentric motions, Weiss stood there with her mouth opened vacantly.

E-Even if you ask me what's wrong… t-this… how am I supposed to explain this image of a loli little sister with her legs spread wide open and her genitals blurred out…?

"N-Nothing's wrong at all Weiss!"

"… Even if you say… that nothing is wrong…"

I know, right?

"No! Seriously, nothing is wrong at all! It's just that… I was suddenly attacked by the impulse to scream and run!"

Why the hell was I always so poor at making up excuses? But this was bad… this was really bad. If you ask me what's bad, it's the fact that I really don't trust myself not to jump in front of a moving train if Weiss sees this… I'm going to die. I'm seriously going to die.

With my full body and soul, I began to try and think of a way to get out of this. I used what little brains I had and tried to work out a plan. I was hiding the eroge CG by hugging the laptop like this. And then, Weiss was standing dumbfounded behind me. How was I going to get myself out of this desperate situation? Was there… was there anything I could do? If I couldn't come up with anything, I'm going to die! Do your best! Do your best, Naruto!

"R-Ruto…?" With a worried expression, Weiss slowly approached from the entranceway.

There wasn't much time left… however. Ding! I could almost hear the sound of a light bulb forming over my head.

… Wait just a second! Yes…! This… this might work… Pushed into a corner, I turned my gaze onto the escape key at the corner of the keyboard. Yes… it was the EMERGENCY ESCAPE BUTTON! It was the super function that would allow me to switch the full-screen, suicide-inducing ero image to something completely harmless.

Emergency Escape… just as the name would suggest, in times of impending crisis, you would push the button and be able to magically transport yourself out of danger. To put things bluntly, it was a function that actually existed in some 18+ eroge.

When I was reading the instruction booklet to some eroge that Naruko had forced on me, I found a description of this "Emergency Escape Button." My eyes went as wide as saucers and I carefully read that section of the booklet. To high school boys who didn't have a lock on their door but had to play eroge, this "Emergency Escape Button" would be pretty fascinating, wouldn't it? There were a lot of scenarios in which it could be useful, like this one.

It was something like the airbags in a car, or maybe the emergency escape function in an airplane. It was the manifestation of the great efforts by the eroge companies to implement the desires of their customers. And happily, CO2, the eroge that was active on the laptop right now, should be equipped with this emergency escape function. Ahh… right now, I really wanted to praise those conscientious game makers to high heaven!

And so… Click. Just barely making it in time, I successfully pushed the emergency escape button. I could almost here a 'Pikon!' sound over my head.

"Phew~~~…" I separated myself from the screen I was so desperately trying to hide before. I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand. W-With this, it should be fine… the screen should have already changed to a completely neutral, harmless image. I smoothed down my chest and turned around.

"Haha, sorry for surprising you Weiss!"

But, in the direction I threw my refreshing smile, there was…

"W-Wha-… what the hell is this!?"

Weiss was gazing at an open copy of one of Naruto Namikaze's cherished ero books.

"Wha-…!? Where the hell did you get that book!?"

Swish, swish, swish! I quickly looked around the room, when I saw that the collection that should have been hidden under my bed had been unceremoniously scattered on the floor. When I came into the room, I was so panicked about the screen that I hadn't noticed… W-What… what's the meaning of… she did this too!? She did some terrible things, that sister! She's like a little devil!

"I-Icha Icha Paradise!?"

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

I snatched away the ero book that Weiss was reading in her crouched position, and crawled around on the floor like a cockroach, gathering up the rest of the collection. Rustle, rustle, rustle. And I did it with godly speed, too.

Completely dumbfounded, Weiss blushed and said one sentence, "… They were all half-naked."

"Weiss this misunderstand — where are you looking at now?"

Feeling an ominous chill go down my spine, I couldn't help but start talking strangely like that. Because… Weiss had gone pale…

As my breathing became ragged in response to this feeling, I followed Weiss's gaze, and right there was the laptop screen which should have turned to something harmless.

"Ahhhhhhh!?"

I let out a deranged cry of anguish. That image that the screen had turned to in response to my pushing the emergency escape button… that image was… the loli girl Chino in a school swimsuit, seducing the player in a very suggestive pose. Her words were displayed in a huge font.

Onii-chan doesn't want any girl other than his little sister, does he? Onii-chan is such a hentai~~~.

"What the hell happened to the emergency escape!? What's with this image!?"

"R-Ruto, y-you… h-how could you show such indecent things to me!? "

Weiss's face bright red and her eyes welled up with tears and she started to shake.

"W-Wait! I-I can explain this Weiss! Please hear me out!"

"Shut up pervert! Don't come near me again!"

Smack!

"Oww!"

Ignoring my pleading Weiss gave me a hard slap in the cheek and ran out of my room with tears in the eyes, leaving the dumbfounded me alone with smiling Chino on the screen.

(◕ω◕✿)

The Otaku Girls Unite Group Chat

Participants:

- Rias Satanichia Next Queen of Hell (Admin)

- Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚)

- †Fallen Saint Kuroneko of a Thousand Leaves†

†Fallen Saint Kuroneko of a Thousand Leaves† : I told you already, that's not how you read it. How many times do I have to explain it to you for you to understand, you Neanderthal? It's written like "Chiba," but it's pronounced "Senyou." In other words, think about it as if a thousand leaves were gracefully fluttering down…

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚) : It still looks like "Chiba"to me lol Fallen Saint Kuroneko of Chiba

†Fallen Saint Kuroneko of a Thousand Leaves† : … I-If you mock me any more than that, you're going to regret it dearly.

Rias Satanichia Next Queen of Hell (Admin) : Now now… calm down, you two. More importantly, there's something I wanted to ask Naruko-san…

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚): Hm?

Rias Satanichia Next Queen of Hell (Admin) : Umm… Naruko-san, what was the meaning of that?

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚): Huh? That? What is "that"?

Rias Satanichia Next Queen of Hell (Admin) : That's pretty obvious… I'm talking about Naruto-kun.

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚): ?

Rias Satanichia Next Queen of Hell (Admin) : O-Ooo, you're playing dumb. I'm talking about when we came over to Naruko-san's house the other day.

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚): … ahh, that? Yeah yeah yeah yeah. Geez… this is ridiculous. He was depressed by himself, and now it's getting us down too (#˚Д˚)

†Fallen Saint Kuroneko of a Thousand Leaves† : …hmph, certainly, he seemed to be completely depressed… he didn't even respond much when we talked to him. I've always thought he's had a murky look in his eyes, but his eyes were more decidedly dead than usual. He looked like he had been raped.

Rias Satanichia Next Queen of Hell (Admin) : He's always so considerate of us, and always so cheerfully playing along with our conversations. To see Naruto-kun in a state like that… exactly what happened?

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚) : Hehehe, weeeell… lol It's not anything special, but…

~~~Some Parts Omitted~~~

Rias Satanichia Next Queen of Hell (Admin) : … W-Well well… Naruko-san… you definitely went too far.

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚): Eh~? It's not my fault at all~ lol Sure, I was the one who loaded the game on the computer and threw around all his ero books, but that last thing was completely him getting his just desserts lol I mean, he pushed the emergency escape button and screwed himself over lol that's just so lol haha lol

†Fallen Saint Kuroneko of a Thousand Leaves† : That's quite unpleasant, so please stop tagging on "lol" to every sentence. Also, if you worked so hard to set such an elaborate trap up, then no matter how you look at it, it's your fault.

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚): Huh?! Why are you shifting the blame onto me!? You were the one who told me to set up a trap to drive the white haired bitch out in the first place! On the phone!

Rias Satanichia Next Queen of Hell (Admin) : Wait a second! Kuroneko-san came up with that trap!?

†Fallen Saint Kuroneko of a Thousand Leaves† : … H-Hmph. I didn't expect you to actually do it…

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚) : Don't make excuses, iiiiidiot! Everything was your fault! So how are you going to make this up to me!? I'm the one who has to live with that gloomy thing under the same roof!

†Fallen Saint Kuroneko of a Thousand Leaves† : D-Don't try to take advantage of the confusion and throw the blame onto someone else please. You're the one who came to me with a "There's some annoying woman in the house and I'm so pissed" over the phone. Even if I were to grant you some concession in this argument and take some of the blame, it would be one who must take most of the blame.

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚): What the hell is that!? Stop just saying whatever the hell you want to say! It was your fault! Your fault!

†Fallen Saint Kuroneko of a Thousand Leaves† : You would be the one who's saying whatever you want. Hmph, it's your fault, your fault.

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚): Noooooooooo~~~ It's your fault and that stupid woman's faaaaaaaaault~~~.

Rias Satanichia Next Queen of Hell (Admin) : (#^ω^)

†Fallen Saint Kuroneko of a Thousand Leaves† : ^Oh… could it be… we made her angry?

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚) : Whaa~~?! Seriously?!

Rias Satanichia Next Queen of Hell (Admin) : Y-You two! How could you treat Naruto-kun so poorly when he's always helping you out so much!? That's quite ridiculous!

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚): You know, when you say it so prissy like that, you really sound like you're lecturing us.

†Fallen Saint Kuroneko of a Thousand Leaves† : She's probably just acting in her high-class "princess" character when she's online. She deliberately changed the way she talks and her personality. Hmph, pretty neat skill you have there.

Rias Satanichia Next Queen of Hell (Admin) : T-This isn't about me… more importantly. I really do pity Naruto-kun… I want to do something to cheer him up. Naruko-san, Kuroneko-san, both of you are going to help me. Or rather, you're going to take the initiative!

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚): W-Why do I have to do something like that…?

Rias Satanichia Next Queen of Hell (Admin) : Don't play dumb, please. Naruko-san should understand even if I don't say it. Generally, when it's come to you lately… well, granted, it's not like I can't understand your feelings, but…

Magical Maiden of Justice Naruru (˚∀˚): … Tch, talking like you know everything… well? What are we going to do?

†Fallen Saint Kuroneko of a Thousand Leaves† : My my… I guess I have no choice then.

(◕ω◕✿)

Today, Rias called me out to Akihabara with an email.

"… What the hell is it this time? Calling someone all the way out here…" I grumbled, annoyed, as I walked through the Electric City towards where I was instructed to go.

I was still in the worst mood. Even the dazzling sun shining down on the city streets seemed to just be mocking me. Hunched over even more than usual, I had both hands thrust in my pockets, and heavily tottered forwards.

If you want to know why I had been reduced to this state, these were the still lingering effects of that trap Naruko had set up a few days ago, through which my friend Weiss saw an eroge in my room. And because of that Weiss really angry on me, treat me like some crazy pervert pedo, and refuse to talk at me for three days straight, after many many apologize and thanks to persuasion of Kagurazaka Senpai and Chiaki, Weiss finally forgive me and start talking at me again.

… Ugh, I really just want to die. And today, I was coaxed out here by Rias, who told me excitedly to come for "Naruko-chi's cell phone novel going-on-sale party." Remember, we had gone out to buy a present for Naruko before. So we were going to hand that present over to her today.

This is ridiculous. Honestly, I didn't want to take a single step out of my room, and now I have to go to a party for that little devil? But, I mean… it was none other than Rias who had asked, so…

She always was helping us out, so it really just wouldn't feel right if I didn't try to return the favor. In other words, the reason I had come this far was not for Naruko, but for Rias. So don't get the wrong idea.

"… So, here then?" I suddenly stopped walking, and looked up at a completely ordinary-looking building.

Although if I had to say it, it did look somewhat suspicious. There were a few signs hung on the building, and one of those signs read "3F: Rental Room Akibatto." I compared it to what was written in the email Rias had sent me, and confirmed that this was indeed the right place.

I took the elevator up. The elevator door slid open. To my immediate right there was a reception desk behind a pane of glass, and on my left there was a hallway and a few doors. I see, each of the doors led to a separate rental room.

Just like I would at a karaoke place, I was supposed to go up to the window and ask for my room number, but even if I didn't do that it was pretty obvious to me where I was supposed to go. Right next to the door closest to I tried to see if this was a real company, but I think it was something the author made up.

There was a signpost, the kind you might find at a formal wedding or something. A sign with "Something Something Meeting Spot" written on it or something.

In that way, the following was written on the sign:

Naruto Namikaze Personal Harem Group, Party Meeting Spot

Ha, ha, ha! I wonder who this Naruto Namikaze is… personal harem? This guy's an idiot. Is he a complete hentai or something? Does he have no shame?

"Wait, that's my full name!?"

Who was it!? Who dares disgrace my name in public like this!? This was probably Rias's doing. Naruko and Kuroneko would die before using a word like "harem." There's no mistaking it; she wrote this here herself without telling the other two.

Ughh… she's always a huge help so I don't want to say this but… what the hell are you doing to a guy when he's completely down, you idiot!?

"Ah, you must be Namikaze-sama. Please go to room 301."

"… Yeah yeah."

I nodded, weak and resigned, to the receptionist, and walked to the side of the Naruto Namikaze Personal Harem Group, Party Meeting Spot sign. For some reason, there had been bells attached to this door that weren't on any other door. It was clearly an improvised decoration… it just looked unnatural.

Hmm…? These bells… a chill went down my spine and I had a sudden sense of déjà vu.

I opened the door.

Ringg. Ringg.

"Welcome home, master!"

Two maid-sans wearing aprons stood side by side and greeted me. I pretended not to see anything and shut the door.

"… W-What the hell was that just now…?"

I mumbled as I held down the door with both hands. T-There was a huge one in there, wasn't there!? I wasn't seeing things, right!? A… A maid…? Was it really alright to have a maid that built?

W-W… W-W-Wait just a second. I need a second to gather my thoughts. N- No… or maybe I just didn't want to believe what I just saw… or… uhh…

"… It …it looked like some familiar faces were wearing some… really ridiculous outfits…"

Gulp. I swallowed, and wiped the sweat off my forehead. After taking a few deep breaths, I once again timidly opened the door.

Ringg. Ringg.

"Welcome home, mas- ugh, I seriously can't do this anymore!"

The minute I opened the door, the blond-haired maid (the one that wasn't tall) who came to greet her master (that would be me) suddenly snapped. Crash! She threw her dress onto the floor and shouted vigorously.

"Whyyy do I have to cosplay a maid and come out here to welcome him!?"

"Naruru-chi! Come on, please, calm down, calm down! You were fine when we practiced, but why did you get so riled up during the real thing!?"

As I suspected, the tall maid-san I had caught a glimpse of before turned out to be Rias. On the other side, a maid-costume-wearing Naruko had taken such a nasty attitude that if I were really her master, I would fire her in less than a second.

She pointed right at her brother's face.

"It's completely different when he's right in front of me and when he's not, dammit! I'm interested in cosplay itself so this was fun, but degrading myself in front of him is something my pride can't take!"

W-What the hell's going on here?

"… Y-You all… this… what is this…?"

Completely bewildered at this incomprehensible sight before me, I barely managed to get that question out. But neither Naruko nor Rias paid me any mind and continued to talk to each other.

I looked around the room. It was a mostly-white, simple room. The room was around twelve or thirteen tatami large. There was a white office table, an office chair, a whiteboard, and two 32-inch LCD monitors that were connected to a computer. On the table there were a few PSPs, which probably belonged to the girls.

… Looking at it like this, I could accept it if someone told me that this was a meeting place where people were coming together to do things and maybe play a few games. But why were they in maid outfits? That I could not even begin to understand. This wasn't a party to celebrate Naruko's cell phone going on sale?

A number of question marks materialized above my head, when Rias, seeming to have finished her discussion with Naruko for the moment, anxiously spoke up to me with an "Oh, crap" look on her face.

"Ahaha, well, this is just part of today's show! This rental room also has a cosplay lending service available. Well, how is it, my maid outfit? Is it cute?"

"… I-It's… cute, I guess…?"

"Hohoh, you feel moe for me then?"

"Absolutely not."

Crap, I shouldn't have said that! It's just that she looked so smug about it that I couldn't help myself!

Having had her maid costume rejected with a straight face, Rias curled her mouth up into ω shape, and mumbled with her head down.

"Nyoron~."

Paying no attention to my bewilderment, Rias grumbled something.

"… Hmm, he doesn't seem to be happy to see me like this very much…"

"No no you got it all wrong!"

I tried to explain that to Rias, and decided to get the conversation back on track.

"… I mean, leaving that aside for now… I can see how you wanted to surprise me. But for me to be happy… at any rate, you mixed my sister in there, so…"

I already said this to Rias, but I felt not even a shred of that otaku-ish happiness they referred to as "moe." Hearing my response, Rias made another ω with her mouth.

"Fumumu… ah, I see, so you're saying it would have been better if she wore something more ecchi?"

"Better my ass! And what the hell do you mean by 'I see'?! I don't have a sister fetish, dammit!"

Geez… what the hell is up with this situation? I came here because I was told that they were throwing Naruko a party because her cell phone novel went on sale… and then for some reason they came and welcomed me in maid outfits, they're hiding something, aren't they? I mean, there's clearly something strange about this.

"… Hmm." But, I couldn't quite put my finger on the very least, this party didn't seem to be for what I was told it was going to be for…

… I have to be on my guard. What exactly are these people planning…? I looked around me very cautiously. And then, I realized it. Naruko and Rias and…one person was missing.

"Hm? Where's Kuroneko? She didn't come?"

"Ah, if you want Kuroneko-chi…"

The maid-san with the crimson hair spun around and pointed to a corner of the room. Right there was…

"Ah."

"…"

A nekomimi maid was quietly peeking out her head out from behind a curtain.

"It's not what you think."

That was the first thing that came out of Kuroneko's mouth. She gulped, almost as if she was steeling herself, and timidly came out from behind the curtain… and those were the first words out of her mouth.

"…"

I didn't know what to say, and just stared at the sullen, embarrassed-looking nekomimi maid right in front of me. She was wearing the same white apron dress as everyone else, but she had on a pair of black nekomimi that looked just like the real thing, and a tail was sprouting from behind… It was an insanely good match, but I had no idea what comments to make here.

Without any other options, I just stood there silently and expressionlessly. When I did that, she seemed to take my silence to mean something, and suddenly turned the other way.

"… It's not what you think, I said."

Even if you say that… I really had no idea what I was "wrong" about, but I seemed to have offended her.

When the room began to fall into another uncomfortable silence, Rias came to everyone's rescue.

"Ahaha Kuroneko-chi! You don't have to be that embarrassed. Those clothes really fit you! Naruto-chi also thinks so, right?"

"A-Ahh… yeah, they look good on you."

"… Hmph, save the flattery for someone else."

Kuroneko once again sharply turned the other way. She pretty much had her back on us at this point. Her nekomimi shuddered, and the tail coming out of her behind swayed back and forth.

…T-They move…? That's amazing… costumes are getting way too real lately… Naruko seemed to be thinking the same thing, and her eyes widened.

"…I don't want to say it but… that's pretty c-cute."

From her actions, I surmised that she hadn't known about the moving ears and tail until now. Naruko had a very established personal philosophy on fashion, and when it came to appearances and outfits, she wasn't the kind of person to tell lies. Even with someone who she almost always argued with, she could give sincere praise at times like this.

"Hey, won't you tell me? Where did you buy those nekomimi and that tail? You didn't get those from the costumes they had available here, I don't think."

"… These were homemade."

"You made them yourself!? Seriously!?"

"…*Nod*"

Kuroneko let down her guard just a bit and nodded. Perhaps she was inwardly happy at how surprised Naruko was, but Kuroneko spoke a bit about cosplay with us. Broadly speaking, there are three ways of getting a cosplay outfit — rental, purchase, or self-made. Out of these three, the easiest one was rental.

After all, you didn't need to spend as much money as if you bought the outfit, and you didn't need as much skill as if you made the outfit yourself.

"… If you can make it yourself, in many cases you can keep the cost cheap. If you're a bit clever about it, the materials won't cost that much. Of course, if you want to make something detailed, you'll end up spending more."

"… Hmm… you're relatively good at this stuff."

Considering how contrarian Naruko usually was, it was pretty rare to hear her acknowledge Kuroneko like this. Of course, even if it was Naruko, in this situation she could do nothing but praise Kuroneko's work. Because it really was amazing. She was also absurdly good at games… Kuroneko sure was pretty good with her hands.

But this girl had a tendency to lash back out of shyness when she was praised, and like always, Kuroneko began to retort angrily. As her ears wiggled and her tail swished back and forth…

"… Each and every time… don't I always tell you to stop praising yourself in a roundabout way (wiggle wiggle)? … hmph, really, you're just implying that you're good at these things too, aren't you? (swish swish)"

"… Ugh… crap…! This costume, dammit…! I hate this… a girl like her…!"

Naruko covered her mouth with her hands, and seemed to be dealing with some kind of shock. Perhaps because of that, she once again let loose a set of words that she usually would never say.

"Hey… heey, next time, make some for me too… those nekomimi and that tail."

"…"

Being pressured by a Naruko she was completely not used to seeing, Kuroneko seemed bewildered. Her large cat-like eyes blinked with surprised, and she seemed slightly taken aback.

"… Mmm."

Right then, for some reason, Kuroneko sent her gaze in my direction. I'm not sure at all, but was she telling me

"Hey, do something about your annoying sister"?

That's probably it… nothing else would make sense here. I shrugged my shoulders and spoke.

"Why don't you just make some for her?"

"… Cover the cost of the materials then."

Kuroneko mumbled reluctantly, not even meeting Naruko's eyes as Naruko pleaded with her hands clasped in front of her. Rias stood off to the side, just silently staring at this exchange… and for some reason, she had a broad grin on her face.

(◕ω◕✿)

And for that reason, I found myself in a rental room with these three otaku. All four of us were sitting at the table. By the way, all the girls in the party were still in their maid outfits. They've already done their little gag, so honestly, they should just take those things off.

To think that they would all be wearing that… even for a party, it was just doing too much. There wasn't any rhyme or reason to our seating order; we just pulled out the rolly chairs randomly and sat wherever we wanted.

There were two 32-inch displays on the table, and they seemed to be connected to game machines and computers.

"We use this space for offline meeting after-parties quite often. There are power sockets, we can use our computers and play games… it really is more useful than a karaoke box would be."

Rias was explaining the rental room to me. I then posed the obvious question to these three.

"So… umm, what do we do now? I thought this was a party for Naruko, but is it just me or at some point, did I become the guest of honor?"

"… It's just you."

"… You're an idiot."

Kuroneko and Naruko threw back those retorts. I looked to Rias for an explanation, but she didn't make any signs of giving me one. She's definitely hiding something…

Rias began to talk, as if trying to change the topic.

"Anyways, my turn's up… so Kuroneko-chi is up."

Having the conversation turned towards her, Kuroneko silently nodded. But I still had no idea what was going on.

"What? What's the ordering for?"

"Fufufu… it's a more practical version of the usual 'conversation topic game,' Naruto-chi. I said that there would be a show, right? So, one by one, we'll perform something that we prepared for Naruru-chi."

"I see. But, I never knew about that, so I didn't prepare anything."

"Haha, I don't mind. At any rate, I have a feeling that Naruto-chi's reaction will be enough of a performance."

Hey, what the hell does that mean?

"You are all so annoying. It's fine just don't worry about the fine details."

"It's just as Naruru-chi says. This is the party's entertainment, so let's just all have some good, cheerful fun together."

"Hmph." I snorted. Honestly, I wasn't in the mood for that, but…

"If you say so, I'll do that." I shrugged while holding down a bitter smile. I mean, that's what I had wanted to do from the beginning. As much as Naruko annoyed me, I wouldn't do anything that would cause the party organizer to lose face.

What I should do now is to watch these performances you three have prepared, and then to happily join in on the conversations that will follow. Rather, there really wasn't anything else I could do. Alright, got it. I don't know if I can do this or not, but I'll just make the best of it.

"Are we all ready now?"

Ready to make her presentation, Kuroneko spoke softly to us. When everyone nodded, she moved the PC mouse that was on the table, and started up a program.

"This… is what I'm presenting."

On the screen, there was shown the front cover of what looked to be a manga. There was a girl in a uniform standing there, frowning and with her arms crossed… and behind her, there was the face of an idiotic-looking guy.

The title was "Ice Witch's Curse."

"… This is a manga I drew for today. Please watch my presentation."

It seemed that this was a manga that Kuroneko had drawn for Naruko. She had shown me her art once before, but maybe she had practiced since then, it was clear that she had improved. Maybe she changed the way she drew, but the jaws weren't that pointed anymore. Rather, they were rounded and looked impressively cute. It almost felt like the art could be in an anime.

"… You really got way better at drawing in a short time."

"Thank you. It puts me at ease to hear you say that."

Kuroneko smoothed down her chest. Those words were probably her true feelings.

Just like she had said a while ago, she was probably trying hard at making manga and was practicing. And this much-improved artwork was the fruit of her labors. I mean, she was amazing at games and was really handy at making her own cosplay. So she was probably more suited for drawing manga than writing novels.

At this rate, I felt that the day when she would be able to stare triumphantly down at Kumagai-san wouldn't be too far away. It was great. I really thought it was great, but…

"That's nice. However."

The one who had put my thoughts into words was none other than Naruko, who was standing there frowning and with her arms crossed. She probably was thinking the same thing I was, and muttered with a voice that betrayed none of her feelings.

"Can I just ask you one thing?"

"Go ahead?"

"This character looks exactly like me, doesn't she?"

"And this unfortunate looking guy for some reason really looks like me."

"Hahaha, quite amazing! They certainly look just like Naruru-chi and Naruto-chi!"

Following Naruko, both Rias and I made our points. Having heard what we had to say, Kuroneko nodded.

"Fufu, if the people themselves say so, then I guess I can be a bit more confident in them then."

In quite an unusual turn of events… Kuroneko smiled. Her smile was different from her usual expressionless face, and was more than cute enough to draw me in, but…

"You really did use me as a model!"

"So you used me as a model!?"

There was absolutely no time for that. Naruko and I thrust in our comments at the same time.

"W-What are you trying to do with this…?"

"I'm not trying to do anything."

Kuroneko wasn't fazed by Naruko's glare at all, and shrugged her shoulders.

"It's just as it looks. I drew for you a manga in which I used you as a model for a character. You have a problem with that?"

"… I don't, but for soooome reason I have a bad feeling about this."

What a coincidence, Naruko. Me too.

"My my, to think you would judge it before you've even read it, just based on a 'feeling'… that's so unbecoming of Ruko-sensei, don't you think? I wonder who it was that once said something like 'you aren't qualified to judge something until you've read it until the end'?"

"… Grr." Ruko-sensei, aka Naruko, ground her teeth.

Yes, no matter how much of a bad feeling she had about it, Naruko couldn't bash Kuroneko's manga at this point. You could say she was a consistent person, or maybe she was just inflexible.

Grrrrr… even as she ground her teeth, my sister couldn't respond in any other way.

"… Please continue."

"Why thank you."

Kuroneko sneered triumphantly. At her wicked smile, I felt the sense of impending doom in my chest intensify.

"Well then, let me begin the presentation."

Click. The picture on the screen changed, and the manga began. In the first panel, the girl who looked just like Naruko was sunk deep into the couch, reading a fashion magazine.

Kuroneko read the summary out loud.

"I'm Naruko Namikaze. My face might be super round, but I'm a brilliant junior high school student who also works as a magazine model."

"You want to die!?"

"My my my my! Naruru-chi! Keep a hold of yourself!"

"But this… this is just straight libel!"

"No no! This isn't Naruru-chi, but just this character 'Naruko' in the manga!

"She might look just like you but she's a different person, so please keep that in mind! A-And what's more, kuku… it just started, didn't it!? What comes after is what you should look forward to!"

Even as she held Naruko back by the arms, Rias was smiling. She probably thought it was all pretty interesting, so she wanted to read the rest of the story. Dammit, what happened to sympathy?

"Someone tell this girl that round faces are a status symbol!"

Who the hell believes in a crazy theory like that!?

"… Hmph, let me continue then."

Kuroneko read the prologue out loud with a gloomy voice.

The story had just started… but it seemed that this manga "Ice Witch's Curse" was told completely from this "Naruko's" point of view. There were a lot of monologues, so it was easy to understand what the protagonist Naruko was thinking and feeling. On the contrary, when it came to the other characters, all that the reader could see was how Naruko saw those situations. Hmm… and this protagonist seemed to interpret each and every one of everyone else's actions in a bad way, so I was getting increasingly impatient.

"It's not like that, idiot!" I wanted to scream at her. Laying out all the details would get a bit tedious, so I'll just give you the summary.

Naruko has a twin brother named Naruto But their relationship was cold as ice, and they were completely indifferent towards each other. Even if they came across each other while at home, they would have nothing to talk about, so they didn't even see each other very often at home. And the only times they talked to each other were when they were hurling insults. There was not even a smidgen of warmth between them. They were two siblings embroiled in a cold war…

"Hey, this setup…"

"What? This is just a manga, remember?"

I had no choice but to shut up at that argument. I might not be Naruko, but even for me it made sense to hear a story out to the very end before passing judgment on it. But, this preliminary setup… I might not like it, but it made me think of myself and Naruko. Could it be that this was a manga that Kuroneko had drawn about how Naruko seemed from her viewpoint…?

Well, whatever. Let's get on with the summary.

Umm… where were we? Ah, right, at the point where I was explaining how the siblings had a very cold relationship towards each other. However, Naruko had a secret that she couldn't tell anybody.

For example, when Naruto went to take a bath… after she checked that her brother had gotten into the bathtub, Naruko would quickly slip into the changing area, and take out a single piece of clothing from the laundry hamper.

"… Haah… haah… haah… haah… onii-chan's underwear… gulp… sniff sniff sniff…"

"WAIT JUST A DAMM SECOND!"

Naruko and I yelled out at the same time.

Having her reading interrupted, Kuroneko sent a nonchalant glance in our direction.

"What?"

"Wait wait wait wait wait! Just wait a second here…!"

As I motioned for Kuroneko to stop with the palm of my hand, I wiped the sweat from my brow and looked at my sister.

"… Y-You… did you really… my underwear…..?"

"I didn't smell your underwear! T-T-T-This is just a manga!"

"Then why the hell are you stuttering!? You scared of something!?"

I-It seems that my idea that this was how Kuroneko saw Naruko from her perspective was completely off the mark! Or rather, please God, let it be off the mark!

"Also, you shitty cat! No matter how much you say it's just a manga, there are just things you can do and things you can't!"

"Why are you taking it so seriously? My intention was to create a work of fiction, but if you react like this, it makes me start to suspect that maybe I've hit on the truth."

"Y-Y-You… grrr… just continue, dammit…!"

When it came to arguments, it seemed like Naruko was only good when there was shouting involved. Is it just me, or was she a pushover there?

"Geez. Please stop interrupting me at every little thing. If you do that, you won't be able to appreciate the manga."

Click. The page flipped, and Kuroneko continued to read aloud.

But in any case, it seemed that the Naruko in the manga, unlike the real-life Naruko, was a complete brocon. On the outside, she acted as if she hated him, but on the inside she was lovey dovey towards her brother.

Honestly, it was a disgusting setup. Seriously, just cut me some slack here. Having carefully satisfied herself with her brother's underwear, Naruko withdrew from the changing room, and this time went up the stairs. Her brother's room was on top. Her brother's room didn't have a lock, so Naruko could freely enter the room.

"What the hell!? This is too real! How do you know my door is unlocked!?"

"Research."

"Now that I think about, you came over before, right!? So, don't tell me that at that time, you were taking a look at my house's layout and specifications!?"

"Hmph, naturally. Don't underestimate the power of my devil eye."

It was just a pointless skill… what the hell do you mean "devil eye," you idiot? Well, it's not like I care if she knew that my door didn't have a lock on it. It wasn't like she had intruded on my privacy, so I didn't mind.

"… Just continue."

"Of course."

With her butt sticking out in an erotic way, Naruko was fishing for something under her brother's bed. And what ended up popping out was none other than Naruto's secret ero book collection.

"… Tch, why does he only have girls with huge breast…? Get some little sister ones, dammit."

Right then, Naruko — by which I mean the real-life Naruko — stood up and almost looked like she was trying to hide the screen.

"I-I never said that, ok!? I've never said anything like that!"

"More importantly, why the hell does Kuroneko know where I hide my ero books!?"

"Eh? Because I told her."

"So you went into my room and fished under my bed!?"

"Wha-, why the hell are you throwing around false accusations!? Mom told me, Mom did!"

"Mom is the source of the leak!?"

Dammmit! When it came to the women in my family, each and every damn one of them was…

Alright, fine! I should just change the hiding spot, right!? Dammit, just you remember! I'm going to find a hiding spot that'll never be found!

Naruko and I continued our noisy argument. At a pause in the argument, Kuroneko sighed and mumbled.

"… Can I continue now?"

"Whatever, do whatever you want."

Click. Onto the next page.

The closet brocon Naruko had what you could call a mortal enemy. That mortal enemy was Naruto's classmate, Weiss. On the surface, Weiss was a beautiful foreigner girl from France, but in reality she was the reincarnation of the Ice Witch Wisteria, and was trying to corrupt Naruto's soul. Because even if Naruto didn't know it himself, he was the reincarnation of Dark Flame Master, a demon king from underworld that can control black fire from hell… etc. etc.

What the hell was this!?

"… Grrr… grrrrrrrrr…"

I can't do this. I'm reaching my limit…! Don't lash out, Naruto…! Just bear it!

As my face twitched in irritation, right next to me…

"Kwaah~… kuwaah… gnnngg… aghhhh… grnghhhh…"

Naruko was biting her lower lip, her eyes were bloodshot, and she was trying to not go on a rampage. She also seemed to getting incredibly annoyed at the brocon setup and the chuunibyou setup.

"… Kukuku. The climax is coming up."

After that, the story devolved further into bizarro land… Naruko's love towards her brother impressed Kuroneko, a Wicked One Eyed Demon from Underworld, and gave her the Lance of Gugnir, after that Naruko headed for the final battle with Weiss's Ice Witch avatar.

Having been pushed into a corner by Naruko's Lance of Gugnir, Weiss release Trishula the Dragon of Apocalypse to transform the earth into an everlasting ice age. In a moment, an almost indescribable amount of ice magic blew out from the Trishula mouth like a hurricane, and the planet earth was freeze entirely. The pure air changed to deadly poison, and the bountiful earth was transformed into frozen land. It was nothing other than a reappearance of hell on earth. Even the Naruko character couldn't suppress a shiver, and muttered one line in despair.

"… No way… Weiss brought on the end of the world…?"

"To be continued."

"What the hell!? What kind of ending is that when you built it up so much!?"

"You built it up and couldn't close it out, so you just ended it like that, didn't you!? That's why you'll never be more than a wannabe!"

"Hmph, I just didn't have enough time. I'm not Kishibe Rohan, so I can't draw that much manga in only one or two days." But Kuroneko's cheeks flushed just a little bit.

"… But to think you would want a sequel that much… it really makes me happy."

All the energy drained out of my and Naruko's bodies, and we crumbled to the ground.

… By the way, it seemed that Rias had laughed so hard that she was in pain, and for a while now she's been lying down over there in agony.

(◕ω◕✿)

Geez… first Rias's maid costume, and now Kuroneko's manga… what the hell is up with you people? Don't tell me that you're planning to traumatize me one by one with your presentations?

As the atmosphere of the place noticeably deflated, a finally revived Rias yelled out.

"Weeeeeell then while we're all still excited! It's time for today's main event! Naruru-chi, if you would please!"

Today's main event? Could it be Naruko's presentation? I took a glance at my sister's face, but she just sat there frowning and didn't respond.

It seemed that she was so annoyed by Kuroneko's presentation that she was in no mood to make hers. Geez, even though Rias's trying so hard to make this exciting for everyone… well, granted, she's the guest of honor today, so I won't nitpick too much. I thought that, but…

"… Umm… Naruru-chi? It's… time for the main event, you know?"

"Stop sulking. Get on with it, you dimwit."

For some reason, both Rias and Kuroneko seemed hell-bent on getting Naruko to make her presentation.

"Tch… stop nagging. I know, dammit."

Being urged on by the other two, Naruko reluctantly reached into the bag at her feet… and then sent a glance in my direction. She looked incredibly unhappy, and deep creases were burrowed across her brow.

"Uuuuuuuuuuhhhh!" Naruko shook her head back and forth vigorously. "Pass!" She turned the other way and spat that out.

Hey hey, how can you give so much of a lead-in and then pass like that? Why are you so reluctant to show something that you had taken the time to prepare in the first place? I don't understand this at all. She's the one who prepared the presentation. Don't you think it's strange?

"You are a huge idiot. What exactly is the meaning of your existence here?" Kuroneko retorted harshly.

Kuroneko was Kuroneko, so just the main guest not wanting to make a presentation was enough to get her to respond cruelly like that. Come on… it's a party, so even if you might not like her, just congratulate her a bit.

"Well well, Kuroneko-chi. You have to consider the fact that Naruru-chi is embarrassed." Rias scolded Kuroneko.

… Embarassed? Thinking also about how Rias had said this and that about this "main event," I got the feeling that these two knew what Naruko's presentation was about. Why was I the only person left in the dark? Was I being left out?

As if trying to dispel the smidgen of doubt that had piled up in my mind, Rias proposed something with a clear voice, "Haha, well then. Shall we go for another round before the main event?"

"… Doesn't seem to be any other choice, I suppose." Kuroneko reluctantly agreed.

"Well then, it's my turn again, then." Rias cleared her throat, and stood straight up.

What kind of presentation was she intending to make this time?

"Naruto-chi. Could you lie sprawled out over there for me?"

"I can… but what are you planning to do?"

"Mufufu… weeeeell, I'm going to atteeeeend to Naruto-chi with aaaaall my heart~~."

"Don't say it in such a weird voice, dammit. Also… a-attend… to me?"

Having beaten a number of eroge, the sound of the word "attend" carried a rather obscene ring to it. Attend… attend to me? What exactly did that mean, I wonder… even as I shivered at the thought of what was going to happen to me, I lay down on my stomach.

"L-Like this?"

"Perfect. Well then…"

The next moment, I felt a huge pressure on my back.

Guriguriguriguri!

"Agh! W-Why the hell are you stepping on me!?"

"It's the special maid-san stomping service! You wear a maid outfit like this, and just step step step on your back like this."

"Service!? Don't you mean torture!? Hnngh… too heavy too heavy too heavy! You're so damn heavy!"

"My my, that's quite a rude thing to say to a young lady. Hmph, even if it's Naruto-chi, I can't let that slide."

Guri!

"Gwah… get off dammit! My back can't take it anymore!"

"Oohh, it's giving off some nice sounds there."

It seemed that she had finally gotten off, and the huge weight on my back vanished.

"Haaah… haaah… haah… haah…"

"Well then… did you enjoy my heavenly massage?"

"Y… you… you…"

I seriously thought I was going to die! So yes, in a sense, I was about to go to heaven! Trying to catch my breath, I sat up and spat out my grievances.

"What the hell… did you mean by service…? Where in the world is there a service where maids step on people's backs…?"

"Well, there's a lot of that in Akihabara."

"Seriously!?"

That goes way beyond even my expectations! It seems that I've been underestimating that place! In any case, faced with how serious I was looking, Rias finally seemed to realize that I was in physical agony, and put on a troubled expression.

"It seems you didn't enjoy it at all."

"Hmph… as I thought, that amount of sadism is not enough to satisfy such a big masochist like him."

Kuroneko ground one of her heels into the ground, and stressed how sharp they were.

"… If that's the case, shall I step on you? Cooome now, lie down face-up for me."

That's not a massage at all! That's just some weird fetish! Lie down face-up… where the hell did this woman plan on stepping!? Also, in that position, I would be able to see your panties, you know.

Geez… Naruko, and then Kuroneko, and then Rias… can't you people just cut it out!? You know how depressed I've been right? Just leave me alone! As I was half-going out of my mind, Rias turned to Kuroneko.

"It's Kuroneko-chi's turn again."

"… Even if you tell me to… I wasn't expecting to have to go twice… so I don't have anything else to present."

Kuroneko hugged her knees on top of the chair, looking like she was sitting in gym class or something. She looked deep in thought. And unlike usual, she was wearing a miniskirt, so I really didn't know where to look. But Rias seemed to have expected Kuroneko's response, and puffed out her chest.

"Fufufu… I thought this would happen, so just for today, I brought a game that just came out and also have a secret weapon.

"A game that just came out, and a secret weapon?"

Naruko and I voiced that question at the same time. Even Kuroneko, still hugging her knees on top of the chair, glanced in Rias's direction, looking as if her interest had been piqued.

Seeing that she had our attention, Rias gave us a few leisurely nods.

"Indeed."

Moving the mouse around on the table, Rias double clicked. A game loaded on the screen. It seemed that it had already been installed. Also, the startup screen of the game looked somewhat familiar…

"This is Siscali, isn't it? The PC version."

I pointed at the display. On there was displayed the familiar title of "Little Sister Wars–Siscalypse." It was the game that had gotten Naruko hooked last summer.

"Didn't you say this was a game that just came out?"

"Ahh, but it is. Naruto-chi, please direct your gaze at the area beside the title."

"Hm? Ahh, you're right."

Once I got a good look at it, I saw that it was "Little Sister Wars–Siscalypse Alpha."

"Mufufu, this is what you would call an append disk. If you feed this disk into a computer that already has Siscali installed, you unlock new features."

"… I have no idea what you're talking about…"

As I shook my head back and forth, right next to me, Naruko nodded in understanding.

"In short, it's like the difference between 'Dynasty Warriors' and 'Dynasty Warriors Xtreme Legends,' right? So this is Siscali Alpha! It already came out!? I've been swamped since January, so I completely missed that news! Dammit… for someone like me to… ugh, what a huge slipup!"

"Fufufu, it seems like Naruru-chi is also quite interested in this game here. It was definitely worth bringing it. Today, we also have Kuroneko-chi here, who placed in the national Siscali arcade version tournament! So why not show us some of those amazing playing skills as a presentation!?"

"I… don't mind that, I guess…"

"Ohh, right, I forgot that had happened."

Now I remember. Kuroneko was a master of Siscali. She had once made good use of her godly abilities to help me make some fond memories for Naruko.

"Kuroneko, you placed at the Siscali tournament!? That's amazing!"

"… Ehh, I guess. I wasn't able to win though."

"I'm honestly not trying to flatter you with this, but… I seriously can't see how you could possibly lose at that game. Was the person you were playing against really that strong?"

"Of course. Quite good for someone limited by human reflexes… I would have never thought that there would be someone who could keep up with my movements like that… hmph, every once in a while, I meet a human who breaks through the 'wall'… I had planned to win the tournament, but it seems like even I will have to study the metagame after this. Even if that contradicts my aesthetic philosophy of always using the game's weakest character."

I didn't really know what she was talking about, but in summary it seemed that her opponent at the national tournament had been really strong. Seeing my befuddled expression, Rias's mouth curved up into a ω.

"Haha, after all, whether it's a shooter or a fighter, the players at the national tournaments are all amazing. For example, you have famous ones like Keima Katsuragi-chi."

Even if you give me his name, it's not like I know who he is.

"So, what exactly makes Siscali Alpha different from the original game? Also, what did you mean by 'secret weapon'?"

"Patience, patience, Naruru-chi! Allow me to explain in order. Siscali Alpha incorporates the popular system that had been implemented in the arcade version, and like you would get in an arcade, it's possible to play with pre-made characters. Even if you don't make your own character, you can play the game like you would any other fighter. Of course, you're also fully able to use custom characters, just like in the original game."

"I see. It's as if they combined the PC and arcade versions of the game. And then? Is that all that's different?"

"Not quite… in fact, I haven't gotten to the main difference yet. The main difference is that the 'little sister making system' in the original game got a power-up. The number of parts you can use and costumes your characters can wear significantly increased, and you can also fine-tune a lot of other things, like the face, hair, skin, height, body figure, bust size, voice, motion…"

"… Umm, so in summary, what exactly can you do?" Naruko looked bewildered after that rapid-fire explanation.

Rias lifted one finger up, and offered up a particularly easy-to-understand example. "For example, you can make a character that looks exactly like Madoka and fight with her, and you can even use her to play through story mode."

"Seriously!?"

Hook, line, and sinker.

"Seriously. And also, as for that 'secret weapon'… well, it's probably faster if I just showed you. Ufufu, please take a look at the screen."

Rias moved the mouse some more, and chose battle mode in the game. The game read the character data, and showed close-ups of Rias's custom characters on the screen. The characters were on backgrounds of a dark red wire frame.

"Ah!"

Seeing the characters on display, everyone except for Rias widened their eyes.

"T-That looks exactly like me! Come on! You did something like this too!?"

"Hahaha, everyone seemed to have been thinking of the same thing. Kuroneko-chi did it through manga, and I made someone who looks like Naruru-chi through games." Rias laughed merrily.

Resigned, Naruko smiled wryly. Ultimately, she didn't seem altogether displeased. In fact, she seemed a bit happy.

"I can use a character who looks exactly like me… to play Siscali?"

"Of course. This Naruru character is a custom character I designed using Naruru-chi as a model. Take a look!"

Click. Rias chose the "preview" command, and the window folded up to the side, bringing the custom character Naruko into the forefront of the screen. Wearing a miniskirt uniform, Naruko posed with her arms crossed in her lever neutral position (the position a character took when no buttons were being pushed).

Naruko had said this just a moment before… but it really looked exactly like my sister. Amazing.

"Fufu… there's still more to come!"

Click click click. Manipulating the controller that was attached to the PC, Rias made the Naruru character punch, kick, and jump. And at the same time…

"… Huh? Gross! You an idiot!? Die, siscon!"

"Fwuhahahaha! I made it so this custom character used Naruru-chi's voice! Well, it's not like I got these recordings in a controlled environment, so the sound quality is a bit bad… but what do you think, Naruto-chi!?"

It was the worst. It was terrifying that this character that looked and sounded exactly like Naruko was sending abuse my way while attacking me. And seriously, don't ask me. Because no matter how I respond to that question, my real sister is just going to turn to me and go

"… Huh? Gross! You an idiot!? Die, siscon!"

Just you watch.

"That's pretty amazing. You did a pretty good job with it. Don't you also think so, Naruko?"

"Huh? But it's pretty gross that you're getting all moe moe over a character that looks exactly like your sister."

What did I tell you? So, what the hell am I supposed to do!? If this were an eroge, then wouldn't this be a choice where no matter what I chose, her affection points for me would decrease!?

"But Rias-san, you really did a great job with this… I haven't shown you my uniform more than once, but you got our school's uniform down perfectly… you even got the manicure color right."

"To be honest, for that I used a mod I made myself. Haha, doing things like this is my specialty. Why don't you use this character and play right now?"

"Yeah, sure sure!"

Naruko nodded sincerely. When it came to times like these, she was the personification of childish innocence. When I saw her like this, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bring myself to hate her…

That was good. After all, today was supposed to be a celebration for her. If Naruko wasn't happy, then this entire event would have been a waste. Haah… I really am too soft-hearted sometimes.

Even though Rias had asked me here, to think I would actually come here to celebrate the accomplishments of someone who annoyed me to hell. As I scratched the back of my head, I turned my gaze onto Naruko.

"L-Let me play right now!"

Being pressed by Naruko, Rias gave back a "certainly!" and passed over the controller.

"Ah, her controls and secret moves are all pretty much the same as the character Naruru-chi usually uses. This character's legs are longer though, so she might feel a bit different when you control her."

"Well, that can't be helped~, I do have beautiful, long legs after all! Ah, it's battle mode, but the character is already at level 50?"

"Yeah, because the developers wanted you to be able to play with your friends and with a character you just finished making. By the way, you can also adjust your level by attaching a handicap to your character. Well, how about it? I also created a character for Kuroneko-chi, so why don't you two battle each other?"

Having the conversation turned to her, Kuroneko turned towards Rias once again, all the while sitting on top of the chair hugging her knees.

"Ah, so you made a character that resembles me as well? And then… in place of making a presentation, you're proposing that I battle her with a handicap on?"

"Exactly." Rias nodded happily.

"Hmph, come on, it'll be fun!" Naruko snorted.

I mean, no matter how much of a handicap you put on Kuroneko though, the skill difference was just too huge. Also, did such a proud person like Naruko have it in her to play someone with a handicap?

The minute that thought ran through my head, just as I thought, Naruko proposed something strange.

"In exchange, you use a level 1 character."

That was cruel. In other words, she didn't want to use a handicap, and she didn't want to fight a losing battle, so instead she chose to mess up the battle itself, and just wanted to watch a character that looked like herself throttling a character that looked like Kuroneko. Or something like that. It definitely seemed like something my sister would do.

Even for Kuroneko, a 49-level difference probably made winning impossible, but she readily agreed to the proposal.

"… Fine. Let's do that. In return, I'll pick the stage. The battle will be a single round, and in the case we end in a tie, we'll end up in sudden death mode. Are you fine with that?"

"That's fine… well then…"

Naruko seemed to be a bit suspicious at how quickly Kuroneko had agreed, but…

In any case, the battle started. Kuroneko had chosen the "arena" stage, a narrow coliseum-like map with nowhere to hide. On the two displays lined side by side were displayed, respectively, the backs of a character who looked exactly like Naruko, the junior high school girl "Naruru," and a character who looked exactly like Kuroneko, the gothic Lolita "Kuroneko."

Three… two… one… Fight!

A cool, collected voice announced the start of the battle, and the two combatants closed the distance between them in a flash.

At this point, the difference in levels between the characters was already abundantly clear. The difference in their movement speeds was like that of Legolas and Gimli. Of course, Naruru was faster. And what's more, if their level differences were this severe, Naruru could whittle down kuroneko's health with each blow even if kuroneko was guarding.

In contrast, even if Kuroneko attacked Naruru continuously for the entire sixty seconds, Kuroneko wouldn't be able to deplete Naruru's life bar.

It wasn't even appropriate to call this a battle. However…

"… You bitch…! Fight with me properly, you idiot!"

"My my, what seems to be wrong? How clumsy of you."

Even though the character Kuroneko was controlling had the movement speed of a level 1 character, she waved to and fro and survived Naruru's fierce assault. She saw completely through Naruru's movements, and with nothing but the smallest of motions, dodged Naruko's attacks.

"Ugh… well, how about this!?"

Naruko depleted her gauge, and let loose her ultimate attack. Her character was suddenly surrounded by lightning and she charged at her opponent, letting loose a sequence of lightning-fast kicks.

It was an attack that was impossible to avoid for the much slower kuroneko. There's no doubt that she was planning to whittle kuroneko's life down to zero forcibly, using the immense level difference to her advantage. Even for my sister, it was a pretty dirty way of fighting.

"Hah, just as expected."

Still sitting on top of the chair with her arms around her knees, Kuroneko clasped her controller between her knees. And then, with all ten fingers free, Kuroneko began to hit buttons on the controller as if she were typing on a keyboard.

Katakatakatakataaa-gagagagagagaga. The sound of Kuroneko entering her commands was soon supplanted by the sound of violent blows. It was because Naruko's kick combination had driven itself into Kuroneko's small figure.

"… Too bad."

"Wha-"

And yet, Kuroneko's life points had not dropped a single point.

Taking a closer look at the screen, I could see that the Gothic-Lolita-clad Kuroneko had repelled each and every one of Naruru's attacks with a single finger she had sticking up on one hand.

It was a skill called "parrying." With absolute perfect timing, you could block your opponents attack and take no damage no matter what type of attack it was. It was a high-level skill usually intended for blocking huge, slow attacks, but Kuroneko had used that skill to block that series of kicks that I could barely follow with my eyes…? I couldn't believe it.

"Fwaahh~… it's like watching a pro gameplay video." Rias also seemed dumbfounded.

How should I put it… she was so good it was shocking. Exactly how many hours have you put into this game? And to think you couldn't even win that tournament… exactly what kind of monsters were you playing?

On screen, Naruru finally stopped her barrage of kicks, and the lightning that had enveloped her body faded.

"Ugh… playing dirty like that! That can't have just happened!"

"The only thing 'dirty' right now is your face, isn't it? Aren't you ashamed to be getting so worked up over just a game?"

"Shut up shut up shut up! Stay in one spot, dammit! Hnggghhh~~~!"

Blowing steam out her nostrils like a bull, Naruko desperately handled her controller.

Naruru depleted each and every one of her gauges, and even as her attack speed dropped precipitously, she continued sending out frantic last-ditch kicks. Of course, sloppy attacks like that had no chance of connecting, and they were either dodged or deflected. This must be what they mean by "whirlwinding around." Pretty appropriate for Naruru.

Hey, that was pretty clever of me. Go ahead, feel free to give me a compliment.

"Tch! Tch tch! Gnnnghhhhh~~~!"

Seeming more annoyed than I had ever seen her, Naruko continued to attack with reckless abandon.

"Ku ku ku ku ku… the world is just filled with tragedy… right now, your soul is about to be tested…"

Mocking Naruko, Kuroneko continued her endless sequence of parrying. This sequence of events continued for a while longer. Since the start of the fight, neither fighter's life had dropped a single point. Even though Kuroneko had fended off each one of Naruko's attacks, for some reason she had yet to send off an attack of her own.

Certainly, because she was level 1, any attack she sent on a level 50 character wouldn't do much damage at all. But, even so, that didn't amount to a reason to just not attack at all. Leaving those doubts of mine aside, I waited as time passed moment by moment…

At last, sixty seconds had elapsed since the beginning of the battle. Time up. Usually, the person with more life at this point would be declared the winner, but at the moment both players had full life bars.

At this point, the special rules went into effect.

"… Fufufufu… take your seats, everyone. To watch the beginning of the end…"

"A-Ahh!?"

Looking at both screens, Naruko let out a yell. Because in a moment, both Naruru and kuroneko's life bars had dropped quickly to a position very close to zero.

"Ah, pray tell, what are you so surprised about? This was already made clear in the beginning, yes? That when time was up, we would move to sudden death. In other words, from now on, level differences have no meaning, and the first person to land a hit wins the match. Well now, everything has evened out. Kukukuku… you lost the minute you let the match drag on until now."

"Hngg…" Naruko ground her teeth in frustration.

Having watched the match up until now, Rias let out a "oh hoh" of admiration. Next, she turned to me and cocked her head to the side.

"Hm? Even if she didn't wait until sudden death, if she had just hit Naruru-chi once before, when time was up she would have automatically won. Why didn't she do that?"

"It's all for show I think. She wanted to do away with Naruko in a flashy way. With a KO." I answered Rias's question. I probably wasn't mistaken. After all…

"Kukuku… kuhahaha… ku ku ku ku…"

Just look at that sinister, little smile on Kuroneko's face. She's really pleased with how things are going here. By the way, when Kuroneko had said "you lost," it made me realize something. Isn't this game's an 18+ eroge?

"By the way. Doesn't the losing character become naked after getting her clothes torn off?"

"… Ah."

"… Ahh."

Kuroneko suddenly stopped laughing, and dropped her controller. Naruko also turned her gaze away from the screens, and turned back with a stupefied expression.

"Seriously… you two seriously didn't realize that, did you… if you lost this battle, the character who looked exactly like you would get her clothes torn off and would go through some H stuff…"

Yes, from the very beginning, this battle was that kind of battle. It was sort of like strip mahjong… you could even call it a virtual strip battle. And speaking of the source of all the evil in this terrible situation…

"Hahaha, now that you mention it, I guess it is like that."

It seemed like she didn't know. This person… she's calling down all sorts of trouble with her air-headedness…

"Ahaaah… I completely forgot about that. You don't get your clothes torn off in the arcade version even if you lose, so I had completely gotten used to that version…"

Naruko and Kuroneko probably were probably also like that. That's why, as the only person here who hadn't played the arcade version, I had been the first to realize the situation.

A solid line of sweat went down Rias's face.

"… Well, sorry about that haha… and I made both characters with elaborate detail to perfectly match the people they were based on too. I even got the three sizes down perfectly."

That's not good at all. I mean, if one of them loses this battle, those elaborate details were going to get completely exposed, right? As I stood there speechless, Rias puffed out her chest.

"To be honest, I'm quite proud of what I made!"

"What the hell are you saying!? You… you… you've gone way too far this time!"

Naruko retorted with all her energy, but Rias completely kept her cool.

"Hey hey, Naruru-chi, you should keep your eyes on the screen."

"…!?"

Suddenly coming back to herself, Naruko turned her head to the screen. Given that fatal gap that Naruko had left open, Kuroneko was…

"… Ah… a… ahh…"

Aren't you way too flustered by this!? You haven't even picked up the damn controller again! Your hands are shaking, you know. And your lips are quivering, and your face is completely red…

"Hey Kuroneko… you can't do that. This isn't the time to be getting flustered."

"E-Even if you tell me that… I just can't…"

She was just completely embarrassed. Even though it was a game, in the end it was hard to deal with a character that looked exactly like you getting stripped naked, wasn't it?

At that point, Naruko raised her voice.

"What the hell, you siscon!? Whose side are you on!? You want to see your own sister naked that badly!?"

"No, absolutely not!" Don't say something that sounds so wrong like that!

… Although, when I think about it, there wasn't a single good reason as to why I should be cheering Kuroneko on in this situation. I definitely didn't want to see an H-scene involving a character that looked like my sister.

"Alriiiight Naruko! Go get her! Right now!"

"You damn pervert!"

Bam! Naruko turned swiftly around and hit me straight on the nose with her controller.

"Aw… seriously, you're getting angry no matter what I say!"

"No kidding! Ugh, and I had a good chance there too… I'll make you pay for this later!"

Getting a firm grip back on her controller, Naruko hurriedly sent Naruru in for a suicide attack. Even though she wasn't to the point Kuroneko was, Naruko seemed pretty flustered too, and even though it would have been fine if she just got in a single hit, she deliberately chose a huge attack.

"Ahh… I can't…"

Although she was completely driven into a corner, Kuroneko showed no sign of returning to her senses. Even when she finally picked her controller back up, all she could do was open her eyes wide and watch the failure that was staring her in the face. It was a truly pitiful sight to behold. On the spur of the moment, I shouted out.

"J-Just do something! Push a button!"

"!"

Click click click!

Almost as if she was a complete beginner, Kuroneko pushed buttons on her controller randomly. Well, like that, she should be able to at least get an attack out one way or another.

The fight was settled in the next second. The loser, as a reward for the winner, would have her naked body exposed in shame. Whether that was going to be Naruko or Kuroneko… in the next second, the fight would be decided. Naruko's roundhouse kick and Kuroneko's extended fist crossed each other…

KO!

Bam!

"Oww! Wha…!?"

At the same time as the announcement, I felt something slam into my face.

The sharp pain I felt was enough to make my vision go dark. For that reason, I had no idea who had won. As I grimaced, I just barely managed to open one eye, when I saw the forms of Naruko and Kuroneko, holding a chair. As I held a hand to my forehead, I felt the color drain from my face while I asked.

"… W-What are you planning to do? D-Don't tell me that you're going to… with that chair…"

"Just a minute. Did you have a nice dream?"

As Kuroneko muttered some words that I couldn't make head or tails of, she raised the chair overhead. Right then, Naruko let go of the chair, instead twisting her body and beginning to charge up. She looked just like her character Naruru did when she was preparing for her ultimate attack…

I knew what was going to happen before it happened.

"Die, siscoooonnn!"

KO!

I could have sworn I heard someone announce that.

(◕ω◕✿)

A few minutes later… I sat in a chair, and was having my wounds attended to by Rias.

"A-Ow ow ow…"

"… I'll be done in a second, so please be patient for just a while longer."

With a worried voice, Rias applied a piece of absorbent cotton to the afflicted area. She had borrowed a first-aid kit from the reception desk.

"Dammit… this is just way too cruel. Why the hell do I have to go through something like this…?"

Rias seemed to take my mutterings to heart, and spoke sadly, "I'm very sorry Naruto-chi, just because I overdid it…"

"Nah… well, sure there's that. But I don't think you did something that bad." I told Rias my true feelings. Frowning, I gave a glance at Naruko and Kuroneko.

"The people we should be blaming are the two that actually inflicted all the damage."

I watched Nauko and Kuroneko talking about something in a serious manner. It seemed a bit different from their usual petty squabbling… but I couldn't hear what they were saying so I couldn't say for sure. Ugh, this is so annoying, this is not the time to be doing that.

"Those two… they're really shy but also really stubborn… won't you forgive them?"

"Even so…" It would be nice if I could get at least one ounce of an apology out of them.

"From the beginning, it was you…"

"Tch, it was all your fault!"

What the hell was up with them? Leaving their victim over here alone and just arguing with each other…

"… Hey, you two. Come over here for a second." With my eyes narrowed, I called Naruko and company over.

When I did that, they took a look at my face, and gave me completely different responses. Kuroneko, albeit expressionless, looked down in shame, and vaguely looked saddened. On the other hand, Naruko frowned and creases ran across her brow as she gave me a complicated-looking expression.

"I said to come over here."

As I emotionlessly called out my order again, they both seemed to decide to listen to me for now, and tottered over side-by-side. They stopped right in front of me as I sat there…

"… What?" Naruko sulkily muttered. Kuroneko stayed silent, and just looked at me with an empty expression.

I took a glance at Kuroneko, and then looked up at my sister's sullen face. I honestly wanted to yell at them, but I hadn't forgotten that this was supposed to be a celebration and this girl was the guest of honor. But as expected, I couldn't stomach just letting this pass without saying anything. It wasn't like I was going to ask for a proper apology from these two, but I didn't want to come to more harm later. At the very least, I just wanted to tell them to leave me alone. To the very end, Naruko was today's guest of honor. I was just an extra here.

"… Hey?"

"W-What?"

Naruko cowered, almost as if she was nervous.

"You know, I've been really depressed these days because of you."

"…"

"But, I heard that today was a celebration for you, so I came here like this, and put aside all my grief, and was ready to celebrate with you."

"…"

"But why is it then that you two have to only do things that just make me more depressed?"

"… That's …a misunderstanding."

Having kept silent up until then, Kuroneko spoke haltingly. But I wasn't convinced.

"Really? Well, if that's the case, then this is pretty ridiculous. And something's been on my mind from the beginning. I feel like you all have been keeping something from me. I've had this unpleasant feeling every time there's been a presentation… I mean, you're even making Naruko do one even though she's the guest of honor? Really, why exactly am I the only person who wasn't told that you were making these presentations? I would understand if you wanted to hide it from the guest of honor, but I have no idea why you would hide it from me… that's way too suspicious. Just give it to me straight and tell me what's going on… or be a bit gentler with me because I honestly can't enjoy myself like this."

"… That's not what we had intended."

Kuroneko's voice grew fainter. In ordinary circumstances, I probably would have been more considerate at this moment of time, but I couldn't spare the effort to do that now. My first priority was getting my questions answered.

"If that's true, then just tell me what's going on."

"Hey, you, cut it out."

Naruko butted in at that point. Seeming to push her own actions to the back of her mind, she spoke in a threatening tone.

"You just talk talk talk talk talk talk… is it really that fun accusing my friend like that? And what's more, you're talking to a girl here… that's not cool at all."

"What did you just say!?"

As usual, I had no idea why Naruko was getting all upset, so getting annoyed, I took the bait and shot back at her.

"What the hell did you just say!?"

"Y-You're taking everything so seriously with a girl and that's really stupid! Even that time before! What the hell… why did you get so angry!? I can't believe you! It's really not that bad!"

It's really not that bad, she says…?

"Not bad you says!? Because of you my close friend almost stop talking to me forever! Don't you know how important she is to me!?"

"I-I…"

"During the summer, when your doujinshi got found by Ayase did you just go "it's really not that bad" to yourself!?"

"W-Why are you holding a grudge just because your sister pulled a prank on you? I-It's not like that girl hates you now or something. It's… really… not a big deal…"

As if she was flustered with how angry I looked, Naruko only barely managed to get her final words out. But I didn't care. She had said something she really shouldn't have.

"Cut it out, dammit!"

I spoke, with anger in my words. It wasn't the kind of wishy-washy tone I had kept up until now… I was serious.

"I apologize to Rias-san, but I'm going home. You can play without me!"

Yes. In deference to Rias, I had intended to be patient with this for as long as possible. But I had reached my limit.

"I can't take this anymore. And it doesn't matter whether I'm here or not, right!?" I spat that out coldly, and turned heel.

"…W-Wait…"

Naruko sounded like she was muttering something but I ignored her. I was planning to just leave like this and head straight home.

No matter what, I just had no idea what the point of my going through all of this was. Sure, I considered Rias and Kuroneko to be friends. And no matter how much I might not like it, Naruko was my sister. But even then, it's not like they could do anything to me and I wouldn't get angry. It made it even worse since it was my friend or my sister… it just made it harder to come to terms with, so I was even more annoyed than if this had been done to me by some random stranger.

"… Naruto-kun, j-just listen for a second."

Rias blocked my path to the door and faced me. And as expected, I had to stop for a moment. Because in all the time I had known her, this was the first time I had heard her voice sounding so desperate.

Next, Kuroneko went to Rias's side and looked up at me. As if trying to buy time, she cleared her throat and steeling herself, began to talk.

"… You know, the truth is…"

"Hold on."

Even Naruko cut in at that point, and stopped Kuroneko mid-sentence.

"… I'm… going to do this myself… so just let me do this…"

It was honestly difficult to describe my sister's facial expression at that moment. She seemed incredibly annoyed on the one hand, but also somewhat crestfallen on the other. She seemed angry, but also seemed to be hiding a sense of determination. And also, Naruko was holding a paper bag in one hand. I couldn't see the contents though.

"Move!" I spoke angrily.

Just looking at my annoying sister made the anger well up in me again.

"W-What's with the attitude…?"

A dangerous atmosphere permeated the room. Sparks flew as Naruko and I glared at each other.

"Naruko-san!"

"… You know what you're doing, right?"

Rias and Kuroneko both faced Naruko and urged her on.

"I got it, I got it! It'll all be fine if I just do it, right!?"

Naruko bobbed her head vigorously up and down and shouted. After that, she ruffled her blond hair furiously.

"Ughhhhhhhhh dammiiiiiiiiiittt! Wh-why did it have to come to this…!?"

Naruko bit down on her lower lip, and huge creases formed across her brow…

"H-Here, take this!"

Almost as if she wanted to hit me, Naruko thrust out the paper bag at me.

"… Huh?"

Staring at that paper bag with crossed eyes, I voiced my confusion. And then, maybe out of anger, Naruko flushed a deep crimson.

"C-Come on! This is yours! I'm giving it to you!"

"Come on to you too! I have no idea what's going on!"

My true feelings came sputtering out of my mouth. I mean, this was strange, wasn't it? Why was my furious sister trying to pass something to me while I was also furious? I can't accept this like this.

"Ahhhhhhh how thick are youuuuuu!? It's a present, dammit!"

"… Pre… sent…? From you… for me…?"

"Y-Yes."

And then, Naruko bowed her head deeply.

"I'm really sorry about what happened!"

"…"

My eyes widened and I found myself at a loss for words.

With her head still bowed, Naruko once again held out the paper bag to me. Half unconsciously, I took the paper bag from her. When I did that, Naruko looked up and met my gaze for just a second, and muttered.

"… Thanks for everything, brother."

This was just too much, and I felt my head go pure white. I might have fainted right then and there for a few seconds.

Naruko kept her head down, and seemed to be waiting for my response. But really, I wasn't in any condition to give a response in this state. Not hearing a response and perhaps getting worried, my sister once again raised her head. Feigning strength, she pushed up her bottom lip with her tongue.

A few more seconds passed, and after that she timidly spoke up.

"Umm… did you hear me?"

"A-Ahh. I heard."

To be perfectly honest, at this point I still couldn't believe the words that had gone through my ears. It was completely beyond my expectations, so it took a while before I could process the situation.

Have I ever heard her say something like that to me before…?

"… A-Ahh… then that's good…" Hearing my response, Naruko let out a long breath in relief.

Next, she put a hand to her chest, and blushing all the while, began to breathe raggedly. Being faced with this scene, almost as if she had just finished confessing to a boy, I suddenly became very self-conscious and felt my face heating up.

"Naruto-kun. The truth is that this party was really organized to get you to cheer up. And, it also gave Naruko-san an opening to apologize to Naruto-kun… my my, I really had intended to properly entertain you and for you to enjoy yourself, but this has become such an unpleasant experience for you instead… I really am very sorry for my failure."

"I'm sorry."

Rias and Kuroneko stood side by side and bowed.

"… So it was like that…"

Dumbfounded, I tried to digest the situation. Giving her a quick glance, I saw that Naruko was frowning with her cheeks still flushed.

"Umm… I haven't said this very often up until now. It really didn't seem you would know unless I said it outright, so I'll just come out and say it this time."

"W-What…?"

Naruko impatiently tried to grope for the right words, and she finally began to talk.

"All the things you've done for me up until now, I'm really thankful for. If you weren't there, I definitely couldn't have convinced Mom to accept my hobby… and I wouldn't have been able to make up with Ayase…"

She looked at Rias, then at Kuroneko, and continued to shyly choke out her words.

"I… wouldn't have met these two either. I would have just gone on sadly by myself, not being able to talk to anyone about games or anime, not being able to do anything… I really don't know what would have happened if it went on like that."

"…"

"So, umm, once again… thank you Big Bro."

She quickly turned the other way. She was… really terrible at speaking at times like this. But, I understood. I knew exactly how she felt.

The sound of mild applause reached my ears. Rias and Kuroneko were clapping their hands for us. Both Rias, and even Kuroneko, had smiles on their faces… almost as if they were trying to tell me "I'm happy for you."

Even as I came to terms with the current situation, I couldn't believe it.

… To think that Naruko would… to think that she would go so far as to give me a present. It's like I was dreaming.

Up until now, I had done a number of things for Naruko's sake. I had helped her make otaku friends. I had desperately worked to protect her otaku goods from our mother. I had run around trying to clear up her misunderstanding with Ayase. I had taken a trip to a publishing company to deal with the theft of Naruko's cell-phone novel manuscript. I have to admit it. I… getting thanked by my sister, having her expressing her gratitude to me… It made me happy.

"… Thank you, Naruko. This present you gave me… I'll make sure to take good care of it."

"Y-You haven't even opened it yet, so what are you saying?"

My sister responded curtly. But I didn't mind. Her feelings had already been transmitted to me, and had manifested themselves in this present I was holding.

"You're right. Well then, can I open it now then?"

"D-Do what you want."

"… Alright." I took the paper bag and unsealed it.

I softly took out the contents. Slowly, carefully, carefully, I began to peel off the outer wrapping. Just the fact that my sister had given this to me made it precious, so I didn't really care what was inside. I would definitely be happy no matter what came out, and I would probably cry.

Rustle rustle. Like that, what I unearthed from beneath the wrapping paper was… An eroge titled Sister x Brother ~Siscon Love Story~.

"… Umm …what is this?" I muttered haltingly.

I blinked number of times, thinking that maybe I had been mistaken, but the item in front of me showed no signs of going away. I quickly looked back and forth between Rias and Kuroneko, and saw that they were completely dumbfounded. It seemed that they weren't expecting this state of affairs either.

When I looked right back at my sister, I saw her with an incredibly happy smile on her face.

"This is seriously a godly game, so you should play it!"

"This… you…"

I was so moved before too… how could you burst my bubble like that!? No no, it's the thought that counts… what the actual present is doesn't matter! B-But… who would have thought that, in the midst of this emotional moment… an eroge would appear from under those wrappings…!?

Trembling, I couldn't say a single word more. But…

"Hehe… just think of that game as me, and take good care of it!"

My sister shyly put a hand to her upper lip, and as I looked at her, I slowly felt the tension in me loosen. Because, in my sister's facial expression, I couldn't sense even a bit of the usual mean-spiritedness.

Geez, I give up. I can really feel that her words were coming from the heart. And she told me to think of this little sister eroge as if it were her, and to take good care of it!

"Heh… hahaha…"

I felt myself also breaking out into a smile. This situation was just too ridiculous, and I couldn't do anything but laugh. But contrary to expectations, this was perhaps the most Naruko-like thanks she could have given me.

"What? What are you laughing about? Hmm, you really that happy?"

Chuckle.

"Thanks, Naruko." I plopped my hand on top of her head. Naruko blinked in surprise. I'm sure that in a few seconds, she's just going to get angry and start yelling at me again…

But the gift she had given me, of all things, was a little sister eroge. Geez, this must be the most ridiculous, absurd… it was a memory that would make me grimace every time I thought of it… but at the same time, it was a situation that really fit us.

But most of all, at that moment… we really looked just like a normal brother and sister.

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