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.

41. Cat Love in Summer -Part 4-

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When I woke up in my dusky room it was already late into the night. The clock's hour hand was indicating one o'clock.

"Did I fall asleep at some point?"

That was too carefree, even for me. I have clearly been dumped by an important girlfriend. What actually happened…? Facing the sudden thoughts surging from my mind, I smiled bitterly. Come on Naruto… don't tell me you still think there's a possibility? Kuroneko told me nothing and transferred, right? Didn't she also break up with me? Being in conflict with myself I kept asking the question over and over, "What actually happened?". I was having intense feelings of anxiety and uneasiness, like counting the number of plates.

… What actually happened?

"This isn't the time to think about that!"

What a stupid guy I am! I forcefully got up out my bed. How long do I plan to keep asking myself the same question!? I'm forgetting the most important thing! First of all, first of all! About the fact that Kuroneko disappeared… does Naruko know about it or not? That room wasn't locked. She probably forgot to lock it tonight. Half of me had already given up, I turned the knob. With a small ziii, the door opened without resistance.

… It's very dark. It seems that she's already sleeping. Without thinking I reduced the noise in my steps. As I go closer to the bed, what I saw was a serene sleeping face. Though I knew she was sleeping here from the start, seeing her face, my heart was still beating very fast.

"Naruko…"

Sleeping beauty. That was the first image that came to my mind. It seems that the siscon inside me couldn't be cured. I really couldn't bear the thought of waking her up. It's been a long time since I saw her so defenseless like this, and I felt a pain in my chest.

After hesitating a bit, I poked her soft cheek.

"Hey."

She didn't wake up. It seemed that it was too soft.

"Really, how much time are you planning to sleep?" Though I didn't say that. Then, I took off her blanket.

As I suspected, she still wouldn't wake up. She's sleeping very deeply.

"…"

This silence doesn't have any meaning behind it, don't misunderstand.

"OK."

I made up my mind and placed my body on top of her.

It's not really similar to the way a certain person tries to wake up someone. I positioned myself like a prince who was about to wake up sleeping beauty and glared at my sleeping sister face-to-face. I wasn't going to kiss her or anything, of course, I just thought of poker her to wake her up… but something unexpected happened.

"… Hmm."

Naruko was still half-asleep, and her wrist hooked onto my neck. Hey!? You, wait…!

"Hihihihi… Chino-chan… ❤" She hugged me.

"Hey, hey." I-I'm not Chino-chan… I was completely confused, I was being hugged by my half-asleep sister — and then —

"Hn, kiss. ❤"

"Whaaaa."

Ju-Just now… just now did they touch? Wasn't that way too terrible?

"Hey — wake up already." While still maintaining our near-kissing position, I poked her face.

Paf Paf I gave her a couple light pokes and it seems that finally had some effect.

"It hurts… why…? Eh?" Naruko blinked her sluggish eyes. "W-wha… You."

After becoming aware that she was hugging me very closely, her eyes shot wide open. Dammit, if she starts screaming now it would be very bad! I quickly placed my hand over my sister's mouth.

"Wu-! Wuwu."

"Be quiet…! What time do you think it is!?"

"Wu-! Wuwuwu-wu-wu-wu."

My sister was resisting even more intensely.

"Be a good girl."

… A brother who was sneaking into his sister's room late into the night, threw himself on top of his sleeping sister and held her mouth closed while saying "be a good girl" as she is trying to scream… looking at it from an outsider's perspective, don't I simply look like a rapist? Well, it was suddenly obvious why Naruko would struggle so much.

"Wu-! Wuwu."

"It isn't like that, Naruko! You're taking this the wrong way entirely!"

"Wu-! Wuwu." Don't cry!

"Listen to me, if I let go you definitely can't scream, OK? You'll definitely not scream."

"Wu-! Wu."

Naruko contained her tears and nodded twice.

"OK."

I took my hand off of Naruko's mouth.

"You! You're trying to assault your sister at night?!"

"I said that it isn't like that! Don't be so loud, Dad and Mom will hear us."

"B-But."

"Please, I have an important matter to discuss."

"Throwing yourself on top of your sister… with that kind of attitude…"

I didn't care about what she had to say and stared directly into Naruko's eyes.

"… You too, have done the same thing to me." That day, more than a year ago.

After I said that Naruko immediately calmed down and we glared at each other.

"Tch…" Finally, Naruko seemed to have given up and leaned her head to the side.

"… Let go of me first."

After I did what she wished, Naruko slowly straightened her body. It seemed that she would finally hear me. As I got up with the intention of turning the light on…

"Don't turn on the light."

"Why?"

"We can still talk like this."

"Still…"

"… My hair is all messed up and I didn't put on any makeup… don't you get that?" Naruko muttered softly.

That doesn't bother me at all, though. Well, this kind of demand didn't require a lot of effort so I complied.

"Then… what?"

Naruko started to press me. The words I was going to say have already been decided.

"I ask for a life counseling."

(◕ω◕✿)

"I understand the situation."

Naruko didn't say anything, and listened to my story until the end. The fact that Kuroneko transferred was also new to her, and probably was new to Rias as well. Kuroneko said nothing to us, and left. Like a cat that sensed it was near death she suddenly… disappeared.

"That damn cat… suddenly bidding farewell… what the hell is she doing? I don't get it."

Naruko, who was grinding her teeth, filled the dark room with her suppressed anger. She was sitting on her bed, while I sat on the floor. In the dark, my sister's sharp gaze went through me.

"And… what about you? What do you plan on doing?"

"… I don't know."

What should I do? I have no idea. That's why I wanted life counseling with you. Naruko's poker face seemed to say "I see", it seems she was disappointed with her brother's uselessness. No, it wasn't just now-she was always disappointed in me.

After a moment of silence. Naruko stared at my face intensely and seemed to be reflecting.

"… Hey." She said half of it, omitting the latter part. Since there wasn't enough light, I couldn't clearly see her expression. Finally, Naruko let out a big sigh, and said, "I want to ask you an important question."

"…"

"You… can it be that you really love Kuroneko?"

"Huh?"

"… Even after she did something this awful to you, without explaining anything?"

"Yes, I love her, even now."

Even though I myself thought it was inconceivable that I could casually utter those words. My sister didn't answer.

"Ah, so, that's how it is."

After saying those words unemotionally, for some reason my chest hurt. My eyes started to burn. Is it because I had let out my emotions and acknowledged the situation that I was in? Or is it…

"… Dammit." I couldn't stop sobbing. I couldn't stop letting the burning tears out. I'm really useless. But, it can't be helped. The heat of my body became tears, falling down drip by drip. Though the AC isn't turned on… why do I feel so cold? I felt so cold that I could freeze.

"D-Don't cry." Because I suddenly started crying in front of my sister, even Naruko started panicking.

"… Take- take it." After hesitating for a second, Naruko took the sleeve of her pajamas and moved it toward my face.

After I dried my tears and they slowly disappeared, my hysterical state was calmed a bit.

"Thanks." I said that with a nasally voice.

As if she was surprised of her own attitude towards me, Naruko sighed. Then she said, "You, for a moment, turn around."

"Eh?"

"… Quickly."

The room was really dark and my vision was still clouded by tears. Though I was very close to her I still couldn't make out Naruko's expression.

"… Like this?" I slowly turned my back towards my sister.

"Mmm, yes."

"…?"

Even though I waited, nothing happened.

Naruko…? As I turned my head towards her, Naruko suddenly hugged my neck from behind.

"Eh… wh-what do you want?"

"Don't turn towards me! Did I tell you to face that way?"

"Isn't it because you suddenly hugged my neck…?"

"N- Noisy! Seeing your back… for some reason I'm in a bad mood!"

What the hell is that!?

"Quickly, turn that way-now!"

I did as she said. She won't start choking me again, will she? This girl…

However, my sister's hands didn't grab my neck, but… eh? Something came in contact with my back, something which felt very soft. A warm embrace. Naruko embraced me from behind.

"Naruko, you…"

After being overly surprised, I immediately went stiff — after trying to move a bit, I got hit in the head by Naruko.

"Don't say anything else, and don't move. Stay like this."

Naruko tried to comfort me. That's why I lowered the strength in my body, letting my sister dispose of it.

"Cheer up!" Naruko said in a gentle voice and warmly stroked my head.

Ah, a long time ago, when my sister was ignored during the offline meeting, I also comforted her like this.

"You've already put forth enough effort."

"I'm on your side."

Until now, our positions have been reversed. The sister was comforting her brother.

"No matter how useless Naruto is, even if everyone else abandons you, I'll still be here with you. I will worry about you and scold you until the end."

Even if it was extremely embarrassing, even if my face felt hot, it gave me strength. I felt more at ease than anyone.

"That's why… cheer up, Naruto."

The bonds between us were those of family. Blood. Siblings. No matter which way you say it, it doesn't matter. My ineloquent self can not express the feelings I have right now.

Only… only.

"… Thank you, Naruko."

I have been saved by my sister. Tears began to flood out again, but they were another kind of tears.

"It's really warm, your body."

"Eh? S-Stupid."

Naruko finally realized how embarrassing our posture was and started to justify herself.

"… M-Mom… whenever I'm down like this… she would console me in the same way, so… there's no other meaning behind it."

"So it's like that."

"Hm, exactly, that's why… don't say anything stupid, understood?"

"… Understood."

Though she was clearly overly embarrassed, Naruko continued hugging me from behind. She hugged me tightly; until she had warmed me. In the dark, we siblings were stuck together. I still couldn't stop my tears. It was great that she couldn't see my face, I thought.

… It's already too late. I've already shown this girl how useless I am, I've shown her my weaknesses and she held me up in my time of need. I won't be able to rid myself of the shame for the rest of my life. I am already beyond help. How long have I been like this…?

My tears finally stopped, and Naruko said, "Hey."

"What?"

"If I found somebody that I loved… and went out with him… then got dumped by him before he disappeared without a trace… and if I cried… you… what would you do?" Naruko asked me in a warm voice.

"That…"

"Ah… please don't say anything. I know how you would feel even without you saying it, since we're siblings. Yes — you'd also feel the same way, right?"

"Ah, really, it can't be helped."

Naruko seemed to imitate that tone, and made an intentional complaint. She separated herself from me, and turned in front of me. Like the way we parted at that time — she made an intriguing and fresh smile.

"Naruto, leave it to me."

(◕ω◕✿)

The next day — Sunday. Naruko and I took the train to the western part of the city. At first we'd planned to go ask the school for some information, but it turned out to be unnecessary because we were able to quickly obtain Kuroneko's current address. Since Kuroneko forcefully cut off contact with me, Naruko sent her a message.

"Where are you?"

This morning, the reply came.

"Where the sight is obscured by white darkness."

That message aside, she also sent directions to her current place. It seems like it was part of her new phone's GPS capabilities.

… Why did Kuroneko have to send that message?

"No good, she isn't replying to any of my messages anymore."

Naruko clicked her tongue and closed her cell phone.

"That damn chuuni girl… what the heck is 'white darkness'? Speak Japanese, you idiot."

It was normal for her words to be so hard to understand, but now wasn't the time to complain about that. She always made serious messages look that way. I remember… when she asked me to come to behind the school, she also did that.

"When I went abroad… everyone must have felt the same way." Naruko closed her eyes and sighed sadly.

The directions that Kuroneko sent us led to a hot spring street. Since today was a normal Sunday, not many people were around. This street was surrounded by mountains. The air was fresh and clean, which made people feel comfortable.

"To move away this far… was she really okay with it?"

"I certainly couldn't. I couldn't go to Akihabara or Chiba station."

Here in Kantou, people couldn't do anything but accept their geographical limits.

Oh, right! The 'white darkness' that Kuroneko was referring to in her message was soon made clear to us. We were on a hot spring street, and because of that the smell of sulfur and hot steam was everywhere. The street was covered by a white fog caused by the hot spring.

"Okay… what next?"

"… Hey, where is that same enthusiasm you had when you came to Los Angles to get me to come back?"

Actually… I felt very strange. Although the situation is certainly similar, right now I felt extremely powerless. Thanks to Naruko that I could recover as much as I did, but I still felt weak. Just like a divorced husband trying to find his wife together with his sister.

"You really — when others are in trouble, you're the most energetic one, but when you yourself are in trouble you become so weak."

"… Maybe you're right."

"Tch… Don't repeat what I just said." Naruko reluctantly shook her head. "What a hopeless siscon. No choice then — wait here a bit."

"Where are you going?"

"Asking around, of course." Naruko showed the picture she took together with Rias and Kuroneko to me. "This girl is cute and eye-catching… so maybe we could run into some luck if we ask around."

"I see. So that's your plan."

"So wait here, okay? Don't get lost and cause more trouble." After saying that, Naruko turned around and started walking.

There was a possible margin of error in the distance from the GPS location, so we couldn't rely on it completely to find Kuroneko. Still, it's far better than nothing.

There were so many unanswered questions… why did Kuroneko transfer away? Why did Kuroneko say nothing to us? Why did Kuroneko break up with me? Why did Kuroneko come here? So many 'why' questions danced around in my head.

As for the last question, Kuroneko's new home is somewhere around here. That much is certain. However, this place…

"It is too far away… "

Even though Naruko pushed me into coming here… this place is really far… it wouldn't be as easy for us to gather together and hang out anymore. Since Kuroneko dumped me, I didn't think much about it, but a long distance relationship wouldn't be very easy. We could hardly see each other. That alone was a difficult obstacle. To everyone who is currently in a long distance relationship, I give you my blessing. Do your best! I felt my future was being gradually pulled into the darkness.

"'kay, let's go."

Naruko's voice tore through the darkness and pulled me back to reality.

"Someone saw the black one over there. Look like she really does live here."

"You are very dependable today." I followed her, hoping to be able to say goodbye to Kuroneko at least.

Still holding my hand and leading the way, Naruko turned her head around, "Didn't I tell you before? Just leave it to me."

Naruko looked so cool — I was speechless. We cased the hot spring street a few times looking for Kuroneko. Still walking, I said to Naruko, "Still, we found her easier than I expected. Her gothic lolita outfit is definitely eye-catching."

"She probably isn't wearing that clothes today."

"Why?"

"At first, I asked for a girl in black gothic lolita clothes, but no one see her. However, when I showed them her picture, they recognized her immediately."

"… I see."

Does that mean that today she was Shironeko? Anyway, neither of those outfits are black so we couldn't find her based on that. Now that I think about it, your closet seemed like it was lacking, Kuroneko.

We showed her picture to any bystander we would meet and asked about Kuroneko. The streets were filled with souvenir shops and small restaurants, because all of them were traditional style, I got the feeling like we had gone back in time…

We continued looking for two more hours. Just when I was about to tell Naruko to sit down and take a break.

"… Ah, you."

We found Kuroneko. At first we thought it was somebody else. Today, Kuroneko wasn't wearing any of the outfits we'd seen her wear before, just plain, normal sportswear, but her face was unmistakable.

"… Ruri."

My mouth and tongue were dry. Something grabbed hold of my heart. My whole body was frozen in place — even though she sent us that GPS map, Kuroneko probably didn't expect to run into us here. Her face was emotionless as usual, but her eyes widened, unmoving. Naruko was the only one that could still move. She didn't even freeze. Right after she saw Kuroneko, she hesitated for only a second before she pounced. She grabbed hold of Kuroneko's hand.

"What… you, you…"

"I got you! You! You!"

"Hey…!"

I was about to stop them — but there was no need for me to do that. Naruko retained her clinging posture, she held on to Kuroneko — her friend who had suddenly disappeared was in her hands.

"… I won't let you run away anymore."

"… I will not run. It hurts, stop it."

Kuroneko let out a tired sigh. She shot me a glance before asking Naruko.

"So…? Why did you come here?"

"Hah? What? Of course it is to bring you back!" Naruko tried to suppress her anger and said, You… why did you do that? Give me a clear answer or I won't let you off this time."

"… Do 'that'? What do you mean? What exactly have I done?" Kuroneko was — confused. She titled her head and asked.

"Don't act stupid! Why did you suddenly transfer without telling us!?"

"That's because…" Kuroneko was about to say something, but her eyes suddenly widened. She swallowed and asked, "I will ask you once more — why did you come here?"

"Didn't I tell you already!? I! Will! Bring! You! Back!"

She shouted at the top of her lungs. Her determination seemed like it could overcome any obstacle.

… So cool. The sight of my sister's back felt so reassuring. I understand now why Ayase fell for my sister. With someone like that by your side, anyone would fall for her.

"… I see. You want to bring me back." Bewildered, Kuroneko spoke like she was in a trance. Thankfully Naruko wasn't a boy, if she was she would have conquered Kuroneko already.

"Don't bring up my case… don't go ahead and disappear like that, alright? Even I still haven't put much thought into it… but I don't want you to suddenly run away like that. Let's think about it together — surely there must be another way!"

With her hands still tightly wrapped around Kuroneko's, Naruko tried desperately to convince her friend.

"… Maybe… indeed."

Kuroneko must be very happy to see her friend saying those things. She blushed and looked down. Was she embarrassed? Hey… you made me embarrassed too. However…

"… About that… we will talk about that later."

Kuroneko suddenly threw off Naruko's hands. She no longer looked down, but her eyes were locked on Naruko.

"You, don't you have something else to say?"

"Don't pretend to…"

Kuroneko's cold attitude only increased Naruko's anxiety. She also canceled her feelings for Kuroneko from a few seconds ago.

"Of course — I've got a ton of questions for you!"

"Really? Then tell me. There's no need to hold back."

Faced with further provocation, Naruko suddenly turned back to me and said, "Why did you break up with Naruto?"

"I dated Senpai to — fulfill another wish. To fully realize my dream, we had many 'ceremonies' together, and his current state is the result of all that."

"Huh? What a chuuni girl! Give me a serious answer."

"… I just did."

"Tch… speak in a way that I can understand!"

Hearing Naruko's proposal, Kuroneko nodded, her face still emotionless.

"I… I was going out with your brother… are you really okay with that?"

"Huh!? Don't answer my question with another question, Answer me!" Gritting her teeth, Naruko said, "I told you I'm fine with that! By phone! What were you listening to back then!?"

"Lies. All of it was a lie."

"It wasn't a lie. I'm really fine with it."

"Really? Even now?" Kuroneko pressed her question.

"… Yes."

"… You really are lying. You're obliviously pretending to be alright with it, aren't you? Or should I say, you're trying to force yourself into feeling that way, aren't you?"

… What are they talking about? By phone — that must have been the night of the 'fake boyfriend' incident. Naruko had spoken with Kuroneko by phone for a long time. What exactly did they talk about? Did Kuroneko ask Naruko if she could go out with me? Naruko must have said "You can" to this question. Normally, that would be the end of it. Why are they still talking about it now? While I'm stuck in a state of confusion, the quarrel between them was getting more and more intense.

"Are you an idiot? It wasn't like that — besides, even if that was the case, it doesn't involve you."

"No it does — I am deeply involved. That wasn't the ending that I wanted. That ending couldn't lead to the 'ideal world' that I desire."

"I have absolutely no idea what you're saying! Just say it directly to my face, damn it!"

"I will. To expose your lie is an important ceremony for me."

"What…?" The straightforward speech stopped Naruko in her tracks. "… You want to expose my lie?"

"That's right. You want to settle it here — fine by me. I will take you down this time."

As if they were just about to begin a bloody battle, their speech was full of dramatic lines. Kuroneko was staring intensely at Naruko.

"You still hadn't accepted that I was dating your brother!"

"How many times do I have to tell you — that wasn't the case!"

"Really? So, why did you go through the trouble of causing that boring 'fake boyfriend' incident?"

"That's because…"

"Sorry. I know that we agreed to 'not talk about it', however, I understand without you having to say anything — then, what about something more recent? When I came over to your brother's room to play, why did you have such a painful expression on your face before running away?"

"Painful expression..."

"You did have one."

"…"

"Why is it that after I started dating your brother you always seemed to be in pain?"

"Seemed to be in pain? no I didn't."

"If you really had accepted our relationship, you wouldn't be showing that kind of expression right now — I really can't stand you right now."

Kuroneko's voice was small, but Naruko's expression gradually changed into a painful one. Still, Naruko didn't acknowledge her lie. The atmosphere between them was so serious that I felt overwhelmed, unable to utter a word. Even I had a feeling that I shouldn't butt in.

Kuroneko then pointed her finger directly at Naruko and said, "What exactly do you think about me becoming Naruto's lover? Confess your true feelings."

"You've repeated that question a lot. Ah, forget it. So what if I didn't like it? If you understand me so much, why did you confess to him in the first place?"

Kuroneko's eyes widened. Looked like Naruko's counter attack hit.

"You knew that it was too much for me didn't you? You knew that I'd hate it, but then why did you still do it?" Naruko pressed her question. The atmosphere was getting tense again.

"That's because… if I didn't do it, you would keep lying to yourself!"

"Liar! How could it be that simple!? Just like you understand me, I also understand you! I know you love him… I'm well aware of it! That's why… that's why I — endured it!"

"Endured it?"

"Ah…"

Oh hell, Kuroneko caught Naruko's slip.

"… What is it exactly that you have endured?"

"That… that…"

Kuroneko sighed at the sight of Naruko shuttering.

"Don't lie to yourself anymore. The more you do, the more you will hurt yourself. Being greedy is in your nature, isn't it? There is no need to endure or worry."

Faced with Naruko's fierce stare, Kuroneko said truthfully.

"If you consider me a friend, then act like you usually do — show me your true self."

"… Tch…" Naruko gritted her teeth.

"Fine — I will say it!" Naruko yelled.

"I, I — I HATE MY BROTHER! I HATE HIM THE MOST! I HATEEEEEEEEE~~~~~~ HIM!"

"… N-Naruko." Although I had known that for a long time, hearing her actually say it out loud still made me sad…

"Yes, and?" Kuroneko's eyes urged on Naruko.

She took a breath before continuing, "I hate my brother the most, but, but — I hate it even more when he has a girlfriend! Even though I hate him… I hate it even more if I'm not the one he cherishes the most!"

Finally, my sister shouted out her true feelings. Just like back then, it was pure jealousy.

"That's why I did such a stupid thing!"

"You mean… the fake boyfriend incident?"

"That's right!"

Naruko's eyes were no longer fixed on Kuroneko. She clenched her palms and looked at me.

"You… you…!" Even though she had trouble speaking, she still continued, "I hate it when you spend time with that white one and this black one… I hate it so much that I wanted you to taste what I had been through! I was so afraid that you would tell me to do whatever I wanted, or 'go ahead and date him'… I… really didn't know what to do…!"

"…"

I see now. I really wanted to punch the me from the past in the face. I understand it now. You hate it. Just like me, you can't stand it when your sibling gets a lover, but unlike me, you did something that I failed to do. Now I finally understand how much my sister cares for me.

"Didn't you tell me that you'd hate it if I got a boyfriend? That's why… if I said the same thing… maybe… you wouldn't have gone out with anyone!" Naruko started crying.

What have I done…? I made my sister cry again.

"I couldn't stand it! I started to regret my choice supporting you two. That's why when I heard you got dumped, the first feeling I had was relief… but… but after that you were badly hurt. You cried so much that in the end you came to me. When I saw that I felt even worse. Suddenly, I was angry at the black one who dumped you and transferred away. I thought to myself that I had to do something — those are my true feelings, that's why I'm here right now."

Naruko held her chest. Full of momentum she continued, but what she said was slightly different.

"I hated it when Naruto got a girlfriend, but I hate it even more when I see him cry… it can't be helped, those are my true feelings right now. So, Ruri, I will listen to your stupid reasons before I disregard them. I will force you to apologize to Naruto. I will bring you back and I will make you cancel your transfer — you got a problem with that!?"

That was the first time I heard Naruko shout her friend's name like that.

"You two caused a ruckus again. You two are really alike whenever you lose your temper." She was clearly mocking us, but her tone was sincere.

"You clearly don't want your brother to have a girlfriend, but you allowed me to going out with him. Why did you do that?"

"Hm, because we are siblings."

Naruko's answer was the same as mine.

"Naruto, he always helps me. No matter how far away he is, he always worries about me. When I felt down, he immediately came to me. He always stands by my side, taking care of me and protecting me. When I felt sad he comforted me, he makes me laugh or even makes me angry. When I did something stupid he scolded me and even got jealous because of me. When I felt troubled — he spoke about it with me. He clearly hated me so much, he never cared about me and always treated me as if I didn't exist. So I wanted to do those things too. That's why."

Everything Naruko did was something that I once did for her. That was how my life and Naruko's had passed every day. We lived together, we were separated for some time, we reunited, we complained and helped each other, then we quarreled once more before speaking our minds… we're both okay with that. I understood what our relationship was without having to say it. Gradually, we had become closer and closer, until we could hold each others' hand.

There was no more reason than that. It was that simple. We slowly… slowly… it took a long time — but now we had finally become brother and sister again. Just like that. It made me very happy. I've been crying a lot recently. It couldn't be helped. Because — I was so happy that I wanted to cry.

"You were finally able to speak your true feelings — what I've done was worth it."

Kuroneko let out a sigh of relief, like she had just dropped a heavy burden from her shoulders.

"Hmph." Naruko blushed and looked away.

"… So, what now? I've told you how I truly feel, what do you want to do now?"

"Now that you've told your brother your true feelings, finally… I could " Kuroneko became nervous again and looked at me. "Naruto, what are you going to do?"

"You said you love me, but Naruko said she would hate it if Naruto got a girlfriend. Still, she wanted us to be happy. Since your sister — well, if the situation was reversed, you would probably do the same…"

Kuroneko, who was still holding back tears, looked at me.

"Now that you know Naruko's feelings, will you still choose me?"

A decisive question. Just like I couldn't stand it when my sister 'got a boyfriend', Naruko couldn't stand it when I had a girlfriend. Still, she forced her feelings down and wished the best for me and Kuroneko. If the situation was reversed and Naruko really did love her boyfriend — I am afraid that I would have done the same thing. Because we are brother and sister.

Kuroneko stood there motionless, she stared directly into my eyes. She looked even more nervous than when she was waiting for a response to her confession. Her legs were trembling, her face was pale, and her forehead was covered in sweat.

"'Now that you know Naruko's feelings, will you still choose me?'"

She broke up with me in such an unreasonable way so that Naruko would be forced to speak about how she truly felt — then she waited for me to choose her a second time. If that was the case, then this is too much. But… this is my responsibility. Unlike many times before I couldn't rely on determination alone to solve it. It wasn't something tears alone could solve, I needed to face it head-on.

"Ru…"

Just when I was about to open my mouth, Kuroneko trembled. She was afraid of my answer. She was more afraid of it than awaiting the response to her confession. I hesitated for an instant, but I made my decision.

Took a deep breath, I said ,"Ruri, I…"

"It was a joke."

When I was about to tell her my answer, she unexpectedly interrupted me.

"It was a joke."

"What?"

"… I said it was a joke. Everything was a joke… so you don't have to answer." Kuroneko closed her eyes and turned away.

Even someone as stupid as me understood what she meant. But no matter what, I had to ,"No, listen to me Ruri. I —"

"— Stop."

I was unable to finish my line.

"I will kill myself if you speak another word."

"Ruri…"

She said… she will kill herself? Was she threatening me? She didn't sound like she was joking. Terrifying! Sometimes I felt like Kuroneko was so damn terrifying! She used her own life as a hostage to prevent me from speaking.

Naruko then ran to Kuroneko's side. I thought she would be angry and say something like "What are you talking about? Let him talk!" but…

"Y-You… are you alright?"

Kuroneko fell down.

"Hey, hey, how do you feel!?"

Kuroneko leaned on Naruko and looked at me. She was panting. This was…

"You idiot…!" She fainted because she couldn't handle the pressure of waiting for the answer!

Now that I think about it, that was natural. She was a very shy girl. When she confessed — it looked like she was about to die, too. It was the same way when she was having the argument with Naruko, so of course it was natural for her to faint, or rather, it was a miracle that she could maintain consciousness up until now.

Naruko lightly slapped Kuroneko's face, became worried said, "You… you look really bad."

"Hm… It seems like my time has come… oh… Naruko… I can't see you… where are you…?"

Is this what you call a 'dying message'? You still have the energy to create this dramatic atmosphere?

"If you have time to spout that nonsense, take a deep breath instead!"

"… Hm… Huh… Don't think that you've won just yet… I knew that it would turn out this way… It was only a detour on the road to my inevitable victory… "

Kuroneko was already having trouble breathing but she still found the energy to speak those drawn-out lines. Of course, nobody had any idea what was she talking about.

"… Don't be mistaken… I didn't run away… It was a tactical retreat. Remember that well…"

"I know that already! Now breathe!"

"… Even if my body is destroyed… My soul is eternal… The Devilsh Truth Stare is the strongest…" Leaving those final-boss-like lines behind, Kuroneko fainted.

Those lines didn't fit her sportswear at all. Not one bit. And so, this matter has temporarily come to a close. After Kuroneko fainted, we brought her to a nearby hotel to rest and asked a staff to call a doctor. Thankfully she was okay, so we let her rest.

After she woke up, Kuroneko told us something unexpected.

"Matsudo!?" Naruko and I yelled in surprise.

"That's right. I was going to move to Matsudo, Chiba. The flying Chiba, the Mad City."

The people who lived there are going to be angry. Still…

"This was even closer."

"That's right."

That's right my ass…

"My father decided to quit living at his current place so that he could live in the company's staff apartment."

Hearing her say it like that made it impossible for me to respond, but, Naruko took my place, "So… why are you here?"

"Family trip. Our apartment's paperwork is late so I was free for another day."

"… Ha… haha."

Naruko's shoulders dropped. I felt the same.

"In other words… you…"

" Yes. Although I transferred schools, this doesn't affect our party."

Should I feel happy or angry? Ah, happy then, I guess.

Suddenly, Naruko starting staring at Kuroneko like she had just remembered something.

"Wait a second. Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"…"

"Answer me!"

"… How could I say that… when you were trying so hard to convince me…"

Yeah right! We will get you back for that! Don't go on and disappear on your own… I don't want you to move that far away. Kuroneko blushed in embarrassment and looked down.

"Oh…"

Naruko recalled what happened and blushed too.

… Truly, that conversation we had was pretty hard to bring up again.

"… Haah…" In the end, the fact that my girlfriend had dumped me was undeniable and unchangeable. But — the bond between those two had become even stronger.

(◕ω◕✿)

"Is Kuroneko-chan's 'Destiny record' the same as Naruko's 'life counseling'?"

On the way home after school, Karin once asked me that question. At the time I still hadn't known what happened, but because Kuroneko dumped me, Karin was comforting me. That led to the previous line.

I tilted my head to the side.

"… Really? She has a lot of 'ceremonies' and stuff, we did a lot of things together, unlike Naruko's life counseling."

"Unlike? Yes, if you put it that way, but I meant the difference between 'What should I do?' and 'This is what I want to do.'… do you get it?"

"Ah —" Well, certainly, Naruko's life counseling was all about "What should I do?" or "Do this and that for me", then it ended up with me doing something to solve it, although every single time was very chaotic. Kuroneko's Destiny record was very vague, however, we followed each of her "ceremonies", so I didn't think about it that much. Kuroneko's wishes — her goals — did she fulfill them or not?

"Uh, but does that mean break up with me was part of her plan too?"

"Mmm — maybe? Although I'm not entirely sure, isn't it great that Kuroneko was able to fulfill her goals?"

"I don't think that seeing Naruko chase after her was part of her plan though. She must have been very happy."

Maybe it was my imagination but recently I feel like Kuroneko had become a little more like Karin, and vice versa. The way Karin spoke made me think that she knew exactly what Kuroneko was thinking, and Kuroneko gained Karin's sharpness… what could that mean?

"… It feels like you understand Kuroneko even better than I do." I mean, I was her boyfriend once — it was pretty humiliating.

After hearing my self-deprecating comment, Karin shook her head. "I don't think so. I think Naruto understands Kuroneko-chan much better than I do… still, because we are both girls there are things that I'm more aware of than you… that's all."

Karin wore her usual smile.

"Do your best, Naruto. Make sure to confront Kuroneko properly."

"… Your words always seem to guide me out of trouble."

"Heehee — because I knew that sooner or later Naruto would come to talk to me about it."

"Hah? Does that mean that you knew that I would be as depressed as I am?"

"Maybe?" Hey… you…!

Now that you mention it, Karin did say something like "Come talk to me if you're in trouble". It looks like she predicted my situation.

"Any girl who would go out with Naruto will definitely face trouble, so I prepared myself — I could come to help you anytime."

"Am I that untrustworthy?"

"Yes~"

Why does Karin seem harsher than usual today? Karin looked at me and said in confidence.

"Naruto is fairly useless, so there's only a small amount of girls who would be happy after marrying you — I'm very confident in this prediction."

"Did you get that from Chiaki?" I wanna cry. Where did my gentle cousin go?

"Naruto, you must remember to thank your future wife, because I'm sure that girl must love you a lot."

" … Yeah." I carved those words deep into my heart. Future wife… I couldn't picture it right now.

We walked toward a T corner. Normally, we would split up around here.

"… Hey, who do you think I could marry and remain happy with?" I asked this half-hearted question, but Karin went 'Er…' and blushed.

"About… for example…"

For some reason, Karin was flush. She then shook her head a few times and said.

"Like … Weiss?"

"Why did you suggest Weiss?"

"I think that if it was Weiss, even though you two would have a lot of problems at first, you could have a happy family."

"Family… huh."

"Of course, that was a hypothetical scenario. I think that if Naruto went out with Weiss, even if your relationship was simple, there would still be a lot of difficulties in your way. That's one of the reasons Kuroneko broke up with you without saying a word."

She said my relationship with Weiss was simple? However, in Karin's words, there was something else I noticed.

"About those difficulties… what are they?"

"It's Naruko of course." Karin said with confidence.

"Naruko also love Naruto too. That's why Kuroneko decide to break up with Naruto, she couldn't ignore Naruko's feelings and focus on her happiness alone — of course if she didn't confess to Naruto in the first place everyone would have been fine, but she did. No matter what, she had to do it — Don't ask 'Why?', okay? If you are that dense I will get angry in Kuroneko's place."

"… You."

"What?"

"How could you understand Kuroneko that much?" I had asked that question before, but I did it again.

Still in her usual peaceful tone, Karin said, "Of course I understand… because I love Naruto as well."

"W-What…!"

It was so much of a shock that I stopped dead in my tracks.

"You… what did you say?"

"Heehee." Karin smiled shyly.

"So, now that you know how everyone truly feels — what are you going to do, Naruto? Even if you gave them an answer fitting your 'current situation', it definitely wouldn't last for long — even if you wish for things to remain unchanged, there are certain things that will change no matter what happens. This time, only thanks to Kuroneko's sacrifices, things turned out for the better, right Naruto?" Saying that, Karin smiled gently and spoke again, "Like I said before Naruto. Don't rush it. Think about it carefully, and consider your true feelings. For your own happiness."

Her words pierced my heart like a sword.

And few days later, Naruko and I were invited to Kuroneko's new home.

It was a staff apartment. It was a little far from the station, but what surrounded it was a beautiful green garden. It was quite a place.

We came here on Saturday night, now it's Monday morning. I sat in front of Naruko at the table, Kuroneko was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, the two little sisters were still sleeping. Seem like they preferred to sleep in unless they needed to go to school. By the way, we have met Kuroneko's parents, they asked us to come again sometime.

"Last night was so dark, doesn't Matsudo have streetlights or something?" While waiting for the breakfast, Naruko complained.

"Didn't we see some last night?"

"We did? I thought we were in an urban country side. Hey, did something happen to the streetlights in front of your house?

"… Some times. Maybe you are just unlucky."

"It is clearly worthy of the name of the 'Mad Town' of Chiba."

Kuroneko was probably the only person who called it that. Hey, you shouldn't keep making comments like that. Matsudo's citizens will get angry.

"… You could just come back to Chiba city."

That's what you were aiming for, right? If that's the case, then I forgive you.

"We have a storage closet on the second floor, right? We could keep the Kuroneko in there."

"Do you want to keep your friend at home like a pet?"

"… How about you come live in my room then? I could pay for your living expenses… I would also prefer it if those two could come with."

"Those two" was referring to Kuroneko's little sisters. That was my and Kuroneko's worst fear. Letting those two small girls fall into Naruko's clutches. Just as you'd expect, they were a package deal.

"I told you…" Naruko suddenly stood up.

"Ah! Right, right!"

"… What?"

She seemed like she was about to say something, but changed her mind.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah… About… I… How could I put it…"

"What are you trying to say?"

"About you and the black one…"

"… Ah… about that, huh. In the end, we were still unable to set things straight."

After Kuroneko recovered, although I tried to tell her many times, she always managed to run away at the most critical moment. She would do the same thing when I tried to talk to her by phone as well, she'd just hang up on me immediately. However, unlike before, she didn't cut off contact with me. She acted so ambiguous. It's just like Karin said, I couldn't give her an answer fitting my "current situation", but still… that meant I had almost no chance of changing her mind. This summer with her made me feel both happy and lonely.

"Back then… what were you going to say?"

Naruko looked directly into my eyes. I told her the answer that I had repeated in my mind many times.

"I don't know what will the future hold. However, I don't want you to have a boyfriend. If you think the same, then I won't get a girlfriend either… at least for now."

We are even.

"Hm… until when?"

"Until…" In fact, I don't know how to answer…

"… Until you get a boyfriend?"

"But didn't you just say you didn't want me to get a boyfriend?"

"That's right."

Feeling like she had been led into an infinite loop, Naruko laughed.

"You are so useless."

"… Hmph, I don't care."

That's right… if this continues, I might not able get a girlfriend for the rest of my life. What should I do… I sighed tiredly.

Until my sister gets a lover — I will not get a girlfriend. That was what I decided upon. I still don't want my sister to have a boyfriend, and she doesn't want me to have a girlfriend either — we both feel the same way. I know it sounds like an infinite loop, I couldn't say anything to counter my sister's criticism.

Still, please give me some more time. We're still immature, can't you guys see that? We make mistakes, we face failure and we taste defeat until we figure that out. Honestly, our experience was farrrrrrrrrrrrr from enough to figure that out. Karin warned me this was only a 'temporary solution' and just like my sister said I'm a pretty useless guy. I've only made it this far through life through sheer determination and I'm neither a good brother nor am I a good boyfriend.

I understand clearly, this time — I was a fucking useless bastard. I almost caused one of my closest group of friends to fall apart. Not only did I make my sister cry, I didn't even understand why she was crying. I told her 'do whatever you want'. I left my hard-earned girlfriend some bitter memories, even I myself had some bitter memories this time. Still, I gained something else. "Love is so difficult." A profound lesson learned.

That's why, henceforth, I understand that I will probably make a lot more mistakes. Even if I try my hardest to solve them in my own way… this time, I failed. Even though I wouldn't change the result of this entire experience, based on the results alone, I didn't just make a lot of mistakes, I tasted the pain brought forth by those mistakes while trying to correct them myself. That's probably how most people live their lives.

"Don't rush it. Thank about it carefully. Consider your true feelings for your own happiness."

Even if it was difficult I could only move forward. The only thing I knew is that I could not maintain this level of ineptitude or I wouldn't be able to live up to their expectations.

"If a 'girl who is dear to you' confesses her love to you, you… must think about it carefully."

There is no need to think about it. Next time, I will be the one who confess first.

"You siscon."

"Shut up!"

"Hehehe, disgusting."

"It's the same for you!"

I stood up and said. Mimicking my actions, Naruko also stood up.

"It's fine when it's me because I'm the sister, but in your case it's disgusting because you're the brother."

"What kind of insane logic is that?"

We started squabbling again. The current situation looked a little bit like Kuroneko's "ideal world" — but our expressions were completely different. Did Kuroneko's plan fail? I have to question it because there is still a long way to go between this pair of bickering siblings and her "ideal world" picture.

And then…

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

In a maid outfit equipped with car eats, Kuroneko brought out breakfast. It had meat, fish and vegetables — a very normal breakfast. Although Kuroneko was very good at cooking, she still had a long way to go before she could reach Karin level. However, Naruko seemed to take them very lightly.

"Hey, maid! Finally!"

"What a rude girl… can you behave yourself?"

Actually, the main problem is with your maid outfit, Kuroneko. So, I joined their conversation.

"What's with that outfit?"

"This one? Rias-san gave it to me."

"I knew that already! Wasn't that from the party a long time ago? Didn't you just borrow it?"

"Recently, Rias-san admitted that she made it herself."

I see…

"No, wait a minute! I'm asking why you decided to wear it now!"

"… Because it's cute?" Kuroneko looked up and took a peek at me. She blushed slightly.

… Looks like she wants to take my life so early in the morning. Naruko interrupted with a blank expression.

"Hey, you perverted cat."

"What…?" Kuroneko looked surprised.

"You, perverted cat. You broke up with him, didn't you? So what are you doing in that thing so early in the morning? Care to let us know?" Naruko stared at Kuroneko with fierce eyes.

She looked down and said, "That's right. Naruto and I are no longer lovers. We aren't even Senpai and Kouhai anymore."

"And so?"

"That's all."

"Ha? What kind of answer is that? I was asking why you're still trying to seduce him after you broke up with him!"

"Hm, hm… that's a prophecy recorded in the 'Destiny record'. Our ceremony still continues."

Huh? What did she just say?

"Hey… I thought it was the end?"

"When did I ever say it ended? In order to fulfill my wishes, the ceremony continues, and it's going smoothly."

"How —" Naruko was frozen in place, unable to say anything.

My jaw dropped, I stared at Kuroneko. Karin said that Kuroneko's ceremonies are the same as Naruko's life counseling. In other words… life counseling still continues.

Kuroneko gracefully came closer to me and whispered in my ear, "I will love you forever…"

"…!"

My heart skipped a beat.

"Wait a second! What did you just do!?"

From Naruko's point of view it looked like I was sharing a kiss with Kuroneko, however, Naruko's angry roar filled my ears. I was completely confused.

… What is going on? I thought our ceremony had ended already.

Even though I concluded that I "don't have a girlfriend", the memories from this summer with Kuroneko remained in my heart. "I will love you forever." I wasn't making things up, she did whisper that to me. Although it might just have been her hoping to not be separated from her boyfriend, I didn't think so.

I looked deep into her eyes hoping to find some answers, but Kuroneko turned around and blushed.

"Ah, right. I will tell you a little bit about this, because this time, my ceremony warrants an impressive result."

Changing the topic, Kuroneko took out her black notebook. Upon closer inspection, this was a new notebook.

"I have a newer, clearer wish."

She opened up the second 'Destiny record' and pointed to the last page. It showed another illustration, with the same name 'ideal world'. It was the same happy sight at the dinner table before, the only difference was that the older me and Naruko were waiting for Kuroneko to bring out meal.

This scene was so familiar.

"… Huh? What is that? Us?"

"What do you think?" Kuroneko asked.

"I don't know what you plan to do, but — your skills seem to be degrading."

"… Yup. This isn't happening."

We always quarreled. In this illustration there were only a few similarities among a vast amount of differences when compared to reality.

Hearing that, Kuroneko showed a satisfied and bitter smile.

"Hm… It seems like I still have a long way to go."

And that was how our mess ended. Now that I think about it, it's extremely similar to what happened before. When my sister 'got a boyfriend', I discovered my hidden desires. I hated the idea of someone stealing my sister away from me when I'd just got back into a good relationship with her.

"I will not give Naruko to you."

That incident ended with me shouting out that embarrassing line, then, after her Naruko Know her brother got a girlfriend, Naruko shared those same feelings. Through Kuroneko's unreasonable method, I became aware of this.

"I hate my brother the most, but, but — I hate it even more when he has a girlfriend! Even though I hate him… I hate it even more if I'm not the one he cherishes the most!"

In the end… she shouted that. After I became weak and depressed due to Kuroneko abandoning me, she extended her hand, inspired me — accepted my life counseling, just like I had done for her in the past.

… Damn this girl. What the hell. My sister can not be this cool. If she wasn't my sister, I'd have fallen for her, dammit. How should I put it? Well, thanks to Haku and Kuroneko, Naruko and I could understand each other a lot more. If we didn't get this chance, we might have continued this misunderstanding for a long time. Although I still believe it will be a long time until we could say 'we have a great relationship', even if we normally bicker a lot, in times of need we will lend each other a helping hand. That's because we are brother and sister, isn't it?

The following Monday, we will all head back to school. Even though we don't go to the same school, we can still meet each other on the weekends. Maybe I can get the others to join in too, like Rias, Weiss, or Chiaki. We could have fun. We could quarrel. We could bicker with each other — sometimes we might even fight with each other. There was still an unfulfilled, final page in the Destiny record. She said she still had a long way to go. The sunlight that entered from the windows made the room brighten. It was not so bad… I think.

"— What did you say?" Naruko was staring at me, she looked uncomfortable.

Confronted with my sister's eyes — I got lost in thought.

"Ah, Hey… I —" It was just like before. So, all I could say to my sister was this." — Thank you, Naruko."

Naruko's eyes widened, blinking. Then she smiled and blushed.

"Huh? What are you saying all of the sudden?"

"What's with your attitude? I just thanked you — is it that strange?" I felt my face is getting hotter and I said, "And, sorry."

Naruko laughed like she was playing with me but she quickly stopped. Her mocking smile turned into a genuine one. Her face reddened and she said.

"You are welcome, Naruto."

---

.

.

.

Extra: My Big Sister is Chuunibyou

"My name is Tamaki Gokou. First year, first class I have two big sisters. The oldest is Ruri Nee-sama and the second oldest is Hinata Onee-chan. Both of my big sisters are very kind, they always take care of me, I love Ruri Nee-sama and Hinata Onee-chan very much."

"Hinata Onee-chan is talkative, she is always telling me funny stories and she plays with me. Ruri Nee-sama is very good at drawing, she is always drawing manga with all her strength. Sometimes she will read me books in the evening before I go to sleep and she will sleep with me."

"She will stay with me so that I won't be afraid before I fall asleep, she is always by my side. She is very skilled at cooking and she always makes delicious food. Mother, Father and Hinata Onee-chan always say that it is very delicious. Ruri Onee-sama is always giving it her best. There was a time —"

"Waa…" I was reading my little sister's essay, but for some reason I was moaning and had complicated feelings.

"Hey, Tama-chan."

"Yes, Onee-chan?"

A little girl with bobbed hair who was sitting in a behaved manner stared back at me blankly. This is Tamaki Gokou. My very cute little sister.

"Oh, nothing."

"What?"

… No, no, I can't ask her that.

If she likes Ruri Nee more than me.

"Oh, never mind."

The subject was "My big sisters", but there was an 8:2 ratio of "I love Ruri Nee-sama very much!", as Tamaki's other big sister I felt a little unhappy. I felt awkward because Tamaki is a child who is incapable of lying. I knew that everything that was written on the paper was the truth. I love, love, love, love my big sister, I love this, I love that — I'm so happy that I'm able to live with my two big sisters. I felt so embarrassed that I could die, or, I could even melt.

"Tamaki… Are you going to say this stuff in the classroom?"

"Yes."

"You're going to read this in front of everyone?"

"Yes!" Such a cheerful reply.

"I-I see."

Ah~~~, really? I could die just imagining it.

"… I can't?"

"N-Nothing like that."

It's not like that, I was very happy, but I was also very embarrassed. Okay, let's find a shield then.

"Tamaki, show it to Ruri Nee later. I'm sure she'll be happy."

"Hehee…"

You imagined the moment your favorite sister becomes happy upon seeing it, right? Tamaki is expressing her emotions with a soft smile. This girl, is she such a good girl? My face was getting hotter, if Ruri Nee saw this essay from her beloved little sister, she would be very embarrassed.

"Heeheeheehee."

Oh my, I want to see it. I'm looking forward to it. I licked my lips imagining it.

"Something wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing." I once again directed my eyes to the essay.

Okay, I think it's about time for a self-introduction. I'm Hinata Gokou. My two braids are my trademark and I'm a fifth grade elementary school student. I have a super cute little sister and a kind and clumsy big sister, so that makes me the middle sister.

About me… actually, I don't have much to say. I live in Chiba and I'm a normal girl.

We were waiting for dinner in the tea room. Our home has a very big tea room, but somehow compared to my friend's house it felt a little old? I just noticed that recently though. Well, that's normal, because I had come to the age where I started to admire people with good and stylish tastes. I even read some magazines in the school library, but all of my clothes are left over from my big sister. I felt a little unhappy about that as a girl.

There's nobody in this house I could take advice from about clothes. My mom's fashion sense is very simple, my little sister is still an elementary school student, my sister is also no good, if I ask her she will happily make new clothes for me.

She would undoubtedly say something like "Ah… so you finally have a need for a dark costume?" That's right. My big sister, she's a bit — no, actually a very huge chuunibyou. Ruri Goku. We call her Ruri Nee.

She also seemed to use another nickname, 'Kuroneko'. She has enviably beautiful black hair and pure white skin which emitted a fragile aura. She was very cold and her expression always seemed to be emotionless — that's how it looks at first. She always looks down on others with her ice-cold gaze — that's how it looks at first. If you live together with her every day, you'll find out that she is mischievous, sometimes that makes people want to bully her.

Until now, I have never seen someone who would share this hobby with me. When she was young, she mostly played at home, now she drowns herself in anime, games, manga and novels. I think she's a shut-in. She started making manga and novels on her own a few years ago. Later, because she was influenced by anime, she made her own gothic lolita costume. Every night she made some weird 'ceremonies' inside of her room. Her "ceremonies" were gradually increasing in level, currently, it's not uncommon for her to make phone calls to an imaginary friend. If it weren't for those things she would be a very good big sister.

I continued to read my little sister's essay while thinking about my dear Ruri Nee.

"There was a time that Ruri Nee acted like she saw a bright future ahead of her every day. It's too bad I didn't understand it at all. She would go on happily about things like "Ah, so his soul has been reincarnated without damage", just like when she was talking to "the devilish truth squadron" her face reddened and she seemed very excited. I hope that someday, I can understand Ruri Nee."

"Don't do that!" I couldn't help but yell… it's bad… she has such a negative effect on sure a pure and innocent child…

If in a few years Tamaki starts saying things like "The devilish truth starel" or "My true name is Kuroneko"… what should I do? The moment she starts quoting Ruri Nee would become a black spot in history…! Still, Tamaki sure is smart (although in some ways that's not a good thing), she could translate Ruri Nee's chuuni language into something understandable.

"I'm not sure myself, so this is only a guess… but I think that Onee-sama has somebody that she loves."

"Eh? Eh!?" She wrote something incredible. Wait, Tamaki is going to read this in front of her class — isn't she? "Hey, Tamaki… everything you wrote is true, right?"

"Yes!" Tamaki raised one hand in the air.

True~ she wouldn't lie about it. In fact, sometimes Ruri Nee would secretly talk with Tamaki, saying stuff like "Listen to me, Tamaki —", she probably thought that saying stuff like that to a child wouldn't yield any bad results. Why do I know about it? Well, because the source of my ability to make fun of Ruri Nee came from Tamaki.

So — it's the truth this time? Oh! For real!? My Ruri Nee — has a crush? Was it an anime character or an imaginary boyfriend?

"… Still, it's not enough to reach a conclusion."

If that's true, I need to gather more proof. Okay, first, I need to confirm it. I immediately went to the kitchen. Well, it was only a few steps away.

"Ruri Nee. Ruri Nee."

I spoke to Ruri Nee, who was wearing an apron and cutting vegetables. I heard the usual gentle response.

"… You are so noisy. Wait a bit more."

"No, no, I didn't come in here to ask about dinner."

"So why?"

"Ruri Nee, do you really have a crush?"

Swoosh The kitchen knife stabbed into the board. Then Ruri Nee rigidly turned her head toward me.

"… You, you, you, you, you, what are you saying?"

"Er… so you really do have one?"

Based on her reaction, the chance of this being the case increased by 50%!

"Ah, no… no, no, it's not like that."

That's my confirmation~. So cute, her face turned bright red!

"Liar! Ruri Nee really does have a lover! Congratulations!"

"I-I told you it's not like that…"

I still can't disregard the possibility of an imaginary boyfriend, but the sight of my clumsy Onee-chan turning into a confused maiden was real. I asked innocently, "What is he like? Tell me!"

"Wha-what a rude child. Listen to what other people are saying!"

"Don't play dumb and tell me! I'm very, very, very curious!"

"I'm very, very, very curious! Ah heehee!" I don't know when, but Tamaki followed me into the kitchen and repeated my question (I don't think she had any idea what we were talking about, though).

Ruri Nee's face turned red like an apple. She looked down and started trembling.

"He is…" "

"He is?"

"A very… impressive person."

"Kya!"

It's great! It's so fun!

"Did you ask him to go out with you?"

"No, not yet."

"Hah? Then, how about… a confession?"

"You have gone too far… I will become angry!"

"So… you still haven't confessed to him?"

According to my calculations a little provocation would be very effective right now.

"So Ruri Nee is still a child~"

"Grrr…"

Ruri Nee's hands were trembling in anger.

"Hm… don't look down on me."

See? She took the bait.

"Hm… don't be stupid. Even I have a male contractor."

"Ah? Contractor?" Con… contract…

"Haha. That's right. A contract." Ruri Nee was smiling proudly.

"His name in this world is Naruto. A long time ago, when I was still the tyrant's princess, he was the dark flame master and my rival"

"So he is an anime character then." You made me worried for nothing. For a second, I thought that my big sister had finally become an adult.

"That's wrong. He really 'exists'."

… Poor Ruri Nee.

"Tamaki, go back to your room, okay?"

I didn't want my younger sister to witness the sad state of her big sister right now, so I asked Tamaki to go away, then I wiped a tear from my eye.

"Oh, I see… Dark Flame Master… Naruto Onii-chan? He exists." In Ruri Nee's heart.

"… Why am I being pitied by my little sister?"

"Don't mind it. I just had something in my eye…"

My tears wouldn't stop flowing. I always knew that my big sister was a chuunibyou girl, but I never imagined that she would create an imaginary boyfriend and do perverted things with him in her mind… it was too sad… So… that's why she held those weird 'ceremonies' in her room every night. I need to help Ruri Nee become stronger… at least until she was able to get a real boyfriend. I need to help her confront reality.

Still, I also needed her cooperation.

"Hey, Ruri Nee, about your crush — what are his good points?"

"… Everything. Everything." A maiden's answer.

Wow… she really fell for "him" already. She fell for an imaginary person.

Embarrassed, Ruri Nee couldn't even remain standing. She sat down. She bit her lower lip and continued, still blushing, "He is a handsome, gentle, dependable man, and he also the bassist of the famous rockband in our school too."

"Hmm, so he's a rockstar… did he strong too?" If Ruri Nee likes characters from Blazblue, then he must be strong. However…

"No… In his current form he has no capacity for combat." Which means you made him up.

"… How about you confess to him?"

"He is… a very dense and idiot man. Unless I spoke about it bluntly he wouldn't understand."

But you made a contract with him, didn't you?

"Besides… aside from me, there were also other girls that likes him too…"

… Ruri Nee, he sure has a lot of disadvantages for an imaginary boyfriend. Normally she would say something like "He is my servant" or something like that. Although it is in Ruri Nee's nature to be "a prideful girl" she preferred doing evil things from behind the scenes.

"If I confess, someone will be hurt."

"So… you won't confess? Even you like him?"

Her face was serious, so I couldn't joke about it.

(◕ω◕✿)

I started hearing about Naruko Namikaze from my big sister about a year ago, back then my big sister joined a "world party" — successfully getting a friend before going home.

That day…

"Hey~ What is a "world party"~ Is it fun?"

"Of course it's fun. I get to meet many friends who share my hobbies. I plan to go there a second time."

That day when I spoke to my big sister by phone, I could tell she was trying to act tough by the sound of her voice. I remembered that at the time I was worried that the "world party" would fail.

A little over a half a year before that party I once casually asked "Ruri Nee, do you have any friends?". Her response at the time was "… Of course I have friends" and with a fearless smile she showed me her cell phone.

"… I will show you proof of my many friends." Ruri Nee showed me her contact list. True, there were lots of names inside of it. However…

- The Devil Nine Tailed Fox woman (Tamamo-no-Mae )

- The Underworld Queen-Archdemon McDowell

– Lucifer The Fallen one

- Zorc The Necrophades

- The Amnesic Pharaoh

- Asura Bird of Prey

- Lord of The Flies (Beelzebub Beelzebub)

- Azazel Ω

And etc. There were more than a hundred names like that.

"… See? Do you understand now?"

"… Yes, I understand." I understand that Ruri Nee has no friends at all.

After that experience I couldn't help but worry for my big sister. However — this time, Ruri Nee finally gained some real friends. When she got home before I could even ask she started talking about the "devilish truth stare" and "demon king" — but somehow I understood that my sister was "showing off her friends" because it was totally unlike before.

It had been a long time since I saw Ruri Nee so happy. I made a bit of refection. I had always underestimated her. And then — that day happened. That day Nee-chan came back home and tried to sneak into her room with a book bag. Did Nee-chan buy an erotic magazine? With that in mind I happily planned a surprise attack on my big sister's room.

Crank

"Ruri Nee, are you busy?"

"Ah… what?"

Shocked, Ruri Nee hastily hid the magazine behind her back. Based on her reaction — it must be a very embarrassing magazine.

"Ah? Ruri Nee? What is behind you? A magazine?"

I slowly walked toward her. When I was about to pass, Ruri Nee quickly turned to face me — still, she was too inexperienced. I made my move.

"Got it!"

"Ah…"

Success! I took the magazine from Ruri Nee. I turned the first page with excitement.

"Huh? It's just a normal magazine."

A fashion magazine, the same type that I've read many times before. Ruri Nee seemed to give up, she sighed.

"Don't waste your time. It's just a mere vulgar fashion magazine."

"Yes, I guess there's nothing strange about it -"

No wait. It's strange. Very strange!

"Ruri Nee reading a fashion magazine!?"

"What's so strange about it?"

"It's very strange! What happened!? Are you a fake?"

"… I will get mad if you keep underestimating me like that."

But… she is Ruri Nee. The same Ruri Nee who always wear contact lens pretending she has magical eyes and wearing a goth lolita costume… my big sister with such a twisted fashion sense is suddenly reading a fashion magazine? Even if it's true I couldn't believe it, I should at least try asking her.

"… Did you have a change of mind?"

"Wrong. How could I wear such shameless clothes?"

"I think it would suit you though."

No, now's not the time to bring that up!

"… So why?" I asked again, my big sister replied shyly.

"… My friend is on the cover."

"Ruri Nee has a friend?"

"…"

Twitch

"Wah wah wah ah!" She pulled my cheek.

"Stop it! It hurts!"

"OK, now trying saying it again."

Ruri Nee repeated in embarrassment.

"… My friend is on the cover."

"Ah? Really?"

I was honestly surprised. If it's Ruri Nee's friend she must have gotten one from the otaku girls party.

"She is on the cover… in other words, she is a model?"

Ruri Nee blushed and nodded.

"Who? Who is she?"

Ruri Nee flipped to a page in the middle of the magazine and dropped it on the floor so that I could see it too.

"… She is the bitchiest one among them."

"The bitchiest one…"

Even if you were trying to give me a clue… I didn't see anyone who resembled an otaku girl among them at all.

"This one?"

"Wrong."

"… Then, this one?"

"Wrong."

"Then who? Even if you say she's the "bitchiest one", I still don't get it."

"… This one."

Ruri Nee's finger pointed to the most beautiful girl.

"Wah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah… so this is her?"

"That's right. Hm, hm… she looks bitchy, right?"

"Where?" Isn't she an extremely beautiful girl!? Wow, her waist is so thin, her face is so small! Wah~ I like her already!

"Ruri Nee's friend" was wearing bold, fancy summer clothing, she was bent low with her hand showing a V-sign. She has bright yellow colored hair with a brilliant smile. The way the sunlight accentuated her features was very charming.

"Where? Everywhere. Not just her body, her soul is bitchy too. That's her true self, hm."

Ruri Nee kept calling her beautiful friend bitchy over and over, but she sounded like she was actually praising her friend instead.

"Look here, too. Even in a different fashion magazine, she is the still the bitchiest one."

"Right…"

So "bitchy" equals "cool" or "beautiful"? Did I remember it wrong? Probably.

"Yes! She is the bitchiest one!"

"Looks like you finally understand." Ruri Nee nodded in satisfaction. I felt relieved.

"Hey, so recently you've been talking to this 'Bitch-onee-san' every day?"

"Yes."

"Right~ what, what… ah~! I will call her Naruko Onee-san."

I took another look at Naruko Onee-san, I could hardly believe such a beautiful girl could become Ruri Nee's friend.

"Ah… so does that mean… Bitch Onee-san is an otaku?"

"That's right."

"Ah~ I can't believe it."

"I'm not lying. Take a look. We took this picture at Akihabara."

Ruri Nee brought out her cell phone, the lock screen showed Ruri Nee and Naruko Onee-san together with another extremely beautiful girl with long crimson hair wearing otaku outfit.

"Wow, it's true. Ruri Nee even used the picture as her cell phone's lock screen."

"It's just a coincidence."

I highly doubt that.

"Hey, before your cell phone's lock screen was a picture of me, right?"

"How could you know that?"

"Heehee, I took a look."

"… It …it was just one among the suitable pictures. I just chose that picture at random."

"Oh right, did you use Tamaki's picture as your cell phone's lock screen too?"

"Tch…" Her weakness revealed, Ruri Nee bit her lower lip and trembled.

To every little sister out there with a big sister — what would you think if your big sister used your picture as your cell phone's lock screen? I felt half embarrassed and half happy, but at the same time when that picture turned into Naruko Onee-chan I felt a little jealous because somebody stole my Ruri Nee away from me.

"Hmm… Siscon."

"… Hinata… after dinner tonight… have you prepared yourself?"

Ack! Looked like I teased her too much.

"Sorry, sorry… Hey, can I meet Naruko Onee-chan too?"

"Absolutely not. I will not let you meet that beast."

"Eh~ Why? Don't say that. I want to meet her too."

"No means no."

"I won't steal Naruko Onee-chan away from Ruri Nee~~~"

"I didn't mean it like that. It's for your own good, alright? Please, listen to me."

"… Why are you saying that?"

I only came to understand the reason that Ruri Nee tried her hardest to prevent Naruko Onee-chan from meeting me one year later, at the time all I felt was doubt.

Back to the main topic. It was August, a few days after I heard the name of her crush, "Naruto". As far as I could tell, the relationship between Ruri Nee and her imaginary boyfriend "Naruto" took a huge leap. Her relationship with her imaginary boyfriend had improved. It sounded so sad.

Although, since Ruri Nee started referring to Naruto as "Naruko's big brother", I felt something was off, but that day marked the final confirmation I required. A few days after summer break began I noticed Ruri Nee had just returned home and I was about to greet her.

"Welcome home, Ruri Nee. What are you making for dinner?"

"…"

"Ruri Nee?"

What's with her today? She was smiling and trembling at the same time. Her face was bright red — did she get a fever?

"Ruri Nee, are you okay?"

"… Kukuku… Kukukuku."

"…"

She is incurable. Ruri Nee completely ignored me and while still in her goth loli outfit, she staggered into her room.

"Oh? Heehee… I've got the feeling that something good is about to happen."

80% wanting to join in the fun and 20% concerned, I followed my big sister. Just like usual, Ruri Nee left the door to her room wide open.

"… Ruri Nee, what about dinner…?"

A frightening scene was commencing in front of me. Usually when she had something on her mind, Ruri Nee would forget everything around her, so she would normally wait until dark to do some weird ceremony… but not this time.

Ruri Nee didn't even remove her goth loli clothes, she lied face down on her bed, clung to a cushion and kicked her legs.

"~~~! ~~~!"

… What is going on? I had my suspicions that she was having an imaginary embrace or something. The more I looked at her, the weirder her actions became, finally, she rolled around while still hugging the cushion.

"~~~! ~~~!"

Rolling. Rolling. Clank clank clank. She whispered something else, but I couldn't hear it.

"… This is not good. Ruri Nee is broken." I broke into a cold sweat.

"What is going on?"

"… Tamaki. You can't come in here." Or your sanity level will drop.

I chased my little sister away, but I couldn't leave my big sister alone, so I stood there and watched. After rolling around for a while, Ruri Nee suddenly stood up.

"…!"

I was alert, ready to do anything. Ruri Nee was in full-on excitement mode, she didn't even notice me. Her face was bright red, she staggered to her desk and started writing something down.

"… ?"

Manga again? What about dinner? I secretly crept behind Ruri Nee and took a peak.

"Wow."

Whap Whap Whap Whap Ruri Nee was writing very fast in her notebook and she had a very happy expression.

She hesitated for a bit after she wrote down "Ruri Namikaze" before erasing it.

… Totally hopeless.

Even the law couldn't do anything for Ruri Nee anymore. It looked like I would have to do something about dinner tonight.

I started to seriously worry. Was Ruri Nee's imaginary boyfriend syndrome getting worse and had it evolved into some kind of disease? Since that day Ruri Nee had become strange. Normally, she was strange enough, but it was way worse now. To be honest, she was acting like a maiden.

"… I'm going to receive an important phone call one hour from now… if you come anywhere near my room, hurry and get away or else… my devilish eyes's curse will fall upon you and it will destroy your dinner."

Half of Ruri Nee's body was hidden from our view, and she chased us away.

"Ah — so we are in the way."

"Onee-sama, are you going to have a talk with 'the most important person in the world'?", Tamaki asked. She still called Ruri Nee "Onee-sama" as directed.

I whispered to her, "… Ruri Nee has become 'the most powerful' chuuni girl, she needs to have a phone conversation with the boyfriend inside of her head. Pay no attention to her, alright? I will help you learn."

"Wow —" Tamaki became happy again.

Seeing her like that, I couldn't help but show a forced smile. By the way, the "devilish truth squadron" was Ruri Nee's imaginary friends, but recently she found some real friends, which included Naruko-san. However, the current Ruri Nee who was in the middle of "an important phone call" sounded like — before I left, I stopped for a while and ease dropped.

"About that… it's nothing particular… to find you… To give you more trouble? I… want … to hear your voice, that's all."

Wow, it was all lovely dovey… but since the boyfriend was in Ruri Nee's imagination, that happiness soundly turned into the solemn tragedy of a chuuni girl.

"… Oh…"

I wanted to cry. I was so sad because I couldn't help my big sister.

"… What should I do then…?"

"Please cheer up, Onee-chan."

"Thank you." I forced down the painful feelings in my chest and patted my little sister's head.

That evening…

"… Fufu… Kukuku… Ahahahaha… Finally… finally it's done."

Still unaware that I was looking, Ruri Nee let out a sinister laugh like a final boss. By the way, since I opened the door to her room without thinking I was able to observe this "dark ceremony". No matter how many times I saw it, I still couldn't get used to Ruri Nee's actions. Right now, Ruri Nee was making a strange marking on the floor.

"… Reality be rent… Synapse break… Blast the reality, Burst into shreds, Banishment… this world!" She moved gracefully while spouting lines like that. (She looked to be full of pride)

In a huge amount of shock, I froze.

"…"

I knew that if I relaxed even just a bit, I would burst into laughter. No… no, I can't… I can't laugh… I must hold it down… to protect my dear big sister's soul, I swore to myself that no matter what form of strange behavior I saw.

"Kukuku… Finally I have become the complete existence, from now on my name shall Kamineko…"

"Cough cough cough cough cough!"

Not good, not good, not good! I'm at my limit! This must be a dream! Just thinking about it makes me want to laugh! I clutched my stomach and forced my laughter into a hard cough, while at the same time the "Kamineko" turned to look directly at me — she still maintained her previous pose.

"Did you see?"

Her voice was murderous. I have no idea what my expression looked like.

"I just took a bath. Ruri Nee, what are you doing?"

I addressed the main issue.

"… Sewing something."

What kind of answer is that? Now that I had the chance to look around, there were finished white clothes nearby. Her new clothes had been finished — that must be the case.

"… Is that a new cosplay outfit?"

"Wrong —"

Ruri Nee placed one hand on her chin and spoke in a noble tone.

"… These are the divine clothes with the capability to charm a male."

Although I didn't understand it at all, I had the feeling that something was about to happen.

A few days later, I finally understood what the "dark ceremony" was about. That night after we had dinner, Ruri Nee said to us with a serious expression.

"Hinata, Tamaki…I want to ask you for life counseling."

"Wah?"

"Wah?"

Hearing that, both of us were shocked.

"Onee-sama, what is a life counseling?" Tamaki asked.

Ruri Nee hesitated for a few seconds and said, "… I wanted to hear your opinions… what do you two like the most among the dishes that I can make?"

"Pickled rice balls!"

Tamaki immediately suggested. When she was in nursery, every day Tamaki ate bentou made by Ruri Nee, so pickled rice balls had become her favorite. I also liked them very much.

"I think so too — why do you ask?"

"It's because… for many reasons I want to make box lunch for someone else… so I wanted to ask your opinions first — as a reference. Thank you."

"Umm —"

Still, almost everyone likes pickled rice balls, at least that's what I thought.

"If it's Nee-chan's pickled rice balls, anyone would be happy to get one!"

"… Really?"

"Yup! Really!"

"… Ah, if you say so then I can rest assured."

Do you have to say that? I'm sorry if they don't like them, Ruri Nee.

"By the way, to whom are you going to make box lunch for?"

"… Hm… it's my date." Ruri Nee answered with a proud expression.

"With Naruko-san?"

"Wrong. How could I have a date with that girl?" She was so dishonest.

"So with who?"

"… Hm, who do you think it is?" Ruri Nee stood up and left.

… Just now she sounded like "I'm going to have a date with my boyfriend", because "Naruto Namikaze" wasn't real, so even I had trouble using "him" to tease Ruri Nee.

Ruri Nee, Naruto-san doesn't exist, you are about to wear your best clothes and make bentou for a non-existent boyfriend on an imaginary date. How could I say that!? Normally, I would absolutely follow Ruri Nee, but this time I couldn't. No one aside from Ruri Nee was at the dating place, then she will smile and wave her hand toward no one… just thinking about it makes me want to cry! I want to cry until my tears run dry!

So the next morning — I was even more shocked than when I witnessed the dark ceremony.

We ate breakfast and rested in the tea room. Suddenly, a very suspicious person passed my eyes.

"Huh?" What's that just now? Did I have a hallucination? I threw my book down and opened the door, looked around and — yup, that suspicious person wasn't my imagination. It was my big sister.

That person was trying to put on a pair of shoes at the entrance.

"Ru… Ruri Nee…?"

That's right — the suspicious person in a silver-white goth lolita costume was my big sister. Not only was she wearing a strange, long silver-white dress, she also wear an eyepatch and a huge pair of angel wings on her back.

The person in white turned around.

"No… you are wrong… I'm no longer your beautiful sister. My real name is — that's right, I'm the wicked goddess 'Kamineko'."

No one could contain their laughter at this point. Wicked goddess… Kamineko.

"Cough cough cough cough cough!"

There were so many things I wanted to say that I didn't know where to start.

Still clutching my stomach, I took a deep breath.

Although I knew that I shouldn't say it to my dear big sister

"… So? What's with that outfit?"

Her answer was full of pride. "Tyrant's Princess clothes."

Isn't that the same one you make a few days ago?

"I won't ask about it. Where are you going to go in those 'tyrant's princess' clothes?"

Unfortunately, the bad feeling I was having was right on the mark.

"On a date of course."

"Please don't!"

It wasn't an issue of being alright or not, if you wore those clothes and walked down the streets in Chiba, I bet you'd be arrested immediately. No, wait, maybe the police wouldn't even dare to approach her.

Anyway, you definitely, absolutely must not wear those clothes to meet your boyfriend. Seriously.

It didn't seem like my worries were able to make it to Kamineko-sama, however.

"… Kukuku… Human girl, what are you saying? Don't worry. Your big sister specifically prepared these clothes for today."

"No no no no no no! No way!."

To save my big sister's face, I voiced my disagreement. It's too bad that Ruri Nee completely failed to cooperate.

"At least do something about the wings! Look! You can't even fit through the door with those things on, right! Please, just the wings! Please~"

"… Hm… Human girl… I will listen to your wish this time. I will change into something a little smaller then."

Actually, the new pair of wings was much smaller.

… So you even prepared a backup.

In the end, wearing extremely strange clothes, Tyrant's Princess-sama went on her date with absolute confidence.

"— I'm going."

"… Do whatever you want." I gave up and tiredly saw my big sister off.

Still… if she really went on a date with her boyfriend… If he doesn't dump her, I think he is a god.

Even after all that I still didn't understand my big sister — I still thought that "Ruri Nee's crush" was somebody that only existed in her head.

But… it wasn't true.

"Ruri-onee-chan's boyfriend!"

Tamaki and I stood at the entrance to the tea room, totally surprised.

"Wah!?" There was a high school boy in front of us.

Earlier that day, Ruri Nee said "… Hm… unfortunately… you don't have the skills to participate in this battle… be a good girl and go out until dark" and chased us away from the house. After that, she started cleaning the house in excitement. I thought that she was going to invite her imaginary boyfriend home, so I came back before noon to take a look…

"Amazing! She really has one!"

Waiting for us was Ruri Nee's boyfriend, who clearly existed. I was a little afraid, But at the same time, I was very happy. After all — my dearest big sister wasn't a chuuni girl who fell in love with an imaginary boyfriend.

I liked my big sister who could gather her courage and obtain happiness. She deserved my respect. Nothing made me feel happier than that.

"Ah! I knew that Ruri Onee-chan was acting suspicious lately… 'I am going to receive a very important call. In one hour, if you come anywhere near my room or quarrel… My devilish eyes will curse you into darkness', and today she said '… Hm… unfortunately… you don't have the skills to participate in this battle… Be a good girl and go out until dark'. Sneaky sneaky sneaky!"

Ruri Nee's boyfriend — Naruto Namikaze. That's why when I first met Naruto, I was very happy.

On another day while Ruri Nee was making lunch for her boyfriend, I spent time chatting with Naruto.

"I was a little disappointed because Ruri Nee is always praising you."

"… Kuro, Kuroneko praised me?"

"Yup, saying things like her boyfriend is musician and he is the bassist of the famous band in her school"

Hearing that, Naruto reverted back to embarrassment.

"… Ah, I see…" He looked happy.

"By the way, how she —"

Clank We turned around and saw Ruri Nee in an apron, her face bright red. She was coming this way.

"Wha, what are you talking about?"

"We are taking about how much Ruri Nee likes Naruto."

"~~~~~~~~~!"

Tremble tremble — Ruri Nee's body was frozen and rigid. Yahoo! My big sister is so cute! I want to tease her even more.

"You, you, you….."

"He is Handsome, gentle and very dependable."

Smack

"Ouch!"

"Listen to me… remember it well…"

Ruri Nee stared at me, her expression was horrible.

"Gulp"

I was so afraid that I quickly hid behind Naruto.

"Naruto~ Ruri Nee is bullying me~"

"Hey, hey~." Naruto could only watch in horror.

I latched on to my clumsy future brother-in-law (did I say it too soon?) and whispered into his ear, "Tell her some of her good points, quick."

"Even if you said that…"

Naruto was so useless. Still, I couldn't miss this chance to see something so interesting. Good. With a playful voice, I whispered to Naruto.

"~If you help me, I will kiss you~ alright?"

Haha, now I'm an evil witch. Naruto should have been charmed, right? And now Naruto and Ruri Nee will have even more interesting reaction.

"It's disgusting."

"Huh?"

What? He didn't even try to hide his embarrassment and just blurted that out so easily?

"You are so rude!" I twisted his hand in anger.

Seeing that, Ruri Nee calmly spoke, "Kukuku… his soul had become mine long ago… your childish charms will not work."

"… (whisper) We have the same breast size though."

Smack!

"It hurts! It hurts so much! You hit me again!"

"Hm… unfortunately your information is outdated. In a recent medical examination I found out that my rank has increased…"

"You say that, but a few days ago you were still looking for ways to pull off a B-cup."

Clank Clank Clank

"Ow! You're hitting my head too much! What if I become an idiot!?"

"It's because you're making up so many baseless lies!"

"It's not a lie!"

"Do you have any proof?"

"Kuh…"

… Dammit! I wanted to make this flat chested high school girl taste defeat by my hand! Proof… I needed proof…

Without looking at me, Naruto sighed, "… Hey, the last time you dressed up in our date, your breasts looked quite big."

"…!"

Critical hit! Ruri Nee's body stopped, like she was hit by lighting!

"Well, Naruto… I also wanted to show you proof, but this doesn't count. Ruri Nee knew that Naruto liked big breasts, so she must have prepared something inside of her clothes beforehand!"

"Hinata-chan, uhm… but I don't think you should bring that up now."

"Ah! It's bad!"

I turned my head around and saw a creature who used to be my big sister, surrounded in darkness and laughing.

"Aha… Ahahahaha… Kukukuku…" "

"Kuro… Kuroneko?"

"Ruri Nee?"

"Kukuku… Hahaha… I got it already… you two want to die that much, huh?"

That is a hunter's eyes!

"Gulp"

Naruto and I were attacked by Ruri Nee, who had turned into Yamineko. The rattling noise could be heard from the dining room.

During such chaotic situation, Tamaki came and said, "Everyone, the water is boiling."

Then, gradually…

Naruto Namikaze — Naruto. Ruri Nee's lover, Senpai, savior — Naruko-san's brother. He is a kind and gentle brother. Although we only met a short time ago, that was my impression of him. He is a nice person to talk to and a very straightforward man. Although I was wary of him, for Ruri Nee and Tamaki to be able to talk to him when they are usually so afraid of strangers, I think he made people around him feel at ease.

When I first meeting him I had a fairly bad impression of him, but he was able to effortlessly become part of our family. I don't know when exactly, but him being here had become something normal and I felt a little lonely on the days that he wasn't around. Ruri Nee didn't show it, but she was very happy when Naruto around.

Naruto Namikaze, he had some sort of subconscious ability to attract more girls, Ruri Nee's future with him would be full of difficulties. If he was my brother, I wouldn't give him away that easily! Well, he was kind to me as well, but don't get me wrong.

Anyway, I felt like Ruri Nee had changed since she meeting Naruto, Naruko and the crimson hair girl. Sure, before that my big sister was very kind to us, but I was sure she wasn't like that outside of our house. Even if she never talked about it, we couldn't help but worry. It was something children like me couldn't ignore no matter what. That's why, I'm very grateful to them. So, even if Ruri Nee didn't like it, I still wanted to meet her — not Naruto, but Naruko-san and thank her from the bottom of my heart.

(◕ω◕✿)

Ruri Nee broke up with Naruto.

I knew about it on the same night of the fireworks festival. When he saw Ruri Nee in a yukata, Naruto said, "You look like Princess Kaguya". Upon hearing that Ruri Nee felt happy and embarrassed.

I said goodbye to them before they went to the shore to watch fireworks. They were acting all lovely-dovey, they loved each other a lot.

Even without any experience in love, I could feel theirs. But — after the fireworks ended, Ruri Nee came home alone. She looked like she was about to die and her head hung low.

When I came to greet her, I asked in shock, "What happened? Did you have a quarrel with Naruto?"

"It's nothing." Her voice was empty.

"… These are my presents. You two take them."

Ruri Nee gave me a mask and cotton candy before walking into her room like a ghost. I knew immediately that something happened, seeing fireworks with your lover shouldn't end up like that! I went to Ruri Nee's room and silently opened the door. The room was dark, the only light coming was from behind me. I saw Ruri Nee sitting in front of me.

"… Ruri —"

I stopped myself, because Ruri Nee was still wearing her beautiful yukata and crying in the dark.

"…sob sob cry… wah…!"

She was in so much pain. Compared to her ceremonies, this was much more painful to watch. I felt sad just looking at her.

Later, Ruri Nee's unhappy mood didn't cease. No matter what Tamaki tried to do to comfort her, she only forced a smile — like she couldn't even pretend anymore. No matter how much Tamaki and I asked "What happened?" or "Where is Naruto?", Ruri Nee only kept shaking her head and saying "It's nothing".

Our father was concerned, so he took us to a hot spring street — but Ruri Nee's mood didn't improve. Unlike usual, she just put on plain sportswear before going out.

"… I'm going out for a while."

"… Ahh…"

"That damn Naruto", was the only thing on my mind after seeing Ruri Nee change that much. The only lead I got was — Ruri Nee was about to transfer. If she kept it quiet then it's understandable that he would be mad. But would Naruto hate Ruri Nee just because of that? Didn't he love Ruri Nee a lot?

Didn't he have a contract with Ruri Nee? Maybe it's just my own personal hope, but no matter what, I didn't want this gentle man to hate Ruri Nee. But — did that mean Ruri Nee was the one at fault? Did she use chuuni talk and break up with him?

If that was the case then poor Naruto. He was dumped by a chuuni girl. Maybe he was dating Ruri Nee as a random act of kindness.

"… But."

At the hotel's entrance, in a nasally voice, I said to myself.

"Do something about it, Naruto …!"

"Do you need something from me?"

"Uhm?" I looked up. Naruto was standing right in front of me. He looked like he had just entered.

"Oh, Hinata-imouto." Naruto waved his hand.

"No, no, wait…"

What is going on? It can't be, behind Naruto is Ruri Nee? I thought it was an illusion and rubbed my eyes.

"It's not a dream! It's not an illusion! Naruto!"

"What are you saying?"

Don't look at me like you want to say "Are you an idiot?" In my confusion I tried to ask him

"Why, why are you here?"

Naruto took a peak at Ruri Nee behind him and said, "As you can see, I came to see her."

"Wow…" So cool!

My heart skipped a beat. Ruri Nee was standing behind Naruto, blushing madly… but somehow she looked weak, did she faint or something? Still, she seemed okay now!

"Ah, umm…"

"Sorry, but I had to take care of everything."

"Wow…"

Naruto is so cool! He solved my worries in an instant! Next to Naruto, someone said, "What are you saying? You make it sound like you did all this on your own…! Ah, forget it."

"Haha. Sorry, sorry."

Ah? I looked at the girl beside Naruto.

"Ah!"

Even it was rude, I pointed my finger at her. How could I miss someone like that until now? bright yellow hair. A pair of blue-sky eyes. A gorgeous stylish dress. Very beautiful — this was someone I had heard about.

"You, you are —"

"Ah, pleased to meet you. I'm…"

I was so excited that I interrupted her introduction:

"Please to meet you bitch-san! I wanted to meet you so much!"

"… What?" Bitch-san's face turned dark.

Naruto said "Oh crap" before he face palmed.

Bitch-san's smile twisted, she turned and looked at Ruri Nee who was behind Naruto.

"… What is going on? You must be the one who taught this girl those weird things."

"I just simply told her the truth, like 'this girl is the bitch queen among bitchies'."

Bitch-san didn't say anything, she hit Ruri Nee's back.

"Kuh… Na… Naruko… how could you do that to a medical patient…"

"Give me a good introduction!"

"… It can't be helped…"

Ruri Nee was always strongly opposed to me meeting Bitch-san, but I still don't know why. She was clearly so beautiful that a glance from her would charm anyone.

"Ruri Nee, Please."

"… Hah… I see… She —"

"Ah~ you are Ruri Nee now?"

"Noisy. Do you want me to introduce you or not?"

"Sorry, sorry. Please~" Ruri Nee shot a dissatisfied glare at Bitch-san.

… They are clearly friends of Ruri Nee. For somebody who was as scared of strangers like Ruri Nee, there would be no way she could act that casual around them otherwise.

"Hinata, let me introduce you. This bitch is Naruko Namikaze — she is my friend."

… I see… that's good… that's good… Onee-san.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Naruko Namikaze."

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Hinata Gokou."

"Yes… Hinata-imouto… Ehehehe."

"…?"

Ah? For some reason, in that instant I felt a chill down my spine.

"Can I call you Bitch-san?"

"You can't! Cough Hm… how about you try calling me 'Naruko Onii-chan' then."

"Ah? Why 'Onii-chan'?"

I tilted my head. Naruto shot a questioning glance at her without saying anything. Naruko-san's expression said "ah, I failed".

"Ah~ I said it wrong."

She took a deep breath and raised one of her finger.

"How… hehee… Call me 'Naruko Onee-chan' then."

"OK. Pleased to meet you, Naruko Onee-chan."

"… Call me that once more."

"Ah? Naruko Onee-chan?"

"Oh wow~!"

Naruko-san's expression changed into one of happiness. What's going on? I've got an unpleasant feeling about this… maybe it was just my imagination.

"No good, she's at her limit. Hinata-imouto, just call her 'Naruko-san'. Don't bother calling her that anymore."

Naruto said that to me. I didn't get it, but my instincts told me to follow his advice. Ah! I almost forgot!

"Ah, now that I have met Naruko-san, I wanted to say thank you…"

"Thank me?"

"Yes!"

… I was a little nervous. I bowed and said.

"Naruko-san, thank you for becoming my sister's friend."

Naruko-san's eyes widened… she seemed surprised. Naruto showed a big smile.

Then Ruri Nee added, "Wait a second, Hinata!"

No way, you won't stop me this time. I looked at Naruko-san and said, "Since that summer offline meeting, my sister has been very happy because she found a friend, so, thank you!"

Ruri Nee was trembling now, "Ah, idiot, idiot…" So cute.

Upon hearing that Naruko-san placed one hand on her chest and said, "… there is no need to thank me, because we helped each other."

Smack. She tapped my big sister's shoulder and smiled, "Without her, my life would be very boring."

"I see…"

"… Idiot… don't say something so embarrassing." Ruri Nee turned away in embarrassment.

I started to like Naruko-san already. I want to talk with her some more.

"Hey Hinata-imouto, you all stay at this hotel?"

"That's right."

"Really? I'm staying here too!"

"Really?"

"Yes! How about we all go into the hot spring together later? With me? Can we? Can we?"

"Good! Ah, wait, come to our room! I will introduce you to my family!"

"Family… you mean you have another little sister?"

"Yes! And she is super~ cute!"

"Hah? Ahahaha ❤. "

"Hmmm?"

While I was busy chatting with Naruko-san about Tamaki — for some reason Ruri Nee and Naruto had broke into a cold sweat.

Later on at the hot spring…

"Two little sisters! Wahhhhhhh! Wowwwww! Here I come!"

"Ruri Nee? What is going on with Naruko-san? Did she go insane?"

"… Ku… she has broken free of her chains… thiis is Naruko Namikaze's true self — a beast… alright Tamaki, come here, if that beast catches you she will eat you whole."

"… oh… I'm scared, Onee-san."

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Extra: Late Night Girl Talk

My name is Naruko Namikaze. I'm a talented sister who is good at both sports and studying, and the reason that I'm here is — I was resting in the changing room of the hot spring, while laying on the ground I spread my hands and legs wide to allow the cool breeze to heal them.

I still felt dizzy, for that reason I was laying in a pose that nobody, not even the closest to me had ever seen. If somebody saw me I would die of embarrassment.

I looked toward the ceiling recalling some happy memories. Ah, it was so dangerous I was almost past my limit. If that happened, maybe I wouldn't be able to come back to my senses.

Yes — those paradise scenes still remained in my heart. I had arrived in the eroge world.

"I have no more regrets in my life…"

"… My senses are telling me that I have seen a very bad thing."

"Wah!?"

Something cool touched my cheek, I yelled and opened my eyes only to see Kuroneko in her bathrobe.

"… That pose could break up a century long pair of lovers."

"What the hell is wrong with your mouth?"

"Right, right. Just make sure you don't catch a cold after bathing."

I looked in disbelief as Kuroneko gave me a can of ice tea and a bath towel. I used the bath towel to cover my exposed body, opened the can and drank it down.

"Phew, thank you."

"You're welcome. How do you feel?"

"I'm fine, what about you though? You fainted in the middle of the day."

"The doctor said that I'm fine."

"That's nice — how about Tamaki-imouto and Hinata-imouto?"

"… Escaped." Kuroneko's expression stiffened and her voice lowered.

I put a finger on my lip and said, "I… When Tamaki-imouto was with me, I felt dizzy, that's why I did it — I didn't mean to scare her."

"You… You really… but Tamaki didn't run away because of that."

"…?"

"… About that… Naruko… although I thank you for getting along so well with my little sisters… Hinata is fine, but Tamaki is still small, so be careful…"

"… I get it."

I seriously reflected on it. Those two were so cute I went a little overboard. Now that I had calmed down, I realized that I had to protect my image as well.

"Ah, I need to brush my hair too…"

While I began to panic, Kuroneko said, "Hinata… really… even though she saw your true nature, she still seemed to like you."

"Really?"

"Yes. If at all possible I hope that you can continue talking to them a little more often."

"Oh, oh, oh! Nice! Can I ask Hinata-imouto to sleep with me tonight?"

"… You don't know what the words 'holding back' mean, do you?"

"Whatever! Can I? Can I!?"

Although Naruto and I had separate rooms, we had to count on the Gokou family as well, otherwise… don't you think that siscon Naruto would assault me at night?

My perfect solution was shot down by Kuroneko.

"You can't, too bad."

"No matter what happens, that girl will sleep with my parents tonight."

"She loves her father that much?"

"Yes." That is what Kuroneko said.

By the way, we had decided that room allocation would be:

Room 1 : Naruko, Kuroneko, Tamaki. Room 2 : Naruto, Kuroneko's parents, Hinata.

Naruto is probably going to have the hardest (and most embarrassing) night of his life.

"… Will he be alright…?" I murmured in my bed, late at night.

"… You must have said that at least a hundred times already." Kuroneko answered next to me.

Tamaki-imouto was sleeping soundly next to her, by the way.

"Still… how much do your parents understand about the situation?"

"I have taken care of that. I have given my parents the 'Genesis Chapter' and 'Phoenix Chapter' from the 'Destiny Record' to my parents."

"That sounds like you didn't explain anything at all."

"My daughter is very dangerous!" — I bet that's all that they understood. Since Kuroneko was feeling down at home and since they thought Naruto was the cause… I'm afraid that a misunderstanding might have occurred.

Maybe Kuroneko's parents were beating Naruto right now… Aaaaahhh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is so terrible!

While I was busy thinking, Kuroneko said to me in her usual mocking tone that made people angry.

"… Hm… by the way, the Destiny Record has been renamed to 'Afterlife', Volume 13."

"I told you to stop talking in that fake dramatic tone, how long do you plan to keep acting like that?"

"… Every time I think about my wish that can never be achieved in my entire life… I start acting that way."

You meant your confession — 'I would definitely fall in love with you in the next life'? What a stubborn girl. I didn't mean those dramatic chuuni lines, I wanted to ask you about your true feelings. It was like a whirlwind romance — and a true sacrificial love. I'm not even sure if I could risk everything for my love like that — just thinking about it made me feel irritation, respect, fear, gratitude, disgust and anger in my heart.

… However, Kuroneko. It may be impossible… you know that too, right?

"Can we talk about something else?"

"Like what?"

"You… this time you were too ruthless."

"…"

"Was that because of me? Well, I guess part of it was for yourself too… but I understand your feelings, so thank you very much."

Ah, I shouldn't have said that. I'm always like that, unable to convey the most important things on my mind.

"You suddenly disappeared and transferred — did you even think about how he would feel? This time the result was acceptable, but your 'ceremony' is nothing but the delusion of a chuunibyou. There was a good chance that something could have went wrong. If that happened, holding on to your delusions alone is just sad."

"… Sorry."

Ahhh… she was about to cry again, but I can't just stop now.

"I'm the one who should apologize… thank you for helping me this time — but stop messing with me!"

Even though I said that, I knew I wasn't in the position to lecture her. Recently, I knew. My brother is not an invincible superhero. He is a normal… a very normal high school student.

He felt happy when he got a girlfriend, he got mad when people treated him like an idiot, he cried when he felt sad — just like me, he is a normal person. It was something so simple to me now, but in the past I couldn't understand it. Not one bit. Maybe even now, I'm still incapable of fully understanding it.

"… Hey. Imagine the one you love for a few seconds."

Kuroneko closed her eyes for ten seconds, then she said, "There is no one like that."

I was no different than her in that respect, I had to admit it. A long time ago somebody tried to point that out to me, but at the time I didn't want to admit it. I tried to pretend that event never happened — we still acted like idiots. Every day, we walked the same route, we walked side by side. Someone who always stood by my side. I couldn't let this girl in front of me follow the same path. That was my thanks to a good friend, and an apology for every stupid thing I had done.

"That's why you shouldn't forget to look after him properly."

Or else that idiot would immediately rush to the hardest method, forcefully claim that he's invincible, place all the burden on himself and heroically self-destruct. This time, didn't he regret how useless he was? The ones who were useless — was us.

I couldn't stand it. I really couldn't stand it. I'm not a good sister, I'm not even a good friend. I couldn't even keep up with him.

While I was deep in thought the door flew open.

"Naruto is so cool!"

It was Hinata-imouto in her pajamas. She was out of breath due to her excitement.

"Ruri Nee! Ruri Nee! Naruto! In the beginning I'd think things like 'You're useless, why don't you just die already?', but he turned out to be so cool! I like him already!"

Just now… did he screw up?

"Hinata. Keep your voice down. What time do you think it is?"

"Now's not the time to talk about that! Bad, bad! Naruto is very useless!" I quickly added my opinion.

"What did Hinata-imouto's dad talk to Naruto about?"

"Ah! Listen to me! They…"

"Stop, Hinata." Kuroneko interrupted and stopped Hinata from talking.

"Eh? Why?"

"Hah? Why?"

"… Because I can guess what he would say without needing you to tell me."

That… It must surely be something embarrassing!

"Hinata-imouto, just tell me, then."

"Mmm."

"Hinata. I told you not to talk about it."

"Eh… but, but…"

"Unless you like to eat carrots and green peppers every day."

"Oh… I'm sorry Naruko Onee-san."

Hinata was defeated. Damn…

"Still, they are talking. I guess. So there's no need to worry, maybe?"

"You're making me even more curious, what's with the way you're speaking?"

"No, no, they're really not talking about anything important! They get along rather well! Dad invited Naruto to take a bath in the hot spring."

Stop! Stop! Naruto's HP is about to drop to 0! If I were a male, I would rather die than do that. It was so sad…. True, he was extremely useless, but there's no need to go that far!

"Ruri-nee! Ruri-nee! You broke up with Naruto, right~? Then I will marry Naruto! Then Naruko-san will become my real big sister."

"Stop spouting nonsense you brat! Do you want to remain hungry for the rest of your life!?"

"Haah!? Even without doing that, Hinata-imouto is already my little sister!"

"Oh… right, right… I'm sorry… I didn't think that you two would be that angry…" Hinata-imouto was trembling.

"Then… I'm going to go to sleep now!" She ran away.

The room became silent again. I glanced at Kuroneko, only for her to glance back at me.

"Um… about…"

"… What? If you have something to say then say it."

"After all of this, I deeply understand that you still aren't capable of getting a boyfriend."

"W-What?"

"If you don't agree, then prove it to me."

"Hm, that's what I intend to do."

Inside the blanket, Kuroneko and I stared at each other.

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