OreImo: My Little Sister Can't Be This Much of a Bitch.

06

"Comiket now?" Ruri asked, and I shook my head.

"No. My first meeting with Ayase. And Kanako."

Ruri wrinkled her nose. "Fine."

"So, that started the Saturday after the incident with our parents. Summer break had started by then. Kirino wanted me to clear SisCaly so I could play her in some fighter with an exported character."

"I remember that game. It was terrible." Rolling her eyes, Ruri asked, "Why not just play online?"

I snorted at that. "Because she couldn't beat anyone online and wanted to spank me for a change."

"Of course."

A small smirk tugged at my lips. "And then she tried to exile me to my room to keep me from meeting her friends. Yeah, that didn't work out too well."

Ugh. It's hot out. Absolutely fuck summer. Definitely made the right call doing this inside under the air conditioner, I sighed, squeezing out another push-up before rolling over onto my back and working on sit-ups. Up, right elbow to left knee, left elbow to right knee, down, repeat, reverse. Damn Kirino. And damn Saori, making me stay up all night to clear that stupid game. I hope they both enjoy what's coming. Drag me into a fighting game, huh? Oh, I am going to enjoy their tears. It'll be delicious.

The doorbell rang and I caught sight of Kirino running down the hallway and thumping her way downstairs through my partially opened door. "I'll be right there!"

Mentally shrugging, I continued my late workout. Thankfully I had already completed my run, so I wouldn't have to go back out in the heat and could just jump straight into the shower after this. I faintly heard Kirino and two voices I didn't recognize below and tuned them out. Footsteps sounded on the stairs, then in the hallway, before pausing in front of my door. On my next trip upwards, I caught sight of a pair of dark blue eyes set under dark hair as the taller of Kirino's two friends sent me a shy smile. I went down and came back up, shifting my gaze to the shorter of the two: red hair pulled into twin tails, brown—almost gold—eyes, and also sporting a smile. Except where the taller of the two looked mildly embarrassed, the shorter of them blatantly eyed me up as I met her gaze before licking her lips.

Pausing in my routine, I reached over and grabbed the water bottle I'd left out, taking a short pull before waving at the pair. "Morning. Kirino's friends?"

"Y-Yes," the taller of the pair stuttered briefly before bowing slightly. "Aragaki Ayase. Pleased to meet you."

"Kurusu Kanako," the shorter of the two said quickly. "Very pleased to meet you." It was not at all subtle as she practically purred that word and her eyes went half-lidded. "We're very good friends to Kirino-chan. You're her brother?"

"Yeah. Kosaka Kyosuke," I nodded. "The pleasure is all mine."

Ayase bit her lip before admitting, "I was expecting…"

Chuckling, I asked, "The person she described doesn't match the person you see?"

Ayase nodded. Beside her, Kanako muttered, "She's been holding out. Stingy."

Ayase obviously heard her friend as her eyes went slightly wide and she blushed before turning a shocked look down on Kanako. Turning back to me, she quickly bowed. "Sorry to intrude! Please excuse us!"

"Sure," I agreed as the girl fled into Kirino's room. Kanako, however, lingered in my doorway for a moment—at least, until Ayase came back, snagged her by the arm, and dragged her into Kirino's room. Shaking my head, I went back to my workout, expecting that to be the last of it.

Kirino's footsteps up the stairs a few minutes later devolved into stomps as she saw that my door was open wider than it had been before—Kanako had not been shy about pushing it further in to get a better look. "You looked, didn't you?" she asked, glaring down at me and holding a tray of drinks in her hands.

"I've been here the whole time. Your friends stopped and said hello, because it was the polite thing to do."

"Gross," Kirino hissed, before wrinkling her nose. "And you smell all sweaty. Stop stinking up the house and go take a bath."

I made an exaggerated sniff before wrinkling my own nose. "What the hell is that smell?" I wondered, looking around before allowing my eyes to settle on Kirino—specifically, her thighs. "Oh, never mind. Your legs are open."

"I'll kill you," she growled, slamming my door closed and storming to her room.

Japanese homes being what they were, the walls were paper thin to the point where you could hear someone breathing in another room if you concentrated—yet another reason why Manami and I had taken so long to move on to the next stage in our relationship.

"'Had taken so long?'" Ruri echoed. "So, by then you had advanced to making..."

"Making love?" I asked, drawing a nod in answer. "Is that a question or a statement, detective?"

Frowning, the dark-haired girl considered me for a long moment before nodding. "You enjoy using wording to hide things. Statement. The only question is, where? You've said repeatedly that you couldn't—"

Ruri's eyes went wide and I smiled. "Penny in the air."

"Saori's home," she whispered.

"And the penny drops," I smiled. "As I was saying..."

I tuned out Kirino and her friends for a while, until they started asking her about a boyfriend. So, they've noticed she's acting weird. Makes sense from their perspective that she could have a boyfriend she's keeping hidden. Obviously, they wouldn't suspect her of having friends outside their group that she's keeping secret instead. My sister, leading a double life. It's going to come crashing down around her ears eventually.

Listening to her 'innocent girl' routine left me in serious danger of either retching or busting a gut laughing. Either way, I couldn't stand any more of it. Finishing out my last set of exercises, I stood and popped my back, then went downstairs to get a glass of juice before I had a shower. "Where is your restroom?" I heard Kanako ask as I descended the stairs, followed by the sound of Kirino's door opening and closing—consequently allowing me to hear even more of the mask she used with her so-called friends.

"They would have to be idiots if they're fooled by that act," I muttered, taking a sip from my orange juice.

"Oh, I don't know about that," a young-sounding voice spoke quietly from directly behind me.

I choked on my juice, putting the glass on the counter as I spluttered for a moment before turning and glaring down on the short redhead. "It's not polite to sneak up on people."

She hummed in thought before saying, "You don't seem like the kind of person who cares all that much about what is or isn't polite, except when it suits you."

She read me like a book, I mused, even as I fought to keep the grin off my face.

"Ayase believes her act," Kanako continued, her golden eyes locking with my storm-cloud blue. "But I don't. So tell me, onii-chan, who is our friend really?"

Regarding the small girl for a long moment, I asked, "Are you sure you want to know?" When she nodded, I asked, "And if it shatters your view of her?"

"Kirino is Kirino. I'd rather know the real Kirino than this disgusting person she pretends to be."

"And you'll keep it to yourself?" I asked, just to be sure. Kanako nodded again and I shrugged. "Little miss perfect: scholar, star athlete, model. Kirino can do no wrong." I paused, watching Kanako's upper lip curl in disgust. Yeah, I felt the same way sometimes. "It's all a lie. Kirino is a bitch and a pain in my ass. She's a liar, an otaku, a shameless pervert, and a coward too afraid of the consequences to tell her 'friends' the truth of who she is."

"I see," Kanako murmured.

Sighing, I leaned against the counter and quietly added, "She's also just a teenaged girl with a weird hobby that she knows is weird, so she doesn't want to lose her friends over it because they might think it's gross. She's kind to her friends and a bitch to the people she hates—though, sometimes the line blurs there." Kuroneko was a good example of said blurring. "Occasionally, every once in a blue moon, she even manages to remind me that she's my little sister and not some raging cunt."

Kanako eyed me with a considering look for a long moment before nodding. "Ayase was right about you."

"Oh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, but the girl refused to elaborate.

Instead, I found my personal space suddenly invaded as Kanako inhaled deeply through her nose, taking a long sniff of me and letting out a quiet, "Mmm." My other eyebrow joined the first in attempting to migrate into my hairline as I felt something soft but firm, warm, and wet run across my chest between my pectorals. Smacking her lips, Kanako turned her eyes up to mine and smirked. "Delicious, onii-chan." Sighing, she turned on her heel and sashayed to the stairs, heading back up to Kirino's room. "She'll be wondering where I went if I don't hurry. Sorry," she threw over her shoulder, pausing only long enough to turn those golden eyes down and leer at my shorts.

As I watched the small girl disappear, I shook my head. She licked me.

I groaned quietly as I realized what that parting leer was about—the bulge now highly visible in my jean shorts. "Right, shower. Cold shower." I knew it wouldn't help, but it couldn't hurt to try.

Could always go visit Manami or Saori instead of sticking around here. It wouldn't take my mind off the girl who had molested me, or the fact that I had enjoyed it and wanted to retaliate in kind and find out if her sweaty little body would taste good—it would only shift that focus onto whichever girl I visited. Collect Manami, go visit Saori together?

The doorbell rang and I wondered who it could be for a moment. Shrugging, I opened it to find a deliveryman standing on the other side and holding a package. Signing the digital pad he offered, I took the box and closed the door before inspecting the shipping label.

To me, from Saori? Oh lord, now what? I wondered, tucking it under my arm and heading up to my room. I tossed the box on my bed and closed my door, then dug out my leatherman. Technically, the imported multitool broke the law here due to being a lock-back knife and having a blade over 8cm, but I didn't care. With my background, I had absolutely no respect for those laws. Cutting open the package, I rolled my eyes at the contents. "Thanks, Saori. Just what I've always wanted. Meruru and SisCaly doujins. I'll have to do something nice for you for Christmas."

My phone rang, playing out the English version of The Winner from one of the Gundam series—0083, I believed. "Hello, Saori."

"Kyosuke-shi! I got a notification that said you received my package."

"Yep," I agreed. "I take it this is for Kirino."

"Well, unless you've suddenly decided you want to try Meruru and SisCaly doujins," she retorted, and I could hear that catty smile.

My response came out completely deadpan. "I can't fap to this."

"I could help you with that."

Can. Would. Have. I shook my head. "Maybe later. Speaking of, I was just thinking of coming over."

"Oh ho? Really now? When can I expect you?" Saori asked, not even bothering to hide her excitement.

I took great joy in crushing it under foot. "Well, since you asked… not today."

"Wha—"

I smirked as I explained, "Since someone sent me radioactive materials in the mail, I have to babysit them until Kirino's friends leave to keep them from being discovered."

"What? B-buh—I… Damn," she growled quietly.

"Shot yourself in the foot with that one."

"Don't sound so smug," Saori pouted, "or I'll tell Manami on you."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "You can't just go to her every time you don't get your way."

"Says you. It's worked so far," Saori retorted. "So, you're coming to Comiket with me, right?"

"Sure," I agreed. "You dragging Kuroneko along?"

Saori laughed. "'Dragging' implies that she didn't want to go. No, if anything, Kuroneko-shi is the one dragging me while trying to convince me it wasn't at her suggestion. She's cute when she goes all tsundere. Will you invite Kirino for me, or should I ask her myself?"

"I'll tell her you wanted us all to go," I shrugged. "Can I get you to do me a favor?"

"Sure, Kyosuke-shi. Anything."

Chuckling, I asked, "Be Kirino's mule?"

"Eh? When I said anything, I didn't think you'd go for a donkey show—"

I palmed my face and cut her off. "Mule, Saori. Not a donkey. A mule is someone who smuggles drugs—or in this case, what might as well be drugs for Kirino."

"Ooh," she muttered, drawing the word out. "Someone to hide her purchases. Sure!"

"Do I even want to know why you know what a donkey show is?" I asked.

From the girl's nervous giggle, I decided I did not. She answered anyway. "Well, this is what happens when you blindly click links posted to 2chan's /b/."

"Saori," I groaned quietly. "I thought you knew better." An embarrassed laugh sounded from Saori's end of the phone and I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, let me let you go. I stink and I need a shower, then I think I'll cook something."

"You could come here and eat. And use my shower," Saori offered, before I heard her verbally kick herself. "Oh, wait. Package. Damn!"

"Your own fault."

"Shush," she hissed. "Well, think of me in the shower! Bye bye, Kyosuke-shi."

"Later," I hung up. Throwing the package under my bed, I made my way into the bathroom and went about my shower. By the time I was finished, Ayase and Kanako had left—but not without a parting gift from Kanako, in the form of her name and phone number scrawled on one of the sticky notes in the stack on my desk, along with the words 'Call me!' and a heart.

On the next note down was a second message from Kanako: 'I thought you might like Ayase's number as well. She definitely wants yours. I don't mind sharing.'

Pulling out my cell, I entered the numbers into my address book. Ayase's number could come in handy later, if I ever needed to talk to her about Kirino. Kanako's, on the other hand… I would have to think up something to get her back for that little incident in the kitchen. In the meantime, I should go ahead and make sure they both had my number.

Kyoka: Sorry I missed you two leaving. This is my number, if you want to share it with Aragaki.

Kanako: Thank you, onii-chan. She says 'Ayase-chan' or 'just Ayase' are fine, if you'll allow her to call you 'Kyosuke.' Personally, I think there are several other things she would love to call you, but I don't want Ayase-chan to faint if she happens to steal my phone and read this.

Kyoka: And what should I call you? I think, given that display in the kitchen, we're past the point of '-san,' don't you? Or should I just call you 'taste tester?'

Kanako: :3~ You can call me 'Kanako,' 'Kana-chan,' or 'mistress' if you prefer.

Kyoka: Sure, maybe later, and no—in that order. If anything, you'll be calling me 'master.'

Kanako: I'll hold you to it, onii-chan. Ayase is looking at me funny. Apparently I've been on my phone and making 'funny faces' for too long. Text me tomorrow.

Kyoka: If I remember.

Kanako: You had better!

Laughing, I pocketed my phone. "Oh, she is a treat."

"So you lead her on."

I scoffed at that. "Please. No one leads Kanako on. She puts on a good innocent act, but believe me, under the 'loli' act she plays up she's a predator. She's like someone threw you and Saori in a blender—distilled tiny, sexually aggressive pervert. And I've never lead anyone on. Flirted, teased, taunted, and generally been a friend—sure. But I'd never lead a girl on."

Ruri sighed. "And that is why the 'predator' only has eyes for you." Shaking her head, she shot me an amused look. "I suppose it can't be helped. It's just who you are."

Digging under my bed, I pulled out the box from Saori and made my way to Kirino's room. Pushing open the door, I was greeted by the sight of Kirino changing into her night clothes—the robe she wore dropping into place just a moment too late to keep me from seeing everything she had to offer. My sister's eyes went wide as her face lit up in a blush. "Y-you—you saw…"

The words 'I've seen better' were already on my tongue, but I bit down on them and cut off the automatic response. Instead, I offered her the box. "Courtesy of Saori. I'd have brought it to you earlier, but the inside doesn't match the outside. Remind me to chastise her for acting as your enabler later."

Kirino winced, shifting from one foot to the other and remembering the last time she had been 'chastised.' In a tiny voice, she asked, "Can I watch?"

I blinked, then blinked again. "I honestly don't know how to respond to that. On the one hand, I shouldn't ruin your image of her—not that there's much to ruin, given what you've seen of her so far. On the other, she wouldn't mind—would jump at the chance, in fact." Considering her for a moment, I finally shrugged. "If you're good between then and now." She nodded once and I said, "She wanted me to tell you that you're invited to Summer Comiket, by the way. It'll be her, me, you, and Kuroneko. What do you think?"

Kirino's head was like a bobble-head toy, sending her orange hair flying. "Yes!"

"Great," I nodded, turning to leave her room. Pausing at the door, I warned, "Wear sensible clothes, Kirino. Sneakers, shorts, a hat, and something that breathes. And bring sun screen."

"You make it sound like we'll be outside. I thought it was indoors."

I nodded. "It is, but do you have any idea how many people are going to show up to this thing?" I asked, and she shook her head. "It's more popular than any three sports you care to name. We're going to get there early in the morning, and even then we'll probably be in line a few hours. There are people that bring tents and set up camp days in advance, and we'll be in line behind them. Come prepared. Bring food and water. And for you, since you're likely to buy something indecent there, bring a backpack. You can swap yours out with Saori's when we leave—just make sure to keep all the filth in one bag and the normal stuff in the other."

Kirino considered it for a moment before nodding. "It sounds like a huge pain… but I'm really excited!"

"It is," I agreed. "And it's worth getting excited over." Remembering my conversation with Kanako earlier, I considered letting her know about it but decided against it. Instead, I said, "Tell your friends that you're being dragged off to some convention or something by your brother and his friends the day of. That way, if by some chance, they show up too then you can claim innocence."

Blinking, she asked, "You'll let me throw you under the bus for it?"

"No," I denied. "If you're caught, you're going to own it. I introduced you to Saori and Kuroneko. You hit it off because they weren't as weird as you thought they were. You spent the day hanging out and buying cute things. Buy cute things for a cover and carry those visibly while you keep whatever filth you buy in the backpack. Saori and I will likely also be carrying packs, so you won't be out of place. If one of them asks me why I brought you along, I'll tell them I felt like you could use more friends outside of school. Understand?"

"Are you sure this will work?" she asked.

I shrugged. "No plan survives contact with the enemy. Nothing in life is certain. Hope for the best, plan for the worst."

Kirino rolled her eyes. "In other words, you think it'll work but you won't say it will because if it fails then you can say you knew there was a possibility of failure… but if it works, then you get to act all smug as though you knew it would work all along."

"You know me too well," I smirked, reaching out and mussing her hair. "I'm going to turn in early. Good night, Kirino."

"Good night," she returned quietly, before turning away to dig into her box. "Ooh! Pretty!"

"Ugh. It's so hot."

Rolling my eyes at Kirino's whining, I asked, "What did I tell you? I said we'd be outside for a while and it would be hot. At least you listened when I told you to come prepared."

"I've been good," she pouted, puffing her cheeks out.

"That's debatable," I snorted softly. Spotting Saori and Kuroneko moving through the crowd to join us, I considered for a moment before nodding. "But I suppose good behavior should be rewarded."

"Really?!" Kirino asked, her eyes suddenly alight.

I nodded, then turned away to greet our friends. "Saori. Kuroneko. Good morning."

"Good morning, Kyosuke-shi!" Saori beamed a catty smile.

Beside her, Kuroneko nodded. "Good morning."

As the pair of newcomers chatted with Kirino, I yawned and dug an insulated bottle of ice water out of my bag. Taking a long pull off of it, I spotted Kuroneko eyeing it. Raising an eyebrow, I offered the metal bottle to her. Glancing suspiciously at Kirino out of the corner of her eye and making sure she wasn't watching, Kuroneko quickly took the bottle and popped the straw into her mouth, sucking greedily at the contents. "So good," she quietly sighed.

I'm not complaining about the view, either, I mentally added, the sight of her lips wrapped around the straw as she drank replaying itself in my mind as a small grin tugged at my lips.

Ruri looked particularly smug as she crossed her arms under her breasts. "So you did enjoy the show."

"You did that for my benefit, huh?" I asked, earning a shrug in answer—which was as good as a nod from her, at times. "I didn't realize you were interested that early."

"You are blind and a fool."

I considered her words for a moment before nodding. "Probably."

As Kirino sat in Saori's chair and played her PSP, I observed Saori and Kuroneko—mostly the loli-goth. "Aren't you hot in that?"

"No. I have erected a barrier of dark energy to block out excessive sunlight."

"Uh huh," I muttered, sending her an amused look. She pouted and looked like she would argue the point when I reached out and took the top of her over-coat or whatever it was in hand. "Here," I said, pulling it off her shoulders and leaving her in just a sleeveless white blouse. I did not fail to notice the way she blushed faintly at the touch of my fingers brushing down her arms as I removed it. Okay, she's not flat at all. They're proportionate for her size. That is very nice.

Carefully folding her top, I stuffed it into my bag and pulled out a waxed, paper and bamboo umbrella with a large Sharingan pattern on the top. Popping it open, I gestured for her to stand closer. Her blue eyes refused to meet my gaze, but she stepped into the shadow my umbrella provided. Smiling, I handed her a folded fan. "Better?"

"Thank you," she murmured, popping the fan open and waving it in her face.

Beside us, Saori leered at me. "I think I'm jealous, Kyosuke-shi."

Catching Ruri's blush, I smirked. "You enjoyed that, huh?"

"Perhaps," she allowed.

"You're welcome."

Ruri blinked. "You planned it?"

I shook my head. "Planned? No. Took advantage of the situation? Absolutely. You weren't the only one interested."

"I see."

My phone chimed as someone made an announcement over the PA system that the day's activities were now open. Fishing it out, I found a text from Ayase waiting on me.

Ayase: Sorry to bother you, Kyosuke-kun. Is Kirino-chan with you? She isn't answering her phone.

Raising an eyebrow at that, I nudged Kirino as the line began moving slowly forward. "Hey, check your phone."

"Eh?" my sister asked, pausing her PSP game and digging her phone out. She sucked her teeth and I smacked the back of her head reflexively, ending in an exchange of glares between us. "The battery is dead. I guess I was so excited last night I forgot to charge it."

"Fair enough," I sighed, sending a reply off to Ayase.

Kyoka: It's fine, you're not a bother, Ayase. Kirino is with me. She forgot to charge her phone last night and her battery died. The line just started moving, so we'll likely be here a few hours longer.

The reply was immediate.

Ayase: Where are you? She made it sound like it was some weird thing...

I rolled my eyes. Seeing Kirino was absorbed in her PSP again but at least standing now that the line was moving, I moved a few steps away and turned around. Catching Saori's and Kuroneko's eyes, I gestured for them to move closer to Kirino. Turning my phone sideways and bringing up the camera, I got everything aligned properly. "Oi, Kirino. Smile."

"What?" she asked, looking up with a confused look just as I snapped a picture—Kirino in the middle looking lost, Saori to her right with that catty smile, and Kuroneko to her left wearing an amused smile of her own.

"Thank you," I said, moving back into place beside Kuroneko—to her relief—and sending the picture out to Ayase, along with my three companions for the day and Manami.

Kyoka: We're at Summer Comiket. I felt that Kirino needed to socialize outside of her small group of friends—no offense to you or Kanako.

Ayase: None taken. Her expression looks cute! Nice timing, onii-chan.

Ayase: The short one looks like the perpetually angry type who occasionally shows a nice side. The tall one...

Kyoka: Looks like an otaku from the 80s?

Ayase: I'm sorry, yes.

Kyoka: It's fine. She knows. It's the point. Saori's cosplay is less cosplay, more disguise. Let me see if I can find a picture...

I dug around in my phone's memory card and found a photo of Saori at her home—specifically, one where I caught she and Manami laughing about something together and had my phone out fast enough to get a picture. Selecting it, I sent it off to Ayase.

Kyoka: This is Saori in her natural environment.

Ayase: I see. She's... beautiful. Is that Tamura-senpai?

Kyoka: Yes. Saori helped get me my job and we've been friends ever since. She's from a well-to-do family, has private tutors, and makes excellent grades. She just happens to enjoy anime and going to places like Comiket. She didn't want to embarrass her family, so she dressed up so that no one would recognize her.

Kyoka: She and Kirino are in the same boat. They're more alike than Kirino realizes. Both overachievers. Both beautiful. Both with a hobby that they're afraid people will make fun of them for. Both lonely because they have problems finding people with shared interests. They both need more friends.

Kyoka: I know it's a bit much to ask, but will you do me a favor, Ayase-chan? Help Kirino in this. Stand beside her. Support her. Continue being her friend.

I almost felt bad manipulating her like this—almost. Saori was the perfect example for this kind of manipulation. She was everything Kirino or Ayase likely wanted to be as far as money and looks went and then some—and she did it naturally, because she had been born to it. Saori wasn't a model, she was the girl models looked at like normal girls looked at models. And then there was playing with Ayase's heart strings about Kirino being afraid and lonely. Both were true to some extent, but I was playing it up a bit.

Ayase: You didn't have to ask, Kyosuke-kun. I would never abandon Kirino-chan over something silly like a hobby! I mean, anime is pretty popular these days, right? It's not just for fat, smelly otaku and NEETs any more.

Ayase: You're a good onii-chan to her, Kyosuke-kun. I was right about you.

I hid a smirk at that, making my excuses to sign off for now since the line was getting close to the entrance and promising to send her more pictures of Kirino having fun. You poor, naive thing. You're absolutely wrong about me.

Ruri scoffed quietly, drawing my eyes up to her own. "What?"

"She was right about you."

I rolled my eyes. "Kirino and I hate each other. Anything I do for her is simply out of familial duty."

"So you say," she nodded. "If you keep repeating the lie, you may just believe it one day." Her lips stretched into a catty grin as she quietly added, "A rare male tsundere appears."

"Blow me."

Ruri smirked. "We have already established that if you keep making the request, I may just take you up on it."

Kanako: What did you say to Ayase?

Kyoka: ...why?

Kanako: She's on cloud 9 and keeps going on about how 'onii-sama' is relying on her when she thinks no one can hear.

I sighed, shaking my head as I followed along behind the trio of girls as they shopped. So far, Kirino and Saori appeared to be sticking to the plan—or at least the plan we'd revised upon meeting. Anything questionable went into Saori's bag while everything else went into Kirino's. They had decided it would be easier to do that than have to swap bags later, and that they would have more fun sorting through it all when we got home. Turning the phone sideways, I snapped a picture of Kirino and Saori holding up tee-shirts and giggling while Kuroneko held up a third that went down to below her knees and would swallow her whole if she put it on. Sending the picture off to Ayase and Kanako, I smiled at the trio's antics.

Kyoka: I told her a little about Kirino. Ayase seems like the type to take learning that the girl she knows is a lie poorly.

Kanako: No shit, Sherlock! Good call. Ayase would go nuts. Maybe we can get her used to the idea, a little at a time. This is a good start, onii-chan.

I raised an eyebrow at that. 'We?' I wondered. Well, I won't turn down Kanako's help.

Kanako: So, who are the two with Kirino? The short one's kind of cute, but the tall one looks like an otaku.

Kyoka: You're with Ayase now?

Kanako: Yes...

Kyoka: Tell her I said to show you the picture of Saori in her natural environment. And tell her I said keep it secret from Kirino. I want that particular reveal to be a surprise.

A minute or so passed before my phone pinged again.

Kanako: You have good taste, onii-chan. She's a hottie. You're also a bit of a magnificent bastard if you're going to use this rich girl to screw with Kirino's head. I like it. So, I take it you suckered Ayase into it by asking her to help with Kirino, right?

Kyoka: Yep.

Kanako: Called it. Manipulative bastard. I should warn Ayase not to trust you. She seems to have this image of you she's building up in her head as some kind, selfless older brother type. It makes me want to burst her bubble by showing her the real you.

I rolled my eyes. Kanako wouldn't do that, if only because it would spoil her own fun—or so I suspected. So I called her on it.

Kyoka: And ruin your own fun? I think not. As things stand now you and I are sharing secrets, and I think you like that.

Kanako: Maybe you're right. I suppose I'll just have to keep the real you all to myself for now. In exchange...

Kyoka: In exchange?

Kanako: Go out with me.

"That was forward of her. She had only met you once and had only known you for a few weeks," Ruri complained, crossing her arms and glaring. "I spent months getting to know you, carefully planned out when I would confess and the words I would use to win you over, only to have you turn those plans on their ear. And now, here we sit in limbo—not a 'yes,' but not a 'no' either."

I sighed quietly, running a hand down my face. "I told you, it's complicated."

"So you've said."

I turned a glare of my own on her. "There are rules. I am breaking them by telling you that much. Figure it out, detective."

Frowning, Ruri thought it over. "You say there are rules. One of them is that you cannot directly speak of the rules?" I made a rolling 'go on' gesture with my hand. "It's more complicated than that?" She hummed, tilting her head to the side in thought before saying, "You cannot speak directly of the rules to anyone who doesn't already know the rules?"

"Good enough," I said. "And now that you know..."

"You can discuss it with me." One finger came up to her lips as she pondered it. "Thus why you need me to figure it out myself. You cannot tell me what is so 'complicated' about your relationship with Manami even if you wish to, because that is one of the rules." I sat silently at that and she frowned. "Can you confirm that?"

When I remained silent, she guessed, "That is another rule, isn't it? You can confirm some things if someone guesses, but you cannot confirm others. Correct?"

"Correct."

"And this is the direct result of a promise between yourself and Manami?" she asked. I made that rolling 'go on' motion again. "And Saori?"

I nodded. "Correct, detective."

"Interesting," she muttered, before dropping to lay on her side. "Continue."

Kyoka: What's in it for me?

Kanako: You get to date me.

I could almost hear the girl's deadpan tone at that and snorted softly. "Someone has a high opinion of themselves."

"What's that, Kyosuke-shi?" Saori asked, turning my way.

"Nothing. Talking with one of Kirino's other friends."

Kirino turned a glare on me. "Gross. I told you not to speak to them."

"She texted me. Ayase was worried. Then Kanako was worried that Ayase was worried."

"Fine," she grumbled, turning away and storming off to the next booth.

Kuroneko rolled her eyes. "So melodramatic."

"Pot, meet kettle," I muttered in English, earning a glare from the shorter girl.

As the loli-goth stormed off after my sister, Saori dropped her hand on my shoulder. "You really know how to push her buttons. Don't let her fool you, she likes it. I think someone has a crush."

I followed along behind Saori, pulling up my phone again.

Kyoka: What if I don't have a loli fetish?

Kanako: Then you can learn to appreciate it.

Laughing quietly, I shook my head.

Kyoka: Some other time, perhaps.

Kanako: I'll hold you to that, onii-chan. Go, have fun with your friends. Our manager is getting annoying. Apparently I've had enough of a break.

"Do you have a loli fetish?"

I shot Ruri a blank look. "I told you, I don't have a favorite body type. I enjoy looking at most types equally. You are as appealing to me as Saori, Manami, or Kanako for different reasons. Why ask again?"

A small smile crossed Ruri's lips before she rolled onto her back, breaking eye contact. "I enjoy hearing it."

"Well," I said, "You know what happened after that. Ayase wanted to meet Kirino there and meet you and Saori for herself, she dug through Kirino's bag to see what goodies Kirino had collected, and left satisfied to have a playdate set up for later."

"What did she pull you aside for?" Ruri asked, shifting her head to regard me. "I saw she hugged you."

"Let me borrow your onii-chan for a moment!" Ayase demanded of Kirino. Before my sister or I could say anything one way or another, Ayase took my hand and led me off to the side of our group.

"What's up?" I asked quietly.

Ayase beamed up at me. "Thank you for telling me. I was worried it might be something horrible, but it's really not. I saw something on the news and I guess I overreacted."

I rolled my eyes. "Let me guess, the thing about the guy supposedly acting out things from some H-game?"

"How did you know?" she asked quietly.

"Because the media is full of shit. They came back and retracted that months later. The paper it first showed up in printed the retraction way in the back. The channels that carried it didn't bother with a video retraction and instead published at most three sentences about it on their websites to the effect of 'We apologize. We were mistaken because this man lied. Please forgive us.'"

"Oh."

"Yeah," I nodded. "Ayase, you seem like a good person and I'm glad you're one of Kirino's friends. But do us a favor? Don't believe everything you see in the news, okay? Do some research yourself. In fact, I've done a bunch of research on the topic already. If you want, I could send you my findings."

She considered it for a moment before nodding. "I think I'd like that." Biting her lip, she quietly added, "Thank you for not hating me for making assumptions."

I shook my head. "It's fine. Most people..." Are sheep. "Most people don't bother to acknowledge that they were wrong and never correct it. You're ahead of the curve that way." Reaching out, I mussed her hair, earning an adorable, wide-eyed look in the process. "Keep up the good work."

Ayase throwing her arms around me and burying her face in my chest was unexpected, but not necessarily unwelcome as she pressed herself flush to me. "I will! You as well, onii-chan."

The girl quickly released me with a blush on her face, turned and stuck out her tongue at Kirino, then turned and ran for the subway station. Kirino stomped over and glowered after her friend. "You were all over her. Keep your hands to yourself. What was that about?"

"Keeping your friend happy and still your friend," I deadpanned. "You're welcome." Turning to Saori and Kuroneko, I smiled and asked, "You two want to go get something to eat with us?" Saori opened her mouth and I quickly added, "Not McDonalds."