Chapter 2: Yang

There is a sort of relationship in this world, which is the unsavory type, and that's the sort of relationship that Yang Xiao Long and I share. Since our houses are located close to each other, it's only natural for us to attend the same school from our days in elementary school till junior high school. However, we were in the same class for nine consecutive years, and we even managed to get into the same high school. There may be some who might say that it's because our intelligence is roughly the same, but the problem is we've both been assigned to the same class again at high school. What can I say, other than our unsavory ties are extremely deep.

"Isn't this great? I'm poor at math and history, so I can copy your notes. You're not too good with sports, but I am. Let's help each other from now on." Not long after the end of the opening ceremony, Yang said that while slapping my back with a papapa sound, in our classroom that was still lingering with the smell of wax.

You're good at sports, but how are you gonna assist me with that?

"This guy's impressive. You'll see a mountain of CDs when you open his door, and they will all come tumbling down."

"Wow, why is that? Is his house a music shop or something?"

"Why have you been to his house before?"

Using me as a stepping stone, Yang had quickly blended herself in with the rest of our girl classmates which she had only met not too long ago. Her adaptability is really scary.

"Hey, what's your relationship with her?" A guy who was quite interested in me leaned over and asked me with a whisper.

"It's nothing, we just studied in the same junior high school."

"But didn't you help her tie her bow-tie prior to the opening ceremony?" Another guy suddenly spoke from behind me, and caused my face to go green from the shock. They saw?

"W-well, that's because…"

"Really!? Oh damn! Are you two a married couple!?"

"Isn't that the opposite from your normal situation? It should be the girl helping the guy!"

They are picking that sort of difficult-to-explain situation as a conversation topic.

Dammit, I hate Yang for that. I've taught her many times already - at the very least, remember how to tie those bow-ties by herself!

"Have both of you been together since junior high school?"

I shook my head for a few hundred times so as to deny it fervently, and all the guys around me heaved a sigh of relief. They pulled me away from the girls, and the group of us moved to a corner of the classroom. They then began to talk in whispers.

"Xiao Long-san's one the cutest girls in our class! That's just great."

"I always thought I liked a shy and short haired girl, but I realized now that I was wrong."

I listened to the guys' assessments with a dumbfounded expression, then looked at Yang's profile, who was still sitting on the table and chatting on the other side of the classroom. Her hairstyle back then was short, and it parted down the center, which made her look really fierce. Since she left her club during the autumn of our third year, however, she began growing her hair. Now, her hair is longer and looks prettier and more feminine. But wait, the problem is…

"That girl has a volatile temper, and she's a black belt in martial arts as well. Don't you think it's better if you guys stay away from her?"

"She's in the martial arts club? Should I go join them as well?"

"Do we have a martial arts club here?"

"Even then, most martial arts clubs split up the guys and the girls."

"Why must they be separated? They should allow everyone to practice prone techniques together!"

Can you guys listen to what others have to say!?

But as she sustained a back injury last year, she is no longer practicing martial arts. At about the same time when our enrollment into high school was confirmed, for some reason, she began learning the drums.

But then again, she had zero interest in music back in the past, and she probably couldn't start practicing on the drums by herself, right? As for her reason for wanting to be a drummer, this is what Yang told me, "Back during the new year, when the doctor told me I could no longer practice martial arts, I drank a bit of beer out of desperation… "

"The underage shouldn't be drinking."

"As I fell asleep in my drunken state, Bonzo appeared in my dreams."

Bonzo is the drummer of Led Zeppelin, and he died from suffocation because he inhaled his own vomit after puking in his drunken stupor. That didn't sound too good. She couldn't have seen his spirit while in a state of near death, right?

"And he said to me, 'All you have left is the drums, Yang.' Since Bonzo said that to me, I had no choice but to do it, right?"

"Was that really Bonzo?"

"I saw him continuously waving his hands at me while standing in the flower fields near the riverside. It's Bonzo alright. His Japanese was really impressive, though he spoke in Tsuguru dialect."

"… That's probably your deceased grandfather, who died last year."

It was only after entering high school, that I came to know the real reason Yang started practicing the drums. Everyday after school, she would continuously pester me into joining the Folk Music Research Club.

"But Naruto you didn't have anything to do afterschool, right? Come on, just join us."

"You're meddling too much. Speaking of which, what's with the Folk-whateverthing? There's no such club, right?"

I tried recalling the introduction booklet of the clubs in school which I got during the opening ceremony, as well as the parade of people who were waiting at the school gates to get the new students into their respective clubs. I don't remember seeing a club with such a complicated name.

"The so called folk music is actually referring to rock. If we were to call ourselves a rock band directly, the teachers would never approve it, moreover, with only Ruby and I, there's no way they would approve it either. So please, join our club!"

So that's the reason you are desperately trying to get me into the club!

"Stop trying to get me into a club that's not even established yet! Then again, who is this Ruby person?"

"My half sister who I just found out recently. She really is an awesome girl."

After a careful round of questioning, all the riddles were finally solved. It seems like Yang met this new sister of hers during summer last year. Her entering this high school via recommendations, and her reason to begin drumming, it was all because of this Ruby-somebody.

What a joke. I grabbed my bag and walked out of the classroom. All of our classmates were already focusing their attention on us as we had that conversation, and it felt really embarrassing.

Yang chased me and said, "Hey Naruto! Wait for me! What's wrong with joining the club? You have nothing else going on anyway, right?"

"I won't join that club even if I have nothing to do."

"Why?"

"Because… I won't stay long anyway."

I had originally wanted to say, "I was dragged to your training, and I gave up within a short time span of two days because you didn't know how to hold back - you know that as well!" However, for the sake of my health I never said it in the end.

"Really? Then what do you plan to do in high school?"

To study but obviously I couldn't bring myself to say such an insincere but politically correct answer.

"Isn't your life just boring then?"

"So your life's very interesting huh? Why do you care about whether my life is boring or not?" I said that without much thought, and Yang suddenly stopped in her tracks.

As I turned my head backwards, I saw Yang shifting her sight away from me, and was looking downwards slightly. What's happening now?

Yang turned her head away, and asked, "What do you think is my reason?"

I had no idea how I should reply to that. "Because you're very free as well?"

Yang's hands reached out for the collars of my shirt. Before I could even think, my body had already made a spin in the air, and my back slammed against the floors of the corridor.

"Ugh!" My eyes were filled with stars, and for a moment I could not breathe. Despite that, I tried to stand up by supporting myself on the wall with my hands. "Stop with those random shoulder throws of yours, alright!?"

"That's not a shoulder throw. That's a body drop."

"That's not the problem here! Are you trying to kill me!?"

"Stupid Naruto!" Yang punched me in the gut, turned around, and left.

What's with all that!? My reason for not joining a club was because of an extremely negative one like "finding it all bothersome." However, aside from that, there was another reason that could be considered as something positive I found something that I can do after school.

After watching Yang leave, I went to the first floor, and came to a small courtyard after walking out of the school's back gates. Next to a rusty rubbish incinerator that hasn't been used in a long time, stood a long narrow building. It was of a simple rectangular shape made of cement, similar to a park's public toilets. On its sides were several doors. Since it hasn't been used by anyone for quite a long time, the walls and doors of the building were covered with dirt, making it rather filthy.

The private school expands for no rhyme or reason, and to add on to all that, the number of students enrolling into the school is on a steady decline, all of these have resulted in the increase of many empty facilities and classrooms that are not in use. On the third day I entered this school, I had discovered that one can enter a room on the left side of this building. During my school exploration, I tried turning the handle with a kra kra sound, and the door just opened. Later, I figured out that by pressing the door handle diagonally downwards to the right and turning it forty-five degrees, the lock will open.

In the room, there was a tall metal rack, a locker and an old study desk. The walls were pasted with a sound absorbent material, that has many equally spaced circular holes on it. From the marks left on the floor, one can deduce that this place used to house a piano. As of now, the only thing that can be called the school's equipment, was some mini audio system placed next to the desk. Actually, this high school is my parent's almamater. I'd once heard from Mom, that this school used to have a music club, but it was abolished not long after she graduated.

There's a perk to the sound absorbers, I can bring in a huge stack of my CDs to this room, and listen to my favorite songs as loudly as I like. It's a good way to kill time after school. Should I be at home, my sister will definitely be there, resulting in me not having a place where I could enjoy myself in peace.

Since the condition of the room isn't too good, the sound proofing is not perfect. I'll have to stuff a towel into the gaps around the door before I can turn on the audio system. On that day, the first CD I listened to was the live album by Bob Marley, and was led into a reggae mood. I was probably affected by what Yang said. "Isn't your life just boring?"

I had never thought about that. Then again, it is quite a headache for me if my life is deemed boring just because I did not join a club. Isn't this just fine, you can consider it to be a Music Appreciation Club! I'm not causing trouble for anyone either. I am using this room without any prior approval, but since this classroom seemed to not be in use for a long period of time, plus the fact that I'll keep the classroom clean as long as I ensure that no one outside can hear the music that I'm playing, it should be fine, right?

⇆ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤㅤ↻

A few more days had passed. It was Sunday. In the morning, I had gone out with Yang to the arcade. When I returned home I found Naruko waiting in the entryway. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Did I do something to piss her off?

"Come with me."

"Why?" I asked. Naruko continued to glance at me from the corner of her eye.

"Life counseling. Part two," she muttered this thickly.

I know what she wanted to say, but why does she have to say it with such frank hostility? Is that really the proper attitude of someone asking someone else for advice?

"Part two, you say…?"

"J-just come."

Without even letting me properly take off my shoes, Naruko pulled at my sleeve. I might be overreacting, but her inability to actually directly take my hand is a bit irritating.

I was forcibly taken to my sister's room. As always, the room emitted a sweet smell. Naruko, who entered the room first, pulled out a chair in front of her PC, and beckoned me over with her index finger. What the hell is she trying to say? Was this not an advice session? Not knowing what my sister really wanted, I was bewildered.

"Sit here."

"Alright."

Naruko came to my side, and leaned one hand on the table, putting her weight on it. Naruko turned on her computer, and I soon found myself looking at the Windows startup screen. Soon, that screen was gone, and replaced by the desktop screen. A number of cat-eared girls relaxing in a living room adorned Naruko's desktop one corner of that cute desktop, there was an icon of a deformed cat peeking out from behind a wastebasket. There was a calendar in the upper left. In the upper portion, there was a messenger window open that was shaped like an oblong set of cat ears. Browsers and other icons were also lined up in an organized way.

"You're really into this stuff, aren't you?"

"Sure. I changed the skin, and used a cute launcher to dress everything up. It's pretty basic stuff, isn't it?" She let out a proud laugh.

Using a launcher and skin to dress something up? What the hell. Why is she using all these technical terms? There wasn't a single thing she said that I understood, but I think all she means is that she customized her desktop. Really, this type of showing off was pretty consistent with both her sides, as an otaku and as a famous girl in junior high school.

"Well? What's the point of showing me this?"

"I'm shocked. You still don't know?"

"As if I could know!"

From right beside me, Naruko gave me a scornful look. Taking the computer mouse, she spoke, "It's the game, the game. We're going to play it together."

"Wha-? That ero game… you mean, you and me? Together? you want to play an ero game with your brother?"

"Y-yeah," she answered without looking at me. She probably became a bit self-conscious that she was saying some pretty weird things, so this was hard for her to say.

Honestly, I don't know at all. Why do I, a guy who isn't even that friendly with his sister, have to stand here and play a game with her? Whether this was a competitive game or not, I was getting an unpleasant feeling about it…

Maybe she realized how puzzled I was, but Naruko tried to smooth things over. "You said it yourself, didn't you? That you would help me as much as you could, or something… "

"Well, I meant that I would give you my advice whenever you have trouble with your hobby… I thought that was the main point, why do I have to play this game so suddenly?"

"I-it's necessary! It's okay, so come on, hold this." I was forcibly given the mouse by Naruko. She was covering my own hand with hers, manipulating the mouse. She maneuvered it to the icon in the corner and double clicked.

Man, she's suddenly so tense… where was the usual cool attitude that she usually had? If I thought about it, maybe this was her real personality. She became so animated when she was doing this stuff. I only recently came to understand this though, and normally she blends into her surroundings and feigns innocence.

Cooling down, she casually looked at me with a cynical glint, slightly defiant. Wearing the latest clothing, talking about the latest gossip, going out with her friends to do karaoke or whatever… she was the embodiment of the "trendy junior high school girl". Do people say that anymore, or is it just me? Whether that was a good lifestyle or not, I wasn't really in a position to judge. But seriously, Naruko… regardless of all that, don't you want to play these kinds of games alone?

Oh well, I guess there's no helping it. I'll hang out with her for a bit, I guess. Exuding the spirit of a big brother, I watched as the game booted up and displayed on the screen.

Ping! A lively title screen showed up, and I was greeted by the voices of young girls. Little~ Sister~ Maker~ EX! Voluuume Four~! Welcome home, Onii-chan! Let's love each other!"

"NARUKO! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO GET ME TO DO!?"

"K-keep your voice quiet, idiot!"

I should get out of here. I should get out of here right away. I should have known when she led me into her room instead of into the living room to play. This damn girl, where in the world is there a brother who would play games like this with his sister? Am I a pervert or something!?

"You probably already knooow, buuut… Onii-chan? All the little sisters who appear in this game… they're all eighteen or older, okaaaaaay ~ ~?"

Eighteen my ass. Rubbing my temples to dull my headache, I turned to Naruko.

"Y-you… "

"Don't get so close."

Her words stabbed me like a poisoned knife. I wanted to say something, but seeing her face darken, I stopped in my tracks.

" Hey… what's wrong?"

"As I thought, you're making fun of me."

"Huh? What?"

"I guess you're all talk. You think it's a bad thing and you haven't even tried it… you say sweet things, but in your heart you think I'm weird… " She glared at me, obviously annoyed.

"No no, it's not like that… " I gloomily played with the head of the mouse in my hand. "I'm not making fun of you. Playing this kind of stuff in front of you just makes me feel awkward. You understand, don't you? You know, this isn't exactly the same as two people watching a kissing scene in a movie in the living room, right?"

"What the hell does that mean? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Could it be… that she really has no idea what I mean? Or rather, did I say something awkward? No, but I definitely had a point. Pointing to the screen, I spoke, "I don't know the particulars, but in this game, you probably get close to a virtual little sister, and then do this and that, right? And what's more, it's a game for guys above 18, right? So I mean, the natural conclusion is that during the story's climax, certain things would happen… " While Naruko put on an angry expression, I started up again. "You… watching those kinds of scenes with me, you don't think anything of it?"

"Ah!" Having finally realized what I was insinuating, Naruko's face flushed a brilliant red. "F-for me, I mean… I didn't realize what you meant before… don't say pointless things. And, the way you put it, you make me sound like some pervert."

Ah, I see, I know my mistake now. She's not playing these games because they're 18+, or because they include those kinds of scenes. When she says that she loves little sister characters, she doesn't really mean anything perverted by that.

Well, that should have been obvious, considering she's a girl… for now, that was my conclusion.

"Okay… I understand now, Naruko. I think I know where you're coming from now. Let's talk now, okay? It's alright… that is-"

"Click the screen, but gently, won't you~~?"

"Shut up Idiot! Don't interrupt at bad times!"

Geez, I'm yelling at a computer screen. I must be going crazy. This isn't good… I have to calm down.

"Hey, don't bully Chino-chan!"

"You also return to the real world. It's just a drawing."

"Don't call her a drawing!"

What are you shouting for? Ahh, dammit. What the hell. What should I do? Someone tell me. Man, this is getting out of hand… I exhaustedly collected myself, and tried to explain myself, "It was my fault. I spoke without really knowing the situation. I'm not trying to say that what you're doing is bad, or trying to make fun of you, not in the slightest. That is the definite truth. Please believe me."

Pursing her lips, Naruko looked at me with tear-filled eyes.

"But… I think this game is a bit too high of a hurdle for me right now. See, I'm still underage. I'm not trying to make fun of you, but playing this is impossible for me… I mean, do you see what I'm saying? I mean, this is probably a really interesting game, right? It's a game you recommended to me, right? That I understand all too well. So, I'm sticking my neck out here and asking you to please let me go this time. I know you're reluctant to, but I mean, playing this 18+ game not alone, but with my little sister next to me… unfortunately I just don't have the courage for that."

"Coward." My sister threw that scornful word at me.

You can get through this… you can get through this, Naruto! If I stop now, things will just get much more complicated.

Naruko gave a huge sigh. Hey, hey, I'm the one who should be sighing here. Naruko began talking as if nothing had happened. "Well… let's make it homework then."

"Homework?"

"Yes. After all, you don't want to play this next to me, right? So, let's call it homework. I'll lend you my laptop along with everything, and you can play the game by next week."

If I refuse her now, she'll get angry again and think I'm making fun of her, won't she? Feeling my cheeks cramping, I knew that in the end, I couldn't resist the oppressive aggression of my sister.

"Alright… so should I play this then? I should… play this?"

"Yes, exactly." Naruko moved the mouse with a triumphant look.

When she clicked to exit the application, the girl who was on the title screen, she must have been only two heads tall appeared again, and quickly bowed. Waving her hands energetically, she said a sorrowful goodbye.

"Onii-chan. Promise you'll come back to play, okay? ~ Bai-baiii." Chino-chan said with her cute voice

"Yeah, yeah… bai-bai… " You're quite something, aren't you? It's not like my sister has ever once called out to me like that.

⇆ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤㅤ↻

The next evening, wanting a cold drink, I went into the living room and saw Naruko there. She was in her usual uniform with the damn short skirt. She sat there like a queen, her legs crossed and reading a teen magazine. As always, she exuded an aura that said "servant, don't come near me."

Staring at the distant form of Naruko, I poured a glass full of cola and drank it dry. Feeling energized, I tried to leave the living room. But, when I put a hand on the doorknob, I heard a voice from behind me. "Hey."

"What is it?" I turned around.

Having momentarily taken her eyes off of her magazine, Naruko asked a terse question. "Did you do it?"

"What do you mean?" When I asked for clarification, Naruko tossed her magazine there, and stared at me like some famous performer would stare at an underling.

She muttered this, "You didn't play it?"

Wha-? How did she know that?

Seeing me flinch, Naruko continued to apply pressure. "Why? Didn't I say it was homework? Why haven't you done it yet?"

Why? Why do I have to get preached at by my sister just because I haven't played the ero game she lent me? What exactly has become of my life? I mean, man! It's because I've never really been able to speak my mind without holding back! What's sad is that even though I have a real little sister, I have to play an 18+ little sister game. Ah, seriously, I don't have an ounce of mental strength to resist this. Can anybody understand my predicament?

"Well because… I'm just a beginner, right? Even after reading the instruction booklet, I'm not too sure of how to play," I told her my lame excuse.

Looking furious, Naruko responded, "If that's the case, tell me that earlier!"

And then, I saw a complete change, almost like a performer changing characters backstage.

"Hmm… well, I'm only at the beginning stages, so I'll explain it to you. Come to my room." She caught my sleeve, and urged me upstairs.

We went out of the living room, but as we were climbing the stairs, I decided to try objecting. "But… the entire point yesterday was that I don't want to play it next to you, wasn't it?"

"Ah… right right. Geez, you're spoiled, aren't you? But come for now."

Dammit, why did she have to say that about me? Isn't that what I should be saying?

Having gone up the stairs, she brought me once again to her room. Naruko brought her computer back from standby, and said this, "I guess I can't help it, so I'll get out the version for all ages."

"If such a thing existed why didn't you get it out in the first place!"

"You don't understand at all. The all ages version and the 18+ version have the same title, but they're different games."

Isn't it cool of me to be actually going along with this conversation? Somebody compliment me.

"Huh… but the all ages version… isn't the only difference that they take out all the ero scenes, right?"

"If you say that, it's an insult to both the writers and the fans. Don't say it again… often, when I see that an 18+ game I have has gotten an all ages remake, I try it out. And then, I'm often saying to myself 'this is pretty different.' How do I put it? It just seems unsatisfying. there are things that you only can do in an 18+ version, I think."

"Huh, I really don't get it." I really have no idea at all.

"But, look, they added a heroine, and she's fully voiced. That's good, isn't it?" I said this, although I was still a bit troubled by the entire thing.

"I've said a lot, but I really just want to say that… the all ages version is also good, but if it's possible, I really want you to try the original version. That's why I left the original version for you as homework."

"Then, why are we using the all ages version now?"

"Because! You said that you didn't know how to play, remember? Be a bit more grateful that I'm showing you how to play."

Grateful, huh… dammit… I really have to do this, don't I? Taking the mouse, I watched as the game screen changed and I was faced with the display. The usual annoying Chino voice along with the "Loving my Little Sister" title appeared. Underneath the title, the message "Click the screen gently, okay?" flashed.

Naruko became unusually talkative, and from my side let fly various instructions. "Alright, start. First you put in your name… wait, why are you going with the default name? Put in your real name-your real name."

"Real… name…? Why? Do I have to?"

"Huh? Isn't it obvious? It's the little sisters calling your own name that makes you feel so good. Here, quickly… okay."

Dammit. Is it really alright to be doing this? Playing my first sister game with my real name… this was going to be tough, wasn't it.

So, then, I decided to listen to the explanation of the basic system of "Loving my Little Sister (All Ages Version)." Of course, because I had just started playing, I was only listening - there was nothing really for me to say. If I'm a bit slow, please forgive me.

Hmm… so in this game, the player, that would be me, primarily uses the left mouse button to scroll through and read text that appears on the lower portion of the screen. Or, as Naruko puts it, "Well, it's just a normal adventure game. You don't really need an instruction booklet." And so it seemed.

When I had glanced at the instruction manual that I had picked up just before now, I read that there were three fundamental things that, when put together, made up the game display: the text window, the background image, and the pictures of the characters. Furthermore, when special event scenes come up, the background display changes to an "event CG," a single drawing that helps liven up the game.

If I had to describe it honestly, I would call it a glorified, extravagant picture story show. The game's system was so simple, and how to operate the controls was also easy to figure out.

Well I guess even I can handle this much… putting in my name, and starting the game, I was presented with a blue sky background. Then, the protagonist's first monologue began.

"My name is Namikaze Naruto. If I had to describe myself, I would say I was an extremely commonplace high school student."

"What a boring guy… suddenly calling himself commonplace… Hey hey, after I went through so much effort putting in my own name, at least say something a bit more tasteful."

Hearing my first negative impressions, Naruko, with good timing, interrupted with an explanation. "Hey, just telling you, because they want the player to be able to easily empathize with the main character, they usually make the main character a very ordinary, plain person. And, so there is room for him to grow in the story, he's always a bit clumsy in the beginning."

Oh well, let's see if we can't stop being boring then. I'm counting on you, Naruto. And also… Naruko gets quite talkative when we're talking about this kind of stuff, doesn't she? Listening as Naruko excitedly continued to explain the game, I pushed the mouse buttons with a click, click, click, click…

When the ordinary, commonplace monologue ended, the screen blacked out. chirp chirp. A sound, not unlike the call of a tree sparrow, played.

Naruto: "Ahhhhh… I slept a lot. Well, since I stayed up so late studying yesterday, I guess I can't help it." He said a few more words, but we can skip those.

Well, in any case, I'll explain the gist of things that are being described on the screen. In this version of the game, the protagonist, Naruto, wakes up in his room, and for some reason his sister, Chino, is sleeping in the same futon. Chino is the pastel blue hair, timid looking small girl with horizontal bangs, she wears a black cross-style hair band on each side of her head. That's the scene that starts off the story.

Naruto: "Whaa… Chi-Chino-chan…?" Startled, I woke up fully, blinking rapidly.

Naruto: "You surprised me… Geez, Chino-chan, when in the world did you…"

Hm? Why is he being so calm about this? Hey, hey, be more conscious of the danger of the situation, Naruto. Are you still half asleep or something? Didn't you just wake up with your little sister sleeping next to you? Shouldn't you be shouting in surprise at a time like this?

"Hey, hey, seeing her sleeping soundly and defenselessly like that, how is it? You were surprised, weren't you?"

"Well… I mean. It's… normal? I guess." As Naruko went on to sing the praises of the Event CG, I gave that vague response. When I tried to click and advance again, suddenly, a new window opened in the middle of the display. "Oh?"

"This is a choice point. The player has to pick what the protagonist does at important plot points. And, depending on what you pick, your relationships with the little sisters will change, and afterwards the story will also change."

"Hm? Then, which one should I pick? There are three choices… "

"Huh? If you don't pick it yourself, there's no point in the game, is there? It's alright, in this game, all the choices are really simple," Naruko said this lightly.

I see. So it's like that, is it? Alright, time to pick what the protagonist is going to do. Alright… so, which one?

To the peacefully sleeping Chino, I will…

1. Gently hug her close.

Let's not do that one! Was I looking for trouble? If I'm with Naruko in this situation, hugging Naruko who's sleeping was an insane idea.

2. Gently pull out the futon so as to not wake her.

Hm… I guess that was the safe choice. But, come on, Naruto. If you don't teach her some discipline now, then it's going to come back to haunt you in the future. It's already too late for my sister, but you won't go down the same path as I did… alright, so I won't pick this one either. Without faltering, I clicked on the third option.

3. Without any hesitation, kick her off the futon.

Bang! (The screen shook a bit.)

Naruto: "Hey, don't go freely wandering into other people's futons! Wake up, idiot!"

Alright, that was definitely the appropriate action. Good job, Naruto . Heh, this is a pretty good game, isn't it? Alright, and next is…

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO CHINO-CHAN!?"

Bang! A counterattack flew at me from my real sister. The kick she let fly overturned the chair I was sitting on.

"Huh-whaa!? What the hell are you doing all of a sudden!?" I got up and issued this complaint, and was met with a fierce glare.

Naruko shouted, "Isn't that what I should be asking you!? Why the hell did you pick 'Without any hesitation, kick her off the futon'!? I seriously can't believe this, what the hell were you thinking!?"

"Why are you angry? I just want to teach her to not take me lightly!"

"What!? Is that how you treat your little sister? She just wants your attention and you kick her!?"

"W-well… um… you right, my bad, I'm sorry," realizing my mistake I offer my apology to Naruko.

Geez, my sister's strong, isn't she…? I did not see that attack coming at all. I guess Naruko's already grown up so it's already too late to do anything about her brutal behavior.

I sat back into my chair. Grabbing the mouse, I started the game again. Clicking and scrolling through Naruto's text, suddenly, the background music turned very sad.

Chino: "S-s-sorry… S-sorry Naruto Onii-chan… umm… I-I… last night… I couldn't sleep alone… . so then… and then… "

Naruto: "Huh? Are you saying something?"

Chino: "A-… n-nothing. It's nothing… e-ehehe! Good morning, Onii-chan."

Chino clutched at the part of her side which had been kicked, but even then she put on a courageous smile.

"He's a pretty terrible person, this protagonist."

"Ugh, that's the result of your own choice isn't it!? And I mean, to think this kind of scenario existed! I've never ever picked that choice before, so this is the first time I'm seeing this! Ah, damn it… she looks so pitiable, Chino-chan does…"

Naruko looked sympathetically at the heroine who was already subject to such harsh treatment so early in the game. But, Naruko, you treated me in a similar way just now… I wisely didn't point this out to her, and valiantly continued to play the game.

From the early morning, a gloomy atmosphere reigned in the Namikaze household. After the decision point, the protagonist Naruto turned into a tyrant and chased Chino out of his room. Afterwards, he changed into his school uniform and headed towards the dining room. There, six little sisters who all adored their big brother waited for the protagonist.

"Hey, Naruko? There are a lot of places where these girls look completely different. No matter how I look at it, they really don't look like blood relatives."

"They can't help that. Different people draw each of the heroines."

It was a silly question, but, wasn't that the most unhelpful answer she could have given? Well, whatever, this isn't exactly the place to make a snide remark. I left-clicked. The heroines having all gathered, the dining event started. Ping! The image changed to a viewpoint overlooking the dining table. Icons resembling each of the little sisters were scattered about the screen, flashing and growing bigger and smaller. In the upper half of the display, in a circular font stood the message "Onii-chan, who do you want to talk with~?"

"Oh? The display changed again."

"This is an event choice display. If you click the icon of the little sister you want to talk with, a conversation event with that little sister will start. And then, there will be more choices you have to make in the conversation, and according to what you choose, her affection points for you can go up or down."

"Hm. And what do you mean by 'affection points?'"

"It's a number that tells us how much one of the little sisters likes her big brother. If you don't get this number above a certain point, you won't be able to see certain events. There are also different endings based on this. So, fundamentally, seeing lots of events with the little sister you want to capture, and then raising her affection points is what you need to do in this game. And, also, if you raise the affection points of a number of the little sisters by a lot, then it'll be easier to unlock special scenes, like a Valentine's Day scene. So you shouldn't spend all your time with one little sister."

For some time now, Naruko has been a bit too feverish to explain all of this. Yada yada yada yada yada yada… is doing this that fun?

"I see… by the way, how many affection points do you have for me?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Nah, it's fine."

With that expression, I don't have to hear her answer to know. I wonder; in the real world, if my sister's affection points for me were not below a certain value, then would previously unseen special events also spring forth?

"So, that's generally how the game flows… understand?"

"Yeah."

Having finished her tutorial, Naruko then showed me how to save in the game, and turned off the game. Afterwards, she looked at my face to gauge my impressions.

"Any thoughts?"

"I don't have any yet… I just started, after all."

"I-I see… that's true, I guess… "

If I were to be honest, I would say that I don't think this type of game suits me at all. It wasn't a question of whether the game was interesting or not. It's just that, for people who have real little sisters, the idea of enjoying the affections of a fictional little sister is hard to imagine… no matter how many times Chino and the others made a cute face, and said cute things, and sought my attention, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from thinking that they had ulterior motives. How do I put it… little sister cynicism? For example, if Naruko were to play a game in which you captured big brothers, do you think she would be able to sincerely enjoy that game? It's impossible, wouldn't you say? It's just like that for me in this case. But, I mean, I already said that I would try this game. I guess I'll play just this one to the very end.

"Hmm, so, what should we do next, I wonder." Looking like she was having fun, Naruko opened up a folder and meandered the cursor around…

Could it be that she wasn't satisfied with just one little sister game, and wanted to make me play another one? I was too afraid to ask, but this was probably the case. As I thought, she was serious about this. But honestly, whatever the point of all this is, I don't really feel obligated to do so much… however, somehow, I understood why Naruko was making me play these little sister games.

"Hey… Naruko."

"What? Why do you look so serious?"

"For you… at your class, is there anybody you can play these games with, who you can talk about these games with?"

Upon hearing my question, Naruko's expression became vacant, and she looked slightly downwards. "That doesn't matter, does it?"

I see. I recalled the earlier scene of Naruko walking with her classmates. Amongst that lot, not one of them probably watched child-oriented anime, or played little sister games. And, I mean, that was the image I had of my sister until a little while ago. If I were in Naruko's position, I also probably wouldn't feel like looking for people with similar interests in order to come out in the open with my hobbies.

"Well, it doesn't have to be a classmate… do you know anybody who has the same hobbies, who you can talk to openly about games and anime?" At this second question, Naruko did not nod.

"That doesn't matter."

I see. And so she came to encourage me to take up the same hobby. She wanted to be able to talk about it together. Hiding your hobby from everyone around you, and only enjoying it by yourself… that's a pretty lonely existence.

Yesterday, Naruko had taken me to this room, and said that she wanted to continue the "life counseling" session. But I think that was just a simple excuse… that it wasn't really for "life counseling."

It really wasn't. Somehow or other, she just wanted to do this. You're lonely, aren't you? But you don't want to admit that. That's true, isn't it? - you're not being honest with yourself. But, honestly, I can't really get into your hobby much more than this. If there was some other person instead who could, that would be the best. It would definitely save me a lot of trouble.

"Hey, Naruko… " I inclined my neck and looked at the ceiling. "Do you… want to make friends?"

"H-huh?" Naruko's eyes widened in surprise. Her expression revealed her inner thoughts of What is this idiot saying?

So far so good. With unusual determination, I stared right back at my sister. I put on a bold smile, and turned the chair around. With the air of a life counselor, I pointed towards the bed. "Sit there please." Naruko looked like she wanted to object, but in the end reluctantly did as I said. Well, alright, I guess she's willing to listen to what I have to say. "You said it already, right? You asked me 'what should I do?' And, at that time, I didn't give you any good advice. So now, I'll give you an answer. Go make friends."

"Fri… ends?"

"Yes. People who have the same hobbies, who, when you start talking about these things, whether it be anime, or games, or 18+ things, they will be able to properly engage in the conversation. Of course, those kinds of people would never look down on you or make fun of you, because after all, you're all birds of a feather."

"So you mean… I should make otaku friends?" I nodded. Sitting on the bed, Naruko thought seriously about this while biting her lip and clutching her knees. But… at long last, she muttered this, "I don't want to… make otaku friends. If we're together, people will also think I'm one of them."

"Again, isn't that ridiculous talk? You're a huge otaku, aren't you?"

"N-no, that's-"

"No? Then, what are you? I mean, if you can, please answer that for me." Having finally become a bit fed up with my sister's attitude, I tried to corner her with my words. Naruko looked downwards in shame and was silent. Her shoulders shook. I clicked my tongue. "The one who's all talk, the one who's making fun of otaku, that's you, isn't it? I said it already, didn't I? Whatever hobby you might have, they won't make fun of you. So, what do you think? People who have the same hobbies, who don't hide but are open about being otaku, do you really think they could make fun of you?"

Naruko raised her head, and gave me a penetrating glare.

"That would be impossible, right? It would make no sense. It would be like someone making fun of himself."

"That's not the issue! It's a matter of public image!"

"Public image?"

"Yes, public image. Certainly, I like anime and I really like eroge. You could say I love them."

You could say… to hear that from a junior high school girl and my own sister, what should my reaction be?

Seeing me draw back, Naruko spoke arrogantly, "Of course. Being with my friends at school is also really fun. But, this stuff is also fun. I can't just pick one. So there's no helping it, is there? What I like is what I like." Naruko looked as proud as she usually was. "But, I also know that the world tends to look coldly on otaku… and Japan is the most prejudiced in this way… don't you think so?"

A junior high school girl. As a student in a junior high school, she must understand this all too well.

"Umm… so what I want to say is… that is… I belong to both sides of this." She told me her feelings, but couldn't find the best words to express those feelings, so she was stumbling on her words a bit.

What she was saying was jumbled and difficult to understand… but I think that I got the gist of what she was trying to say. She liked anime and loved eroge. But, she also really likes being with her friends at school, so she can't choose one at the expense of the other. She had a normal school girl side, and an otaku side. Both these sides were joined together in her person. This is probably what Naruko wanted to say. Probably.

"But… because of that, I don't want to tell the truth to my parents, and I definitely don't want to tell the truth to my friends. If that happened, I really wouldn't be able to go to school anymore."

Public image. For a student, it was an important thing, perhaps even more so than for adults. Everyone understands that junior high school students are just the type to exclude someone socially and relentlessly attack them as if they were some foreign object. I knew this. I knew this all too well. I guess it's pretty natural that anyone would care a lot about their public image. Preserving your public image or embracing your hobbies… what a dilemma. Not being able to talk to anyone about this, you tried your best to deal with it, didn't you, Naruko? I understand your problem now, Naruko.

"So, in other words, as long as you don't have to tell your classmates, you're fine with making some otaku friends?"

"Y-Yeah… I guess… that'd be okay."

"Then that's fine. Without ever exposing yourself to your classmates, then, you should go find otaku friends."

And that's how it was. Well, I had at least reaffirmed Naruko's feelings. And if she had a mind to make friends, then somehow or other we'd manage, I think.

"What? Do you have a good plan or something?"

"How about trying to participate in an offline meeting for someone who shares the same hobbies with you?"

"… Offline meeting?" When I told my sister my idea, that she should try to find some offline meetings to participate in, my sister shut up with a strange expression.

"You don't like it?"

"It's not… that… " She looked downwards and thought for a few seconds, but before long raised her head and spoke, "I understand. Let's try it."

Oh? That was a pretty straightforward answer. How unexpected.

"You can access the sites on your phone too."

"I know already."

Naruko took out a cell phone from somewhere, and with a tatatatatatata, began tapping away on the keys at incredible speed. Pretty amazing. I would definitely not be able to do that. I guess they do exist, the girls who are damn fast with their phones. As these thoughts flew through my head, Naruko clicked her tongue.

"Tch. I registered but I need a referral letter from someone… this is pretty annoying… "

"You have a lot of friends at school, right? Just contact them through e-mail or whatever right now, and get a referral letter from someone who's already a member."

"Idiot. You can't mix my front and back sides, can you? If you did that, it would leave a trace."

"I see… "

The two sides? Well, I guess the frontside would be the Namikaze Naruko who is a modern junior high school girl who models for teen magazines. And, the backside would be the Namikaze Naruko who loves little sisters and likes anime, and who really loves eroge. What a terrible gap between these two sides.

"Hmmm… well, there are SNS sites that are only for anime and games, right? Try to look for one that doesn't need a referral letter."

"Yeah yeah."

As I gave my instructions, Naruko, seeming reluctant, fumbled around with her cell phone, and registered on an SNS site meant for otaku. And then, first she had to make her profile page.

"It's asking you to input a username. Pick one quickly."

"Saying that to me… I can't just decide one that quickly, can I?"

"This is something you can't change later, right? You should pick a good one from the start, a good one. You could use other screen names as a reference too for what you can pick. See, look here, you have to enter in something something, here."

As I was urging her on while peeking at her cell phone screen from her side, Naruko turned the cell phone away from my gaze, looking quite annoyed at my pushing. She entered in a username, and showed it to me.

"Alright, how's this?"

"What exactly is this 'Naruru~: this_guy_next_to_me_is_being_really_annoying' thing?"

"My screen name. Cute, isn't it?"

Was she trying to tick me off?

"H-hey… wait… if you write 14 in the ages column, it's risky to put little sister eroge as a hobby, isn't it?"

"But it's the truth. This is my hidden side, remember? If I had gotten a referral letter from a classmate or a modeling friend, I wouldn't be making this kind of profile."

I guess. If I was reading a female classmate's profile page, and saw her passion for eroge spelled out on it, I would burst out laughing. Then, when I saw her the next day, I really wouldn't be able to behave normally. And that's why, like you, she should keep this separate identity to be safe. That's a good point. But there was another thing that was bothering me…

"Hey, why have you been looking so down for a while now?"

"Well… "As Naruko was carrying out my plan, she seemed quite nervous. Why was that? Straining my ears, I listened to my sister's explanation. "I mean… it's just that I'm a bit scared of this type of social networking… I mean, in the end, the people with the same hobbies are going to be guys I think… and not only that, but older guys I think… this isn't a stupid reason, right? I mean, it's not that I don't like this idea… but, I mean… I guess… I'm just a bit scared."

"I see… that's… how it is… "

It was a blind spot. This was quite a huge yet fundamental problem, wasn't it? This was completely different than networking with classmates or her modeling friends. Forgetting that they're otaku and so on, it must be frightening for a junior high school girl to make friends with older men. Even if it's just online. It would be all the more awkward to meet them in person… so really, in the end, she really had to look for girls of the same age who shared the same hobbies…

Are there people like that? Junior high school girls who share the same hobbies as Naruko, are there really people like that? Or is it just my sister? I scratched my head in frustration. What should we do now?

"So… could you… look for girl-only groups? Might as well give it a try… "

"I'll try."

Naruko started typing on her cell phone, searching for the right community. From her side as usual, I interjected.

"What about… this one?"

"Hm? This one?"

"Yeah. Heh, so these types of groups actually exist… click on it and check it out."

The community we found was titled "Otaku Girls Unite!" There were around twenty members. Whether that was a lot of a little, I'm not sure, but it sort of had the feeling of a small club. To join the community, you have to write in your age and gender and send in a message asking to join, and if the admin refused your request you could not join. And, what's more, there was a topic called "tea party invitation" visible. Because we weren't members, we couldn't see the actual details, but it seemed like the kind of offline meeting we were looking for.

"Hey Naruko. This one might be alright."

Even if there were guys posing as girls in this group, there's no way they would go to an offline meeting for all girls. So that wouldn't be a problem. I thought this was a perfect opportunity, but for some reason Naruko's expression was not as agreeable.

"Hm… uhh… yeah I see… "

"What's wrong with you? Is there something else bothering you?"

"Not really, but… "

"Well, how about you send them a message to tell them you want to participate? Here, with this button."

"Umm… " Naruko stared at the message composition screen for a while, and then suddenly looked at me and asked this, "What exactly should I write?"

"Hmm. Well, you should just tell them your intentions, right? That you want female friends who share the same hobby."

Naruko nodded, wrote the message, and sent it.

Your message has been sent.

Seeing that notice, I felt that my duty was half completed. If Naruko could make friends with girls who could understand her hobby… then I would be relieved from duty. But for some reason I feel sad. In these few days, we've talked more to each other than we have in four years. And, I also discovered a surprising side of my sister. It wasn't just her strange hobby. I also caught a glimpse at the hidden part of my sister that got scared when she couldn't figure something out and gave up. It felt as if I was able to slightly feel the inner heart I could not hope to look into. I guess I was a bit happy. Although I don't really understand any of it either.

"Alright then. So I only have to wait for a response… "

"Do your best, okay?"

"Yeah," Naruko nodded.

I raised the corners of my lips and smiled. For my sister… if she could find friends better than me who she could have fun with, who she could chatter with without any restraint, that would be great. But for just a small amount of time until then, I would fill that void in their place.

⇆ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤㅤ↻

The next day, the "Otaku Girls Unite!" admin sent us back a favorable reply. When we returned home from school, I was dragged to Naruko's room in the usual manner, and now, I was reading the response message from the community admin, whose user name was "Satania Mira."

"Nice to meet you, Ruko-sama. My name is Mira, and I am acting as the administrator for the "Otaku Girls Unite!" community. I will not waste any time, so thank you very much for your message expressing your interest to join. Of course I will gladly approve your request. Given your age and hobbies, I am sure that we can become great friends. If you want… in a few days we are planning a meeting, and would be pleased if you could join us for tea. There are lots of things I want to talk about… please consider it. Until next time, thank you very much."

"So her name is 'Mira,' this admin seems like a really polite person, doesn't she?"

From the contents of that letter, I felt the air of a well brought up young woman. How do I say this… it exuded a smell of elegance. Was it just wishful thinking? No, my intuition told me that there was no mistaking this for a beautiful young woman. When she became conscious of how I was acting, Naruko looked at me as if she were looking at some unclean thing.

"Gross. What are you grinning for?"

"I'm not grinning. I was just thinking that I'm glad she seems like a good person."

"Well… I guess. Seems sorta like a proper daughter from a high class family, doesn't she?"

"Yeah. So, you're going to go, of course, right?"

"Mmm. I'll do it," Naruko nodded, but for some reason she seemed stiff.

Geez, she's been acting like this for a while… it seems like there's still something she's worried about but is hiding from me. We've already solved the issue of her being afraid to make friends with older guys… what is there other than that? This bothered me, so I asked. "Hey, there really is something still bothering you, isn't there?"

"Not really."

This attitude again. It looks like she really just doesn't want to say. Although this is pretty annoying. Well, at the very least, I guess I can just continue to encourage her.

"I see. Well, do your best then."

"Huh? Why do you say that as if it's not your problem anymore?"

"What?"

As I creased my eyebrows, Naruko faced me and said, "Come with me to the meeting."

This girl…

"What the hell are you talking about, how exactly do you want me, a GUY, to participate in an all girl meet up?"

"What if you crossdress? A little makeup should be okay."

"Hell no! You say that so casually, but if I'm discovered, wouldn't they make me out to be some pervert who wanted to take such a huge risk just to go to an all girl meeting!?"

"I'm prepared to take whatever risk, so it'll be alright."

"This isn't your problem! It's about me! I have absolutely no desire to carry the dishonor of being labeled a pervert! It's not alright at all!"

"Tch. Fine!" It seemed like Naruko finally agreed with my reasoning. Nodding earnestly a few times, she pursed her lips and grumbled. "I guess it can't be helped… well, should we go for a more direct plan of attack then?"

"You make it sound like I'm the one who really wants to go and am asking you for a favor or something… well whatever, I'll listen for now so go on. What do you mean by 'more direct plan'?"

"Well, what if I sent this Mira-san a message saying 'My brother was a huge otaku, and for some reason he insisted that he wants to go to an all girl tea party. He looks really lonely so would it be alright if I brought him along?' Or something like that."

"You make me an open pervert instead of a sneaky one. And I mean, they would probably reject such a proposal. It was an all girl's meeting, so bringing a guy would be very frowned upon." I told this to Naruko, and her mood darkened. Biting her lower lip, she glared at me.

"So, what are we going to do!?"

"As I said, going with you to this meeting would be impossible… come on, stop glaring at me like that. Uhh… hold on… hmm… " I looked at the "Otaku Girls Unite!" community page. Clicking on the topic about the offline meeting, the details of the meet up were displayed."See, this place… it's a café right? It's not like you need a reservation, right? So then, I'll go with you and sit in a seat next to yours. It's not like I can talk to you from there, but at least I can watch you."

I mean, this was my idea, but just sitting at a table next to her probably wasn't what she wanted.

I was expecting her to respond with her usual scorn and disdain, but suddenly… "… I understand. That's fine."

I don't know why, but Naruko was sincerely nodding her head. Surprised, my eyes widened. "I see."

Incidentally, Naruko never really made it clear why she wanted me to go with her, did she? But it's a bit too late to ask that now… but is it alright if I'm just there with her, even if I can't participate? I have no idea what's going on… well, anyways, that's how it was. Next Sunday, I will go with my sister to the "Otaku Girls Unite!" community offline meeting, and would watch over her from the shadows.