Chapter 2: The Little Sister's Hidden Side

In our house, dinner happened at seven o'clock sharp. If you weren't at the dinner table at seven, then you weren't going to be eating dinner there at all that day.

It was six forty-five. Scratching my head, I left my room and went down the stairs. But, I suddenly stopped mid-descent. Right beneath my eyes, I saw the figure of Naruko around the entryway.

Ah, so she came back. Now that I think about it, Naruko's curfew was 6:30PM. Setting aside whether that time was too early or too late, it seemed that she honored her curfew.

Today, Naruko had on a black and orange striped T-shirt, as well as a black something that looked like a mix between shorts and a skirt. I don't really know, but it looked like something of the Sesi brand. If she were called a fashion model, then everyone would probably believe it. Pretty cute, isn't she? But I didn't really want to approach her. Because she seemed to dislike me, it was probably best that we keep our distance from each other. But no matter how often I repeated that to myself, it wasn't like we could stop being brother and sister. I just have to deal with it, I guess. So I waited there on the stairs for her to go to dinner.

Hm? But this was quite weird. The living room door was right next to her, but she did not head towards the living room, and instead just stood in the entryway looking dazed. What exactly is she doing? Well, I didn't want to look like an idiot just standing there, so I descended the rest of the stairs. I stood in front of the living room door, my hand on the knob. Suddenly, I turned my head.

"Something wrong?"

"Huh?"

Whoa, what an intense stare…

Dammit. Knowing this type of thing would happen, why did I have to open my mouth? Am I an idiot?

"It's nothing." Clicking my tongue, I turned the living room door knob forcefully.

On the dining room table was tonight's dinner of curry and miso soup. This room where we gathered to have our meals functioned as a living room, a dining room, and a kitchen, so it had no dividers and was very spacious. My sister and I sat down in empty seats, directly across from our mother. The newscaster on the television chattered away about overseas exports as well as other current events. My mother was chewing some pickled vegetables. Her name is Uzumaki Kushina. From her appearances, Mom looked like a 20 years old woman despite her age who's already in late 30s. My sister was very silent. In this family, my sister was fundamentally unsociable. Silently eating her meal like that, I thought she really looked like my late father… incidentally, I've been told that I take more after my mother. Our family's dining room was also a typical, normal family table, and for that I was grateful.

Eating my curry silently, I looked for an opening to enact my plan. It was, of course, a plan to identify the owner of the DVD. Although, it isn't as complicated as I make it sound. It was a simple plan with no twists and turns. In a word, because pure logic would not get me anywhere at that point, now that all the suspects were gathered in one place, I could fish for the culprit a bit.

And then, there was the opportunity I was looking for. Draining my clam miso soup, I spoke to no-one in particular, "I'm going to the convenience store after dinner. Does anybody need anything?"

"Ah? Then please buy me some of the new Haagen Daaz ice cream. The seasonal one."

"Sure." After this conversation with Mom, I nonchalantly started talking again. "Oh right. One of my friends has recently gotten into some girl's anime. Umm… I think it was zodiac witch something, or something like that."

"What's this, so suddenly?" At my bait, the first response I got came again from Mom. Could it really be that…

"Well it's nothing, just that he thought it was interesting and recommended it. I was wondering if I should give it a try…"

"Eh, that sounds like something an otaku would do, doesn't it? Come on, I learned about this kind of thing from the media. It would be bad if you turned into something like that, wouldn't it?"

Honestly this stuff generally doesn't leave a good impression, does it? For me, I don't really care what hobbies other people choose to take up. After all, it has nothing to do with me. But, objecting to my parent's words would be really annoying, so I just responded with a noncommittal "uh-huh."

Well, I guess Mom is not the culprit after all. She never faltered at all at my comments. I'm speaking, of course, about the owner of the DVD. So then… by process of elimination… the only one left is… I discreetly glanced at Naruko out of my peripheral vision. Naruko was intensely biting her lip. She had stiffened with all her might, to the point where the tips of the chopsticks she was holding were trembling.

Wha-? … Could this mean…

"… What's wrong, Naruko?" Mom called softly to Naruko upon detecting her unease.

"Nothing… thanks for the meal." Naruko, looking quite annoyed, rose from the table and briskly walked out of the room. She closed the door with a loud 'bang!' I heard the 'dan, dan, dan, dan, dan' of her footsteps going up the stairs. The two of us left at the table were dumbfounded.

"… What's gotten into her today?"

"Wh… who knows…" I appropriately answered to my obviously dumbfounded mother. But honestly, I had no idea what had just happened either. What did she get angry at?

Something was said in the previous exchange between Mom and me that really made her angry. Maybe she was the real culprit, and realized exactly what I was doing, but that would be all the more stranger. Normally, Naruko would never get so agitated and be so easily caught red-handed by me. So, why did this happen? Naruko, I don't understand you at all.

But… Naruko's behavior was anything but usual… I also have to take into account that she definitely reacted to my comments. Of course, this wasn't definitive proof that she was the culprit, but at the very least, this heightened my suspicions that the DVD belonged to a family member… but could it possibly be, that the "Zodiac Angel Lucifiel" DVD I picked up in the entryway belongs to… my sister?

If I assumed that… a lot of things would make sense. The time she dropped the item was probably the time she bumped into me earlier in the evening. At that time, when the contents of her bag spilled out, this thing may have fallen into the crevice between the shoebox and the wall. And then, she went out and realized that this item was missing. And, this also explains why she seemed like she was looking for something in the entryway right before dinner. Continuing along these lines, if my theory about the mismatched DVDs was correct, then Naruko meant to bring "Zodiac Angel Lucifiel" with her and not "Loving my Little Sister."

But still. I can't even begin to imagine why she had to bring this with her when she went out. I thought that she was just going to hang out with friends, and there's no reason for a girl who's going to a mixer like that to bring an anime DVD, is there? I mean, she definitely was going to meet with her friends… I just don't understand. For one, until this day I could not imagine Naruko ever having to do with children's anime. Was I wrong? Is the owner really Naruko? That's impossible, isn't it? It's nice that I came up with this theory of Naruko's guilt, but so far in my heart I was still less than half convinced. Well, for now, let's see if we can set a little trap.

"Thanks for the meal." Having finished my meal, I left the dining room table. I stopped by my room to grab my wallet. Stopping in front of my sister's room, in a forced tone, I spoke, "Alright. Time to go to the convenience store."

I have no acting ability, do I? Well, whatever. It's not like I thought this was going to work. Instead of a trap, this was turning into some clownish sideshow. With a 'dan, dan, dan,' I went down the stairs. With a 'bang,' I left the house and shut the door. Leaving the house, I walked towards the convenience store. Rounding the corner, however, instead of going towards the convenience store, I walked along a different path that led me to the back of the house.

What exactly was I planning to do? Well, I guess I was trying to think from the perspective of the culprit. If Naruko was really the culprit, then she probably already knew that I had her DVD. So, then… if I were in Naruko's position, what would I do? Well, she would definitely want to take the DVD when I'm not looking, and then feign innocence… that's the only thing she could do. Naruko was obviously in a strange mood earlier. She lost her cool. And in that state… when I left she may have finally reached the end of her patience and started looking for her DVD in my room. I mean, the chances of this ploy working were pretty low, but I wanted to try something rather simple.

Ahh, as I expected, it's not good is it… or wait… could it be… I went in through the kitchen door at the back of the house, and sneaked quietly up the stairs. And then, I forcefully threw open the door to my room. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?!"

"Ah!" In the middle of the room, Naruko was crawling on all fours. At my entrance, she paled and swiftly turned her head in my direction.

"I asked you, what are you doing?!"

"I-it's nothing. D-don't worry about it," Naruko shuttered, with her behind still facing me. She seemed nervous, and her breathing was uneven.

"How is it fine? Freely walking into another person's room and looking around… what would you think if the same thing happened to you?" And also, of all places, wasn't where she was sticking her hand where I kept all my Icha-Icha books? Instilling my words with a sense of inexpressible anger, I had spoken calmly.

Without speaking, Naruko turned away. Maybe it was from anger, but she began to blush. Then, without a word, she slowly stood up and walked this way.

"Out of my way."

"No. Answer my question-what were you doing here?"

"I said out of my way!"

"Don't play dumb. You were looking for this, weren't you!"

While she glared intensely at me at point blank range, I slowly took out the "Zodiac Angel Lucifiel" DVD case which I had hidden under my shirt. Naruko's response was quite dramatic.

"T-that's!?" Naruko threw an intensely threatening glare my way, and reached out for the case, but I skillfully evaded her hand.

With an excessive look of triumph on my face, I beat my palm against the back of the DVD case. "Hm. So this really was yours, wasn't it?"

"N-no, there's no way that could be mine!" She spoke in a clearly displeased voice and obviously did not want to continue this conversation. Hey, hey, at least make an attempt to make your words and actions consistent, then.

"It isn't yours? I picked this up in the entryway this evening. Isn't it something you dropped when you bumped into me?"

"Definitely wrong… it's not mine… th… that kind of… otaku thing… there's no reason I'd watch something like that."

She's completely set on denying it, isn't she? We're not going to get anywhere like this.

"Well, if you weren't looking for this, what exactly were you doing in my room?"

"Well, that is… that is… "

"That's what? What is it?"

Upon my prodding, Naruko once again fell into silence. Her shoulders shaking pitiably, she bit her lip and cast her eyes downwards. It was obvious that my questioning had left her incredibly embarrassed. For example, imagine if someone you hated came up to you and said "Hey, this ero book, it's yours, right? Hehe~" That would be horrendous; it would be so embarrassing that you'd want to die.

"… Tch." Her glare was cruel, and her cold hostility struck me.… dammit. Why does she have to glare at me so hatefully?

"Hey." I casually held out the DVD case to Naruko. My sister looked up at me with hatred gleaming in her eyes. "This is something important, isn't it? I'll return it, so please accept it."

"B-but, it's not mi-"

"Then take it and throw it away."

"Wha-?" Naruko looked up at me with a puzzled expression. What's with that look? It wasn't like there was any reason I should continue teasing her like this. I was only curious who this DVD belonged to, and now I know that. Why would I want to keep going back and forth like this with her? I didn't reveal these thoughts to Naruko, but I chose my next words to ease the tension.

"My bad. It was a misunderstanding. I know now that this doesn't belong to you. I don't know who it belongs to, but it somehow found its way to me. I'm apologizing, and then please, won't you throw this away for me?"

After I had made that attempt to calm the situation down, Naruko suddenly spoke. "… Uh… i-it's okay. Whatever." With that, she took the DVD case from me.

I stepped to the side, and Naruko opened my door and walked out of my room. I advanced into the center of my room. Geez, that was so unexpected! How many years has it been since I've spoken with my sister like this? I'm so tired… falling into my bed with a 'thud', I stared up at the ceiling. And then, my sister's voice appeared, even though I had thought she had left the room long ago.

"… H-hey?"

"Huh?" She's still here? How annoying, can't you just leave?

When I turned my eyes on her, I saw that she was shyly looking at me. She wore a charming facial expression that I would have never expected her to normally have.

Wh-what is this? What's going on?

"What?" I asked, feeling a bit uneasy.

"… Do you… do you think it's strange?"

"What is?"

"That is… okay, this is just hypothetical… it's like this. If I… really owned that DVD… I'm asking you, is that strange?"

"Not really? It's not that strange, is it?" I answered. I wanted to get her out of my room as quickly as possible, and if I didn't answer like that she would just get angry again.

Geez, why did she still want to fight over this? Didn't I return the DVD to her to protect her pride and avoid conflict? After all, her clumsiness is what caused this problem in the first place… she should be thanking me, why is she still so resentful?

"You… really think that?"

"Yeah. Whatever hobbies you might have, I definitely wouldn't make fun of you for it." Because it really has nothing to do with me.

"Really"

"You're stubborn, aren't you? Yes, really. Believe me please." I chose my words a bit carelessly, but somehow or other Naruko seemed to be satisfied with my response.

"I see… alright." Nodding her head repetitively, and holding "Zodiac Angel Lucifiel" with almost religious fervor, she ran out of the room.

Why did this scene evoke such a sense of nostalgia in me? I feel like something like this has happened in the past long ago… but I've forgotten what.

"… She could have at least shut the door." Grumbling, I collapsed into my bed, facing skyward.

A-Side ~ |[●▪▪●]| B-Side ~

It was late at night. I was sleeping peacefully, when with a 'smack', I felt a sharp pain on my cheek.

"W-wha!?" What a terrible wake-up call. Something really knocked into my cheek hard. W-what is it!? A burglar!? Terrified, I hurriedly opened my eyes.

So bright. It seemed like the lights had been turned on. I felt a heaviness on my stomach, but it didn't seem like my arms or legs were restricted. Pretty sloppy for a burglar, isn't it? Ascertaining the identity of my attacker, I opened my eyes wide. Due to the unexpected night attack, I could hear my heart beating.

"Be quiet." The attacker's identity was revealed to be Naruko, who was in her pajamas. My upper half sprang up. She was right over me on all fours. Her face, which bore none of its usual makeup, closed in on me.

"… Wha… it's you? What exactly do you-"

"I told you to be quiet. How late do you think it is?" Naruko said threateningly in response to my accusatory question.

" 'How late do you think it is?' - shouldn't that be what I should be asking?"

I'm on my own bed, my sister is sprawled over me, and we're staring at each other at point blank range. What in the world is this situation? Taken out of context, it seemed like a scene straight out of a romantic comedy novel, but my heart was bursting with an entirely different feeling.

"For now, get off my bed," I said while trying to steady my breathing. With a clearly indignant expression, Naruko obliged. If this were another girl, I would have also been really bewildered but probably for a different reason. But with my sister sprawled on top of me, the only thing that really bothered me was her weight. No matter how I looked at her, it never really registered that Naruko was part of the opposite sex. Guys who have a sister should understand this feeling.

Rubbing my temples with my fingers, I sighed and then began talking, "So? What do you want with me?"

"… I have something I want to talk about, so come with me."

Geez, why do you look so angry? I'm the one who should be angry, with you slapping me on the cheek like that. But, I'll be a nice guy and entertain you right now.

"You need to talk? At this time?"

"Yes."

"I'm really sleepy though… is this something that really can't wait until tomorrow?" I said this in an obviously annoyed tone, but Naruko did not nod her head. Instead, she looked at me with an expression that said "Are you an idiot?"

"Tomorrow is no good. It has to be now."

"Why?"

"Just come with me."

Alright, alright. She didn't give me a reason. She also was obviously not giving up. Geez, this girl is so spoiled. Even though these remarks flew through my head, I honestly just really wanted to go back to sleep… but I had already woken up, so I guess I'll play along.

This is really annoying, but I'll respond, "Where do you want me to go?"

"To my room," she said this as she began to pull on my sleeve. Finally giving up resisting, I resigned myself to following her. "See,you should come. Come with me."

Seriously, what's going on?

My sister's room was right next to mine. Mom had given her this room when Naruko entered into elementary school. This room was once an old ragged Japanese-style room, but it had been refurbished into a Western-style room.

"It's okay. Come in."

"… Alright."

At Naruko's word of approval, I took my first step ever into my sister's room. I didn't really feel it was that big of a deal though. A strange sugary smell permeated the air.

Hm. Isn't this bigger than my room? This room was probably around 8 tatami large. There was a bed, a closet, a desk, bookshelf, full length mirror, and a CD rack, among other things. The interior design of the room was pretty much the same as that of mine. The entire room was also covered in an orangish coloring. But she did have a personal computer on a desk, which I didn't have. It wasn't a room with too much personality, but in its relative modernity, it matched the image of Naruko I had always held.

Naruko sat quietly on her bed, and pointed at the floor. "Sit," she said that so naturally too. Isn't this situation looking a bit too much like a judge with a criminal?

"Hey, at least give me a cushion to sit on, won't you?"

Naruko scowled, obviously displeased, and threw a cat cushion at me. Thankful, I sat on the cushion, cross-legged. Seriously, she looks really annoyed that I'm touching something that belongs to her. Does she think I have cooties or something? Are all girls this age like this? Ahh, that would be terrible.

"So?" I casually rested my chin in my hands. Naruko frowned, and was obviously agitated about something. Soon, she took a deep breath and murmured something.

"… have something to… "

"Come again?"

Her voice was so low. I couldn't hear it at all. At my request for clarification, Naruko's eyes hardened. "Advice. I need advice."

Whoa, am I hearing this correctly? Thinking my ears were playing tricks on me, I asked again, "What did you say? I can't hear you."

"I need some life counseling!"

For what I'm sure was a long time, I was silent, dumbfounded. In my silence, my eyes were blinking rapidly.

Wait… what? Of all things, my sister is facing me and asking me what? For consultation? However I think about it, this seems like a dream. At this point, I wouldn't even be surprised if the alien started attacking the city outside our window.

Somehow or other, I managed to speak out of my parched throat, "You need… life counseling… from me?"

"Yes," Naruko gave a definitive nod. Seriously, is this real? "… Is about what you said before?"

"About what?"

"You know uhh… that time when you asked me 'would it be weird if I owned something like this.' That talk."

"That time… could you mean, when I asked you to throw that thing away?"

"… Y-yeah."

"Why are we talking about that here?"

"Umm… you say… you really wouldn't make fun of me?"

"Geez… should I even answer that? I already told you, I definitely wouldn't make fun of you." After all, your hobbies are your hobbies, and I really don't care. Did she really call me all the way over here just to ask me that one more time?

"You de-definitely wouldn't? Really really?"

"Definitely not. Really really really."

"If you're lying… I'll never forgive you."

"Whatever, do what you want." Get to the point, won't you? What are you saying?

After my weary explanation, Naruko stood up, as if she made up her mind, and walked to her book case.

Hmm? What is she trying to do? Confused, I watched as Naruko went up and pulled one of her two bookcases off the wall. It didn't look too heavy, but she walked over and spilled the case's contents onto the bed. And now, one of the bookcases had disappeared from the walls, leaving just a large blank space.

"Hey… what are you trying to do?"

Not answering my question, Naruko went up to the remaining bookshelf - having already dumped half her books on the bed, and began pushing on its side with her shoulder. Facing the empty gap on the wall, she started to apply pressure to the bookcase. Little by little, the bulky bookcase began to slide. And then, behind the bookcase, a Japanese-style sliding screen appeared. A secret hiding place.

Naruko let out a breath, and then began to speak, "When I started going to elementary school, and got my own room… this room was converted from a Japanese-style room into a Western-style room, right? I'm not too sure, but this is one of the remains of the old room… I think. It was hidden by the bookcase, so I didn't even know it was here until last year when I found it while cleaning the room."

"Oh?" It's just like Mom to be so stingy. She probably thought that it would be OK since the problem spot was being covered by a bookcase.

"So… could it be that the counseling you need is about what's behind that door?"

Naruko nodded. She put a hand on the sliding door, but did not look like she was trying to open it at all. Hesitating with an unsure expression on her face, Naruko stared at me intently. From the flow of the conversation, I tried with my limited imagination to guess what could be behind the sliding door. Whatever was behind there, it was also probably the reason for her hesitation.

Needs life counseling, huh? Why from me, of all people? Well, certainly, I did tell her that I wouldn't make fun of her regardless of what hobbies she might have. I tried to imagine what I would do in Naruko's place. Well… if we're talking about life counseling, then there are really two main types, right?

First, it could be the most common case, where you consult with someone you can rely on. In this case, you have some problem but you can't figure out what to do, so you want to think about a solution with someone else together. And then, there's the case where you consult with a third party who doesn't know anything about the situation. In this case, the third party can't give good advice from the onset, so he has to sit and listen to the situation for a bit before giving an opinion. But, for Naruko, I was certainly not someone she felt like she could depend on and confide in.

Definitely not… right? But if what's bothering Naruko is what I imagine it to be, I can understand that it's something that would be difficult to talk about with other people. She must be afraid of tarnishing her own image. It's not a situation in which she can freely choose who to confide in. At this point, there really was only one person in the world that Naruko could go to for honest advice. I already had found out her secret, and I was impartial and didn't care. That one person was me.

Huh. So it's like that, is it? Now that I was fairly convinced I had figured the general situation out, I wanted to just get it over with and go back to sleep. So, I spoke, "Don't worry. Whatever you bring out from there, I won't make fun of you, and if you want me to keep it secret, I won't tell anybody… alright?"

At my carefully chosen words, Naruko nodded once again. "It's a secret, OK?" Murmuring that to reassure herself, Naruko opened the forbidden door.

'Whoosh. Plop.'

"Huh? Something… fell out?"

Before I went for a detailed look at the contents of the hidden compartment, I moved instinctively and picked up the fallen object. It was another DVD case… the title was "Loving my Little Sister ~ Little Sister Maker EX Vol.4."

" COUGH COUGH COUGH! " I almost choked over my surprise. Th-this again!? Now that I think about it, she didn't only own that anime, but things like this too. I was dumbfounded. Also, what the hell is with this half naked underage girl looking embarrassed and covering herself on the cover!? Such an indecent cover illustration is beyond my imagination! And, what's more, this is only part of an entire series!?

"Wh… what in the world… is this…!?"

"Ah. That originally came out for the PS2, but it was ported over to the PC and renamed. It's really amazing, but it's a bit old and the content is a bit difficult, so I wouldn't recommend it for beginners."

"That wasn't what I was asking!" And also what do you mean by "beginner"? Are you a "pro" or something? Seriously a "pro"?

Dammit, there are too many comments I wanted to make here, and with all my strength I don't think I can keep them in. Wh-what exactly am I trying to start? What kind of strange business did I get myself caught in this time? Somebody tell me!

The revelation of this "Loving my Little Sister" hit me right in the gut, and I felt groggy. My sister didn't really notice though. Breaking out into a cold sweat, I raised my head and took a peek into that forbidden abyss that was thrown wide open.

At first glance, the interior of the compartment looked like just any ordinary closet. It was split up into an upper and lower compartment, and was poorly lit. But, the inside of the compartment was stacked densely with a large number of goods. My eyes first landed on a tall stack of boxes in the upper compartment.

"These… boxes are…?"

"These? These are PC game boxes." Naruko responded with a hint of pride in her voice, and with a bit of effort took a few of the boxes and placed them in front of me.

These boxes were mostly from the "Little Sister Maker EX" series, with titles including "Playing with My Sisters," "My Little Sister Academia," "So I'm Little Sister So What?", "Re: Sister", "Sister/Stay Night", "Sisters War: Love is Game," and things of that type. There was a lot I wanted to say, but I didn't want to choose the wrong words and land myself in a terrifying situation. For now, let me start with a relatively safe question.

"Why… are these boxes so big?"

"I don't know either. But that's how they are," Naruko said, as if this were one of the world's unsolved mysteries.

I don't understand… I don't understand… I don't understand anything at all… straining to keep in dangerous comments that were threatening to come out from my mouth, I averted my gaze and turned towards the lower shelf in the compartment. There, also, stood a line of huge boxes. These boxes were even bigger than the PC game boxes, and there were a variety of many of them there were illustrations of girls, several which had a metallic shine to them.

"These… these stuff… what is it?"

"Anime DVD boxes. All the boxes here are deluxe editions."

"DVD Boxes? Deluxe editions?" It was a bit shameful, but I parroted her words back to her.

"Yes. These complete editions include extra story content, have bonus disks, special edition booklets, and other extras are included… fufu, incredible, isn't it?"

"And, it's the same with that… zodiac girl… whatever?"

"Yeah."

For some reason, I felt Naruko getting excited. Being able to reveal her prized collection like this made her this happy? She's even smiling at me, her hated brother. But, for some reason, I still didn't feel that satisfied about this. For now, something was bothering me.

"All of this… wasn't it very expensive?"

"Hm? Well, relatively, I guess. Let's see… this was 41,790 yen, you see? And this one was 55,000 yen, see? And then, umm, this one was…"

"So expensive! What do you mean, relatively!?"

"Really? I mean, it costs around the same as one or two sets of clothing."

"Where in the world are you getting all that money!? You're a junior high school student, aren't you!? Why is it that you're only fourteen, and you already have so little restraint in spending money!?"

Ignoring my obvious discomfort, Naruko quickly responded, "Where am I getting the money… isn't it obvious I have a job?"

"I… I see… "A job? I guess it's OK if that's true… no, wait wait wait wait! That's not good at all, is it!? Giving Naruko a penetrating stare, I continued my questioning, "Job, you said?"

"Yeah."

"What job? Where did you get it?"

"Ahh, right, I never explained that. I'm modeling for a magazine."

"W-WHAT!? Ma-magazine? Model? Like… a gravure idol or something? Naruko I don't like this as your older bro-"

"Completely off. Are your ears broken or something? I said I was a mo-de-l. For magazine subscribers."

I never really had made a distinction between a model and a gravure idol, but it seems that what I said was completely off the mark. Whether or not she noticed my confusion, Naruko took a magazine out from her bookcase, and tossed it to me. It was some kind of teen magazine. On a white background, the title was flashily displayed in shiny font. On the cover, there were also various statements predicting the latest trends.

Flipping quickly through the book, here and there I caught glimpses of the familiar figure of my sister. I don't really know much about this kind of stuff, but it seemed like she was posing while wearing the latest in fashion. I had always said that she looked like a model, but she seriously was one. I really shouldn't care what she does with her time, but why am I a little annoyed by this?

I don't really know why, but without thinking, I let loose a snide remark, "Doesn't posing like this make your back hurt?"

I thought I saw a hint of disappointment within her scornful stare. It must have been my imagination. At her suddenly downcast eyes, I felt the mood of the room darken. I quickly tried to smooth things over.

"I mean… it's… pretty cute, isn't it?" What am I saying? But it was also the truth. "And I mean, this is a pretty popular magazine right? I've even heard of it. You're pretty amazing."

"Not really. It's not that big of a deal, this magazine."

But at my words of praise, she seemed happy. She didn't appear to be as annoyed as she put on. Sensing that the tension had broken, I continued where I left off.

"So… how much do you make?"

"Umm… that would be around 300000 yen… "

When I heard her answer, I dropped my shoulders, heartbroken.

"Hey hey… however you look at it, that's a bit too much to be giving to a kid."

"What are you saying, every day I have to make sure to practice and keep up my appeal too - that's also part of the job."

"Keh… well said, I guess."

But man… I'll bet that the readers of this magazine would not believe that this cute, stylish model who's posing for them uses her pay to buy things like "Loving my Little Sister" or "Playing with my Sisters." Or, should I say, if her fans knew something like this, they would probably faint.

As I reflected on the unfairness in the world, I tried to peek into the bottom of the hidden compartment. But, Naruko stood there with her legs straight and arms stretched out, standing in my way. "Ah, I won't let you see any more than this today."

"Why?" Well, it's not like I wanted to see more. I just thought that she wouldn't let me go until she had shown me everything.

After taking one glance at the hidden compartment's bottom, I was met with a fierce stare. "I… still don't trust you. We won't go any further today."

"What?" What was this? What exactly was she saying? She made it sound like this was just the tip of the iceberg, that there was a lot of stuff worse than this. Ehh… seriously? Is that true?

"Umm… there's some stuff in here that's… a bit embarrassing… so… yeah… not today."

"I-I see… "

Whaaa? My sister, who was almost proud to show me "Loving my Little Sister," is hesitating and telling me that there are embarrassing things in there… what kind of unthinkable, terrifying things were these? Suddenly shivering and quieting down, I fell forward onto all fours.

"H-how could that be?"

"Wh-what do you mean 'how'?"

What in the world am I saying? If anybody knows, please tell me. When I didn't respond, Naruko started a bit bashfully.

"So… what are… your impressions? You saw. That's… my hobby."

"Uhh… my… impressions?… urm, I'm surprised."

"That's it?"

"Even if you say 'that's it?' I can't help it can I? I really am very surprised… I don't really have any other impressions about it."

At my intentionally conciliatory remarks, Naruko frowned and murmured wearily, "As I thought. Having this kind of stuff… is strange, isn't it?"

"No, it's really not… whether it was strange or not… that wasn't really the issue."

So this was the "life counseling" that Naruko wanted? Leaving that aside, will she let me go back to my room soon? I want to sleep and just forget about all this. I really wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible, so I said what I felt my sister wanted to hear.

"I already told you. Whatever hobbies you might have, I definitely won't make fun of you. Isn't that enough? Whatever hobbies you want to have, that's completely up to you. It's not like you're causing problems for anyone, and nobody has a right to complain when you're using your own money to pay for it."

"I know, right!? Haha… sometimes you can say good things too!"

Alrighty then, is she satisfied? So, please let me go back to my room now. With that, I began to lift myself up, but I suddenly changed my mind and sat back down. The truth is, for quite a while I've been being really patient and keeping in all the interjections I wanted to throw her way. If I made a poor remark, she might answer in a horrifying way, and so if I could I wanted to get through this without making any snide remarks. But I couldn't keep it in anymore. It was like the world was hurling me instructions to "Hurry up! Make a comment! Make a comment!" Of course, this was probably my imagination.

Alright… should I make a remark now? Should I really? Am I prepared? Am I ready to deal with it, to not lose my cool if she responds in a horrible way?

"Naruko, we've talked through all of it, but I still have one thing I would like to ask you."

"Huh?"

"Your collection… why do you only have little sister eroge?"

"…"

Hey, hey… why is she being so quiet? Say something, won't you?

"What… do you think?"

Wait wait wait. Why is she blushing? Why is she crawling towards me on all fours? Wait a second, wait a second… stop that, seriously! It's not like I'm into stuff like that.

Sensing danger, as if I wasn't able to stand, I began to scoot backwards.

"Why are you running away?"

"I'm not running away."

"Liar. You're running away."

"That's because you… ah… "

Crap. My back hit the wall, and I couldn't retreat any further. Looking for a way to stand up and run from the room, I hurriedly looked around the room. Doing this quite slowly, I became more and more cornered.

Naruko looked like she was thinking hard, and had made a decision. With a serious look, she stared right into my eyes. I felt paralyzed, and could not move at all. Neither of us looked away, and a tense atmosphere permeated the room. Continuing to crawl on all fours, Naruko seemed like she was going to crawl on top of me… and then she thrust the "Loving my Little Sister" package in front of my nose.

"Wha-?" I was surprised at this unexpected development.

Ignoring my puzzlement, Naruko's attitude did a complete 360. She began to speak as if slightly entranced. "Looking at this package… don't you think it looks good?"

"Wh-what are you saying?" I don't understand what she's getting at. I can't even count how many times I've said "I don't understand" since setting foot in this room, but this time I was especially confused.

"Come oonn!" She seemed truly confused, as if she wanted to say "Seriously, you don't get it?"

"… It's really cute, isn't it?"

"What is? Be more specific, won't you?"

At this time, I probably looked pretty doubtful. I didn't think that asking her anything at this point would get me a useful response, so I tried to read between the lines of her words and guess what she meant in my mind.

There were two clues. First, there was the package she had thrust in front of my face. And then, there was her abrupt description of this package as "really cute." If I thought about it normally, there was really only one answer… but, would that answer be strange? Or not?

Not being able to come to a definitive conclusion, I hesitantly asked, "So you mean… that is… uhh… I might be wrong but… you like 'little sisters'? And so, you have a lot of those kinds of games?"

"Yeah." Correct answer… she's vigorously nodding.

But why does she look so proud of herself? Although, it would be nice if we could talk to each other like this normally. These thoughts were flying through my head when Naruko began talking without prompting.

"It's really cute, isn't it? Umm, I'll give you an example. Because the main character in a galge is usually a guy, the little sister will call you things like "oniichan," "onii," "aniki," "niikun," to show her affection for you, yeah? And these 'special nicknames' all match her type and personality. And that's… really adorable."

"A-ahh… that's great," I responded the only way I could. Geez, she really seems excited about all this. And also, the only things you call me are rude things like "hey" and "you." What's up with that? That's not adorable at all, rather, it's pretty irritating.

Not noticing my silence in the slightest, Naruko continued to show me the "Loving my Little Sister" package, and pointed at an illustration of one of the girls. "In this game… this girl is my favorite one, Hina-chan."

The girl she was pointing to was short and seemed very timid. She has long, dark blue hair and lavender eyes, and she had a shy, bashful expression.

"These types of tidy, obedient girls, you just really want to protect them, and you just really want to hug them tightly… hehe… it's great, isn't it?"

But you wear an incredibly short skirt, cross your legs, and sit with your ass in the air and talk on your phone. All that stuff you said now, it's impossible for you to become that type of girl, isn't it? Well, whatever. That's another matter.

"I see." My sister likes little sisters. That's why she's collecting these things. I understood that much. But my curiosity was far from sated. Rather, my curiosity was just getting bigger. With a strained face, I asked my next question, "But… why?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, why do you like little sisters? I'm not saying it's wrong… but the games you're playing, they're usually meant for guys, right? And, what's more, isn't it illegal for you to be buying R18 games? This just doesn't seem to match with your image at all. Why would you like, I mean, like things like that? Is there a motive, or reason, or something, for this?"

"That's… that is… " After hearing my question, Naruko was clearly dismayed. She blinked as if her face were splashed with cold water, and her gaze darted confusedly around the room. It didn't feel exactly like she was just struggling for words. Waiting for a while like that, I heard Naruko speak. "I… I don't know!"

Her eyes shut tightly, her face dyed a brilliant red, Naruko seemed just like a small child.

"Huh?" I responded.

Naruko held her chest with both hands, and, embarrassed, began speaking, "Um, that is… that is… I… I don't understand it… myself… "

Whoa. What is this, so suddenly… has she been possessed by a demon or something? Where did the usual hateful Naruko go off to? Looking so embarrassed is so unlike Naruko, in fact, she looks cute, and I was dumbfounded.

"You don't know, you say… but it's your own hobby, isn't it?"

"B-but! I can't help it… I really don't understand it myself… at some point, I just… started liking this stuff… I… probably saw some anime in the window of a store or something… and that got me into anime." Naruko, just like the little sister characters she liked, was getting more timid. She uneasily looked up at me. "I also… know that this isn't a normal hobby for a girl. So up to now I haven't told anybody… I always kept it hidden. But… in the end… it's really something that I like… I think when I was on the Internet, I accidentally Googled this stuff… and then I downloaded a trial version, and while I was playing that… ahhh… I got really into it and knew I had to buy more."

In the end, it was like this, was it? I looked at the high pile of little sister games, scrutinizing them. She's fallen into the devious game producer's trap, hasn't she?

"Th-this type of cute illustration… it almost drives me mad… " That's the illustrator's fault, isn't it? And, anyways, why the hell am I sitting here in the dead of night, listening to my sister explain how she became an otaku? Is there any brother in the world who has done this before? Naruko continued, "There were so many times I told myself that this couldn't go on, that I should stop… but, no matter what I tried I couldn't stop… whenever I opened up an Internet browser, and I go on news sites for all the latest news, they always try to make me buy stuff, you know? Mm, and also on cosplay and Akiba blogs… "

"Well, I mean… I don't understand this well at all but… the news sites? Can't you just not look at them?"

"If I could do that I wouldn't be having these problems in the first place… " At my light interjection, Naruko looked very disheartened.

Hey hey… who is this person in front of me? This cute sister in front of me is definitely not the Naruko I've come to know.

In front of me, Naruko clunked down and looked up at me with tear-filled eyes. "So… so, would you help me?"

If I wanted to be honest, I would respond "Why should I help you?" but as expected I couldn't say those words to my sister who was obviously depending on me. Whatever the case may be, I couldn't say that.

"Alright, I'll help you."

"Re-really?" Naruko had a surprised expression on her face. It seemed that she couldn't believe that I was accepting her request.

You… what exactly do you think of me? As I was thinking these unhappy thoughts, I nodded. "It's OK. If anything happens, don't hesitate to tell me. I can't really give you great advice, but I'll do what I can, I'm your big brother after all." I regretted these words right after they left my mouth.

"Then, let's do that, I guess… yeah, if you do that for me, it would really help… maybe… " Naruko did not speak a single word of thanks, but she was repeatedly nodding and seemed happy. Seeing my sister like this, honestly, I couldn't think of a bad thing to say about her.

Hmm. So, even Naruko could get like this, huh… as I was mulling over my surprise, I gazed at my sister's shy face. How nostalgic… I don't know why, but it really felt nostalgic. Geez… and for a moment there I thought that I had said something irresponsible.

Well, whatever, it somehow came to this. I guess since I discovered that item in the entryway, she's been agonizing and agonizing and agonizing over this, until she finally came to me for advice. So now, I have to help her with this. Although, it's all still a bit annoying. Well well. But in any case, this situation could have been much worse… so I'm glad for that.

"So, in conclusion, you like little sister characters and you buy little sister eroges… there's nothing you're not telling me, right?" I had asked that question for some more peace of mind.

"Huh? If not that, what did you think it was?" Confused, Naruko inclined her neck. And then, a few seconds later, she realized the "worst outcome" I was worried about, and she scowled. "Gross. Of course it's not that. Pervert!"

Whoa, in a single second she returned to the usual Naruko. Such undisguised disgust. This is definitely my sister. I probably should be unhappy about this change but I can't help but feel a bit relieved. That charming side of Naruko was just strange.

"Aren't you the one who's pervert? The games you like are about a little sister loving a big brother, right? Are you denying that?"

"Huh? Don't mix two-dimensional things with three-dimensional things. Games are games, real life is real life. Generally - in reality, are there really that many little sisters who are in love with their big brothers?"

This girl… was that just a way to say "I hate you" in a really roundabout way? Isn't that cruel? There are a lot of brothers and sisters in this world that get along, aren't there? But it seems that in our case, we're eternal enemies.

"I have nothing more to talk about. Can you please leave now?"

Dammit. As I thought, she really isn't cute at all!