Saturday, February 25, 2012

Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai Vol 1 - Chapter 1

When I arrived home from school I found my sister in the living room, chatting on her phone. Her name is Kousaka Kirino, and she’s a fourteen year old middle school student attending the local school. Her hair is dyed a light brown, her ears are pierced, and her long nails are elegantly manicured. She applies makeup carefully, though she would still be attractive without it. She carries an atmosphere too mature for a middle school student. She’s tall, yet well-endowed in certain places, too.

If she was a good singer as well, you’d have a charismatic idol.

I’m not being generous because she’s family. My sister is just one hell of a refined person.

However, I have no intention of proudly boasting that she's my sister. Sure, the guys will envy me. I might even understand why, but from personal experience, it’s just not like that.

If you actually have a sister yourself, you should more or less understand my feelings.

A sister isn’t anything great, at least to me.

For instance, imagine this: in your classroom, there are always many different groups of friends. Take the most gorgeous one as an example. The one with the jock, the smart and cool guy and the super cute girl.

Now, there’s a girl who is one rank higher, even more refined, in that group.

The girl whom you might hesitate even to talk to. The girl living in another world that you might never have anything to do with. She’s what you might call “the girl on another level.” Most men would find her uncomfortable, even if she looks nice. That’s how I feel, too.

Now, imagine a girl like that in your own family. Of course, the distance between you isn't special.

Now you understand how uneasy I feel. It’s not that nice of a thing, is it?

“I’m back.”

I greet her as a formality but she fails to respond, not showing even the slightest sign of recognition.

Kirino, in her school uniform, sinks deep into the sofa and crosses her mini skirt-covered legs. She’s laughing at her mobile, looking pleased.

Her smile is surely cute, but it will never be directed towards me.

“Oh? You’re kidding! What the heck? Haha! What an idiot.”

“Yeah, yeah. I was an idiot for trying to talk to you.”

I grumbled to myself, swinging the fridge door wide open. Grabbing a pack of barley tea, I pour it into a cup and gulp it down. Phew. I take a moment to rest before leaving.

“Yeah, all right. I’ll get changed and head out.”

It’s already evening. Just where the heck is she going to play?

“Well, not that it matters to me.” I mumble to myself and climb up the stairs.

My name is Kousaka Kyousuke. I’m a seventeen-year-old who goes to the local high school.

It’s kind of strange to say this about myself, but I’m an average high school boy. I’m not in any clubs and I have no special hobbies, either. Of course, I do listen to popular music and read some manga and books, but not to the point that I would count it as a hobby.

After school, I usually fool around with my friends in town, read manga at home or watch TV.

Well, I do also study sometimes.

Aren’t normal high school students like that? You might call it a safe but boring lifestyle, but I think being normal is quite important.

Being normal means acting in harmony with others and being realistic.

Acting safe means there is less danger.

Fortunately, my grades aren’t too bad. If things continue the way they are now, I’ll probably get into a decent university. As for what I’m going to do afterward... Well, I can think about that while I enjoy my four years of university life.

The ones that have to be in a flurry are those who won’t get the job of their dreams through that path. Chasing dreams… It sounds nice, however, that means you won't be ‘normal’ anymore. There will be many dangers and is, in no way, safe. At least, for me, it isn’t my thing.

Well I’ve long forgotten about my childhood dreams, but if I had to say something, an ordinary, inconspicuous, quiet, and trouble free life could be considered as one of them.

My home is a two story house. The family members include both my parents, my sister and myself, making a total of four.

A middle-class, well off, nothing out of the ordinary, family.

My sister’s and my room are on the second floor. After changing into plain clothes in my room, I rested for a while then went back down the stairs.

That’s because I wanted to use the toilet before I start to study. By the way, the front door comes right under the stairs and to the left of it is the door to the living room.

And so…

“Ah!”

Just after going down the stairs, I ran into my sister who was in her regular clothes. This area is actually a blind spot on both sides so collisions happen frequently.

*Thud* We collide with my left shoulder hitting Kirino’s breast. The force wasn’t that strong, but it was enough for her bag to leave her hand and spill its contents onto the floor.

“Ah!”

“Oh sorry.”

I make a frank apology and reach out to pick up the stuff scattered on the floor, like cosmetics, but…

*Whap* Kirino, sensing that, brushed my hand away with a slap.

“Wha-?”

I open my eyes wide and was surprised by her sharp look.

This is what comes out of my sister’s mouth,

“Just leave it. Don’t touch anything.”

While saying that, she gathers the spilled contents of her bag on her own.

Oh how unpleasant she is. What is it? She doesn’t want me touching her stuff?

How much do you hate your brother?


I looked down at my sister who continues on her task without expression.

“...”

An uneasy atmosphere fills the front hall.

My sister turns around, hurries into her pumps and murmurs, “...I’m going,” as if she is fulfilling some sick duty, then closes the door with a slam.

Well as you can see, this is what our relationship is like.

I’m not terribly angry about this either, since I don’t think of her as a sibling anymore.

If I just think of it as a random person from class doing the same thing, then it’s easy to forgive her.

Go ahead and laugh at me for being a failure of a brother if you want. I don’t care.

Heh, well it’s not like my life will be disturbed because I can’t communicate properly with my sister.

“…Jeez. Just when did things become like this?”

Even she had times when she wasn’t like that, I think…

Oh well. It annoyed me a bit, but whatever. I shall return to my original task.

I finish peeing, washed my hands, and then dived into the living room sofa. I pick up a magazine left around and cross my legs, lying on my back.

Hey, wasn’t I supposed to start studying?

Lying down and skimming through the pictures of a battle manga makes me feel emptier and emptier. My senses warn me that I shouldn’t be doing things like this, but my astonishing laziness counters.

Ah forget it. I don’t feel like studying.

This laziness must be a common disease amongst students.

I stand up shaking my head around like a dog who had just gotten a bucket of water poured over him, open the door and head into the hallway. I find something strange.

“Hmm…?”

It was in the corner of the entrance hall, on the backside of the shoe closet. I didn’t notice it before, but in between the shoe closet and the wall, something thin and white, something like a case was peering out.

It must have been out of escapism that I reached my hand out for it. My brain was searching hard for any possible excuse not to study.

Even though picking this up would only buy me a few seconds worth of time.

But the outcome wasn’t actually like that. In fact, because of this thing, studying became a secondary issue for a while.

The moment I pulled it out of the back of the shoe closet,

“What the heck is this?”

I made a wild scream. Why, you ask? It’s because it was the kind of thing that did not belong in this house at all.

This, uhm well… What is this?

I pick up the case by my fingers and look at it from many different angles, but I couldn't seem to figure out its identity.

It’s a DVD case, that’s for sure. It’s the kind of case you would usually find at the video rental shops.

Oh, it even says DVD on it. But the contents are what I don’t get.

At that moment, I must have looked absolutely puzzled.

On the front side of the package was an illustration of a girl with oversized eyes, drawn up large.

A cute girl who is in her upper grades of grade school.

“Her eyes and hair are pink,”

I murmur calmly. I scrutinize it as if I’m a detective checking evidence for clues.

This might be its image color, since the entire package has large bits of pink and white.

Well, whatever. The bigger issue is,

“What the heck is wrong with this kid’s outfit?”

I mean this little girl is dressed in random, suggestive clothing. What would you call them, swim suits? Bandages? Something that would make you want to tell her to wear something normal. It seems some rocket booster like things are growing out of that bandage-like outfit allowing the girl to fly and leave a trail of stardust.

And somehow she is carrying this huge staff, of a fancy mechanical design, easily with one hand.

It’s something that would make Ryofu Housen scared.[1] Apparently it’s for combat. Its evil purpose to take down and crush enemies was easily imaginable.

How fearsome.

And…

At the top of the package, what would most likely be the title was printed in a roundish font.

‘Stardust Witch Meruru Limited First Edition’. What in the world?

I’ve gone through all this explanation, but in short it’s anime… I guess. Though it’s been quite a while since I stopped watching anime, so I don’t really understand.

And why is this kind of thing lying here?

Right when that question popped up in my head and I was sitting there in the entrance with the ‘Stardust Witch Meruru’ thing in my hands, the door swung wide open.

“I’m home! Oh, what are you doing there, Kyousuke? Curling up like a fetus in the entrance hall?”

“It’s nothing, mom. I’m just getting some fresh air.’

That was close! I would have become a social outcast!

But no problem. I was able to hunch over and hide that thing the moment the door opened.

Jeez, that sure was close.

I don’t know who did this, but it must be a trap for me. If I was found with something like this, I would surely be prosecuted in a family conference.

I can imagine Kirino looking at me like some garbage.

Mom, carrying a shopping bag, looks at my strange figure in pity.

“I heard from the lady next door that psychological counseling aimed at students is gaining popularity recently.”

“W-Wait a second. I’m perfectly sane. Uhh yeah, I just studied a bit too much today you know?”

“Liar. How would you study so much that you would get that stressed?”

What cruel parents. Why can’t you trust your child more?

“Of course I do. You know my grades aren’t that bad.”

“But that’s because of Manami-chan, isn’t it? Why are you the one who’s proud when you have a smart childhood friend as your tutor? You would never study alone.”

“Damn.”

That was absolutely true, so I can’t talk back. Also, I’ve been reading a manga until 5 minutes ago.

I crawled on the floor like a centipede while hiding the ‘Stardust Witch Meruru’ under my shirt, and escaped from the scene. My mom says to my back,

“Kyousuke, I don’t mind it, but you might want to stop opening porn books in the entrance hall.”

Very close answer but wrong. It’s amazing of my mom to suspect that much from my strange actions. Her history of cleaning my room without my consent and revealing my hidden collection isn’t for nothing.

However, what I’m hiding now is something much more serious than those, in a way.

“Phew.”

I take the thing out from under my stomach, and hold it high up above my head with my right hand. I wipe away the sweat with my left knuckle. Mission accomplished. I’m really used to doing this sort of gesture. I’ll try not to say why, but you healthy school boys should all know what I want to say.

“…and I ended up bringing it with me,”

I murmur while taking a glance at the ‘Stardust Witch Meruru’ case.

Oh well, it couldn’t be helped when the situation was like that. Since I was also looking for an excuse to not study and it’s true I was also greatly intrigued by this ‘forbidden object’.

I shall be cancelling today’s entrance exam study session due to serious issues and examine this thing.

My room is 6 tatami mats large and includes a bed, a desk, a book shelf with textbooks and manga and a closet.

My carpet is yellow green and my curtains are blue. On the wall, there’s a Japanese style calendar that my mom got from the local town-council, and there are no posters.

The only other thing is a boombox, I don’t have a computer, TV or video games.

See? I’m quite average. It’s my policy to live as normally as possible and it fits my tastes.

By the way, I’ve almost given up on trying to hide my porn books so they are all stored in a cardboard box under my bed. And I begged my mom not to clean under my bed. There’s no assurance that my mom would ratify that treaty, and even if she had been checking for updates on my collection every day, there’s no way that I would know.

Well, I deliberately forget about that. To defend my own self confidence.

The only defense I have is to try to make a safer choice, just in case to defend myself if I get spotted and prosecuted in a family meeting.

…Seriously where do people who don’t have their own rooms hide this stuff?

I can only imagine forgetting about it and leaving it all open as the possible defense plan. I might be spoiled, to be able to worry about such small things like being unable to lock my room.

Traveling through those deep thoughts only took me a few seconds in reality.

I sat on my bed and loosened my legs. I pick up the DVD case with one hand and make a thinking pose with my other hand.

“The more I look at it, the more it tells me that the package doesn’t suit my room.”

Under the florescent light, the Stardust Witch’s smile glitters. It’s scary in a sense that she’s making a smile while holding a weapon of mass destruction.

“Hmm.”

And yeah, this thing, whose is it?

I imagine the faces of the Kousaka family members one by one, but as I expected I couldn’t find a suitable owner for ‘Stardust Witch Meruru’.

Of course, I don’t remember this anime ever airing in my living room either.

(At the time, I didn’t even know computers could play DVDs.)

So what does this mean? Why was this there?

While I continued to wonder, I opened the case…

“Wha-!?”

I received another shock more intense than when I found this anime DVD box.

In short, inside the DVD case there was no ‘Stardust Witch Meruru’ DVD. In place of it, there was some other DVD.

…Well it does happen often. Like when I get tired of placing the CDs I listen to back into their proper cases and sometimes shuffle them around.

And later I get confused as to which CD is where.

The owner of this must have been lazy like that too and had placed a different DVD in this ‘Stardust Witch Meruru’ DVD case.

Yeah, I understand. It happens.

But, but, well…

Why is the title of the DVD, ‘Let’s Make Love With Your Sister!’ Of all choices, who is seducing who into doing what?

And what is this charming R-18 notice thing that shouldn’t be there?

“Calm down!”

My breathing became heavy as the sweat drops collected on my forehead.

This was serious. Dead serious. What was serious? That scene where I encountered my mom.

Had she found out the contents, I would have had to commit suicide. Is this really a trap for me to fall into? I don’t understand this kind of thing, but my instincts are raising an alarm. What’s this dark aura coming from the title? Even if it didn’t have this charming R-18 notice, I can still understand from the title. This is in no way something that I should be allowed to have!

“Kyousuke, are you studying properly?”

“Aaaaaaagh!?”

I screamed like the world had ended, and ducked under my bed blanket.

I make a glance towards the door. My mom who opened the door without knocking, seemed shocked at the crazy reaction her son had shown.

“Sorry, is this a bad time?”

“Oh don’t mind it mom, I was just having voice training. Rather, knock will you?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. I’ll do so from now on.”

With an expression that’s apparently trying to hide her shock, my mom closes the door.

Oh shit. I did manage to hide the thing, but I’m sure I made a really bad misunderstanding. Damn.

I’m really having bad luck today. This and that, all of the blame falls on to this thing.

While still under my bed blanket, I stare at the mysterious DVD case.

“Damn!”

If things have come to this, I’ve got to find the owner of this thing no matter what.

I make a “half-blaming-someone else”-like pledge.

But I’ve become even more puzzled.

I mean about the owner of this DVD. The fact that inside the DVD case of ‘Stardust Witch Meruru’, contained something with absolute suspicion, ‘Let’s Make Love With Your Sister!’

If my suspicions are correct, then the person that this belongs to should own both ‘Stardust Witch Meruru’ and ‘Let’s Make Love With Your Sister’.

And by guessing from the fact that it was from somewhere like in the back of our house’s shoe closet, there’s a high chance that its owner is either my sister, my mom, my father or me…

Of course, people not from my family enter our house too, so I can’t completely disregard the ‘outsider culprit theory’.

But who would deliberately put in ‘Let’s Make Love With Your Sister!’ into the casing of ‘Stardust Witch Meruru’ and place it behind the shoe closet? I can’t imagine anybody doing that at all.

“Ugh.”

Anyway, I think the ‘outsider culprit theory’ is a waste of time even trying to think about, so I will begin thinking under the assumption that someone in my family is the culprit.

My sister, mom, dad, and me… Assuming the culprit is one of them, who would be considered the most suspicious? Who in the family is most likely to have items like ‘Stardust Witch Meruru’ and ‘Let’s Make Love With Your Sister!’?

“Unfortunately it’s me. And that’s the problem.”

Of course, it isn’t me for sure. That’s only the conclusion of who is the most likely person in the family to have it. Well, it did make me quite sad just by thinking about it.

Anyway, it isn’t mine. Since I’m not even interested in that anime stuff. Well, there’s some people in my classroom who talk about things like that, but I don’t have much to do with them.

But that might be the same for everyone in my family as well.

Lead to the obvious conclusion, I held my head down and wondered.

But look, it can’t be Mom, and Dad is absolutely a person form stone age so he can’t possibly use a DVD player… And that hard ass Yakuza face watching and enjoying anime? No way. And then my sister is… the first one I should remove as a suspect. She might have been watching anime around 5 years ago, but I guess she only watches the popular drama and music programs lately.

Childish anime DVDs are definitely not one of Kirino’s hobbies.

I can’t ever imagine her buying and watching some ‘Stardust Witch Meruru’ DVD. Just speaking of ‘Let’s Make Love With Your Sister!’ sends shivers down my spine, since it’s Kirino. She’s a trendy middle school girl so she must have gone to a goukon again today.[2]

“Okay, I give up. I don’t get it at all.”

My line of thought hit a dead end. As I thought, I don’t think there is a culprit in my family, but if I suspect outsiders then there’s too many suspects to even count.

Okay, this is screwed. I don’t seem to have talent as a detective.

So then, what do I do? Should I quit now since it’s tiresome?

No, on second thought, it still bothers me. I will surely find the culprit.

I’m surprised at myself, but at that point of time I was really outgoing. I would have usually given up the search and had a nap till dinner. And if I had done so, the peaceful days may have continued.

But that didn’t happen. Since I, under my own will, decided not to end the search on this matter. Of course I didn’t know at this point, but I must have decided my own fate myself by doing so.

About this subject, I will be stepping on a super large class landmine…

Dinner at my home begins at 7PM sharp. That’s because my dad comes home at around this time. If I don’t go to the dining room at that time, my dinner is gone no matter what.

The time now is 06:45PM. While scratching my head, I leave my room and down the stairs… but I stop walking. That was because, in my vision, I spotted the figure of Kirino at the entrance hall.

Oh, she came back.

Come to think of it, her curfew was still 6:30. Whether that is too early or late is another question, but she seems to obey it. Well, even though she might look like a high schooler, she is still a middle school student.

By the way, today Kirino was wearing a black and white T-shirt, with something like a mix between black boxers and a skirt. I don’t really know but, Ces- whatever was the brand. If someone were to say she was a fashion model, everyone would believe it.

…Damn, how cute you are.

But, I don’t want to get too close to this prissy sister.

Since she seems to hate me, it’s better off not getting close to her. Arguments won’t change whether we are siblings or not.

We somehow have to deal with it.

So yeah, I wait for Kirino to go to the dining hall in the middle of the stairs.

“Huh?”

But she seems a bit strange. If she opens the door, there’s the living room, but she doesn’t go that way and instead is still standing around the entrance hall.

…What the heck is she doing?

Since it’s stupid to stay here, I went down the stairs.

I stood in front of the door to the living room and put my hand on the knob.

“…”

I looked back a little.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Huh?”

She stared at me with a horrifying face.

…Damn. Why do I try to talk to her, when I know this is going to happen?

Am I an idiot?

“Heh, nothing.”

I click my tongue and turn the knob strongly.

On the dinner table, curry and miso soup was there for dinner. This room, where our family meets for supper, is a combined kitchen-dining-living room, so there are no dividers and is roomy.

My sister and I line up in our seats, my dad and mom sit across us.

On TV, the anchor is reading out about how the foreign exports are and other important news.

My father quietly drinks his miso soup. He dresses in traditional Japanese clothes after bathing, so his heavy atmosphere is multiplied and makes him look like a yakuza. However, it’s actually the other way around, he works for the police.

On the other hand, my mom sits next to him biting through her Fukujinzuke.[3] She looks absolutely like a house wife. She doesn’t resemble Kirino at all.

My sister is silent. She is normally cold to us family members. From watching her eat her meal without a word, I can definitely say she resembles her father. Especially his sharp sight and other stuff.

By the way, people often say I have the same atmosphere as my mother.

Our dinner table like this, looks very ordinary and is very fine.

Of course, I was eating my curry while thinking of the chance to get that plan into action.

Of course it’s a plan to find out the owner of that DVD.

…Well I call it a plan, but it’s nothing too complicated. It’s pretty straightforward and simple.

What I mean is, since thinking and suspecting alone won’t get me anywhere, I will try to make an attempt to stutter the suspect. And here is a perfect situation for that.

After I sip some of the Asari[4] miso soup, I asked a question not aimed at anyone in particular.

“Hey I’m going to the convenience store after dinner, is there anything you want me to get while I’m there?”

“Oh, then get me the new Häagen Dazs thing. The limited seasonal edition thing.”

“Okay.”

Making some idle conversation with my mother first, I start my attack.

“By the way, one of my friends is now really into anime for girls. If I remember right, it was called Stardust something…”

“Why that all of the sudden?”

The first one who reacted to my hint was my mom. No way…

“Well he just recommended it to me, saying it was interesting. So I might watch it once.”

“Oh no, that’s what they call otakuism, right? Like the show on TV… You shouldn’t become like them, okay? Right, father?”

My mom asks my dad. He blankly responds,

“Yes, you don’t need to deliberately bring bad influence upon yourself.”

Hmm, so you have that kind of attitude towards it. They don’t know about it too much, but they normally don’t have a good impression about it. People like me don’t care what hobbies people have since it doesn’t matter.

But, since it’s useless to argue with my parents here, I made a blank ‘yeah’ response.

They are speaking their thoughts openly and my father was out of the question in the first place. He wouldn’t have a DVD that he’d not know how to use.

So by elimination, the suspect left is…

I quietly glanced at Kirino sitting next to me.

“…”

Kirino was biting her lip strongly, as if she was using every single muscle in her body, and her chopsticks in her hands were shaking. Uhh what? You’re kidding right!?

“Kirino?”

Mom asks Kirino lightly, seeing my sister acting strange.

“Thank you for the meal.”

She stands up and quickly heads out of the room, seemingly in rage.

She slams the door shut and climbs the stairs with a stomp.

The people left behind are in shock.

“What is wrong with her?”

“I-I wonder.”

I make a halfhearted response to my mom who is puzzled. Honestly, I don’t know what to do either.

What is she angry for? What part of that conversation would have made Kirino mad? If she was the culprit and noticed my hints, then it’s even more strange.

If she was acting normally, she wouldn’t get all apparently worried and make me notice. What’s wrong? I don’t understand at all, Kirino.

“Heh.”

But her attitude wasn’t normal. I can consider that as a sign that she responded to my hints.

Of course, I don’t believe this was enough to condemn her as a suspect. It’s just that I suspect someone in the family is responsible for it… It meaning “Stardust Witch Meruru” that is…

Was it… my sister?

“Mother, call Kirino down later.”

Father’s displeased voice resounds heavily in the dining room. Oh great. She’s in trouble. Not that I’m responsible for it.

If I assume that the DVD is Kirino’s, then a lot of things will surely make sense.

She must have dropped it this evening when she bumped into me. That thing, which would have been in her bag, found itself between the shoe closet and the wall when it dropped out.

And Kirino realized she had lost the thing after she arrived at her destination.

That’s why she was looking for something in the entrance hall before supper.

If I were to add to that, if my assumption that she put the wrong DVD in the case is correct, she was supposed to bring “Stardust Witch Meruru” and not “Let’s Make Love With Your Sister!”.

…Well anyway, I can’t imagine what kind of business she would have that requires her to bring something like that. I thought she was having a mass date, but middle school girls don’t bring anime DVDs to mass dates. So, I can be quite sure she went to see a friend.

“Hmm…”

I don’t get it at all. I still can’t believe there’s a relationship between Kirino and anime for kids. Look, it’s Kirino we’re talking about. It’s impossible. Something’s got to be wrong. I did make this ‘Kirino is the Culprit’ theory, but I still had almost no faith in it.

…Oh well, maybe I’ll dig in a bit deeper.

“Thanks for the meal.”

After eating my supper, I left the dining room. I go to my room for my wallet and purposely say aloud in front of my room.

“Alright. I should head out to the convenience store.”

…Heh I have no talent as an actor. Who cares. I know I can’t do it well anyways. Rather, it’s some cheap trick that I’d be surprised at if she actually fell for.

Making large thuds, I go down the stairs and close the door with a bang.

Leaving the house, I take the path to the convenience store. Instead of heading for the convenience store, however, I take a different path leading to the back of my home.

What am I up to? Well, I put myself in the culprit’s shoes. If Kirino was the culprit then she would have realized by now that it was me who picked up the thing.

So then, if I were Kirino, what would I do?

The best solution would be to recover the thing before I noticed and then pretend she knows nothing about it. That’s the only option.

Kirino was apparently acting strange at that time. She wasn’t being cool. If so, she might lose her patience and begin searching for the thing. So I set up a simple trap, even though the chances that she would fall for it are low.

“Well… still it’ll never work out, right?”

I whisper to myself while slipping through the back door to my home, and silently climb the stairs. I swung the door open.

*Creak*

“Hey… What are you doing?”

“…Wha-?!”

Huh?! No way! She really was in here…

Uh, how surprised can you be?

Kirino, on all fours in the middle of the room, looks back at me with a face that’s all blue.

It’s like she’s frightened. Regardless, she still looks at me like I’m garbage, and it stabbed my heart.

“…I said, what are you doing?”

“…It’s none of your business.”

With her ass facing me, she speaks to me with a tone that seems to want to take a bite out of me. Possibly from her nervousness, she’s breathing hard.

“…Of course it does. How would you feel if someone were to break into your room and begin a search?”

And out of all the places, you’re searching through my hidden porn book collection.

With my suppressed anger, I tell her coldly.

“…”

Kirino looks aside silently. Is it from her anger that her cheeks are becoming flaming red? She then slowly stands up and walks toward me without a word.

“Out of my way.”

“No way. Answer my question. What were you doing here?”

“Get out of my way!”




“I know already. You were searching for this.”

I was secretly afraid of my sister, who had been raging a foot away from me. Still, I reveal the DVD Case for “Stardust Witch Meruru” hidden underneath my shirt. Kirino’s reaction was dramatic.

“That…?!”

“Oops.”

She shoots out her hand with a demonic face, but expecting this, I evade.

Throwing a fake expression of coolness, I tap the DVD case with my hand.

“Heh… So this was yours after all.”

“…Of course not!”

She says in a highly frustrated voice. Hey, what you’re saying is inconsistent with your actions.

“Oh, so this isn’t yours? Well, I picked it up this evening in the entrance hall. I thought maybe you dropped it when you bumped into me.”

“That’s definitely not… It’s not mine. W-Why would I watch such a… childish… anime? No way I would… right?”

Looks like she won’t ever admit it. This is going to take forever.

“If you weren’t looking for this, then what did you come into my room for?”

“Well… that’s…!”

“That’s? What?”

I try to make her continue, but she keeps silent again.

“…”

She shakes her shoulder from frustration and looks down.

It’s apparent that Kirino is feeling extreme humiliation from my questioning.

Well, it must feel like being accused of possessing a porn book by someone I hate. It surely must be frustrating and so embarrassing that you would feel like killing yourself.

“…”

She looks at me in silence with strong hostility, like she’s looking at some guy who killed her parents.

…Damn why do I have to be seen by my sister with such hatred?

Damn it. It’s getting really stupid. I don’t really care about her. Why must I do something so uneasy? Oh fine, I quit.

“Here.”

I carelessly shove the DVD case to my sister’s breast. Kirino still keeps her expression of hatred and looks up at me.

“It’s important to you right? I’m going to give it back, so take it.”

“I-I said it’s not min-”

“Then throw it away for me.”

“Huh?”

She looks up at my face with a ‘what do you mean?’ expression.

What’s that face for? I’m not trying to have fun abusing my sister. I just wanted to know whose DVD this was, and that’s been solved. I can’t go on with this forever. Of course I’d never say this out loud. Instead, I speak using well thought out lines.

“Sorry, it must have been my misunderstanding. I understand well that it’s not yours. I don’t know whose it is, but I have no use for it, so along with apologies, I want to ask you to get rid of it. Would you throw it away for me?”

After I make this much compromise, finally Kirino speaks up.

“Well… Fine.”

And then takes the DVD case. I step aside and open the door, and then Kirino leaves the room. I proceed to step into my room.

“Phew.”


Jeez, how long has it been since I talked that much to my sister?

Man, I’m so tired. I slump into the bed and look up into the ceiling.

That was when I heard my sister’s voice, who I thought had already gone away.

“Hey…”

“Huh?”

Oh, she was still here. How troublesome. Just go away.

I look at her, and she was shyly looking at me. What a commendable expression it was, one that she would normally never show me. Uhh… what? What’s the matter? I suddenly felt worried and ask her. “What?”

“You think it’s wrong… right?”

“What is?”

“Well… It’s just a hypothetical question but, you know… if I had… these… do you think it’s wrong… I’m asking…”

…heh.

“Not really. I don’t think it’s wrong.”

I click my tongue in my heart and answer. I wanted to get her out of my room as soon as possible and if I answered differently she would surely get mad.

…Jeez why are you acting like you want to pick a fight?

I returned it to you in a way that would hurt your pride the least. And this was your mess up in the first place. So there’s no reason to get angry at me, rather you should be thanking me.

“…You really think so? Really?”

“Yeah. Whatever hobby you might have, I won’t look down on you, ever.”

…Since it has nothing to do with me.

“Really? Absolutely?”

“Man, you don’t trust me. I said really. Believe me.”

I wasn’t really so serious with my words, but it looks like Kirino was satisfied with my words.

“I see… Hmm…”

She made a few nods and then held tightly on to the “Stardust Witch Meruru” and ran off. Somehow this scene makes me feel nostalgic. I feel something like this happened in the past too. I’ve forgotten about it though.

“At least close the door, will you?”

I complain and then collapse onto the bed.

And so for two days, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Kirino and I were back to normal. No conversation, no eye contact, and keeping the distance of a stranger. While I got to see an interesting aspect of my sister, I didn’t try to do anything about it, thinking I’d just forget about it quickly.

Well, it did interest me why my sister had something like that.

But still, I didn’t feel like digging into my sister’s secrets. It’s just asking for too much trouble.

But…

Late one night…

I was having a good night’s sleep, when I felt a sharp sting on my cheek.

“Whoa?!”

That’s a good wake up call. Looks like I got slapped on my cheek.

What? A burglar? I open my eyes in surprise.

“!!”

It’s bright. It looks like the lights in my room are on. I feel something heavy on my stomach, but it doesn’t look like I’m tied up. It’s a job half done for a burglar...

Uhh hey!

“Hey you!”

Recognizing the attacker, I open my eyes wide in amazement. My heart’s pounding from the sudden night attack.

“…Be quiet.”
The attacker was actually Kirino in her pajamas. She was on all fours like she was covering me while I was trying to get up in my bed. My sister’s face without makeup is right near my face.


“Hey, you! What the heck do you-”

“I told you to be quiet! What time do you think it is now?”

I voice my protest while Kirino threatens me quietly.

What time you think it is now? That would be my line.

Rather… I’m in my own bed, late at night, with my sister on top of me, looking into my face inches from me. What the heck is this situation? It might look like some scene from a love-comedy but my heart is about to explode, in the wrong sense.

“Uhh… Getting off the bed is a good starting point,”

I say to her, trying to calm my breathing. My sister did what I told her, apparently with a disgusted expression.

Surely if it was some other woman, I would be disturbed (with another reason than being surprised). But if it’s my sister, she’s just heavy. No matter how good she looks, I can’t count her as being a woman.

All brothers with sisters would agree with this.

“Heh…”

I poke my temple with my finger and ask with a sigh,

“And so, what was your intention?”

“… I have something to tell you, so come.”

Why are you getting angry? I should be the one since I’ve been suddenly beaten in the cheek. Yet, I’m still treating her properly. Aren't I a nice person?

“Something you want to tell me, at such a late hour?”

“Yep.”

“I’m really sleepy you know. Could we do this tomorrow?”

I apparently said that in an unhappy manner, but Kirino didn’t nod her head in agreement.

Rather she gave me an ‘are you stupid?’ kind of expression.

“Tomorrow won’t do. It has to be now.”

“Why?”

“…It just has to be.”

All right. She won’t tell me why and she won’t change her line of thought either. How selfish can this woman be?

I want to ignore this crazy talk and go back to sleep, but too bad my eyes are wide open now. I answer her even though it’s tiring.

“…And where are we going?”

“…To my room.”

With a look as if she found her parent’s killer, she tugged my collar.

I give up resisting and unwillingly follow her.

“I just have to go, right? Jeez.”

Oh what is this, really.

My sister’s room is right next door. Last spring when Kirino entered middle school, Dad gave her this room. It’s a rarely used Japanese style room converted into a western style one and I’ve never been inside before.

I thought I’d never do so in the future either, but of all times, I never thought I’d be invited late in the night. I could have imagined it to happen in the morning, since I still think that this is a joke or something.

“You can come in…”

“OK…”

Lead by Kirino, I step into my sister’s room for the first time. I have no real special feelings, but it’s strangely sweet smelling.

Hmm… It’s larger than my room.

It’s about 8 tatami mats wide, with a bed, a closet, a desk, a bookshelf, a mirror, CD rack, and various other things.

The interior wasn’t much different from my room, except with a more reddish coloring.

However the big difference is that it has a computer desk.

It suits my image of Kirino well, not being the individualist, but quite modern.

“What are you looking at?”

“I’m not looking.”

Unbelievable. You lead me here and you say it like that?

Kirino sits on the bed, and points to the ground.

“Sit.”

You say it like it’s completely natural, but sister, this position is like the judge and criminal in a courtroom.

“Hey, at least give me a cushion”

“…”

With a very disgusted frown, she throws over a cushion of a cat.

I happily put the cat’s face under my ass and sit.

Jeez, she really seems to hate having me touching her possessions. Does she think I spread germs or something? Are girls of this age all like this? Oh, how evil.

“And…?”

I look up. Kirino still looks cross and all flustered. Then after a deep breath, she quietly speaks out.

“I have…”

“What?”

You’re speaking too quietly. I can’t hear you. After I asked, her expression becomes even more mean.

“As I said, I have something to consult with you about.”

Oh, that’s quite an unexpected line. I thought I heard wrongly, and I ask again.

“What did you say?”

“I want to consult you about life.”

“…”

For a long moment, I was shocked and went silent, blinking countless times.

Because, well you know… It’s my sister. She hates me like some dung beetle. And what did she ask me? She wants to consult me about life? Wow. It must be a dream. After this, I wouldn’t be surprised even if Godzilla were to come and attack the town.

With my dead dry throat, I managed to speak up.

“Consult about life? You consulting me?”

“Yes.”

Kirino nodded clearly. Hey hey… You serious?

“You told me last time.”

“What?”

“That it’s not wrong for me to have those kinds of things…”

She isn’t talking too clearly. It’s like she’s a little upset.

“That kind of thing… You mean the stuff I asked you to throw away?”

“Yes…”

Why does that topic come up now?

Feeling strange, I answer “Yeah, I did.”

“And what does that have to do with it?”

“You really won’t… look down on me…?”

Is it really ok for me to talk to her? I begin to wonder.

I say to my sister who still looks at me in suspicion,

“Don’t make me repeat myself. I said I won’t look down on you, ever.”

I don’t care a bit about your hobbies, really. You woke me up just to make sure of this?

“A-Absolutely, really true?”

“Absolutely, surely, really, truly, true.”

“I won’t forgive you if it’s a lie.”

“Yeah, do as you wish.”

Jeez, give me a break. What is this?

I begin to feel tired. Meanwhile Kirino seems to have made up her mind and stands up, walking towards the bookshelf.

…Huh? What are you going to do?

Beside me, who’s puzzled, Kirino pulled on one of the two bookshelves. I am amazed at how easily it was moved around, but after a second look, I realized all the contents have been pulled out and already stacked on her bed.

With one of the bookshelves that filled the wall gone, a huge space opens up.

“H-Hey, what are you doing…?”

Kirino doesn’t answer my question but pushes the other bookshelf (which is half filled with books) with her shoulder into the open space.

Little by little, the thick bookshelf moves. What was revealed was a Japanese style door not matching this western style room. A hidden storage space.

“Wow…”

Kirino lets a breath out and says,

“When I entered middle school and got this room, they remade this room into a western style room, right? I don’t know why but this was probably left over from that time. I only discovered it during the last year’s year end cleaning, though…”

“I see…”

Maybe Dad pinched some pennies. If the bookshelf is there no one will realize it…

“So the consultation about life… is about the contents in there?”

Kirino nodded. But with her hand on the door, she’s not going to open it.

“…”

With a difficult expression she looks into my face.

Leading up till now, even someone as dull as me would have figured out what’s inside there, along with the reason why she’s hesitating.

…Consultation about life, eh? Why ask me?

Surely I said I won’t look down on her regardless of her hobby but still…

“Hmm…”

I put myself in Kirino’s shoes.

Well, there’s two kinds of consultations about life.

One type is the most common type, asking someone who can relate to your issue and can be entrusted to it.

For this type, you would want to think it through together with the consultant, about your concern or problem, and find a solution.

And the other kind is consulting a complete outsider.

In this case, you aren’t looking for useful advice at all and just want someone to listen to you.

And as for Kirino’s case, I’m definitely not someone who knows about the issue and can be trusted upon it.

Then it means…

If Kirino’s concern is what I think it to be, then it would be difficult to consult someone.

She would be afraid of destroying her personal image. She doesn’t really have a choice of who to consult. There’s only one person who she can consult openly, which is me.

Someone who knows what she wants to consult about and doesn’t mind how she will be considered after the consultation. That would be me.

Okay so that’s how it is. After understanding most of what my sister’s situation is, I tell her, wanting to complete the job and go back to sleep as soon as possible,

“Don’t worry. Whatever comes out of there, I will never look down on you, and if you tell me to keep it a secret, I will never tell anyone. Okay?”

Hearing my well thought out words of kindness, Kirino nods again and mutters,

“…It’s a promise,”

before she opens the forbidden door.

*rolling sound*

*thud*

“Huh? Something fell out…”

Before witnessing the revealed contents of the closet, I carelessly pick up the object that fell out.

It was again a DVD case and…

Its title was “Let’s Make Love With Your Sister! -Sister Maker ver. 1.4-”

*ahem ahem ahem ahem …?!*

I coughed up big time.

I-Is this the original game? Come to think of it, it wasn’t just the anime, but she also possessed this! I’m shocked. At what? At the erotic package with a half naked, blushing girl embracing herself! And what? This was a series?

“Wh-What is this?”

“Oh that? Well it was first a series on PS2, but after porting to PC, it became a completely different series. It’s a classic, but it’s a little old and the contents are a bit hard, definitely not for a beginner.”

I didn’t ask that! What do you mean by a beginner in the first place? Are you some kind of pro? You are a pro, right? Damn, I have too many questions to ask. This is way past my skill level!

Wh-What’s happening here?

Have I stepped into another world? Someone tell me!

The first strike in the head from the title “Let’s Make Love With Your Sister” already made me groggy. But as for Kirino, it was nothing more than a light jab.

“…Heh.”

Sweating heavily, I look up and peer into the forbidden open abyss.

The inside of the closet looks normal at first look. It had a top and bottom shelf and was dimly lit.

But the goods piled up were of an even stranger variety.

What catches the eye was the large number of cases piled high on the top shelf.

“What are… those boxes?”

Kirino answers proudly, while handing me a few of the cases.

Most were from the “Sister Maker EX series” and just a list of the titles are like this:

“Super Step Sister” “Let’s Play With Your Sisters (heart)” “Tengentoppa 12 Sisters” “Final Weapon Sister”… Well, you get the picture.

I have a lot of comments that I’d like to make, but if I say the wrong thing, I’ll definitely end up in a hellish situation. I first begin with what I hope wasn’t a touchy question.

“Why is the box… so big?”

“That, I don’t know. But it’s like that.”

She reveals one of the world’s mysteries solemnly. I don’t get it. I don’t really get it. I don’t get anything at all.

*gulp* While holding back the dangerous question that’s about to come out of my mouth anytime, I glance at the lower shelf.

In there were more huge boxes lined up.

Those boxes were larger than PC game boxes and were not of uniform size. Some had pictures of girls and others were glittery colored.

“What… are these?”

“DVD boxes for anime. All of these here are special box editions.”

“DVD boxes? Special box edition?”

It’s sad but I can’t do more than repeat what she said.

“Yep. Like the final edition with the episodes touched up, a bonus disk, special booklet, and other specials are packed in it. Haha! Aren’t they great?”

“You mean… the Stardust Witch thing?”

“Yes.”

Kirino seems a bit excited.

Is she so happy to reveal her prized collection to someone that she hates so much like me? I’m almost about to crack up and laugh. It’s quite an unusual feeling.

Anyway, this question comes to my mind.

“By the way, aren’t these rather expensive?”

“Umm, well somewhat. Well this one is… 41,790 yen… This one is 55,000 yen. And this one is…”

“That’s expensive as hell! What part of that was somewhat?”

“Is that so much? It’s the same price of one or two pieces of clothing.”

“Where does all that money come from?! You’re a middle school student! Your sense of economy is screwed already at the age of 14!”

After saying this, I felt that I made the wrong comment.

Oh crap, maybe that’s a really delicate matter. I might not want to hear the answer…

As if she didn’t notice my worries, she simply says,

“Where? From my pay, of course.”

“I-I see.”

Pay, huh? Well if it’s pay then it’s fine…

Err no no no not at all!

I ask her with a half fearsome face.

“You said pay?”

“Yes.”

“What is that? What kind of work do you get paid for?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I work as a model for a magazine.”

“A-A model for a magazine? Like those nude photos on the front?”

“Completely wrong… Are your ears rotten or something? I said I’m a model! I’m an exclusive reader’s model!”

Her eyes filled with scorn that hurt my heart. I didn’t know the real difference between a model and a nude model, but I guess I made a completely wrong remark.

Perhaps she got tired of seeing my confused look and took a magazine from the shelf, throwing it at me.

It was one of those so called teen magazines. It has an extremely glittery title on a book background and lots of inflaming lines like “seize the future.”

“…”

Flipping through the pages, I see my usual sister in various places. I don’t really get it, but it seems my sister is making cool poses with the ‘most vogue’ clothes.

Wow… she looked like a model, but I never thought she was actually one.

I shouldn’t really care what she does or where she does it, but why do I feel a little irritated? I don’t know why, but I made some nasty comments.

“What the heck is with this pose? Was your back hurting or something?”

“Are you dumb?”

Why do I sense some dismay in her eyes that are still filled with scorn?

I feel even worse after she then looks away from me. I try to fix the situation.

“Well… I guess, you look cute?”

What the heck am I telling my sister? Well… It’s not a lie though.

“Rather, isn’t this one of those better known magazines? Even I know the title so… Could you be some great personality or something?”

“Hmm? Oh, this isn’t such a big deal.”

She really seems to enjoy getting praised, even from someone like me. She’s not even trying to conceal her happiness.

Since the evil mood had been repaired, I get back to the topic that was cut short.

“And err… How much do you get paid?”

“Hmm… If I remember right…”

Hearing my sister’s response, I shrug heavily.

Oh come on… They’re giving way too much to a kid.

“So you get it now? Me working on my cuteness everyday is part of my job.”

“Yeah, sure…”

But yeah… the readers of this magazine wouldn’t even imagine that the cool styled model is actually spending her earnings on stuff like “Let’s Make Love With Your Sister” or “Let’s have Fun with your Sister (heart)”.

Rather, if her fans ever found that out, they’d surely faint and drop.

While feeling all the agony in the world, I try to look into the depths of the closet.

However, Kirino, who is on her knees, opens both her hands and blocks me.

“I-I can’t show you any more tonight.”

“Why not?”

Well, it’s not that I want to see more, but I thought you won’t let me go until I saw everything and all.

Kirino takes a look into the depths and then glares at me.

Oh please quit looking at me as if you’re looking at some garbage.

“I… don’t trust you yet, so this is the limit for now.”

“Huh?”

What is with her? What the heck is she talking about? From the way she says it, it makes it seem like that was nothing, and that there’s something even more bizarre. Oh wait, erm… You DO have something? You do huh?

“The stuff further inside are a bit embarrassing so… No.”

“…I see.”

Whaaat? What kind of things could make her embarrassed? She just showed me “Let’s Make Love With Your Sister” so proudly. I become silent from the extreme surprise when Kirino starts speaking. She’s right in front of me, on all fours, looking up at me.

“So how is it?”

“What do you mean by that?”

What kind of answer does she want? If someone knows, please tell me now.

I struggle to provide an answer, and Kirino is getting somewhat antsy.

“Well, you know, like, how you feel after having seen my hobby.”

“Oh yes… How I feel, heh… Erm… I’m surprised.”

“That’s it?”

“Well, you’re asking me to say more? But you know, I’m just so surprised I can’t make out any other remarks.”

I try to be sensitive and say so, however Kirino makes a worried face with her well styled eyebrows and blurts out,

“…It must be wrong for me to have these kind of things.”

“…Well I don’t think so.”

It’s not a matter of right or wrong.

…So I guess this was the matter Kirino wanted to consult me about.

Anyhow, I really want to go to sleep and forget about this. Maybe she will let me go now?

Since I’m desperate to get out of this room, I give a comment that I think my sister would surely want.

“I told you already. Regardless of whatever hobby you have, I will never look down on you. Isn’t that fine? Everyone is permitted to choose their own hobbies. As long as it’s not causing someone else trouble you should be free to choose what you want to do. Besides, it’s the money that you earned yourself. Nobody has the right to say anything about it.”

“True. Heh… You do say good things every now and then.”

All right, she’s satisfied. Good. Now it’s time for me to leave…

And my butt was halfway up before I decided to sit down again.

Actually, there was something I really wanted to ask about the entire time and had been holding it back.

If I go about it wrong, I might get an out of this world answer, so I thought I would try not asking, and forgetting about it, but oh well, I can’t hold it back anymore.

It’s like someone from another realm is commanding me to ask her now, as soon as possible. Well surely I’m imagining things.

“Heh…”

All right. I’m going to ask now. I’m going to do so! Am I ready to deal with the issue calmly even if I get a bizarre answer?

“Kirino, about what we were talking back before… There is one I thing I want to ask you.”

“Huh? That formality of yours is so unreal.”

Brat… Is that how to talk to your own brother who completely accepted your hobbies?

From the looks of this, this probably won’t end up in the worst possible way.

Phew… After a sigh of relief, I ask her.

“So, why do you have these hentai games about little sisters?”

“…”

Err… Why are you so silent here? Say something will you?

“…Why do you think I do?”

“N-No idea… I just wonder…”

W-W-W-Wait a second why do you have to blush and get all pink in the face?

Why are you crawling towards me on all fours?

N-N-No way! Please, stop that! I don’t have those kinds of interests!

Fearing for my own safety, I slowly take several steps back as if I am shaken from fear.

“Why are you backing away?”

“I’m not.”

“Lies. You are.”

“That’s because you are… Oops”

O-Oh no… I backed into the wall. I can’t go back any further.

I could have quickly run off, but I wasn’t calm enough. All I could do was look around the room frantically. And before I realized it, she was able to get even closer to me.

“…”

Then, Kirino’s expression changed to a serious one, like she had made up her mind on something important.

That serious look from her eyes stabs straight into my eyes. I’m paralyzed by Kirino’s eyes. I can’t take my eyes off her. The air was tense.

And then on all fours, she gets on top of me…

She shoved the copy of “Let’s Make Love With Your Sister” in front of my nose.

“Huh?”

I was not expecting this to happen, I am speechless. She doesn’t seems to care about my reaction and changing into a rather romantic blushing tone, she says,

“When you look at this package, don’t you feel like… it’s somehow nice?”

“W-What are you talking about?”

I don’t get it. From the moment I stepped into this room, how many times has that phrase come up in my mind? Out of all the times, Kirino’s last comment was very incomprehensible.

“You know…”

She gives me a blank look as if she thinks that I’m the strange one for not understanding.

“…It’s really cute!”

Err what is? Your comments aren’t specific.

I must have had a quite puzzled look.

I knew I wouldn’t get a better answer from rewording the question, so I let my brain work hard to try to decipher what my sister meant.

“…”

There are two clues. The package she holds right in front of my nose and her comment just now saying “It’s really cute”.

Of course you would normally only have one answer, but isn’t that really wrong? It sure is, right? I can’t quite accept it but I still ask her cautiously.

“So what you’re saying is… Err… You like ‘little sisters’? And this is the reason why you have a lot of those games?”

“Uh huh!”

Correct answer! She gave me a really cheerful nod… Why is she so proud of this?

Oh, I really wish she was so cheerful like that all the time.

I was wondering about that kind of stuff while Kirino continued on, without me even asking.

“They really are cute you know! In the usual bishoujo games, the player normally is a male, so they get called many different ways. They address you in a special way, like ‘onii-chan’ ‘onii’ ‘aniki’ ‘anikun’ some different way that suits the girl’s type. That love they have for the brother just really strikes you hard.”

“I see… that’s surprising…”

I follow along not too seriously. Heh, she really loves it…

By the way, you keep addressing me like “Hey” or “Yo” and other rude ways. What’s your opinion on that? It doesn’t seem right to me at all. Rather, it frustrates me all the time.

“Oh, of them, I like this girl the best!”

My sister was pointing at a blushing short frail type girl with black hair in a twin-tail hair style.

“Black hair has got to be in a twin tail, I think. These little weak-looking girls make you feel like you want to protect them and you know… hug them tight and… haha aren’t they nice?”

You have brown hair. You have a super short skirt and sit in such a way that shows your legs all the time and laugh loudly on the phone. Doesn’t that comment you made absolutely deny yourself?

Well… putting that aside.

“I… see.”

My sister likes ‘little sisters’… and that is why she is into collecting these kind of items.

That I understand now, but that doesn’t mean my questions are answered. Rather, it makes it even stranger for me.

I asked with a serious face.

“B-But, why's that?”

“Huh?”

“Like, why do you like sisters? I’m not saying that it’s bad or anything, but the games you collect… Normally men would be buying them, right? And they are… Err… Even ones that aren’t supposed to be sold to under-18 year olds. It just absolutely doesn’t fit your image. Why did you… What’s the reason you began to like those kinds of things? What made you like it? Is there something behind it?”

“That is… well…”

Kirino was apparently shaken from my question. She blinked her eyes like she had been splashed with a bucket of cold water. Her eyes are wandering everywhere. She’s hesitating to answer the difficult question… It didn’t seem like that was the thing. I kept waiting for a while and…

“I.. I don’t know…”

She said in a somewhat childish way, with her eyes closed tight, and her face all red.

I respond, “Huh?” and ask again. My sister now has her hands in front of her chest and starts blushing.

“You see… Umm I-I don’t know… myself…”

Oh wow, is she being possessed by some evil spirit all of the sudden?

Where’s her usual annoying personality?

How she looked when embarrassed totally wasn’t like her, (I mean she was so cute) so I was unsure of what to do.

“You don’t know? But… it’s about yourself you know…”

“Because… I-It just turned out this way! I don’t really know why… Just when I realized, I was already in love with it…”

You’re really talking like some other character… It’s totally not you.

“…I think it all began with an anime I saw in the store.”

Kirino’s attitude is now that of a weak little sister character, just like the ones she loves.

She looks up at me with a worried look.

“I know too that this isn’t… a normal girl’s hobby. That’s why I couldn’t tell anyone… and I hid it… But even if I know so… I just love it… When I’m using the internet… I just can’t help googling about it… and then I find myself playing the trial version… and as I play the trial edition, I get the feeling that I’ve got to buy it and…”

So this is the result of that.

I look at the tower of little sister type games and thin my eyes.

…Aren’t you completely falling for the game companies’ sales tactics?

“Th-These cute cover illustrations make me go crazy!”

Don’t blame the illustrator…

Erm… So why am I listening to how my sister became an otaku in the middle of the night?

I’m pretty sure there’s no other brother in the world who has the same experience as me.

Kirino continues on.

“I thought it was wrong… So I thought of quitting… many times. But I just couldn’t quit. Because… you know when you open your browser, the news sites registered to Hatena Antenna gives me new information every day, and tries to make me buy lots of stuff… Damn those CarsSP and AkibaBlog…”

“Well… you know… what were they… news sites? You could just stop looking at them, right?”

“If I could manage to do that, then I wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble.”

A little question was enough to get her quite depressed.

Hey… Who the heck is this? I don’t remember having such a cute sister.

Kirino sitting flat in front of me and looking up at me with eyes glittering with tears.

“So… What do you think I should do?”

“…”

What should she do, she asks me…

Like hell, I’d know… That would be my honest reply. But I certainly can’t tell that to my sister who is depending on me, regardless of what her intentions might be.

I do understand. The reason why she chose me as the consultant. It's not because I’m a reliable, lovable brother. It’s because I mean nothing to her and she assumes there would be nothing bad in telling me about it.

It’s such a damned story, having not a bit of respect for me.

But still, whatever her reasons were, she still told me what her worries were. She might not have any love for me, but she still does have at least a speck of trust in me and relied on me, right? And now, the only person who could help her, is me, right? Then, case closed. No other choice.

Just about when my mind was made up, Kirino said something outrageous.

“Should I… talk to mother and father about this?”

“Absolutely not! Don’t even try! If you could have done that, you wouldn’t have to worry about all this in the first place!”

Whoa that surprised me. Maybe she’s actually quite the airhead.

“Oh right. Then I won’t.”

“Yeah, keep it to yourself. And make sure father doesn’t find out.”

Our father is one of those old style grumpy men and is very strict.

If father does find out about this ’secret hobby’ of hers… All hell would break loose.

“If they find out… Would I get in trouble?”

“You most likely would. Honestly, I don’t want things to end up like that. So that’s why I will help so that your hobby doesn’t get revealed… Not that I know exactly what to do…”

“Are you okay with that?”

Kirino looked like she didn’t accept that. It seems unbelievable that I offered to help her.

So… What kind of impression does she have about me? I won’t ask, since I dread the consequences of doing so.

Though I wasn’t exactly pleased, I still nodded.

“Sure. If anything happens, just tell me. I might not be able to give you good advice, but I will do what I can.”

I will later come to regret saying that without giving it much thought.

“O-Oh… All right then. That might be of help to me…”

Kirino didn’t thank me, but she did make a number of small nods and looked happy.

Seeing my sister like that doesn’t make me feel bad, honestly.

So she can make faces like this too.

I watch her smiling face with a strange feeling in my heart.

It brings back the old days… I don’t know why, but I thought so.

Well anyhow, I guess things will somehow work out. After I found that game of hers, she had been thinking hard and worrying about this for the past two days, and decided to talk to me.

There was not an option of refusing to help. Though I admit it’s troublesome.

…Oh well, I’m relieved that it wasn’t the ‘worst nightmare come true’.

“By the way, you only like ‘little sisters’ and buy ‘hentai games about little sisters,’ right? You don’t have any other intentions, right?”

“Huh? What else did you think it was?”

I only asked to seek further assurance, but Kirino seems puzzled.

And a few seconds later, she seems to have imagined my ‘worst nightmare come true’ scenario and made a frown.

“…Disgusting. Like hell no.”

Ah, she’s back to her normal self in a second. She’s filled with hate. Now this is my sister.

Oh shit, I was supposed to feel annoyed about this, but yet I felt rather assured. This shows how strange her obedient attitude just now was… Heh?

“Disgusting you say…? In the games you love, little sisters love their brother’s greatly, right? Why do you deny it yourself?”

“…Oh what an idiot you are. Don’t mix up 2D and 3D realms. Games are just games. Reality is reality. Think of this, would a real little sister ever think of liking their own brother? No way.”

Did she just indirectly say that she ‘absolutely hates’ me? Isn’t this cruel? I’m sure there are brothers and sisters who get along perfectly together in this world. That doesn’t deny the fact that I am your eternal enemy.

“This business is finished, so can you get out now?”

Damn… She really isn’t cute.

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