Haru-Naru ♪♪♪ Love is a Comedy

The minute I arrived home, I plopped down the paper bags in the entranceway.

"…ahh…I'm so beat…" Falling into an exhausted squat, I was too tired to even move. High level otaku would do this three days in a row, but it would be a terrible mistake to think they were in the same class of people.

Well then. This isn't the time to be doing this. These dangerous things have to first be quickly put away. If Mom found these, it really wouldn't be pleasant. But, my sister who should have taken the initiative and put those things away had shakily walked up the stairs right after coming home. It wasn't an atmosphere in which I felt comfortable talking with her. On the way back, in the train and the taxi, it had been like this. Geez… what to do about this situation?

Taking off my shoes, I rubbed my heel which was throbbing in pain. I then once again took up the five damn heavy paper bags, and slowly went up the stairs. Once I arrived at my sister's room, I put the paper bags down for the moment, and began to knock… but there was no response.

"Hey Naruko. At the very least, let me put the things you bought in your room." She didn't respond, but I heard a bit of noise coming from within. Without anything to lose, I tried twisting the knob, and found that the door wasn't locked. She probably didn't even have the energy to lock the door. Opening the door slightly, I saw that the room interior was completely dark. "Naruko… I'll just leave these here then." Through the crack that had opened up, I slid the five paper bags through as gently as possible. "I'm going to heat up the bath, so come in after a bit."

After washing off my light sweat in the shower, I decided to prepare the bath. Soaking in the tub puts the body at ease much more than a shower alone. And if nobody else came in, then I would just go in myself. I wouldn't let it go to waste.

After I finished my shower, I checked my cell phone, and saw that I had missed a call from Mio. As I thought, when I returned her call, she seemed concerned about what had happened after they had left.

"Honestly, thank you for today. Thankfully, we made do, so don't worry about it. Sorry that you had to worry about us."

I didn't mention that the girl that was there was Naruko's best friend, that her otaku hobby had been exposed, that their relationship had been broken off, that she was now depressed… Mio had done a lot for us today, and had planned out our day for us, and had accompanied us the entire time. I definitely didn't want to give her some strange reason to worry about us further.

"I also tried to call Orange-chan, but she didn't answer, so…"

"Haha, she's also tired, I suppose. Right when she got back she fell asleep."

"Ah, so it was like that? I'm relieved. Honestly relieved."

Mio seemed to have regained her peace of mind. Even though she had done so much for us… I'm really sorry.

It wasn't until the next morning that I saw Naruko once again. Both me and my mother were gathered around the dining table. My sister, last to appear, seemed to be acting as if nothing had happened. If this were a manga, the depressed heroine would have come out looking terrible with shadows under her eyes. But both her hair and her makeup were as tidily put into order as always. It was normal for Naruko not to talk while she ate, and she silently ate her curry. Giving her a sidelong glance, I felt that this all was a bit anticlimactic. What's up with her?

"Naruko, training camp begins today, right? Aren't you nervous?"

"Who exactly do you think I am, Mom?"

It was a statement brimming with confidence and said in complete seriousness. My sister was someone who could say things like that naturally, and moreover continue to produce results to match. At this time, I couldn't help thinking about how it only took her a single day after breaking off relations with her best friend to get back on her feet. I was impressed. You could go so far as to say that I was moved.

After we had gone to make summer memories for her, Naruko, as she had mentioned before, would become incredibly busy until summer ended. Even after she returned from her one week training camp, she would go to practice day after day, and after she came back she would shut herself up in her room. These kinds of days continued until the month's end.

After Summer Comiket had ended, my sister and I had not exchanged a single word. She didn't come to me for life counseling again, and I didn't try to talk to her about what had happened with Juvia. And even though I had promised to battle her in the game, up until now that still hadn't happened. In other words, I had no idea what the situation between Naruko and Juvia had become after that incident. There were a lot of questions I wanted to ask Naruko. But I didn't. I also didn't try to call or email Juvia about the matter. It's not like I was friendly enough with them to meddle that much.

Few days passed. Before I knew it, summer vacation was over, and the second school semester had begun. Lately, perhaps because of all the unpleasant rain and thunder we've been getting, my sense of seasons has gone to hell. The temperature would go up and down and up and down, so I had to be careful in choosing my daily attire. Today I was with Erza going to school.

"Hey, hey, Haruto… it's been a while since we've done this, hasn't it?"

"Hm? Since we've done what?" I sent a puzzled look to my cousin beside me, who had suddenly broken into a grin.

"I mean, walking together like this."

"What are you talking about? The new semester started today, so isn't it pretty obvious we'd be doing that?" After I naturally responded appropriately to her comment, Erza thinned her lips and looked up bitterly.

"That's not what I meant. Uuhh, you don't understand at all, do you, Haruto?"

"If you ask me, you're the one who doesn't understand… geez."

If I still have so much trouble understanding Erza even though we've been together for a long time, there's probably no way I can understand other women. Walking along like that for a bit, Erza spoke in a very natural tone of voice. "Hey, there seems to have been something on your mind lately."

"What do you mean?" I turned the other way and feigned innocence. Erza chuckled.

"'I don't quite know what's bothering you… but I can tell that whatever it is, you don't want to talk to me about it. But, I can't let that go. No matter how much you say it doesn't have anything to do with me and refuse my help, I can't just stand by and pretend nothing is happening.' How about I say that?"

"Huh… where did you learn how to say cool things like that?"

"Cool, right? It's what you said to me a while ago."

"Is that right?"

Ehh… I could just play dumb here, but if I do that, I have a feeling that this situation is going to get to be more and more of a headache.

"What the hell… you're going to be the death of me."

"Same to you."

As I gave up with a painful expression on my face, Erza cheerfully laughed while nudging me with her bag. It almost seemed like we had returned to midsummer. And it wasn't as if the scent of sundried grass coming from her had anything to do with that feeling.

"But, seriously… there's nothing bothering me… honestly."

"Is that right? I'm pretty sure there is, though…"

Well, if you say so, maybe there is. But, honestly, nothing comes to mind.

"Hmm… maybe it's something… you're not conscious of?"

"Hm."

"Ah, I remember you said something about Naruko… does this have something to do with her?"

"Definitely not," I responded instantly, announcing that conclusion in a forceful tone of voice. When I did that, Erza clapped her hands together.

"Ah, I got it. So it's about Naruko."

"No, it isn't!"

What the hell just happened!? But Erza seemed to be convinced in her beliefs, mumbling things like "haha, you really aren't very honest with yourself" with a know-it-all air.

"At any rate, even if there is something bothering me, it has nothing to do with my sister. Alright?"

"Yeah, sure. Well, can I ask you something else then? Has there been something bothering Naruko lately?"

What the hell… I don't like this. I don't like this at all… it seems like she's been leading me around by the nose all this time… she said that she was asking me something else, right? she's pretty impertinent, this one. When I refused to talk further, I realized that we had arrived at the usual T junction on the way to School. And then, with perfect timing, or should I say, terrible timing, we saw my beleaguered sister.

"Ah… that's… Naruko… right?"

Erza didn't seem confident in her assertion, which is natural considering they rarely interacted. Even though Naruko was usually seen hanging out in a throng of people, for some reason, she was alone today.

"She seems a bit down…"

"Really? I can't tell."

"She really seems pretty depressed. I'm her brother after all, so I could at least tell that much. Usually, she would be walking at a rapid pace with her head held high. She wasn't someone who you would expect to see hunched over like that."

What is she doing, acting like that? Come on, don't look so depressed in front of other people. That's so not like you. At some point, I had begun to bite my lower lip. For some reason my chest really hurt looking at her like that.