Haru-Naru ♪♪♪ Love is a Comedy

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

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

"Hey."

"What is it?" I turned around.

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

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

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

Wha—? How did she know that?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grateful, huh… dammit… I really have to do this, don't I? Taking the mouse, I watched as the game screen changed and I was faced with the display.

The usual annoying Ichiko voice along with the "Loving my Little Sister" title appeared. Underneath the title, the message "Click the screen gently, okay?" flashed.

Naruko became unusually talkative, and from my side let fly various instructions.

"Alright, start. First you put in your name… wait, why are you going with the default name? Put in your real name-your real name."

"Real… name… ? Why? Do I have to?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hearing my first negative impressions, Naruko, with good timing, interrupted with an explanation.

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

Even though I knew that they weren't talking about me, why is there an aching in my chest? It's probably because the character has my name, so it's difficult to think that the character is a different person.

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

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

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

Well, in any case, I'll explain the gist of things that are being described on the screen. In this version of the game, the protagonist, Haruto, wakes up in his room, and for some reason his sister, Ichiko, is sleeping in the same futon.

Ichiko is the sandy blond hair, timid looking small gir with green eyes. That's the scene that starts off the story.

Haruto: "Whaa… I-Ichiko-chan… ?" Startled, I woke up fully, blinking rapidly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To the peacefully sleeping Ichiko, I will…

Gently hug her close.

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

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

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

Without any hesitation, kick her off the futon.

Bang! (The screen shook a bit.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Geez, my sister's strong, isn't she…? I did not see that attack coming at all. I guess Naruko's already grown up so it's already too late to do anything about her brutal behavior. Clutching the place on my side where Naruko had kicked me, I gave a huge internal sigh.

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

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

Haruto: "Huh? Are you saying something?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was a silly question, but, wasn't that the most unhelpful answer she could have given? Well, whatever, this isn't exactly the place to make a snide remark.

I left-clicked. The heroines having all gathered, the dining event started. Ping! The image changed to a viewpoint overlooking the dining table. Icons resembling each of the little sisters were scattered about the screen, flashing and growing bigger and smaller. In the upper half of the display, in circular font stood the message "Onii-chan, who do you want to talk with?"

"Oh? The display changed again."

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

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

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

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

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

"Do you really want to know?"

"Nah, it's fine."

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

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

"Yeah."

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

"Any thoughts?"

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

"I-I see… that's true, I guess… "

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

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

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

"Hey… Naruko."

"What? Why do you look so serious?"

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

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

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

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

"That doesn't matter."

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

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

"Why are you staring me? Are you making fun of me?"

"No, it's not that."

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

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

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

So far so good. With unusual determination, I stared right back at my sister. I put on a bold smile, and turned the chair around. With the air of a life counselor, I pointed towards the bed.

"Hey, sit there please." Naruko looked like she wanted to object, but in the end reluctantly did as I said. Well, alright, I guess she's willing to listen to what I have to say. "You said it already, right? You asked me 'what should I do?' And, at that time, I didn't give you any good advice. So now, I'll give you an answer. Go make friends."

"Fri… ends?"

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

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

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

"N-No, that's—"

"No? Then, what are you? I mean, if you can, please answer that for me."

Having finally become a bit fed up with my sister's attitude, I tried to corner her with my words. Naruko looked downwards in shame and was silent. Her shoulders shook. I clicked my tongue.

"The one who's all talk, the one who's making fun of otaku, that's you, isn't it? I said it already, didn't I? Whatever hobby you might have, they won't make fun of you. So, what do you think? People who have the same hobbies, who don't hide but are open about being otaku, do you really think they could make fun of you?"

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

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

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

"Public image?"

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

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

Seeing me draw back, Naruko spoke arrogantly, "Of course. Being with my friends at school is also really fun. But, this stuff is also fun. I can't just pick one. So there's no helping it, is there? What I like is what I like."

Naruko looked as proud as she usually was.

"But, I also know that the world tends to look coldly on otaku… and Japan is the most prejudiced in this way… don't you think so?" A high school girl. As a student in a high school, she must understand this all too well.

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

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

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

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

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

"Y-Yeah… I guess… that'd be okay."

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

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

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

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

"… Offline meeting?"

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

"You don't like it?"

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

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

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

"I know already." Naruko took out a cell phone from somewhere, and with a "tatatatatatata," began tapping away on the keys at incredible speed.

Pretty amazing. I would definitely not be able to do that. I guess they do exist, the girls who are damn fast with their phones. As these thoughts flew through my head, Naruko clicked her tongue.

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

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

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

"I see… "

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

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

"Yeah yeah."

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

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

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

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

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

"Alright, how's this?"

"What exactly is this 'Orange Naru: this guy next to me is being really annoying' thing?"

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

Was she trying to tick me off?

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

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

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

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

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

"I see… that's… how it is… "

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

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

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

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

"What about… this one?"

"Hm? This one?"

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

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

"Hey Naruko. This one might be alright."

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

"Hm… uhh… yeah I see… "

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

"Not really, but… "

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

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

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

Naruko nodded, wrote the message, and sent it.

Your message has been sent.

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

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

"Do your best, okay?"

"Yeah," Naruko nodded.

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