Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai:Volume 04

Reunion: Part II

The first day after the end of summer break, September first, during our homeroom period.

Yozora Mikadzuki, who entered the classroom while our teacher was taking attendance.

Everyone in the class was surprised when they saw Yozora walk in. The beautiful long black hair that went down to her waist that she had up until about a week ago, was all cut off, leaving her with hair so short it barely reached her neck.

However, for me, the surprise did not end there.

Yozora's face with her hair cut looked exactly like the boy who I took as my best friend and with whom I parted 10 years ago. I turned to face her, and murmured that old best friend's nickname.

"――――Sora?"

Then Yozora followed, while staring at me with moist eyes filled with innumerable emotions and a faint smile, and said, without a doubt, in a slightly trembling voice,

"――――It's been a long time, Taka."

My gut feeling wasn't mistaken.

It was Yozora, who was my old best friend, Sora.

Back then, Sora always talked like a guy, and was taller than me, and dressed in guy's clothes, so I always assumed she was a guy.

"Uhh... Hasegawa?"

"Ah!"

The teacher's suspicious attitude brought me back to my senses, and I quickly sat back down.

Yozora acted as if nothing had happened, averted her eyes from me while wiping the smile from her face, and walked over to her seat.

The classroom was full of people talking until Yozora sat back down, and when the teacher started taking attendance again it mostly subsided.

After taking attendance, our teacher went on about "Did you guys all do your summer homework" and "Let's all change modes and give it our best." and other typical stuff teachers ramble on about after a long break, but none of it really stuck with me.

My eyes were fixated on Yozora, whose appearance had changed so dramatically since summer break.

It doesn't seem like I'll be able to "change modes" so easily.

As for Yozora, she simply kept staring forward as if to ignore the inquisitive stares of our classmates and myself.

☺

A short while after, the first homeroom of September ended and we moved into break time.

"H-hey."

I walked over to Yozora's seat and called out to her.

I was lost on whether to call her "Yozora" or "Sora" and in the end I decided to avoid the subject completely.

Feeling the stares of everyone else in the class on us feels really awkward.

"...What?"

Yozora replied with a deep voice in her default sullen mood. It was as if those tears and faint smile from just 10 minutes ago were all a lie.

"Well... um, what happened to your hair?"

I asked straight out, still not sure whether I should or not.

"I cut it."

Her response was as short and cold as you could get.

"No, I can tell that just by looking. I'm asking... why all of a sudden?"

Yozora's face became even more and more annoyed before saying, "...The night of the summer festival." and nothing else.

The night of the summer festival...

The members of the Neighbors Club Yozora and I belong to went to a festival, and played with fireworks in a nearby park afterwards.

When we did, one of the big fireworks set Yozora's hair on fire, and ended up singeing the tips of her hair.

"But that was just the tip, wasn't it? You didn't have to lop it all off."

I said, but that only made Yozora's face get angrier and angrier.

She then said, emphasizing her speech,

"It's because you dumped that whole load on me. No matter how much I washed it, it wouldn't all come out and it smelled weird. It was all completely ruined...!!"

Yozora pursed her lips slightly while fiddling with her bangs.

"S-sorry..."

I apologized.

When Yozora's hair caught on fire, I frantically grabbed the bucket we put the fireworks in, and... dumped the whole bucket, dirty water and all, all over Yozora's head.

Now that I look back on it, I could've put the fire out without going to that extreme.

I truly think that was a really horrible thing of me to do.

I'll reflect on it from the bottom of my heart.

"I'm really, you know... sorry."

I apologize, again.

However, Yozora only made a more unsatisfied look on her face.

"...Muuu... more importantly-"

As she begun to speak, the whispers over our classmates entered my ears.

"...He dumped his load on her...?" "...Just the tip? He forced her to go all the way... because it was only the tip..." "He forced himself on Mikadzuki..." "R-rape...?" "A bad choice on a summer night..." "He dumped a load of white fluid on her hair that left a smell she couldn't wash out..." "Dumped his load on her..." "Dumped his load on her..."

""!!""

Our faces both turned to stone.

I get the feeling they're getting an incredibly wrong idea about this!!

"N-n- It's all a mis- Calling it a white fluid-"

"C-come with me!"

Yozora stood up, her face a deep shade of red, and dragged me out of the classroom as I tried to explain what really happened in a panic.

I could tell the uproar in the classroom only got louder.

...Barely a few minutes into the new school term and I've got another awful rumor about me floating around.

☺

Yozora dragged me all the way to an empty stairwell at the side of the school.

"...We should be ok here."

Yozora said, releasing my hand.

"Uu... Another fake rumor..."

I hung my head about to cry, but Yozora only sighed in displeasure.

"Hmph, it's not that big a deal."

"...No, it is a big deal."

"Anyway, more importantly!"

Yozora stared at me with a powerful gaze.

"More importantly?"

I asked, puzzled as to what she was getting at.

As I stood there, Yozora's cheeks went a little red, and her eyes started swimming in a fluster.

"W-well... umm... more importantly, I mean..."

I was taken aback even more by Yozora's rare stammering.

"I mean, I'm talking about, you know!"

Yozora said like a spoiled child as her face went deep red.

"I'm Sora!! Don't you have anything to say!?"

I don't know what I'm even supposed to say.

"Umm... I was surprised."

I couldn't think of anything good to say, so I went with that.

"Muu... is that all?"

Yozora pouted her lips, obviously unsatisfied with my answer.

"What else would there be?"

"You know, like... y-you're happy, or honored, or moved or something!"

"I really don't know what to say... I dunno, it's like I'm stunned or something... Saying 'I was surprised' is probably the best way to put it..."

I said while scratching my head.

There's tons I want to ask her.

Why did she wear guy's clothes 10 years ago?

When did she realize I was Taka?

What's she been doing these past 10 years?

Why did she never show up at the park when we both promised to tell each other "something important"?

There's too much, so much I can't put it into words.

I kept staring back at Yozora, staring at me with a childish look of disappointment on her face.

I stared at her slender eyebrows, her thin eyes, her cheeks dyed red.

That short hair looks really good on an androgynous beauty like her.

"You know, that haircut looks pretty good on you."

"Waa- Idi-!!"

I spat out what I was thinking on a whim, and Yozora's face red deep red from ear to ear.

Yozora looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

"......I-I don't look weird?"

Yozora looked strangely cute, asking me that while looking up at me like with puppy dog eyes, causing my face to heat up unexpectedly.

"N-nope. You don't look weird at all."

"I-I see."

Yozora's mouth looked like it was about to break into a smile as she went back to looking at the ground.

She then raised her face, and with a tiny bit of pride said,

"I-I mustered up the courage to go to a hair salon. That was the first time in about 10 years."

"10 years...? Eh, what'd you do about your hair then?"

"I cut it myself."

"Why would you..."

"Obviously because I'm scared of going to a hair salon."

Yozora replied, acting like she had something to be proud of.

"Shops like that where you have to have casual conversation with their stylish employees take quite a bit of effort to enter. Honestly, I never want to go again. Why do those people all act so over-friendly and try to talk to me so much? They ask me what school I go to, what year I'm in, if I'm in any clubs, what music I like, if I have a b-boyfriend, and all kinds of other stuff. What the hell does it matter to them?"

I'm guessing Yozora remembered her time at the hair salon, judging by this stream of complaints.

Although, I can't say I don't know how she feels.

I worked up the courage to go to a hair salon once during my spring break just before entering high school, but I didn't fit in there at all, and ever since I've always gone to a normal barber.

There's also the fact that the beautician guy there laughed as he asked "Did you try to dye it yourself?" which pissed me off.

...Not that this is of any importance to what's going on now.

"But yeah, I'm pretty amazed you managed to cut it yourself this whole time."

"It's easy to cut my bangs if I have a mirror. The back... takes a lot of work, so I rarely cut it."

"So that's how it got so long..."

"Yep," Yozora nodded.

"Anyway, I think working up the courage to go to a hair salon was the right idea."

"D-does it really look good on me?"

I nodded with a "Yeah." to answer Yozora's question.

"I had them do that too. What was it... jagi...?"

"Jaggy?"

"Yeah, that's it."

Yozora acted shy as she lightly stroked the back of her hair.

"Hmph... It was annoying listening to that beautician go on about how "It's so totally a waste to cut this beautiful hair~" in his overly-familiar tone of voice, though it would seem he did have some skill after all."

Yozora said, seemingly satisfied.

Right after she did, the bell signaling the start of first period rang.

"Crap, we need to get back."

"I suppose so."

I don't even wanna know how bad the rumors would get if we both skipped out on class.

We were both quickly walking down the hallway to our classroom.

"Oh yeah."

I stopped as I thought of something.

I had forgotten about something really important.

"?"

Yozora turned around in confusion, and I asked her,

"What should I call you from now on?"

A slight tinge of hesitation rose to Yozora's face.

After a short while, Yozora answered with a forced smile on her face.

"Call me 'Yozora'. Just like you have been."

I nodded as if to say that was ok with me.

"Ok then, let's go back―― 'Kodaka'."

Yozora turned around, and started quickly walking to the classroom again.

I thought to myself as I watched Yozora from behind, about the day she made the Neighbors Club.

After telling me to call her just plain "Yozora", she told me.

She told me that nicknames are things only people who are friends use.

Yozora and I, that is, "Sora" and "Taka", were best friends.

However, "Yozora Mikadzuki" and "Kodaka Hasegawa" are not.

That's obvious, and it merely reinforces the fact that I can't get back 10 years of lost time simply by realizing that Yozora is Sora.

While feeling a touch of sadness from that thought, I continued my hurried walk to the classroom.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 4 The Neighbors Club's Reaction Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 4 Summer Homework

The Tower

After school, in the Neighbors Club clubroom.

Yozora, Sena, Yukimura, Rika, and I were all killing time doing whatever we felt like, as usual.

Kobato was still busy copying down the answers to all the worksheets the rest of the Neighbors Club did for her, as well as writing her journal and the reading reflection, so she didn't come to the club today.

I think she wants to make sure it gets turned in on time, and not put any of the work everyone did for her to waste.

Yozora was reading a book next to me.

Maybe it's because she isn't used to the short hair yet, but she keeps fidgeting with her bangs and the hair on the back of her head too.

I also noticed that Sena, who was sitting on the sofa across from us, was staring at Yozora while holding her PSP in her hands.

"What're you spacing out for?" I asked Sena.

"Hmm... I was thinking I should change my hairstyle too."

She said while raising her silky blonde hair up into the air.

"Don't copy me, Meat."

Yozora said in an annoyed tone of voice after raising her head from her book.

"W-who said I was copying you? I just thought I'd change it since I've had this look for a while now!"

"Hmph..."

Yozora exhaled out her nose, and then, as if she just remembered something,

"Now that I think about it, I did get my hands on some interesting news regarding hairstyle recently. I'll be nice and tell you about it."

"Interesting news?"

Sena looked at Yozora with doubt in her eyes.

"It was written in this magazine I saw while I was at the hair salon. It said there's a new hairstyle called 'The Tower' that's popular with normal girls in the city."

"The Tower?"

Yozora's face cringed slightly upon having Sena ask about it.

"How should I explain it... Well, the main point is to, as the name suggests, give your hair a 'towering' amount of volume. Like, you stick your hair straight up, harden it with some spray, and then add curls or something. There's even some where the hair is so tall they put decorations on it."

"Oh? That sounds kinda interesting."

Rika took this chance to jump into the conversation.

"Ah, Rika knows about that too. Rika's seen pictures of 'The Tower' on the net. It's like an evolved form of the gorgeous hairstyles that nobles wore back in Medieval Europe. They've all got a very unique feeling to them."

"A noble!? That suits me perfectly!"

Sena looked like she was totally into it now.

"The really amazing ones can be styled into a bird cage with a real bird in it, or made to hold an antler's horns, or hang big decorations that say 'Love' and stuff."

"What? Are they trying to be generals from the Sengoku period...?"

Yukimura raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you could probably say that functionality aside, it is actually pretty similar to the pride and uniqueness the Sengoku generals displayed with their kabuto helmets."

Rika said, prompting a reply from Yukimura.

"Then do you mean to say this 'The Tower' hairstyle... serves the function of identifying oneself and one's social position after being captured and beheaded by the enemy?"

"No." "Wrong." "As if that's what it's for."

Yozora, Rika, and I all replied in unison, and Yukimura made a disappointed looking face.

"Hmm... I don't really get it, but it has a good vibe to it..." said Sena.

Yozora nodded.

"Yes, that's right. It's very difficult for a normal person to control such a towering hairstyle. It would be exceedingly reckless for a commoner to try and do it. They'd end up with so much hair all over, people wouldn't even be able to tell where the body was anymore. Sorry for getting your hopes up with something completely beyond you."

Sena twitched as her cheeks stiffened up.

"Anyway, if you want to change your hairstyle, commoners like to typically go to a normal hair salon and get their hair styled normally."

Sena's face twitched even more as Yozora went on, going out of her way to stress "normal" and such.

"Still, I wish that just once, I could see a real 'The Tower'..."

"Yeah~ But Rika thinks it'd be hard. We might've been able to make a good tower with all the hair you had before you cut it too, Yozora-senpai," said Rika.

"Haa... If only we had a pure blooded noble with a gorgeous aura powerful enough to overcome even the might of The Tower hairstyle..."

"Ahaha, you know we don't Yozora-senpai. Nobles like that only exist in anime and manga."

"I guess you're right."

...T-these two... what an obviously unnatural conversation...

However, we do indeed have someone here who that cheap provocation will work on.

Sena raised her voice.

"Hey, you two! You have a noble with a great aura right here! There's not a single person 'The Tower' fits in this world more than me!"

"Hahaha, don't push yourself, Meat."

Yozora said with a gentle smile on her face.

"She's right, Sena-senpai. 'The Tower' is an incredibly difficult hairstyle to wear. Shaping it into a tower is one thing, but looking good in it is..."

"How are we gonna know without even trying!? No, forget that, I already know! Make my hair into that 'The Tower' or whatever! I'll show you that no matter how flashy a hairstyle it is, that the divine aura overflowing from within me will completely control it!"

Oh man, she went and said it...

A devilish smile rose to Yozora's face.

"Hmph, if you're going to be that persistent about it then I'll stack your hair for you. I've been doing my own hair maintenance for a while now, so I'm fairly good at it."

"Rika has tons of hair products sitting around in the Rika room, so wait here while Rika grabs them!"

Rika ran out of the clubroom.

"Eh!? U-um, wait..."

A tinge of regret found its way to Sena's face after she realized what she'd said, but it was too late.

☺

Thus, the project to make Sena's hair into "The Tower" began. Sena sat down in the chair we set up in front of the clubroom's full-length mirror.

"D-don't do anything crazy, ok!?"

Sena said, clearly scared.

"Don't move, Meat."

Yozora held a brush in one hand, and gently ran it through Sena's hair.

As you'd expect from someone who spent several years taking care of her own long hair, she was incredibly good at it.

Even Sena, who had a strained look on her face when they started, slowly shifted to a more relaxed one.

"Hmph, you're not bad. Having another girl brush my hair actually feels pretty good too."

Sena said in a happy tone of voice.

"Haa~ Sena-senpai, your hair is so smooth. You don't have any split ends either."

Rika seriously said while brushing Sena's hair with Yozora.

Just as you'd expect from a genius inventor girl(?), her brushing was just as smooth as Yozora's.

"...I suppose I can compliment you too, if we're only talking about your hair," said Yozora.

"Rika is just as jealous of your pretty hair too, Yozora."

"You're right, if we're only talking about hair, Yozora's is compliment-worthy too. She has an awful personality, but really pretty hair. Yeah, only the hair... Wait, what are you talking about? Rika your hair's pretty and smooth too."

"Eh, you think so?"

"Yeah. I've actually been a little jealous of that pretty black hair of yours before."

"If you're going to say that, then Rika will let you know she's wanted to have been born with pretty blonde hair like yours before too. You have too, right Yozora-senpai?"

"Well, I suppose I have considered it once in a while."

"Oh? Really?"

.........

Girl talk.

It's like there's this "The Girl's Territory" I shouldn't be a part of.

"Aniki, I've prepared tea."

"Thanks."

Sip sip sip.

I continued to blankly stare at the three high school girls next to me while sipping tea with Yukimura.

"Ok, it's finally time to get to making a tower."

Yozora said, having finished brushing Sena's hair.

"How do you think we should style it?"

"Let's see... Meat, do you have any requests?"

"Hmmm~"

Sena, who was now in full relaxed mode, thought for a while and said,

"I don't really get 'The Tower' in the first place, but make it how a normal would do it, if you can."

"So normals are the theme, huh... Hmm..."

"That's a rather difficult order... Normals..."

"Normals... If you're talking about normals, then... summer?"

"Ah, that's a good idea Yozora-senpai. Shall we give her the image of a normal enjoying her summer to the fullest then?"

"Hmm, sure, let's do that."

"Ok, then... We'll add some waves on the sides to simulate the ebb and flow on the beach."

"Ok."

Rika and Yozora skillfully brushed both sides of Sena's hair into a wave shape as they added more and more hair spray.

"Hmm... It won't be very unique if we only have this one thing going on. Let's add some curled locks of hair here and there to accent it with the feel of the swirling tides."

"Ah, that sounds good."

...S-swirling tides?

"Also, we can curl the hair over here to add the feeling of a summer storm."

Rika dumped a ton more hair spray into Sena's hair, and then began to make a wild curl out of it.

"Wow, this sense of unbalance is pretty good."

"Isn't it~? What do you think, Sena-senpai?"

"Eh? Ah, yeah... it looks ok, I guess?"

Sena's face said she wasn't exactly satisfied with it.

"Now then, let's get to work on the top now too. What should we do?"

"We've got the sea imagery on the sides, so let's make the top have the feeling of a sand castle."

"That's wonderful! A castle would suit Sena's gorgeous (lol) image perfectly! Oh, right, why don't we add a bikini on top as a ribbon too!?"

"You're a genius! The sea, a sand castle, a swimsuit... now that we've got all this, it makes me want to add a watermelon and fireworks."

"We certainly can't leave those two out! Aha, this matches a normal perfectly! It has everything normals would come to do at a summer beach in it!"

"Yeah! Also, since we're going with the sea, let's add some yakisoba! And some curry!"

"Oh yeah! The yakisoba Kodaka-senpai made for us at that training camp was really delicious, wasn't it!?"

"Ok, let's decorate the waves with yakisoba!"

"Y-yakisoba...!?"

Sena's face went stiff again.

"Yukimura, go buy us some yakisoba, a swimsuit, watermelon, and some fireworks please."

"Understood. Allow me to handle the task of running errands to complete this tower of Sena-anego's honor."

Yukimura left the clubroom oddly happy after Rika asked him to go get things.

After he left, Yozora and Rika kept on playing around with Sena's hair, stacking it higher and higher.

"Uuu... Kodakaaa..."

Sena looked like she was about to cry as she directed her eyes over at me.

Sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it now.

I averted my eyes from hers, and started reading a book while watching the three of them out of the corner of my eye.

☺

""It's doneeeeeee!!""

I turned around after hearing Yozora's and Rika's shouts of joy... and I stood there at a loss for words.

...T-this is just too awful...

There were branches of hair randomly sticking out from the side and back, along with yakisoba mixed in here and there, and a bikini tied on the top like a ribbon.

A beautifully woven Japanese castle lay at the top, and there were fireworks, melon bread(I'm guessing this is the watermelon's replacement), a dead dragonfly, and a cicada's shell(apparently Yukimura just picked it up on a whim when he saw it) randomly mixed in everywhere as decorations. There was also some fried squid and a chocolate banana sticking out from the castle tower like a pair of antennae.

......This is bullying no matter how you look at it.

However, Yozora, Rika, and Yukimura (who joined in after he got back from buying the fireworks) didn't seem to feel that way at all as the three of them wiped the sweat off their foreheads full of a sense of accomplishment.

"I call it ―― 'The Ultimate Normal @ A Midsummer Night's Dream Mega MAX Tower'"

Yozora triumphantly declared.

As for Sena and her newfound awful hairstyle, she was wearing a look of anger, sadness, and humiliation all rolled into one on her face as her body shook, full of those emotions.

"Sena-senpai you're so super cute~♥ Rika wants to give it a try sometime too!"

Rika's eyes were sparkling like diamonds.

There wasn't a hint of sarcasm in her voice at all. It looks like she really thinks 'The Ultimate Normal @ A Midsummer Night's Dream Mega MAX Tower' is a cute hairstyle.

"Ahh... So cute... Really... You're really cute!"

Surprisingly, Yozora made a bright, girl-like (I mean she is a girl, but you know) smile too.

It doesn't look like she's acting either.

"Uahhhh, what a waste! I wish I could've tried out 'The Tower' once before I cut my hair too...!"

Yozora said, looking like she was actually upset about it.

I just do not get women...

"That is a fantastic way to style your hair, Sena-anego. I have no doubt you'll be able to die a wonderful death now."

More weird compliments coming from Yukimura.

...I understand Yukimura even less than women.

Well, anyway, after seeing their reactions, Sena's face softened up.

"R-really? You think it suits me that well?"

Sena said as she looked at her very original hairstyle in the mirror. Looks like she's not all that upset about it.

"It super totally suits you, Senpai!"

"Yeah... I hate to admit it, but it does."

"The cicadas and dragonfly give it a fleeting feeling, and it has a certain presence to it that tells others it isn't just for show."

"Hmm~... Hnn~ Hmm~... Hnn, you've got a point, this might be pretty good..."

...Are you kidding me?

"Hehe♪ Hey what do you think? How do I look, Kodaka?"

Sena asked, clearly in a good mood now.

I pulled back, and showed her a forced smile before saying,

"Yeah... It's like, it really screams 'Sena' to me."

Your hopelessness that is.

"Hehehe, doesn't it!?"

Not only Sena, but Yozora and the rest all had a satisfied smile float to their faces after hearing my reply.

...That day, Sena went home wearing her new 'The Ultimate Normal @ A Midsummer Night's Dream Mega MAX Tower' hairstyle.

☺

The next morning, I happened to run into Sena at the school's entrance.

I was secretly relieved to see that her hair was back to how it usually is.

"Uuu~ Kodaka~"

Sena moaned with a sad look on her face.

"Papa yelled at me when I got home yesterday... He spanked me, and made me put my hair back to how it was, and it was awful..."

"I-I see."

..."Good job Pegasus," I thought to myself.

By the way, when we got to club later that day, Yozora and Rika looked like they were honestly feeling bad about what they did, and told Sena, "We got really into it and kept saying how cute your hair was yesterday, but when we think back on it, it really wasn't." Yozora even gave her a rare apology, and said, "I went a little overboard. Sorry."

Sena yelled "At least stop while it's still just a funny story for later!" in return and ran out of the clubroom in tears.

Sisters

It was the day after our final exams had ended.

It was a weekday, but that didn't stop me from sleeping in until noon, and after eating lunch I spent my afternoon reading manga and playing video games in my room.

The way Chronica Academy works, is that after final exams we get the last five days of September off to recuperate.

I'm guessing the teachers are pretty busy grading tests, because they didn't give out homework like they did for summer vacation.

In other words, this was a true break from school.

I've spent the past few days completely focused on my tests, so I doubt anyone can complain if I take a day or two to just laze around and relax.

I sent a text out to everyone in the Neighbors Club letting them know I'd be staying home today.

By the way, Chronica Academy's middle school division and high school division have tests on the same days, so Kobato was with me here at home too.

I got so lost in my lazing around that it was almost dinner time before I knew it.

I felt a little bad that I spent the day doing basically nothing, even though I'd already told myself it wasn't a big deal.

I figured if I was this lazy all day, I might as well at least put some effort into dinner. So, I went out to the grocery store to buy some things to make dinner with, and was now standing in the kitchen.

I managed to find some chicken meat on sale today, so I guess we'll have that.

"Kukuku... I smell the aroma of some truly delectable blood in here..."

A short while after I'd started cooking, Kobato came into the kitchen with a string of drool hanging down her mouth, most likely lured in by the smell of the chicken being fried.

"I'm almost done with it, today's is gonna be good."

"Kukuku... I await an offering befitting one of my status..."

Kobato did that ridiculous chuckle again.

And, right after she did,

Ring ring ri~ng Ring ring ri~ng.

The intercom started ringing.

I wonder who it is.

"Hey, Kobato, go get the door for me. If it's someone asking us to subscribe to some newspaper just tell them we don't need it, ok?"

I had to ask Kobato since I can't just leave this chicken sitting here.

"Kukuku... It is no trouble at all to handle something of that level with great magic such as my own, kukuku..."

"Yeah, I dunno if you'll need magic or whatever, but just send them away."

"Ok."

In the time it took Kobato to head over to our side of the intercom, it rang three more times in rapid succession.

People really like to be annoying with doorbells, don't they...

As I thought that to myself and continued cooking, I heard Kobato yell,

"No thank you!"

Really loudly into the receiver.

So it was just a salesman?

However, he must not have wanted to give up, because a second later,

"No thank you!"

I heard Kobato yell the same thing again.

It's best if you can cut these guys off right away, but this guy must be persistent...

"No thank you!...... No thank you!...... No thank you no thank you!"

"Are you deaf!? I said we don't want you here! Now go away!"

What the heck is she doing...

I went to look over at Kobato to see what was going on, and when I did,

"You moronnnnn!"

Kobato yelled into the receiver again all of a sudden, hung up in a hurry, and ran over to the front door.

"Hey, ehh!? H-hey! Kobato!?"

Going out there in person is just what he wants you to do!

I had no choice but to quickly turn off the stove, and chase after Kobato.

"Ah! Onii-chan!!"

When I arrived at the front door, Maria, who Kobato was trying to hold back, slipped past her, took off her shoes, and jumped at me.

"Maria!?"

"Ahaha, Onii-chan! Onii-chan's here! Ahaha!"

W-why is Maria!?

"Uuu, An-chan... I told her 'no thank you'! She came in even though I told her 'no thank you'! What kind of idiot comes in after you say you don't want them here..."

Kobato looked like she was about to cry.

Looks like Maria was the one Kobato was yelling at over the phone.

"...Hey, Maria, why are you at our house?"

I asked, still confused by the whole situation, to which Maria energetically replied,

"I ran away from all my material possessions!"

Material possessions? Does that mean she just joined the priesthood?

Or maybe she meant she's changing religions to Buddhism now...?

"Be more specific, what do you mean?"

"I mean I ran away from home!"

"Just say so in the first place then... Wait, you ran away from home!?"

"Yeah!"

Maria nodded with a big smile on her face.

"Why would you run away from home..."

"Because the old hag never shuts up about work!"

"The old hag... Oh, Kate-sensei?"

"Yeah! I told her Onii-chan wouldn't be a jerk and make me work all the time, and she told me 'Go and live with your precious Onii-chan then!'"

"...And you actually did."

"Yeah!"

What an honest answer.

Maria stared at me with sparkling eyes full of so much faith in me that she didn't think I'd ever turn her down.

But I can't go and let her just live here...

As I was deciding what to do, the phone started ringing.

"......Uhh, wait here a second."

I went back into the living room, leaving Maria and Kobato where they were.

I then picked up the receiver.

"Yo, it's me man. You know, me."

I thought about hanging up immediately, but stopped because I recognized that voice.

It was just the person I needed to talk to.

"If you don't mind, could you please stop with the stupid jokes, Kate-sensei?"

"Oh, ding dong~ It's Onii-chan's little sister, Kate-chan here~ Oh, you don't have to be so stiff with me either~ Talk to me like you'd talk to your little sister!"

It was Sister Kate on the other end of the line, aka, the person who told Maria "Go and live with your precious Onii-chan then!"

"Fine."

I decided to ignore the part about talking to her like a little sister, but it was clear I didn't have to talk to her like a teacher either.

She might talk like a weird old man, but she is technically younger than me.

"Anyway, more importantly, Maria came over to our house."

"Yeah, I know~"

"The heck, you knew? What do you wanna do then?" I asked.

"I'd like it if you could let her stay there a day or two. If she's too much of a pain you can just throw her out though~"

"She wouldn't really be a..."

Pain, is what I was about to say, but then I heard her and Kobato yelling back and forth at the front door.

"You sure she won't be a pain?"

"...Well, I don't see the problem in letting her stay while we're on break."

"Thanks Onii-chan! I love you!"

"Shut up."

Ca-lick.

Anyway, that's how Maria ended up staying at our house.

☺

I finished making dinner about 30 minutes after Maria arrived.

Uohhhhhhh~~!!

Maria let out a shout of joy with her eyes bugged out after she saw me line the food up on the table.

As she frantically looked back and forth between me and the food, she said,

"Why!? Why why why!? Ehhhh!? Whyyy!? Wh- Wh- Why why!? Uohh!?"

I don't know why she keeps asking "why!?", but she certainly seems to be excited.

"...Shut up, stop saying 'why' you moron."

Kobato said as she sat in her chair with a frown on her face.

Our table was a long one, but it was a little tight since all three of us were sitting on the same side (Maria was on my right, and Kobato on my left).

Kobato usually sits across from me, but she brought her chair all the way around once she saw Maria sit down next to me.

By the way, tonight's dinner consists of chicken patties, fried chicken, chicken rice, and chicken salad.

As I said before, I got a lot of chicken meat for cheap, so I based dinner around that.

The demi-glace sauce on the patties is a secret weapon I developed over the years, but I think they'd be good even without the sauce, and it goes good with either bread or rice too.

I was thinking we could just eat the leftovers tomorrow, but now that Maria's here it should be just enough for three people.

"Ahaha! Why is there so much here!? Is it Christmas!? Onii-chan, is today Christmas!?"

Maria said while her eyes darted around, looking at all the food lined up on the table.

"How could it be Christmas in September?"

I did put more effort than usually into dinner tonight, but it's not that special.

"This much and it's not even Christmas!? Uwahh, why why why!?"

"Hmph... What an irritating pawn of God... This is exactly why you commoners are so troublesome..."

Kobato glanced over at Maria before she picked up her chopsticks and started to reach out for some food.

"Heyyy!"

"Fgyah!?"

Maria reached out all of a sudden and smacked the back of Kobato's hand.

"Wh... what'd you do that for ya' retard!?"

"We have to pray before we eat dinner!"

Maria said something very sister-like for once.

"Kukuku... We are a clan of the darkness... We do not pray to something as trifling as God..."

"Kobato. Not praying is fine, but say 'thanks for the food' like you're supposed to."

"Uu~"

Kobato pursed her lips at my scolding, and mumbled "...thanks for the food," before sticking her chopsticks out to grab a piece of fried chicken.

"Ehe~"

The second she took a bite of it, that frown she'd had on her face this whole time melted into a happy smile in an instant.

She finished it off in no time at all, and reached out for another one.

"Ah! That's not fair! Let us pray. Bless us, O Lord, and these, Your gifts, which we are about to receive from――"

"Munch munch munch munch"

Kobato devoured the fried chicken as Maria offered her prayers.

And the second Kobato stuck her chopsticks out for the piece right in front of Maria's eyes,

"Gyahhh poop Amen!"

Maria cut herself off mid-prayer, quickly stuck her chopsticks into a piece of the fried chicken, and shoved it into her mouth.

"Uhoooo! Sho goood!"

Maria happily yelled with her mouth full of fried chicken.

"Ya' didn't even finish your prayer!" Kobato complained.

Then, as she grabbed a new piece of fried chicken, Maria said,

"I-it's fine! I'm saving the poor fried chicken from getting taken by an evil vampire!"

"Ya' big cheater!"

"I'm not cheating~!"

Thus, they began devouring dinner like it was some kind of competition.

The fried chicken were disappearing before my eyes, and they were eating the salad pretty fast too.

As for the chicken rice, rather than scoop some onto their plates like a normal person, they were hovering over the big plate it was on, practically butting heads as they ate.

I'd put a chicken patty on each of our plates, but for some reason they ended up stealing each other's rather than eating their own.

It looked like I wasn't going to get to eat at all at this rate, so I quickly said my 'thanks for the food' before securing some chicken rice and fried chicken on my plate.

But, as I did, the living room phone rang.

After telling Kobato and Maria, "Hey, you two, mind your manners while you eat," I stood up and went to grab the receiver.

"Haa haa... O-Onii-chan, what color underwear are you wearing right now?"

"Just tell me what you want."

I coldly said, since I didn't have the time to go along with her stupid jokes. It was Sister Kate who'd called again.

"Ah, well, it's nothing big really~ Did you guys already eat?"

"Yeah, we're actually eating right now."

I answered, while glancing into the dining room. I really need to get back to the table before those two little beasts eat everything.

"Oh, would you mind telling me what you're having?"

"What we're having? Umm... Fried chicken, chicken patties... chicken rice, and chicken salad."

"I see. Make sure you tell Maria to eat her vegetables too, ok? Onii-chan."

"Sure."

I then hung up the phone.

Looks like it really wasn't anything big after all.

...By the time I'd hung up the phone and returned to the table, the fried chicken had already been annihilated.

Even the pieces I'd put on my plate were gone.

"...Who ate my fried chicken?"

""She ate it!""

All I could do was sigh at the two of them, pointing at each other with their mouths full of food like two little hamsters.

☺

After we finished eating, Maria kept on following me around as I washed everything, looking all around the kitchen and dining room.

"Hey, Maria, you having fun?"

I asked, a little curious, to which Maria replied "Yeah, this is fun!" with a big fat smile on her face.

Well, if she says it's fun then I don't really mind, so I continued washing the dishes.

"Oh yeah, Maria, how'd you know where I live? Actually, how'd you even get here?"

I asked, realizing how weird it was that she made it here.

It's pretty far from our house to St. Chronica Academy. I have to ride the train and the bus to get there. I don't think a 10 year old little girl could find her way out here that easily.

"I rode the train and the bus!"

Maria answered, full of energy.

"Oh...? I'm impressed. You didn't get on the wrong bus or anything?"

...Incidentally, there's a guy who got on the wrong bus and was late the first day in this very room.

"It was fine, since the old hag came with me!"

"...That's quite the original way to run away from home."

What kind of runaway leaves with somebody from the same house they're running away from...?

Just then, the phone rang a third time.

I turned off the faucet, and walked into the living room.

The caller was Kate, yet again.

"You guys done eating now?"

"Yeah."

"Did that little weasel eat her vegetables?"

"She chomped 'em up."

She ate the salad, the meat, the rice, and my food too.

"I see~ That's fine then. Talk to ya' later~"

She hung up.

I don't get why she keeps incessantly calling me to check up on Maria when she's the one who brought her here in the first place.

By the way, Maria was looking up at me the whole time I was on the phone just now.

She kept following me around, even after I went back into the kitchen.

I finished the dishes while thinking that having her follow me around like a little puppy was kind of fun.

Right after I was all done with that,

"Kukuku... Fellow clansman... You shall join me in my merrymaking..."

Kobato, who had been watching TV, said to me after walking into kitchen.

She was holding the case for one of her video games in her hand.

"What, you wanna play some games together?"

Kobato nodded at my question.

"OK, that's fine with me."

I didn't do anything else today, and it'd be nice to play some video games with Kobato too, since I haven't in a while.

"Yay! ...Kukuku... Watch as I mystify you with my beautiful techniques..."

Kobato happily put the disc into the PS2, and started up the game.

The game was "Kurogane no Necromancer Magical Hyper Battle 3"―― It's the previous game in the series to the one I played at Sena's house.

"Kukuku... An-chan, you shall use controller two..."

Kobato handed me the controller, and sat on the sofa with her own.

After the company logo came the title screen filled with a bunch of different magical girls, along with the voice of one hyper-energetic girl saying "Kurogane Necromancer~! Magical Hyper Battle~!" as she read the title out loud.

"Ohh, I know about that! This is one of those eroge!"

Maria said while looking at the PS2 and TV.

"I-it's not an eroge!" Kobato said, blushing.

"It's not!?" said Maria, looking at me.

"Yeah, this is just a normal game. Where did you even hear about erog-..."

I stopped myself halfway because the answer was obvious.

"So this is different from the ones Sena and Rika are always playing in the clubroom?"

"They are. They're completely different."

"Oh!!"

"Wanna try it out, Maria?"

When I held out the controller to Maria, who was brimming with curiosity, she happily replied "Yeah!", before taking the controller from me and sitting down next to Kobato.

"Mu... No mere foolish human is fit to be my opponent..."

"What was that!? You don't know until you try!"

"Kukuku... Very well, then tremble in fear before my great powers of darkness..."

Kobato picked her character once the selection screen came up.

"Hmph, I'll beat you to a pulp with my holy power! Onii-chan, how do you use this thing!?"

Asked Maria, who seemed to have no knowledge whatsoever about video games, while staring at the controller curiously.

☺

Kobato and Maria began their battle after I taught Maria the basics on how to play.

"Uohh!"

"Kukuku..."

.........

"K.O.! Perfect!"

As for the result, Maria was, naturally, annihilated by Kobato, who's been playing the game for a long time now.

Her opponent had never even held a controller before today, but that didn't stop Kobato from beating the crap out of Maria.

She's so childish, I swear...

"Fueh? I lost? Did I lose?"

"Kukuku... Behold my power..."

Kobato gleefully laughed at Maria, who was still confused.

"Ughh...! One more time!"

"The result will be the same no matter how many times you try... You would do well to lament your own weakness and fall into the depths of despair..."

Maria picked a different character, and Kobato met her with the same one as before.

I watched a few matches between Kobato and Maria (Kobato won them all) before leaving the living room and getting the bathtub ready.

"Hey~ Time to take a bath..."

"Kuhahaha, allow my special attack to send you into an eternity of darkness!"

"Gyahhh! That move's not fair!"

...They didn't look like they were gonna be done any time soon, so I took my bath first.

☺

They were still going at it when I got back from my bath.

"Darkness Requiem!"

"Kyaaa!"

It looks like they just finished a match. Kobato's character, the Magical Girl of Darkness, Gernica, just fired a blast of magic at Maria's character, The Knight of Light, Carol, who let out a scream as she fell.

"Kukuku... yet another victory for me..."

"Grrr, I almost won too..."

Maria groaned in frustration at Kobato, who had just beaten her.

I looked at their HP bars, and saw that Kobato's was down to about half.

Ever since the first match that I saw, Kobato had been getting near-perfect wins every time, but it looks like Maria's been getting better while I was away.

Anyway, that aside,

"Hey~ It's time for you two to take a bath. Who wants to go first?"

I said, causing Maria's eyes to open wide as she turned around.

"A bath!? Ok ok! I'll go! I'll go in with Onii-chan!"

"I already went in."

"Ohh... Then I'll go in next."

Maria said, putting down the controller, but Kobato stopped her.

"...Hold it... You would do well to know your place, pawn of God... It has been decided that I shall take my bath before the likes of you..."

"It was decided?" "No, it wasn't decided or anything," I said.

"Then I'll go in first after all! I'll go in before that vampire!"

"Ugahh! I'm going in first you retard!"

"...Decide with rock paper scissors."

I said, since it looked like they were about to get into a fight.

They both played rock paper scissors, and Maria won.

"Yay~! I get to use Onii-chan's bath~!"

Maria ran off to the bathroom while throwing her clothes off.

I picked up Maria's sister uniform and underwear she left spread on the floor, and as I was putting them in the changing room, I wondered,

"...Is it ok to put these in a washing machine like normal clothes?"

I have no idea, since I've never washed a sister uniform before.

I left them in the laundry basket for now, and went back to the living room.

When I got back, the phone rang again.

I picked up the receiver, wondering if it was Kate again, and sure enough, it was.

"Ah, Onii-chan. What's Maria doing right now~?"

"She's taking a bath."

"I see~... alone?"

"Yeah."

"Tell her to make sure she washes everything. Also, do you have pajamas she can use?"

"She can use my little sister's."

"Oh, ok..."

She sounded a little disappointed.

"Are you that worried about her?"

"W-what!? I-it's not like I'm worried about her!"

Ca-lick.

Her voice was obviously flustered before she quickly hung up on me just now.

"Yeesh..."

I sighed while bringing Kobato's spare pajamas into the changing room.

I could hear Maria in the bath going "Hmmm~♪ Hmm Hm Hmmm~♪" happily humming some song.

"Maria! I left you a change of clothes in the basket out here! Oh, and make sure you wash everything!"

"Ok! Ahaha~!"

I went back to the living room after hearing her energetic reply.

Kobato was playing her game in single player mode, so I picked up the other controller to give her someone to play with.

I'm pretty sure I was able to put up a good fight back when we played before, but she must've gotten a lot better since then, because I ended up losing every match.

"...What's the matter, my clansman... That can't be your true power... Remember it... Remember how we fled through that frozen night together..."

Kobato said, looking a little disappointed.

...I think I'll do a little practice later.

As I told myself that and continued losing to Kobato,

"Hey~ Hey~ Onii-cha~n."

Maria came into the living room.

Naked.

She was holding Kobato's pajamas in her hand.

"What's the matter?"

I turned around, and then Maria said, with a troubled look on her face,

"Onii-chan, these are a little too tight!"

"Eh, tight?"

Those should fit Kobato though, so why...

"Yeah! ...It felt tight on my chest when I tried putting it on. I won't be able to sleep well in this."

"Then don't sleep at all! Moron moron moronnnn!"

Kobato started yelling all of a sudden.

"Ghhh..."

She was trembling in frustration with tears in the corners of her eyes.

Oh, I get it... Her chest...

Kobato and Maria are about the same size, so I figured Maria'd be able to wear whatever Kobato can, but Maria's chest is a little bigger than hers now that I think about it.

Well, this is a problem... If she can't wear Kobato's clothes then we don't have anything here that'll fit her.

"Hmm..... Wanna try wearing my T-shirt for now then?"

I can't let her get sick or something from being naked all night.

"Onii-chan's shirt!? I'll wear it!"

She didn't seem against it, so I grabbed one of my T-shirts and had Maria put it on.

Obviously, it was really baggy on her and looked more like a short one-piece, but,

"Uwaa! Onii-chan's T-shirt! Ahaha! Onii-chan's T-shirt~! I combined with Onii-chan! Ahahahaha!"

I don't know what's so great about my T-shirt, but Maria seems happy about it, so she can just wear that for tonight.

"Uuu~..."

Kobato seemed upset as she groaned.

☺

After that, Kobato took her bath, and then spent the rest of the night playing "Magical Hyper Battle 3" with Maria.

I laid out a futon for Maria in the living room, and read a book while glancing at their game occasionally. Maria was getting better and better, and she was starting to put up a good fight against Kobato.

However, Maria started moving sluggishly around 9:30, leading to a series of perfect wins from Kobato.

Maria's eyes were drooping, and she looked like she was already half-asleep.

"Hmph... You have no value as an opponent to me in your current state..."

"Zzzz..."

At the same time Kobato turned off the PS2, Maria flopped down sideways on the couch, and fell sound asleep.

"Guess this is proof that kids who sleep well grow well, huh."

I said with a wry smile as Kobato stared at Maria's chest with a sullen expression.

"I'm going to sleep too!"

She said, and went up to her room.

I carried Maria onto the futon I laid out for her, and started to relax by reading my book, when the phone rang again.

"...It's already 10 o'clock."

I wearily answered the phone.

It was Kate, as I'd expected.

"Sorry for calling you so late at night Onii-chan. Is Maria asleep already?"

"She is."

"I see. She brushed her teeth, right?"

"Ah... now that you mention it, she didn't..."

"What were you thinking Onii-chan!? What if Maria gets a cavity!?"

"I'll make sure she does an extra good job in the morning..."

"No! Have her do it right now!"

"Fine fine... Hey... Are you a siscon by chance?"

"W-w-w-who are you calling a siscon, huh!? Anyway have her brush her teeth for me!"

She hung up.

"Haa..."

I sighed, but woke Maria up anyway, and had her brush her teeth while she was still half-asleep before letting her go back to sleep in her futon.

Nearly the second after I did, Kate called again to see if she finished brushing her teeth.

She hung up, and I thought I could finally relax for real as I started reading, but the phone rang again just past 11 o'clock.

"Tell her not to eat anything after she's brushed her teeth, ok?"

"I told you she's already asleep."

Click.

She hung up, and I confirmed that the normally aloof Kate was, in fact, a siscon.

After that, right as I was about to go to bed around midnight, she called again, telling me to make sure Maria was asleep, and that she didn't kick the futon off of her. She then kept calling about every 15 minutes, asking about the exact same things until I finally unplugged the phone and went to sleep.

I really need to get Maria to go home as soon as possible...

☺

"Ok, I'll go home! Because I'm a teacher, and an adult!"

The next morning.

When we were eating breakfast I asked Maria, "How about giving up on the runaway thing?" to which Kobato added, "Kukuku... Running away from home is what children do..." which had Maria quickly agree to give up and go back home to the church.

Behold, The Obedient Good Girl!

"Haha, I'm proud of you Maria."

While still feeling surprised at how easily she accepted, I patted Maria on the head, prompting an "Ehehe~" and a happy smile from her.

Now that siscon sister should calm down too.

I plugged the phone back in after we finished eating breakfast, and the phone rang immediately.

"Woah!?"

I was taken aback for a second before I quickly picked up the receiver,

"MARIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~"

and cringed after being greeted by a screech so loud it could've made the whole house shake.

"W-what are you yelling for..."

"Uoah!? O-Onii-chan!?"

Kate came back to her senses, and asked in a panicked voice.

"Maria said she's giving up on running away and is going home, so come get her. See you later."

I hung up after telling her the bare minimum I had to.

15 minutes later, Kate arrived at our house in a taxi.

Holy crap was that fast!

...Maybe it was just me, but it looked like the taxi driver was shaking...

"Come on Maria, let's go home~"

Kate said with a weird face caused by her desperately trying to hide how relieved she was to see Maria.

"Hrmm, yeah I guess I have to..."

Maria said, looking a little unsatisfied, before putting on her shoes and walking out the front door.

Looks like our Takayama wasn't homesick in the least, and would've been just fine staying here.

"Maria, tell Onii-chan you're sorry for being such a bother to him," said Kate.

It took all I had to restrain myself from saying "You were infinitely more of a bother than Maria was."

"Ehh?"

Maria turned around and looked at me.

"Hey~ Onii-chan, can I come over again?"

Maria asked in a pleading tone of voice, to which I replied,

"Yeah, come over whenever you want."

Which was followed by Kobato, who had come out to the front door, yelling

"Don't ever come back, Moronnnn!"

"Shut up poop vampire! I'm definitely coming again! Thanks Onii-chan! The food was really good!"

Maria gave a little bow before turning around and getting in the taxi with Kate.

I watched Maria leave in the taxi as she waved to me saying "Bye bye~!", and then went back inside with Kobato.

Kobato turned on the TV and PS2 immediately after we got into the living room.

"Hey now, you're gonna start playing games this early?"

After I'd said that, Kobato grabbed the controller and did her standard "Kukuku..." chuckle before adding,

"...I must strengthen my magic in preparation for an assault from that foolish pawn of God... I shall have her prostrate herself before my overwhelming might next time she comes, kukuku..."

...Next time she comes, huh?

I smirked at Kobato, who couldn't wait for Maria to come again despite telling her to never come back.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 4 After Party