Editing Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai:There's No Way My Black Haired Little Sister is This Cute

==There's No Way My Black Haired Little Sister is This Cute==

The noisy sound of the alarm clock stopped.

"Onii-chan! How long are you going to sleep? It's already morning."

The familiar voice of my little sister entered my ears. I sensed a light coming in. Maybe she just opened the curtains.

"… Well…"

She mercilessly shook me:

"Hurry and get up, breakfast is going to get cold. I have put so much effort into it."

<i>… So annoying. I'm going to get up now, okay.</i>

"Yahhhhhh…"

I deliberately exaggerated my movements while sitting up and glared angrily at my little sister.


That little sister was right now standing next to the bed in her sailor uniform.

Her name was Kousaka Kirino, 14 years old.  She was attending a nearby middle school. Although it was my personal opinion only, she was quite cute. Her beautiful black hair went together with a cute hairpin. Her body was thin, her round face gave a quiet and gentle feeling. Although she wasn't a part of any club, nor did she have any special ability, she was very stubborn and always refused to admit defeat. In other words—if you said that her breakfast was hard to eat, one day she would surely make you a big and amazing meal.

<i>Should I call her hard working or stubborn?</i>

… Well, anyway, she was my prided little sister.

Kirino glanced at me and ordered:

"Take off your clothes. I'm taking them to wash."

"… Really… you do that every day… are you my wife?"

"Ha? Ha? What are you saying?"

Maybe she got mad because of me, Kirino angrily looked aside:

"Okay okay, hurry up—today you have morning exercise, right?"

"Right right right, I know."

I slapped myself to wake myself up and took off my clothes.

Seeing that, Kirino yelled in shock:

"What… what are you doing?"

"Taking off my clothes… as you ordered."

"Say something before that! I need to turn around…"

Kirino clenched her fists and looked away, blushing.

Seeing my little sister acting that way, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Why should you care about that, we are siblings."

"Of course I care!"

"You have seen me naked more than once or twice, right? We even bathed together."

"That was long ago! Don't say something that could cause a misunderstanding!"

"No one is listening anyway!"

Who would misunderstand anyway? Always hypocritical in the rebellious period. I shrugged.

That was my relationship with Kirino—aside from normal differences, we maintained a proper distance.

My name is Kousaka Kyousuke, 17 years old. I was now studying at a nearby high school, where I took part in the track team, my specialty was long distance running. In elementary school, I got some fame because of my running. However, I hit my limit during my middle school years, so I placed my hope in long and middle distance running.

Besides that, my studies were quite good. To tell the truth, it wasn't easy to take part in a club and learn properly at the same time, but if my grades dropped, mom would ask Kirino immediately, so I couldn't let that happen.



"After all, to this day, Kirino still adores me—her brother."

"I think that Kyou-chan is great too."

After school, I walked home with Manami. She was Tamura Manami, my childhood friend, a girl with glasses. For an insignificant honor student such as myself, she was one of the rare individuals who understood me.

"I'm not special or anything. I only managed to get into the club because of my experience during middle school and hard work. My grades were even worse—if it was not for you, my ranking would have already fallen."

<i>To tell the truth, during elementary school, I truly was better than others.

Back then, I thought 'Am I a genius?'"</i>

Regrettably, I was wrong. No matter whether I admitted it or not, middle school pulled me back to reality.

I wasn't a genius. I was just someone who matured faster than the others.

This situation was quite common. A genius in elementary school reverts back to a normal student in middle school—you guys must see it a lot, right? It was the same for me. Although it dealt me quite a blow, it couldn't be helped.

There is no real talent that escapes that harsh test.

"Still, I think that you are amazing. I feel that this is not something anyone could do. Kyou-chan should be proud of himself."

"You spoil me too much."

"Do I?"

"Yes. Whenever I feel down, you always stay by my side."

"In this situation, I would surely be gentle to Kyou-chan."

"I think so too. But because of that, I feel that I will surely ask to be spoiled."

"Is something wrong with that?"

"Seems interesting, don't you think?"

With someone as gentle and kind as Manami with me, a calm lifestyle was guaranteed. Of course it was good. I felt very happy.

"But I can't do that. How do I put it, maybe because of my stubbornness."

"… Because you don't want to let Kirino-chan be disappointed?"

"… Of course not."

"Really. So in the end… you don't want to disappoint Kirino-chan?"

Manami smiled and turned back. 'What is the difference?'—I was unable to ask this question.

"I feel that if I lose my last persistence, then I have no right to be her brother. Forget it, even I'm not sure."

"I feel that you can't keep this up forever. Until the day you are forced to give up, you won't give up?"

"If that was before, then I will say 'There is nothing difficult as long as I try.' Although I'm different now, with a clearer view of reality, that faith remains unchanged."

Hearing me mutter, Manami looked into the distance and said:

"I see. Then I will have to prepare myself to spoil Kyou-chan, right?"

Then she showed me a kind smile.

Hm, what an encouraging smile.



Even in September, the sun was still hot. My body was already covered in sweat when I got home.

My throat felt so dry too.

"I'm home."

I took my handkerchief to wipe my sweat. After removing my shoes, I immediately went to the refrigerator. As soon as I entered the living room, my little sister, who was wearing her casual clothing and sitting on the sofa, spoke to me.

"Welcome back ~"

"Ah."

I returned a half-hearted answer before walking past her and opening the refrigerator to get barley tea. After I drank a cup, I found out that my little sister was standing right next to me. She didn't conceal her smile, and said:

"Say?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to go somewhere this Sunday?"

"Where exactly is this 'somewhere'?"

"Look look!"

Kirino took a magazine from behind her back and showed me the cover. That was one of the magazines that Kirino always read, and on the cover was a black haired girl.

"Hm, this girl is so cute!"

"She is my classmate—no wait! That was your first reaction? I can't believe it, I will tell Tamura-san!"

The Tamura-san she was talking about was Manami. As my childhood friend, of course her relationship with Kirino was quite good. They had known each other for a long time. 

"This has nothing to do with Manami."

"Right right—anyway, I don't mean the cover. Look here."

"What is this?—Akihabara special? You want to go to Akihabara?"

"Yes."

"You really said yes…"

Such an unexpected answer temporarily made me not know how to respond. Because this and the impression I had of Kirino were too different.

"About Akihabara… isn't that a place full of anime and games? Why do you want to go to that place?"

I voiced my doubts. Kirino stuttered, which was very suspicious. She hastily replied:

"How should  I put it… this magazine recommended something… see, like this."

Kirino flipped to a page and showed me an 'Akihabara-must-see' list. Unlike my expectation, Akihabara was shown to be a modern and stylish place.

"This is Akihabara?"

"I heard that recently it had gone through quite some changes."

"Hm ~?"

"So, do you want to go?"

"…"

I didn't immediately give a reply. It wasn't like I didn't want to go out with my little sister, but I had a feeling that the reason Kirino chose Akihabara seemed a little forced. If she wanted to hang out, then there were lots of places, like Shibuya or Harajuku—alright, maybe it was too soon for Kirino to visit those places.

And so—

Both of us sat down on the sofa and looked at the magazine… This time, I noticed that Kirino's eyes didn't focus on the 'must-see-places' list but rather on a small side note.

She seemed to keep looking at a pink character in 'Anime paradise, Akihabara' in secret.

…………………

………… Could it be……

Maybe she wanted to dispel my doubts, Kirino looked up, staring at me:

"Can't you?"

"No way."

I smiled wryly and patted my little sister's head. 

"Then let's go visit Akihabara."




On Sunday, Kirino and I visited Akihabara for the first time in our lives. Right after we stepped off of the bus, we were faced with rows upon rows of electronic shops. Because today was a weekend, there were quite a lot of people here.

"Incredible."

I sighed. Next to me, Kirino also looked around in curiosity. Kirino usually preferred simple clothing, but today she looked more mature.

"Say, isn't your skirt a bit too short?"

"Eh? Ah… um… is it inappropriate?"

"…… I don't think so."

In contrast, I think it super-fits Kirino. So cute.

After all, the person inside the clothes was already of the highest quality, so maybe some nice clothes would be good.

… This was a good opportunity!

I didn't have any hobbies to spend my money on, so despite still being a student, I had a lot of money in my bank account. Today, my wallet was full too.

"Um, <nowiki>*cough cough*</nowiki>. Say, Kirino—"

While I was nervously trying to speak, Kirino had already walked toward the electronics shop. Hearing me, she turned her head:

"Ah? What did you say, onii-chan? Look look, what is that store over there? Can we go there for a second?"

"Isn't that a game store? It isn't on the 'must-see' list."

"So what? We hardly ever get a chance like this, let's go see more and more."

"………"

''She really is…

''… No way. No way no way. Must be that.

I shook my head to clear my doubts, then made a suggestion.

"Alright, we could. But before that, there is somewhere I want to visit first."

"Eh? What are you thinking about onii-chan? What is that?"

"Your clothes."

"Ah?"

Maybe she didn't understand what I meant, Kirino's eyes widened. 

''… Ah damn, don't force me to say it again, I felt embarrassed too. 

"… I, I think I should buy you some clothes."

"Ah ah ah ah? Where is this coming from?"

"Are you that surprised?"

<i>What do you think of me?</i>

Still… thinking back, I had only given her a present once. It was unavoidable that Kirino would have that reaction, since it wasn't like my usual style. 

I scratched my cheek to hide my embarrassment.

"You… well… this looks good on you, so I think you should go buy some more. You're surely interested, right? Since you like that kind of magazine."

"Because I'm still a girl."

"Right? Then you are welcome."

"It's less like 'holding back' and more like I was so shocked—I see, then… um… I'll accept your offer."

Kirino smiled in embarrassment, her face reddened.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Da da da da* 

She ran away a few steps, but suddenly turned her head back toward me—

"Thank you, onii-chan."

—An unmatched smile

… Ha

"Yes, you are welcome."




And so, we walked side by side into the building.

"Say, what do you plan to buy for me?"

"I have no plan. Do you have any clothes you like?"

"I have, but Akihabara doesn't sell them."

"……"

Kirino gave a half-hearted reply.

"Onii-chan, how about you come help me?"

"… I have no fashion sense, you know?"

"Ah… I see."

Kirino didn't push me, she smiled wryly.

"Anyway, you just come and take a look. If I don't like it, then I will just say so."

"Hm, since you put it that way I will give it a shot. To tell the truth, I truly have no fashion sense."

"Say, are you nervous?"

Kirino teased me.

"Who would be nervous!"

"Since we hardly get a chance like this, let's take a look around."

"Okay."

I took Kirino's hand and started walking aimlessly.

"Want to take a look at that shop?"

The shop that I pointed at was—

"Glasses shop? Why? My eyesight is not that bad?"

"There are people who wear fashion glasses."

"I know that too."

"Then it's fine. Give it a try, I bet it would suit you!"

"… Why are you acting so desperate?" 



When we walked past a café, I asked:

"… Do you want to eat something? You must be hungry now."

"Let's follow the custom here and eat in Akihabara style."

"Akihabara style? Let me think, in front of the bus station… there was a Justeen Café, right?"

"When I checked on the internet, it said that there was a maid café over here."

Maid café… I have heard of them.

"… Want to take a look?"

"Ah?"

Kirino hastily placed a hand on her chest.

"No, no, no. I'm just saying that there is a maid café there."

"You don't have to deny it so strongly…"

In the end, we ate at a random café and kept trying to find somewhere to buy clothes.

"Say, how about this one…?"

"It's good."

"But this doesn't look bad either… this one too… ah, what a headache."

… Couldn't be helped.

Although 'Akihabara doesn't sell the clothes I want,' as soon as she entered the shop, Kirino swam through the sea of clothing with ease.

"In that case, how about trying it on?"

"Yes, you are right."

"Also, it's not like I can only buy one for you."

"Really!?"

"… Ah, yes."

<i>More than 20,000 Yen is a bit high, however…

This girl's eyes were now sparkling.</i>

… So I decided to withdraw all of the money from my bank account.

"You really like clothes, don't you?"

"Yes!"

You should become a model—that was what I thought when I heard Kirino's innocent answer.



"Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Seeing Kirino coming out of the changing room, I was unable to suppress a small whistle. 

Kirino was wearing a miniskirt and boots, with a bold strapless dress. She also had several small trinkets on her neck and fingers. There were sunglasses on her head. Her image suddenly changed immediately. She was cute before, but this clothing made her transcend the mortal realm.

"Very nice. You look good in that."

"Re-really? It isn't strange?"

"Nothing like that—I was staring at you when I saw it."

"Ah? Ah? Ah?… Ah… ~ Actually I'm very confident in it ~"

Kirino scratched the back of her head and got carried away.

"Did you learn from a magazine?"

"Ah, no. How should I put it—let's say I suddenly had a feeling that 'I should wear this in Akihabara!'"

Like this, Kirino said a lot of inexplicable things.

How do the clothes have anything to do with Akihabara?

"Ah, forget it—so you decided to buy them right?"

"Ah? No, I didn't."

"Why? Don't you like them very much?"

"Because the price is more than 80.000 Yen."

"… Ack."

"Besides, I'm happy as long as I have a chance to wear it."

It would have been cool if I could say 'then let's buy it now.'

Unfortunately, I couldn't say that.

"So, buy this for me."

Kirino choose the only trinket that I chose earlier.

A 500 Yen hairpin.

We checked the magazine for common places before returning to our starting point. We successfully completed this trip's purpose, there was still some time left before sunset.

"How about we go over there?"

"Ah?"

"What? Didn't you say that we hardly get a chance like this, so don't you want to take a look around?"

"Ah, yes—right. I did say so."

The most eye-catching thing nearby was a shop named Gamers. Although from the name, it should be a game shop, inside, there was a lot of manga. Near the entrance were a lot of games. 

"Isn't it a game shop?"

"Not a game shop, Gamers, onii-chan."

I didn't fully understand what Kirino meant.

In short, we entered Gamers.

Because there were girls everywhere, I felt a little uncomfortable.

"… Kirino, should we go outside?"

"There is still something above. Let's take a look."

''… Are you serious?

Kirino pointed at the elevator. On its door, there was an anime poster for 'Stardust Witch Meruru.' It showed a pink-haired girl flying in the night sky. 

"………"

While we were waiting for the elevator, Kirino's full attention was on this poster.

Say, in that Akihabara special earlier, there was an anime character like this too.

"You like that kid's show anime."

"Ah ah ah!?"

Kirino was shocked.

"You you you, what are you saying?"

"Ack… I mean, when you were small you really liked that kid's show anime, didn't you?"

"A, ah, ah! When I was small! Small! Right right? I don't remember… hahahaha"

"I don't remember it clearly, but when you were small, you liked an anime called 'Magical Maid' or something. You even hummed along with it in joy."

Standing in front of the television, waving around a toy magical wand and humming the recorded theme song.

After that, she made a 'How was it!? Praise me!?' pose. My doting father was the first one to praise her. Then Kirino finally turned to me full of excitement, her face showing a desire to be praised—she only let me off when I praised her.

Those memories started to resurface in my mind again.

"That… that happened? You didn't make that up, did you~?"

"Yes it did. Well, it has been so long, so it's natural that you don't remember—I wonder if father would be willing to show us the video of that time? Want to ask him later?"

"No no! Don't bother with it anymore!"

Embarrassed, Kirino waved her hands in panic.

Haha, being spoiled by parents sometimes was a headache too. Like how they would record such embarrassing moments.

At that time, the elevator door opened.

Two girls stepped out—my eyes widened when I saw them.

"…!?"

I didn't confirm it, but next to me, Kirino was probably having a similar thought.

What was going on? No no, how could I put it—first, one of them was very big. She was even taller than me, at least 180 centimeters. Besides that, her clothing was unbelievable—she wore a black dress, there was a purple rose on her head, her face was hidden behind a black veil. So terrifying, there was no one with such a fantasy-like mind. Akihabara surely was a dangerous place—that was what I thought.

Behind that huge girl in black clothing was another girl in similar clothes. She also wore black clothing, a purple rose on her head. The difference was she didn't have a veil. She had pure white skin and quite a beautiful face. Her irises were red, and there was a mole under one of her eyes, she had a perfect poker face. I only met her eyes by chance, but I suddenly had a cold feeling— just like she was covered in an aura saying 'the living should not come here.'

"……………"

"……………"

"……………"

"……………"

Our eyes only met, we didn't say anything to each other.

As if someone was pulling me from behind, I turned my head around. Kirino also followed my action.

And then—

She met the gaze from the red eyed girl.

"… 'Shining Angel'…?"

"?"

"… Hmph… no… I must be over-thinking."

Leaving behind inexplicable words, she turned around.

Then she left with her huge friend.

Seeing them leave, Kirino whispered:

"… Those two… who are they?"

"Who knows? Isn't it cosplay? Akihabara is so unbelievable."

Seeing that the elevator door was about to close, we quickly stepped inside.

"… Have I seen them somewhere?"

<i>Probably not,</i> I thought.

Such an amazing appearance, there was no way I would forget if I had seen them.

They were just strangers. When the elevator door closed, I had already forgotten everything about them.



Having left Gamers, both of us walked briskly on the Akihabara street. We didn't have a destination in mind, nor did we say anything to each other. Just like we were avoiding something, we kept walking.

"……………"

"……………"

"……………"

"…………… I never thought that they even sold those kinds of games."

"Don't, don't talk about it anymore! I want to forget it as soon as possible!"

"That is because—"

It isn't very nice to say it out loud, so I hope you can guess what happened.

Confused, Kirino was flushed. If this were a manga, then her eyes would be drawn in a spiral shape.

"… But, but… it looked… so cute."

"Ah? Did you say something?"

"No—nothing at all! Let's hurry up and go somewhere else!"

"Ah, right…"

But how would I know where we could go?… And so, we came to the center street. This was 'Akihabara's paradise for walking' which even I had heard of. I saw a big game center nearby.

"So, where should we go to have some fun next?"

"How about that game center?"

Right after we entered the game center, Kirino's attention was instantly drawn to a place.

"Ah, photo sticker booth!"

"Oh, really?"

"Photo sticker booth!"

"So what?"

"Now is the age of the photo sticker, onii-chan!"

"……"

''Don't look at it. Don't look at it.

"Photo! Sticker! Booth!"

"I don't want to go in!"

But in the end, I was not the type to say no to Kirino. So I tried to convince her.

"Why am I still going to take a photo sticker booth photo with my little sister? At my age?"

"So what? This is a memento. What do you mean by that?"

"I mean I don't want to go do it! Just think about it for a second. Paste it on each other's cell phones? I don't want such a disgusting brother sister relationship!"

"I think that's disgusting too… but I never said I want to reach that level."

"No means no! Even if the world is going to end, I will not go in with you."

"You are so determined…"

Kirino smiled wryly. 

"I feel that even if we took a photo together in that booth, they will think that we are just normal siblings."

"What kind of reason is that?"

"Ah? Wouldn't you feel embarrassed if people thought of us as lovers?"

"… Listen to me."

''Why are you saying something that should be left unspoken?

''I want to find a hole to hide in!

To my side, Kirino laughed:

"In that case, onii-chan, how about you go get a doll from that crane game?"

"Good, that's a piece of cake!"

I can do that. I walked over to the crane game machine. There are lots of that in this game center, and all of them contained anime character dolls.

"……"

"Something wrong?"

"…　No, but what do you want to get?"

"Let me think…"

Kirino checked them for a while…

"This one."

She pointed at a pink haired doll. I thought it was the same character in the poster at Gamers' elevator… so she really…

"Isn't that an anime doll?"

"So what, it's cute."

"Alright…"

Forget it, it was fine. I checked the crane and control system. There was only one doll of the type that Kirino wanted.

There were a lot of blonde blue eyed dolls, and not many villainous-looking purple haired dolls.

The round, white mascot dolls were numerous, they were everywhere.

… The situation didn't look good.

Even if I rarely played the crane game, I understood that much.

"… Let me give it a try."

Then I threw a 500 Yen coin into the machine.

A few minutes later—

"… Sorry, I still can't get it."

After I spent 3.000 Yen, I lost all hope. After my attempts, my targeted doll was even deeper in the sea of dolls. What could I do now? I only managed to get three mascot dolls meant for consolation. 

"… Ah, it can't be helped then."

Kirino was comforting me, but she couldn't hide her regret.

Maybe… Kirino really liked that doll… although Kirino didn't watch much anime now—when I thought about how much she loved anime when she was small, maybe that feeling hadn't completely disappeared.

"Ah…"

True, it was not that easy to admit that you liked anime now.

Especially for a middle school girl.

It was the matter of face.

But—if you thought it was cute before, if you liked it before, what was wrong with liking it now? I didn't think there was any problem with that.

Why did people have to care about such trivial matters?

I recovered and noticed that I was still staring at Kirino. She blushed and complained to me:

"What, what are you looking at?"

"Say… that doll seems to be very popular, you see, that's the only one left."

"… Yes, probably."

"Here, it shouldn't be a problem if we are more open about ourselves, right?"

"Maybe. Just now, there was someone older than me who seemed to be having fun."

…………

I returned my eyes to the machine and said:

"Listen to me, Kirino—do you want this Meruru doll?"

Hearing that, Kirino was surprised, then—

"Yes, I want it very much."

She openly admitted her feelings.

"I see. Good, then wait a moment."

"Where are you going?"

Wasn't it clear enough?

"I'm going to exchange some more money."

—— A few minutes later ——

"Is this machine broken or something?"

After I burned 2,000 Yen more on that game, I was about to let my anger out. My cool onii-chan image just now had long disappeared.

"Strange! Why can't it hold the doll? Damn it damn it damn it!"

"Lower your voice! It's so embarrassing!"

"But look! It's strange! This crane… is this crane's grip too weak?"

"I get it I get it! Let's go home, okay? Okay?"

"Ugh……"

Kirino smiled and tried to pull me away from the crane game.

At that time—

"… Hmph… hahahaha."

A mocking laughter broke out next to us.

"?"

''… Ah! It's this girl…!

It was the same black haired, red eyed girl in gothic loli clothing that we met at Gamers.

Next to her, the strange looking huge girl was standing.

The girl in gothic loli clothing glanced at us. Maybe she was angry because of that gaze, Kirino stepped forward.

"… Say, did you just mockingly laugh at us?"

The gothic loli girl didn't bother answering Kirino's question, she just went 'hmph,' and she contemptuously shook her head and shrugged.

Angry! Kirino was so mad that her face reddened. Hey hey, my little sister was so short tempered.

I had no choice but to grab Kirino's shoulder to prevent her from walking toward this gothic loli girl. 

The gothic loli girl coldly looked at us, then threw 500 Yen into that crane game.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>clank clank*

She quickly pushed the button to move the crane, waiting for the right chance to push it again.

The crane got hold of a white mascot doll and then threw it to the reward door.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>clank*


"… Hold it for me for now, Saori."

"Alright."

She gave it to the big girl.

Unlike her weird strange clothing, the big girl's voice was quite gentle.

There were five more chances left for her.

"Alright—"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Clank clank clank clank clank*

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Clank clank clank clank clank*

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Clank clank clank clank clank*

Purple haired doll, blond blue-eyed doll, white mascot doll consecutively fell into her hands.

''… Who is this girl? So amazing.

After removing four dolls, the Meruru doll's head that was buried deep down because of my clumsy skill was revealed. Now was the hard part—at least I thought so.

"… That is what you wanted?"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Clank clank clank clank clank*



I never thought that she would use the string on the Meruru doll's head to pull it out.

"… Ah."

Seeing that, Kirino let out a reluctant sound.

"…"

The gothic loli girl held the doll that Kirino super-wanted and played with the string. Then she looked this way—

"Pffff."

<!--动手 roughly means "take action"-->
"What is that girl doing? Disgusting! Hey, onii-chan, let go of me! I won't do anything!"

"Calm down. Calm down!"

But I thought so too. What was that black girl thinking? What strange clothing…!

The gothic loli girl gave the Meruru doll to the big girl and turned away.

"Let's go, Saori. Let us go to our chaotic world…"

Leaving that unclear message behind, she didn't wait for her friend and quickly walked to the entrance.

''… Who is this girl?

I thought that the big girl would follow, but she didn't.

And then—

"Please take this."

She handled me the Meruru doll.

"Ah… ah? Why?"

I held the same question as Kirino.

The big girl smiled behind her veil.

"Sorry… my friend is very dishonest. My explanation for her actions just now is—'I will give you this since you care so much for your little sister. If you don't mind then please accept it.'"

"That explanation is definitely a lie."

Her words were not that friendly. 

'Hmph… hahahahaha' and 'Pfff.' All of it was to mock us.

"I didn't lie. When we met briefly before, she seemed to take a liking to this girl."

"Ah? Me?"

"Yes. So that's why she decided to butt into your affair. I'm very sorry."

"Ah, no, actually... it's not important. This—can we really have it?"

"Of course."

She showed a big smile and said in a friendly manner.

"… How about it? She even said that much."

"Alright. Then I will take it. Thank you very much."

"I will give your words to her."

What a gentle voice,

"Then please excuse me."

"Okay."

That should have been the end, but I couldn't restrain my curiosity, thus I asked:

"… Why are you wearing those clothes? Because that is your hobby?"

"…… Because I heard these are clothes infused with 'bond' magic."

"I see. Although I don't know about that, I got the feeling you aren't that simple."

"Haha… maybe."

"Hurry up, Saori. What took you so long!?"

At the entrance, the gothic loli urged.

Looking back, there was a hint of embarrassment in her voice.



—And so, our sibling adventure in Akihabara came to an end.

After we got home, we chatted for a while in Kirino's room.

"What did you think of Akihabara? Did you have fun?"

"Yes—thank you for the hairpin you gave me."

"Is the hairpin that great?

"Yes!"

"Hmph?"

I didn't get it. I muttered.

After a little silence, I said:

"—We met two strange guys."

"Really, so strange."

Kirino hugged the Meruru doll and answered.

Looked like she really liked it.

"Do you plan to put that doll in your room?"

"Um… it's so childish, so I feel that I should put it 'there.'"

"'There'?"

Hearing my question, Kirino slowly stood up and—pushed the bookshelves aside.

Behind that was a secret storage space.

"—You have such a place?"

"Yes… hehe."

Kirino slid the paper door open, revealing the space inside.

And she put that Meruru doll in.

—Somehow, I suddenly had a feeling of loneliness and nostalgia.

The scene before me made me feel both strange and familiar. Maybe Kirino was feeling the same.

The magical girl doll stood alone, while Kirino gently looked at it.