Haru-Naru ♪♪♪ Love is a Comedy

Perhaps as a result of Mio's guidance, Naruko bought a huge pile of doujinshi. She seemed like she was in a good mood as she held her paper bag.

"…Naruko. Don't you think you bought a bit too much? That's more than ten books you bought…" And all of them were ero ones. We're probably way past this point already, but people under 18 really shouldn't be buying these things.

"Not really. I got a lot of them as we were going around and saying hello to people, and a lot of the people we met recommended books to me, so I couldn't just not buy them." Scrambling to and fro, Naruko seemed just like a happy child at a festival.

Well, that's a relief, even though I initially had my doubts… it seemed like this would really become a fond summer memory for her. I really have to thank Mio for this. And then… after more or less covering the entire doujinshi sales floor, we temporarily exited the building, returning back to the entrance plaza, and then headed towards the Western hall. While we walked beside the outdoor exhibition area, Mio, as usual, began to explain things to me. "This year, the cosplay area was split into two parts, and one of those parts is the outdoor exhibition area over there."

I watched with a forced smile as Naruko and Ruby both sped up, and gave a half-hearted response. I mean, cosplay was, in short, people dressing up in costumes, and having fun becoming anime or game characters, right? Honestly, from what I could see looking at it from the side, it didn't seem like something I would be all too interested in.

Having finally arrived at the exhibition area, I looked forward with cold eyes… but… "Wha—?!"

"Hey, hey, what's wrong, Haruto-chan? I thought you didn't have any interest in cosplay." Mio sent me a big smile as I stood there, probably assuming that I had gotten sight of some cosplay that had attracted my interest but that wasn't it. What I had found was much, much more outrageous.

"…t-that's… that's…" I was nervously pointing at a certain white clad alien who was standing near the entrance of the plaza.

Wait wait wait wait… seriously? Seriously seriously? There was stuff like this too?

"Isn't that Frieza?! Frieza is getting his picture taken!"

"Yeah, that does appear to be Frieza. Hmm… that's quite a good costume…"

"H-How can you be so calm about it? It's Frieza!"

"You know it's a cosplay, right?"

"Idiot! Of course I know that!"

Crap… I'm getting way too excited about this! But it's Frieza! Frieza is right there, in the real world! And in his final form no less! The coolest, most terrifying form! There are no guys in existence that could look at this and not be moved! Whoaaaaaaa! Amaaaaaaaaaazing!

Filled with an excessive amount of happy surprise, I rushed over to Frieza. Imitating the others in the crowd, I set up my cell phone camera. Click. Click click.

"Thanks a lot!" Bowing my head multiple times towards the emperor of the universe, I returned back to where Mio was standing. "Hahaha! Look! He was doing the Kamehameha pose!"

"Umm… Haruto-chan? You realize that right now, you look exactly like a natural-born otaku, right…? "

"Ah!…" Showing off my cell phone photo to Mio, I finally came to my senses, and felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me.

Well… how do I put it… I guess it isn't impossible to understand how people feel when they get really entranced by cosplay. It actually was something even ordinary people could understand… it wasn't really that strange of a feeling… and Dragon Ball is a special case, so this doesn't make me an otaku. Understand? While staring at my cell phone, I desperately made excuses for myself. It just wasn't fair to throw Frieza at me like that.

"A-Anyways, where did the other two go?" When I forcibly changed the subject, Mio quickly pointed with her finger. Looking where she was pointing, I saw Ruby expertly handling a serious-looking camera, taking pictures. The subject of her photos was a samurai character donning a black kimono and a skull mask.

Btshh! Btshh! Swish! Every few seconds the rather impressive cosplayer chose a different super cool pose.

"Hm? Where exactly did my sister run off to?" I continued to look around. Beneath the cloudy skies, the outside exhibition area had been transformed into a strange place dominated by manga and video game characters. To my left and to my right, I saw many very strange costumed people (or should I say, inhuman existences) standing about. There were also many people who, like Ruby, had prepared serious-looking cameras and were taking photos of the cosplayers who had donned their finest costumes. As I stared at this scene around me, soon I was able to catch sight of the restless Naruko who was wandering around the plaza. Perhaps it was because of the trendy clothes she was wearing, but she looked like she could have been window shopping in Shibuya. Of course, my sister was looking at cosplayers, not clothing. Naruko focused her gaze on the many many cosplayers standing around her, sincerely revealing her excitement with a "whoaaa" here and a "waaaah" there. It was an appearance that was so starkly different from her usual hateful attitude. It was cute, and stirred my brotherly instincts to life. As I watched her, I slowly broke out into a grin. That's great, Naruko. I mumbled my sincere feelings.

Mio half-ran to Naruko, and grabbed her shoulders. "Orange-chan. How do you like it, seeing all this genuine cosplay?"

"Well, isn't that obvi—" Looking back with a full smile, Naruko forcibly stiffened her expression the minute she saw Mio's smile. "… W-Well, it's o-okay…"

"I'm glad, then. Seeing you have fun is my first priority."

Shying away from Mio's knowing smile, Naruko's lips thinned and she restlessly looked around. She really wanted to show how excited she was, but she was too embarrassed. That was the complicated mental state that was being revealed by her facial expression. Honestly, my sister wasn't a very open person.

As I tried to hold in my laughter, Naruko blushed and glared in my direction. "Hey, what the hell are you laughing at?!"

"I'm not laughing… pfth." As I stifled my laugh, I decided to casually change the subject. As I gazed at the costumed people walking around me. "Anyways, cosplay seems pretty rough, doesn't it…? Today it's cloudy, so it's probably not too bad, but wearing costumes like this in summertime must be tough."

"…hm, they're alright. They probably have cooling systems set up in their costumes."

At some point, Ruby had found her way back to us, and responded to my question in a shocked tone. Now that I think about it, she was also a cosplayer too, right? Indeed, that's probably why she's so knowledgeable about these things.

"People know when they can expect the weather to be really sunny, so people can at least prepare beforehand. This doesn't apply to just the cosplayers, but the photographers as well. Just look… everything moves so efficiently, right? It's so the cosplayers don't get worn down too quickly."

"Hm… I guess this is more complex than I thought. And judging by the way you haven't been sweating at all and seem pretty comfortable, you also prepared some heat countermeasures, didn't you?" She had been wearing that really hot-looking gothic lolita costume all day.

"Yes. There's an extremely thin layer of spiritual energy surrounding me that protects my body from the sun's rays and heat."

"Um, what? Come again?"

"You don't understand, right? Well, please give up. There's no point in asking. Unfortunately, those who do not possess the 'eye' peculiar to we who belong to the night cannot hope to 'see' this thin layer of energy." Ruby gazed off into the distance. Seriously, I still had no idea what she was talking about.

"Here she goes again with the same chuunibyou nonsense…" As I stood in bewilderment at Ruby's statement, Naruko came over with her eyes thinned in annoyance and joined in on the conversation. "We already know all too well how much you love that vampire girl from Xgate Online. So can you please spare us and not mix in anime lines when you talk to people in real life? It's really pathetic and also pretty creepy in a lot of ways."

"Stop grumbling. The likes of a mere human like you…"

I see. I couldn't make head nor tails of what she was saying, so it would make sense to think that she was imitating an anime character. Satisfied with that explanation, I watched as Naruko looked up and down at Ruby's flashy outfit.

"Now that I think about it, today's outfit is also of that Black Rose character, right?"

"Where exactly are you looking? That's completely wrong. I'm not wearing a costume. These are my normal clothes."

T… those are her… normal clothes? Sorry… I can't tell the difference at all. Naruko lightly clicked her tongue.

"If those are your normal clothes, you should wear something cooler."

"That's up to me, isn't it?"

"I feel hot just by looking at you. Come on, just take off your outerwear." The minute she said that, Naruko began to forcibly strip off Ruby's clothing.

"W-Wait a second… y-you…" Ruby struggled, but Naruko was surprisingly skilled, and in the blink of an eye Ruby was left in a no-sleeve cut and sewn shirt. She was also wearing a flared miniskirt, and long socks. Her outfit was exceedingly prim and tidy.

I looked at the now lightly dressed Ruby, and let out a sigh of admiration. Both at Ruby's very summer-like outfit, and Naruko's little performance. Briskly putting Ruby's clothes into order, Naruko seemed just like a professional makeup artist working on the set of a film. Perhaps this air came from the fact that during her modeling work, Naruko was always close to real makeup artists.

"Alright, much better." Naruko seemed proud of her work, puffing out her chest. Holding the clothes she had stripped off in one hand, Naruko spoke with a strangely mature air. "Everyone has their own tastes in clothing, but please pay attention at least to TPO. You wear summer clothes during summer. If you don't do that, even your health will suffer. Understand? Hm?"

"But as I said, I'm fine with this heat…"

"Yeah yeah, I got it I got it. But just stay like that for a little while today, alright? Without all those frills, you really look pretty cute."

"Please don't give me the type of compliment where there's a hidden 'but I still look better' implied." Ruby quickly turned her back towards us. Like that, she began to walk in the other direction "What are you doing? There's nothing left to do here, is there? Hurry up and let's go."

"Idiot. Why do you look so embarrassed?" Naruko made this statement grinningly while facing Ruby's back, and then thrust the clothes and paper bag she had in her hands towards me. "Bro, here. Hold this."

"Hold it yourself!"

"Do you really want me to bring up that incident with our 'dear cousin'?"

"D-Don't be absurd!"

Behaving like her efficient, obedient butler, I took the clothing and luggage from Naruko.

A few minutes later, slipping away from the outdoor exhibition area, we arrived back at the Eastern hall, and went into the building.

"The East 3 and East 4 halls are where the corporate booths are located. Corporate booths are… well, the simplest way to put it is that it is an exhibit space used primarily by gaming companies and publishers, and other companies that deal with subculture."

"Ahh." I gave a standard response to Mio's explanation. But seriously, she's been acting just like a tour guide for some time now.

"There are also a lot of new announcements by companies made at this event… so there are also previews which debut here."

"Hmph." Looking bored, Naruko began to respond. "New information, you say. Even if you don't come all the way over here to this event though, you have news sites like MOON PHASE that will post these things. So shouldn't you just check for news online?"

Ruby snorted, seeming annoyed. "Hmph, the things you read on the internet are so full of rumors and speculation. Of course, you can still have fun with the falsified information. But, I think there is definite meaning and value in showing up at an event to be able to see and listen to their announcements with your own eyes and ears."

"What the hell. What's with that tedious little speech? Are you trying to sound cool or something?"

"Considering you're such an imbecile, you probably can't figure it out. These news site worshippers… they should all go drown in the sea of the internet… earlier too, you were talking about how you read an article on some site about some 'HG training broom' or something and you bought it impulsively even though you had no way of using that. Are you an idiot?"

"I-I can put that in the entranceway, and my mom can use it to clean the garden! Besides, if someone tries to burglarize our house, and someone unsheathes a sword from the broom, he might get freaked out and run away!"

Naruko and Ruby again began to argue. Seriously, there was never a quiet moment with these two.

As the completely useless argument began to wind down, I asked Mio a question. "Corporate exhibits, you said… what are they exactly? There's no reason that companies themselves should be making and selling doujinshi, right?"

"Of course not." My sister interjected with a curt response, but—

"Actually, that kind of thing does happen."

Mio contradicted Naruko's statement. With an "Eh?" of bewilderment, Naruko turned around as our Comiket guide, Mio, began her explanation.

"For example, if you're a game company, you might make a fanbook or an illustration collection for your game, or distribute a novel based on your game. We could call these things 'official doujinshi.'"

"Oh? And what other types of things do they do at these booths?"

"They sell character goods, or stream new game PVs, or display a huge robot model… there are a lot of things they do. At publisher booths, sometimes you can even bring them your own work for them to take a look at… of course this time, there's also that strange 'Manga and Doujinshi of the World' exhibit."

"Submitting your own work, huh…? They even do things like that? Hmm…" As I stood there wide-mouthed in surprise.

Well, of course, considering this doujinshi sales convention was a place where people very knowledgeable about manga gathered, it makes sense that there would also be scouts here. As these thoughts ran through my head, I heard Ruby grumbled. "Stop it already with the boring question-and-answer session. You're here already, so just figure these things out as we go."

"Definitely. Can't you stop walking so slowly? I want to go to the Alice+ booth." Naruko nodded next to me.

Hey you two, why is it that even though normally, all you do is argue with each other, whenever you start badmouthing me you fall into harmony with each other? And honestly, aren't I walking this slowly because I'm holding all your things? And why do you look so happy when you're bashing me like this? Dammit. Mio had also frequently said that these two are pretty compatible with each other… unexpectedly, that may really have been true. But if you ask me, all I can say is that this marked the birth of a terrible duo. As all this was going on, we arrived at the corporate booths.

It was a completely different atmosphere than that of the doujinshi sales floor. The space was also quite enormous, but it didn't feel as unrefined or disorganized, and you could say it was even a bit prim and proper. Here and there I saw a number of female cosplayers, flashing their graceful smiles. When I saw that they were all beautiful women, I knew that they were probably professionals. Something else that caught my eye were the paper bags that people were carrying with them, on which were printed large illustrations of pretty girls.

"Those paper bags are based on a popular work that was turned into an anime." Perhaps noticing where I was looking, Mio gave me a well-timed explanation. Afterwards, we found ourselves heading towards the Alice+ booth, which Naruko had been anxiously wanting to go to for a while.

Alice+ was the same company that made the eroge I had been playing recently, "Little Sister Wars † Siscalypse." Naturally, at their booth they would be holding Siscali related events and selling Siscali related goods. So of course, Naruko wanted to go to their booth. And because she had forced me to play the game to completion, I would be lying if I said I wasn't the least bit interested in taking a look at the booth.

"Ah, look, it's over there! Let's go, hurry! I want to get the limited edition Summer Comiket disk!" Excited, Naruko began to move quickly towards the booth.

With a bitter smile, I shrugged my shoulders and turned towards Mio. "Limited edition disk?"

"It's a data disk you can't get anywhere except at this event. If you install it, you get extra costumes, things you can dress your Siscali characters with. Well, it's not like it raises your character's defense stat or anything… you could call it a souvenir, or a collector's item… something like that."

"Hm. So that's why she's running over so quickly to buy it." I was satisfied with her explanation, but for some reason Mio stuck out her lower lip and her expression clouded over.

"Yeah. But… probably…"

"Hm?" I tried to ask for Mio to explain, but it turned out there wasn't a need to.

"What?! Sold out?!" Because I could hear Naruko's loud exclamation after she had gone to buy the disk. It wouldn't be a good idea to just leave my super short-tempered sister over there, so we quickly hurried over to the Alice+ booth. Naruko let out an astonished sigh. "It's a popular product that comes from a popular company, so it's not surprising that they're sold out by this time…"

"Wait a second… but it's only a bit after noon."

"It sold out that quickly…? Wow." Suddenly, I began to understand the feelings of the people rushing into the building at opening hours.

"Mmm. If you want to buy something like that, right after coming in you have to head straight for the booth and stand in line…"

Mio, who had planned our schedule to be much more leisurely than that, looked slightly depressed over this, so I told her, "Don't worry about it." She had already been such a great help, there was no reason to place blame on her for something like this.

With a gloomy air, Naruko had her shoulders dropped. Facing her from behind, I slowly approached and placed my palm on top of her head.

"That's too bad. Oh well, there's nothing we could have done about it."

As I tried to comfort my depressed sister, a staff member timidly spoke up. "Umm… the limited edition disk… the portion for sale is gone, but you can still get one as a prize from one of our events… so if you would like, please try participating in one of those."

"E-Event?!" When Naruko asked with an immense amount of expectation, the staff member shrunk back a little, but still began to explain.

"It's the debut of the arcade version of Little Sister Wars † Siscalypse, which will be available to the public this fall. We will give a copy of the limited edition disk to the first person who can perform the feat of defeating one of the staff at the game." The staff member pointed to the side. "To participate, please stand in line here! But be warned that the staff members participating are masters at the arcade version of the game. Winning will not be that easy!"

There was only one winner… the fact that they had only prepared one prize made it pretty clear that they weren't bluffing when they said it wouldn't be that easy to win. But without even listening to Naruko's response, I already knew what she was going to say.

"Hmm, interesting. Let's give it a go then." Yeah, that's what I thought… ah, she's so competitive. Well, she can do what she wants. At any rate, it's not like she would listen to me if I tried to stop her.