Haru-Naru ♪♪♪ Love is a Comedy

With a thud, I plunked down onto my bed, and looked up at the ceiling. Alright… should I do it? I thought about that while in a surprisingly refreshed mood. Once again, I had to exert effort to destroy the problems that were hounding my sister. And what's more, my opponent this time would be Juvia, that girl who had a dark side of her personality that had completely blindsided me. It would be incredibly annoying and dangerous.

Haah… being a big brother was not very easy… as I sigh, I begin to push buttons on my cell phone. The display showed the phone number of "Amesaka Juvia." I heard the sound of the call being made.

There might have been a reason why Juvia had suddenly had such a complete change in personality. I thought about it. I mean, I still couldn't really believe that what had happened really happened. To think that such a gentle, kind, sincere person… such a good person like Juvia… could suddenly flip out and turn into a completely different, terrifying person, and then break off relations with a good friend like Naruko. It was just that Naruko's hentai doujinshi habit was exposed before her eyes, right? Well, I guess "just" is not the right word. The situation was a bit more serious than that… it's really a bit incomprehensible, you know? And I mean, that's the feeling I got from the bits and pieces of Naruko's words I had collected from earlier. So… definitely, something was up… something.

On my fifteenth attempt to make the call, I got a response. "Yes?"

"Hey, it's been a while. This is Haruto."

"Did you want something?" It was the same harsh tone as before.

"I want to talk to you about Naruko."

After a few silent seconds, I got a response. "Did Naruko ask you to do this?"

"Do you think she did?"

"No." Immediate answer. I guess she knew all too well that Naruko was not that kind of person. Suddenly, we both sighed. When I first met Juvia, I had never thought that I would be having this kind of serious conversation with her.

"Well…" How should I start this? As I struggled to find words, she went first.

"If you're asking for me to make up with her, I refuse." She doesn't even want to talk about it… she probably acted like this towards Naruko today at school too. And Naruko was probably pretty shocked by that.

That girl… she has an absurdly high sense of responsibility, and if she has a reason she'll try hard to bear her problems… but once those reasons went away, she suddenly became quite fragile… to be treated like this by a close friend was probably quite hard on her.

"So… you won't accept that she has this kind of hobby?"

"Correct. I cannot be friends with someone who has things like that. I said that the other day too," Juvia flatly refused, and continued her statement, "I could ask you too what you think of all this. That your sister has a hobby like this… well, I don't really even have to ask. Because I saw you with her at that place together."

Hey, I still haven't said anything, you know. She's just going on by herself and drawing her own conclusions. Now that I think about it, for as long as I've known her she's been that kind of person.

"Yes, everything is your fault. It's all because you dragged Naruko into… into that kind of…"

"Wait, no. That's…"

She has it all wrong! What a terrible misunderstanding! It was the opposite! I was the one that got dragged in!

"Don't make excuses, please. I can't believe this… why did this happen… Naruko wasn't that kind of person! You're her brother, so you know, right? She was an amazing girl! Someone who was respected by everyone, who people relied on, myself included…"

"Wait just a second!"

"Don't make excu—"

"I told you to wait, didn't I!? Calm down! Listen to what I have to say!" I forcefully interjected with a shout, and finally, I managed to break Juvia off from her monologue. She seemed quite disgruntled at having been cut off before she could proudly tell me to not make excuses.

"What is it then?"

"Did you talk with Naruko today?" I really needed to be clear on what exactly had happened. Could it be that she… "Or, did you not? Did you just ignore her… or something?"

"No, we talked. Just a bit. But there was no point."

If I interjected, she probably would get angry, so I waited for her to continue.

"I was really close with Naruko. That's not true anymore, but we were really close, Haruto-san. So… don't you think it's obvious I want to heal our relationship, that I want for us to go back to the way things were?"

Yeah… breaking up with a close friend was really hard. It was definitely clear that she would want to heal their relationship and return to the way things were. I had just experienced something similar, after all… I know. All too well. I understand, and that's why I'm here talking to her like this. I wasn't sure how Juvia was taking my silence… but she kept on going.

"So… that's what I told her. 'Can you stop doing things like that?' I asked her. 'I want us to be friends again, so I really don't want things to turn out this way. So could you throw it all away and forget about it?' I asked. During summer vacation, I also couldn't stop thinking about this… but I couldn't go against my own feelings… still, I really like Naruko… and I want to continue to really liking Naruko… So I tried to compromise with her on this."

When she spoke like that, the frightening atmosphere dispersed, and Juvia returned to the kind girl who had deep feelings for her best friend. I really don't think I was mistaken when I got the impression before that she was a good person. But… in the next instant, the atmosphere chilled.

"And what do you think Naruko said to that?" I can guess. I can probably imagine what she said precisely, word for word. What she probably said first was… "'Definitely not', she told me! I couldn't believe it… even though I had begged her like that! Even though I had asked her to make up with me! 'Definitely not,' she said… that's so terrible…"

Don't cry… dammit, she's much harder to deal with than my mother was. No matter if it was my sister or her, I felt helpless when a girl began to cry in front of me. I spoke, trying to cheer her up, "But… She doesn't mean that she doesn't want to make up with you, you know?"

"It's all the same! She means that that hobby is more important than I am, right!? I thought we were close… but that was completely not true!"

"Well, what about you?" With a more aggressive tone of voice, I asked my question. "Certainly, you might say that Naruko is not like normal people and has a not-so-great hobby. Well, let me just ask, do you really think that something like that is enough of a reason to cut off your relationship with Naruko? Do you really think, just because she likes something you don't understand, that's a good reason to start hating a close friend? So, what about that?"

"Something like that? Something like that, did you say?"

"Yes, I did. So what? Don't get me wrong… I have not the slightest intention of supporting her hobby. But, I don't think her hobby is something that should break apart two close friends."

"That's because you also have the same hobby, isn't it?"

NO! I wanted to say, but she probably wouldn't believe me. What's more, honestly, after spending time with my sister and her otaku friends, and after going to that event, my prejudices against otaku had died down. So, it was true that I saw these types of otaku hobbies in a different light than Juvia did. But, even so. Was there some other reason for all this? I really couldn't believe that just because Naruko had a weird hobby, Juvia would cut ties with her.

"Maybe. But if I have to say it, you don't exactly understand what Naruko's hobby is about either, right? You're hating something without even understanding it." I tried to convince Juvia with the same line of reasoning I had used on my mother. But—

"My mother works as a councilwoman, she's also the president of the PTA." Juvia spoke sharply.

"PTA?" Having such a strange word coming at me seemingly out of context, I tilted my neck. What exactly did that have to do with what we were talking about?

"Sometimes I help my mother when she has periodic meetings… at those meetings, we sometimes have guest speakers, journalists who have spoken on television before… what they tell us is that Japan, as a nation, is one of the most prominent suppliers of child pornography in the world, and suspicious products like that run unchecked especially in Akihabara. It's a really serious problem, if you ask me… the same person told us that the House of Representatives recently was presented with a petition asking them to enact a law regulating the manufacture and distribution of adult anime and games featuring young girls."

"…adult… regulation… petition?" What was going on… I had a bad feeling about where this was going.

"Yes. To summarize, it was something calling for the regulation of adult games and anime. It was originally a petition presented by members of the House of Councilors. If you do those kinds of things, you would unwittingly destroy your mind and lose your humanity." Although Juvia was speaking in a very orderly manner, she gradually got more and more worked up. "There were a few products mentioned on a handout they distributed at the meeting. There were manga and computer games in which you defile little girls, lock them up and enjoy doing perverted things to them… I couldn't believe that there were people who would look at these things, who would play with them and actually have fun while doing it. I don't even really want to remember what happened in that incident… but certainly, the things Naru had at that time were all those types of things, right? Yes?"

Faced with the waves of disapproval coming off Juvia, I didn't really know how to respond. So, the PTA did things like that too? Really, petitions? Regulations? Nothing but pointless thoughts and questions ran through my head.

"That kind of disgusting hobby… if you can even call something dirty like that a 'hobby'… to find out that my best friend had something like that… isn't it obvious that I would try to stop it? Would a friend really just give her permission to do this kind of thing and approve of it? I really don't think so, so if she definitely won't give it up, I can't continue to associate with her. Even if she was my best friend."

If this were a few weeks ago, I probably wouldn't have had a single problem with what she was saying, and would have approved of it as a commendable way of thinking. I mean, even now, I had to admit that Juvia's overly serious line of reasoning was sound… I cocked my head to the side. But I don't have to tell her that, right? Was I acting this way because I already was well on my way to being an otaku? Has my head gone funny? Considering what we were talking about, I didn't want to argue back against this girl and make myself seem like a big pervert… but before I knew it I had opened my mouth.

"Well, I mean, from your point of view, it probably seems disgusting or dirty… if that's what you say you think, then all I can say is 'ah, alright.' But, this really isn't something worthy of such an overreaction… I mean, they're just books and games, right?"

"What if I told you that under the influence of those things you call 'just games,' people have committed crimes!? There was that incident before summer vacation, that was on the news… umm… the 'Siscali Attempted Murder Case'!"

"S-Siscali…attempted Murder Case!?"

"Yes. Did you not know? Hold on… Just a second. I know I have it around here…" I heard a clattering noise on the other end of the line. It seemed as if she was preparing the appropriate documents. "It was a case where a man tried to electrocute a girl to death and was caught. That man was part of that group of potential criminals they call 'otaku', and seemed to do what he did under the influence of the 18+ game Little Sister Wars † Siscalypse'. He confessed that he wanted to act like he did in the game and yearned for the game characters… they also confiscated a large number of disgusting books and games from that man's room." In her anger, Juvia threw her judgmental words at me. "Among the disgusting books that Naruko dropped that day, there were even a few that were listed on this document! I saw 'Siscalypse' written on some, right!? Doesn't that mean Naruko has the same game as that murderer did!?"

I see… I see. I see all too well… I know exactly what's going on now. I can understand now why you suddenly became so hysterical when you read that doujinshi, and why you became so pale then. In other words, she really was just worried about Naruko. Her important friend might have turned into a potential criminal. Like that, Naruko might destroy her mind and lose her humanity. What should I do? What should I do… what should I do… what should I do!? So, that's what this situation has become.

Juvia continued her speech in a bitter tone. "So, alright? How can you justify something like that… those types of games and manga, and everything similar to that kind of thing… it's unforgivable that such things exist in this world! And the people who want such things, and the people who make such things, everyone is the same: potential criminals! These are things we need to closely regulate and harshly control! And these things are absolutely not things Naruko should get involved with! Give me back my Naruko! Give her back!"

Click . And I was utterly shut down. I tried to redial her number, but Juvia didn't pick up again.

"What the hell…" I sighed heavily. I had expected the conversation to be tough, but it had been even more difficult than I had imagined. Juvia wasn't just simply speaking out of the pure prejudice against otaku that many girl high school students possessed. She was trying to get Naruko to stop her hobby for Naruko's sake. Up to that point, her actions were identical with my mother's that one time. But Juvia had presented real evidence that supported her opinion, her disgust against otaku. She was a very difficult opponent. Probably even more than my mother had been. I wouldn't be able to change her opinion without trying my utmost.

"Siscali Attempted Murder Case," huh… to think I would hear something like that at a time like this… if I thought about it now, the reason why Naruko had become so depressed is probably because she had met with Juvia while Juvia was acting like that. It was truly a helpless, lamentable situation. But, what just happened? What was up with that argument? From what I heard, and her one-sided tone that was filled with genuine worry probably had something to do with this, she was definitely quite persuasive, and her argument even had a basis in real fact. But… how should I put it… There was just something I couldn't accept about her line of reasoning.

Honestly, it might be because I had met Naruko's otaku friends, and even had gone to an event with them… And had felt a feeling of friendship budding with them. Or rather, it might have been because I had played the very game, "Siscali," that had motivated that crime, had practiced it, and had even cleared it… so probably, I was biased in favor of it. I didn't know what it was, but for now I knew I couldn't accept what she had said. Even I wouldn't say that there weren't bad influences that existed in games, manga, or on the internet. Your precious time melts away to nothing; it's not really a good thing to waste your childhood watching anime, and the only place they talk so proudly about playing eroge are in restricted communities. Once you go outside and look at it from the perspective of normal common sense, it wasn't something you could puff your chest out about. I mean, that's why Naruko had been so troubled back then when she couldn't find anybody to talk to about her own hobby. People could say that these things have a bad influence on her. But, just by being an otaku, could a good person really be turned into a bad person, or could someone who would never commit a crime really be transformed into a criminal?

For example… if you read a manga in which they kill people, or play a brutal game, would you really start to want to kill people? I mean, maybe the guy who killed the other person was a bad person in the first place. If he was just a normal human, people wouldn't have an issue, right? It wasn't games or whatever that was the issue, but rather was a problem with his character, wouldn't you say? But let's say for the sake of argument that he fell under the evil influence of games and became a criminal. Even if he hadn't played games, wouldn't he have just found some other reason to commit crimes? However you say it, reality will always be a much stronger influence on people than games. It was impossible to make a game that was more real than reality. It was impossible to even think about what that kind of game would be like. So, even if she had evidence like that, it just didn't convince me. It's just that, this was my own personal opinion, and didn't go further than that. It was impossible for me to convince Juvia with this personal opinion alone.

What should I do? Naruko and Juvia both wanted to make up with each other. But Naruko had absolutely no intentions on giving up her hobby, and Juvia had absolutely no intentions on approving of that hobby. They couldn't meet eye to eye. And… even if their relationship would never be the same, I wanted to see them make up with each other. And also, I couldn't tolerate the thought, couldn't stomach the fact that close to me, two best friends were being breaking up with each other. Because I can relate to how painful such an experience can be. So I wanted to do something if I could. Even if this wasn't about my sister, I would feel like that. First of all… that girl had said that otaku were "potential criminals." That included not just me and Naruko, but Ruby and Mio as well. Of course, I didn't really care what bad things people said about otakus in general… but if someone spoke badly about my friends, could I really just stay silent about it? Obviously not!