After we had seen Summer Comiket from one end to the other, we headed towards Kokusaitenjijo Station. Raindrops had already started pitter pattering down, so by the time we got to the station it might start seriously raining. When we reach the other side, I wonder if we should hail a taxi… neither I nor Naru had the courage to walk home carrying these two heavy, dangerous paper bags with us.
"Hey Naru. By the way, I noticed you bought quite a lot from the corporate booths."
"Yeah?" Naru's ears twitched. It was unavoidable that she would likely want to show off her purchases. Of course, I didn't really want to see her stuff at all, but it was at least better than getting into an argument, so I told her what she wanted to hear.
"I was just wondering what you bought."
"Well, I guess I can show you then." Naru responded in an outrageously arrogant way, and with a "tadaa!" showed off a piece of cloth wrapped in vinyl. "Fufu, isn't it amazing?"
"Umm… what is it exactly?"
"It's Vampire Princess Sakura Dragneel Summer Comiket limited edition hug pillow cover. On the front you have Sakura-chan in her Tsun Tsun expression, and on the back there's Sakura in her Dere Dere expression. Cute, isn't it?"
She was really happy. I had never seen my sister smiling in such an entranced way before. But, seriously to think that I would hear the words "hug pillow cover" again here… I had seen the word when I was shopping online, and had dealt with the word when I gave Yasaka her present… It seems like lately, there's been a strange connection of fate between me and this word.
I had an idea that you would use such a thing while you were in bed… but if that's the case, exactly what would you do with it? I mean, no matter how much you love Sakura-chan, it's not like you would want to sleep with her, right?
"How exactly are you going to use that? To decorate your room or something?"
"Eh? It's a hug pillow, so obviously I would sleep while hugging it. Well, sometimes I'll rub my face into it and smell it as well…"
I shouldn't have asked! And she's looking at me, puzzled, as if that was the most natural answer in the world! Don't make such an explosive announcement so casually! I was gripped with an overwhelming sense of fear, and barely managed to get my next words out.
"W-Well… I mean… wouldn't it just smell like polyester?"
"Huh? It smells like a girl."
That's your own smell! Or, to be exact, that's the smell of the brand of shampoo you use! What the hell is up with this?! This… this sister of mine! She calls me a hentai over and over, but isn't she the one who's much more of a hentai?!
In the midst of tears and chaos, the curtain dropped on our first experience with Summer Comiket. From the start, my goal in planning this trip and coming to the Big Sight convention center was to allow Naru to make some fond summer memories, but personally, I didn't have fun at all. It was just as Rias and Blake said. To the end, this event was a place where otaku gathered and actively had fun. Normal people like me were not welcome. I had to wait hours upon hours before even getting in, the crowd was terrible, and it was absurdly humid. My sister was constantly flowing with complaints. I was forced by that maid to buy a hentai book. I had to carry a huge amount of luggage… it was terrible. Other than that Frieza, there was nothing I was really pleased to see. But well… Even though the event didn't agree with me, Naru seemed to have an incredible amount of fun. She had been all complaints at the beginning… but she was able to meet with authors she liked, and was able to buy a lot of doujinshi. She bought a lot, played games, and saw cosplay. And because of that, was able to deepen the bonds between her and some of her friends. That… should become… a good memory, right? I'm not her, though, so I can't say for sure.
Ahhh I'm beat. When I get home, I'm going to take a bath and then promptly fall asleep. Yeah, and I'm never coming back to this event again. But, I'll have to properly thank those two who helped in making fond memories for Naru.
Slackening my walking speed, I casually left Naru's side. Behind us, Blake and Rias were talking with each other. I soon was walking beside them, and first spoke up to Rias. "Rias-chan. Thanks for today… you were an immense help. Seriously."
"Hahaha, no need to thank me. You did the same thing this morning, didn't you? Fufu, honestly, you're so polite, Haru-chan. You're just a bit too conscientious, don't you think?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Well, shall I pick different words and say you're a siscon instead?"
"I'm not! You're just dodging the issue again. Can't you just simply accept my thanks?"
It couldn't be that this woman was embarrassed every time I praised her or thanked her, right? Blake was hard to read since she never showed emotion, but Rias was always smiling, so it was difficult to figure out the subtleties of her mood as well. Her speech and costume were all linked to this character she had created… so I had a feeling that what I saw in front of me was not the real Rias. Nevertheless, there was no doubt that she was a good person.
"Ah, I apologize. But, honestly, I'm the one who should be thanking you. I was able to have a lot of fun today. Letting me meddle in your lives and deriving pleasure from that… that gives me pleasure as well. Out of all people, you should understand what I mean, Haru-chan."
"As if I would know."
Dammit, talking as if she could see right through me. She's really hard to deal with, this one.
Blake suddenly approached me from Rias's side. "Could you please give me back my clothes?"
"Hm? Oh." I passed back the clothes I had been holding onto for a long time, and Blake lightly put the clothes on. "Oh, also… thank you too. From Naru, also…"
"For what? I don't happen to recall doing anything for you that would require gratitude. Please stop. Being thanked for something I didn't do is the epitome of unpleasantness."
In contrast, this one was easy to understand. She was of the same ilk as Naru, after all. As Blake swiftly distanced herself from me, I nimbly tried to lead her into the next topic. "Hey, come over to our house sometimes. After all, we don't live far from each other."
"I'll think about it." Just by that response, I somehow felt that I understood how she felt about Naru.