Magical Ashley-chan (2)

꒰ঌ Magical Ashley-chan 2

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"… Eh? Don't tell me you want to give me a present or something? Uwaaah, so gross!"

Sorry Juvia, I failed. The minute I got back, I went to the living room and in a roundabout way tried to get Naruko to tell me what kinds of things she wanted right now, but she saw through the act easily. And what's more, now she thought I wanted to get her a present. Don't make such a terrible misunderstanding! And also…

"What the hell are you saying, you dumbass? Who's the one who made someone buy her a pair of earrings on Christmas Eve…?"

"Hmph, that was just another part of my Novel Research, so that doesn't count."

What the hell… you thought you were just making fun of me, and now all of a sudden you're in a bad mood? Naruko didn't even try to answer my question, but just changed the subject.

"Also, you, every time I bring my friends over you look at them with your pervy eyes. Won't you quit that out? It's gross, and rude, and it really bothers me."

"Pervy eyes!? What the hell!?" At her completely unexpected accusation I was taken aback and denied it, but Naruko stood up lividly.

"Don't play stupid! That one time you were ogling and fawning over Juvia… and today you were looking at Ashley-chan with those dirty eyes!"

"Don't be so rude! Leaving Juvia aside for now, there's no way I couldn't look at that brat in a weird way! I was just thinking how that damn brat resembled my friend!"

"Hmph! Yeah right! It looked like you were looking at her with pervy eyes to me!"

"Didn't I already say that you've got it all wrong!? What the hell is it with you and every little thing…!? You my girlfriend or something!?"

"W-wha…" Naruko widened her eyes and seemed really shaken, but the next second, she got even more angry and came back swinging. "I'll kill you! That was probably the third most disgusting thing I've heard!"

"Dammit! That's not something you say to someone after you've hit them! Also, why aren't you listening to me!? It's all a misunderstanding!"

"What is!? You even made that shitty vampy call you 'Nii-san' too and looked like you were getting a kick out of that! I've known all along how much of a siscon you are!"

"I didn't make her call me anything!"

Just recently, I had set out with Ruby to deal with a certain problem, and when we infiltrated a publishing company, we posed as siblings. After that, even after everything had been dealt with, Ruby had for some reason continued to call me 'Nii-san.' Granted, I didn't mind that she was calling me 'Nii-san.' She was like a little sister… and then for some reason, it appeared that this development was one thing Naruko couldn't swallow.

"Hey… what exactly is that stuff supposed to be about? Little sister role playing? You paying her for that or something?"

"I'm not paying her anything, and it's not little sister role playing!"

How idiot would I have to be to pay my sister's friend money to act like my sister right in front of her eyes!? Do you honestly think your brother is that much of a hentai…!?

"Ruby is also my friend, so isn't it fine if we get along with each other!? You don't have any right to complain!"

"Yeah, you're right! Just do whatever the hell you want!"

Pitter patter pitter patter… bang!

Naruko quickly rushed out of the living room.

Dammit. Like this, it really seemed like a lost cause for me to try to get her to tell me what she wanted…

***

"… And you started arguing because of that, so you couldn't get her to give you an answer… you're really dense, aren't you, Nii-san?"

"Shut up. Also, how long are you going to keep at it with that 'Nii-san' stuff…?"

"Oh? You don't like it?"

"That's not true… but whenever I get along with you, Naruko gets annoyed about it."

She would never admit it, but she probably thought that I was stealing away her precious friend.

"… Hmph. So what? If she gets annoyed about it, it serves her right."

"Hey, hey. Put yourself in my place. I have to live with her."

"Don't worry. In two months I'll start to call you something different."

"What's that supposed to mean? Is something happening in two months?"

But Ruby didn't answer me, instead choosing just to smile suggestively at me.

Seeing her expression, I honestly was a bit surprised. I really didn't think there would come a time where she could smile so naturally at me. Compared to how it was when we first met, it did seem like she had opened up a bit to me. Hmm… well, hmm… it also felt like she was getting emotionally attached to me.

We were meeting inside a café located within a certain station on the Sobu Line. What exactly could I give Naruko that would make her the happiest? If I asked the person herself, I wouldn't be able to get any useful information. And when I asked some of her otaku friends for their opinions, after all was said and done we decided to meet for a strategy meeting like this.

"… It's almost time, but Mio-chan just sent me an email and said she's going to be late."

"I see. She seems to be quite busy all of the time…"

"… It looks like she is not gonna come anytime soon…"

Seeming irritated, Ruby faced the other way, and sucked at the straw that was stuck into her iced coffee.

After that, the silence continued for a bit longer. I was at a loss as to what we should talk about. I'm sure Ruby felt the same way. Whether it was about doujinshi or Naruko or something else, there were plenty of things we could talk about, but it was just hard to break the ice. As always, when I was alone with her it became like this.

… Hah. If I was with Yang or Erza instead, it wouldn't get like this…

If this meeting was with them, even if there were a pause in the conversation it wouldn't feel awkward at all. Just as Ruby had said, when you want to say something, you should just say it. But the person I was meeting right now was not the childhood friend or the cousin I had come to know very well, but rather a younger girl I had known for less than a year. There wasn't any reason this meeting would go the same way.

"Umm…"

"Hey…"

We opened our mouths at the same time.

"… Ah."

"… Oh."

And shut them at the same time as well.

"What? Didn't you want to say something?"

"You too, you looked like you were about to say something."

Once again, silence. Trying not to meet each other's gaze, we silently stared off into random directions.

… Ugh… I can't take this…! Dammit… What the hell is this… feeling anxious, I scratched the back of my neck, when Ruby began to mumble with her head down.

"Hey…" This time, our words didn't run into each other. "I wanted to say something about… what happened before…"

"What happened before?"

"Yeah, that is… on the train ride back…"

"Ahh, that time?"

I knew what she was talking about. It was that time when we infiltrated the Shinjuku publishing company by pretending we were submitting an application to be published… she was probably referring to the ride back. At that time, inside the train, I recall that I said a lot to try to cheer Ruby up, since she was feeling pretty depressed after she had suffered harsh criticism at the hands of the editor we had met.

"It might be a bit late to say this but… I wanted to offer you my thanks."

"Nah, it's fine, it's fine. Don't worry about it. It wasn't a big deal." I can't even remember exactly what I said to her back then.

"And in any case, I'm the one who should be thanking you. You were the one doing me a favor by coming with me. It actually bothers me that you think you need to thank me."

"That's unacceptable. It bothers me if you can't just accept my thanks." Ruby lightly cleared her throat, and then said, "Thank you for that time."

"No problem. Thank you too."

Ruby gave me a nod. She seemed to be trying to find the right words to say, and mumbled without making eye contact with me.

"Umm… Nii-san, if I ever go to an editorial department again to submit something… would you come with me?"

"Sure."

"Thanks…"

I sort of knew where she was coming from. For a junior high schooler to go to a place filled with adults by herself and expect to deal with them on equal terms was a frightening thought. I gladly consented.

"Wait, so you already wrote something else that you're going to submit?"

"No, I still haven't decided what I'm going to make. There are a lot of things I want to try… I wanted to maybe try a manga or game next time instead of a novel. Not to submit right away, but first to release as a doujin…"

"Ahh… so I won't have anything to do for a while then?"

My question was tinged with a slight bit of disappointment, and Ruby began to speak with a gloomy tone of voice.

"Up until now, whether for games, or music, or illustrations, or manga, or novels… Everything has been self-taught, and I've been doing everything on my own strength alone, to my own specifications… and I thought that was the best way to go about things. Of course, there are good parts to that method, and it does produce its own results… but lately I've revised my way of thinking."

Perhaps that was due to her experience with the editor that day. Certainly, that was a part of it. But as Ruby continued talking, I realized that this experience wasn't the only factor.

"Working with someone to make something every once in a while might not be bad either. I don't know if it will go well… but that's what I've started to think."

Now, she has friends who share her hobby. She has people who she can call out to and go "Let's do it together." And I was one of those people. So, to my very shy friend who had a hard time saying things herself, I said this:

"That definitely would be fun. Working on something with like-minded friends."

"That might be true."

Raising her head, even though her expression hadn't really changed, Ruby seemed happy. And with that, the awkward atmosphere was dispelled, and just a bit, I began to chat more comfortably with Ruby. And just as that was happening—

"Ahhh, sorry to keep you two waiting!" Mio vigorously waved to us, and approached.

"Yo." I raised a hand in greeting. Our conversation stopped, Ruby watched Mio with half-lidded eyes. As soon as she appeared on the scene, she raised her voice excitedly.

"Well, then, let's set off! Fufufu, around here there's an interesting game center that has an entrance that looks like a haunted house. Let's head in that direction first. There's a taxi waiting for us outside, so let's talk about the details while we drive to the game center."

"Wait a second, are you sure you're not just using this as an excuse to go to a game center? How are we going to have a present strategy meeting at a game center? My free time is limited, you know. " I retorted irritably. Mio cocked her head to the side, puzzled.

"Ahh no, in the game center, there's a crane game with a stuffed animal that I think Orange-chan would like. I think that would be a present that would make her happy."

Leaving the station behind, we did as Mio had suggested and found ourselves browsing through game centers and anime shops in order to choose something Naruko might want (and Juvia would actually feel comfortable giving her).

"These are just things I thought of now, but… well… what about a Lucchan doll… or maybe a visual fanbook for an eroge that Orange-chan likes… or maybe a rare doujinshi?"

"… Hmm."

I know Mio put a lot of thought into this, but not only did some of those things seem like things Juvia would completely flip out at, I felt like none of them really fit the category of things that Naruko would be 'the most happy' to receive.

"… I don't think any of those hit the mark."

"That's true. Hmm… yes, if we just buy something from a shop, it would be something that Orange-chan could buy herself… this becomes quite difficult if we have to choose among things that we're sure Orange-chan doesn't already have."

"… Hmph, well if we had to pick from what Mio just listed, then the Lucchan doll would be the safest option, right?"

"But, if we're talking about what makes her 'the happies', I'm a bit doubtful that a Lucchan doll would do it."

By the way, right now, we were strolling around while eating the ice cream we had bought from a fast food restaurant. Having finished her chocolate ice cream, Mio licked her lips.

"Well, leaving that aside. We're all here, so why don't we pick a few of the things among the candidates that we don't end up selecting and buy them as presents for Orange-chan ourselves? We can leave the congratulations for the track tournament up to her school friends, so why don't we plan a party for her for publishing her webnovel? Fufufu… to be honest, Ruby-chan and I have been talking about this for a while. So, I mean, I was happy that we could have this present-giving strategy meeting today."

"You guys…" I slowly looked back and forth from Mio to Ruby, and I expressed my gratitude. "You two really are very thoughtful… thank you very much."

"It's not like I did anything. Just like always, Mio is just being a meddler and saying whatever she wants…" Ruby spoke with a snort.

Mio just gave off a silly laugh

"I believe I've mentioned this before already, but meddling is something I do because I want to do it. I do it because I want to, so you don't need to thank me."

"Sure. So let me just do what I want to do as well and give you my thanks."

"Hahaha, my my. Haruto-chan is so stubbornly good-natured, isn't he?"

"If you ask me, both of you are beyond hope."

To my left, Ruby was watching Mio and me with half-lidded eyes. But Mio just gave off a wide smile.

"My my… those aren't words I want to hear from Ruby-chan, who's here buying a present with us for Orange-chan even though she constantly bashes Orange-chan's webnovel… fufufu."

"That piece of trash's popularity is going to be short-lived, so we might as well congratulate her while it lasts. After all, she's just going to be more depressed afterwards. Serves her right."

Lately, I couldn't help but find Ruby's abusive language a bit adorable. My jaws unconsciously slackened a bit. She was trying to speak her true feelings, but in her case, that wasn't all. When I came to understand that, I couldn't help but start to strangely like Ruby's harsh words and actions. Even though I would have definitely gotten annoyed if Naruko had said the same thing to me.

"So that's why, Haruto-chan, today we're not just here for Juvia-chan's present, but also to select what we're going to give to Orange-chan as a present."

"Alright, understood. So let's get back on topic… I still haven't seen anything particularly good we can give her. What are we going to do?"

"Hmmm… so I guess the Lucchan doll really is no good?"

"It's the best out of everything you suggested, but… I feel like we can do better. It just doesn't feel right… I know you thought hard about this, so I'm sorry."

"No, no, I understand where you're coming from. When it comes to your precious sister, even if you're handing her the gift through someone else, you have to be very careful in your selection. Yup yup."

Yup yup my ass. It's not like that, dammit.

"In summary, we need something like the doll but better, right? Something that isn't sold normally, something that that girl might want, something that isn't 18+, and something that's not easy to get."

"Yes, something like that… but is there really something like that we can get?"

Ruby didn't answer, but just silently pointed ahead. Following her finger, I found myself staring at the entrance to the anime shop we were facing. On both sides of the automatic doors were pasted a number of huge posters…

"… T-this is… !?"

I was dazed and surprised after reading the announcement written on the poster Ruby was pointing to.

Y-yes! That might work…

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