At the weekend, Naruko, Blake, and I make plan to visit Rias's house. We broke from our normal habits and took an expedition out of the prefecture.
I took one step out from the shade and my eyes met with the glaring sunlight. The sunlight was strong, and it was a pleasant day to be lightly dressed. The shopping district that extended from the station had narrow streets, and was filled with an atmosphere of cleanliness. We turned around a corner and saw an upwards slope that seemed to continue to the heavens. I couldn't see the end of it.
I spoke while looking at the map I was holding. "From the address, we can just head straight up here."
"We're seriously going up this hill?" Asked Naruko, sounding displeased.
"How saddening. I wasn't intending this to be a training trip." Following Naruko's example, Blake let out a sigh, dressed in her Demon Queen Madarahime outfit.
"Let me know if you're feeling tired. We can take a break in the middle."
"Oh my, how kind of you Big bro . "
"Well, that's what a big brother are supposed to do."
When her remark didn't faze me, Blake blinked with surprise and averted her eyes. On the other hand, my sister was in an awful mood. She crossed her arms and glared at me.
"Hey, don't you care about how I feel too?"
"You're wearing light clothes though."
Today, Naruko was wearing shorts so short that the base of her buttocks was almost visible. Her outfit was really revealing… and it made her stand out a lot. There was also a girl wearing a cosplay outfit next to me, so I could definitely feel people staring at us.
"Although, if you expect to train yourself, I hope you're not giving up just at the sight of a hill like this."
"Eh, of course not." Naruko tapped the front of her shoe on the ground with a proud expression. It looked like she had cheered up a bit, but she then turned towards me. "Bro, go buy some drinks. Some water or tea. And bring enough for everyone."
"Yeah yeah." I headed for a vending machine then we began walking up the gently sloping hill. We were in what was obviously a residential district, and there wasn't a single store in sight. Other than houses, there was just a certain famous school, for girls from rich families, a public park, and a post office. We were in what looked like a really high‐class district, but to a commoner like us it just all seemed a little inconvenient…
"But seriously, all these houses are just huge… "
"Well, when I heard the address, I imagined it would be something like this."
"Does that big boobs girl really live in this kind of place?"
Naruko looked back at the almost palatial mansion we just passed, expressing her doubt. Of course, by big boobs girl, she meant Rias…
"It's here?"
"Rias-san lives here?"
"Probably," I answered Naruko's question with a bit of uncertainty in my voice. I mean, to think that a person like Rias was living in such a fashionable place like this… I just couldn't imagine it. Also, if she walked around a place like this looking like such an otaku, I'm sure she would stick out like a sore thumb!
"Anyways. Let's just go in then." Blake urged me on. I could feel a silent pressure from her for me to go in first.
"Alright."
Right next to the automatic gate was an intimidating black computer terminal. It was an intercom with a numeric keypad. It seemed that the mansion gate was locked, and without the host's permission we couldn't even get into the mansion grounds.
"What should we do?"
"What should we do… well, all we can do is type in the room number into that thing and ask the people in the house to let us in."
"Hmph, if it was an apartment or a normal house, we could have gone straight up to the front door and surprised her. To think that otaku girl would live in a house with this much security… "
"Why don't you just use that 'Power of Darkness' or whatever that you're so proud about?" Naruko cheerily poked fun at Blake.
"Hmph. Unfortunately, that isn't a power I can just use freely in a public place like this."
"Yeah yeah, good for you chuuni girl. Bro, punch in the room number already."
Rushed by my sister, I reached for the number key, when I stopped.
"What? What's wrong?"
"I don't know the room number."
"Seriously? So you don't even know where Rias-chan's room is? You an idiot."
"Taking so long to realize this… you such a blockhead."
"Hey! Don't put this all on me! how do you expect me to know her room number!"
We suddenly started panicking at this new predicament and making a fuss outside the mansion. Here we were, a hopeless high school guy, a girl in an overdone gothic dress, and a girl with her buttocks pretty much showing having a loud argument. No matter how you looked at it, we definitely looked suspicious.
"You three over there! What are you doing!?" A loud, commanding voice boomed out from behind us.
"Uwah!"
Crap, did a security guard find us? We cowered and turned around, but what we found was not something as simple as a security guard. No, what we found was…
"W‐Why is there a military soldier in a rich district like this!?"
It was a soldier, covered from head to foot in camouflage. The soldier's face was hidden behind a hat and a pair of sunglasses.
He… no, from the voice it was a she… she was holding a rifle, and was pointing that glistening black gun at us.
"Freeze!"
"Uwoooooohhhh!"
We immediately threw our hands up in surrender. The riflewoman slowly set the rifle on her shoulder and aimed it at Naruko.
"I'll blow that pretty round face of yours right off!"
"Kyah!" Naruko cowered when she was aimed at. I immediately leapt out to protect my sister.
"Stop it!" However, no matter how long I waited, the shot never came… "H‐Huh?"
A subdued silence stretched on and on, until…
"Pft… " The soldier suddenly burst out laughing. "Aha, hahahahaha! I see, I see. 'Stop it,' was it?"
"… Eh?"
We had no idea what was going on. The soldier pointed her rifle up into the sky and shot it off. Pop pop pop pop. It was the sound of a BB gun, not a real rifle.
"I was joking." The soldier took off her hat and gave us a wry smile. "Sorry for scaring you."
It was Rias!
"Rias-chan don't surprise us like that!" I heard Naruko sighing in relief behind me.
"H‐Hmph, I realized from the beginning that your gun was a fake. That was quite a fun show you put on."
Liar! I glanced at you for a second at the start, and you were completely surprised and close to tears.
"But my my, I was treated to the beautiful love between a brother and sister. Thank you."
I suddenly realized that I was still standing in front of Naruko with my arms stretched out. Crap, this was really embarrassing… but I mean, seeing a soldier in a place like this would naturally make a man lose his sense of judgment.
"Well, in any case, thank you very much for coming all this way to visit me"
A few minutes later, Rias brought us to the the mansion. We walked down a pristine, spotless hallway, and Naruko spoke. "I haven't seen a single room with a nameplate yet in this mansion… "
"Which rooms are yours?" I asked Rias, and she turned around.
"Hm? Well, my parents own this mansion, and I'm just using it, so… "
"So all of them!?"
"Yes, pretty much."
Well, that's pretty amazing.
"Hmm, well then you can really put a lot of goods on display. But cleaning up must be hard." Naruko spoke casually, and Rias nodded.
"Fufu, quite right Naruru-chan. Just as you said, this mansion is the place of my prized gallery. And what good timing. I can show all of you my collection! Come right in!" Puffing out her huge chest with pride, Rias beckoned us into a room. And what we saw inside that room was…
"Uwah… "
"Oh my."
'"Hyah!?"
The room was designed like a one kitchen… well no, there wasn't a kitchen here. In any case, there was only one room, but that one room was insanely huge. I wonder how many square meters this measured. It was almost as if the room had been designed from the beginning to fulfill its current purpose. There were large glass cases along the room's walls and in the room's center. Those glass cases were filled with large numbers of plastic models from robot anime. And on the book shelves there were DVDs and books from the same anime lined up neatly in rows. From the ceilings were hanging wires that supported a number of battleships and space colonies (I guess that's what these were called?). It was almost as if the entire room had been turned into a diorama of a battlefield. And what's more, the hallway that led up to the room was filled with the boxes for the plastic models. It was a masterpiece, even from the viewpoint of a beginner like me.
"What's up with this plastic model room!? Amazing!"
"Hahaha, isn't it?! Isn't it!?"
Naruko's eyes sparkled with admiration, and Rias nodded repeatedly, looking satisfied. She looked incredibly happy, and I recalled seeing something like this before of course, that was in my sister's room. When she was showing off her prized collection to people who could appreciate her hobby. This must have been supreme bliss for otaku.
"I saw a special collection of otaku rooms from overseas in a book once, and this is my answer to them! Fufufu! Just because you have a bit more space and can put your collections into your huge rooms, don't think you've won against me! I'm not jealous! It's just that there are good and bad ways to use big rooms! In the end, it's all about concept! I'll show them that pure space is not enough to win this battle!"
She was seriously noisy. She was getting way too worked up over this. As Rias gave her impassioned speech, Naruko gazed at her collection with an expression of admiration.
"Wow, this is the Red Comet's helmet!"
"… And here are some sunglasses modeled after the ones worn by Quattro Vagena." Blake expressionlessly bent forwards and prodded the glass case with her finger.
"Actually, the sunglasses I'm wearing are like that too."
"Hmm… " Naruko appeared to remember something. "Ah, right. We should give you the present while we still remember it."
"Yeah, that's true." I agreed, and I took out the presents we had bought.
"Presents? For me?" Rias cocked her head to the side.
"Yeah, we each bought you a present."
"That's quite generous of you. But why exactly? Today isn't my birthday, nor is it any special occasion… "
"Oh my. So we have to have a special reason to bring a present?"
"Rias-san, you always brought us gift. Also, this is the first time we're visiting your house, so isn't it natural we bring a gift?"
"Yeah, exactly. And you always taking care of us… but more importantly, you're our friend.
"You guys… thank you. Words cannot express how happy I am right now."
I then handed over the "HG 1/144 Susanoo" box I was holding to Rias, and she reacted dramatically.
"Oh, this… this is…!"
"You love Gundam, right? So I thought it would be nice to get you one. We all went to buy presents together. I'm not too sure of it, but I tried to pick something I thought looked cool… and I thought maybe this one would make you happy."
"Ahh, it'll definitely make me happy! Thank you, Haruto-chan."
"Alright then, I'm glad."
After me, Blake handed over her present.
"Ah, a Deathscythe! That's quite like Blake-chan"
And then, finally…
"I guess I'm going last. Let me just say that those two presents were just appetizers. The plastic model I chose is definitely going to be the best."
"Ah, that's quite exciting." Rias smiled.
"You should be excited. Take a look." Naruko looked very proud of herself as she passed over the box. "Tadaa! It's the one Kugimiya Rie‐chan rode in 00!"
"No, that's the one Nena rode! Not the one Kugimiya Rin‐chan rode!" Rias vigorously corrected her. I didn't really know what was going on, but it seemed that this was one point she wasn't about to let go.
"W‐What are you getting angry for?"
"All I'm saying is you shouldn't confuse the seiyuu with the characters they voice. I can forgive the fact that you jumped the bandwagon on your choice of Gundam, but you shouldn't mess up the name of the pilot or machine. You really need more passion! Passion!"
"I really don't see what's wrong with just calling it the Kugimiya Gundam."
"Kugimiya Gundam!? T‐This is why seiyuu freaks are so… I can feel my soul being pulled down by the earth's gravity… "
"I mean, you don't have to take it so seriously… "
Naruko looked pretty bewildered, but I mean… I really didn't think she was one to talk here. After all, Rias's reaction here was exactly the same as her reaction when Blake made fun of Azutan. Otaku were people who held a particularly strong conviction in their beliefs, and so even things that might appear trivial to us could elicit a strong reaction. That was one lesson I had definitely learned over the past months.
"But anyways, just open it. It's really amazing!"
"Hm? It's not just a normal plastic model?" Rias took the box from Naruko. Looking a bit confused, she opened it. And then…
"Wha‐?! T‐This is… " Rias 's body stiffened; she seemed at a loss for words.
"It's amazing, isn't it!? So? What do you think? Hm?"
"Uhh… wait… just hold on a second… "
Naruko closed in with a face beaming with pride, but Rias held Naruko back with her palm and just stood there, shaken.
"Well, first of all… umm… why is this already finished!?"
"Huh? That a bad thing?"
"Alright, Naruru-chan… I'm only going to say this once, so be sure you hear me… plastic models aren't just for decorating. The real pleasure of plastic models comes from happily building one with your own two hands! If you give me a completed model like this, you take away half the fun!"
"That's so annoying! Plastic modelers are so weird!"
I really agreed. It was hard for light users like me to understand the thoughts of otaku and other hardcore hobbyists. But at the same time, I'm sure Rias didn't want to hear that from Naruko.
"Huh… what is this… " A vein popped out of Rias's temple as she blew up. "What the hell are all these sparkles everywhere!?"
"That? Ehehe… I decorated the Gundam a bit! Isn't it reaaaally cute?"
"Decorate… Gundam… that's… Arghhhhh… " Rias floppily covered her face with her hands and shook back and forth.
To explain, Naruko had pasted huge amounts of the glitter and glass beads that high school girls tended to like on Gundam, to the point where it looked just like a huge colony of acorn barnacles. Why in the world did high school girls like such flashy, disgusting decorations like this?
"H‐Hey Rias-chan… are you alright?"
"Sorry… Haruto-chan… this was just… this was just way more than I had imagined… "
"Here, sit down in this chair. Come on… "
I let Rias lean on me and slowly sat her down in a chair that looked like the captain's chair on some space battleship. And she just sat there, with her head hung sadly.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"Don't act so confused! You're the one who did something horrible to a Gundam fanatic!"
Then Blake whispered in my ear. "… This is so awkward. Do something."
"I know… " I hurriedly looked around the room, and spoke up to Rias. "I‐I mean, this really is a pretty amazing collection of plastic models! If you have this many, maintaining all of them must be a real hassle."
"I‐I guess. But that isn't painful at all. Haruto-chan, when I am tending to my collection, it is a time of supreme bliss for me."
"Is that so?"
"Yes!"
I see. When she agreed so vigorously like that, I couldn't really say much in response.
"Well, I'm sorry for the bother, but could you teach me? How to make a plastic model correctly."
"Hm… well, I suppose I can. I'll give you a lesson then!"
Alright, she cheered up! I sure have gotten pretty good at handling otaku. Although I was momentarily really happy about that, I had completely forgotten how long winded and annoying otaku could be when they started talking…