Geez… first Rias's maid costume, and now Blake's manga… What the hell is up with you people? Don't tell me that you're planning to traumatize me one by one with your presentations?
As the atmosphere of the place noticeably deflated, a finally revived Rias yelled out.
"Weeeeeell then while we're all still excited! It's time for today's main event! Naruru-chan, if you would please!"
Today's main event? Could it be Naruko's presentation? I took a glance at my sister's face, but she just sat there frowning and didn't respond.
It seemed that she was so annoyed by Blake's presentation that she was in no mood to make hers. Geez, even though Rias's trying so hard to make this exciting for everyone… well, granted, she's the guest of honor today, so I won't nitpick too much. I thought that, but…
"… Umm… Naruru-chan? It's… time for the main event, you know?"
"Stop sulking. Get on with it, you dimwit."
For some reason, both Rias and Blake seemed hellbent on getting Naruko to make her presentation.
"Tch… stop nagging. I know, dammit."
Being urged on by the other two, Naruko reluctantly reached into the bag at her feet… and then sent a glance in my direction. She looked incredibly unhappy, and deep creases were burrowed across her brow.
"Uuuuuuuuuuhhhh!" Naruko shook her head back and forth vigorously. "Pass!" She turned the other way and spat that out.
Hey hey, how can you give so much of a lead-in and then pass like that? Why are you so reluctant to show something that you had taken the time to prepare in the first place? I don't understand this at all. She's the one who prepared the presentation. Don't you think it's strange?
"You are a huge idiot. What exactly is the meaning of your existence here?" Blake retorted harshly.
Blake was Blake, so just the main guest not wanting to make a m was enough to get her to respond cruelly like that. Come on… it's a party, so even if you might not like her, just congratulate her a bit.
"Well well, Blake-chan. You have to consider the fact that Naruru-chan is embarrassed." Rias scolded Blake.
… Embarassed? Thinking also about how Rias had said this and that about this "main event", I got the feeling that these two knew what Naruko's presentation was about. Why was I the only person left in the dark? Was I being left out?
As if trying to dispel the smidgen of doubt that had piled up in my mind, Rias proposed something with a clear voice, "Haha, well then. Shall we go for another round before the main event?"
"… Doesn't seem to be any other choice, I suppose." Blake reluctantly agreed.
"Well then, it's my turn, then." Rias cleared her throat, and stood straight up. "Fufufu… I thought this would happen, so just for today, I brought a game that just came out and also have a secret weapon."
"A game that just came out, and a secret weapon?"
Naruko and I voiced that question at the same time. Even Blake, still hugging her knees on top of the chair, glanced in Rias's direction, looking as if her interest had been piqued.
Seeing that she had our attention, Rias gave us a few leisurely nods. "Indeed."
Moving the mouse around on the table, Rias double clicked. A game loaded on the screen. It seemed that it had already been installed. Also, the startup screen of the game looked somewhat familiar…
"This is Siscali, isn't it? The PC version." I pointed at the display. On there was displayed the familiar title of "Little Sister Wars—Siscalypse". It was the game that had gotten Naruko hooked last summer. "Didn't you say this was a game that just came out?"
"Ahh, but it is. Haruto-chan, please direct your gaze at the area beside the title."
"Hm? Ahh, you're right." Once I got a good look at it, I saw that it was "Little Sister Wars—Siscalypse Alpha".
"Mufufu, this is what you would call an append disk. If you feed this disk into a computer that already has Siscali installed, you unlock new features."
"… I have no idea what you're talking about…"
As I shook my head back and forth, right next to me, Naruko nodded in understanding.
"In short, it's like the difference between 'Dynasty Warriors' and 'Dynasty Warriors Xtreme Legends', right? So this is Siscali Alpha! It already came out!? I've been swamped since January, so I completely missed that news! Dammit… for someone like me to… ugh, what a huge slipup!"
"Fufufu, it seems like Naruru-chan is also quite interested in this game here. It was definitely worth bringing it. Today, we also have Blake-chan here, who coming in second placed in the national Siscali arcade version tournament! So why not show us some of those amazing playing skills as a presentation!?"
"I… don't mind that, I guess…"
"Ohh, right, I forgot that had happened."
Now I remember. Blake was a master of Siscali. She had once made good use of her godly abilities to help me make some fond memories for Naruko.
"Blake, you come in second placed at the Siscali tournament!? That's amazing!"
"… Ehh, I guess. I wasn't able to win though."
"I'm honestly not trying to flatter you with this, but… I seriously can't see how you could possibly lose at that game. Was the person you were playing against really that strong?"
"Of course. Quite good for someone limited by human reflexes… I would have never thought that there would be someone who could keep up with my movements like that… hmph, every once in a while, I meet a human who breaks through the 'wall'… I had planned to win the tournament, but it seems like even I will have to study the metagame after this. Even if that contradicts my aesthetic philosophy of always using the game's weakest character."
I didn't really know what she was talking about, but in summary it seemed that her opponent at the national tournament had been really strong. Seeing my befuddled expression, Rias's mouth curved up into a ω.
"Haha, after all, whether it's a shooter or a fighter, the players at the national tournaments are all amazing. For example, you have famous ones like Aika-chan"
Even if you give me her name, it's not like I know who she is.
"So, what exactly makes Siscali Alpha different from the original game? Also, what did you mean by 'secret weapon'?"
"Patience, patience, Naruru-chan! Allow me to explain in order. Siscali Alpha incorporates the popular system that had been implemented in the arcade version, and like you would get in an arcade, it's possible to play with pre-made characters. Even if you don't make your own character, you can play the game like you would any other fighter. Of course, you're also fully able to use custom characters, just like in the original game."
"I see. It's as if they combined the PC and arcade versions of the game. And then? Is that all that's different?"
"Not quite… in fact, I haven't gotten to the main difference yet. The main difference is that the 'little sister making system' in the original game got a power-up. The number of parts you can use and costumes your characters can wear significantly increased, and you can also fine-tune a lot of other things, like the face, hair, skin, height, body figure, bust size, voice, motion…"
"… Umm, so in summary, what exactly can you do?" Naruko looked bewildered after that rapid-fire explanation.
Rias lifted one finger up, and offered up a particularly easy-to-understand example. "For example, you can make a character that looks exactly like Azutan and fight with her, and you can even use her to play through story mode."
"Seriously!?"
Hook, line, and sinker.
"Seriously. And also, as for that 'secret weapon'… well, it's probably faster if I just showed you. Ufufu, please take a look at the screen."
Rias moved the mouse some more, and chose battle mode in the game. The game read the character data, and showed close-ups of Rias' custom characters on the screen. The characters were on backgrounds of a dark red wire frame.
"Ah!"
Seeing the characters on display, everyone except for Rias widened their eyes.
"T-that looks exactly like me! Come on! You did something like this too!?"
"Hahaha, everyone seemed to have been thinking of the same thing. Blake-chan did it through manga, and I made a character who looks like Naruru-chan through games." Rias laughed merrily.
Resigned, Naruko smiled wryly. Ultimately, she didn't seem altogether displeased. In fact, she seemed a bit happy.
"I can use a character who looks exactly like me… to play Siscali?"
"Of course. This Naruko character is a custom character I designed using Naruru-chan as a model. Take a look!"
Click. Rias chose the "preview" command, and the window folded up to the side, bringing the custom character Naruko into the forefront of the screen. Wearing a miniskirt uniform, Naruko posed with her arms crossed in her lever neutral position (the position a character took when no buttons were being pushed).
Naruko had said this just a moment before… but it really looked exactly like my sister. Amazing.
"Fufu… there's still more to come!"
Click click Click. Manipulating the controller that was attached to the PC, Rias made the Naruko character punch, kick, and jump. And at the same time…
"… Huh? Gross! You an idiot!? Die, siscon!"
"Fwuhahahaha! I made it so this custom character used Naruru-chan voice! Well, it's not like I got these recordings in a controlled environment, so the sound quality is a bit bad… but what do you think, Haruto-chan!?"
It was the worst. It was terrifying that this character that looked and sounded exactly like Naruko was sending insults my way while attacking me. And seriously, don't ask me. Because no matter how I respond to that question, my real sister is just going to turn to me and go "… Huh? Gross! You an idiot!? Die, siscon!" Just you watch.
"That's pretty amazing. You did a pretty good job with it. Don't you also think so, Naruko?"
"Huh? But it's pretty gross that you're getting all moe moe over a character that looks exactly like your sister."
What did I tell you? So, what the hell am I supposed to do!? If this were an eroge, then wouldn't this be a choice where no matter what I chose, her affection points for me would decrease!?
"But Rias, you really did a great job with this… I haven't shown you my uniform more than once, but you got our school's uniform down perfectly… you even got the manicure color right."
"To be honest, for that I used a mod I made myself. Haha, doing things like this is my specialty. Why don't you use this character and play right now?"
"Yeah, sure sure!" Naruko nodded sincerely. When it came to times like these, she was the personification of childish innocence. When I saw her like this, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bring myself to hate her…
That was good. After all, today was supposed to be a celebration for her. If Naruko wasn't happy, then this entire event would have been a waste. Haah… I really am too soft-hearted sometimes.
Even though Rias had asked me here, to think I would actually come here to celebrate the accomplishments of someone who annoyed me to hell. As I scratched the back of my head, I turned my gaze onto Naruko.
"L-let me play right now!"
Being pressed by Naruko, Rias gave back a "certainly!" and passed over the controller.
"Ah, her controls and secret moves are all pretty much the same as the character Naruru-chan usually uses. This character's legs are longer though, so she might feel a bit different when you control her."
"Well, that can't be helped, I do have beautiful, long legs after all! Ah, it's battle mode, but the character is already at level 50?"
"Yeah, because the developers wanted you to be able to play with your friends and with a character you just finished making. By the way, you can also adjust your level by attaching a handicap to your character. Well, how about it? I also created a character for Blake-chan, so why don't you two battle each other?"
Having the conversation turned to her, Blake turned towards Rias once again, all the while sitting on top of the chair hugging her knees.
"Ah, so you made a character that resembles me as well? And then… in place of making a presentation, you're proposing that I battle her with a handicap on?"
"Exactly." Rias nodded happily. "Come on, it'll be fun!"
"Hmph." Naruko snorted.
I mean, no matter how much of a handicap you put on Blake though, the skill difference was just too huge. Also, did such a proud person like Naruko have it in her to play someone with a handicap?
The minute that thought ran through my head, just as I thought, Naruko proposed something strange.
"In exchange, you use a level 1 character."
That was cruel. In other words, she didn't want to use a handicap, and she didn't want to fight a losing battle, so instead she chose to mess up the battle itself, and just wanted to watch a character that looked like herself throttling a character that looked like Blake. Or something like that. It definitely seemed like something my sister would do.
Even for Blake, a 49-level difference probably made winning impossible, but she readily agreed to the proposal.
"… Fine. Let's do that. In return, I'll pick the stage. The battle will be a single round, and in the case we end in a tie, we'll end up in sudden death mode. Are you fine with that?"
"That's fine… well then…"
Naruko seemed to be a bit suspicious at how quickly Blake had agreed, but…
In any case, the battle started. Blake had chosen the "arena" stage, a narrow coliseum-like map with nowhere to hide. On the two displays lined side by side were displayed, respectively, the backs of a character who looked exactly like Naruko, the high school girl "Naruko," and a character who looked exactly like Blake, the cat girl "Blake."
Three… two… one… Fight!
A cool, collected voice announced the start of the battle, and the two combatants closed the distance between them in a flash.
At this point, the difference in levels between the characters was already abundantly clear. The difference in their movement speeds was like that of Legolas and Gimli. Of course, Naruko was faster. And what's more, if their level differences were this severe, Naruko could whittle down Blake's health with each blow even if Blake was guarding.
In contrast, even if Blake attacked Naruko continuously for the entire sixty seconds, Blake wouldn't be able to deplete Naruko's life bar.
It wasn't even appropriate to call this a battle. However…
"… Dammit…! Fight with me properly, you shitty cat!"
"My my, what seems to be wrong? How clumsy of you."
Even though the character Blake was controlling had the movement speed of a level 1 character, she waved to and fro and survived Naruko's fierce assault. She saw completely through Naruko's movements, and with nothing but the smallest of motions, dodged Naruko's attacks.
"Ugh… well, how about this!?"
Naruko depleted her gauge, and let loose her ultimate attack. Her character was suddenly surrounded by lightning and she charged at her opponent, letting loose a sequence of lightning-fast kicks.
It was an attack that was impossible to avoid for the much slower Blake. There's no doubt that she was planning to whittle Blake's life down to zero forcibly, using the immense level difference to her advantage. Even for my sister, it was a pretty dirty way of fighting.
"Hah, just as expected."
Still sitting on top of the chair with her arms around her knees, Blake clasped her controller between her knees. And then, with all ten fingers free, Blake began to hit buttons on the controller as if she were typing on a keyboard.
Katakatakatakataaa—gagagagagagaga. The sound of Blake entering her commands was soon supplanted by the sound of violent blows. It was because Naruko's kick combination had driven itself into Blake's small figure.
"… Too bad."
"Wha—"
And yet, Blake's life points had not dropped a single point.
Taking a closer look at the screen, I could see that the cat girl Blake had repelled each and every one of Naruko's attacks with a single finger she had sticking up on one hand.
It was a skill called "parrying". With absolute perfect timing, you could block your opponents attack and take no damage no matter what type of attack it was. It was a high level skill usually intended for blocking huge, slow attacks, but Blake had used that skill to block that series of kicks that I could barely follow with my eyes…? I couldn't believe it.
"Fwaahh… it's like watching a pro gameplay video." Rias also seemed dumbfounded.
How should I put it… she was so good it was shocking. Exactly how many hours have you put into this game? And to think you couldn't even win that tournament… exactly what kind of monsters were you playing?
On screen, Naruko finally stopped her barrage of kicks, and the lightning that had enveloped her body faded.
"Ugh… playing dirty like that! That can't have just happened!"
"The only thing 'dirty' right now is your face, isn't it? Aren't you ashamed to be getting so worked up over just a game?"
"Shut up shut up shut up! Stay in one spot, dammit! Hnggghhh!"
Blowing steam out her nostrils like a bull, Naruko desperately handled her controller.
Naruko depleted each and every one of her gauges, and even as her attack speed dropped precipitously, she continued sending out frantic last ditch kicks. Of course, sloppy attacks like that had no chance of connecting, and they were either dodged or deflected. This must be what they mean by "whirlwinding around". Pretty appropriate for Naruko.
Hey, that was pretty clever of me. Go ahead, feel free to give me a compliment.
"Tch! Tch tch! Gnnnghhhhh!"
Seeming more annoyed than I had ever seen her, Naruko continued to attack with reckless abandon.
"Ku ku ku ku ku… the world is just filled with tragedy… right now, your soul is about to be tested…"
Mocking Naruko, Blake continued her endless sequence of parrying. This sequence of events continued for a while longer. Since the start of the fight, neither fighter's life had dropped a single point. Even though Blake had fended off each one of Naruko's attacks, for some reason she had yet to send off an attack of her own.
Certainly, because she was level 1, any attack she sent on a level 50 character wouldn't do much damage at all. But, even so, that didn't amount to a reason to just not attack at all. Leaving those doubts of mine aside, I waited as time passed moment by moment…
At last, sixty seconds had elapsed since the beginning of the battle. Time up. Usually, the person with more life at this point would be declared the winner, but at the moment both players had full life bars.
At this point, the special rules went into effect.
"… Fufufufu… take your seats, everyone. To watch the beginning of the end…"
"A-ahh!?"
Looking at both screens, Naruko let out a yell. Because in a moment, both Naruko and Blake's life bars had dropped quickly to a position very close to zero.
"Ah, pray tell, what are you so surprised about? This was already made clear in the beginning, yes? That when time was up, we would move to sudden death. In other words, from now on, level differences have no meaning, and the first person to land a hit wins the match. Well now, everything has evened out. Kukukuku… you lost the minute you let the match drag on until now."
"Hngg…" Naruko ground her teeth in frustration.
Having watched the match up until now, Rias let out a "oh hoh" of admiration. Next, she turned to me and cocked her head to the side.
"Hm? Even if she didn't wait until sudden death, if she had just hit Naruru-chan once before, when time was up she would have automatically won. Why didn't she do that?"
"It's all for show I think. She wanted to do away with Naruko in a flashy way. With a KO." I answered Rias's question. I probably wasn't mistaken. After all…
"Kukuku… kuhahaha… ku ku ku ku…"
Just look at that sinister, little smile on Blake's face. She's really pleased with how things are going here. By the way, when Blake had said "you lost," it made me realize something. Isn't this game's an 18 eroge?
"By the way. Doesn't the losing character become naked after getting her clothes torn off?"
"… Ah."
"… Ahh."
Blake suddenly stopped laughing, and dropped her controller. Naruko also turned her gaze away from the screens, and turned back with a stupefied expression.
"Seriously… you two seriously didn't realize that, did you… if you lost this battle, the character who looked exactly like you would get her clothes torn off and would go through some H stuff…"
Yes, from the very beginning, this battle was that kind of battle. It was sort of like strip mahjong… you could even call it a virtual strip battle. And speaking of the source of all the evil in this terrible situation…
"Hahaha, now that you mention it, I guess it is like that."
It seemed like she didn't know. This girl… she's calling down all sorts of trouble with her air-headedness…
"Ahaaah… I completely forgot about that. You don't get your clothes torn off in the arcade version even if you lose, so I had completely gotten used to that version…"
Naruko and Blake probably were probably also like that. That's why, as the only person here who hadn't played the arcade version, I had been the first to realize the situation.
A solid line of sweat went down Rias's face.
"… Well, sorry about that haha… and I made both characters with elaborate detail to perfectly match the people they were based on too. I even got the three sizes down perfectly."
That's not good at all. I mean, if one of them loses this battle, those elaborate details were going to get completely exposed, right? As I stood there speechless, Rias puffed out her chest.
"To be honest, I'm quite proud of what I made!"
"What the hell are you saying!? You… you… you've gone way too far this time!" Naruko retorted with all her energy, but Rias completely kept her cool.
"Hey hey, Naruru-chan, you should keep your eyes on the screen."
"…!?"
Suddenly coming back to herself, Naruko turned her head to the screen. Given that fatal gap that Naruko had left open, Blake was…
"… Ah… a… ahh…"
Aren't you way too flustered by this!? You haven't even picked up the damn controller again! Your hands are shaking, you know. And your lips are quivering, and your face is completely red…
"Hey Blake… you can't do that. This isn't the time to be getting flustered."
"E-even if you tell me that… I just can't…"
She was just completely embarrassed. Even though it was a game, in the end it was hard to deal with a character that looked exactly like you getting stripped naked, wasn't it?
At that point, Naruko raised her voice.
"What the hell, you siscon!? Whose side are you on!? You want to see your own sister naked that badly!?"
"No, absolutely not! Don't say something that sounds so wrong like that!"
… Although, when I think about it, there wasn't a single good reason as to why I should be cheering Blake on in this situation. I definitely didn't want to see an H-scene involving a character that looked like my sister.
"Alriiiight Naruko! Go get her! Right now!"
"You damn pervert!"
Bam!
Naruko turned swiftly around and hit me straight on the nose with her controller.
"Aw… seriously, you're getting angry no matter what I say!"
"No kidding! Ugh, and I had a good chance there too… I'll make you pay for this later!"
Getting a firm grip back on her controller, Naruko hurriedly sent Naruko for a suicide attack. Even though she wasn't to the point Blake was, Naruko seemed pretty flustered too, and even though it would have been fine if she just got in a single hit, she deliberately chose a huge attack.
"Ahh… I can't…"
Although she was completely driven into a corner, Blake showed no sign of returning to her senses. Even when she finally picked her controller back up, all she could do was open her eyes wide and watch the failure that was staring her in the face. It was a truly pitiful sight to behold. On the spur of the moment, I shouted out.
"J-just do something! Push a button!"
"!"
Click click click!
Almost as if she was a complete beginner, Blake pushed buttons on her controller randomly. Well, like that, she should be able to at least get an attack out one way or another.
The fight was settled in the next second. The loser, as a reward for the winner, would have her naked body exposed in shame. Whether that was going to be Naruko or Blake… in the next second, the fight would be decided. Naruko's roundhouse kick and Blake's extended fist crossed each other…
KO!
Bam!
"Aww! Wha… !?"
At the same time as the announcement, I felt something slam into my face.
The sharp pain I felt was enough to make my vision go dark. For that reason, I had no idea who had won. As I grimaced, I just barely managed to open one eye, when I saw the forms of Naruko and Blake, holding a chair. As I held a hand to my forehead, I felt the color drain from my face while I asked.
"… W-what are you planning to do? D-don't tell me that you're going to… with that chair…"
"Just a minute. Did you have a nice dream?"
As Blake muttered some words that I couldn't make head or tails of, she raised the chair overhead. Right then, Naruko let go of the chair, instead twisting her body and beginning to charge up. She looked just like her character Naruko did when she was preparing for her ultimate attack…
I knew what was going to happen before it happened.
"Die, perveeerttt!"
KO!
I could have sworn I heard someone announce that.