A message from the cow: Being a fan of this series, I couldn't stop myself from writing a story about it. I see a few others couldn't help themselves either.

This story will take elements from all related works – manga, novels, anime – and will include spoilers for future volumes of the light novels. As only the first volume has been translated to English, everything after that canon-wise that I happen to use comes purely from what the anime has shown us and from the summaries I've read about the following volumes. As such, I may be off with a few things and if I am, I apologise. I will be attempting to follow the novel timeline instead of the anime one.

While I'll try keep the original feel of the base work intact, this will be written in a semi-realistic manner. Hopefully, it won't be done terribly.

Also, a shout to the person who compiled the summaries I mentioned above. I'd have gone crazy without them.

OoOoO

"I'm home,"

His greeting done, a young man of seventeen removed his shoes and placed them in the shoe rack next to the door. Giving his back a quick stretch and eliciting a few satisfying pops, he slipped on a pair of slippers and made for the dining room. Dressed in casual clothes – a pair of khakis and a simple white shirt – he was the epitome of normal. His short black hair and deadpan expression screamed average, his lean build hinting at nothing more than typical fitness. In a crowd, he would be easily lost amongst the sea of people. It was just how he liked it.

The boy – Kyousuke Kousaka – didn't bat an eyelash when his call went unanswered. It was nothing out of ordinary. He knew his father was at work while his mother was probably out, no doubt food shopping as they were low on supplies. His sister... well, she wouldn't answer even if she was around.

She hated his guts, after all.

Most siblings have their ups and their downs, but the relationship they shared was far from regular. They had gone years without having a meaningful conversation – something most people probably wouldn't believe, seeing as they lived in the same house and saw each other every day – and the few times they did trade words in that time, it was usually in the form of derogatory remarks.

Mostly from her. In response, he had taken on the role of practically ignoring her at every turn.

In recent times, they had begun to interact more though. After accidentally discovering her secret hobby, she had reluctantly sought his advice after he surprised her by not making fun of her. Playing the older brother, he agreed. Since then, his life had been hectic – far removed from the normalcy he was used too and preferred. In large part, it was due to her hobby itself. It was far from normal, especially for a young girl such as her.

She liked to play eroge – porn games – and that wasn't all. All of them involved a common theme, a theme which had shocked Kyousuke more than anything else.

The theme? Brothers and sisters.

Or to be more accurate, older brothers and younger sisters.

Just thinking about it gave the boy a headache on occasion. It didn't help that she had roped him into playing those very same games. Against his better judgement, he had even begun to enjoy them somewhat. He couldn't help but get excited when he cleared a game or unlocked some hidden feature. It was the rush of adrenaline, the knowledge that he had completed something difficult – for him, at least – the surprise at discovering a new character or option. Then there was the immense satisfaction of getting a one hundred percent clear... it got to him.

He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that.

Pushing those thoughts away, he opened the door and entered the next room with the intention of getting a nice, cold glass of barely tea. However, the sight of a very familiar girl sitting on one of the couches gave him pause. While she was familiar, she had never been to this house before, as far as he knew. Her unexpected presence drove any thirst he was experiencing to the back of his mind, for the moment.

"Kuroneko?"

A young girl with smooth pale skin glanced in his direction, her eyes a startling crimson red – the result of contact lenses. Her tiny body was enveloped in an elaborate old-style western black dress, white frills peeking out from the cuffs, the bottom of the skirt and from the neck. A broach in the form of a bright red rose was clipped at the base of her throat, two more similar ornaments resting on her head, contrasting sharply with her sleek, long black hair. Black stockings completed the outfit, giving her a dark, sinister appearance.

Most people would immediately identify it as cosplay, yet he knew better than to assume. Her normal clothes looked much the same from what he had seen in the short time he had known her – just over three months.

"Kyousuke-san." she returned, inclining her head.

Kyousuke's eyes lingered on the small, tiny birthmark under her left eye for a short moment before meeting her gaze. "What are you doing here?"

Turning away, she gestured lightly toward the television. Kyousuke followed her hand and was greeted by the bubbly, overly cute face of Stardust Witch Meruru. He blinked in surprise, watching as the scantly clad magical loli swung her impossibly large weapon at some sort of squid monster while avoiding its lightning fast tentacles. All of this happened while a catchy, upbeat melody played in the background.

"Huh," he said eloquently, experiencing a small mind-blank at the sight. "I never expected you to be watching this."

A large explosion filled the screen, the squid-creature having fired some sort of laser beam from its floppy snout. Meruru had a large smile on her face, even when the creatures attack demolished a moving car in the background.

"It is Kirino-sans fault."

Yes, Kyousuke could certainly understand that.

Making his way into the kitchen, he pulled open the fridge and retrieved the carton of barely tea in the door. Pouring himself a glass, he watched the small girl over the brim as he gulped it down in one go. Refilling the glass, he returned the carton and closed the fridge, leaning against the counter as he took a few sips.

"Where is she, anyway?"

Kuroneko continued to stare at the television. "She went out."

Kyousuke nearly spilt his drink, the glass thumping against the bench loudly as the liquid sloshed dangerously. "She left you here on your own? That little brat!"

"Her friend came over," she explained, now facing him. The end credits were rolling, the episode finished – an annoyingly chirpy song filling the room. "I don't think she intended it, she was quite surprised. She was pulled out the door before she could say anything."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Still..."

"Do not worry, Kyousuke-san." she replied, returning her attention to the anime. Pointing the remote, she skipped forward until a new episode begun – the battle of squid and magical girl continuing. It must have ended with a cliff-hanger, as the pink haired girl was trapped in the constricting limbs of her enemy. Tense music complimented the scene nicely.

"Would you like a drink?"

"No thank you."

Approaching the couch, Kyousuke sat down next to her, leaning against the backrest and crossing his legs lazily. He noticed the girl shuffling next to him but paid it no mind, content with observing the show that drove his sister nuts with its incredible cuteness. He just hoped nothing perverted started, as that would be a might uncomfortable – more uncomfortable than it already was, at any rate. The character was hardly wearing any clothes, after all.

He stared in horror as Meruru lost her shirt – ribbon, rather; it would never pass for a shirt in any sane society – in her attempt to escape her monstrous captor. Of course, the DVD version was uncensored...

She was now wearing fewer clothes.

He shifted awkwardly, glancing at his companion from the corner of his eyes. She was unaffected by what was happening, a calm look upon her face. He really should have expected that, as the girl was rather stoic about most things. Kirino seemed to be the only one that could push her buttons with any effectiveness, though their other otaku friend – Saori – was capable of it from time to time.

"May I ask you something?"

He almost jumped at the soft voice, heart pounding as he exhaled heavily. The uncensored chest on the screen had really put him on edge.

"What is it?"

"Why do you do so much for your sister?"

He froze at her question, his look of surprise clear. He turned towards her. "Pardon?"

The pale girl fixed her vivid red eyes on his. "After the way she treats you, you still do so much for her. Why is that?"

It was a legitimate question and one that Kyousuke truly had no answer for, as he really had no idea why he did the things he did half of the time. In the end, he gave a small shrug. "I don't understand why, exactly."

"Are you a siscon?" she asked, lips twitching slightly.

"No!" he snapped irritably.

"Then are you a masochist?" she returned, a tiny smile gracing her lips – a mocking smile.

"No!" he repeated, though with a little less heat. He could see how she could come to such a conclusion. Kirino really did treat him quite badly, yet he came back for more. From the outside, it probably looked that way – that he enjoyed being stepped on by his little sister. It was rather depressing when he thought about it. "I suppose... it's because I'm her brother. It's what I should do, right?"

He shrugged again. Kuroneko nodded slowly, a strange look crossing her face – one that he had never seen her express before.

"I understand," she murmured, focusing on the anime once more. Her voice was even lighter than usual, Kyousuke subconsciously leaning in to hear her better. "You are a good brother. I'm rather jealous."

He didn't know what to say to that.

The next half-hour passed without a word and it wasn't until the ending credits were playing for that particular episode that their self-imposed silence was broken. Kyousuke yawned loudly, his cheeks lightly flushed as he tried to forget what he had just watched.

His sister really was a pervert.

"That was..." he trailed off uncertainly.

"Terrible."

"Huh?"

Kuroneko was no longer seated, standing with hands on hips. He scratched his cheek lightly, gazing up at the short girl in surprise.

"The lack of plot is the most obvious problem," she began, her voice taking on a slightly passionate tone. In truth, anyone who heard her might say that she sounded no different than any other time she spoke, yet Kyousuke knew differently. After watching her argue with his sister, he had learned to pick up the small tells she gave off when getting worked up. One thing he noticed was she tended to talk much faster than usual even if she didn't raise her voice, something she was doing now. "It jumps from place to place. There is no order, no sense to it. One minute, Meruru is fighting for her life and the next she is having a tea party, as if nothing happened! Where are the consequences? She destroys an entire city in one scene and has a smile on her face. How disturbing can you get?"

"I-Uh..."

What could he say to that?

"And the blatant fan service... there for no other reason than to sate the desires of older men. There is no reason for it. It does not contribute to the show in any worthwhile way! I don't know why people keep buying this vulgar crap."

"Well..."

...he knew why.

"The art isn't bad," she reluctantly admitted. "The animation is smooth, but it isn't enough to distract from the aforementioned issues. And I cannot forgive an anime that opens with electronic music."

"I can see the appeal in it, though." he finally managed, to the surprise of even himself.

The ranting girl stopped, pinning him with a look that screamed 'are you serious?' while at the same time ordering him to explain himself. He chuckled nervously, forgetting for a moment that she couldn't actually curse him like she sometimes hinted.

...right?

"It's an escape," he began, prompting the small girl to tilt her head. "It's an escape from the real world. Friendship, love, good triumphing over evil; it's the perfect fantasy world. Life is rough and unfair. Some might say it's cruel. What better way to escape than immerse yourself in something completely opposite to what you experience every day? Where there are no consequences and everything remains fresh, new and exciting."

Kuroneko stared at him in shocked silence as he forged on, becoming increasingly more animated as he leapt to his feet.

"It's all about fun. The more they watch, the better they feel – who wouldn't like something that makes them feel happy, when all they felt before was sadness? Apathy? So... yeah, it has plot-holes and sometimes it makes little sense – where the hell did that squid come from, anyway? But you know what? They don't care. The most important thing to them is... the emotions that it evokes."

It was then that he noticed her mouth was partially open, surprise clearly written all over her face. Kyousuke suddenly felt embarrassed, finally realising that he had also risen to his feet and had invaded the gothic girl's personal space during his heated counter argument. Stepping back, he rubbed his neck awkwardly – what the hell had come over him? He didn't know. One thing he did know for sure was...

...he had been playing those damn games too much. That was the only explanation.

"Sorry about that," he apologised sheepishly. "I don't even know why I got so worked up."

Kuroneko blinked. "Do not apologise. That..."

"That?" he asked, somewhat worriedly.

"While I don't agree with all of what you just said, that was... impressive."

She graced him with a small smile, this one genuine. He smiled in return, giving her a concerned look as she turned away quickly.

"I better get going. I don't think Kirino-san will be back anytime soon."

Kyousuke approached the DVD player, pushing the eject button and retrieving the disc inside. Putting it back in its rightful case, he turned the television and player off.

"I'll walk you home. You live close by, right?"

Kuroneko looked startled by the question. "You don't have to do that. I am perfectly capable of going alone."

"I insist. I'll just go put this in Kirino's room."

Quickly, the young man exited and scaled the staircase two steps at a time, hastily entering his sister's room and dumping the case on her assortment of flashy pillows. Job done, he moved on to his own bedroom and pulled on a simple black and white hooded jumper. Rolling up the sleeves, he left the zipper unclasped and open in the front. Ready to go, he descended the stairs rapidly and met the otaku by the front door, slipping on her shoes. Doing the same, he pulled open the door and ushered her out before closing and locking it with his set of keys.

"You really don't have to do this." Kuroneko repeated as they walked down the street a few moments later. Her clothes were attracting a few curious looks but other than that, they were left alone.

"I have nothing better to do," he admitted. "And I'm curious about where you live."

"Oh? And why is that?"

The first corner they come across, they turned left – swerving around a group of children playing on the footpath. Those were the days, when life was nothing but play, play, play – Kyousuke thought with a tiny grin. It was much simpler back then, something Kyousuke missed every so often; simple and normal, totally carefree, his perfect life.

"You should know where your friends live, right?"

It took a few seconds before Kyousuke realised he was no longer walking beside Kuroneko. Coming to stop, he glanced over his shoulder. The girl had paused mid-stride, a frown marrying her fair features.

"Who said we are friends?"

He blinked, only now recalling what he had just said. While he had only hung out with the young cosplay artist a handful of times, it had always been in the company of Saori and Kirino, never separate from them. Despite this and despite the fact that he hadn't intended to make friends himself when suggesting the off-line meeting to Kirino, he quickly come to the conclusion that it had happened regardless. He wasn't as crazy about anime and doujinshi and eroge as they were, but he was definitely on his way to becoming a regular fan, if nothing else. He found himself enjoying their company, even on the very first day when he found them to be incredibly weird.

If it wasn't friendship, he didn't know what was. Though to be fair, he wasn't an expert on the subject.

"Oh, I must have misunderstood then." he began walking again, gazing lazily at the surrounding houses. "I just enjoy your company, that's all. I thought maybe we were friends now."

Hands in pockets, he slouched as he heard hurried footsteps patter against concrete.

"We don't talk enough to be friends," she pointed out softly, coming level with him. He grunted.

"I suppose that's true."

The rest of the trip passed in silence, Kyousuke taking care to memorize the streets. Several turns and ten minutes later, they stood out the front of a well maintained house. It was different from the Kousaka residence, a strong Japanese influence incorporated in its design instead of their westernized home. It was only a single story with a rustic red roof, yet happened to be built long-ways – taking up a sizable portion of land. If he had to guess, despite its lack of second floor it probably had the same amount of rooms – or even more – than his own home. The property was ringed by a waist high wall, a tiny gate the only entrance to the property beyond.

Yes, very different to where he lived, even the garden was much livelier than theirs. It was obvious that someone took great care in its upkeep, bright colours everywhere he looked.

Giving a brief wave, he started back the way he came as Kuroneko fiddled with the gate. "Well, I better get going. Take care."

He had gone ten or so paces before he got a reply. "Kyousuke-san."

He shot the girl an inquisitive look as he turned towards her.

"Yeah?"

"Your sister... she is very lucky."

Confused, the boy nodded before taking his leave. He didn't notice the unsure look he received as he left.

OoOoO

"Hey, you!"

Kyousuke froze, his hand resting on the door handle to his bedroom door. Craning his neck to the side, he spied an attractive face peering out at him from the door next to his, his eyes unintentionally tracing a lock of light brown hair that brushed against the smooth expanse of skin she called her neck. Mildly disturbed by his actions, he forced his gaze toward a less dangerous area – her eyes.

Eyes that judged him as being unworthy.

Kirino Kousaka. Little sister. Brother hater. Less dangerous? Yeah right.

He clucked his tongue. "What?"

"Where have you been?" she demanded, stepping out into the hall. Dressed in a pair of fashionable jean shorts and a lime-green spaghetti strap top, she looked every part the model that she was. He grumbled irritably at her tone of voice, flinging his door open with a small flick of his wrist.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he asked, hands in pockets. "I get home and Kuroneko is here, alone."

Kirino visibly deflated at his words. "It wasn't my fault! Ayase pulled me out before I could do anything about it."

"Yeah, yeah," he deadpanned. "I know. Kuroneko doesn't blame you."

"L-Like I was worried about that!" she stammered, before giving him a suspicious glare. "So, where the hell were you? You never said."

He sighed, knowing that she'd never give in until he caved. "I walked her home, that's all."

Kyousuke suddenly looked over his shoulder, a chill running up his spine. Spotting no one there, he gave the hallway a wary glance – as if someone was going to jump out at any moment and attack with a knife. Looking at his sister, he cringed – the blank look on her face beyond creepy. The feeling of impending doom increased ten-fold.

"Kirino?" he questioned. She stared at him and he tried his best not to recoil at the frightening lack of emotion.

"I have another game for you."

He blinked. "What?"

"I just finished it yesterday," she explained, finally gaining a bit of life. She adopted what he amusingly dubbed as her 'otaku face'. "It was really good and I want you to try it."

"But-"

"No buts!"

Kyousuke grunted. "Fine."

He followed her as she retreated into her room, eyes wandering unintentionally, seeking out any sign of his sisters forbidden hobby. As usual, anything that could possibly condemn her was hidden masterfully, though the Meruru screensaver on her computer screen was a dead give away. He was about to point this out to her but then thought better of it. He didn't feel like being yelled at right now.

It had been a pretty good day so far, after all. Why end it on a sour note?

"Damn, where the hell did I put it?" Kirino grumbled, digging through her desk drawer and unsuspectingly waving her bottom side to side. Kyousuke nearly bit his tongue in half when he saw what she was doing, turning away quickly before she noticed and accused him of being a pervert.

What the hell is she doing? Wearing shorts like that... urgh, what am I thinking?

Calming himself, he turned back towards his sister and nearly jumped through the roof when he found her standing right in front of him. In her hands was a thick box, the eroge she wanted him to play.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked bluntly. "You're acting odd."

Kyousuke coughed into his hand. "What are you talking about?"

Kirino frowned. "Tch, whatever."

That said she thrust the box into his hands. He glanced down at the title and his eye gave an involuntary twitch.

Extreme Little Sister Love...

Kyousuke sighed, unsurprised. Of course it was of the brother-sister genre, that's all she ever played.

"It's kinda long but shouldn't be too hard, even for an amateur like you," Kirino explained, hands on hips. She pierced him with a strong look. "So don't take forever."

"Sure, sure," he muttered, taking his leave. "I'll finish it as fast as I can, okay?"

A few minutes later and Kyousuke was seated at his desk, chin in hand as he watched the installer progress slowly. Letting out a massive sigh, he once again questioned why he was doing this. Even though he was slowly but surely growing to enjoy these games – and that's twice he had admitted that to himself today, a rare thing! – he knew he could be doing loads of other things with his time.

Like homework, for one. Unlike previous years, it seemed that whenever they finished one assignment, another was waiting in the wings. He had several half-completed works that he should be getting on top of, but... he just didn't have it in him.

Or he could just listen to some music, something he took pleasure in. Perhaps his only hobby in the world – if it could really be called that – before getting roped into playing eroge was listening to popular music. Hours of his life had been blown simply lazing around while he drowned in the beautiful sounds of various recording artists. He had a particular like for western songs. Funnily enough, it was one of the reasons why English was perhaps his best subject and the only time he truly excelled at anything school related, scoring amongst the highest in his grade. He liked to understand what he was listening too, after all.

He could go visit some friends, but then... truth be told, he didn't have very many. He had already seen Manami this morning and other than her, there really was no one else. He had a few acquaintances at school – namely a classmate called Akagi – but that's all they were. When he had mentioned to Kuroneko that he considered her a friend, he hadn't been joking. After Manami, there really was only her and Saori.

It was pretty sad.

He was contemplating expanding his horizons when a soft 'ding' broke him from his thoughts, the bar on the laptop screen reading one hundred percent. Loading the game, he couldn't help but chuckle nervously at the cute girl that appeared, urging him to click 'start' while calling him onii-chan, nor could he help the brief burst of excitement that bloomed inside at the sight. Briefly, Kirino's face flashed before him and her voice filled his head.

Thank you, Aniki...

He swore as he banged his knee against the underside of his desk, an odd expression crossing his face – game momentarily forgotten.

What the hell was that!

Unfortunately for Kyousuke, this was only the beginning. The littlest things often make the biggest impact.