------ It was ten years ago.
Ten years ago, that is to say ...... the time when Kirino-sama and I had only just met.
On a holiday morning, I was taken to Takasaka's house by Hinata-san. I was wearing my favorite Komet T-shirt, holding my favorite sister's hand, and walking happily along the road with small steps, when my sister suddenly raised her hand with an audible "Oh~" as if she had noticed something.
"Uncle~~~! Good morning ~~~~~"
The spirited fifth year elementary school student ---- Hinata-san, who was mainly characterized by two pigtails, waved her hand with a smile on her face.
That's when I also got a good look at the person my sister was greeting. There was an uncle there in a suit, and he noticed Sis's greeting at that moment as well.
"---- Ahhhh, good morning."
The reply came in a low voice. Because of that uncle's robust physique and intimidating expression, I immediately cowered behind my sister. But his voice was low but his tone was gentle, so I felt slightly relieved.
"Good morning."
As I greeted him, the uncle locked eyes with me.
"Hoo...... good morning."
............ smile was scary. I'm still a little scared.
"Nice to meet you for the first time, my name is Gosho Juhi."
"First time, I'm Daisuke Takasaka."
"It's Takasaka-kun and Kirino-chan's dad yo, Juhi-san."
"Hooah~"
I don't think the resemblance is very strong.
Sister continued to strike up a conversation without any trepidation at all.
"Nah~ Nah~ Uncle, about to go home?"
"No. ------ was walking back because I forgot something. I didn't even realize it until I reached the station."
"Hey~that~we're going to our uncle's house to play."
"Ahhh, Kirino said that. Let's go together then."
"Eh!"
Hinata-san's ability to get close to anyone is really, really impressive, I think.
After that we followed our uncle and continued towards Takasaka's house.
Walking together like this, it's really like fathers and daughters walking together.
------ Dad would be pissed off if he found out about this idea.
It didn't take long to get to my destination, though we all walked slowly to match my walking speed.
"Come in, then."
"Excuse me~~~" "Excuse me."
At the time, I still had some lisp in my speech.
In passing, I mentioned that now I still have a bit of this problem too ......
After that, my uncle walked ahead and opened the entrance door to enter the home.
That's when something terrible happened.
Thud, thud, thud, thud! Rushing down the stairs with a terrifying aura was ------
"Well~ha~~~~~~! A warm welcome from Juhi-san Hinata-san!"
It was a slightly more flamboyant magical girl.
That figure in a dress that completely exposed her navel and holding a magic staff was none other than Meluru. The hair color of the double ponytail was indeed a bright teal, though.
Dressed like Meruru rather than Meruru, she didn't even acknowledge who was in the foyer, and just posed gleefully.
"Stardust☆Witch Melulu! It's ~beginning~ yo ~~~~~~~? Look, look, look Juhi-san this body of mine! Don't you think it's too awesome! I really don't think it's too awesome! COSPA is finally out! Previously it was only available in children's sizes ah----! That kind of only Kanako can wear in ah!"
Well hee hee hee? ~di, she held her staff up in both hands with a smile of happiness to the core.
"Sure~kill ~~~~! Meteor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~! Impact ............ poof!"
It seemed that finally this was perceived.
Everyone in the room had a 0 A0 (such a face) look on their faces.
"............ Kirino, what are you ...... doing."
"......Happy ......welcome ceremony ......this one is."
"Very happy looking."
"...... Well, well ah."
I was born for the first time to see people in such a poor situation.
I'm sweating.
"I don't know what to say, Dad! For, for for for for, why come back ah! Isn't it also on duty on weekends ......!"
"I just forgot to bring my lunchbox back to get it. ------ Don't change the subject."
"Guh......why did it happen at this time......"
"... ...Kirino, how old are you, now?"
"...... Ten, fifteen."
The uncle glanced slightly at his daughter's navel. The awkward look in his eyes trumped any words.
Kirino-san's face turned crimson and she shielded her navel with her hand, averting her eyes from her father.
"........................ "
The genkai flowed with an atmosphere that made it hard to stay.
"...... Haaah ...... If you were still 7, I'd be praising you dryly ah."
"No, no no no ah uncle! Kirino-chan should have, done such a mortifying thing so that Juhi-san would just wake up, right?"
Despite her sister's far-fetched explanation, Uncle nonetheless fixed Kirino-san with a skeptical gaze.
"Even so, it seems overly happy, doesn't it?"
"Oops that ...... is because even if I turn into a magical girl, I'm still cute~~ so."
Kirino-san, who had her head down with her arms clamped, raised her head at that moment to her uncle.
"Eh black~?"
"........................ "
That was, well, pretty overwhelming ignorance. Even Hinata-san, who was watching from the sidelines, went "oooh ah ......" and made a face of being thunderstruck before making another sound.
Uncle rubbed his temples with a very troubled expression.
"...... Forget it. ...... Gotta remember there's a limit to madness."
Leaving these words behind, Uncle staggered into the living room.
Kirino-san, who looked at that pitiful back, muttered.
"...... Did my cute work?"
"I don't think so yo, Kirino-san."
Hinata-san spat with a very serious face.
"That, let me play with it too."
If I had to say what I thought, at that time I was just very interested in the magic staff in Kirino-san's hand.
After the commotion in the foyer came to an end, Kirino-san led us to the living room as well.
It's the second time I've been here, but every time I see a TV this big, my emotions are very much surging. I hugged the borrowed Meluru's staff very babyishly and said
"Kirino-san, thank you really, really much for inviting us over today."
"Really THANKYOU la, Kirino-san."
"You're welcome, Juhi-san, Hinata-san. That said, there's no need to be so formal us!"
"Say, does Kirino-san get lonely with her brother gone too?"
"Nah, it's not ...... that ...... much."
Kirino-san said with a pout.
To clarify, neither Ruri-san nor Kyousuke-brother were at home today.
So Hinata-san, who was bored, called Kirino-san earlier.
Nah~ Juhi-san, just now Kirino-san said, "Do you want to come to my house to play?" Whew! Let's go together?
That's how it went anyway.
Because Kirino-san had shown me Meruru on this big TV, at that time, even though I felt a little disgusted with that person inside, I ended up being good~! Such a spirit to agree.
Then came the present.
Kirino-san brought over the snacks and juice
"Yaho~ I'm on!"
Hinako-san then got to work. Hinata-san, who was holding the cake's cackling and eating it, was like a beast of a sis.
"Come on, feel free to eat?"
"I'm on."
We snacked for this living room coffee table, the three of us meltingly.
Finally, Hinata-chan, who had finished eating first, spoke up to
"Kirino-chan~ What shall we play today?"
"How about taking a bath together!?"
A very urgent suggestion. Asked this way Hinata-chan said rather reluctantly
"Eh~? Why does it have to be in the morning to take a bath?"
"............"
Kirino-san gave a momentary look of very serious thought before saying
"...... Well then, let's go outside and play and sweat before we take a bath!"
"Yah, I hate sweating. Juhi-san also comes here to play once in a while and wants to play at home, right?"
"Yes."
I replied in high spirits.
My attention, from the moment I entered the living room, was firmly pinned to the large television.
Kirino-san, who had been rejected by our sisters, could only pout in regretful resignation.
"Che, really ...... young people are too soft these days. You can't stay healthy if you don't go outside and play, yo?"
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! That said, I thought it was strange the first time we met, why is Kirino-san so obsessed with bathing? Is it some kind of lecherous beast mode?"
"Eh~ It's just an interest if you insist."
Kirino-san replied with great pride.
"It's a beauty secret."
"It~s like that!"
Hinata-san just gulped down the sweet juice as if to say I'm uninterested perfunctorily to Kirino-san. Though she's been living a life of fighting for her thighs to stay thicker after ten years, well ah, that's a different story.
"Hoo hee hee hee, that's it. You know girl juice is great for your skin, yo!"
To this day, looking back, this person's speech has been uncharacteristically bad since before.
Are you Elizabeth who bathes in the blood of virgins? Is it Bartoli.
And what a witch above me, really.
"Though not really understanding what you're talking about, and so, what to do? Play what?"
"Hmph! How about playing pretend doctor's house wine!?"
Ignoring the tireless Kirino-san's days, my sister asked us.
"What does Juhi-san want to play? Incidentally I ah, want to play PS3~!"
Sis must have come over here to play the newest console that we don't have at my house.
Of course, at the time, I didn't realize such a thing.
I replied in this way without understanding the situation.
"Melulu!"
So what would be the reaction of the lovely sister to such expectations from her.
"Ah~ Also ah~. ------ Well, look at Melulu!"
Hoo hoo ...... Very nice sister, right? I'm not giving it up to anyone, yo.
"I'm sorry Kirino-san ------ Is this okay?"
"Of course! As long as it's a sister's need, it's simply impossible not to respond, right!"
Kirino-san smiled back at us with great vigor.
"That said, that's actually what I'm planning to do."
"That's nothing like what you just said!?"
"So say ~ after going to take a shower and then playing doctor's house wine! Just get ready to watch Meruru say!"
After making this pointless addition
"Because today, isn't the last episode of Meruru!"
Said something that was very important to me at the time.
After that, we spent a very happy time in the Takasaka family's living room, watching Meruru's BD anime and playing games.
In preparation for watching the last episode of Meruru that day, we watched all the videos of Meruru's third season. Kyousuke's brother also came home around 4pm.
Brother raised one hand in greeting as he entered the living room
"Oh, you guys came to play."
"Welcome back Takasaka-kun!"
"Niinii!"
I rushed to the door with small steps and hugged my brother's feet tightly.
"Oh! Ouch ouch ouch ...... Haha, welcome Juhi-san."
"What about me what about me!"
"Oh, welcome ah Hinagiku-sauce ------ ah it hurts!"
For some reason Kirino-san gave her brother a kick in the butt.
"Why ah!"
"Hmph, nothing."
While understanding that things weren't what Kirino-san had verbalized, I wasn't my brother, and I wouldn't have understood what hitting was like back then.
My brother rubbed his butt with an "oh~that hurts" as he said
"Are you watching Meruru. Speaking of which today is the last episode."
"Yeah, yeah. So just thought we'd all come and watch it together."
Kirino-san said
"It's going to be dark outside after we finish watching it. ------ Hinata-chan, have you talked to mom yet?"
"Eh!"
"Really. Well, I'll take you guys back then."
"I'm going to have dad drive them back, so it's not your turn."
"Ah~ yes~ that's right."
"I say you're evil, why are you doing all this attempting to gain favor with your sisters?"
"It's not an attempt!"
The two were very close.
"Stardust☆Magic Girl Meluru! The final meeting! It's ~beginning~ yo~?"
In the living room of Takasaka's house, we were glued to the big TV.
"Ooooh ~~~~"
"Sure enough! The OP of the first season is here ----------! Not bad for a final return! The producers know how to start! And it's true that the female leads are all-stars! Yeehawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"
"Shut up Kirino! I can't even hear the TV!"
The one who looked the most frenzied in the room was undoubtedly Kirino-san.
While the third season of "Hoshi Shavings☆Magic Witch Meruru" is about Meruru, who became the strongest Dark Magician, fighting her former partners, it's an overly exciting storyline for young children. But at the time, I was still strong enough to keep watching it every week.
"...... Kirino-san, looking super happy."
"It's only natural! Last week, Meluru ended up becoming two people, so what's going to happen after that is super exciting isn't it! Juhi-san is like that too, right?"
"Yes!"
Because of Alpha's active initial transformation into a Stardust Witch, Melulu finally returned to normal. But at that moment, a black glow emerged from Meluru's abdomen, and the Dark Witch Meluru flew out of there.
Good versus evil, the final showdown between the two Meluru's began.
"En~...... that ah, can Juhi-san understand the story?"
"No!"
Of course I couldn't figure it out then.
However, that atmosphere when it was time to ignite was still conveyed properly ------ For a long, long time, that time when I finally saw that Meruru wasn't a bad guy anymore, I remember I was really, really happy.
"Haha, even if you don't understand some of the minutiae, interesting things are still interesting."
My brother, who was sitting next to me, gently touched my head.
"Eh heh heh heh"
That was also a very happy memory for me.
An hour later ----
"Everyone, goodbye ~~~~?"
Meluru waved her hand and flew away, the first season's OP Meteor☆Impact coming out with it ......
and then next to me
"Oooooooooooooooooo ......! "
Kirino-san's tears flowed like pouring rain.
It's a gesture that shouldn't be expected as a big sister who's older than me, but it's better to say that it's exactly that that makes me feel that Kirino-san is a friend who's equal to me.
Friends who like the same things.
"That's so pretty."
"Eh! What a super howling chop ......!"
"...... Alright, wipe your nose."
Brother handed over the tissue box with a somewhat reluctant look.
Whew~~~~~~~~ with that snorting sound, Kirino-san seemed to have finally calmed down as well.
"Yah~ Great! That's so great! It's so good~!"
The Dark Demoness Meluru was finished off, but a new enemy had also appeared.
After this, it's time to continue guarding the peace of the Earth as well ----.
To such a well-deserved final words, Kirino-san is the look of heartfelt satisfaction.
Of course I feel the same way.
So naturally, out of my mouth came such words
"------ Kirino-san, Meluru next time, when will it start?"
"-------"*3
Everyone, their mouths fell open.
"......That ......one ......"
Sister looked like she was in a difficult situation with the Kirino-san's expression.
"That's true. The first season of Meruru, the second season, and the end of the season were clearly felt, so there should be a sequel. ...... It's still the first time for Juhi-san to see a real final return, right?"
The TV snapped off as the ED ended and turned to commercial.
It was Kirino-san who operated it with the remote control.
The room fell silent for a moment.
"?"
I cocked my head slightly.
Kirino-san squatted down to look at me at about the same height as me at eye level, and spoke to me in a very soft voice.
"There is no more continuing. It ends here."
"...... Eh?"
"Though I can't assert that there definitely won't be any more. But I don't think Meruru will be coming out again is all."
"...... Meluru, already, won't be writing a new story?"
Kirino-san nodded her head unflinchingly.
Brushing ...... away, tears surfaced in my eyes.
Brother said in a very troubled voice
"Hey, Kirino. Can't you say it in a nice euphemistic way?"
"Eh~~~"
Kirino-san squeezed her eyes shut and weighed her words for a while
"What about that, Juhi-san. ...... No need to cry, yo. There may not be any new Meruru, but you can still see Meruru whenever you want."
Kirino-san bristles and points to the TV
"Manga, novel, anime ...... whatever. For me, the characters of the works that have ended are just like friends who have moved to a faraway place. Although I can't see them every week, the happy memories don't disappear. As long as you don't forget, it's like seeing each other anytime."
"...... Anytime?"
"Eh. As soon as I close my eyes I see them, I see them when I rewatch the anime, and I feel like I'm with those guys whenever I'm discussing them. ...... Haha, I don't know if it comes across very well though ...... So no need to feel lonely, yo."
Kirino-san's words were a bit hard for me, who was still a child at the time, to understand, and almost half of them didn't make sense.
But even so, her thoughts were conveyed to me properly.
"It is, not separate?"
"It's not taken for granted! Melulu said that too, didn't she?"
"Farewell, everyone."
"So, please don't forget, like this heart of Meruru."
Those words have remained in my heart until now.
"...... Yes!"
Determined to never forget my favorite friends.
That would be me, watching the end for the first time.
------ were, like, ten years ago.
And then from here, it's now.
The stage is still in the living room of Takasaka's house. It was almost as if time had only carved itself into us.
Now I've become a high school student. But that being said, since my hair and looks have barely changed, I'm instantly recognizable even if I haven't seen you in ten years.
"Kirino-chan. Thank you very much for inviting me over today."
"You're welcome. That said, it's so nice to call me sister, just like old times."
"Then still, please allow me to decline. Because I've come to understand what kind of evil thoughts Kirino-chan holds towards an existence like a sister."
I replied in a pleasant manner. Kirino-san's face turned red as if she had been poked at something painful
"Hoo hee hee, what a cute little guy."
Chirp.
...... always felt like I heard a very overdone sound effect. I kept my smile and said
"May I go back, please?"
"Don't you think you've been too much for me lately Juhi-san? Besides, you and that guy are too much alike, aren't you?"
"Hoo hoo, because sisters."
"Obviously you don't have to be so much alike that you even have the same interests to say. Say, seeing as you're holding a bag you should be coming straight from school, right? Why are you dressed like that?"
"Don't you know? In school nowadays, even if you don't wear a uniform, it's still taken for granted."
"......um, it always feels, for a moment just now, like I'm getting old."
Kirino-san raised both eyebrows in worry.
If Kirino-san was considered an old person, then all 20 year old women would have to be called old.
Of course in truth Kirino-san was actually young for her age. But even when Kirino-san reached her 30's and 40's, it always felt like that beauty wouldn't decline in the slightest.
It's almost like a modern version of Elizabeth? Bartoli, she really is the real witch.
"So. It's almost time to start, come sit on the couch."
"Yes"
To ------.
Today is, the day of the first episode of the remake of Stardust ☆ Witch Meruru.
Meluru series, new for ten years.
When I learned that Meruru was resurrected after a 10-year gap ---- Of course the one who told me this was Kirino-san ---- always felt that it felt rather unbelievable.
It was like a good friend from the past, sending a letter.
"......Magical girl or something, I graduated a long time ago said it."
I muttered in a slightly sad voice.
"Oops? Didn't you say you became a magical girl, Juhi-san?"
"...... Hoo...... please don't confuse the magic I learned with anime magical girls."
"About you this matter, your sister also find me life to talk about ...... well ah now even if ---- ah, you see!"
The words made me also turn away from the eyes.
I turned to look ------
"Stardust☆Magic Girl Meluru! It's ~beginning~ yo~?"
"...... It's started."
"It's starting."
It was almost as if I was a child, and I stared at the TV with my heart pounding.
Even if it's a seasonal round trip, after a long time, has graduated from magical girls also.
Inside me, the self that I was when I loved Meruru is now so excited that I can't breathe. Listening to this OP, everything from that time has awakened in my heart.
"...... It always feels like, it's like going back to the age of 6 with a time machine, ah."
"Me too, like going back to the age of junior high school students. And now also, looking back, so many past events."
We didn't know who started it, but we all snickered naturally.
And Meruru, with the same, familiar voice and smile as that time -----
"Long time no see, everyone!"
"It's been a long time"
I bowed my head in a low salute to my friends who had met again ten years apart.