First off, let me just say - I blame Nuke for this. See, we're close friends and all, and I had been toying around with the idea for a fic in my head. One day we started talking and somehow stumbled upon the topic of fics... And, well, I told him I'd get to work on one if he started...
And, it seems this is where that ingenius plan got us. Thanks for ruining my attempt to blame my laziness on you, Nuke, thank you oh-so-much...
Anyway, seeing as I have 4 chapters done at the moment, I can say that I'm overall pleased with the work I have done so far. However, the first two chapters are definately subpar in terms of what I believe I can churn out, while 3 and on are much better... Mainly due the the fact that I finally broke into my writing abilities after those chapters. And I'm too lazy to rewrite the first two... And they're needed so people understand 3 ...
And... And... Yeah. So... Yeah. By the way, I wont be one of those review-lusters who say "I WONT UPDATE UNTIL I GET [X REVIEWS!!"... That's not to say I wont love reviews, though.
Time to shut up and start? I think so...
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"Why does the phone always ring when I'm in the middle of something?" Konata sighed, slowly making her way through her house, searching out the cordless phone. Once she found it, she answered the incoming call, "Ohayo."
"Ohayo, Konata." Came the somewhat cheery reply, "It's me, Kagami."
Why do people always tell you who they are on the phone? Don't they think you can tell? Konata thought to herself, once again amused at her random observations, "Ah, Kagamin. Calling to tell me the answers for my homework?"
"Why can't you just do the work for on- Nevermind..." Kagami replied, sighing. After a moment, she continued, "I'm just calling to make sure you didn't forget that we're all coming over today, that's all."
"Yes, I remember. My father wont be home, but he wont mind." Konata replied, "So, you're going to show up at the same time as always, right?"
"Well, Tsukasa has something else to do, but I'll be able to get there at the usual time." Kagami answered a moment later, "Miyuki lives farther away, so she'll probably show up later."
"Okay then. Don't forget to bring your homework for me, Kagami." Konata said, with a nod, although Kagami obviously couldn't see it, "And remember to walk here, you need to lose the weight."
Konata waited a moment, then smiled triumphantly as she heard the dial tone, informing her that Kagami had hung up. Pleased with herself, she hung up the phone and went back to her room.
Hm... I could have sworn there was something I should remember... Oh well.
-----
Konata sat at her computer, the chair turned to face the television as she played Kagami in Guilty Gear. Between rounds, she would turn her attention back to the computer, which gave Kagami a second or two of free hits before Konata realized the match had started.
She's barely even trying, but it feels good to be so close to beating Konata for once...
"Ooh, Kagamin has been practicing." Konata complimented, "You've actually gotten me to a final round."
Kagami didn't reply, as she was more focused on the game than she would have liked the admit - Being so close to victory for the first time was an opportunity she didn't intend to pass up, even though a loss meant nothing to Konata. It was obvious that Konata's mind wasn't entirely on the game, since she wasn't reacting as quick as usual, and Kagami had the edge. Just as she was about to deal the finishing blow, the doorbell rang.
"Oh, sorry..." Konata said, pausing the game before she was hit, "Let me get that."
H-How can you just pause it at such a crucial moment!? Kagami thought, hoping Konata didn't come back with the intent to win. She tried not to listen, but Tsukasa wasn't due to show up for another few hours, and Miyuki couldn't have made it over yet, and she was curious. Konata was talking to someone, who didn't sound like a girl or an adult. The door closed, and she heard the two continue to talk as they walked towards the room.
"... Don't worry, I'm just here with a friend. She doesn't bite all that much." Konata said as she entered the room, quickly making her way into the room and picking up her controller and sitting down on the bed.
"Who are you talking to?" Kagami asked, watching Konata as she entered the room. Her question was answered when her guest finally made it to the doorway a moment later. He was the same height as Konata, with a mess of purple hair that had begun to make it's way down the back of his neck, though stopped at the collar of his red cotton coat that reached down to his ankles, with black pants and shirt under the coat. The most striking resemblance was the fact that they both had the same exact lazy-eyed, mischevous, inwardly-drawn expression.
He slowly made his way towards her, picking the controller out of Konata's hands as he passed by her, and sat next to Kagami. Kagami noted the subtle scent of coconuts emanating from his being, though she was knocked out of her thoughts when he turned to her, speaking in a rather slow manner, "You don't mind if I play instead, do you?"
"Huh? Uh, n-no..." Kagami said, turning her attention back to the game, thinking; If Konata trusted the game to him, he must be pretty good... But I should be able to win in this situation, anyway...
The moment the game was unpaused, it went downhill for Kagami - Even though she was in the middle of an attack that would have finished him off, while he was in the middle of an attack that wouldn't hit in time, he was able to cancel out of it and use invincibility frames to his advantage to escape her attack. After that, he proceeded to show her what it feels like to have hopes of victory be utterly denied, using attacks and combos that she didn't even know existed. She didn't last more than a minute.
"W-Wow..." Kagami muttered, somewhat pissed that she had her victory robbed from her, "By the way, I'm Kagami. And you are...?"
"I'm Kale." Came the reply, "Another game?"
"No thanks..." Kagami answered, feeling thoroughly defeated. She then turned to Konata, giving her a curious look, "Oh, Kona-Chan, I didn't know you had other friends. Let alone a boy..."
"I've always known Mijikai-Chan." Kale quickly responded, "Ever since we were babies. Our parents were close friends."
"Yup!" Konata said, spinning in her chair to face them as a battle waged on in her RPG, her finger raised matter-of-factly, "But he moved away the summer before we started High School. In fact, the day that I saw him off at the airport was the very same day I met Tsukasa."
"But, if he moved away... How is he here now?" Kagami asked.
"I moved back." Kale answered, "Right into the same house, across the street from here."
"The same house? Kind of odd that it would be available for you..." Kagami commented.
"Well... We still own it..." Kale said, setting up a match against the A.I., "And, I decided I wanted to live near my Mijikai-chan again."
"... Mijikai-chan? How can you call her that, if you're the same exact height as her?"
"I may not have grown at all in the past three years, but I'm still an inch taller than Mijikai-Chan. Besides, no matter what, even if she one day outgrows me, she'll always be Mijikai-Chan to me."
-----
"Ohayo gozaimasu!" Miyuki said, bowing politely, as she entered the room, Konata right behind her.
"Ohayo, Miyuki-chan." Kagami replied, giving Miyuki a bright smile.
"Oh, who's this?" Miyuki asked, turning to Kale.
Kale, who had already paused his game, turned to face Miyuki and gave her a bright smile, "Oh, hello there. Miyuki-san, was it? Nice to meet you. My name is Kale."
What a fast change!! He was too lazy to even open his eyes a moment ago!! Kagami thought, surprised.
"Oh, ohayo gozaimasu, Kale-san." Miyuki replied with a slight giggle and bright smile, "Are you a friend of Kona-chan?"
"You could say that." Kale said with a slight nod, "Mijikai-chan and I were once inseperable.
For some reason, he's starting to sound like an ex. Curse you, Konata! Kagami thought, obviously irritated, and glad that nobody was paying enough attention to catch her fit. She merely sat there and wallowed in her own fury as Kale and Miyuki continued to speak in a ridiculously formal and irritatingly polite way, while Konata tapped away at her keyboard, oblivious to the world around her.
-----
"Oy, Kagami-chan, wasn't your sister or whoever supposed to be here?" Kale asked as he played Konata in a match in Guilty Gear, both of them furiously mashing away at their controllers while maintaining their usual, sleepy-eyed, near expression-less personas.
"Knowing Tsukasa, she probably got lost on the way here." Konata said, in a smug and matter-of-factly tone, "It must be such a trouble, needing to take care of such a clumsy sister, eh Kagamin?"
"Don't speak as if she's some useless klutz!" Kagami growled in response, but her cellphone rang before she could continue. She sighed in annoyance and answered the call, "Ohayo?"
"O-Ohayo, Onee-Chan..." Came the pathetic sounding response.
"Tsukasa?" Kagami said, a bit surprised, "Where are you?"
"I-I fell asleep on the train, a-and missed the stop..."
"Then get on the incoming train and come back."
"B-But, I forgot my cellphone at home... I had to leave the station to get to a payphone to call you..."
"Why would you do that, don't you know to just switch trains!?"
"I-I was scared, onee-chan!! And now I don't have enough money to get on the train again..."
Kagami sighed, holding her forhead, annoyed and blushing slightly at the fact that Konata was right, "Which stop are you near?"
"T-The last one..."
"Alright, then, I'll come get you. Just stay inside the station, alright?"
"O-Okay... I-I'm sorry, Onee-chan..."
"Don't worry about it, just wait for me." Kagami said, then waited to hear Tsukasa hang up the phone before she hung up, then looked to the group, "I-I gotta go... Tsukasa needs me to get her..."
Wait! I can't go and get her! I don't have enough on my card! Kagami thought, now getting worried for her sister, though before she could so much as think, she felt something land in her lap. Looking down, she saw a metro card, "Huh? What's this for?"
"That look you just had was the same look Mijikai-chan always gave me when she didn't have enough money to do something. Take it, I don't mind." Kale replied, "It's not like I need it, anyway. I live right across the street."
Then why did you even bring it!? Kagami thought, though she chose to accept it with a nod rather than say anything. She said her thanks quickly as she grabbed her things and made a fast exit.
"... Interesting friends, Mijikai-chan." Kale spoke once Kagami had left, suddenly feeling bored with only Konata, who was absorbed in her own MMO world, and Miyuki, who was lost within one of Konata's non-shonen mangas.