Chapter 2: The Legacy of Shigesato Hiiragi

"Now that I think of it, I do sorta remember my hair brushing against the bedframe after using the bathroom," said Kagami, as the girls all walked back to Rokuna's house. "I was still feeling sleepy, so I figured I'd try to understand what happened in the morning, and then I totally forgot about it."

"Didn't you notice in the mirror?" asked Tsukasa.

"Looked normal there," said Kagami. "Must've happened while I was walking back. I mean, I was moving kinda slow, being all drowsy and stuff."

"I remember Yuu-chan asking, 'Onee-chan, how did you style your hair like that?,' just as we reached the school and were about to split up," said Konata. "I'm like, 'Huh!?'"

"Mine happened just in the hallway," said Miyuki. "Everyone was asking each other things like 'Hey, what is that?', and 'What's happening to that girl's hair?'. I was so embarrassed that I hid inside the girls' room to get away from it all."

"I got mine for my birthday yesterday," said Rokuna.

"Wait! Your birthday just passed by!?" asked Kagami. "Happy late birthday, Rokuna!" The others chimed in as well.

"Thanks, guys. Anyway, my dad gave me the entire set that he had been studying, except for one of them," said the brunette. "I picked the emerald, but then the rest of them disappeared."

"Wait! So you set that all off, didn't you!" shouted Kagami.

"No fair." said Konata. "I didn't get to see what the choices were."

"I'm sorry," said Rokuna.

"Oh, it's alright," said Miyuki. "I'm sure you didn't mean any harm."

"I guess you're right," said Kagami.

"Anyway, yeah, I would've totally invited you guys if me, Gami-chan, and Kasa-chan saw each other a lot more often, and if I had even known Kona-chan and Yuki-chan longer than tonight."

"No biggie," said Konata. "Not like me and Yuu-chan hung around all that much until she got accepted into our school. You guys are just cousins after all, right?"

"Technically, we're second cousins," said Rokuna. "Kasa-chan and Gami-chan's dad is my dad's cousin."

"So, how did you feel about having your hair done up?" asked Tsukasa.

"I gotta admit it was a little embarrassing at first, but in a good way," said Rokuna. "After that, I totally looked forward to showing it off at school today."

"Wait! In a good way?" asked Kagami, dumbfounded. "I was just embarrassed! I felt like everyone at school would make fun of me. I'm glad they didn't, but being gawked at all day still wasn't exactly comforting."

"For me, it was as if it marked my transition into adulthood," said Rokuna. "Guess I can't blame you, though, since you didn't see it coming."

"I suppose that's one way to put it," said Miyuki. "It is more becoming of an adult, after all."

"Not like I was planning to wear my hair in pigtails at any point past college," said Kagami. "Other than that, I don't get it."

"My eighteenth birthday is when he told me that I could choose a gemstone. He didn't want me using their powers until I was mature enough to use them responsibly. They do say, that with power comes responsibility."

"I'll bet it feels good to be an adult, doesn't it," said Konata.

"You're not exactly responsible yourself, Konata," said Kagami. "The only thing you care about being an adult is being able to buy erotic dating sims on your own. Besides, with this kind of hair, you only care about 'moe'."


The party eventually reached Rokuna's house. Inside, Tadao, Miki, Inori, Matsuri, and Yutaka had all been sitting on the floor while waiting. There was also an olive-skinned, bespectacled man with black hair tied in a ponytail and reaching just past his shoulders.

"You girls went anyway, didn't you?" shouted Tadao.

"What are we gonna do with you!?" said Matsuri.

"Well excuse us for trying to lead our enemy away from you!" Kagami snapped, overpowering Miyuki and Tsukasa's feeble attempts at an apology.

"We were all worried sick about you," said Miki.

"If Konata and Rokuna's dads want to let you endanger yourselves, there's nothing we can do about that, but our dad explicitly told you not to leave," said Inori.

"You wanna know what was out there?" asked Tadao.

"A Starman Junior," Rokuna answered.

"That's what that metal humanoid thing was?" asked Tadao.

"It was going after us in particular," said Rokuna.

"Besides, we totally owned that thing with some new psychic powers we got!" said Konata.

"What powers!?" the man asked.

"Perhaps mine would be the safest to demonstrate," said Miyuki, motioning for everyone to come outside. Everyone got up from the floor, Tadao rather painfully.

"PK Healing alpha," said Rokuna, noticing Tadao's minor injuries from his previous skirmish. In no time flat, the pain subsided.

"Thanks, Rokuna-chan…" he muttered as he looked over his healed injuries in wonder.

"No problem," said Rokuna.

Everyone came outside, and the brunette pointed the flashlight at a rock.

"P. K. Freeze. Alpha," said Miyuki, causing a layer of ice to form on the rock. Amazed whispering rose from the family members. After some hesitation, Matsuri stepped toward the rock, hunching down to look at it.

"Don't touch it," Miyuki said. "It's so cold it could crack your skin. In fact..."

She increased focus on her power, and the ice broke the rock to pieces.

"With something like that, I guess I could give you girls some leeway, then," said Tadao.

"Why don't you all spend the night here at our place," said Rokuna's father. "Or rather, what's left of the night. Tomorrow, I, the brilliant scientist Ichirobei Hiiragi, will explain how it all works."

Rokuna reassured everyone that there wouldn't be another attack like the several that had already happened, explaining how it had happened and that she didn't sense anything suspicious lurking around.

"So, Yuu-chan," said Konata. "How did you get here?"

"She was with us," said Inori. "My dad told me that it's safe at your house again, so we'll be sure to bring her back tomorrow once we all leave."

"Yuu-chan?" asked Rokuna. "So you must be Kona-chan's cousin, huh?"

"How did you know?"

"She mentioned you several times on our way back here. So how old are you?"

"Sixteen," said the cherry-haired girl. Rokuna giggled, thinking she was pulling her leg.

"No, really. A lot of people mistake me for someone's kid sister, but I'm actually a freshman at Ryouou High."

"Are you really?" asked Rokuna.

"Yep!" Konata answered for her. "Kinda like Ayu, y'know?"

"I don't think she does," said Kagami.


Having had sleeping arrangements made for them that night, everyone slept a good few hours in the following morning, regaining the sleep they had all lost that night. They all got up individually from one another and fixed themselves some breakfast.

Needless to say, Tsukasa was the last one still asleep. Rokuna came into her room, dressed in a pink dress with puffy sleeves and a frilly bottom, with matching long-sleeve gloves and thigh-highs to complement it.

"Dad's got things all set up, Kasa-chan," she said. "Gonna wake up and eat breakfast?"


"Ladies and gentlemen! Or should I say, ladies and Tada-niisan?" Ichirobei began, clad in his lab coat. "Now is the time we've all been waiting for!

"To start, some of you are still wondering why your hair is shaped like a beehive, or whatever you wanna compare it to. That is, assuming my daughter hasn't explained already. Well, take a look at this."

He flipped the slide, which then depicted an oval-shaped gem.

"This is no ordinary crystal. It's called a Magé Stone, one of twelve containing the potential for various psychokinetic powers."

He then flipped the slide, to show some kind of diagram depicting a long-haired girl with a crystal over her head.

"In order to work, the first thing they need is, a host. What is required in a host? Well, one thing is obvious: Really long hair. Way longer than my own, in fact. Other than that, even I don't fully understand what else they look for, which is exactly why I study them in my grandfather's place."

The next slide showed the girl's head with her hair done up. The crystal was also shown at the center of her hive, and some curved lines were shown connecting the crystal to her brain.

"Once they find someone, though, their hair then rises up and wraps around the crystal to keep it in place. From there, the crystal interacts with the brain, essentially becoming part of it."

He then flipped the slide, which showed a list of sorts. Each item on the list appeared as he cited them.

"Now, the first thing it does is give the host a sixth sense, which allows her to speak to people via telepathy and tell what's going elsewhere. Then, it enables her to do more complex things, like what Miyuki-chan showed all of us just last night. Any questions?"

"I don't get it," said Kagami. "Last night, I was able to tell that Dad and Tsukasa were in trouble during the poltergeist attack, but we had to drive all the way to Konata's house to make sure she was okay. Are you saying that we could've saved ourselves a trip there if I just used my new sixth sense for that?"

"I could assume that that was the crystal that detected what was going on inside your house," said the professor. "It is supposed to work automatically the first time around, just to make you aware of it, but long-range detection will take a little practice before you can use it fluently."

"So that's how I managed to detect the Starman Jr. outside Konata-san's house," said Miyuki. "Under normal circumstances, I tend to space out and not notice things in my surroundings that even normal people would."

"Spacing out?" he replied. "That would be a problem indeed, for what's about to come. But, you know what they say: The real you is brought out in times of crisis."

"What's about to come?" asked Miki, while Miyuki grew worried from self-doubt.

"Tell me we're not in for more danger," said Matsuri.

A second passed by in silence, before Ichirobei continued, not so upbeat anymore.

"I'm afraid we are," he said.

"You've got to be kidding us," said Inori.

"That alien, the one who summoned the poltergeist on you, before eventually coming after you personally, was just a scout," said Ichirobei. "It's a good thing you girls managed to kill him outright, lest he report back to his superiors. This whole world, along with others, is in for a full-scale invasion coming from a distant planet known as Philosoma. That is exactly why the crystals exist."

Everyone's hearts sunk. They exchanged worried glances, some started shifting in their seats, while others gave a disbelieving little laugh.

"Do you really think we'd be able to stand up to entire armies of Starmen!?" asked Kagami. "We barely managed to defeat that one!"

"Actually, it still wouldn't be enough if all twelve of the Magé Stones each found a host," said Ichirobei. "The real key is to find the Goddess of Good Fortune, who also just so happened to be my long-dead grandmother. In order to find her, there are places on the planet rich with a mysterious energy, each guarded by a monster with tremendous power. Each time you conquer one of these spots, you'll be given clues on how to find her, before being brought to another part of the world to find the next one."

"Goddess?" asked Matsuri. "Dead grandmother? Aliens ... this is getting too crazy ... how would you even know all this?"

"My grandfather did some kind of research about everything after his wife was chosen by a gemstone, and kept a diary of everything that had happened since then. My father continued everything for him, and to this day, I have taken my turn to continue his research. Here, I'll go retrieve his diary, in case any of you are interested."

He left the room. Tsukasa and Yutaka clung to Kagami and Konata, whimpering, and they in turn embraced them to comfort them. Everyone else looked speechlessly at one another, except for Rokuna, who already had known about the events to come. At any point beforehand, they would have likely dismissed Ichirobei as just some nutjob, but everything that had happened the previous day and night gave them plenty of reason to believe him.

"Guess I'll go make you all some lunch, if that'll perk everyone up," said Rokuna, before heading into the kitchen.

"No!" said Tadao. "There is no way I'm gonna let you girls go out and sacrifice yourselves! There's gotta be a way to save you from this! There's got to!"

"I'm gonna have a word with your cousin when he comes back," said Miki to Tadao, before turning to the girls. "Miyuki, I would at least suggest you fill your parents in on all this." She then faced Tsukasa. "You, though, should probably stay home with us."

"But why?" asked Tsukasa.

"Mom's right," said Kagami. "You don't have the kind of powers that the rest of us barely saved ourselves with."

"But you're the only close friends I have," said Tsukasa. "If you all die, I won't have anyone left that I feel so close to."

"She has a point," said Miyuki. "She is our friend, after all."

"Yeah," said Konata. "At least Yuu-chan still has Minami-san and her friends to hang out with. Besides, I gave her a slingshot last night. She could be like an archer or something for us."

"I only let her come with us through the woods because none of us even knew about the powers that all of us except her have," said Kagami. "Knowing her, she'd probably just get scared and drag us down."

Tsukasa couldn't help but think that Kagami was right. Twice, she had to save her, and her only real contribution in return was to help Kagami escape from the slain Starman Jr. just before its body collapsed on her.

"I know how you feel, Tsukasa," said Miyuki. "You must understand, though, how much your family cares about you. I'm sure it would devastate them if you were killed."

"Here it is!" said Ichirobei, upon returning with the book. Said book was yellow with age, wrinkled, and stained.

"Are you out of your mind!?" asked Miki, as she shot up from the floor. "Tell me there's a way to cancel this whole thing out."

"I'm afraid there isn't," said the scientist.

"How could you let the crystals take hold of my daughter?"

"I didn't have any control over who they would choose, short of Rokuna."

"You gave one of them to your own daughter!?" asked Tadao. "What kind of a father are you!? Knowing how much danger she would be in!"

"This, actually, is the very reason I even had a daughter. It was all in the name of our grandfather. I made everything clear to her long before entrusting her with the ones I had and letting her choose one, giving her plenty of time to consider whether to accept her destiny or opt out altogether. It was her choice to make in the end."

"Oh yeah!?" asked Kagami. "What if she refused? Would you have had another daughter for them to prey on? And how did I just so happen to be the next one, followed by two of my friends? Was there no one else-"

"Everything's fine," said Rokuna, telepathically, upon sensing their outrage. "Please, guys. Don't be so hard on my dad. He was only doing what he thought was right. I'm sure it would be better than if none of us had any idea on how to deal with the oncoming invasion."

They all took a moment to calm down, and then Miki continued.

"Ichirobei-hakase. If it's this important, I'd be willing to take Kagami's place in things instead."

"I know how you feel," said Ichirobei. "I, myself, had hoped things would never come to this, that my own daughter would be able to live a normal life even after choosing whether or not to become a psychic, and to decide whether or not to carry on Shigesato's legacy even after I die."

"I do hope this isn't permanent," said Miyuki. "Even if we weren't in any danger, the thought of going out in public with my hair this way still feels embarrassing."

"Once they've chosen a host, they are pretty much one with them, as far as I know," said Ichirobei.

"Doesn't bother me so much," said Konata. "I just wonder if it will still be moe when we're adults."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure awkwardness would be the least of our problems," said Kagami. "Like, would we still be able to get jobs anywhere like this? I mean, we would totally distract people at school or work. I know I did just yesterday. Not to mention how afraid people would be of us with the kinds of powers we have. And, how much control will we have over telepathy and stuff like that?"

"And, if I might add, whose idea was it to design them to target teenagers, while their brains are undergoing so much development as they are?" asked Inori.

"Not mine," said Ichirobei. "I didn't design them. I just study their properties and how they work. I'm sure you will find all your answers once you meet the goddess. In the meantime, while my daughter's making lunch for everyone, I guess I'll start reading my grandpa's diary to all of you."

Inside, the first entry read:

August 12, Meiji 45

For some reason, my wife's hair was piled high atop her head. She claims not to have arranged it that way herself. Both of us tried to dismantle it, but each handful we pull out just arranges itself back in place.

I can't help but wonder how this could have happened?

"Tell me about it," said Kagami.

August 27, Meiji 45

Today, I saw an oval-shaped stone appear over someone's head. Her hair rose up and wrapped itself around the stone, becoming shaped just like it. I went up to her, and explained what happened with my wife, before asking if I could extract the object. She gave me permission, and I dug it out.

Her hair fell back down, but she herself fell unconscious. I tried placing the stone back in the position it was in, but it didn't work.

Kagami couldn't help but gasp in shock upon hearing that. Ichirobei stopped for the moment as everyone looked at her, wondering what she was thinking.

"Good thing I didn't know there even was a stone in my hair!" she said.

"Good thing I didn't even mind my hair being the way it is," said Konata.

"If anything hits any of us hard enough to knock it out, we'd be totally done for!" said Kagami.

"Actually," said Ichirobei. "The gemstones are pretty secure where they are. Even if something were to hit you in the hair… well, it would be just as deadly anyway if it got you anywhere else, but assuming your hair doesn't get chopped off, the only other practical way to remove it would be to actively pry it away. And even then, they are incredibly hot when active, and I'm sure you would notice in a heartbeat if something were to attempt to steal it."

"So how did he take it?" asked Matsuri.

"Obviously, he'd have to have put on some kind of gloves after failing the first time," said Ichirobei. "And, as we just read, she had given him permission to remove it. Anyway..."

Short of seppuku, the only way I'll be able to atone for her state of being is to seek to understand the meaning of this. I will find the others to enlist as my research subjects while studying the stone I should not have taken in the first place.

"Lunch is ready, guys!" Rokuna called from the threshold.


Everything that Rokuna prepared for them was barely describable and very unappetizing. The smell of garlic was so strong that every one of her guests couldn't help but suddenly stop and pinch their noses shut upon entering the dining room.

"What is all that!?" asked Tsukasa.

"Geez, Rokuna!" said Kagami. "How much garlic did you use on all that!?"

"It's awful," said Miyuki.

"Totally not moe," said Konata.

"None of you like what you're seeing?" asked Rokuna, disappointedly, before taking a bite of something herself. "Tastes just fine to me."

"It's not that none of us like garlic," said Miyuki, letting go of her nose as she stepped forward to speak to the brunette. "I'm sure this could have turned out wonderful, had you not used so much of it. I suppose I'll try some of it myself, though, if it makes you feel better."

She picked up an onigiri and took a bite out of it, chewing for several seconds.

"How is it, Miyuki-san?" asked Konata.

"Well," said the pink-haired girl. "It has somewhat of an individual flavor to it...

For a moment, it seemed like she was going to give Rokuna some praise for it. But then...

"Please excuse me," said Miyuki, before heading outside, fearing she might vomit.

"That settles it," said Kagami. "Tsukasa, you are totally in!"

"Yaaay!" said her twin sister, releasing her nose to bring her fists in front of her chest in one fluid motion.

"Rokuna, why don't you take a few lessons from her as long as we're going out," Kagami continued.

"Sorry about the way it turned out," said the brunette, looking down and blushing.

"Don't worry about me," said Ichirobei, who had taken some pork noodles for himself. "I've been eating stuff like this for years. Of course, this would be so much more lively if my wife hadn't left me and Rokuna."

"Now that you mention it, what did happen between you and-" asked Tadao, before Miyuki came back in. "Oh, Miyuki-chan. Were you alright?"

"I can't say that I was," she said. "In any case, that diary was certainly interesting, Hiiragi-hakase."

"I'm glad you liked it," said Ichirobei.

"I would love to bring it with me to read further, but my glasses broke last night," said Miyuki. "If only I had brought a spare pair with me," said Miyuki.

"Oh, you wear glasses?" asked Rokuna.

"A crow pecked at them on our way through the woods," said Miyuki. "I was really scared that it would peck my eyes out and blind me."

"I've got plenty of spares!" said Ichirobei, taking off the rectangular pair he was wearing. "Here, try these on."

"Thank you," said the pink-haired girl, before trying them on.

"Hmmm," said Konata. "That doesn't look moe at all."

"Hate to say it, but I actually agree with you for once," said Kagami.

"I guess you're right," said Miyuki, as she handed them back to Ichirobei. "Are these custom, by any chance?"

"Hmmm… I don't think they are. Sorry."

"Ever think of trying contact lenses?" asked Rokuna.

"She's afraid of those," said Konata. "She once paced around in front of the eye doctor's when she was supposed to get an eye exam, and ended up walking into the building sign before leaving. Talk about moe!"

"I see," said Rokuna. "Well, I should be able to fix any other pairs that break with Healing, along with any damage they might do to your eyes."

"Really?" said Miyuki. "That would be wonderful!"

"Why don't you call your mom to come bring you a pair?" asked Kagami. "I mean, mine did tell you to let her know where we're going."

"Oh, that's right! I forgot all about that," said Miyuki. Rokuna handed her her cell phone, and she dialed her home phone number. "Hello. Mother?"

"Why, hello, Miyuki," said her mother, Yukari. "Is anything the matter?"

"Well, I need you to come bring me a spare pair of glasses, if you're able to."

"Did something happen to the ones you were wearing?"

"Well..." She couldn't muster up the courage to tell her mother the full truth behind things just yet, considering how protective Tadao and Miki had become of their own daughters during the previous night's events. "We ended up sleeping over at a relative's house of Tsukasa-san and Kagami-san's. I somehow misplaced mine before going to bed, and now I can't remember where they are."

"Oh? Where are you?"

"Konata," said Kagami. "Maybe you should fill your dad in as well about our new journey. We didn't expect that we'd even be going on one."

Konata dialed her father up, and only a moment went by before he picked up.

"Konata," he said. "Is that you?"

"Hi, Dad! Just wanna let you know that we're about to go on a really dangerous adventure once we bring Yuu-chan back home!"

"Good luck out there! Make it back in one piece or else!"

Both her call and Miyuki's with Yukari ended, and the two of them turned around to fill the others in on stuff.

"Okay, Dad's cool with it," said Konata.

"My mother should stop by at any minute," said Miyuki.

"Did you tell her about where we're going?" asked Kagami. Miyuki hesitated for a moment, before answering.

"Umm, no. I'll be sure to when she gets here, though."

"How about if I fill her in for you instead, okay?" said Kagami, before turning to Rokuna. "Rokuna. It's safe to go back home, right?"

"At this point, I'd say it should be," said Rokuna.

"Thanks," said Kagami, before facing her sisters. "Say, I'm gonna need you to go back home with Mom and Dad to take care of Gyopi while we're gone. Okay?"

"How do we even know it's safe to go back?" asked Inori.

"Don't worry," said Rokuna, overhearing. "I'll come home with you, if that makes you feel safer. I'd love to see it for myself, too."

"I've never taken care of a goldfish before," said Matsuri. "Mind telling us what's involved?"

Simple," said Kagami. "Just one scoop of fish food each day. No more than that. Can't have him getting fatter than he already is. Also, if you see algae in the pond, make sure you clear it away. Got it?"

"Right," Inori and Matsuri both said.

"Well, guess I'll log onto my game just to say bye to everyone, if it's okay with Rokuna-san," said Konata.


Elsewhere sat a certain snaggletoothed blonde woman in front of her computer, reading something by her blue-haired student as she played the game in question.

"Psychic powers?" she said. "Adventure? Fighting aliens? And Hiiragi-san and Takara-san are in on this too?"