I wanted to comment before this chapter that the depiction of firearms in this story are as accurate as possible. It is legal to own a firearm in Japan, but the purchase and ownership of one involves a great deal of paperwork and police involvement in the process. I wanted to mention that before I got all kinds of comments about how the characters in the story wouldn't be able to get their weapons, or how there are no guns in Japan.

I mention a few firearms in this chapter, and for those who are unfamiliar with such things (I am an avid hunter and shooter), I will clarify. A SPAS12 is an Italian-made pump/semiauto shotgun often used for police applications. An MP5 is a 9mm submachine gun often depicted in videogames and movies. An Arisaka is a 7.7X58mm bolt action rifle used by Japan in WW2. The "American-made shotgun" I mention, I meant to be a mossberg 500 12 gauge.

That said, in this chapter I really begin to introduce all of the characters, and draw the contrasts between the cheerful, comedic nature of the Lucky Star cast, and the darker, more ominous presence of the Terminator-verse characters. The darkness of the future begins to permeate the girls' lives here, and I tried to write this in such a way as to give the metaphorical image of storm clouds gathering on the horizon. Please review and tell me what you think.

The large man, now clad in his biker clothes, stepped out his stolen car and walked into the small sporting goods store on the outskirts of town, pushing rudely past a man exiting. He walked to the case at the rear of the shop, and stared intently at the rifles inside.

"Welcome to Outdoor Sports." The owner said, walking behind the counter. He looked at the customer's clothes a moment. "What can I help you with?"

"I want the Arisaka bolt action rifle." The man replied. The shop-keep opened the cabinet's glass door, and took out the World War 2-era rifle, and laid it on the counter for the customer to look at. The man immediately picked it up and worked the action. He shouldered the rifle, and aimed it at the wall to test the accuracy of the weapon's sights. He placed the rifle down on the counter. "Negative."

"Well...anything else?" The owner asked.

"I require more superior weaponry. You have weapons in this store for law enforcement officials." The man stated. It wasn't a question.

"Well…yes." The owner replied.

"Where do you keep them?" The man asked in his robotic voice. The owner was becoming uneasy.

"Um…in the back room." He said. "Why?" The man walked past the counter, and easily pushed open a locked door.

"You…you can't go back there!" The owner called, and followed the man into the back room. The customer was already in the process of loading a SPAS 12 shotgun. He sat the gun on a table, and picked up an MP5. "I'm going to call the police if you don't leave right now!" The man slowly loaded a 30 round magazine of 9mm rounds into the MP5. He drew back the bolt, and turned to the owner. He squeezed the trigger

…..

The man in the trench coat stood at the payphone. He looked around a few times before opening the phone book. He flipped through the pages until he reached the one he was looking for. He ran his finger down the list of names, stopping on three listings, all with the surname 'Izume'. He looked around again, and tore the page from the book. He folded it and stuck it into the pocket of his coat. He then walked quickly down the street.

He stopped when he saw red and blue lights flashing ahead. Several police cars and an ambulance were parked around a store. Police officers wearing riot gear were hauling two young men out of the business. The dark-haired stranger pulled the collar of his long gray coat up, and walked around the back of the police cars. A black sedan with blue lights in the windshield afforded him the opportunity he'd been waiting for. He knew from his training that police officers in Japan were unarmed save for batons, but the Special Police Units had firearms. He saw in the car the comforting shape of a long firearm resting upright between the front seats. He quickly opened the driver's side door, and pulled the American-made 12 gauge shotgun out, stuffing it underneath his coat. He quickly disappeared into an alley. Now, he just needed a car…

….

On the other side of the city, the man in the biker clothes walked to the front door of a small house. The address matched the number given in the phone book for the first Izume listed. He looked around slowly, studying the area through dark sunglasses, before knocking three times on the door. A young woman opened the door. She looked at the visitor a moment, trying to remember if she knew him or not.

"Can I…help you?" She asked.

"Are you…Izume?" The man asked.

"Yes….I'm Matsuri Izume." She replied. "What is this about?" The man violently shoved the door wide open. The young woman gasped, and stumbled backwards a few steps. The man drew a black handgun from inside his leather jacket. "Wha…wh…what are you doing…." Matsuri Izume stammered in fear. The pistol fired, the bullet striking the woman in the chest. She whimpered and fell to the floor. The man calmly and methodically aimed the pistol and fired four more rounds into the woman's body.

"Terminated." The man stated. He turned and walked back to his car.

The girls sat outside, eating their lunch. It was such a warm, sunny day, they didn't want to waste it inside the school. Kagame was listening to a small radio through one earbud as she sipped her clear soda.

"So, you guys looking forward to the anime convention next week?" Konata asked. "I mean, you guys are going, right?"

"Fat chance." Kagame said. "We're not as obsessed with dressing up in cosplay outfits to spend the day with a hundred other otakus as you." Konata just smiled.

"But you'd look so cute in a To Heart outfit." Konata said.

"Hey, you already bought Tsukasa one of those outfits, but you're not playing dress-up with me!" Kagami exclaimed.

"That reminds me, are you going to wear the cosplay outfit I got you to the amine con, Tsukasa?" Konata asked.

"Um…I never thought about it." Tsukasa admitted. "It would give me someplace to wear it…"

"Hey, Konata!" Kagame called. "You know a Matsuri Izume?"

"No…why?" Konata replied.

"Here, listen!" Kagame said, holding out an earbud to Konata. Konata held it to her ear. Miyuki and Tsukasa leaned in to listen as well.

"Again, Matsuri Izume, 26 has been shot to death in her home by an unidentified assailant. Police detectives are working on the case…" The news reporter said.

"Hm. No one I know." Konata said. "Weird coincidence on the name, though. I didn't know there were more Izume's in the city."

"Well…it's really sad, but I'm glad it's no one you were close to." Tsukasa said. Konata thought for a moment about the strange man who had been looking at her on her way to school. Was it just a coincidence?

The girls walked home from school, talking about how remote control batteries seem to die at the most inopportune times. Konata kept looking around. She felt uneasy, but couldn't conceive of why. She felt an odd sense of danger, like butterflies in her stomach, but there was no reason for the apprehension that she could see.

"I gotta work at the cosplay café for a couple hours." Konata said. "I'm doing a little overtime to buy a new manga series that just came out."

"Konata…" Kagami sighed. "You'd work yourself to death for your anime and manga, wouldn't you?" Konata smiled.

"It's good to have something to work toward, a goal like the peak of a mountain you keep climbing toward, and if it's a really, really hard climb, you feel really good when you've reached the top. If it's something easy, there's really no point to doing it. Once you've achieved your goal, you feel like you've just wasted a bunch of time and energy for no reason."

"You know, that makes perfect sense…" Miyuki said, thinking. "It's very philosophical, Kona-chan."

"Wait!" Kagami exclaimed. "How can you talk about buying manga like you're climbing Mount Fuji or something?" Everyone except Kagami giggled.

"Okay, I'll see you guys tomorrow." Konata said with a wave. They said their goodbyes, and Konata walked toward the café where she worked. She again got the feeling she was being watched. There were many people on the sidewalks around her, but she didn't see anyone out of the ordinary, and she didn't see the man in the trench coat watching her from behind a dumpster.