NOTE: LUCKY STAR AND ALL RELATED CHARACTERS DO NOT BELONG TO ME AT ALL.
Well, here we are in January! NaNoWriMo was fabulously awesome. I won six days ahead of time and got a huge discount on Scrivener, which is a really amazing writing program. The end of the semester went well, the holidays went well, etc. and now I'm back with a new chapter. First, it's time for review responses!
First up is a series of comments by "Me."
Dude, dude, did Kagami have anything to do with Mama-Izumi's death? Is that what she's guilting over? Or did you make something up? Didn't Mrs. I die when Konata was little, though? Is Kagami a magical time traveler?
This is cool, man. A mite short, but well written and interesting.
Thank you. Kagami didn't have a hand in Kanata's death and no she isn't a magical time traveler, XD. I'm keeping with the fact that Kanata died when Konata was young, but in this story Konata would've been old enough to have a few vivid memories of her mother. That's about as much as I'm tweaking that part of canon.
Is Konata Haruhi? So the bad guys, or at least this one, are aiming to spice things up? Is Konata a device to bring chaos to this 'boring' world? Like the Rose Bride! You know, the power to bring about the world revolution and all that jazz.
No Suzumiya crossovers here, XD. It would be interesting to play with, but I'm not sure how well it would work. Konata has a unique way of looking at the world and that's what makes her interesting. Also, lol Utena.
Yay! I was right! Sorta. Make reality more like fiction, aye? Coolio. I like it! So Konata isn't a reality bender? She's the main character in the world story of their dreams? Kagami's trying to preserve reality, huh? Seems like something she'd do. Spoilsport.
Heheheh, again Konata is very interesting to them. As far as what Kagami's up to, whether it's good or bad depends on how you look at it.
Next up is Zombie Ryoko. Once again, I see what you did there and I'm amused.
Oi, wot's this then? More story? That's good, gooooood. I woulda been pissed if I died for no reason.
Don't worry. Your death ended up driving the plot more than I originally thought it would.
Ha! Seriously though, I'm really glad you found the comments useful. This is definitely turning into a very unusual story. I'm not sure if it's based on something I haven't seen or read, but that doesn't matter. You're doing a good job at laying the groundwork for this unique universe, so I don't feel like I'm missing anything.
Have you ever read 20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa? I'm very loosely drawing some elements from that into this story. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend you do. It's easily the best manga series I've read to date. I'm glad things are making sense, though.
I wonder if Kagami will be able to keep her distance from Konata. I'm guessing that order won't last two seconds once she's back in the field. Especially given the interest Jinakate has taken in the blue-haired one. And of course her own interest in Konata. Which is in no small way directly related to my own interest. So I guess that means things are getting interesting. Heh heh, sorry that was weak.
Yeah, the whole keeping the distance thing isn't gonna work out too well for her. The relationship between those two in general is very interesting and it's something I wanted to explore, but there won't be any romance. I'm gonna try to play with a slightly different angle.
And so... I suppose all will be revealed in time. And by that I mean a lot of time. (Ah well, at least it won't be years from now).
Well, here's some more stuff for you right now, XD.
Kagami had to fight with all her strength to stay awake through her morning classes the next day. Although the meeting didn't run too late, she had trouble falling asleep afterword. She couldn't shake the feeling that everyone in Ginsaki was doubting her or treating her like a child just because of Konata. She was Ginsaki's best agent for crying out loud, so why were they all worried about her? She got a minor hit the other day-so what? If the same thing happened to Kuroi-sensei, no one would get on her case.
And they were never this concerned about Asahina Ryoko. Then again, the two of them were basically an unstoppable team. The fight against Jinakate was going so well up until her death. Now, it was like everyone took a thousand steps back and entered crisis mode. Sure, Ryoko's death jolted them all, but Kagami knew how to look out for herself and how to look out for the people she needed to protect.
Of course, she couldn't be everywhere at once. That was impossible. Kagami stared at the blank lines in her notebook, her vision blurry and her eyes suddenly hot. Damn it, Ryoko, she thought and bit her lower lip in an attempt to gain control over herself. They got us good, didn't they? Splitting us up like that-two different targets at the same time. I was too late.
The lunch bell rang and Kagami jumped out of her seat, her heart racing and her thoughts yanked back to reality. School wasn't the place to think about this stuff. With a sigh, she took her lunch out of her bag and headed over to Konata and Tsukasa's classroom.
"Kagami," said Kuroi-sensei as Kagami walked passed her, "tonight. Seven o'clock. Headquarters."
"Got it," said Kagami and went to join Konata and the others.
"Kagami would know about it," said Konata with a cheeky smile.
"Know about what?" said Kagami, grumbling as she sat down.
"Being alone at night and wishing you had a nice, attractive man to cuddle with in bed."
Kagami blushed. "What the hell do you guys talk about when I'm not around? And what makes you think I'm like that?"
Konata ignored her and turned her attention to Tsukasa. "You're the little sister. What have you heard?"
"Heard?" said Tsukasa, her voice quivering slightly. "Um, well, I don't know what you mean. . ."
"Cries of loneliness? Midnight calls to the local radio station? Cursing her luck for her bad wife skills?"
"Wife skills?" Kagami shouted.
Konata ignored her again. "I guess she got all the brains and you got all the sweetness," she said with a sigh. "It's a shame. I think Kagami could get a pretty high level in wife skills if she tried."
"Would you stop talking about me like I'm not here?"
Konata finally looked at Kagami and smiled. "Aw, don't worry. I can teach you everything I know about being a good wife and cooking food properly."
"Oh really?" Kagami said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, maybe I should come over to your house sometime and spend the night."
"Sure, just not tonight. I'm busy."
"Busy?" said Konata, her sly grin returning to her face. "Is it a date?"
"Not even close," said Kagami, looking away from her.
"We could have girl time and talk about all the boys you like."
Kagami glared at her. "Why do you insist on saying things like that? I don't like anyone right now."
"Hey, I'll bet your mom knows a lot about guy stuff. We can ask her."
"Huh? Konata, what's up with you talking like this suddenly? Is it in some anime you're watching?"
"No. It's nothing really. I just feel like it, I guess," said Konata and bit into a chocolate coronet.
The three of them ate in silence for a few minutes, but Kagami felt a little uneasy. Konata was definitely off today and she couldn't figure out why. Was there someone she liked? Maybe someone left her a love letter in her shoe locker or something and she wanted advice, but if that were the case why didn't she just say so? Maybe whatever was on her mind was something else entirely.
Kagami was about to ask her when the fire alarm rang.
She jumped out of her seat and looked at Kuroi-sensei, who raised her eyebrows slightly in a way that said "Calm down and act normally." The other students were startled, but immediately set themselves to leaving the classroom in an orderly fashion. Kagami was determined to stay with Konata, and just in case she switched on her Detector's eye cameras as they left the room.
"Who would pull the fire alarm during lunch? Worst timing ever," said Konata with a sigh.
"What if it's a real fire?" said Tsukasa.
"Couldn't be. The circumstances aren't right?"
"Circumstances?" said Kagami, pausing from her task of glancing everywhere so Ginsaki's tech team could possibly find something and looking directly at Konata.
"Well yeah. You know how in anime and games and stuff there's always some kind of rough political climate or something that makes the main character have to go on a quest? There's nothing like that happening right now, so false alarm."
Kagami stared at her with her mouth slightly open. That's it, she thought. That's gotta be it. She's seen right through this without knowing anything. If she did-if I told her-
"Whatcha lookin' at, Kagami?" said Konata with a short giggle.
"Don't make that face at me in the middle of a fire drill!"
"Ah! You know, this is a good chance for people to run off and find their crushes from other classes and confess to them."
Kagami rolled her eyes and faced forward again. She need to focus on scanning every passing corner and classroom for anything out of place, or better yet anyone who wasn't trying to leave. Of course, she didn't expect Jinakate agents to be that obvious, but she wasn't about to let her guard down just because she was at school. Even if this incident was a false alarm or completely unrelated, Jinakate could and would use it to their advantage somehow.
Two minutes later, they were out of the building and followed the massive crowd across the street. Kagami looked behind her and saw smoke rising into the air. She took a deep breath, reached for the pen in her skirt pocket, and tried to locate Kuroi-sensei. She was only a few feet ahead of them, but Kagami saw her turn around and notice the smoke. An uneasy look swept across her face for a second, but she showed no other signs of reaction.
Then came a deafening explosion. Kagami felt the heat against her back and screams filled the air as people fled. She used the scattered crowd to slip away from Konata and the others to meet up with Kuroi-sensei.
"We have to go back there," said Kagami. "It's definitely them."
"My Detector isn't picking anything up."
"They could be using another decoy."
"Okay, but before we go back we should search the surrounding area for any hiding places. If it really is them, they'll be coming here soon enough to save the day."
"Fine. Let's split up and meet at the gates in ten minutes. Do you have your eye cameras on?"
"Always."
"Okay then, good luck."
They ran off in opposite directions. Kagami took her pen out, clicked it, and tossed it in the air. She caught it as a gun and spun it in her hand once before gripping it firmly. The problem with finding remote bomber hiding spots in a city was that any room in any building within view of the school was a viable option, and that was assuming someone had pushed a button some distance away or that the bomb was planted only a couple hours ago. Plus, they were only doing a quick scan, not a thorough search.
Kagami stopped running a block away from school and took out her Detector. The screen pulsed blue at a normal pace and no red dots appeared indicating Jinakate agents. In the bottom left corner, a yellow dot floated down a narrow alley and then slowed. It was Kuroi-sensei and it looked like she found something. Kagami kept an eye on her and pressed a green button. The screen zoomed out, increasing the Detector's range to a three kilometer radius. Its pulse increased and Kagami saw a couple red dots on the very edge of her map, but they weren't moving. There was nothing in her immediate area, so she relaxed and watched Kuroi-sensei as she made her way back to the school gates. She was stopped in that alley; she found something for sure. Just as Kagami reached into her pocket to pull out her cell phone, it rang.
"Hello?"
"Sis? Where are you?"
Kagami sighed in relief. Tsukasa was safe and Konata was probably with her.
"I'm a block away from the school. Don't worry about me. I'm okay. Where are you?"
"Everyone's heading home now and we're going to the train station. Do you want us to-"
There was a series of clicking sounds and grunts as something on the other end made Tsukasa struggle.
"Hey, Tsukasa? Tsukasa?" Kagami said quickly.
"Yo, Kagamin."
Kagami rolled her eyes. "Konata, what are you doing? Put Tsukasa back on the phone."
"So, why'd you suddenly disappear like that?"
"I had stuff to do and I still have stuff to do. You guys are safe and that's all that matters."
"Mmm, I'll bet the explosion made you hungry so you ran off to a sweets shop."
"I did not!" Kagami instinctively turned around and her face fell. The store she happened to be standing in front of was a local bakery with beautiful cakes sitting in the window display.
Konata laughed. "I know that silence. You're standing right in front of one, aren't you?"
"Shut up! Look, did anyone come after you?"
"Huh? No."
"Did you see anyone who looked a little out of place?"
"Hmm, well there was some guy in a fancy suit and sunglasses who walked by here. He kinda gave me this look like he knew who I was, but I've never seen him before."
Kagami tensed, but kept her voice calm. "Okay. Don't worry about waiting up for me. Just get home as soon as you can."
"Okay," Konata said softly and was then silent for a few moments. "When can we have that sleepover?"
Kagami smiled. "Is tomorrow night okay?"
"Yeah. I'll talk to you later."
"Bye."
Kagami hung up and sighed as she dialed Kuroi-sensei's number. Something was definitely bothering Konata and it made Kagami feel uneasy.
"Kagami, get down here quick," said Kuroi-sensei when she answered the phone. "I've got a kid here with a detonator."
"Got it," Kagami said and slammed her phone shut.
A few minutes later, she reached the alley and saw Kuroi-sensei standing over a boy with black hair and eyes that made him look like he wasn't all there. He was wearing a Ryouou High uniform and Kagami immediately recognized him.
"Nakamura Shoji," she said quietly. He looked at her with blank eyes and a wide grin. No, he definitely wasn't all there, but it didn't surprise her.
"Oh, you know who he is?" said Kuroi-sensei. "Good because I've been trying to get him to tell me his name. Nakamura Shoji. . ." She sighed heavily.
"They. . .they said-they said if I pushed. . .if I pushed the button, Ryoko would. . .come back," he said.
"That's all he's been saying," said Kuroi-sensei.
"Ryoko was his girlfriend. They must've taken advantage of that somehow. There's no way he would've done this on his own."
"Well, we can't just leave him here, so let's take him back to the school with us and figure out a way to get him home."
They each took one of Shoji's arms and lifted him to his feet. The whole way back to school, he mumbled the same phrases repeatedly as though he were talking in his sleep.
Only half the building remained. Debris fluttered everywhere in the wind and dark smoke seeped into the sky. A few small areas were still on fire, but nothing spread.
"So I guess we won't be coming back to school for awhile," said Kagami.
"Doesn't look like it," said Kuroi-sensei.
Suddenly, Kagami's Detector pulsed and beeped rapidly. She spun around and saw Yasunobu Ichiro with a few other Jinakate agents run in through the gates, guns pointing at them.
"Drop the boy!" he said.
Kagami and Kuroi-sensei released Shoji and he slumped to the ground with his head titled toward the sky.
"The sky is. . .purple. So much. . .better. . ."
"So, you've returned to the scene of the crime with the victim in hand!" said Ichiro.
Kagami glared and pointed her gun at him. "What the hell are you talking about?" she said in a low voice.
"You brainwashed this boy into bombing the school Asahina Ryoko attended! The fire was a distraction to get everyone out of the building!"
"Why trick someone when we could've had our own people do it?" said Kuroi-sensei. "This is the worst framing job I've ever seen."
"Is it framing, or is it fact?" said Ichiro, lowering his weapon and motioning for the others to do the same. "Let's ask the victim himself." He approached Shoji slowly, stooped down, and gently tugged Shoji's head down until they locked eyes. "Nakamura Shoji, correct?"
"Yes."
"You were in love with Asahina Ryoko, correct?"
"Yes."
"It was very sad when she died, correct?"
"Yes."
"So what happened today?"
"They told me if I pushed the button, Ryoko would come back."
"I see." Ichiro stood up and smiled at Kagami and Kuroi-sensei. "Well, there you have it."
"Please, framing Ginsaki like this won't work," said Kagami. "You can't prove it was us, especially since we all know it was you."
Ichiro turned to his fellow agents and they all laughed uncontrollably. When he finally faced Kagami and Kuroi-sensei again, he wiped tears from his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "That was a marvelous joke! You Ginsaki agents have a good sense of humor, I'll give you that much. No one said anything about framing Ginsaki except for you. All we really know is that somebody is responsible for using this boy and it just so happens that this incident is connected to Asahina Ryoko's death. Japan has a big enemy it doesn't know about yet now doesn't it?"
Kagami was silent. There was nothing she or Kuroi-sensei could say against that because they didn't have any proof either.
"I'm sorry to cut this meeting short, but we must report these findings to the police. Farewell!" With that, Ichiro and his fellow agents took off running.
"Damn it," said Kuroi-sensei. "What now?"
Kagami sighed. "We leave Shoji here and go home. The police will find him when they come to investigate and see that he's sick. They'll take him to the hospital and that'll be that. If we're caught hanging around here, then we'll really be in trouble."
"Sounds good."
"I'll be waiting for you at headquarters tonight. We have to get those plans back as soon as possible."
Kuroi-sensei nodded and they fled the scene. Once Kagami was a favorable distance from the school, she slowed to a walk and headed for the train station. In the distance, she could hear the blaring sirens on the emergency vehicles as they rushed toward what was left of Ryouou High School.
And there you have it! The next chapter will involve the aforementioned mission to reclaim stolen property. Although it may be awhile between updates, don't worry about me suddenly dropping this story. I think I said this before, but I have a cycle of projects that I work on one chapter at a time until something's finished. I doubt I'll be able to get another chapter finished by the time spring semester starts, but we'll see.
Later folks,
-Rushia