Nanako Kuroi sighed. Today had been boring. She thought back to the last class. Something seemed off about her student and partner.
Flashback
Kuroi walked the isle, glancing over student's looking, she reached out and bopped her favorite student on the head. "Izumi, do your work."
"Sensei, can you please check this?" The blue-haired student spoke out, and Kuroi's head snapped back at the words.
"Uhh.. Sure, Izumi.." Kuroi muttered, picking up the paper and running her eyes over it. These were.. notes.. about the lesson.
".. G-good job.. I, uhh, never expected you to actually pay attention in class! What's up, you trying to bribe me into giving you items in the game?"
"No, just.. making sure I know what I'm doing. It wouldn't do to fail high school.."
"Don't you copy off of Hiiragi anyways?"
".. I don't copy anymore.. I need to get by on my own power."
"Err, okay. If you say so.."
End Flashback
Something was definitely off. Izumi never tried in class. Kuroi sighed. As much as she hated the adorable otaku at times, she was like a sister to the blonde woman.
"Does she trust me? I know something's wrong, but this seems.. bigger."
/-/
Laughing, she grinned at the blue-haired otaku sitting across from her. Misao grabbed his hand, shaking it enthusiastically. "Haha, you're great to be around! You're so much fun compared to my family, don't tell them I said that."
Sojiro smiled, nodding. "Yes, all of Konata's friends call us an interesting family. The Hiiragi girls always asked to sleep over, just to get a feel for what it's like. Of course, Kagami is the only one who knows that feeli..ng.." His voice trailed off as he remembered who was sitting next to his guest.
"..Oh, don't worry.. I've gotten over that.. Kagami and I have made up." Attempting a smile, Konata knew it wasn't working. Sojiro said nothing.
Misao stared, confused by the suddenly tense atmosphere. "What is up with this family? This is getting awkward.. What should I do?"
"Oh yeah, Konata told me you guys play the same video games and watch the same shows and stuff! Are you one of those dads who matches your daughter perfectly?"
"Well, not perfectly, but we do share interests. Konata takes after me, haha!" Sojiro put a hand behind his head sheepishly. "A lot of people say that's a bad thing.."
Konata smiled, jumping enthusiastically on the change of topic. "No way, that's a good thing! I'm glad I can share so many pastimes with my dad. It symbolizes a special kind of relationship.. one that has infinite durability and can't be broken.." Her voice trailed off, her smile faded a little. "Unbreakable.. why wasn't it.." She smiled even wider, grabbing Misao's hand.
"Thanks for introducing yourself to my dad Misao, but let's go play games now! He gets creepy and stuff if you stay around him too long."
"O-okay.. Bye Izumi-san! I won't do anything to your daughter, I promise!" Misao gave him a thumbs up and a fanged smile as she disappeared up the stairs.
Sojiro sighed, looking at the stairs with a smile. "Oh, Konata.. you have such good friends.."
"I only hope they can help you out of this depression you've hidden so well.."
Konata opened the door to her room, almost pushing Misao in, who laughed and took the otaku with her, and they both landed on the floor in a fit of giggles.
Sitting up, Konata grinned, and nodded. "What do you think of my room? Messy, huh?"
Misao sat up, looking around with keen eyes. Konata's bed was opposite of the window. There were stacks of manga all over the room, figurines on top of almost every flat surface, a computer desk with more books on it, and a bookshelf filled with anime CDs was up against the wall. In one corner, there were lots of boxes and piles of stuff blocking the closet. Taking another look, she noticed something.
"It's.. cluttered.. but it's organized.."
"Mm, you noticed? Manga is organized by genre, my anime is organized alphabetically, and figures are put together by their those boxes in the corner are.." Konata explained everything to Misao, an excited gleam in her eye. "She actually cares about this stuff! The only other people who care are Hiyori, Patty, and my dad!"
Misao took it all in, an awed expression painted on her features. "Whoa, you really did this well! I've never seen someone organize all of their stuff.. My room is just a mess with piles of stuff in the corner, haha!" She grinned and winked at Konata. "Teach me sometime, Sensei! I could use some pointers."
"Yes, chibi-sensei will show you the ways!" Konata put her hands together, taking a stiff bow. The two giggled, and Konata looked at the brunette intently. "She has this aura that.. it feels so relaxed and playful, so inviting.."
"So, let's play a game! What kind of games do you play, by the way?"
"Meh.. I have a lot of stuff, so just pick something out." Konata waved dismissively, pointing at the collection of games. "I don't know if you think the same way, but my dad and I both enjoy playing the visual novels and dating simulators.. It's a bit weird, but-"
"Oh, really?! I've been wanting to get some of those, you'll have to show me later! For now, let's play some shooters."
Konata shrugged, picking through her collection of games. "You know, why does it feel like I'm the NPC in this dating sim?"
/-/
Misao mashed buttons on the controller, her tongue sticking out in concentration. As she played, she looked over at Konata, who was seemingly effortlessly tapping buttons, getting almost a flawless score.
"Whoaa, you're so good at this! You aren't even trying!" Misao stared, wowed by the display of skill by the bluenette.
"Ahaha, I'm not the best.. I just played with Kagami a lot, and she's really good at these games, better than me. I just try to keep up."
"Mmm." Misao agreed, looking back at the screen. For a couple minutes, they just sat in companionable silence, blowing up virtual enemies.
"So, what happened with you and Kagami?" Misao prompted casually without looking at her friend, knowing the chibi would never talk if she didn't push the subject.
Konata's cat-like smile that had been present throughout the gaming session disappeared. Her avatar died, but she didn't notice. Her eyes had lost their focus, and she looked at Misao with a smile, sadness etched in her eyes and on her lips. Misao was surprised. "There's that atmosphere again! I sense a tragic love story!"
"It's.. a long story.. you don't want to hear it.." Konata was about to change the subject, but Misao interrupted her.
"I do." Misao put her controller down, turning to face her blue-haired friend. She needed to hear this. Although she didn't make a big deal of it, she had noticed the changes in the behavior of her two friends.
"..."
"..."
".. Are you sure? It's.. sort of.. I don't want you to pity me or anything.." Konata mumbled, looking down at her lap. Misao scooted a little closer, reaching out with a hand and tilting Konata's chin up to look her in the eyes. She smiled encouragingly.
"Tell me. I'll listen. That's what friends are for, yaknow?"
"..." Konata took a deep breath. "Well, we were really close.. we thought that nothing would ever come between us.. I told her everything about my past, and she said that she would always be there to support me in the future.."
".. I ran away, it just hurt too much to hear her voice and to look at her, and I don't know why!" Konata shut her eyes, holding back tears, not wanting to cry in front of the brunette. "She hurt me and I was scared that she would do it again.. I want to be with her but I'm scared, it hurts too much.. I.. I.." Konata's voice caught in her throat, and she swallowed painfully.
"S-sorry.. I probably do sound really selfish.. Kagami probably feels terrible too, and all I'm doing is talking about how she hurt me.." Konata kept her eyes closed, because she knew when she opened them.. She wanted to cry, but she didn't want to. She had already cried enough.
She had cried into her best friend's arms.
She had cried into her dad's arms.
She had cried into her lover's arms.
She had cried, her own arms, alone in the darkness, with nobody to hold her and make her feel safe.
Misao could see how much the girl before her had cried. As much as she wanted to laugh or make a joke, she knew it wasn't the time. The chibikko needed someone to comfort her, not someone to play it off as unimportant.
She reached over, and put a hand on the girl's shoulder, a hand on her cheek. Raising the girl's head to eye level, she waited. And waited.
Konata reluctantly opened her eyes, and Misao saw the veil of tears covering those emerald irises. Konata looked away, flushed with embarrassment, but Misao put a hand on the girl's cheek and stopped her.
"Hey.. chibi..Let me be one of those people? I want to help, I want to be there for you when you need to cry, when you're happy, when you just want someone to talk to." Misao offered, in a serious tone of voice. Misao being serious was more uncommon than Sojiro's being serious, but this was important after all.
"B-but.. It hurts.. I don't want to drag you into this.. you'll just feel sorry for me..!" Konata muttered, leaning away and trying to avoid being sucked into those golden eyes. Misao grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. Saying nothing, she let Konata's head rest against her shoulder, touching the blue hair and the girl's fragile body.
Minutes passed as Konata shook in Misao's embrace, eventually hugging her back and starting to cry softly.
"Misao.. it hurts.. I feel like part of me is gone.." Sniffling, she took a breath and kept going. "I feel terrible and I want to make it up but I don't know how, it just hurts too much every time I look at her.."
"Hey.. do you still care about her? About Hiiragi?" Misao asked. She had to know..
"I.. I don't know.." Konata sobbed louder. "I want to love her but something hurts every time I think about her, it just.. I just.."
"Did I do the right thing.. Misao?"
"You tell me, chibi.. your heart has to be the one to say it."
Misao let the girl cry into her arms. "Did I do the right thing? Someone tell me.. Should I be doing this?"