Tsukasa's Lucky Star
Chapter 4
Tsukasa walked through the front door after running all the way back from the station after returning from her escapade with Konata at the arcade. Her frog toy in her bag, She slipped off her school shoes before quietly wandering over into the kitchen to find her older sisters Matsuri and Inori preparing the dinner.
''There you are Tsukasa. Could you peel the potatoes for me?'' smiled Inori who was happy to see her happy and cheerful sister with her usual smile on her face. Tsukasa's smile could cheer anyone up and that's exactly what Inori wanted to do right now.
''Sure, I'd be happy to help'' smiled Tsukasa
''Well, you look a lot better all of a sudden'' laughed Matsuri ''But then again, If Kagami had chucked a pillow at my head, I wouldn't be all smiles and sunshine either'' she giggled
''Huh? What did sis do?'' asked a concerned Tsukasa
''It's nothing Tsukasa,don't worry about it'' said Inori
The three sisters spent the next half an hour preparing the evening meal. Tsukasa looked at Inori and who could by looking into her eyes that all was not well, had Kagami hurt her?
''Inori and Kagami have never fallen out before, and I mean ever! Their both almost as close as I am with Kagami'' thought Tsukasa as she peeled potatoes.
''Where is Kagami by the way?'' asked Tsukasa ''I haven't seen her since this morning''
''Sulking in her room'' replied Matsuri ''She's been up there since she got back''
Usually Kagami would have been in the kitchen as well or in the living room, reading one of her novels but today she was sulking on her bed, squeezing her purple pillow tight. She thought that Matsuri or Tsukasa would check on her and see if she was alright but noone came until Matsuri eventually called her down for dinner. For a minute, Kagami didn't move at all,she didn't feel like moving right now, she thought about not going down and starving herself for the evening but eventually made her way down to the kitchen.
''There you are'' said Matsuri ''I called you ages ago''
''Yeah whatever'' muttered Kagami as she sat down
Tsukasa, Matsuri and Inori looked at Kagami with worried looks on their faces as Kagami stared down at her meal. The uncaring Indigo eyes stared through her food as she was determined to not look into anyone's eyes and not draw attention to herself.
''Sooo...have a good day at school today?'' asked Inori who was hoping to break the silence that had fallen onto the dinner table
''Oh, I tried my hardest in Mathematics but I just couldn't do it today'' giggled Tsukasa as she slurped some noodles of her chopsticks before doing a sigh of satisfaction
''I was never any good at Maths either Tsukasa so don't worry about it'' laughed Matsuri ''You probably got that from me and Inori''
''Don't tell her that!'' moaned Kagami ''She'll think that failing Maths is no big deal with that kind of advice''
''Jeez Kagami, I was only trying to make her feel better, maybe I should try with you instead'' replied Matsuri
''Come on you two!'' said Inori ''Don't ruin the meal''
''I'm not trying too but where does she get off by coming home, throwing objects at you and having a face like thunder on!''
''It's none of your business!'' yelled Kagami
''She's only trying to help you Kagami'' said Inori who felt that the situation was getting out of hand
''Well don't bother! I'm not interested in advice from someone who barely made it through her final high school exams and is this close to dropping out of college!'' said Kagami who quickly realized that she had hit a sore spot on Matsuri
''You...you little bitch!'' yelled Matsuri as she threw her chair back, walked over to Kagami and grabbed her by the throat.
''Stop it Matsuri!'' begged Inori as she tried to pull her off of Kagami but the rage in Matsuri wasn't going away, she wasn't going to let her get away with that insult.
''I might have struggled at school but at least I was happy! Can you say that?'' said Matsuri
Kagami grabbed Matsuri's throat and pressed on it as hard as she could.
''Let go of her!'' begged Inori as she struggled to break the two of them up
Tsukasa felt terrified, watching her family trying to suffocate each other over a couple of stupid remarks. She had to do something and fast.
''This isn't happening...it can't be''thought Tsukasa who wished that she was dreaming, that she had fallen asleep in the living room but she wasn't. She closed her eyes tight and took a deep breath.
''Your always making fun of me and calling me miserable!'' yelled Kagami
''Well your always looking down on people and thinking that your better then everyone, even Konata'' yelled Matsuri as Kagami's hand squeezed her oesophagus harder ''She has a hobby and you immediately disapprove of it''
''Oh shut up! You make fun of my light novels!''
''Well your always borrowing my clothes!'' yelled Matsuri
''Because you never return the ones you borrow from me!'' replied Kagami ''I gave you my favourite one last month and I found it covered in chocolate yesterday!''
''Knock it off, your both acting like small children!'' yelled Inori
''SHUT UP! JUST STOP IT ALREADY!'' yelled Tsukasa as loudly as she could
Matsuri and Kagami both turned to face their tearful and clearly upset sister Tsukasa who was now stood up and clenching her fists tightly. The anger that Tsukasa had felt earlier in the day had come back but was greater then ever now, she was fed up of their pointless arguments, and was fed up of Kagami's latest mood swing towards Konata and herself.
''Why can't we just have a nice evening?'' asked Tsukasa who was now crying ''Why do you two always have to end up arguing at the dinner table or when we all watch television together!''
''Tsukasa...I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking properly'' apologized Matsuri who quickly let go of Kagami's throat ''I didn't mean to make you upset''
''And you Kagami! You've had that grumpy face on all day! Just because of yet another fallout with Konata, and then you have the nerve to tell me to stay away from her because your having problems with her!'' yelled Tsukasa ''Well guess what, NO! I will stay as her friend, she's kind and she respects me as a human being''
''You told Tsukasa that she couldn't be friends with Konata?'' said Inori
Kagami wasn't sure what to say, she felt like Tsukasa was slipping away more and more every day. The shy and easily intimidated Tsukasa was disappearing and a more confident and brave Tsukasa was replacing her.
''But...Tsukasa, I-
''But nothing, you've always told me what was best for me, ever since we were in nursery, you even stopped that boy who liked me from speaking to me!'' cried Tsukasa
Matsuri and Inori decided to back off and give them some space, they had never seen this side of Tsukasa before.
''She's standing up for herself'' thought Matsuri
''Tsukasa, you don't understand how bad Konata really is!'' moaned Kagami ''Why can't you understand?''
''Do you honestly have any idea how I felt when I was always left out of the conversations we had at school? Everyday you would talk with Kona-chan and Miyuki and I would drift into the background every time. That really hurt me sis, you always had to be the centre of attention'' sobbed Tsukasa
''That's not true! You were always a part of the group, I always tried to include you but your a shy girl Tsukasa, you need someone to be their for you and I'm telling you, Konata will drag you down to her level''
''Your only saying that because you found out what Konata is, aren't you?'' said Tsukasa
''Tsukasa! Don't say it!'' yelled Kagami
''Why?, are you ashamed of Konata now? Is she inferior to you because she has different fancies to you?''
Matsuri and Inori weren't sure what Tsukasa was on about at all.
''Different fancies? What do you mean by that sis?'' asked Inori
''Tsukasa!'' said a stern Kagami ''I'm warning you, If you tell them then we're finished''
''Stop bossing her around'' yelled Matsuri ''Go ahead Tsukasa''
Tsukasa needed to think about it, the look on Kagami's face told her that Kagami was being serious, her twin meant every word.
''Finished? no...I don't want that... I need Kagami, I have no choice...I'm sorry you two but she's my twin and we share a close bond with each other ''
''It's just their usual bickering about Anime and Light Novels'' sighed Tsukasa ''That's all'' Tsukasa wiped some tears from her eyes.
''Are you sure Tsukasa?'' asked Matsuri ''Your telling us the truth?''
Tsukasa slowly nodded her head, then closed her eyes tight and felt an instant regret for lying to her sisters. Tsukasa hated to lie to anyone about anything but she had no choice, Kagami was threatening her and she didn't want to lose her sister's love, after everything they had done together over the years, she couldn't possibly imagine life without Kagami in it.
''Alright Tsukasa, we believe you, right Matsuri?'' said Inori
''Yeah, it's alright sis'' smiled Matsuri ''It's just Kagami being normal''
''Oh, shut up!'' yelled Kagami before storming off to her room
''What is it with that girl?'' moaned Matsuri ''She can never tell someone if she has a problem without yelling''
''Leave it Matsuri, now is not the time'' muttered Inori
''I'll go and talk to her'' said Tsukasa
''I don't think that's a good idea sis'' said Inori ''She's in a foul mood, much worse then usual''
''I know but I can't just let her beat herself up'' moaned Tsukasa ''She needs someone to talk to''
''But still, what could you possibly say to her that would cheer her up?'' asked Matsuri
''Umm, well let's just say it's between me and her'' said a shy Tsukasa
''What? So you can't tell us-''
''Matsuri, If that's what Tsukasa wants, then we need to respect her decision, I trust her'' said Inori
''Oh, alright!'' moaned Matsuri ''I trust her too''
''Thanks you two'' smiled Tsukasa who felt better, knowing that Inori and Matsuri were behind her and believed in her. Tsukasa headed up the stairs, to comfort and hopefully stop Kagami's temper from getting any worse but as she reached the top, a thought ran through her head, it was something that Tsukasa hadn't even considered up to this point.
''Wait a minute! Sis turned down Konata but her emotions have been all over the place since... If she really did hate Konata, surely she wouldn't lose any sleep over it...but she has,could...could sis actually like girls herself?'' thought Tsukasa ''Does Kagami...like girls but can't accept herself?''
Tsukasa couldn't believe that she hadn't even considered that possibility in the first place, she thought that it explained why Kagami wanted to spend so much time with Konata in the first place when she was always complaining and saying bad things about her almost every day, yet she did all kinds of favours for her, It made sense to Tsukasa now.
''I have to ask her...but I could not mention it and leave things the way they are...No I have to know, Kagami needs me by her side, to support her in her hour of need'' thought Tsukasa who was desperate to have her sister back to her old ways which in truth wasn't much different to the way things were now but at least Kagami never yelled at her or threatened her.
''Is not being Konata's friend mean that much to her that she would stop calling me her sister?'' thought Tsukasa as she reached Kagami's bedroom door. Taking a deep breath, she slided open Kagami's door. She wasn't on her bed this time, Kagami was curled up in the corner of her room, facing the wall and wrapped around her pillow.
''Ummm...Heya sis, can I come in please?'' asked a nervous Tsukasa
Tsukasa saw Kagami slightly nod her head, giving her the motion to enter her room.
''What is it?'' muttered Kagami. She didn't turn to face her sister but acknowledged that she was in the room with her.
''I think that we need to talk''
''Talk? What do we need to talk about?'' muttered Kagami
''Oh please stop it!'' moaned Tsukasa ''I don't like it when you get all grumpy and hide away from us''
''You don't understand Tsukasa!'' moaned Kagami who had now gotten to her feet, she now knew that Tsukasa wasn't going to drop the subject and let it be forgotten.
''Yes I do! I know exactly why your in a mood sis. Konata tells you her true feelings towards you and you rejected her but ever since, your mood has gotten worse and worse!'' shouted Tsukasa ''I'm worried about you sis''
''Yeah, well don't be Tsukasa...this is something that can't just disappear over night'' moaned Kagami
''Then let me in Kagami! We're twins, we can tell each other everything can't we?'' said Tsukasa
''Listen, I don't want to fall out with you Tsukasa but it's difficult to be around you at school when your...
''With Konata'' said Tsukasa, finishing her sisters sentence for her ''Can't you talk to her?''
''No...I...I just can't, she'll try to hit on me or something stupid'' complained Kagami
''Sis, I'm going to ask you something...please don't get mad at me, you can trust me with anything''
''Well...ok Tsukasa, since it's you'' smiled Kagami. That was the first time for a week that Tsukasa had seen her sister smile and it just made her feel even more nervous.
''What if I'm wrong, what if Kagami isn't a...lesbian? I can't accuse her of something without enough evidence...I can't do it right now''
''Can we sit next to each other on the bed?'' asked Tsukasa
''Of course''
The two girls sat down on the bed, Tsukasa was happy that Kagami was talking to her and smiling, she felt like everything was back to normal.
''I want you to try and speak with Konata, Kagami'' said Tsukasa ''I know your having your problems with her but If you tell her why you said no, then you can be friends again, I'd really like that'' smiled Tsukasa
''It's...It's not that I haven't thought about it Tsukasa but in the time I haven't spoken to her, I've done all my work without her bugging me and I'm free from her constant babbling on Anime and Manga'' said Kagami
''But...are you happy?'' asked Tsukasa ''Have you been happy since your fall out?''
''I...I...well I...oh Tsukasa'' sobbed Kagami. Tears dripped down her red cheeks and onto her school uniform
''Huh? Sis, why are you crying?'' asked a surprised Tsukasa ''What's wrong? Please don't cry''
''I can't do it! I can't talk to her, not alone!'' cried Kagami into her sisters arms ''Please, help me!''
Tsukasa was still with silence, she had never seen her sister like this, Kagami had always been a closed book but that book had now been opened and it's contents were pouring all over the place.
''If I go with you, then will you speak to her?'' asked Tsukasa ''I'll be there for you sis''
''Don't tell anyone you saw me cry'' sobbed Kagami
''Theirs nothing wrong with letting your emotions out Kagami'' giggled Tsukasa ''In fact, I think a good cry is good for you''
''You also can't let Mom and Dad know that Konata is... a les...bian'' stuttered Kagami as she struggled to say the word
''But...what about you'' said Tsukasa who then instantly regretted what she had just said.
''What do you mean by that Tsukasa?'' asked Kagami who stared at her sister vaguely
''Well, don't take it wrong or anything but you've been so upset about Konata and I can only think of one reason'' admitted Tsukasa
''Tsukasa, how...how could you of all people think that of me!'' said Kagami as her smile had vanished and her teeth started to grind and her face went dark red
''Kagami! It's ok...I happily accept you for it but you can't accept it can you'' said Tsukasa ''That's why you can't face Konata because you have feelings for her but can't admit it'' said Tsukasa
''Tsukasa, you had better leave, now!'' yelled Kagami ''Before you say something else that's wrong and regret''
''Huh? What?'' said Tsukasa ''But, I thought you would be able to tell me''
''How could you! I am not a lesbian!'' yelled Kagami ''I thought you said you understood my emotions and would be by my side''
''But...but if your not then why have you been so upset for the past few weeks?'' asked a confused Tsukasa
''BECAUSE! I THINK THAT YOUR A LESBIAN!'' yelled Kagami before putting her hands over her mouth after realising the volume of her voice for that particular moment
Tsukasa didn't know what to say, her head was now all over the place, thoughts of Konata ran through her head. She knew that she had deep feelings for Konata but...did she actually love her?
''I...I...-
''You...you really are!'' said Kagami ''You love Konata don't you?'' said Kagami
Tsukasa just thought about getting away from her sister, she ran out of her room, down the hallway and into her bed room before tossing herself into her bed and digging under her pillow, a river a tears streaming down her cheeks.
''She hates me! She can't accept me!'' thought Tsukasa
A few minutes passed by and Tsukasa's pillow was soaked with sad tears, she felt like her world had ended, that her Lucky Star had gone and she had fallen back to standing in the crowd.
''Tsukasa!'' yelled Kagami as she knocked on her bedroom door ''Please!''
''Go away!'' yelled Tsukasa ''I don't want to see you!''
''Please Tsukasa! We can't leave it like this'' sobbed Kagami ''Let me in!''
''What for? So you can tell your baby sister to stay away from the girl she loves, YES that's right, I love Konata!...I always have'' cried Tsukasa ''And if you can't accept me...then...''
Kagami didn't reply and for a minute, Tsukasa thought that she had gone back to her room, not able to accept her twin for who she really was.
''Maybe I should see if she's gone, I don't like how it went so quiet all of a sudden'' thought Tsukasa
Tsukasa crept out of her bed and made her way to the door. Pressing her ear against the door, she didn't hear anything. Cautiously she slowly slided open her door to find her sister stood in front of it but she wasn't facing Tsukasa, she was staring down the hallway with her eyes wide open and sweat running down her fore head
''S...sis?'' said Tsukasa as she stepped out but when she did, she understood why Kagami looked so terrified. Stood in the hallway were Inori and Matsuri, the older sisters of the twins.
''Tsukasa...we need to talk'' said Inori
''I think we should go downstairs'' said Matsuri
A crying Tsukasa nodded and walked past her sister Kagami as if she wasn't there, she felt like she was on death's row and was the next inmate for execution and her sisters Inori and Matsuri were the jury, her parents were the judges and Kagami was the executioner. There was no smile on Tsukasa's face, only a frown that was planning to stay.
Kagami felt awful as she watched Tsukasa walk downstairs, she never wanted to make Tsukasa feel upset about anything or for anyone to find out her secret but she felt that she had no choice. She was afraid of what their parents would say if they ever found out Tsukasa's secret
''We can get through this...I know we can'' thought Kagami
End of Chapter 4
Author's Note
This is a chapter that sets the story, the secrets out but will it be contained, will Inori and Matsuri keep it a secret or will Tsukasa be exposed be her sisters to their parents? Could they really do that to a loved one, just for loving Konata? Find out in chapter 5 which will include Konata
