"It's cold," Konata complained. "Why do they design our skirts to be so short, anyway? They must be lolicons."
Konata wandered around the empty house, hoping for something to pop out and scare her, or at least surprise her a little—but no such luck. She was sort of bored now. She regretted leaving Kagami, at least she kept her a little entertained with all her never-ending ranting. Now, however, in the emptiness of the house, the whistling sounds the passing air--probably the AC-- were her only company. She had gotten the urge to sing a few minutes before, though then deciding against it because the echoing she would receive in return would just creep her out. She felt a little guilty for leaving Kagami alone, but comfortorting herself with the thought of the tsundere running to her arms once she found her, either glad she'd finally met her, set to smack her, or scared half to death of the dark and loneliness—the Pocky money wouldn't go to waste, anyhow. She herself wasn't sure if she and Kagami really did have to separate; to be honest, she was just bluffing when she said they had to. Nevertheless, she sure got an awesome reaction from the girl! Although she knew it was wrong to use her deceased mother for such vile purposes, such as pranks, she couldn't help it. Dear mother up in heaven, please forgive your sinful daughter, Konata thought. She grinned, that was just the way Kanako Miyamae would say it!
She decided to concentrate a little more on where she was heading; after all, she had no idea where to go. If she were her greatest fear, where would she hide? Konata went off in search of her greatest fear. She looked for it in the closet: nothing. She found a secret compartment that led to an attic, she tried looking for her worst fear there, but wasn't able to find it, either. She tried searching every part of the house, maybe she had come across her fear, and considering the fact that it had been so dark, she hadn't been able to spot it. She sighed in defeat, had she wasted 200 yen for nothing? Maybe she should start listening to what Kagami said and stop believing everything the TV and other devices told her. She continued her little stroll around the house; she decided that she would pretend to be a courageous adventurer off in search of her greatest fear and overcome it! It was either that or homework…
Konata walked around carelessly, hoping she would reach someplace interesting without aiming for a particular place—famous explorers found treasure that way. And right she was, for next thing she knew, she heard some voices coming from the back room. Curiosity got the best of her and she walked towards the room, entering it. There, by the threshold of the room, she saw a television showing some anime show she thought was familiar. She stepped forward, heading for the TV, and sat in front of it.
Haven't seen this anime in a while since they started airing those detestable sports broadcasts, Konata thought grumpily.
It was showing some back-to-back episodes of Kannazuki no Miko. She stared in wonder at the odd TV, why was it even there? She decided not to worry about it too much, though, and continued watching the show, until she heard one of the characters say an odd line, new line, that she couldn't recall them saying when she watched the show for the first time. She ought to know, she saw it a million times, enough to memorize most of the lines.
"But we're not powerful enough," Himeko said.
"We won't be able to beat the Orochi the way we are now," Chikane said.
"There will be obstacles, but I'll help you," Soma said.
"But we need more help…" Chikane said.
"You there!" Himeko called, staring straight into Konata's eyes from the TV.
"Eh?" Konata looked to both of her sides, confused, then back to the TV. "Me?"
"Yes, you," Himeko said, smiling.
"Y-yeah?" Konata asked.
"Would you like to help us?" Himeko asked.
Konata hesitated for a moment, but then again, how many times is one asked to fight alongside one of their favorite anime characters? "Are you kidding!? I'll do it!"
Suddenly, the screen went blank. Everything was dark except for the dim light that the blank screen emitted. Suddenly, strange winds were released from the screen. Konata was startled; they grabbed her and pulled her into the television.
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She now found herself at an unfamiliar place: the wind sweeping over green pastures, the clouds floating above in the blue skies, and rocks of all sorts and sizes stuck out the grass like islands in the ocean. Konata got to her feet, still aching a bit, and continued walking to nowhere in particular. She then saw a big rock that sort of resembled a hill, but as she had suspected, it was just a plain old rock that got too abnormally huge. She decided that she would climb it, to get a better view of where she was.
She climbed the odd rock and soon found herself up on the rocky surface; there she encountered someone she didn't expect at all to meet—Tsukasa.
"Kona-chan, you're here," the younger twin said, her usual smile.
"Tsukasa, what are you doing here? Where's Himeko?" Konata asked, straightening out her uniform. While doing that, she noticed that Tsukasa was wearing her shrine maiden clothing, holding some sort of plant in her right hand. "What's up with the Miko Cosplay?"
"Ah, this?" Tsukasa said, looking over her clothing as if she herself had just become aware of it. "I'm the shrine maiden of this pastures, and I was told I had to receive a newcomer."
"Tsukasa, you're talking weird," Konata said.
"K-Kona-chan, could it be, you're the newcomer I'm supposed to receive?" Tsukasa asked.
"I dunno," Konata replied.
"E-eto…um… assistant, please come and help me out!" Tsukasa called.
Out came Kagami, in shrine maiden clothing, as well, holding some sort of scroll in her hands. "Tsukasa… you didn't ask the master who the newcomer was?"
"Sorry, Onee-chan, I-I mean, assistant," Tsukasa corrected herself, "but I sort of forgot to ask, hehe."
"Honestly, this is your first time at being the guidance," Kagami said, sighing. "Didn't you have enough enthusiasm to try and do it well?"
"I-I'm sorry," Tsukasa apologized.
"Um… can anybody here tell me what's going on?" Konata asked, feeling as though she had been forgotten. "Whatever happened to the Kannazuki no Miko concept?"
"Oh, yeah," Kagami said, handing the scroll to Tsukasa. "We just used that as a lure for getting you here."
"Kagamin, so evil… using my weakness to get me to do something!" Konata exclaimed, pouting.
"Look who's talking," Kagami said, rolling her eyes.
Tsukasa cleared her throat and started reading aloud what was written on the scroll: "Newcomer, you are here to overcome three challenges set by the gods. I, Hiiragi Tsukasa, will be your guidance throughout each one of them, with the help of my assistant if necessary. I cannot help you in any of the challenges in any way, whether you are able to emerge successful in them is entirely up to you, I can only watch and answer questions if any."
It's like they've changed roles… Konata thought, a little disturbed. "So, what am I supposed to do now, Tsukasa-Sama?"
"Eto…" Tsukasa fidgeted around with her fingers, and then asked her sister what she should do. After Kagami told her what she was to do next, she answered, "Kona-chan, right now my assistant will hand you a device that will enable us to communicate."
Kagami handed Konata a small device that resembled a cell phone—in fact, it was a cell phone.
"Why didn't you just say it was a cell phone, Tsukasa?" Konata asked.
"Master says big words make you sound important and mighty," Tsukasa responded with a smile.
"Ah, I know what you mean," Konata continued enthusiastically, already having placed the phone in her pocket. "The sages in my games usually use big words to sound smart, when you could just use the simple stuff and get it over with!"
"I know, right?"
"Right?"
Kagami cleared her throat and glanced over at her sister, her way of telling her to stop with the pointless conversation.
"O-oh, anyway," Tsukasa continued, going back to the almighty tone. "I will now transport you to where your first challenge will be held. I wish you luck, Kona-chan!"
Then, Konata disappeared.
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Konata opened her eyes, she had closed them when Tsukasa did some weird gestures with her hands before the transportation, and found herself back in her classroom at Ryoo High School. Everything looked the same, nothing strange about that. Though, the room was giving off an eerie aura that made shivers go down her spine. Just then, Kuroi-sensei entered the empty classroom with her usual carefree smile. "Yo!" she greeted Konata, placing down the workbooks she had brought into the classroom with her. "Welcome to tutoring, Izumi!"
"Tutoring!?" Konata had lots of things to do after school, like gaming and such; she didn't have time to waste her precious life in tutoring!
"Yea, we'll start you off by taking a test, 'kay?" Kuroi-sensei suggested, taking out two sheets of paper with about fifty questions each. "Sit down over here, close to my desk."
Konata sluggishly made her way up to where Kuroi-sensei had indicated her to sit; it was the teacher's pet's seat. Kuroi-sensei placed both papers on Konata's desk. "This is a review of all we have done throughout the school year; it shouldn't be too hard, hmm?"
I didn't cram for it! Konata desperately thought. She had always gotten by in school through cramming the night before a big test, but now she was given some sort of pop quiz as a challenge and didn't have time to prepare. Wasn't she at the House of Horrors just a few minutes ago? How in the world did she end up back at school? There was no time to answer those questions; she had a test to take.
"Kuroi-Sensei, may I go to the restroom, please?" Konata asked.
"Are you going to try to escape through the window like last time?" was Kuroi-Sensei's only response.
Same tricks don't work twice on her, I see, Konata thought, now having learned something new about her teacher.
Kuroi-sensei made her way back to her desk and sat down, taking out a magazine and starting to read it. "You got all the time you need to complete it starting…now."
Konata was given a separate sheet of paper to answer the questions, so she took out a pencil and got started. She read the first question: The water of the earth's oceans store lots of heat. An engineer designed an ocean liner that would extract heat from the ocean's waters at T – 10 C (283 K) and reject heat to the atmosphere at T – 20 C (293 K). He thought he had a good idea, but his boss fired him. Explain why.
Answer: Because the boss had found out his wife cheated on him, plus his favorite football team lost, so he wasn't in the mood for science stuff and fired the poor guy.
Konata read the next question: A chemical reaction does not function properly when…
Answer: Maybe the girl and the guy just aren't meant for each, you know? Let them work out their own problems, I'm not solving it.
Konata sighed, she felt a little relieved. She looked out the window, the day was beautiful…
"No spacing out!" Kuroi-Sensei said, startling Konata, and then returned to her magazine.
Next question: Psychology—your child has only a small while to live; do you still enroll them in school?
Answer: NEVER!!!!! Let the poor thing enjoy the small bits of life it has left!
Next question: What's the difference between a novel and a book?
Kagami taught me this one, what was it!? Konata thought. She tried to recall a time when she and Kagami were hanging out at the manga and anime store, Kagami had asked her if she had wanted to read a novel of hers, but she had refused. Kagami started talking about how romantic and heart-warming the story was, but Konata had been entranced in her manga book, so all she heard Kagami say was "Bla bla bla…" and so on. Now she wished she had paid more attention. Her dad was going to take the computer away for sure if she got a bad grade.
Right then, Konata felt something begin to vibrate close to her thigh—the cell phone. She looked over to where Kuroi-Sensei was sitting and when she saw that she was too busy with her magazine, she quickly reached into her pocket and pulled the phone out. Mission start! She thought as she swung the phone open, like some sort of cool spy person.
You have a new message!
She clicked over where it said "read" and then began reading the message.
- - - - - - - - - -
-Tsukasa: Kona-Chan, it's Tsukasa.
-Konata: Tsukasa, y r u txtng me?
-Tsukasa: I'm ur guidens
-Konata: Who taught u how 2 use slang words?
-Tsukasa: Onee—I mean, my assistant.
-Konata: K. So, wat is it?
-Tsukasa: Sry, it took me a while 2 reply… I will help u on ur 1st challenge.
-Konata: I thought u weren't allowed 2 help me.
-Tsukasa: Not "help," but "guide."
-Konata: Ah, play of words, I c. Thnx. ~_~
-Tsukasa: No prob, Kona-chan ^^
-Tsukasa: Kona-chan?
-Tsukasa: Hello?
-Tsukasa: Anybody?
-Tsukasa: ; . ;…
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Cheating on a test, are ya?" Kuroi-Sensei began; in her left hand was the cell phone that Konata had been previously holding.
"Wait up!" Konata tried to think of some excuse fast, she was good at that stuff. "Ah! I was taking the test like any good kid would do, and then I got distracted by the beautiful scenery out the window and happened to see a U.F.O!"
"U.F.O?" Kuroi asked, giving Konata a skeptical look.
"Yes, yes, a U.F.O!" Konata continued, she herself getting into the false story. "Then, there was this girl walking around a nearby park, and the U.F.O emitted a weird light from their flying plate thing and abducted the girl!"
"Oh, did they?" Kuroi-Sensei said incredulously.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh," Konata said, nodding to give her little story more effect. "And then they did some sort of weird radar thing with their flying plate thing and it reached my cell phone, and I just had to check, you know? Since I'm not used to carrying a cell phone I just had to; after all, Kuroi-Sensei, it was a message from the beings of outer space!"
"Hmm," Kuroi hummed audibly. She then inhaled an incredible amount of air into her lungs and shouted, "DO YOU REALLY EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT!?"
She stamped Konata's test with a "Fail."
"Kuroi-sensei, why!?" Konata whined, all her games were going to be taken away by her father. Of course, she could just hide the bad grade from him. Then she decided to get back at Kuroi-Sensei, "Don't expect any more rare items from me because—" But she wasn't able to finish her sentence, for she had vanished from the classroom.
Challenge No. 1— Failed.
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"Tsukasa…" Kagami said, drawing her sister's attention to over to herself.
"O-Onee-chan, I'm sorry—"
"Honestly, you caused the girl to lose her challenge, by guiding her," Kagami said, sighing.
"I-I-I didn't mean to, you should have been the guidance…" Tsukasa said, sounding a little depressed.
"No time for crying, you're my little sister, so be strong and try again," Kagami encouraged Tsukasa.
"I will!"
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Konata: Tsukasa, y do u hate me T^T?
Tsukasa: I'm sorry, Kona-chan, I was only trying 2 help ; . ;
Konata: A/W wat now?
Tsukasa: Challenge 2.
Konata: Which is...
Tsukasa: U'll c.
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Konata now found herself in her room. All the new released issues of manga stacked near her pillow and some at the end of her bed, and there were also the ones scattered on the floor. Her collectors' figures all clean and well-taken care of, her computer displaying a Haruhi image as a screen saver, and her posters hanging from wall to wall all around the room. She breathed in the sweet scent of her room, her muscles relaxing now that she was back home—or what appeared to be home, at least. She knew there was still something fishy going on; the room didn't feel quite right, it had a strange feel to it.
She worked her way down the stairs and found her dad, Sojiro, watching TV in the living room. She walked over to where he was to greet him. "Hey, dad."
Sojiro didn't turn around. He responded, "My daughter, you are back…"
"What's up with your way of talking? Like, it doesn't fit you…" Konata said, taking a seat next to her dad.
"Konata… I received a call from your teacher," Sojiro informed.
Konata immediately froze. If I run to the door right now, I could probably still make it out of here without having to explain anything...Three…two…one—
"Konata, I have taken all your games away," Sojiro said sternly, arms folded.
"Eh! That can't be!" Konata exclaimed, not being given the chance to take off running out the door because of the news her father had just shared with her. "They're all in my room."
"Look to your right."
Konata did so, and there she saw all of her games piled up in some sort of mountain.
Were my games there just a minute ago? Konata questioned herself, trying to recall what had been there during that time.
"If you want to get back your games you…" her father stopped, to add to the suspense, "…will have to beat me at a game of 'Sensei and Ninomiya-kun'!" he finished his sentence pointing to the TV, which now contained the Playstation 3 with two handlers.
Was that there just a minute ago? She questioned herself again, arms folded. Very weird…
"Konata…a-are you listening to me?" Sojiro asked, feeling a little forgotten and ignored.
"Eh?" Konata stopped minding the small details and went back to listening to her father. If she had a chance of getting all of her games back, she wasn't about to let it go so easily; after all, her father could never beat her. "It's on!"
Sojiro went to insert the game CD in the Playstation, then returned with two controllers to his seat next to Konata, handing her one of them.
The game had started, and the game characters said their usual and dramatic "Sensei! Ninomiya-kun!" over and over, to the point where Konata and her dad, being the ones playing the game, got sort of annoyed.
"Let's switch to another game?" Sojiro suggested.
"Let's…"
Sojiro inserted another game CD and returned to his seat. It was a fighting game, sort of like Mortal Combat.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ROUND 1: FIGHT!
Konata maneuvered the controller like she did the computer, her expression an easy-going one. Her father, on the other hand, had trouble trying to keep up with Konata's pace.
Konata: Kick, kick, miss.
Sojiro: Dodge, hit, punch.
Konata: Combo: punch, punch, jump, kick—ultra kick.
Sojiro: Hit. DONE
Winner: Konata
"Oho~" Konata laughed. "Dad, you haven't gotten any better at all!"
"You game all night!" he said in his defense. "I haven't had time to improve because of work!"
"Whatever you say~"
ROUND 2: FIGHT!
Sojiro knew he had to get back in the game—in a way—to teach Konata a lesson, to show her she had to study and earn good grades to make a living. He got some abnormal aura to him, now, and began to play better. Konata, who had been getting by just fine, now actually had to put in some more effort.
Sojiro: Punch, punch, kick, kick, spin, elbow blow.
Konata: Dodge, hit, miss, miss, butt whoop.
Sojiro: Combo: spin, kick, spin, punch—tornado hits.
Konata: Hit. DONE
Winner: Sojiro
"Uh…" Konata groaned under her breath.
"Heh, who's on top now, my daughter?" Sojiro bragged.
"There's still one more round!"
ROUND 3: FIGHT!
Both Konata and Sojiro put in a lot of effort on this one, neither of them wanting to lose. This round was the tie-breaker, as well as the one that would decide if Konata would be allowed to win back her games and keep them. She wondered if she should cheat or sabotage her dad in some way, but she knew that a good player didn't use dirty tactics to win, they won fair and square.
Sojiro: Combo: jump, roll, spin, kick—power kick.
Konata: Combo: roll, spin, kick—mega trip.
Sojiro: Kick, punch, dodge.
Konata: Jump, kick, miss.
The old man's putting up a good fight, I'll give him that, Konata thought, struggling to keep her game character in the duel.
I taught her well, she is indeed my daughter, Sojiro thought.
Right then, Konata felt something vibrate in her pocket. She didn't want to get distracted, this game would cost her all of her life's worth, but she decided she'd tell Tsukasa to hold up. She could manage to play and text at the same time for a little while. She was glad to be ambidextrous at the moment.
Konata pulled out her cell phone and checked the new message.
- - - - - - - - -- - - - - -
Tsukasa: Kona-chan, how r u doing on ur new challenge? I've come 2 help ^^.
Konata: Not now, Tsukasa, I'm in d middle of—
Tsukasa: :o? Kona-chan?
Tsukasa: ; . ;….Again?
- - - - -- - - -- - - - - -
Konata didn't have time to finish the text; her dad had already beaten her at the game.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Winner: Sojiro
- - - - - - - - - - - -- -
"N-no way…" Konata let the controller drop to the floor, along with the cell phone. She had actually lost.
"Konata, you know what this means…" her father said darkly, getting up from his seat.
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Konata pleaded, standing up now.
Suddenly, all her games disappeared, vanished, gone. She was left standing there in utter shock, not moving. Her precious games were nowhere in sight: her DVDs, anime soundtrack CDs, cassettes, videos, manga, and more—all gone. She tried to keep it together, though.
"Now, Konata, go to your room and…"
No, don't say the word! Konata thought desperately.
"…study."
Before Konata could yell out another dramatic "no," she had disappeared just like her games—transported to the last challenge.
Challenge No. 2— Failed
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"O-Onee-chan…" Tsukasa whimpered.
"Assistant," Kagami corrected her. "What is it, Tsukasa?"
"I did it to Kona-chan again," she sobbed.
"Yeah, I've noticed," Kagami said, sighing. "Seriously, what kind of guidance are you?"
"You're scolding me, too," Tsukasa cried.
"Sorry, sorry," Kagami said, trying to calm her sister down a little. "It'll be fine, don't worry. If she manages to get past this one, she still has a chance to get out of this place."
"So, it's time we met up with her?" Tsukasa asked.
"Yeah, but I hope she can handle the hardship we're about to put on her," Kagami said, looking up at the blue skies, dazed. "The last challenge, huh?"
Tsukasa gulped.
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Konata opened her eyes and found herself at an airport. She could see a plane taking off through the big glass windows, like a bird, she thought. The otaku noted the crowds of people making their way out of gates to exit the plane, and some entering them. She also caught sight of people sitting in their respective waiting sections: reading, playing with electronics, talking on the phone, sleeping, and doing other stuff to pass the time. She had never been on a plane before, so the airport was something new for her. If she got carsick easily, she wondered how she would handle flying on a plane.
In the midst of her wandering thoughts, she spotted two familiar girls: the twins. Tsukasa and Kagami were sitting by their own gate, idling time away by reading or contemplating the planes that took off as they awaited the arrival of something. Just then, Miyuki and Misao appeared. Miyuki sat next to Tsukasa, handing her a book she had bought on the way to their gate, and Misao sat next to Kagami, taking a lick at her chocolate ice cream and then offering some to Kagami, much to Konata's horror. She walked over to where the small group was sitting.
"Hey, guys," she greeted them.
"Izumi-san?" Miyuki said, squinting her eyes a little as if to make sure that the person that had just spoken was really Konata.
"Kona-chan, what are you doing here?" Tsukasa asked.
"What do you mean?" Konata asked.
"You told us you wouldn't be able to come and bid farewell to Onee-chan because you had to attend an anime convention," Tsukasa explained.
"Farewell?" Konata repeated.
"Yes," Miyuki picked up where Tsukasa left off. "Kagami-san has to go live with her Aunt and Uncle in the United States due to the fact that she has been offered a job by them and will be provided a much more stable lifestyle, along with an education."
"EH!?" Konata was surprised. She then turned to Kagami. "Kagami, you're going away? And why is Misao here?"
Kagami let out an annoyed sigh and then glared up at Konata. "To answer your first question, yes, it's true, I already told you that, but apparently you never bothered to listen. And for the second one, I called Misao here to come in your stead."
"Eh!?" Misao looked shocked. "So I'm just a replacement for the squirt!?"
"N-not at all," Kagami said, shaking her head. "You're a much better friend than Konata, any day."
"Oh," Misao said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Good."
"But, Kagami, I swear I didn't know!" Konata said in her defense.
"It's too little too late, Konata," Kagami said, getting up and taking her luggage. "My plane is here."
Konata looked over to her right, there she saw the people entering the gate that led to their plane. Kagami walked towards it, Konata tried to stop her, but for some reason, her body wouldn't move. Move, legs, I have to stop her! Konata thought desperately.
Misao went up to where Kagami was and hugged her. "I'll see ya, Hiiragi, someday."
"Thank you, Misao," Kagami said gratefully. "Y-you're my best friend. I regret not having been with you all those days at lunch time."
"We can make them up, Hiiragi," Misao said, smiling. "I assure you we will!"
Kagami smiled. Then, Miyuki and Tsukasa were next.
"Onee-chan, take care, okay?"
"We will await your arrival… if you ever come back," Miyuki said.
They both broke down to tears.
"Don't worry, Miyuki, you're going off to Tokyo University," Kagami said. "You'll be fine."
Kagami then turned to Tsukasa. "And as for you, Tsukasa, you better do well at that new school our parents are transferring you to."
Tsukasa nodded, teary-eyed.
Miyuki and Tsukasa are going away, too? Konata felt her heart drop.
In a few minutes, Kagami was already out of sight and in the plane that would soon be departing off to a foreign country very far away from Japan. Miyuki and Tsukasa turned to the frozen Konata.
"Sorry for not telling you, Kona-chan, I forgot to," Tsukasa apologized.
"But why, Tsukasa?" Konata asked.
"Since Onee-chan will be gone, my parents think I may get bullied, so they're transferring me," Tsukasa explained.
"But I'll protect you like last time, with the foreigner!" Konata said.
"My papers have already been sent to that school, Kona-chan, there isn't anything you or I can do," Tsukasa finished, sniffled, then turned to Miyuki. "I'll write, Yuki-chan." And she took off.
"Tsukasa!" Konata called after her, but she was gone.
Miyuki pulled out a handkerchief, sniffled, and then said, "Izumi-san, it was a pleasure to meet you. And I'm very sorry I wasn't able to stay."
"Miyuki-san, I always knew you'd achieve great things... but why so early?" Konata asked.
"The people at the University think I'm ready to face the challenges of College life," Miyuki explained.
"Oh..."
"Farewell, Izumi-san" were Miyuki's last words before she, too, went her separate way.
They both left Konata alone in a crowd full of strangers.
"Everybody's gone, I'm alone…" Konata said to herself, her voice low.
"Eto… I'm still here," Misao said.
Konata looked over at Misao. She was always a side character, anyway. She doesn't count, Konata thought, and then went back to sulking.
Poor Misao's pupils shrunk to pinpricks as her eyes widened like saucers, her mouth gaping in a mixture of dumbfounded amazement and sheer disappointment with being thrown back onto the sidelines once more.
"Are you looking down on me!?" she exclaimed.
Konata closed her eyes and blocked out the sounds of the voices of all the strangers, and Misao's. She didn't want to hear anything right now, she wanted peace, tranquility. The noise only made her more stressed. Maybe she should have studied a little more, or not. What was she to do now? Her friends were always there to help her out and cheer her on in whatever it was that she did. But now they were all gone; they had left her. She opened her eyes to find all the strangers staring at her—and not in a good way, either. They approached her slowly, what were they going to do? She didn't care, if everyone was gone, why should she even put effort into doing something so meaningless? Kagami would get mad at her if she just gave up, but Kagami said that Misao was her best friend, so it didn't matter, anymore.
Suddenly, she felt two hands reach for her and grab her by the calves, then they pulled her down into the floor, the ground, the water. Yes, she might as well just drown.
GAME OVER
Challenge 3— Failed.
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"Wake up," a voice hissed.
Can't a girl get a serious, dramatic moment at least once in her life? Konata thought grumpily. Like the damsel in distress and stuff.
"Izumi-Senpai, are you okay?" the voice asked, tone still below a whisper.
"Senpai…?" Konata opened her eyelids slowly, like a lens focusing, trying to make out the face of the person that had spoken.
Hiyori came into view. "Ah, you're awake! Senpai, you've reached your time limit, it's time to go."
"Hiyorin, what are you doing here?" Konata asked, noticing they were still in the House of Horrors; the inky blackness gave that away.
"I'll tell you once we get out," Hiyori said, helping Konata up. "Follow me."
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Konata and Hiyori were both out of the creepy house by now. When Konata took the last step out of the doorway, she saw that there was still an awfully long line of people waiting to get in. She recalled seeing the people that came out of the house traumatized, but she was just fine. Hiyori led her to the back of the building, where she found Kagami, Tsukasa, and Miyuki. Miyuki was lying on a nearby bench, a little dazed and out of it. Kagami was leaning on a wall, her features giving away an aura of discomfort. Tsukasa was alongside her sister, disturbed, tugging at her skirt once again, her whole body slightly trembling as she stared blankly into space. Konata walked over to them.
"Hey!" she greeted them
Kagami and Tsukasa jumped, they were startled. Miyuki remained sort of unconscious on the bench.
"K-Kona-chan, w-welcome back," Tsukasa stuttered, trying to make her voice sound as cheerful as it had always been, but failing.
"O-osu, Konata," Kagami returned the greeting. Though, she avoided eye contact with the girl, she felt a little weird.
"Kagami, you're not looking me in the eye," Konata noted.
Kagami jumped again, then shivered, for that sentence brought back the terrible memories of what she had experienced in the House of Horrors.
"You okay?" Konata asked, and then looked over at where Miyuki was. "Is Miyuki-san okay?"
"They'll be fine," Hiyori said. "I guided each and every one of them out of the building. Takara-Senpai was already in that state when I found her."
"Oh, yeah," Konata said, recalling what Hiyori had said earlier. "What were you doing in there, Hiyorin?"
Hiyori rubbed the back of her head as she replied, "I work here as a part-time job. I need the money, you know, for buying the stuff I like… Since this place was only temporary, I thought it would be perfect; the pay is good, too."
"Hehe." Konata grinned. "Hiyorin, your parents don't want to give you any more money for anime and manga, huh?"
Hiyori nodded, a little embarrassed. "Right on the dot, Izumi-Senpai. I need some green for the Comiket event, you get me, right?"
Tsukasa was the one to jump, now. Her entire body started shaking, and she even made Kagami tremble a little, being one to still be tugging at her sister's skirt. "Comiket…Comiket…Comiket…" she repeated the word in a sort of never-ending cycle, traumatized.
"Tsukasa, you look pale," Konata said to the girl.
"I-I'll be fine…" she said, forcing a smile.
"You sure?" the otaku asked.
Tsukasa nodded.
"But honestly, Hiyori," Kagami said, sighing. "You're too young to become like Konata…"
"Oh, not at all!" Hiyori said. "Actually, I aspire to become like Izumi-Senpai!"
"Oh, great," Kagami said under her breath, sarcasm clearly noticeable.
"Kagamin, you don't seem to be in a very good mood, either," Konata began. "What exactly happened after I left?"
Kagami's eyes widened and she turned red. She averted her gaze from Konata's and stubbornly replied, "N-nothing that you should know about! W-why should I tell you, anyway? I-I-I just had a hard time finding the exit, that's all."
"Aww," Konata cooed. "Then there's the way you resist. So cute~"
"You making fun of everthing is why I never want to tell you! And you still owe me those Pocky, don't think I've forgotten."
"I'll call Takara-Senpai's parents so that they can come and pick her up, is that okay?" Hiyori asked.
"Yeah," everyone agreed.
"Tsukasa, when we get back home we have to start on homework, okay?" Kagami told her sister. She then checked her watch and saw that it was 6:45 p.m. "It's already this late!"
"Ah!" Konata yawned nonchalantly. "Well, I guess I'll just see you guys tomorrow. Kagami, don't worry I haven't forgotten the Pocky, I'll keep my end of the deal. Also... I'll drop by and copy your homework tomorrow, bye!" And she ran off at top speed.
"Oi, get back here!" Kagami shouted after her, but the girl was already long gone. Kagami sighed. "That girl is going to grow up to be a bad person…"
Tsukasa smiled nervously.
. . .
"Oi, just now you were thinking about copying my homework when I'm done, too, weren't you?" Kagami accused.
"Eh!?"
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