I think after this chapter I'm going to switch to 1st-person writing. I'm much more comfortable in that realm, anyway. I also much rather prefer it. It offers more character development for the character the story follows. Starting with chapter 11, expect a sudden increase in first-person chapters from anyone's perspective. Especially Kale. So far he seems to be nothing more than just another random character. I want to try and fix that. And if I write in first-person, I can bust out chapters faster, due to my comfort in the area. I wont be late to update again, or at least I shouldn't be.

This chapter was pretty odd for me. It started off good, and then I just couldn't concentrate for the latter half of it, so the quality goes down due to that. On top of that, due to a file-transfer mishap (( Admittedly, it's completely my fault )), this chapter was proofread, but I currently don't have that file on me. And if I update late, a certain someone kills me... But a few typos and errors here and there never killed anyone, right?

Last thing; I've switched from (aiming to) update(ing on) Monday, to Wednesday, in order to give Nuke more time to update "on time." So technically, I'm only a day late.

Starts chapter... Now.

-----

It was another average day for the group of highschoolers. They all went about their daily routines to get ready for school, and all made their way, all hoping to make it on time. Of course some, like the Hiiragis, would make it on time, and others, like the Kazehana and Izumis, would make it much, much later. By the time Konata, Kale, and Yutaka made it to school the first classes were already ending. The three walked down the halls, deciding to make it to their next class before the others. Since Konata and Kale had the same classes, while Yutaka had a seperate one, she had split from them upon entering the building.

Alone with Mijikai-chan, hehe... Kale thought, suppressing a grin. He wasn't really alone with her, of course, as there were a good hundred students in the sorrounding classrooms, but he was in an awfully perverted mood today. Anything he could turn perverse was in danger.

"Oy, Kazehana, coming to school late, now?" A voice called out. It was obviously Takeshi's. There was nobody else who knew Kale that commanded such a powerful presence with just their voice. Both Kale and Konata turned to face him, and noticed Ayano was walking with him. Times like this it was painfully obvious how tall he was, as Ayano was much taller than both Konata and Kale, while Takeshi was taller than her. He looked right to Kale, bored eyes staring right through him, "You're picking up a few bad habits from me. You cut yesterday, and today you're just as late as me."

"Hn, maybe..." Kale began to speak, turning away from Takeshi. He couldn't look him in the eye as he said this, Takeshi had those eyes that just killed any joke as you said it. Even if it wasn't very funny, it didn't matter much to Kale, "... I figured if I cut and came to school late, I'd become tall, short-tempered, and-"

He couldn't even finish. Takeshi's palm came down atop his head, took a hold of a chunk of hair, and pulled hard - Of course, not hard enough to pull even a single strand out. He wouldn't do that to his friend, no matter how annoying he was.

"Ai, ai, ai, ai!" Kale yelled out, flailing his arms about pathetically. This is exactly what he hated the most; Someone messing with his hair. Despite his lazy outlook on life, he went to great lengths to take care of his hair. Though, he did ask for such a reaction...

"Takeshi has a pretty short temper, he's like a typical shonen protagonist." Konata commented. Takeshi was tall, strong, fast, had a straightforward personality, and was quick to fight - A good description of several popular shonen leads. She turned to Ayano, a knowing grin plastered on her face, "I can see why you spend so much time with him. He must be really good with his hands."

"W-Well, I... I wouldn't really..." Ayano stumbled for words. She wasn't as used to Konata as others, due to their lack of communication. This was one of the few times Konata had ever directly spoken to her, and it was such an odd thing to say to someone you hardly knew, and the little wink she added after saying that didn't help. Despite that, Ayano still had her friendly smile, though she felt herself blushing a bit.

"Just admit it, girl." Konata teased, poking Ayano's belly playfully. As soon as she poked her, a wonderfully perverted idea came to her, one that would not only make them all do a double-take, but would free Kale from Takeshi's wrath. She felt herself blush ever-so-slightly as she looked up and made eye contact with Ayano, "You know, maybe he could learn a thing or two from Kale..."

"EH?" Was Kale's response, and Konata could tell from her current position that his face a bright red.

Takeshi let out a soft chuckle, as if he were actually amused by Konata's comment. He let go of Kale's hair, and pat him on the back, "So, this is the one you chose?"

"W-W-W-Wait, I haven't even done anything!" Kale stammered, eyes shifting between the three as he attempted to formulate something to say. Though, perhaps it was best if he stay quiet. With his perverted mood...

Konata merely snickered. It was just the reaction she had wanted.

-----

Takeshi slowly made his way to school. Sure, he was late, and sure, Ayano would kill him for it, but he didn't really care. He was in no rush, because he was already late. When you're late, why should you care how late you are? They'll just mark you 'late', anyway. A minute or thirty, what difference did it make? No need to rush...

"Oof!" A kid yelled. He had been running behind Takeshi, and hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, so he had bumped into him. However, while the kid was knocked off his feet, Takeshi was barely phased. He merely continued on his way, choosing to ignore the kid's stupidity.

"Hey, you! You had better watch where you're going!" The kid called out. Takeshi felt annoyance well up in him; Wasn't the kid the one that had ran into him?

He stopped, and turned to face the kid. He wasn't exactly a 'kid', he was only a year or two younger than Takeshi himself; In his first year of High School opposed to Takeshi's third year. Rolling his eyes, Takeshi responded, "It's not worth fighting over, is it? Just keep going."

"That's it!" The kid yelled, amped. He then charged Takeshi, who couldn't quite figure out why the kid was so eager. Perhaps he was already on his way to a fight, and was ready to fight anyone? Whatever the excuse, this was a waste of his time...

The chances of him wearing a cup are really low, Takeshi thought to himself. Choosing to end the fight quickly, he merely swung low, stricking his opponent in the crotch. Before the kid fully react, Takeshi's other fist had connected with his face, and sent him onto the floor.

---

"Stupid kids, they don't know when to leave the big boys alone." Takeshi muttered after finishing his story. School was already out, and he was currently walking with Kale, Konata, and their three friends; Kagami, Miyuki, and Tsukasa.

"W-Was the kid okay?" Tsukasa questioned, sounding a bit worried.

"Hmph, like I care." Was the annoyed response.

"Don't you feel a little bad about beating up a kid like that?" Kagami practically yelled. Truth was, she hated violence, except for the violence in manga, anime, and games; Fake Violence, as she called it, was okay. Takeshi's violence, however, wasn't.

"Why should I? He started it, anyway, and I was a lot bigger than him." Takeshi replied, trying his best to not sound annoyed. To make sure his opinion was perfectly clear, he went on, "He got what he deserved. Maybe he'll remember this next time he tries to pick a fight."

"Takeshi-san is amazingly uncaring." Kale stated, just to make sure everyone understood. And it was true, Takeshi generally didn't care about anyone, not even his friends. He's only ever shown compassion towards Ayano, and very rarely towards Kale.

"Obviously." Kagami responded, suppressing her anger. She gave Takeshi an annoyed glance, "Anyway, why are you following us?"

Takeshi sighed at the question, "Ayano is meeting me somewhere later." He explained, glancing at Kagami, "When I heard you yelling at Kale over something, I decided to come over and join in."

"Hehe, Takeshi-san acts like he doesn't like me, but I know he does." Kale said, in a teasing tone. To him, Takeshi was a lot like Kagami; They both did their best to develop a 'Screw off' aura, but they really weren't that bad when you got to know them. They were fun to mess with, too.

"Keep talking like that, and you'll join that brat from earlier." Takeshi hissed in response.

"It's odd that you have such a brash and violent friend, Kale-kun." Miyuki commented, more to herself than to Kale or anyone else.

"Every guy has to have a friend like that." Konata explained, "When he gets into fights, he tells their group about it. Then they all feel more manly through him."

"Mijikai-chan doesn't understand men as well as she'd like us to think, it seems..." Was Kale's only comment.

"Or maybe you just keep Takeshi around so he'll be a bodyguard." Konata suggested, with a knowing grin.

"Eh? When have I ever needed a bodyguard!" Kale asked, a bit distressed. Had something happened and he not known?

"Sounds like something you'd do." Kagami admitted.

"Like I'd fight for him." Takeshi said, sarcastically.

That sparked Kagami's curiousity, "You know, now I'm really interested. How did you two become friends in the first place?"

"Mm, it's not that great of a story..."

--- Flashback to Fourth Grade ---

It was lunch time, and the children were all running around the classroom, causing havoc. It was raining outside, so the kids were stuck inside, instead of being released to the yard for a few precious moments before returning to class. Kale much preferred this; Not only did they save time by not needing to walk to and from the classroom, he also had a chair to sit in the whole time, as well as a desk to lay his head on. However, something was going on that was destroying his attempts to nap...

Takeshi, the tallest kid of the class, was standing in the middle of the classroom. Held above his head, by his own hand, was a manga, and in front of him stood Konata, who was trying desperately to get the volume from his grasp. Though she was still average height with everyone, as she had only fallen behind height-wise in the sixth grade, she wasn't able to reach it with merely jumping. He was just too tall.

"Come on, give it back!" She whined. It wasn't even clear to her why it was taken from her; She only knew it was hers, and she wanted to read it.

"Not until you tell me what's so special about this book. Why are you always reading it?" Takeshi questioned. The fact that she shut out everything, even the teacher at times, for just manga made no sense to him - Obviously, he wasn't an otaku like her and Kale.

Annoyed and desperate for even a few minutes devoted to napping, Kale slowly inched his chair behind Takeshi, doing his best not to cause the desk to screech as it was pushed across the floor. When it was close enough, he climbed atop it and used the newfound height to snatch the manga from the unsuspecting Takeshi's hand.

"Eh?" Takeshi gasped, surprised. He turned around and found Kale, who was already hopping down from the chair, "When did you-?"

Making his way around Takeshi, Kale approached Konata and handed her the manga. Smiling brightly, Konata gave him a tight hug, "Ooh, thanks Kale-kun!" With that, she made her way away from the two.

"Why did you do that?" Takeshi asked, more curious than annoyed.

"Mm?" Kale mumbled, turning to face Takeshi again. He smiled nervously, "Hehe, Konata-chan needed my help, so I had to help her."

"Don't you jump in like that again, kid, got it?" Takeshi ordered. Little did he know, Kale's stubborn-phase was in full-force.

"Hn, aren't we the same age?" Kale asked, directed towards the 'kid' crack. He then smiled again, "Anyway, why are so into bugging my Konata-chan?"

"Don't worry about it." Was the response.

"Mm, anyway, don't bother my Konata-chan again, okay?" Kale said, innocently, before turning and making his way towards Konata. He sat next to her, laying his head down on the desk, and slowly drifted off to a short nap...

---

"Kale-kun was such a gentleman years ago." Konata said, seemingly lost in memory. As quickly as she was reeled into the memory, she snapped out of it, and gave Kale a plain stare.

"Mm?" Kale mumbled, noticing the stare. He looked at Konata, "What is it?"

"What happened to you?" Konata asked, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Hmph, whatever." Kale responded. He wasn't so sure on what to say to that, he wasn't even sure what Konata was implying. Had he changed that much?

"... That's how you met him?" Kagami asked, in disbelief, "And you two are friends now!"

"Kale put up a good resistance." Takeshi said, "I respected him for that, and still do."

"Mhm. And eventually Takeshi got tired of bugging us." Kale continued, though he then looked to Takeshi, "But, he's gotten back into the habit it seems, mm."

"Keep talking." Takeshi said, in a threatening tone.

"I still don't see how any of that leads to a friendship..." Kagami said, with a sigh.

"Perhaps it's something only men would understand, Kagami?" Miyuki offered.

"That sounds about right." Konata agreed.

"Most likely." Kagami said, with a nod.

-----

"Oy, what an annoying day..." Kale said to himself as he made his way through his house. Kagami and Takeshi had done nothing but argue the entire time they had been out, mostly caused by Takeshi's short temper and laid-back attitude. She simply hated it, and wasn't in a very good mood herself. By the time they had run into Ayano, they all had a headache. With a sigh, he made a promise to himself, "Never going to let those two talk to each other again..."

He made it to his room, and wasted no time in walking to his bed and throwing himself onto it. Something about his bed, he just loved it. Of course, it could be due to him spending 90 of his free time on it. Then again, he felt comfortable in almost any bed; His bed back home with his mother was awfully comfortable, and then there was Konata's bed, which may only seem so appealing because, well, it's Konata's bed...

"Oy, thinking of Konata while I lie in bed now, am I?" He said to himself, with a chuckle. Laying his head back on the pillow, he turned to face the computer screen. Even though he couldn't make out exactly what was going on on the screen, it was obvious nothing had happened since his last check a few hours ago.

Ai, the net can wait until tomorrow. I need to get my fourteen hours of sleep...