The quiet ambience of the classroom was perfect for helping sleep find its way to those who sought for it. At least, that's what it felt like to Konata, who had long since placed her head in her arms and let her eyes rest.

She must have fallen into a deep sleep, because waking up seemed to be a hundred times harder this time around.

"Kona.. Kona-chan.. wake up."

"Nn.."

Her eyes still wouldn't open, but she could imagine Tsukasa's soft face and gentle voice in her mind. For some reason, the haze of sleep was thick enough to even blur the images she conjured in her mind.

"Konata-san? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Hey, chibi! Are you tired?"

Those voices weren't difficult to identify. Miyuki was the only one who hadn't dropped the san from her name out of respect, and it wasn't like there was another person who used the nickname chibi in that affectionate manner.

Kuroi watched as the group of girls attempted to rouse their friend, creating a cloud of worry and curiosity. It was all she could do to stay seated instead of rushing over to see if her student was okay.

"Just how tired is she? It's not like she was playing the MMO yesterday.. She hasn't logged in for a day or two, actually.."

She took another glance at the still ball of blue hair.

"Forget this.."

Muttering to herself, she pushed her chair back from her desk, standing up and making her way towards the girls. The distinct sound of her shoes against the floor alerted the students of her approach, and the girls exchanged glances before stepping aside without a word.

"Oi, Izumi! Were you online all night?"

"Huh.. Online?"

The response was questionable, for someone of Konata's standards. Whenever Kuroi had to wake her up, she expected and received the same response: Instantaneous wakefulness along with the regular burst of energy. Not this slow return of consciousness..

"Oh.. No Sensei, I wasn't gaming."

"That's what worries me. What were you up to last night?"

"..."

Konata lifted her head from her arms, making an attempt to sit up straight. She yawned sleepily, dropping her chin to her chest as if trying to hide it. Her eyes were still closed as she nodded absently, which was the only sign that she may have heard the question; She didn't reply if she did.

Turning to the onlookers, all Kuroi did was raise her eyebrows. It was the universal sign of Explanation, now, but nobody honestly knew what the issue was.

"What's up with her? Normally she's a light sleeper." Kuroi motioned towards her student. Tsukasa watched her friend's head loll forwards and snap back up.

"I don't know.. Kona-chan has never slept through the lunch bell. Every day she wakes up when it rings, and sometimes right before it does."

"Oh, so she falls asleep in my class every day, eh?" Kuroi muttered menacingly.

"Does Kona-chan usually go to sleep late?" Having been quiet for most of the conversation, Ayano turned to the glasses-wearing girl standing beside her.

"Yes. I'm not exactly sure when she goes to sleep, but from what I've heard she normally stays up to an hour or two past midnight."

While they talked to each other about Konata's sleeping habits and such, Misao broke away and stood behind the subject girl.

"Hey, hey.. Chibi? Are you sleepy? You should find somewhere better to sleep. Desks aren't that comfortable, trust me because I know."

"Misao.. I'm fine."

Clearly making an effort to keep herself awake, Konata lifted her arms above her head, leaning backwards over her chair. She opened her eyes to see Misao, who was alarmingly close and upside down.

"Come on, don't lie to me! I can see right through you!" Contrasting her patronizing words with a grin, the brunette put her hands under the otaku's head, pushing Konata into a regular sitting position before resting her arms on top of the bundle of blue hair.
"Come on, aren't you going to eat lunch?"

"Eh? Lunch?" Konata's eyebrows went up in surprise as she looked towards the clock. "Already.."

"Eh? Lunch!" Misao repeated the words with cheer instead of surprise. "Already! Come on, you won't have time if you just sit around."

"It's fine, it's fine.. I don't eat a lot, unlike a certain purple-haired tsundere with blue eyes." With a wide grin, Konata looked at anyone except for the purple-haired tsundere with blue eyes , as she had so vividly described.

"Was your goal to avoid getting noticed, or to get my attention?" Kagami frowned at the feigned act of innocence. "And don't try to turn it around, you're the one who should eat more."

Misao watched as the bluenette leaned down and dug through her bag, and she eventually pulled out with a wrapped pastry in hand.

"I don't actually need to eat more. This is enough for me." Konata held up her lunch, although it was definitely below the bare minimum of what could be considered to be healthy.

"Kagami-san does have a point. If you lack the proper nutrition and don't consume the right types of food, it could have effects on your physical status- your body, I mean." Seeing an opportunity to join in the conversation for at least a couple lines, Miyuki received a grateful smile from the girl she had defended.

"Oh? What kind of effects?" Konata asked curiously. "Eating less means you gain less weight, right? That's why I'm so skinny."

"Well.. you aren't exactly wrong, but I think you're looking at it from a different angle than most." Clearing her throat, Miyuki inhaled in preparation for one of her trademark intellectual explanations.

"While eating less food can decrease your weight gain, the detrimental effects can outweigh the benefits. As an example, you typically eat a chocolate cornet for lunch. Compare that to what is considered a regular meal by most, like Kagami-san's bento box. When you analyze the two from a technical standpoint, you might lose more weight from eating the chocolate cornet, but you'll also lose a lot of valuable nutrition. It'd be better if you eat the bento and then turn to other methods to lose the excess weight, such as exercise or cutting back on snacks."

Exhaling with relief, Miyuki hung her head and fixed her glasses. Being the center of attention was a double-edged sword; She was both proud and embarrassed to be in the spotlight.

"Whoa, that sounded really smart!" Misao stared reverently at the glasses-girl, who smiled bashfully as she sat down again.

"That's because she is smart, Misa-chan." Ayano gently reminded her friend.

"Yes, Misakichi. Yuki-chan is unrivalled in both intelligence and moe." Taking on an analyst's pose with a hand on her chin and the other on her elbow, Konata spoke in a dramatic tone of voice that was obviously tribute to some anime she had watched.

"Misakichi? You haven't used that nickname for her since that one.. uh.." Kagami let her voice trail off. The last time she had heard the nickname Misakichi was in her-

"Oh, in your dream?" Ever the antagonist, Konata put her hands on the table and leaned forwards with a smile that would change the mind of the devil himself.

"W-what? I never said anything about a dream!" Hastily defending herself, she then rolled her eyes and turned away to hide the light pink tinting her cheeks.

"That doesn't matter, your reaction is enough.. You do dream about me! And Misao too!"

"N.. eh? Is it Misao or Misakichi?"

Changing the subject allowed Kagami to simultaneously evade the question and get an answer to a detail that legitimately interested her. She waited as the still-smiling otaku sat back in her seat to explain.

"Oh, I called her that before. It's like how she's always called me chibi."

"How come you stopped calling her that?"

"We talked about it for a bit, then decided to start over. There was no real reason to dislike each other, so we agreed to reintroduce ourselves so we wouldn't have to build our relationship up from below zero. It's like restarting a game because you haven't been doing so well!"

"That's.. really mature, actually. How come you aren't this good about school?"

"Do I really need to answer that question?"

It didn't take long for Konata to finish her chocolate cornet. The pastry left her mouth with a sweet residue and an odd feeling of guilt. Lunch continued, and so did the chatter.

/-/

After about four eternities, Konata heard the final bell ring through the recurrent fog of fatigue that had just recently started to follow her everywhere. Her head rose from its cradle in her arms, and she blinked the sleep out of her eyes.

"Kona-chan, it's time to go." Tsukasa's gentle voice cleared away the last of the mental stupor that had settled over the otaku's head. "Come on, let's go."

Konata stood from her seat with the help of the younger girl, grabbing the offered hand to be pulled along towards the door. Before she was through the door, the voice of her teacher reached her ears.

"Izumi! I don't know why you were so tired today, but you can't hide it from me. Get some rest, I want your eyes wide open tomorrow! Got it?"

"Yes, teach.."

"What was that?!"

"Yes, teach!"

"Alright, then. Enjoy your day, but get some sleep for the love of Senia."

"Yes teach.."

The conversation was heavily one-sided, and they both realized this. The blonde just sighed as her student left the room without the spring in her step that Kuroi had been trying to give her.

"Izumi.. what's wrong with you, girl? I'm supposed to be the one having problems with life and romance!"