Chapter 21: Something Something Something Cosplay. Something Something Something Cafe.

Hello everyone, I hope all of you are well, so far I am! Everyone reviewed within a day of the last chapter's release XD that's awesome. Okay guys, I have myself a little challenge for you! In the story so far, I wrote in several mistakes. These are really subtle things that you probably don't notice the first time through. So, if you think you can, go find them! Good luck! Thanks to everyone who reviews my story, and Holyriot, you realize that now I'm just gonna make several thousand chapters so you HAVE to review every time XD Can you say great-grandchildren? I jest, but still, I think I found out what I'm gonna do about speed. I'll put it to a vote. Now, I have a lot of stuff written about later, but I can rewrite the story if need be. It would be relatively easy I think, but I kinda like the stuff I've come up with. Anyway, I think I'll just leave it up to you, is the current speed okay, or should I speed things up a bit? This note is getting long, I'm rambling way too much. Anyway, here's the next chapter!

POV Tony

Tony was walking through a forest. All of the sudden, he heard the shouting of a girl.

"No! Let go!" He heard her enchanting voice. He started sprinting through the woods. He got to a clearing and saw a purple haired girl with a yellow ribbon in the grasp of a centaur. She struggled. "You don't know what you're-"

"Halt!" Tony shouted, walking up. The Centaur and girl turned towards him.

"Step aside two-legs!" The centaur shouted back.

"Pardon me, my good... uh... um... sir! I'll have to ask you to release that beauty young-"

"Get away wonder-boy!" The girl shouted.

"-lady... Aren't you a... damsel in distress?" Tony asked. The girl seemed to ponder the question.

"I'm a damsel-" She struggled. "I'm in distress-" She struggled more. "I can handle it! So get away!" She shouted, sounding desperate.

"Uh... *Ahem* Ma'am, I'm afraid you may be too close to the situation to realize-" He was cut off by the centaur hitting him into a tree. Ouch. Okay then... Tony got back up. He concentrated on a strategy. If I... Then he'll... And then... Got it. Tony thought, smiling and nodding to himself. He ran up and jumped, spinning around and kicking the centaur's arm, forcing him to let go of the girl. Tony put his hand down, said hand landing on the centaur's arm after it tried to punch him. He used the movement from the centaur's punch to spin into front flip. He brought his foot out and kicked the centaur again, this time breaking him arm. Tony landed and jumped onto the centaur's back as the centaur howled in pain. Tony directed the charging centaur into a wall. Just before the impact, Tony backflipped off of him. Tony smiled as his plan went off without a hitch, rendering the beast unconscious. He walked back to the girl. "Are you alright Meg?" He asked, clueless as to how he knew this girl's name.

"Yeah, thanks. So, did they give you a name along with all those rippling muscles?" The girl giggled.

"I'm... Um... uh..." Tony stuttered.

"Are you always this articulate?" The girl asked, not exactly knowing what it is she had just asked.

"Hercules! My name is Hercules. But some call me Tony." Tony said.

"Hm... I think I prefer Herc. … Or Kan-kun." The girl smiled, though she knew not where the second name came. The girl and boy sat and talked for what seemed the longest time. Tony would call the girl Meg and she would seem to go between Herc and Kan-kun randomly. After what seemed centuries, the girl got up. "Well, thanks for everything, Herc. It's been a real slice." She smiled. "Bye-bye Kan-kun!"

"Bye..." Tony waved. As the girl disappeared into the wood, Tony fell onto his back. Tony opened his eyes to feel the floor, having fallen out of bed. The fall had left him half in his blanket, half on the floor.

"... What the HELL was that? Geez..." Tony sighed. He rose. He noticed his hand barely hurt anymore from yesterday. He got dressed in some regular clothes, remembering he was going to Konata's work that day. He realized he would have to get to Kagami and Tsukasa before they got too far from their house since he had no clue where Konata's work actually was. Tony went into the kitchen and started to make himself breakfast. Once he had finished, he walked into the living room to eat to find Masutā awake.

"Yo Otōto! What's up, you look a little shaken." Masutā waved.

"I just had a weird dream..." Tony said, the dream still fresh in his memory. "You've seen Hercules, right?" Tony asked.

"The Disney version?" Masutā asked.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I have." Masutā said.

"I was Hercules." Tony said. Masutā laughed.

"I'm guessing Tsukasa was Meg?" Masutā asked.

"I think so." Tony thought. Masutā laughed again.

"You're dreams are trying to tell you something Otōto. You like her. You know it, your body knows it, your mind knows it. Why continue to deny yourself?" Masutā asked.

"I gotta go." Tony sighed before leaving the house.

"I don't think there's anything I can do..." Masutā muttered sorrowfully. His little brother was getting more and more defiant all the time. And Masutā was reluctant to say it, but he didn't mind it when Tony was followed his every order. At least Tony would be doing what his brother was sure was best for him. Masutā leaned back and went back to sleep in frustration. That girl has some hold on him already... I wonder what will happen after a while...

POV Konata

Konata woke up and yawned. She turned over and, sleepily, got out of bed. She saw it was rather early and so decided to do something. She picked up her diary and started reading her entries. She passed her previous entry with great melancholy. She sighed as she made another one.

Dear Diary

I'm so confused! Kagami said she likes how I am, but she yells at me for it! Man, now that I read them, I realize that each of my entries have been about Kagami. Maybe I need to talk about something else... So I have a brother now. Yeah, he's really nice once you get to know him. My first impression was all wrong, even though he was a bit of a prick. He also-... Konata started to think. "He seemed interested in Kagami. Was it... jealousy that made me hate him? I thought he was gonna steal Kagami from me..." Konata realized. She laughed out loud at the ridiculous notion, completely unaware of how much he had actually tried. After all, he had just told Konata that he liked Tsukasa, how could she have known? She looked down at her unfinished note. He also... Konata read, but her train of thought had been derailed. She no longer had any clue what else she was going to write. I thought he wanted Kagami, but I guess I was wrong. I sure am glad I was too...Konata wrote. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get ready for a short day at work. Bye Diary!

-Konata~

Konata wrote before she put her pencil and diary down. She got up and walked out the door. Since it was still very early, Konata figured that both Yutaka and Sojiro would still be in bed. However, Konata walked out to see Sojiro on his computer, typing away.

"Hey dad, you're up early..." Konata commented.

"Oh Konata, what time is it? I kinda didn't go to bed last night..." Sojiro said.

"It's around 6:30 dad, why didn't you go to sleep?" Konata asked.

"Every good writer knows that when inspiration strikes, you don't put it off." Sojiro explained as he yawned. "You're gonna forget it." He warned.

"Ah. Hey dad, I wanted to ask you something..." Konata said.

"What's up Konata?" Sojiro asked.

"Did you mean what you said to Tony yesterday?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, of course! He's already promised you could stay there. The only thing that kind of surprised me is when you called him your brother, but I don't mind." Sojiro smiled.

"Really?" Konata asked.

"Yeah, all I can do is accept him as my son!" Sojiro laughed. Konata laughed too, happy her dad was as accepting of Tony as she was now.

"Anyway, I've gotta go to work so I'll see ya later dad!" Konata waved.

"Bye Konata!" Sojiro shouted. Konata made herself a piece of toast, not really hungry at the moment. She took a bite and was out the door, toast still in her mouth. She started jogging leisurely towards her work. She arrived relatively early and walked in.

"Yo boss, what's the job today?" Konata called. You know... I never noticed, but boss looks oddly like the guy hosting the tournament on T.V...

"Fumoffu~!" The boss shouted.

"Yeah, I was on vacation, but I thought I would come in for a little while today. You don't have to pay me!" Konata said.

"Fumoffu?" The boss asked.

"Yeah, really! But maybe my friends can come in for free?" Konata asked.

"Fumoffu!" The boss shouted.

"Awesome, thanks!" Konata cheered. "So what am I dressing as today? I remember Haruhi is next week again, but what's this week?" Konata asked.

"Fumoffu, fumoffu!" The brown haired boss shouted.

"Ooo~, doing that one, huh? I remember doing that before, sweet!" Konata shouted. She entered a dressing room and got into costume. "Excalibolg, Excalibolg, Excalibolg." She repeated, getting into her voice. "Pipiru piru piru pipiru pi!" She chanted, completely in character now. She walked out to see the first few customers trickling in, Patricia having greeted them. As Patricia came back in, she saw Konata and waved.

"Hey Konata! It's been a while!" Patricia waved.

"Hey Patty-chan, long time no see!" Konata waved back. Patty lifted a baton.

"Durandal!" She shouted. Konata held up a spiked mace she had.

"Excalibolg!" She shouted back. Several performances later(complete with bats) and there came a knock at the door. Konata somehow knew exactly who it was. She walked over and opened the door to reveal exactly who she thought it was.

POV Tsukasa

Tsukasa was walking around a lake when all of a sudden, she found herself in the grasp of a centaur. She started struggling. "No! Let go!" She shouted, trying to get out of the mighty grip of the centaur. "You don't know what you're-"

"Halt!" She heard a male voice shout from the woods. She turned to see a muscular looking boy with short, brown hair walk out.

"Step aside, two-legs!" The centaur yelled. He yelled with such magnitude that Tsukasa got very scared for the boy's safety. Somehow, she knew subconsciously that he would be okay, but her current thoughts were mainly concern.

"Pardon me, my good... uh... um... sir! I'll have to ask you to release that beauty young-"

"Get away Wonderboy!" Tsukasa shouted. I really don't want him to get hurt! She thought.

"-lady... Aren't you a... damsel in distress?" The boy asked. Tsukasa started to think.

I don't think I know him, but I feel like I do... I just really, really don't want him getting hurt because of me... "I'm a damsel-" She struggled. "I'm in distress-" She struggled more. "I can handle it! So get away!" Tsukasa shouted, getting desperate.

"Uh... *Ahem* Ma'am, I'm afraid you may be too close to the situation to realize-" The boy started to say before being beamed in the face by the centaur. Tsukasa was speechless in horror until she saw the boy get up. He seemed to think for a moment. Then he smiled, nodded, and went on the attack. Tsukasa saw she had aptly nicknamed the boy as he released her, broke the centaur's arm, and knocked him out with a wall. The boy walked back over to Tsukasa. "Are you alright Meg?" He asked. Tsukasa didn't know the name, but it felt right.

"Yeah, thanks. So, did they give you a name along with all those rippling muscles?" Tsukasa giggled.

"I'm... Um... uh..." The boy stuttered.

"Are you always this articulate?" Tsukasa asked. Wait... What does that even mean? Tsukasa wondered.

"Hercules! My name is Hercules. But some call me Tony." The boy said.

Tony... Where have I heard that name before? Tsukasa wondered. "Hm... I think I prefer Herc. … Or Kan-kun." Tsukasa smiled. Where did Kan-kun come from? She thought. She and the boy sat down and talked for what seemed the longest time. The boy would call her Meg and Tsukasa would alternate between Herc and Kan-kun. After what seemed an eternity, Tsukasa got a sudden urge that she needed to leave. She got up hesitantly. "Well, thanks for everything, Herc. It's been a real slice." Tsukasa smiled. "Bye-bye Kan-kun!"

"Bye..." She heard him mutter. Tsukasa walked into the pitch black woods. A slight amount of light revealed the roof of her room. Tsukasa realized the dream she had had and got a massive blush.

I... I actually dreamed about him... Tsukasa's face was completely red. I wonder what brought a dream like that on... She thought until she saw the T.V. She saw the muses singing about love. This movie is still playing? I must not have slept very long... Tsukasa thought. The fact that the curtains were drawn and Kagami was still asleep next to her didn't help correct her. Tsukasa looked at the clock to see it read 7:00. That's weird, what happened? Tsukasa thought. As the song ended, the movie skipped back to when Hercules first met Meg. Oooooh... Tsukasa realized what happened. "Onee-chan~!" Tsukasa shook Kagami awake.

"Hm..." She stirred awake. "Hey, you're up before me?" Kagami asked in surprise. She wasn't sure why she was so surprised, Tsukasa seemed to be getting up earlier more often.

"Ye-yeah... I had a weird dream..." Tsukasa said, her face a mix between cherry and burgundy.

"Wha-... Tony?" Kagami asked in a way that made it obvious that she knew the answer already. Tsukasa nodded. "In your dreams?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa nodded again. Kagami smirked. "I guess that makes him your dream guy, huh?" Kagami smiled. She would have thought it impossible that Tsukasa's face could turn any redder, but it did.

"I-I gu-gu-guess..." Tsukasa stuttered. Kagami giggled as she got up. The two left the room after turning the movie off.

"Winner! Ryū Tora no Kami!" They heard Akira shout on the T.V. Kagami walked out to see their sisters and mother, mouths agape. The tops of their faces were blue. Kagami looked to the television to see Tony spitting on Recoome. She giggled.

"So, what do you think?" She asked in a very told-ya-so manner. Matsuri's head creaked around.

"He's a god." Matsuri mumbled before turning back to the screen, causing Kagami to laugh. Naruto unwittingly surrendered to Tony. Inori laughed.

"Poor guy!" She laughed. "That was pretty funny..." She calmed down. "So I guess you guys weren't lying then. He seems like a good catch Tsukasa~!" She poked Tsukasa with her elbow. Tsukasa's blush flared up again. Kagami decided to come to her rescue.

"Tsukasa, shouldn't we be going?" Kagami asked.

"Ye-yeah. Bye mom! Bye Onee-sans!" Tsukasa waved.

"Bye Imotos!" Matsuri shouted. Kagami and Tsukasa left before their mother could say anything. As Kagami and Tsukasa were walking towards the train station, they saw Tony approaching fast.

"Hey Tony!" Kagami waved. Tony was about up to them.

"Hey Herc!" Tsukasa waved, but got a chill in embarrassment as the top of her face melted into blue lines..

"Hey Meg!" Tony shouted. He had much the same reaction. They both blushed massively, confusing each other. Did we... Tony started to think.

Did we... Tsukasa started to think.

How did they know? They both wondered as they started walking together. Kagami looked to one side, then the other, completely left out.

"Herc? Meg? Wait..." Kagami began to think. Does this have something to do with Tsukasa's dream? I wonder if she dreamed about Tony being Hercules. But if that's the case, how would Tony know? Unless he's just watched Hercules and responded accordingly. But then why are they both embarrassed? Maybe-... Kagami continued thinking. Meanwhile, Tsukasa and Tony were looking concerned at Kagami, who had been deep in thought for quite a bit.

"I don't know Kan-kun, she gets like this sometimes..." Tsukasa said, responding to Tony's question as to the well being of Kagami.

"Kagami~. Kagami~?" He waved a hand in front of her face. No reaction.

"Th-there's something Kona-chan did once, maybe twice and it worked... But you have to turn away!" Tsukasa shouted.

"Hmm..." Tony tried pinching Kagami relatively hard. No effect. Whoa... He thought in wonder. That was almost enough to bruise her... He thought. "If you've got something that'll work, I'm all ears." Tony said.

"You have to turn away." Tsukasa said sternly. Tony complied as Tsukasa grabbed her sister and dragged her out of the public eye.

"KYAAAAA!" The dark crimson Kagami yelled from the alley way, causing Tony to snicker. "Tsukasa! Why the hell did you do that?"

"Well, Kona-chan usually does that when you space out for long periods of time like that…" Tsukasa mumbled, her ribbon drooping a tad. Kagami took a deep breath as she took in her surroundings and realized that Tsukasa had gotten her out of public before touching her. She gave Tsukasa a smile.

"Well, just try pinching me or something. And thanks for not doing that in public. That would have been embarrassing." Kagami smiled to her sister.

"I figured it would have been. But Kan-kun tried to pinch you!" Tsukasa said as the two walked back to the Tony, who had taken this opportunity to practice his waiting.

"He...he did?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah!" Tsukasa reiterated.

"..." Kagami suddenly noticed a rather searing pain in her arm. "Ouch."

"Hey Kagami, are you back amongst the living?" Tony asked as they approached him.

"Yeah, I was just wondering a couple things." Kagami said.

"Like?" Tony asked. Kagami smiled to herself.

"You don't want to know." She said. Tony hummed.

"If you say so." Tony said as they approached the subway. They purchased tickets and got on. The trio saw two open seats. "Please take them." Tony gestured. Tsukasa started to open her mouth, but Tony shushed her quickly. "Tsukasa, please. Do this for me. I can stand for five minutes." Tony smiled. Tsukasa silently nodded and the two took their seats. Tony sighed with his eyes closed as he grabbed a ring. He felt a tap at the shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked behind him.

"See! I told you it was him!" A girl squealed to her friend.

"It is! It's Ryū!" The friend squealed.

"Hey Ryū, do you have a girlfriend?" The first girl asked. Tony sweatdropped. He looked over to Tsukasa, who by this time was almost asleep and trying not to lean on Kagami's shoulder.

"... You could say that. I am... quite attached at the moment." He said in a voice low enough that Kagami and Tsukasa couldn't hear him. The girls were both disappointed.

"Aw~, you sure? Maybe we could... *work something out*?" She winked at Tony as she emphasized the last three words, catching him off guard. He sweatdropped again, almost blushing.

"N-No, I don't think so." He said. The girl sighed.

"Alright then..." She looked away dejectedly. As their stop was called, Tony looked back over to Tsukasa to see her asleep.

After five minutes? Whoa... Tony thought to himself. Kagami was shaking her sister, but to no avail. Tony walked over.

"Last call!" The voice on the intercom announced. Kagami gave a slightly panicked look to Tony.

"Tsukasa, it's time to wake up." He said gently, shaking her with as much force.

"Hmm..." She stirred awake, much to the surprise of Kagami and Tony.

That actually worked? Awesome. Tony smiled. Meanwhile, Tsukasa had gained a light blush.

Oh~! He saw me asleep when I didn't want to be! I'm so embarrassed... She blushed. Tsukasa didn't exactly want Tony to see that she was lazy enough to fall asleep on the subway, and in five minutes no less. Though he had already seen it once and fallen asleep before her beside. They exited the train seconds before it pulled away and were on their way. They got about halfway before someone stopped the group.

"Is that Akira?" An otaku shouted as he saw Tsukasa. Tsukasa got a bit startled as she had before and tried to hide slightly. The man started taking multiple pictures of Tsukasa, the latter trying to hide herself from view. Kagami got in between the two of them.

"Hey! Leave my sister alone!" Kagami shouted.

"I-It's Miku!" the Otaku shouted, taking more pictures. Kagami had half a mind to beat the man mercilessly. Before she could, however, Tony stepped up.

"Hey, my friends don't like having their picture taken like that by people they don't know. Please be on your way." Tony said. The otaku kept taking pictures around him and Kagami. Kagami clenched a fist, but Tony stepped closer. "Believe me buddy, you don't want to get her mad. Just please leave or she might attack you. She's very protective of her sister. And, quite frankly, so am I." Tony whispered to the man. The man seemed to hesitate. Then he took another picture. Within another second, Tony had to block Kagami from beating the everliving daylights out of the poor Otaku. With his other hand, Tony grabbed the otaku's camera and ripped the film out of it. Who even uses film anymore? Tony wondered. Tony gave the camera back to the man and and shooed him off. The man left without hesitation now that his camera was gone, dejected. Kagami took a deep breath to calm herself down as they continued on their way. The trio found the building that housed the cafe and entered. The group started walking up the stairs to the cosplay cafe and opened the door.

"KCHYAAA!" Tony heard Dokuro yelled. Suddenly, he was on his rear as Konata's mace made contact with his chin.

"Ow! Are customers always treated this way? Tony asked. Konata giggled.

"No, it's mainly a functional prop. But I would think you could take it! You are a soon-to-be world champion after all." Konata smiled.

"Very true, very true." Tony said with a smile. Konata helped him to his feet and walked in with the group.

"Hey boss, these are my friends!" Konata waved to her boss.

"Fumoffu!" He shouted back.

"Yeah, it is! Wanna meet him?" Konata asked.

"Fu-fumoffu!" The boss shouted. Konata grabbed Tony by the hand and dragged him over to her boss.

"Tony, this is my boss! He's a big fan of yours." Konata introduced.

"Hello sir, my name is Tony. You've got a hell of a girl as your employee." Tony shook the man's hand, rubbing his chin with his other hand.

"Fumoffu!" The man shouted.

"Um... I'm sorry, I don't understand sir." Tony sweatdropped.

"He's asking for an autograph!" Konata whispered to Tony.

"How can you understand him?" Tony asked in a similar whisper. Konata shrugged.

"Just got used to it, I guess." Konata whispered back.

"Do you want an autograph?" Tony asked.

"Fumoffu, fumoffu!" The man nodded furiously. Tony chuckled in his head.

Man, this kind of stuff seems so weird. It's kinda cool though... Tony thought to himself. He signed something the man had given him to sign and gave it back. Then, he got an idea. "Hey, would you mind if I came back here more often? This seems a nice little place." Tony smiled as he looked around. The boss was slightly more then frantic in his response. Though Tony couldn't understand a thing the man said, he could tell he meant yes. "Thank you very much." Tony bowed.

"Sit!" Konata commanded. The group complied and looked around. Then they spotted someone.

"Miyuki? Have you been here the entire time?" Tony shouted as the trio went to sit with her.

"Yes, I have. But I tend to be forgotten and ignored quite a bit." Miyuki eyesmiled. And though she said it in a very gentle tone, Tony couldn't help but feel a sense of fear from the exact tone of her voice.

"Um... Miyuki, are you okay?" He asked. "Why didn't you tell us you were here?"

"I'm okay. And I didn't say anything to observe whether you missed that I was here and sat at another table or not." Miyuki said. Tony's sense of fear was now accompanied by one of shame.

"Miyuki, I'm sorry if we never make room for you in our conversations... But you never talk!" Tony said.

"Because I never have the opportunity to." Miyuki said. The meanwhile, Konata and the twins were watching intently to see where this was going.

"Well sometimes we pause in our conversations, but then you don't say anything." Tony stated.

"Because I have nothing to add at that point. Whenever I do, you merely keep talking." Miyuki argued.

"Well, if you do have something to say, you're completely welcome to interrupt me." Tony offered.

"I'll keep that in mind, but as of late I've been more observing something then thinking of conversation topics." Miyuki said.

"Ah, well okay then." Tony said, figuring she was talking about Konata and Kagami, but saying what she said so they wouldn't catch on. Little did he know, Kagami was having the same thoughts in vice-versa. Thus, no one saw fit to comment on it, or risk outing someone who didn't want it. "So Konata, what do we owe the cafe for our time here?" Tony asked, changing the subject.

"Actually, since I'm supposed to be off today, my boss is letting you guys in for free!" Konata cheered.

"You know Konata, I'm not entirely sure you're in character with Dokuro. Then again, I've never seen that anime." Tony commented.

"If you've never seen it, then how do you know who she's cosplaying as?" Kagami asked.

"Because I'm weird like that." Tony said.

"Well I guess it doesn't matter since I'm not on the payroll today." Konata catgrinned. "So the games are all free to play, the sweets are all you can eat, and the drinks are free refill! Oh, and you can read any manga from the shelf over there!" Konata smiled. Before she left, Kagami asked Tony a question.

"By the way Tony," Kagami began "Are we the four of us really the only friends you have? Shouldn't you try to find some guy friends?" Tony opened his mouth and rose a finger as if about to make a point, but put it down and looked down.

"I know..." He sighed. As the girls began to giggle, he thought of something. "Unless you count Masutā!" He pointed out.

"Yeah, but can you count him? He's your brother, so I'm not sure... I guess if you're friends, it doesn't really matter..." Kagami smiled.

"Yeah! Yeah! So I'm not hopeless!" Tony said excitedly. The girls laughed harder, attracting the attention of one Patricia Martin.

"Heya sempais!" Patricia waved as she came over. Tony somehow recognized her as Sabato, yet almost cringed at the blonde's voice.

"Hey Patty-chan!" Tsukasa waved. Tony found that the pure cuteness of Tsukasa greatly overwhelmed the grating voice of the blonde.

"So who's this?" Patricia asked, referring to Tony.

"This is Tony, he's relatively new. He transferred into Ms. Kuroi's class a week or so ago." Kagami explained.

"How do you do?" Tony asked.

"Very nice, Tony's an American name, isn't it? I'm American too! My name is Patricia Martin." Patricia said with excitement to find another American.

"Actually, my real name is Kanpeki Otokonoko, I just go by Tony." Tony nervously smiled.

"Wait, what? That makes no se-"

"It makes no sense to you, I know." Tony chuckled. "It doesn't to most people."

"Does it to you?" Kagami asked.

"Maybe." Tony said.

"I'm guessing "Classified Information?"" Kagami asked.

"I guess so." Tony said.

"Aw! No fair, that's my line!" Patricia shouted with a pout.

"Not this week Sabato." Konata grinned. "So what'll you all have?"

"I'm not too hungry quite yet." Tony said. Kagami's stomach growled since neither she nor Tsukasa had eaten breakfast that morning.

"... Um... I don't think I'll have anything either..." Kagami commented.

"Kagamin~, your tummy says different~..." Konata cooed, poking Kagami in the stomach.

"I-I told you, I'm on a diet!" Kagami shouted.

"If you say so, but you really don't need to be on one..." Konata commented. Oddly though, that small comment got into Kagami's head and made her blush incredibly. It seemed absolutely sincere, something that was all too rare for Konata. A smile decorated Kagami's face from the compliment.

"I'll have a vanilla soda!" Tsukasa chimed. Tony smiled to himself.

"You seem pretty excited for a vanilla soda..." He chuckled.

"Well, it's my favorite..." Tsukasa explained.

"Hmm... I woulda pegged you for a melon soda type." Tony smirked. Tsukasa seemed surprised.

"That's actually what I had last time I came here!" Tsukasa shouted, jumping forwards slightly in her seat. "I really like melon soda, but vanilla is my favorite!" Tsukasa commented. Tony laughed in surprise.

"Well, I guess I'm getting to know you better with each passing day, aren't I?" Tony smiled. Both Tsukasa and Miyuki smiled to themselves, but Tony only noticed Tsukasa.

They are getting quite close. It's odd Kanpeki-san refuses to try for her, yet he continues to bond with her. At this rate, he'll find he can't simply deny his feelings for long. Miyuki observed. "Kanpeki-san, may I have a word?" Miyuki asked. Tony looked over from the conversation he was having with Tsukasa, about to politely refuse until he remembered what Miyuki had said earlier and how he had said she could interrupt him at any time.

"Take any word you want, it's yours!" Tony shouted. He looked to see Miyuki with a serious face. "Alrighty, come on." He said as he and Miyuki got up. Miyuki lead them outside the door onto the staircase. "So-"

"Why aren't you dating Tsukasa?" Miyuki asked, an unusual fire in her voice. She seemed almost angry.

"Bu-but I don't-" Tony tried to lie, taken off guard.

"Don't lie to me! I know you like her, and I'm sure she likes you!" Miyuki shouted.

"...Am I that obvious?" Tony asked, a light blush coming across his cheeks.

"Yes! Tsukasa is my best friend, I want her to be happy! For that, she needs you. You better have a good reason you're not going to even try to go out with her!" Miyuki shouted.

"Miyuki, my reasons are personal, I would appreci-" Tony was cut off as a sharp pain on his cheek. He stood in disbelief as he realized what had happened, a red hand print starting to show itself on his cheek.

"Fine! Ignore your feelings, ignore Tsukasa! I can tell you don't care about her now..." Miyuki started to walk past him back into the cafe. Her prediction came to pass as she felt a furious grip on her arm. She turned and saw Tony, glaring at her.

"Miyuki. You can insult me, you can hit me, you can do anything you care to try to me, but Tsukasa IS incredibly important to me. Be you man, woman, or god manifest, NOBODY will insult her while I draw breath." Tony realized he had tightened his grip subconsciously. He let go. "You would do well to remember that." He muttered before he started walking back into the cafe.

"Tony!" Miyuki called. He stopped. "Just tell me why you refuse to take Tsukasa!" Miyuki pleaded. Tony glared back at her, still angry.

"That's none of your business." He said before turning back to the door. He took a deep breath to calm himself and walked in. Miyuki sighed.

I do think I've gone about this all wrong... She eyefrowned to the floor as she followed. It was difficult to act so rough though, that's how I pictured Masuta-san would have handled it. I suppose I shouldn't have tried for it...

Tony walked in in such a way that he easily hid the slap print on his face. He sat down facing slightly away from the group to hide it.

"Kan-kun, what's wrong? You seem angry somehow... Are you okay?" Tsukasa asked. Tony scolded himself in his mind for being read.

She saw through that facade pretty easily... "Yeah, I'm okay. No worries." Tony dismissed. He saw Patricia walking up with the soda. Tony gave a quick look around to see if there was anything he could use to change the subject. "So Ms. Sabato, this place seems rather empty. As in, we're the only ones here. What's up? Are you guys having an off day?" Tony asked.

"Well, you see... Before Konata came, our cook... um... wasn't very good, let's put it. The people who came here were only hardcore Otaku. He was doing other things while Konata was here and able to cook, but since she was out for a while, he started cooking again. But this time, it's worse then the last time! So now we've got a rep for bad food again..." Patricia sighed.

"That's kinda harsh to say about someone, isn't it? I mean, what if he heard you?" Kagami asked, coming out of her blush induced trance on her own for once.

"Oh, he knows he sucks at cooking, but no one else can really cook so~..." She scratched her head. "And he's kinda above us..." She commented.

"Boss?" Konata asked.

"Boss." Patricia confirmed. Konata suddenly got a bit of a twinkle in her eye.

"Hey Tsukasa, wanna make a few extra thousand yen?" She asked. Tsukasa was taken off guard by suddenly getting pulled into the conversation.

I could use the money to buy Kona-chan and Onee-chan presents for their birthdays! Maybe I can find out when Kan-kun's birthday is, I'd like to buy him something. "Sure Kona-chan, what do I have to do?" Tsukasa asked her friend. Konata opened her mouth, but interrupted herself. She grinned widely.

"All you have to do is get undr-" Konata started before she was silenced by Kagami's hands over her mouth.

"Don't even go there Konata! Leave my sister out of your perverted fantasies!" Kagami yelled. Konata shrank back quite a bit.

"O-okay Kagamin..." Konata muttered. Kagami felt guilt instantly.

"Kona-" Kagami started, but was cut off by Konata.

"What I meant was you could come cook for us and I'm sure boss would pay you for your time. I know if you were cooking here, we'd have a line out the door of people who don't even like cosplaying..." Konata muttered. Kagami started feeling very sorry as Konata seemed so sad now.

"True enough, any food she touches turns to instant ambrosia. If she threw dirt and butter in a frying pan, the resulting meal would still be a thousand times better then whatever I could make." Tony commented. Though Tony had complimented her cooking every time it was brought up, every time he did it gave Tsukasa the warmest feeling in her chest and made her feel all the cooking she did was worth just that.

"Su-sure Kona-chan, I can cook..." Tsukasa blushed.

"Awesome, thanks!" Konata regained her usual attitude. Her fear of Kagami's anger was the only reason she hadn't hugged Tsukasa.

"When do I start?" Tsukasa asked.

"Whenever you want! First we need to get people in though..." Konata put a hand to her chin in thought. "Well, let's worry about that later! We're going to the mall!" Konata cheered. Patricia seemed to perk up a bit.

"Oo~, that sounds like fun! I wish I was off..." She sighed.

"Oh well, we better get going if we're gonna have any time at the mall!" Konata said. The group got up.

"Yeah, we should probably go. It's been nice to meet you Patricia!" Tony waved as the group left minus one Konata, who had gone to change back to her normal clothes. The four left waited on the stairwell that Tony and Miyuki had occupied not too long ago. Tsukasa happened to look over at Tony and saw the red print on his cheek.

*Gasp* "Kan-kun, what happened?" She asked in a panic. "Yuki-chan, did you slap him?" Tsukasa turned to the moe goddess, who was hiding her eyes in her bangs. Tony quickly turned to hide the print on him.

"Don't worry about that Tsukasa, it was my fault. There was something she wanted me to do that I wouldn't. She got angry and slapped me. I don't blame her." Tony excused.

"Well what was it?" Tsukasa asked, having gotten Kagami interested too by this point.

"Er... She wanted me to capture something I don't feel I should." Tony said, trying to think quickly. Tsukasa looked Tony in the eyes, forcing Tony to look away.

"Kan-kun, are you lying to me?" Tsukasa asked. Tony sighed in relief that he technically wasn't.

"No, I'm not. Don't worry about it Tsukasa." He turned back to her with a smile. Before Tsukasa could further pursue the subject, Konata came out.

"Hey guys, did I miss anything?" She asked with a catgrin. She saw Tsukasa looking intently at Tony. "Whoa, what's up?"

"It's nothing Konata." Tony dismissed. "Come on, let's go or we won't have time to do anything." Tony started to leave. Tsukasa gave a worried look to Miyuki, who followed him. The remaining three started after them.

"Kanpeki-san!" Miyuki jogged up to him, the others out of earshot because of the door Miyuki had closed on the way. She got in front of Tony and turned.

"Yes?" Tony asked, stopping.

"I'm sorry for... slapping you." Miyuki apologized with a bow. Tony sighed.

"I'm sorry for grabbing you like that. You did underestimate Tsukasa's importance to me, though. She's so caring and kind and..." Tony trailed off, his heart warming merely from talking about her. "Look, I just really need to sort some stuff out, ya know?" Tony asked.

"I understand Kanpeki-san." Miyuki eyesmiled. "But please, don't take too long. I would rather like to see you two happy soon."

"Ehehe... Miyuki, I'm not sure if you quite unde-"

"How did you two get so far ahead of us?" Konata asked as the three caught up.

"We walked!" Tony shouted with a smile. "Think we should jog?"

"Sure!" Tsukasa answered for her as she started off in front of the group.

"Tsuka- !" Kagami shouted, but was too late as a man bumped into Tsukasa. The group rounded the corner to see him looking up Tsukasa's skirt, her promptly covering up. He started laughing insanely.

"Character print, eh?" He laughed. Tsukasa's face exploded into red, on the verge of tears of embarrassment.

"Well I can see you're no gentleman!" Kagami yelled in anger.

"I can see she isn't either!" He retorted with a laugh, pointing at Tsukasa. Tony had had enough.

"Pray. Now." Tony cracked his knuckles as he stepped towards the man. The man quickly lost his nerve and started running for his life. Tony was about to give chase, but something nagged at him not to. It was almost as if Tsukasa was still calling for peace. He looking around to see a tear slide down her cheek, causing his heart to break. He didn't know what to do, the girl he really liked was crying in front of him and he was clueless as to what to do. He gave a questioning look to Konata, who looked like she knew what to do. Tony looked pleadingly, but Konata just gave him a look that practically told him he was on his own. He sighed and looked back to Tsukasa, whom Kagami was trying to comfort but having little success. Tony followed his instinct. He walked over and brought Tsukasa into a hug, causing a gasp from the other three girls. Tsukasa quickly returned the embrace, thankful. Tony sighed. This is getting out of hand. My pulse is rushing. My heart is racing. My face is flushing. What am I facing?... DAMN IT! I... I think I've fallen in love with her... He shouted in his head. He broke the embrace and stared into Tsukasa's eyes, his arms almost trembling. Tsukasa looked back with a small smile that made Tony smile. "F-feel better?" Tony asked.

"Yeah... Thanks Kan-kun..." Tsukasa smiled, though wishing the hug had meant more to Tony. She held a hand to her heart, unknowing how far from the truth she really was. And this gesture did not go unnoticed by one Miyuki.

"That's good... We had better get a move on..." Tony VERY reluctantly turned, having only seen Tsukasa's face and, thus, missed where her hand had went. He had wanted to kiss the girl so badly, he could practically hear the percussion, strings, winds and words. As Tony walked away, Kagami shot a look to Konata. Konata sweatdropped at why everyone seemed to be looking to her for answers. She just shrugged and caught up with Tony. Kagami walked up to her sister and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to put her hand down while the twins started to catch up. Miyuki giggled to herself.

He can't hold out forever. She smiled.

Luckier Channel

"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!"

"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!" Minoru shouted.

"So you got another part, eh Shiraishi-san?" Akira asked.

"Yeah, I got to be the boss of the cosplay cafe!" Minoru smiled.

"That's awesome Shiraishi-san! I'm super jealous~!" Akira smiled.

"Well, with that comes a minor raise in pay since I'm doing a new part too!" Minoru said.

"What, are you gloating?" Akira asked, being reminded of her own fiscal problems.

"No, actually, I'm not. I know how you stuck up for me and let me keep my pay along with the opportunity to get more. So..." Minoru started to whisper in her ear, not loudly enough for anyone other than us to hear. "I'm giving you the pay from the cafe boss. Don't tell anyone or it's gonna get taken!" He warned. Before he knew it, Akira hugged him for a split second.

"Thanks. Not a lot of people try and help, ya know? So, um... Thanks." Akira whispered. "But be careful when hugging girls, they might get the wrong idea~!" Akira teased.

*Music Tone*

"Well I guess that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you all next chapter! Bye nii~!"

"..."

"So what's the big idea?"

"What do you mean?"

"What is it you want? You're being awfully generous..."

"I'm just trying to help..."

"Is that so? Well... Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Aftersection

So I can't write short chapters. I really can't. To be perfectly honest, I was wondering a few things about this chapter, I hope your reviews will answer my concerns! Just so you know, I'm being aloof about my concerns for a reason, I don't want you guys to know about what insecurities I have, but then again, I have doubts about at least a couple things every chapter. In most every chapter, once I post it, I just want to curl up in a ball for about a week in anticipation XD By the way Sqweebs, thanks for the challenge. It was a tad difficult to find ways to get references back at ya, what with how different our plot lines are, but I did it! Hehe, Ivory, you've given me an amazing idea. Thank you very much :-) Sir One, I'm glad you're liking the story, there's a lot of improvisation here :P I'll go ahead and admit that there were a few parts of this I didn't plan before I wrote them. But still, I hope you all continue to read and review. And to those I didn't mention specifically, thanks for reviewing to you too, each one makes me feel great, no matter what it says! See you next chapter!