Lucky Temptations

A Lucky Star Fanfiction

Episode 3 (Meek Temptations): Chapter 10

Author's Notes: Well everyone, here it is. Sorry for the wait. I've been dealing with school stuff, constant calls from friends, a baby goat, trying to find a job, and a general all around lack of motivation. Luckily, I managed to find that motivation earlier today and typed up the entire chapter... Today... I'm tired now... Enjoy the crap out of it...

Thursday morning.

Patty had just gotten out of bed. It was still very early in the morning and she had to be extra careful not to wake up Hiyori, whom she had taken to sleeping with. Patty still tended to sleep in the buff, although Hiyori had never complained after they officially got together.

"I just need to make a quick trip to the bathroom." Patty thought as she left the room. "Then I'll come back in here and get dressed." She thought as she closed the bathroom door behind her. After taking care of her morning business, Patty left the bathroom a little too quickly and ran right into someone in the hallway, almost sending the both of them to the floor.

"Sorry! I didn't see you there!" Patty exclaimed, standing back. The sight in front of her then made her throat sink into her stomach.

Jirou Tamura, Hiyori's father, was standing there with a blank expression. Judging from the bathrobe and now spilled cup of tea, he was just getting ready for his morning. "Patricia-san…" He said quietly, averting his eyes. "Why are you naked?"

"Oh! Right…" She said bashfully, looking away and blushing. "I kinda like to sleep like this. Sorry. I didn't think anyone was going to be up this early."

"Yeah…" Jirou said. "I kind of have work early on Thursdays. I'm usually out of here before anyone else gets up."

"Sorry. If I had known, I would have gotten dressed first." She said, covering herself with her arms.

"Fully dressed?" Jirou asked. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Well actually-" Patty began, but was cut off by two doors opening simultaneously.

"Honey, are you okay?" Miyo asked sleepily.

"Patty, was that noise you?" Hiyori asked, wiping sleep from her eyes.

Both of them seemed to register the situation at the same time. When they did, neither of them could say anything.

"How about Patricia-san gets dressed before we discuss this." Jirou suggested, going back to the room that he shared with his wife.

"Sounds good." Patty said awkwardly as she went past Hiyori and into her room.

One school uniform and two bars of mind soap later…

Patty and Hiyori are called into the living room for a little talk.

"Okay." Jirou said as the two girls sat down. "First thing's first. If you're going to sleep in the nude, at least use one of these when you leave the room." Jirou said, handing Patty a spare bathrobe. "Secondly," he continued, "where were you planning on going this early in the morning? It isn't even light out yet."

"Actually, I was going back to my place." Patty admitted. "I forgot to bring some things with me when I came here, so I had to go home to get them. I needed to leave early to get to my place in time to make it to school."

"Well that is a bit of a problem, isn't it?" Jirou asked rhetorically, stroking his chin.

"Honey, don't tease them this early." Miyo said, giving her husband a light shove.

"Alright, take it easy." He said. "I think Miyo and I have a solution to this little issue. You live alone, right?" He asked.

"Yeah. The rest of my family is back in America." Patty confirmed.

"Well then, I'll bet it gets pretty lonely when you aren't here, doesn't it?" He asked.

"Yeah actually." Patty said sadly. "Its really quiet at home."

"Well then, Miyo and I have talked it over, and we were wondering if you would like to move here with us and Hiyori." Jirou said, smiling and putting an arm around his wife.

"You really mean it?" Hiyori exclaimed, apparently no longer tired.

"Yep." Miyo said with a smile and a nod. "We'll even arrange for a mover to get your things here."

Patty was speechless, so instead of saying anything, she just jumped forward and pulled Jirou and Miyo into a hug. "Thanks mom. Thanks dad." She said quietly as she tightened her grip.

There was a long silence, but it was one that nobody seemed to mind.

A loud, obnoxious buzzing sound suddenly cut a swath through the silence in Ayano's bedroom. It was almost immediately silenced with a dull thud.

"God I hate this thing." Ayano muttered as she removed her hand from the top of her digital alarm clock. "Do they make these things specifically to annoy you awake?" She wondered as she rolled out of bed.

After taking an inordinate amount of time to get ready for the day, Ayano sluggishly made her way downstairs. "Hey there sleepyhead." Ayano's older sister said with a wave. "What took you so long? You're usually all cheery by now." She asked with concern.

"Sorry Tamano." Ayano apologized rubbing her head with one hand. "I didn't sleep so well last night."

"Well that much is apparent." Tamano giggled, closing her bright blue eyes in the process. One of the bangs from her shoulder length orange hair fell into her face as she tilted her head, causing her to blow it back with mild irritation.

"You should really consider trimming those." Ayano suggested.

"But they frame my face. Mom says so." Tamano protested.

"No, they really don't." Ayano thought as she sat down at the table.

"Mom and dad have already left for work." Tamano explained. "I made us a simple breakfast for today." She said as she laid a bowl of white rice in front of Ayano and cracked a raw egg on top of it. "I'll let you decide how much of this to use." She said as she handed Ayano a bottle of soy sauce.

"Thanks Tamano. I really need this." Ayano said as she picked up her chopsticks and began stirring the egg in with some soy sauce.

"If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you sleep?" Tamano asked. "Did you have a bad dream or something?"

Ayano's thoughts drifted to the tattered hoodie now hanging in the back of her closet. "Yeah. Something like that." She said.

"Want to elaborate?" Tamano asked, looking at her sister intently.

"Well," Ayano began, pausing to take a bite of her breakfast; "I dreamt that someone broke into my room last night." She lied. "I ended up awake most of the night because of it." She said with a sigh.

"That's kind of weird." Tamano said. "By the way, I saw your boyfriend on my way home yesterday." She said. "He looked like he was in a hurry to get to the train station. Was he here yesterday?"

"No, you must be mistaken." Ayano said. "No way. It couldn't be him." She thought.

"Maybe. He did seem a little roughed up, so I guess I might be wrong. Anyways, finish up quick or you'll be late for school." Tamano said, getting up and walking away from the table.

"Yeah, she must have mistaken someone else for Nikinari." Ayano thought. "I'll talk to Misao about him today. After all, we're confronting him together tomorrow." She thought as she finished her breakfast, said goodbye to her sister, and left for the train station.

"Konata onee-chan!" Yutaka called. "It's time to get up! Hurry or else we'll be late!"

"Just five more minutes." Konata muttered as she rolled over and ended up face to face with her alarm clock. "Oh no." She said as she realized that the alarm was going to go off in less than a minute. "Please." She begged the clock. "Have mercy."

As if hearing her plea, the readout changed to the time that the alarm was supposed to go off at, but nothing happened.

"Whoa." She said. "I can't believe that-" Unfortunately, Konata was cut off mid sentence by the alarm suddenly blasting at full volume, causing her to recoil and fall out of bed entirely. Konata sluggishly and angrily felt her way up the nightstand and to her clock, which she slapped her hand on top of with great prejudice. "Curses. Hitting a girl when she's down." She muttered to herself.

"Konata onee-chan, are you okay?" Yutaka asked through the door. She had more than learned her lesson last time she walked into her cousin's room uninvited.

"Yeah!" Konata called. "I'm awake now!" "Man, I should have gone to bed sooner last night. Oh well. At least Yutaka and I made up after the thing at school. That'll make today's events a little easier." Konata thought as she got up off of the floor and started getting ready for school. Actually, dad was acting pretty weird last night. Even for him. I wonder what's up." Konata thought briefly. "Oh well. I'm sure it's nothing."

Sojiro couldn't stop thinking about what had happened last night.

"Cool!" Ms. Kuroi exclaimed. "It's a date then! See ya tomorrow." She said as she left a speechless Sojiro at the train station.

"A date?" Sojiro asked himself. "Same time and place… It's probably just a casual thing. That date comment was just a figure of speech." He assured himself.

"No! Don't say that!" Kanata exclaimed as she appeared behind Sojiro. "I told you that you need to move on!" She said in frustration. "If you found someone that you might have a chance with, don't blow it!"

"I bet she's just looking for friendship." He said. "After all, why would she want someone like me? I must be more than ten years older than her." He said sadly. "Then again, that makes it even better from my perspective." He said with a light chuckle.

"Okay, now it's getting a little weird. You aren't going out with one of our daughter's friends, are you?" Kanata asked, getting somewhat creeped out.

"Plus, she's a teacher. I'll bet the guys are throwing themselves at her. She's pretty, she's smart, and she's funny." He said, a tear forming in his eye. "She's too good for me. Just like Kanata was."

Kanata gasped at this. "He really feels that way about her?" She thought sadly. "I didn't think there would be someone this great this soon. I wasn't ready for this." She thought. "But that's great! He's finally found someone that he can love like he loved me." She thought happily. "So-kun, don't mess this up!" Kanata exclaimed. "I'll be there to help." She said as she walked over to the dresser at the end of the room. Sojiro's wallet was on top of it. "You'd better go on that date." Kanata said, looking back at her emotionally conflicted husband. Kanata placed her hand on top of the wallet and closed her eyes. Then, she disappeared.

"Aw hell." Sojiro said. "A guy like me and a girl like her? Please. If I had her number, I'd cancel the date right now."

"What's this about a date?" A small voice asked from the slightly open door.

"GUAAH! Konata! Don't listen in!" Sojiro yelled in embarrassment.

"I wouldn't be able to if you didn't talk to yourself." Konata pointed out.

"I… Okay, I don't have anything for that." Sojiro conceded.

"So, who's this girl, huh dad?" Konata asked. "Is she cute? Or is she the kind that takes command?" Konata asked, making a motion as if she was cracking a whip.

"Konata, that put so many disturbing thoughts in my head it isn't even funny…" Sojiro said flatly.

"Yes! Mission successful!" Konata yelled as she pumped her fist. "So really, what's she like?" She asked.

"Well, uh… It doesn't really matter." Sojiro said, waving his hand dismissively.

"What are you talking about?" Konata exclaimed. "Dad, you should know better than anyone that that attitude will never get you to the event scene!" She yelled, getting uncomfortably close to his face. "You NEED to go on that date!" Konata stressed. "The first date scene is always the most important one! Miss the flag there, and the event scene is as good as gone!"

Suddenly, Sojiro had fire in his eyes. "Konata, you're absolutely right!" he exclaimed. "Alright! I'll do it! I'll make you proud, Kanata!"

Konata tilted her head in confusion. "Dad, I know me and mom look alike, but do you really confuse us like that?"

"Huh?" Sojiro asked stupidly before realizing what he said. "OH! Sorry." He said, scratching his head.

"No problem. So, what's she like?"

"Oh, Konata, she's amazing. I haven't felt this way since your mother passed away." He said with a tear in his eye.

"Whoa. You're really serious about this girl, aren't you?" Konata asked.

"Yeah. I mean, maybe. I don't really know. You probably know her better than I do." Sojiro said.

"What does he mean by that?" Konata wondered. She was about to inquire further, but Yutaka grabbed hold of her hand and started pulling her towards the door.

"Come on Konata!" Yutaka said. "We're gonna be late!"

"Alright. I'll see you later girls. I'll be out for a while tonight, so wish me luck." "I'll try to make this work. I have to. For Konata." He thought as he waved goodbye. "Oh! I'll be meeting up with her around six thirty, so don't worry about cooking me anything!" Sojiro called, hoping Konata would hear him.

"Okay dad!" Konata called as her little cousin dragged her out the door. "Geez Yu-chan. What's the hurry?"

"Well, I don't want to be late is all." Yutaka said with a slight blush.

"Really? That's all?" Konata asked.

"Well, you're meeting up with your friends at the station aren't you?" Yutaka said shyly. "You don't want to keep them waiting, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Konata said as she bean walking with her cousin, much to her soles' relief. "Why does she care so much about that?" Konata wondered.

"So, Minami-chan, are you ready for today?" Miyuki asked with concern as the two approached the train station.

"I'm not really sure." Minami admitted. "I know I have to do it, but it's difficult." She said.

Miyuki then took hold of Minami's hand. "I promise I'll be there with you. I'll do anything I can to help." She said, looking into Minami's eyes reassuringly.

"Thank you." Minami said, tightening her grip on Miyuki's hand. "As long as you're there, I think I can do it."

"Good. Remember, Konata will be there too. She should be able to help a lot as well." Miyuki said.

"Um, Miyuki… The train." Minami said.

"Oh!" Miyuki exclaimed as she pulled her arm in just in time to keep her new tote bag from getting caught on the doors. "Thank you." Miyuki said, scratching her head and blushing. "When did we get all the way to the train?" Miyuki wondered. "I must have space out again. Good thing Minami was here to help. I'm so glad we're together now."

"No problem." Minami said. "Come on. Let's go find a seat." She said as the two went to find someplace they could both sit, still hand in hand.

"Finally, somewhere we can sit." Kagami said as she and Tsukasa took two unoccupied seats on the train.

"There sure are a lot of people on the train today." Tsukasa pointed out.

"I know, right? It's almost like they try not to leave two seats open. It's like everyone tries to stay at least a full seat away or something." Kagami said.

"Yeah. It really stinks when it's like that." Tsukasa said with a smile.

"Hey Tsukasa." Kagami paused before continuing. "About last night…"

"Don't worry about it so much." Tsukasa said with a smile. "I was just glad I got to protect you for once."

"You're really growing up." Kagami said. This caught Tsukasa entirely by surprise, causing her to actually gasp audibly.

"What do you mean?" Tsukasa asked excitedly. "Is she serious? She's calling me grown up?"

"You've come a long way." Kagami said. "I don't feel like I need to protect you all the time anymore. You can actually handle yourself now." Kagami paused again before finishing with a bang. "I'm really proud of you." She said.

Tsukasa's eyes filled up with tears, but she didn't cry. "Thanks sis. That means a whole lot coming from you." She said gratefully as she nodded and blinked the tears away.

"Anyways, there's going to be quite the discussion when we get home today." Kagami said. "Are you ready for that?"

"Yeah." Tsukasa said confidently. "I'm nervous, but I think I can do it. Matsuri promised not to tell anyone, so I can tell mom and dad myself."

"Alright. Just make sure you're ready." Kagami said. "I know I'd be sweating bullets if I was you. Hell, I'm still not one hundred percent sure about myself. I'd be freaking out. She really has grown up." Kagami thought as their train reached the first stop on the way to theirs.

The train doors slid open, and from the dark interior stepped a ghastly figure. It's hair was an absolute mess and the clothes were wrinkled and messy. It staggered out of the train in an almost zombie-like fashion. "Great. Here I am." Said the girl through a fanged mouth. "I won't be able to go through the day without seeing her, so I guess I'll just have to see what happens then." Misao muttered to herself as she shuffled towards the school. She wished desperately that she had slept more last night, but she knew that she wouldn't have been able to no matter how hard she tried. She was in no mood for anything this morning, and she had a score to settle. "Ayano, why?" She thought as the school entered her field of vision and a single tear fell from her face.

Author's Notes: Whew! What a doozy. Anyways, I'm gonna go to bed now before I wake up with an imprint of my keyboard on my forehead. I'm donating blood tomorrow right before meeting up with my girlfriend. That'll be fun... Maybe I'll just drink some syrup... Anyways, next update will be up sometime when I have more energy.

Look forward to it! *thud!* ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz...