Happy new year! I decided to have a night of knots - tying up loose ends. It IS the end of the arc and the year, right?
LUCKY STAR
"Yu-chan, I'm home!"
Konata arrived at the Izumi household just in time to make dinner. She had just escorted Kagami and Tsukasa home and the trip was somber and silent. Now that she had returned to her own home, she was met with more silence upon opening the front door. She was starting to get sick of the deafening quiet that was all too often invading her life recently.
Where is everyone? Is Yutaka already asleep? Konata asked herself. With a tired sigh, she closed the door and took off her shoes. Might as well check. She thought as she began making her way up the stairs.
Right as the bluenette was about to knock, Yutaka's door opened, revealing the sad smile and deep green eyes of its occupant. "Welcome home, Onee-chan" Yutaka greeted.
Konata blinked. "Oh... Hey there..." She was surprised by that"I'm gonna start making dinner now. Any requests?"
It took a while for her to answer but eventually she shook her head. "None... Anything will be fine. It'll taste good either way." She said with subdued cheer.
It was genuinely happy - happy enough to make Konata smile, even - but it felt off. It was like her emotions were leftovers that were taken out of the microwave too early. It wasn't warm enough. What's going on with her? The older girl wondered.
Still, nothing seemed to be wrong. If there was a problem, she was sure Yutaka would at least tell her about it. She nodded at the shorter girl and slid the door closed.
Entering her own room, Konata removed her shirt and shorts and changed into her household clothes - which, coincidentally, was a shirt and shorts as well. Dropping her bag on the floor and leaving her discarded clothes on the bed, she left the room and made her way to the kitchen.
"Now...what to cook...?" Konata wondered aloud
LUCKY STAR
"What's got YOU so moody?"
Misao arrived home in the middle of dinner. Without even changing out of her track suit, shesat down at the table and began eating. Even with everyone else's head start, she still managed to finish before all of them. She excused herself from the table, brought her plate to the sink, and went upstairs to her room without uttering a single word. She took off her clothes, tossed them against the wall and collapsed into the bed. She was about to drift into unconsciousness when suddenly she heard her brother's voice.
Misao groggily sat up and and glared at Masaru. "What do you want?"
Masaru blinked as he returned her gaze. "Well for starters, I want you to answer my question" He dead panned. "I'll ask again in case you already forgot. What's got you so moody?"
"I don't want to answer" Misao said before turning around and burying her face into her pillow. "Just go away" Was the muffled demand she added shortly after.
Masaru remained silent for some time. Eventually he sighed. "Whatever. Just don't let it get to you for too long. As much as I hate seeing you happy, seeing you sad is just too unusual for me." With that, the boy left the room.
A few minutes after he left, Misao rolled over and looked at the ceiling. Kagami... She thought, sending a flood of worry into her chest, making it hard to breathe. I can't help you. You can only help yourself. She closed her eyes tightly, tears beginning to form. So why aren't you doing that yet?
LUCKY STAR
Dinner at the Iwasaki estate was... lively? Tatsuya Takara and Shintaro Iwasaki, father of Miyuki and Minami respectively, had suddenly returned from work that evening surprising not only the two daughters, but the two wives as well.
"We took the week off." Tatsuya said. "We realized that our daughters are going to be having their school festival so we went on leave. I'm sure the executives won't mind running the company for seven days without us. Ain't that right, Shintaro?" He slapped his thigh in laughter.
"Absolutely!"
As the two men talked animatedly about their office shenanigans with their employees, Miyuki and Minami sat next to each other and ate, stealing glances at one another as they non-verbally communicated across the table.
Minami blinked and tilted her head towards her father, looking at him for a split second before shooting a questioning look to Miyuki. Did you know about this? She was asking.
Miyuki smiled and closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly. She opened her eyes and glanced at her own father, before raising her hand up to her mouth to hide her silent chuckling. I knew as much about this as you did. It's certainly a pleasant surprise.
Minami nodded and the two returned to their meal.
LUCKY STAR
Konata and Yutaka were doing the dishes when they heard their front door unlock and open. Shortly after, they heard a tired greeting from the house's only male occupant.
"I'm home!" Sojiro called out. He sounded tired - happy, but tired. "Did you save me some food? I'm starving." He said as he entered the kitchen.
"Good evening Uncle Sojiro"
"Hey there, dad." Konata greeted "Tonight and last night's leftovers are in the fridge. Pick a box and heat it up"
"Thanks, Konata. You're the best" For the next few minutes, Sojiro ate.
Konata and Yutaka were able to finish the dishes before he even got the food out of the microwave so they simply watched him.
It was obvious he was unnerved by this, not that he said anything. He remained silence, though it could be inferred from his actions. He would sometimes stop right in the middle of eating to glance at the two of them staring at him - his hand would still be raised, en-route to his mouth. He would then continue on and act like he never stopped in the first place - as if he were just a paused video that was unpaused. Also, he chewed slowly; thoughtfully; uncomfortably. It took a painstakingly long time for him to finish.
Afterwards, he said thanks for the meal and began washing the lunch box. The two waited at the living room for him to finish. When the sound of water stopped, Sojiro entered the room and sat opposite the two girls on the table.
"Dad..." Konata began in a low voice. She was leaning forward, elbows on the table, and hands interlocked in front of her mouth. She was like an mad genius plotting a evil scheme. The looked worked surprisingly well on her. "Dad, do you understand why I'm posing like Gendo Ikari...?" She asked.
Sojiro smiled nervously. "Um... Because you want me to go in the damn robot?" He said in the hope that she was in the mood for anime jokes.
Konata blinked and thought for a while on how to react. She chose to ignore what he just said. "Dad, why didn't you tell us about your work?" She asked flatly.
The man swallowed. "Well...uh..." Fear was in his eyes, and Konata could see it. "You never asked..." He answered unconvincingly.
The bluenette leaned back and crossed her arms, nodding slowly with a face pure skepticism. "Uh huh..." Who the hell did you think you were fooling, dad?
Sojiro shrunk at the sight. "I was embarrassing, okay." He said, finally giving in. "To go from writing light novels to reading them with people who have a lot of money and not a lot of social skills... Just..." He trailed off, not really completing his sentence, but it wasn't hard to guess what he was saying.
"It's fine, dad. I'm just glad that you have a job that didn't involve smuggling or something." She said, relaxing into the sofa. "Still, I'm surprised they hired you for that rent-a-man thing. Then again a lot of people are in to that sort of stuff"
"I actually got the idea from you." Sojiro said helpfully. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. You must have been really worried about me"
"Really now?" Konata sighed. "Look, dad. I haven't really forgiven you for that. Not yet." She said bluntly. "Its gonna take a long time before I'm ready to forgive you for putting me through all that. But I'll get there"
"Thank's Konata."
"No c'mon... I need a hug." She said, standing up arms raised in anticipation for an embrace that she received soon after. "Yu-chan, get in here too" She said a moment later.
"Okay."
The three hugged quietly before heading to bed.
LUCKY STAR
Tsukasa stood in front of her sister's doorway, contemplating on what to do. The older twin had immediately entered the room the moment she got home and hadn't left since. She didn't react to any knocks on her door nor their mother calling when dinner started. Everyone was worried for her, Tsukasa most especially.
She knocked lightly on the door, clinging to the hope that it'd unlock and slide open. "Sis, are you awake...?" She said meekly. "We already had dinner, if you want to eat, there are left overs in the fridge..." No response. The younger twin gave a slow nodded and a low whimper. "Good night, Kagami..." She said quietly before turning around and entering her own room.
As she changed into her pajamas, she couldn't help but wonder what her sister was thinking. She could understand what she was feeling - the negativity radiating from her door was enough to get a clear picture. Tuskasa's question was WHY...
Why was Kagami so sad? and angry? and all those other emotions oozing through the cracks of her door? Why was it that nothing that Tsukasa said had any effect. Why why why.
She didn't find the answer no matter how hard she tried. Shelving the dilemma for the night, Tsukasa lied down on her bed, hoping the answer comes to her in her sleep. Within moments she drifted off into unconsiousness
LUCKY STAR
Miyuki stood by the doorway to the living room. It was a large heavy-wood double-door with stainless steel door knobs and a reinforced door frame. It was pretty sturdy - probably would be able to withstand even a shot gun blast to the hinges. It would definitely protect whoever was inside from any intruders should they ever come. Unfortunately, they don't protect very well from eavesdroppers. Miyuki had been standing there, listening for at least half an hour at that point and no one has noticed.
"So, what do you think of my proposition?" Miyuki heard Honoka ask. "Would it be acceptable?"
"Well, I'm not against it. What about you, Shintaro?"
"I'm fine with it as well. I'll accept you no matter what. I'm just glad you accept us."
Miyuki heard Honoka chuckle. "I'll always accept you. We're all family here, aren't we?"
Miyuki closed her eyes solemnly and afforded herself a small smile. This is a surprising development. She thought. Surprising, but pleasant. I can't wait to tell Minami the good news. She sighed before walking away from the door and returning to her room.
LUCKY STAR
[Hello, Ayano?]
[What do you want, Kusakabe?]
[Akira? What the hell are you doing with Ayano's phone?]
[I'm holding it for safe keeping. We're in the hospital right now]
[What!? Seriously!?]
[Yes, now keep it down. You really hurt my ear with that one.]
[Sorry... What happened to Ayano?]
[This morning she fell down the stairs and hit her head. A few hours later, we woke up and found her sprawled on the floor, unconscious. We rushed her to the hospital.]
[So that's why no one was answering the home phone when we called earlier. Wait, if you have her cell, why didn't you answer when we called it?]
[It was in silent mode. She didn't even set it to vibrate. I only realized you were calling just now because it was on the table and it suddenly lit up.]
[How is she?]
[She's doing fine. She woke up just fine a few hours ago but the doctor advised at least a day of rest and a few more tests before she's allowed to leave]
[That sucks...]
[Yeah. Tell me about it. Anyway, I don't want to wake Ayano up so let's wrap this up. She needs her rest.]
[Gotcha'. Tell her I said "Hi". Good night."]
[Yeah. Night]
LUCKY STAR
I long for a day when I can return to my weekly release schedule. My quality has gotten better! Why couldn't my output rate have remained that same?
As I said in the opening A/N, Happy New Year. I really hope you people enjoyed 2014. It has been a great year for me in terms of fanfiction since this is literally my first year as an author. Not many people can say they've got a 100k word story under their belt that's still on-going. Okay, maybe a lot of people can, but it's only been 8 months. It's certainly an achievement, right? Not mention two other stories.
Got a lot of plans for 2015 and one of them involves finishing this story. Look forward to it I guess. Til' then, see you guys around