[I said multiple times that I won't change this story to M-Rated… Well, that worked well… Okay, it's still rather tame and cute and nowhere near explicit/smut, but I really don't think it works with the T-Rating anymore… except maybe here in Europe…]
June flew by in a flash and the weekend of the twins' birthday including the anniversary of Konata's and Kagami's relationship was almost there. They usually would've spent the birthday together with Tsukasa and Miyuki like last year, but the two decided that their anniversary hat priority this year. Konata went all out and booked a room in a Hot Spring Inn for the whole weekend. Luckily, the trip was paid in full by Konata's father, Sojiro. He cried for a good while after Konata presented her the bill, but it was completely his own fault for using his daughter's love life as a reference for his light novels. Even Konata herself looked with big eyes at the final prize, but she didn't feel sorry at all. For some reason, she really has absolutely no idea why, only high-class inns had free rooms and even then, only super expensive rooms were available on the weekend of their anniversary. One could've assumed that there would be a wider range of choices when booking a room over two months in advance and outside of the main holiday season, but Konata was pretty persistent in the fact that there wasn't any other choice than this. Sojiro didn't feel like questioning her anything more afterward.
Thursday, right before the weekend in question, arrived and Konata was currently busy preparing for the trip. To be precise, she was packing some clothes and other necessities in her room.
"Oh, onee-chan, what are you doing?" Yutaka walked into her room at some point and asked her what's going on.
"Yu-chan, hello. As you can see, I'm packing. I'm going on a trip this weekend."
"Oh, I see. Together with the other senpais from your group?"
"Nah, just Kagamin~ and I."
"Okay…?" Yutaka looked somewhat confused. "Only the two of you?" Even she had the feeling that going on a weekend trip isn't something two friends alone normally do together.
"Yeah, well, her birthday is on the weekend, and I planned the whole trip…"
"Ah, that's how it is… Wait, what?" She thought it made sense at first, but it really didn't after all. "Aren't Kagami-senpai and Tsukasa-senpai twins? Their birthdays are on the same day, right?"
"W-Well…" Konata actually got cornered by Yutaka. "Kagamin~'s somewhat special… For why it's really complicated to explain on the spot, but she's basically family to me… Or something like that…"
"Oh, you mean like a sister?"
"No, absolutely not!" Konata made sure to vigorously deny that explanation, there would be way too many things wrong with that, especially when she's going to tell Yutaka what's going on.
"Ehhh?" Yutaka didn't understand anything anymore. To her, Konata wasn't making any sense at all.
"Well, there is something I have yet to tell you, Yu-chan, it'll all make sense then, but it's still a bit too early…"
"Oh, okay, I'll wait then." It's good that she's such a nice girl.
While Konata was trying her best to deal with Yutaka, her girlfriend, Kagami, had similar problems as well when she was preparing for the trip.
….
Just like Konata, Kagami's also packing in her room at home when someone decided to join her. Miki had just entered her room, and the smile on her lips didn't mean anything good. Kagami immediately got a bad feeling when she saw her mother entering the room. She sat down on Kagami's bed and watched her for a moment before finally saying something.
"You know, I never heard anything about your trip besides that you're going to a Hot Spring Inn. I'm really curious about the details, you know~?"
"I don't know that much either… Kona planned the whole trip because it's also my birthday. The only thing I do know is that we're going to Hakone."
"Well, Hakone being a hot spring area somewhat nearby makes it only natural. I wonder if you'll be able to see Mt. Fuji from your inn. Hakone's pretty close to it."
"No idea, I guess that depends a little on the location. The chances are pretty high, though… The whole trip's super expensive after all…"
"Really? How can you two even afford the whole trip?"
"That's… Sojiro's paying for it and Kona's making full use of that."
"Eh? Why's he the one paying?"
"Well… That's a long story… a very complicated situation and, ehm… I would be happy if you wouldn't ask, mom…."
"Hmm… Well, I have more important things to ask anyway…" Miki agreed and changed the topic.
"Why do I have a bad feeling again?"
"What are you two going to do the entire time in Hakone?"
"Uh, no idea, as I said, Kona planned the whole thing…"
"Well, it's not like the two of you are going to leave the room anyway in the first place."
"Haha, that's actually… not that unlikely."
"Oh my, what a bold daughter I have here. You have matured quite a bit, haven't you?"
"Sure~, you can blame Kona for that, though."
"Aww, that's no fun at all…" Miki started pouting and looked disappointed when she realized her teasing wasn't working at all. "Whatever I'll go visit Tsukasa then. She still has nice reactions~." Just like that, the storm called Miki disappeared again.
"Haa…" Kagami held her temples while letting out a sigh. She tried her best to fight back a surfacing headache from her absolutely-no-good mother while continuing to pack for tomorrow.
…
Friday arrived, and school was already over for the girls. The two met up at the station near Kagami's house and took the train together to the station in Tokyo. Continuing their trip with a bullet train from there, the two arrived in Hakone in basically no time at all. Arriving there, all that was left was a short bus trip to their Inn. The two entered the reception hall, and Konata quickly handled the checking-in procedure. Afterward, someone from the Inn staff showed them to their room. They were escorted to an adjacent building, and the staff member stopped right before a luxury-suite kind of corner room. Seeing just that was enough for Kagami to almost feel sorry for Sojiro already. Her excitement easily overshadowed such silly feelings, though. They went inside, and Kagami immediately wasted not even a single thought about his wallet anymore, she was simply speechless and overwhelmed.
"Wow…"
"Hehe." Konata seemed satisfied with her reaction. Once the initial shock was gone, the two started looking around. The first station was the living room. A good part of it had a traditional Japanese style feeling with the tatami mats on the floor and the low-height table with chairs that were more or less just backrests. The room also had a western feeling to it, though. Modern looking pictures and the huge, gray sofa made a nice contrast to the traditional style. After that, they took a short peek in the bathroom, but it was just a bathroom… Toilet, shower, tub and other bath related things. In short, nothing really unusual, but it was really spacious, and that's always a plus. The next room was incomparably more exciting to Konata and Kagami, the bedroom. Except the sliding door to enter it, it had an entirely western feeling to it. Lots of, mainly dark, wood was used as the central theme of the room, beginning with the wooden floor, continuing with parts of the wall and finalizing it with the massive wooden headboard of the bed. The bed itself was also the highlight because it's actually wider than long. Lots of indirect lighting provided a very comfortable atmosphere.
"Wow…" Kagami repeated herself. "What a bed… And here I thought yours was overkill, Kona."
"Haha, yeah… Well, mine's also too much because a certain someone always uses me as a hug-pillow and so most of the bed stays empty anyway, but, well this bed is more than just overkill. Not that having more room to… play is something bad."
"That's true." She didn't deny anything that Konata said. Rather, her eyes looked somewhat dangerous, or rather, hungry, but that's a story for later. Her expression soon changed to a surprised look anyway because Konata saved the highlight for the end.
"Well, now take a look at that." The other side of the bedroom was connected to an outdoor terrace which completely went along the two walls of their corner room. Thanks to that, one could enjoy two completely different views at the same time. One side faced a beautiful bamboo forest growing its way up a gentle hill. The stunningly high and dense grown bamboo had a slightly intimidating side to it, and the whole forest felt somewhat eerie because of its vastness, but the sound of swaying stalks with its gentle rustling had an amazingly calming effect on one's mind. The view from the other side of the terrace was entirely different, though. Having not a single thing obscuring the view, one had a perfect view of Mt. Fuji in the near distance. As is purely placed for enjoying the view of both directions, there was a big and incredibly comfortable looking hammock placed at the corner of the terrace. The most stunning thing to see was something entirely else, though.
"You're joking, right…?" Kagami looked and the stunning object in question and had doubts believing it.
"It's awesome, isn't it?"
"Well, yeah, but… seriously?!" The two were looking at a huge open-air hot spring bath directly connected to the terrace, and that was completely for their own, private use.
"You know that I don't do things half-heartedly, Kagamin~." Konata was happy that the place she chose left such an impact on her.
"That's for sure… It's amazing here, you really outdid yourself here, Kona. But, your father's wallet did as well, huh?"
"Oh, you have no idea~." Konata had a really sinister smile on her lips while saying so.
"I guess my mom was right, though."
"Hmm?"
"She jokingly(?) said that we aren't going to leave our room anyway when she asked about our planned activities here."
"Yep, that's true, there's absolutely no need to go anywhere else."
"I wholeheartedly agree with you there." Once they had seen everything and Kagami calmed down from being overwhelmed, the two went to their bedroom again and started unpacking their clothes. Konata opened the wardrobe and found something rather interesting.
"Hoh~, look at that, Kagamin~." She took a pair of blue Yukatas out of the wardrobe and handed one over to Kagami. "A stay at a Hot Spring Inn has to be authentic after all."
"That's true." Agreeing that being near a hot spring means wearing a Yukata, Kagami immediately started undressing on the spot until only her panties and a bra were left.
"W-Wow…" Konata was at a loss for words and enjoyed the view for a second before having an idea and tried her luck. "You know, for a real authentic feeling, you aren't supposed to wear anything underneath."
"You would like that, wouldn't you?"
"You have no idea…"
"Hmm~." Just like that, two more articles of clothing fell down on the floor before Kagami ever so slowly bent forward, grabbed the Yukata, and slipped into it.
"…" It was that very moment when the not further mentioned clothes landed on the floor when Konata knew that the weekend's going to be an excellent one. Actually, it took her a fair amount of time longer to realize because her brain stopped working for a moment.
"Happy?" She looked unbelievably smug.
"H-Huh? Oh, yes… very… Thank you very much, Kagami-sama." She needed a moment to snap back to reality. "I can say for sure that I'm the happiest person alive."
"Hehe~." Kagami seemed happy and once Konata changed into the Yukata as well, including another short, though similar, interruption, the two went to the living room and made themselves comfortable on the sofa. "Seriously though, Kona, just how much did that here all cost?"
"Don't worry about it, Kagamin~, my father took it quite well."
"Did he really now?
"Absolutely~. He only cried for a couple of hours when I showed him the price for the room~."
"Wow… I know that it was expensive when I saw him being somewhat depressed after you found out about the content of his light novel, but it was that much, huh?"
"Yeah~." It was beyond obvious that Konata didn't feel sorry in the slightest.
…
The two spent some more time relaxing on the sofa until they decided to have a slightly early dinner in their room. Unfortunately, for Sojiro that is, Konata hadn't ordered the standard menu, but a considerably more expensive festival of seafood. Fancy looking sushi, sashimi, shrimps and much more was presented on a lovely decorated plate. Not only the quality, but the quantity as well was outstanding.
"Just how much fun did you have with spending money, Kona?"
"You'll lose if you think about things too hard, Kagamin~."
"Well, not that I'm complaining." Just like that, the two started feasting on the food in front of them.
They safely finished the satisfying meal and directly went on with their next point on the agenda. Getting ready for entering the hot spring bath, the two decided to take a shower first. Purely for the purpose of saving time, of course, Konata and Kagami reluctantly entered the shower together. Thanks to that, they did their best to get over it quickly, and only half an hour later, the two left the shower again already. Wearing nothing more than a towel each, the girls went to the terrace and entered the hot spring bath. They looked for the best position in the water for a while but quickly settled for a place where they sat down directly next to each other and chatted for a while. Kagami soon had something to complain about, though.
"You know, the order we're doing things is totally wrong… Why did we have to enter the hot spring right after having such a large meal?!"
"What's the problem?"
"Being naked after eating just makes me feel even fatter…"
"Ha?" Konata looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Then she left her place right next to Kagami and moved in front of her. Then, she slowly looked at every inch of Kagami's body while taking great care not to miss a single detail. "What?"
"You heard me, idiot."
"Yeah, I did. That's the problem. Just where are you fat, exactly? I never understood that mindset of yours… only that it was fun to tease you with, that is… I wouldn't mind presenting you on a pedestal in my room, you know?"
"But, lately I just gained almost another kilo… and that's not the first time…"
"Hmm…" Konata took another, now even more concentrated look at her. "Nope, no fat at all. Wait, maybe…"
"W-What?" She didn't like the sound of that.
"Kagamin~, could it be possible that you grew a little?"
"No, I haven't gotten taller at all la-… Kyaa!" The two weren't talking about the same kind of growth. While Konata looked for confirmation whether certain parts of her body actually grew by groping them, Kagami suddenly screamed up a bit. "W-Why are your hands so cold?! I mean, we're in a hot spring after all!" The cause for her scream was very different from the apparent reason, though.
"That's your problem, huh? Great! But, coming back to the topic at hand, quite literally actually…" She gave the left topic a squeeze and continued. "Yep, there's definitely more. I wonder why they grew~."
"If you're going to make a fondling joke now, Kona, I'll do the same to you, you know?"
"Hmm…"
"Wait, let me correct myself, I WON'T."
"…" Konata had already prepared something to say but instantly fell silent upon hearing Kagami's severe thread and the slightly dangerous look in her eyes. She let go again and obediently sat down next to her while changing the topic. "The view sure is great here." She rested her head against Kagami's shoulder and looked straight ahead towards Mt. Fuji in the distance while enjoying the comfortable feeling of direct skin contact.
"That's true…" Kagami lazily agreed with her and also looked in the same direction while feeling as relaxed as one can get. The two enjoyed the scenery, including the bamboo forest for a couple minutes while enjoying each other's company.
"You know, it's quite funny how this trip compares to our last hot spring visit with Tsukasa and Miyuki, huh? It was so awkward that I almost wanted to cry back then… Interesting how drastically things can change in less than a year…" The two were so very comfortable around each other in every situation now that Konata just had to compare it.
"Don't remind me!" Kagami, on the other hand, just wanted to forget about those embarrassing memories.
"Ahaha… Well, I get your point, though."
"You're right as well…" She stored the embarrassing memory of the last hot spring visit back in a dark corner of her brain again but started thinking about the last year as well. "So many things have changed ever since we became a couple… We have significantly changed as well… You actually calmed down a lot, haven't you, Kona?"
"Nah, you just became so much more of an otaku that you don't notice it anymore."
"That's… Shut up…" She wanted to deny it, she really did, but it somehow was hard for her to voice it out.
"I think you have changed much more, Kagamin~."
"I'm actually not going to deny that."
"The otaku thing or changing in general?"
"I'll hit you."
"Oh, right, you also became much more of an S I initially thought you'd be…"
"That's just because you have an unexpected big M side yourself."
"W-Wha-…" Konata was a little shocked, but when she saw Kagami's grin, she immediately knew that she played right in her cards. She went silent because she didn't want to give her that victory, but to Kagami, that was the very definition of victory.
While being wrapped in a comfortable silence, the two continued to soak in the water while enjoying the scenery around them. Konata was about to nap away thanks to the extreme level of relaxation, but something or rather, someone was hindering her from doing so. For a while already, she felt a rather intense stare coming from her side, and when Konata finally turned her head, she directly looked into Kagami's eyes and a chill ran down her spine. Konata already noticed that her eyes were looking somewhat dangerous ever since unpacking their things earlier that day, but she finally remembered where she saw that look before. It was the look of a carnivore, like a lion, eying its prey. The prey, Konata, instinctively shuddered, but unlike animals in the wild, this prey had no reason to flee. Even if she had, it was too late anyway. Kagami noticed that she was found out and seeing that her prey showed no resistance, she attacked. She lifted one of her legs, and with an elegant turn, she sat down on Konata's lap, effectively mounting her, and placed her arms on Konata's shoulders. Ignoring her wet hair that was sticking to her arms and parts of her face, Kagami pulled Konata closer and started kissing her. Even if a prey doesn't show resistance when being attacked, there's no guarantee that it'll stay like that. While Kagami was slowly kissing her way down Konata's neck, she started her own attack. The sudden growth spurt of her girlfriend still somewhat fascinated her, and because a famous legend states that there's something that'll support this growth, Konata made sure that her fondling was a regular occurrence. Her hands soon started to wander again, though. She wrapped her arms around Kagami's waist, and with a sudden move, Konata pulled her as close as possible. Not even the water around them had enough room between their bodies, and it violently splashed in every direction on contact. The two became even more soaked, but neither of them seemed to care about the water dripping from every part of their bodies and hair. They continued completely unfazed, and while Kagami never stopped showering Konata's body with kisses, her hand also started to wander, but it never reached its destination. It became more and more steamy, but it wasn't the right kind of steamy. The already warm water around them heated up more and more from their rising body temperatures and the whole area became really foggy. It became somewhat of a bother, and the extra heat from the hot spring also was everything, but needed in their current situation. Kagami had no intention to let her already caught prey escape, but decided to stop her attack temporarily. Letting go of each other, Kagami stood up and moved to the edge of the bath. With a wink of her finger, she gestured Konata to follow her, and both left the hot spring bath. Both hastily grabbed a towel from the floor where they left them before, and while sloppily drying themselves, the two went to their bedroom.
Throwing their towels in the next best corner, they stopped in front of the bed. Both looked at each other, and when Kagami noticed the glistening droplets of water on Konata's still somewhat wet body, her already non-existent reasoning hit a new all-time low and she forcefully pushed Konata onto the bed. Wasting no time at all, she immediately jumped after her and landed on top of Konata, making her unable to move. Looking up at Kagami, Konata's reasoning flew out of the window as well. Kagami's equally glittering skin, her wet hair sticking to both of their bodies, her flushed looking face with an even more hungry gaze, and not to mention various other eye-catching places were too much for Konata to wait any longer. She wrapped her arms around Kagami's neck and pulled her closer. Being welcomed with a deep kiss, Kagami let go of her position hovering above Konata and pressed her body against the girl below her. Continuing where they left off in the hot spring, the two often changed the position because not only Kagami was the hunter, but both were prey and hunter at the same time. The bed they initially thought was way too big for them, soon felt extremely small. The night had advanced quite far already, and even though it was so late, none of them seemed like they wanted to stop anytime soon.
…
The next morning arrived. The two actually did fall asleep at some point, mainly due to exhaustion, but it was late enough to make them oversleep way longer than they'd planned. Konata was the first to wake up, and after letting out a big yawn, she looked around. Her eyes were immediately glued to Kagami next to her, though. Their bed was a complete mess, and the blanket wasn't even on it anymore, but because of that, Konata had a perfect view of Kagami's bare back and various curves of her body. Gulping once, she somehow managed to stay with watching only, and Kagami also started to wake up. Turning around, she noticed Konata watching her and so she greeted her with a sweet smile before closing her eyes again. The act of turning around put quite a heavy burden on Konata's mind, though. Being able to see even more attractive curves on the front, along with various other important things made her almost swoon, but she luckily became help from outside.
"… Kona~, door~…"
"H-Huh?" She snapped back to reality and noticed that Kagami was trying to say something to her.
"Door… open it…" She was still asleep while talking, but that was nothing new to Konata. While she tried to make sense out of her girlfriend, she finally heard the knocking on the door as well.
"Oh… Yes, I'll go…" She didn't even ask why Kagami didn't open it herself because Konata already knew that she's beyond useless in the morning while waking up. She stood up and left the bedroom, but luckily noticed a big problem before it was too late. Konata quickly disappeared into the bathroom, and when exiting again, she was wearing the blue Yukata that she left behind when she took a shower with Kagami yesterday. Clothes weren't needed after that anymore after all. But, opening the door naked wouldn't be a wise choice. Konata opened the door, and even though she was wearing something now, her bed-hair was a still something else, but the girl from the inn staff at the other side of the door was a professional who didn't even bat an eye at such a sight.
"Dear guest, we'd like to know whether you're going to eat breakfast at the dining hall or if we should prepare a selection for you to eat in your room?"
"Ehm… room… definitely room…" Konata's thoughts were still at the naked Kagami in the next room, and so she needed a second longer for the answer.
"Certainly, we'll immediately start preparing. Do the guests have any other request or wishes?"
"No need to rush, breakfast in half an hour would be perfect. Hmm… Oh while we're at it, we're planning to have dinner in our room as well."
"Certainly."
"Ah, is it possible to make the dinner a little more… special? My… uh… companion's birthday is today, and we have something else to celebrate as well, you see."
"We absolutely can do that, it's no problem at all. I'll immediately inform the staff in charge to make the appropriate arrangements."
"That's great! Thank you very much."
"No, we have to thank you, dear guest." The Inn girl made a polite bow and left after everything was clarified.
The door closed again, and Kagami arrived a little while later in the living room. She still looked somewhat drowsy, but she seemed moderately awake now. The only problem was that, contrary to Konata, Kagami didn't bother fetching the Yukata from the bathroom. Kagami didn't mind at the moment, and Konata also had no direct objection to the situation, but she started to lose her concentration again. Because the two had yet to take a shower to freshen up from last night, Konata tried her best to remain calm and pushed Kagami into the bathroom. It really stayed with only a simple shower, though. They almost failed because of getting distracted, but because breakfast was arriving soon, they had no other choice other than giving up.
Once the shower was dealt with and breakfast had arrived, the two sat down at the table in the living room and started eating. It was a traditional Japanese-style breakfast. Miso soup, rice, fish, and rolled eggs. No surprise for the girls, but it was nonetheless very satisfying and delicious.
Konata managed to stay calm for a while because she was concentrating on the food, but once they finished breakfast, she faced the same problem as earlier again. The problem called 'Kagami'. Because they immediately started eating after coming out of the shower, their hairs were still wet, and Kagami's hair was already a weak point of Konata, but right now, not only was it wet, Kagami was also wearing her hair open to let it dry more easily. Konata openly stared at her, and her intention was clearly showing on her face. Kagami met her gaze and answered with an inviting smile. Seeing that confirmation, Konata wasted no time at all and actually jumped across the table. Thanks to her cat-like nimbleness, she managed to avoid everything on the table and directly landed in Kagami's arms, knocking her over on the impact. Both landing on the floor, Konata immediately made clear that she's leading this time. She started kissing her neck and quickly made her way down towards the collarbone, but something was bothering her. Suddenly stopping, she lifted her head and started looking around. Finding the target, Konata stood up and grabbed Kagami's hand. Just like that, the two relocated themselves to the sofa that was directly behind them. The only thing that was left behind at the place on the floor was their Yukatas. Having it way more comfortable now, Konata directly continued without taking a break. Kagami by no means had the intention to stay passive, though. While Konata was just about to move past Kagami's collarbone, going downwards, Kagami playfully bit her earlobe. Using the opening Konata showed in return, she quickly changed the position and was now on top of her. She pinned her down and started with kissing her neck as well, but unlike Konata, she didn't let herself get stopped so fast. Not leaving out a place, she eventually made her way down to Konata's naval. Starting to move further down, Konata began to grow slightly impatient with the rather slow speed of Kagami. She decided to bring her hand into the game, and things immediately became even more heated up. Without it getting any less intense, it soon became almost noon without them even noticing.
….
After the sofa was successfully tested for its durability – that's the story they're going to tell the inn if someone asks -, the two went to the bathroom again to take yet another shower together. After that, they directly went to the terrace and entered the hot spring bath to relax.
"Haa~, I could get used to this…"
"You too, huh?" Feeling beyond comfortable and relaxed, the two tried their best not to fall asleep in the water, but they were losing this fight. Kagami was trying to keep her eyes open while leaning against the edge of the bath and Konata was leisurely floating on the water without moving a single muscle. While staying like that for a while, the two started chatting at some point to prevent falling asleep for real.
"We should have gone on this trip much earlier, Kona."
"Yeah, being alone with just the two of us really is the best. Doing whatever pleases us without thinking is pure bliss."
"Having to be considerate of no one is sooo relaxing… Just why did we have to lose the comfortableness of your house, Kona?" Kagami started lamenting the loss of privacy in the Izumi house ever since the new school year started.
"Always having someone being at home really does suck… My father was easy to deal with because he often had to leave somewhere because of his light novel, but now that Yu-chan's also there…"
"In the first place, what's up with her timing?!" Kagami sounded a little frustrated. "It's not like she doesn't leave the house at all, she's actually going out quite often, to Minami's place, for example, but why is she always only doing that when your dad's at home?!"
"Calm down, Kagamin~… Oh, maybe we should support Hiyorin and get them together. She'll probably leave for Minami's place more often then…"
"Don't tempt me with stupid things I'll actually start considering at some point… But, even if it would help us, I don't think it's a good idea, though."
"Haha, yeah… I also still don't think Yu-chan feels that way about her. She's still just happy having found a good friend. According to the background check I did on Minami, I'm sure it's the same as well. She also has problems finding friends because of her somewhat intimidating look and reserved personality after all."
"That's true… Wait…" Kagami felt like she heard something really outrageous right now. "Y-You did what?"
"You mean the background check?"
"Uh… yeah?"
"You don't think I'll leave my cute and innocent Yu-chan in the care of an unknown and possibly dangerous person, do you?"
"Ehh…"
"Don't worry, though after I had a long talk with Miyuki and her mother, I was able to confirm that she's a really sweet girl~."
"T-That's good… I guess? Wait, stop! If you're concerned about a dangerous person, what about Hiyori then?"
"Ah! I-I mean, Hiyorin's fine, she just wants to play after all…"
"Is that so?" It was evident that Konata wasn't objective there.
"Yes… Anyway, where were we again?"
"We were talking about the incredibly frustrating and hopeless situation of having time for us alone…"
"Right… Is there really nothing we can do?"
"Maybe we should just tell Yutaka about us already."
"I'm thinking about the same lately, but how's that going to help with our problem?"
"If she knows, we can just ask her to occasionally let us alone by going out on a specific day where your dad's not at home either."
"Ah, I see. So, you're going to tell that Yu-chan that we want to be alone because of what?"
"I think I'm willing to go through this embarrassment soon enough, Kona."
"Wow… Just how much did you let pent up inside you lately?" Konata wanted to die while just thinking about explaining the situation to Yutaka.
"Judging by the last 24 hours, probably about as much as you, Kona, but yeah, it's quite a lot…"
"Busted, huh? I wonder if there isn't a more practical way for us to be alone, preferably all the time, that is."
"Nothing we can afford at the moment, I guess."
"Fair enough…"
"For now, let's just make the best out of the remaining time of this trip." Putting the problem aside, for the time being, both let out a big sigh and soaked a little longer in the hot spring.
….
The two left the bath after a while again, and once they had a little snack for lunch, both were looking for a new place to relax. Not wanting to laze around on the sofa, for no reason at all, Kagami brought the attention to a huge floor pillow kind of bean bag placed in the corner of the living room. Konata directly jumped at it and sat down in the most comfortable way. Kagami took the place next to her and leaned against Konata's shoulder. She didn't stay long in this position, though. Shifting her body a bit, she aimed for Konata's lap and dived into it without reservation. Using Konata's lap as a pillow, her second favorite pillow use of Konata, the first being a full body pillow, Kagami seemed pretty happy.
"You really like doing that, huh? You spoilt little princess."
"Ehehe~." She only playfully rubbed her head against Konata's lap.
"Oh, well~." She had nothing, in particular, to complain about. While she watched Kagami on her lap happily humming a melody with a smile, Konata started playing with Kagami's hair at some point. She grabbed a few strands and steadily let it flow through her hands and occasionally coiled it around a finger of hers.
"You also really like my hair, don't you?"
"That's just a blatant rumor~." It was evident that Konata was only joking, but Kagami smelled an opportunity.
"Really? That's good then. You know, I thought about cutting it short for a while already."
"…" Konata immediately froze up and started shaking so much that even Kagami could feel it through her entire body and when she saw Konata's face, she quickly felt pretty bad.
"K-Kona, that was a joke! I was just messing with you a bit…" She cleared the misunderstanding and soon felt that the shaking started to subside again while the color returned to Konata's face. Her eyes seemed to have regained their shine as well.
"Ahaha, you shouldn't do that, Kagamin~. There's a line in teasing you should never cross, you know?" Her words sounded cheerful, but she wasn't smiling in the slightest.
"I'm sorry… You really like it that much?"
"I like your hair as much as I love the rest of you, Kagamin~."
"You're as smooth as ever, huh?"
"So… No cutting, right?" That was her number one priority right now.
"No, I won't. I don't even like short cuts…"
"That's good, very good." Konata let out a relieved sigh and resumed caressing Kagami's hair with even more vigor now. Kagami sighed as well and then gave up on the topic. Instead, she just buried her face deeper into Konata's lap.
The two continued to laze around on the bean bag and time flew by. Before they knew it, both spent the entire afternoon with being lovey-dovey, flirty, cuddly, and cozy without ever moving an inch.
….
Evening arrived, and a knock on the door signalized that their cozy cuddling session was over for the time being. Kagami stood up and went to the door this time. Three members of the Inn staff arrived and asked if they could start preparing everything for dinner in their living room. Kagami didn't understand why they need three people for that why have to prepare something in the first place, but she agreed nonetheless and let them have the living room. She and Konata used the time and disappeared into the bedroom to change their attire. Wearing real clothes for the first time since arriving, here again, the two entered the living room about 15 minutes later, and the Inn staff was already gone. Looking at the table, though, both were pretty surprised.
"Ehm…"
"Yes…" The two were looking at a super romantic dinner arrangement. The table was wrapped in a pure white cloth, many candles contributed to a very atmospheric lighting, and rose petals were scattered all over the place. The prepared food also looked delicious. It was a traditional three-course menu. Starting with a colorful salad, the main course was fancily arranged paste together with expensive looking sliced beef. For dessert, each had a crêpe generously decorated with strawberries and chocolate sauce. The biggest surprise was something else, though. Looking next to the table, there was a bottle of champagne placed in a metal ice bucket on a stand.
"Kona… What's going on here…?"
"That's a good question…" She also wasn't expecting anything on this scale. "I just told them about today, but it looks like they went all out…"
"What exactly did you tell them?"
"I just asked if it's possible to make dinner a little more special because it's your birthday and that we have something to celebrate. I didn't mention any details, you know?"
"Depending on the person, I don't think you need details when hearing something like that…"
"Isn't it fine, though?"
"Well… Yeah…" Kagami looked at the romantic looking arrangement and shrugged her shoulders. There was nothing to complain about after all and both sat down at the table to eat. The two weren't even halfway done with their salad when Kagami noticed that Konata was concentrating on something else. She kept glancing at the bottle of champagne. Seeing that, Kagami let out a sigh. "Kona, no, I really don't think that's a good idea…"
"Why not?"
"Come on, even I watched enough anime to know what happens if alcohol's involved. I bet one us doesn't handle it well and goes crazy. I won't say any names, Kona, but…"
"What are you talking about? No one gets drunk so quickly… In real life, it's impossible, safe for allergies, to get drunk by just sniffing alcohol or pralines with brandy or whatever. Even soy sauce or miso has more alcohol in it due to the fermenting in it. You also get drunk from that, do you? A glass of champagne is nothing. You really say the funniest things, Kagamin~."
"What?" A vein popped on her forehead as she snapped a bit. Being lectured about common sense by Konata really isn't something she likes. Konata being the voice of reason by something related to anime wasn't helping either. Being a little angry, she grabbed the bottle without thinking and directly opened it with a pop. Konata was happy that she wasn't looking at her right now because her 'all-according-to-plan' smug face was impossible to hide. Quickly offering to class, Konata let her fill them before Kagami noticed that she was being toyed with.
"Well then…" Konata raised the arm in which hand she was holding the glass of champagne and started a toast. "Happy birthday, Kagamin~. Also, a very happy anniversary to both of us. Let it be the first out of very more."
"There'll be uncountable more in the future. Thank you very much and a happy anniversary to you as well." The two let their glasses click, and both took a sip.
"Hmm… It's not that bad actually."
"You're right, it has a nice taste to it."
"The whole situation sure feels like we're full adults already."
"You should grow a little more for that, Kona."
"Hey… I wasn't talking about height here…"
"Neither was I~." Kagami likes her size after all and Konata's mentally is pretty far from an adult sometimes.
"I'm not sure if that's any better…"
"Hehe." While taking another sip, the two continued to eat. They were having a really good time, and the food was delicious. Also, without realizing it because they were busy with each other and the food, the bottle of champagne emptied soon and the last drop left the bottle a little before the food was gone as well. Dinner was over soon after and the two went over to the next point on the list; exchanging presents. Konata was the one who started.
"Okay, Kagamin~, which present do you want first?"
"Does it make a difference?"
"Not really, no… They're both under the same theme anyway… In the first place, I only brought one of them with me here…"
"Well, then start with that, I guess…"
"Good idea~. Happy birthiversary~." She made an awkward combination of both events of the day and handed a small present over to her.
"Thank you very much." She opened the box and found a pair of silvery keychains with the date of the current day engraved on them.
"I was so free and included one for me as well."
"They're beautiful, Kona."
"That's really good to know. Okay, my other present is a little more complicated. Nah, not really complicated, rather, it's big. That's why I didn't bring it with me." Konata opened her phone, she actually brought it with her for a change and showed her a picture on it.
"Wow…" She was looking at a picture of a canvas. It showed a blue silhouette of a tree which crown was filled with heart shaped petals and in the tree, there were sitting two birds facing each other. On the right side of the canvas were the names of Konata and Kagami, together with the date of their anniversary in a playful font imprinted. "You're way too good at finding presents… I directly have to find a place for it once we get home."
"I'm glad you like it."
"I do. I guess it's my turn now, huh?" Kagami handed her present over, and Konata quickly unwrapped it.
"Heh~, that sure brings back memories. I completely forgot about that photo after I changed the wallpaper on my phone to a different picture of the two of us." Konata had gotten a picture frame with a very nostalgic photo in it from Kagami. It was a glass frame slightly dyed in a subtle pink with small hearts and roses. The picture in it was already over a year old. It was the one Tsukasa and Miyuki secretly took when they went flower viewing last year. The couple was soundly sleeping under a beautiful cherry blossom tree in full bloom. This day had an extraordinary meaning to Kagami because it was the day she unconsciously fell in love with her girlfriend. That means, for Konata, it was a very important day as well. The original photo was a little edited, though. Just like Konata's presents, it also had the date and their names imprinted on it. "Your gifts are really great as well, Kagamin~. Thank you very much. I'll immediately place it on my desk back at home."
"Hehe." While being moved by their presents for each other, the two exchanged a hug, followed by a passionate kiss full of affection. While the two were embracing each other, the alcohol started to gradually show more of its effects. It was true what Konata said before, it really is impossible to get drunk on microscopic amounts of alcohol like shown in anime every so often. However, two girls, basically completely unaccustomed to alcohol, unconsciously emptying an entire bottle of champagne, that's an entirely different story, and there can be some effects. When the two parted again, their flustered faces, that weren't caused by arousal for a change, were clearly visible.
"Hey… How about we go to the terrace, Kagamin~?"
"Sure, why not?" She had nothing against the idea, and both left the living room. At least, that was the plan. Konata had made exactly one step before she tripped over her own feet. "Wow, there…" Kagami managed to catch her, but that wasn't of any help. Having drunk as much as Konata, her sense of balance was almost equally affected. In short, while she did catch Konata, both magnificently ended up on the floor in the end. Lying flat on the floor, the two looked at each other and started laughing out of nowhere.
"Ahaha~, you're so clumsy, Kagamin~."
"Eh~, but you're the one who fell first…"
"This and that are completely different."
"Whaat~?"
"Falling while catching someone is way clumsier than simply tripping over my feet."
"You don't make any sense, Kona."
"Do I ever?"
"Fair enough~." She easily agreed with her.
"Hey~, you could've at least pretend to disagree, Kagamin~."
"You know that I don't like to lie." The two spent the next 20 minutes on the floor while talking about things that mostly didn't make any sense at all because they somehow couldn't get up.
"Okay~, another try to stand up, Kagamin~?"
"Sure~."
"Then… 3-2-1-Go~!" Both lifted their heads and parts of their upper bodies at the same time, but that was all that happened. They didn't succeed in standing up at all, and with a thud, the back of their heads made contact with the floor again, and both started laughing once more.
"Well, that worked brilliantly, huh?"
"Wahaha~, alcohol is amazing."
"Haha, true that~." Even though the situation was rather bizarre, the two were having quite a bit of fun.
Another 25 minutes passed, and the two were somehow able to think up a plan. Grabbing each other's hand, they somehow managed to pull themselves up into a sitting position. Continuing from there, both were able to get back on their feet after a lot of struggling. That was the easy part, though. Their original plan from about an hour ago, going to the terrace was still far from being accomplished. Kagami and Konata were slowly able to work with their condition and started to handle it a little better. Wrapping each an arm around the other's waist, the two finally began their grand voyage to the terrace while supporting each other. Both were staggering quite a bit, and the way the two walked was far from a straight line, but they eventually reached their destination.
"Haa… Even after I had an online game marathon with Kuroi-sensei and hadn't slept for three days straight, walking was still way easier back then…"
"I won't comment on that now…"
"Ehehe~. Now, why did you want to come to the terrace, Kagamin~?"
"Ehh? I'm fairly sure it was your suggestion, Kona."
"Really? It was me?"
"Yeah, I'm 86% certain it was you…"
"Hmm…" Konata tilted her head. "What did I want to do on the terrace, Kagamin~?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"How should I know why I wanted to come here?"
"Do you think it makes sense if I knew that?"
"Knew what?"
"Ehh…?" It was getting too complicated for Kagami.
"Oh~, look, a hammock~."
"What? You really think we'll able to enter a hammock after we needed an hour to get from the living room to here?"
"Why not?"
"Because it's already somewhat complicated to enter one in normal conditions…"
"How hard can it be~?"
"We'll probably find out soon enough, I guess…"
"Well then, you go first, Kagamin~."
"Why me?"
"Because."
"Because of what?"
"Just because."
"Okay~." Kagami's ability to reason was significantly reduced as well after all. The two staggered towards the hammock, and a little miracle happened. After just embarrassingly failing twice, Kagami managed to stay in the hammock with her third try. Even Konata stood way more under the effect of the alcohol, she actually had a way easier time entering the hammock. Because Kagami was already on it, the hammock was pretty stabilized and balanced, thanks to that, she could simply let herself fall into it without any problems. The lying surface was easily enough to fit two persons next to each other, but Konata really didn't like that idea. Rolling over, she lay down on top of Kagami while using her chest as a pillow.
"Are you done now?" Kagami asked her after Konata finally stopped wriggling around.
"Yefsh~." Letting first out a somewhat muffled voice because of the position of her face in Kagami's chest, Konata lifted her head a bit. "I have the best place in the world now."
"I see." Not minding her selfishness, she wasn't any better, after all, Kagami wrapped her arms around Konata's waist and hugged her tightly. While feeling extremely comfortable, the two enjoyed each other's company and warmth without saying a word for a while. Staying silent wasn't one of Konata's specialties, though.
"Kagamin~, I love you."
"I know that~. I love you, too." Kagami easily returned her confession, but Konata wasn't done yet.
"Nonono, I mean, I reeeaaalyyy looove you~." She tried to turn serious, but the alcohol was preventing her from doing so. Instead, she just started rambling about what went through her head without holding back. "I love you so much that I can't even describe it~. You're the most important… everything in my life… You make me the happiest person in the country… no, world… no, solar system… no, universe… no, wait, is there something bigger…? Anyway, I can't be without you anymore because…" Konata continued her drunken babbling until Kagami made her stop. Lifting her head, she simply kissed her to shut her up like usual when she doesn't stop talking.
"As I said, I know, silly. I feel the same after all. My life's so much better since I got to know you and every new day with you is one I look forward to~. I rea~ly equally love you because…" Kagami easily returned the confession once more and almost started rambling on her own, but managed to hold herself back. In a rather weird way, that is. Just like she shut Konata up by kissing her, she shut herself up by kissing her as well. Konata returned the kiss, but she was rather awkward at it. The alcohol made her way clumsier than she thought. Kagami's reaction was way worse, though. The combination of comfortableness, warmth, the kiss, Konata in general and the alcohol made her incredibly sleepy all of a sudden. Konata was finally getting better at kissing again, and things became to get a little more heated up when she noticed that Kagami had simply fallen asleep.
"Haa…" Konata sighed but seeing the adorable sleeping face of her girlfriend made her want to join her. Letting out a yawn afterward, she rested her head on Kagami's chest and quickly followed her to the land of dreams.
…
The two napped a couple hours away in the hammock and woke up again around midnight. They also sobered up a bit, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing.
"Uhh…" Konata let out a groan, but most of that was muffled by Kagami's chest where she still had her head buried in.
"What's wrong, Kona?"
"Hmm…" Konata finally lifted her head and looked straight at Kagami's face. "I maybe have a slight headache… It's not that bad, but not really nice either…"
"That's exactly how you look as well~." She made a light joke to brighten up the mood.
"Haha, are you fine?"
"I feel somewhat sluggish, but my head's fine. I don't want to think about how it's going to be tomorrow, though…"
"That's sooo unfair~…"
"Really? Whose idea was the champagne again, Kona?"
"Yours, definitely yours."
"Is that so? Well, whatever, one thing is sure, though… I really don't want to move anytime soon… I think I'll sleep in the hammock today… You'll need to have a very good idea to get me out of it."
"Too bad, I just wanted to propose to enter the hot spring. I heard somewhere that it's excellent against a hangover and against sluggishness anyway…"
"Oh, that is a great idea~." Kagami easily swayed away from her original plan.
"Let's got then~!" She energetically voiced out, but nothing happened.
"Kona… You usually stand up after saying something like that."
"I just tried… It didn't work, though… Looks like I'm also feeling rather sluggish and my position is way too comfortable." Konata simply let her head fall into Kagami's chest again and gave up.
"Okay, let me help you…" Kagami gave her a little push to make her stand up, but it didn't work as expected. Having an incredibly slow reaction, Konata didn't stop next to Kagami on the hammock and elegantly crashed face first on the terrace floor. The only elegant thing at that scene was the delusion of the event that happened in Konata's mind, though. "That didn't go as expected… Are you okay, Kona?"
"Perfectly fine~. Alcohol sure is amazing… I think that would've hurt pretty much when being sober… Although, now I'm also not looking forward to tomorrow." She had the feeling that when she's sober again, it's going to hurt then.
"That's good, I guess…" Kagami wasn't sure how to feel. Then, she also tried to get out of the hammock. Unfortunately, there is only one thing harder than entering a hammock, and that's exiting one again. To make it short, she soon ended up lying next to Konata on the floor.
"Hey there, Kagamin~." She lightly greeted her partner next to her.
"Hey~." Not minding the situation, she simply greeted her back.
"On to the hot spring now?"
"Sure, I think we'll be able to manage that now…" Helping each other, the two were finally standing back on their feet after a long while. Stripping away one piece of clothing after the other from each other on the short way to the bath and ignoring the mess their clothes created on the terrace, the two entered the water after their struggle of getting naked was finally over.
"Wow, what a godly discovery hot springs are… Wait, is this magic?! It shouldn't be possible to feel immediately relieved again, can it?"
"What are you talk- Ahhh… I see now~… I'm alive again~. What's up with this?!" Kagami needed a minute longer to feel the effects of the hot spring, but once they kicked in, her facial expression melted and she deeper sunk down into the water.
"Haa~…" Konata had already ascended into heaven. It didn't take Kagami long to join her, and the two spend the next 10 minutes rejuvenating in the hot spring. Their maximum possible level of relaxing reach its peak soon, and the two started cuddling at some point. Kagami leaned against Konata and used her shoulder to rest her head on it.
"I don't think I've ever felt this relaxed before, Kona…"
"No objection from me there…" While the two continued to cuddle with each other, they started watching the scenery around them at some point. It being the middle of the night already, the surroundings felt completely different.
"Hey, is it just me or does that bamboo forest look slightly creepy, especially with the illumination now?" Kagami looked at the forest and criticized the idea of the inn to install a few lamps to illuminate parts of the bamboo.
"Uwah…" Konata looked at the direction Kagami was facing and immediately agreed with her evaluation.
"The forest had a certain charm to it during the day, but now…"
"Just look at something else then, Kagamin~." She placed a hand on Kagami's head and turned it in the direction Konata was looking before.
"Oh, you're right, that's way better." Just like Konata before, she was now looking in the direction of Mt. Fuji. In their line of view was a small town with a few lights and Mt. Fuji itself was illuminated in a couple spots that probably marked a walking trail or mountain huts as well.
"It really looks cool. Oh! How about we go and visit Mt. Fuji directly somewhere in the future?"
"It sounds like a nice trip for everyone together. Wait… That's not just your mountain fetish acting up again, right…?"
"M-Mountain fetish?! Ah~, you mean my training sessions back then? Nah, I've long accepted my position as the bottom in this relationship, Kagamin~."
"How about the term 'equal'?"
"Sure~, we can try that."
"Idiot…"
"Ehehe~." Konata chuckled at their conversation and looked up at the sky. "Wow~."
"Hmm… Wow~." Kagami looked up as well and had the exact same reaction. Not only was it a night with a full moon, that helped to look all the to Mt. Fuji earlier, but the starry night sky also was entirely clear. Uncountable amounts of stars shined brighter than the two ever saw before. Basically every constellation was easily distinguishable, and even the structure of the milky way itself was easy to recognize.
"Now that's a night sky."
"You can say that again…" Kagami was also overwhelmed by the sight.
"Now that's a night sky." She actually repeated it.
"Kona, that was just a figure of speech."
"Hmm, what was?"
"Nevermind…" Kagami just realized that Konata's brain was still far from working regularly again. She's still affected by the champagne as well, but Konata was way worse. Kagami just shrugged her shoulders and continued to watch the beautiful night sky together with Konata. She soon noticed that it was only the second most captivating thing to look at, though. Looking to the side, she instantly became mesmerized by Konata's neck. Kagami watched the droplets of water that formed on her neck due to the evaporating water of the hot spring, and when those droplets finally rolled down her collarbone, she couldn't take it anymore. Moving her head, she started kissing Konata's neck without any warning. It had taken a few seconds before Konata reacted because she was still a little tipsy after all, but she went into action soon enough. It was almost like a switch flipped inside of her and directly started an all-out attack. She moved on Kagami's lap this time and returned the attack on her neck. Kagami let have her way and changed the target. She wrapped her arms around Konata's waist and pulled her as close as possible. Having their naked bodies pressed against each other, Konata only got more fired up. Letting go of Kagami's neck, she started to work her way further down on her body.
"So much for being a bottom…" Kagami made a light joke about the conversation from earlier, but Konata was too busy to answer and absolutely not in the mood to talk in the first place. Kagami soon had no more leeway to talk as well anymore because the relentless attacks of her girlfriend slowly caused her breath to get rugged and decided to concentrate on her. She started kissing her back again, and one hand let go of Konata's waist before disappearing below the water surface. Konata noticed soon enough where the hand, especially the fingers ended up, but instead of letting it happen, she stopped kissing her and playfully pushed herself away from Kagami's lap. Kagami looked a bit confused, but she had no intention to let her go. With incredibly hungry eyes, she looked at Konata, but she returned her gaze with even more craving eyes. Noticing that, Kagami saw what was going on, stood up and grabbed Konata's hand. Giving her a mall nod, the two left the water and Kagami led her into the bedroom. This time, the two didn't even bother drying themselves up, and while creating a huge mess everywhere, both ended up on the bed. Ignoring all that because they had only eyes for each other, the two had one of the, if not the most heated up nights of the remaining year. The remaining alcohol maybe played a part in that as well, but that fact and that both basically had no sleep at all the remaining night was going to bite them back soon enough.
…
The next morning was a rough one. Even though they slept only a couple hours, it still ended up in both oversleeping even more than yesterday. The main reason for that was because it was already dawning when they fell asleep. Breakfast time was almost over already, but there has yet to come to any sign of life from the mess called bed. Konata lied just like a dog curled up at the foot end and Kagami was barely even on the bed with one arm, leg and her head hanging down from the side of it. She eventually fell off it completely, and that was also the signal for the two to wake up. Kagami landed on the floor with a not so nice sounding sound that woke Konata up with ease.
"Uhh…" Only some groaning noises could be heard from the floor next to the bed.
"You're still alive, Kagamin~…?"
"No, Kagamin~'s dead… What about you, Kona?"
"She's dead as well…"
"My entire body hurts… Not to mention all those bruises… Stupid hammock…"
"Well… you fell out like three times or so… That said, I only fell out once, or rather made to leave it, but I don't feel any better…"
"The only good thing is that my head doesn't hurt as much as I expected…"
"Yeah… is something I would like to say, but my head hurts quite a bit."
"Looks like I can take alcohol better that you, huh?"
"That isn't something to be proud of, though…" Konata was still jealous.
"Fair enough…" After sill not wanting to move in the slightest after a while, the two were getting hungry.
"I wonder how we're able to get breakfast now…"
"Good question…" As if on cue, the two suddenly heard a knock on the door.
"Dear customers, breakfast time is almost over. We're going to let our today's special on a tray in front of your door. Please get it soon."
"I love this inn…"
"Yeah…" Another ten minutes passed, and Kagami finally managed to pull herself up from the floor. Grabbing a big towel that was conveniently nearby, she wrapped it around her body and went to the door because she had no idea where her Yukata or any other articles clothing were. Making sure no one was in the hallway, she quickly secured their breakfast.
"Hmm… smells good…" Konata, equally wearing a towel only, entered the living room a little while later. "Do we have coffee?"
"You like coffee, Kona?"
"That totally doesn't matter at all right now…" She didn't want coffee for the taste, but for the effect instead.
"Sure, we have, but wow… your hair sure looks… interesting…" Kagami finally took a better look at Konata and noticed the amazing bed hair of hers.
"You haven't looked in a mirror yet, have you?" Her hair had equally exploded while sleeping.
"Good point…"
"So, what do we have here…" Konata sat down at the table and looked at the breakfast. On the contrary to yesterday, it was a more western style of breakfast today. Bacon, sausage, runny eggs, toast and sweet stuff like marmalade together with croissants. Greasy and sweet stuff, perfect for a hangover cure.
"Is it just me or is the Inn staff her strangely attentive."
"I think that's one of those secrets you better don't question, Kagamin~."
"You're probably right, I actually don't really want to know, now that I think about it."
"Yeah, you'll lose when you think too hard about it after all."
"I think so, too…" Not wanting to question the details behind the power of a first-class inn, the two continued eating their breakfast at a rather slow pace because they had yet to wake up fully. The coffee helped, but it wasn't nearly enough. They eventually finished eating and only two hours were left before they had to check out of their room.
"Hey, how about a last dip in the hot spring, Kagamin~?"
"Only if it's soaking only…"
"Do I look like I'm in the condition for more? I only want to relax a bit and maybe get rid of my sleepiness."
"Okay, let's go." The two went to the terrace and entered the hot spring the last time. Feeling the hot water on their bodies, both immediately felt their tension leaving.
"Haa~…" Konata had an ecstatic look on her face as she submerged her complete body.
"Absolutely…" Kagami didn't look much different. "What a weekend…"
"Yeah…"
"I think we overdid it a little yesterday, though."
"I think I'll agree with you once when it comes to overdoing…"
The two continued to soak in the hot spring for almost an hour, but it only partly had an effect. Their bodies did feel better, and they were way more relaxed, but if anything, the two felt even more tired after leaving the water again. Their time was running up, though. Grabbing their clothes that were still scattered all over the terrace from yesterday, they threw them into the bedroom and went into the bathroom. They had yet to get ready for the day, after all, not to mention to look somewhat presentable to the public. Packing everything that belonged to them and maybe an extra Yukata, the two were soon ready to leave their room for the first time in two and a half days. Taking a last look, the two checked out of the hotel and made their way to the bus station in front.
….
After riding different public transports for about two hours that didn't feel long at all because both napped basically the entire ride away while leaning onto each other's shoulder, they reached Kagami's station. Not wanting to continue to ride the train alone because the chance of her getting off at her own station was nonexistent, Konata left the train together with her and both went to Kagami's house. The two entered her house and were immediately spotted by someone who coincidentally just walked through the hallway at the perfect time.
"My, what a coincidence~. Welcome home, you two." Miki lightly greeted them with a smile on her lips.
"Yeah, sure…" Kagami immediately saw through her. "Err, we're home, mom…"
"Hey~ Hey~."
"Konata, taking a break before heading home?"
"Nah… I'll probably stay here today… If I enter another train, I'll probably sleep without any chance to wake up until I reach Hokkaido eventually.
"I don't think that's possible, but I get what you mean. You do look tired, you as well, Kagami."
"I don't just look, I am…" While Kagami answered, the group went to the living room and sat down on the sofa.
"What happened? I was expecting you two to be as relaxed as humanly possible after coming home."
"Well, we are, but last night was a bit… uhm, complicated." Kagami tried to stay vague, but that made Miki only more curious.
"Hoh~, now I need details, girls."
"Ahaha…" Konata only laughed dryly because she saw it coming from a mile ago.
"Hmm…" Kagami looked troubled because she wasn't sure what to exactly answer.
"You know, the hickeys on both your necks are beyond obvious. I'm just saying, but hiding doesn't work like that. Also, the bruises on your arms and god know where else are also… What happened?"
"Haha…" Kagami joined Konata's dry laugh. "Well… We're tired because we had a rather interesting night after we maybe had our first contact with alcohol." She decided to confess the alcohol rather than the other things that kept them awake. "Thanks to that, we're currently experiencing the remnants of a slight hangover…"
"Eh? You two drank alcohol?"
"Yes…" The girls meekly confirmed it together.
"How? I mean, the inn should've known that the two of you are a bit too young, right?"
"There might've happened a slight internal miscommunication. I asked the morning staff to prepare something special for dinner and the evening staff probably had no idea who we were or something like that…"
"I see, I guess things like that can happen, but you didn't feel like correcting them?"
"The staff was already gone when we saw the dinner and… well, we were slightly curious about it…" Kagami left out a few details.
"Also, having a romantic dinner together with a glass of champagne seemed like something of an obligation…" Konata added her own justification.
"Okay, that actually makes a bit of sense and, to be honest, I would've done the same in your situation. I'm not really angry, you two, making your own experiences is part of life after all, but I would be glad if you wait until you're old enough for the next time."
"That's absolutely no problem at all!" A firm answer came from Konata and Kagami.
"Ahaha, looks like you two really learned your lesson already, that's good. Still, that much after a single glass of champagne? You two sure are wimps." Completely and absolutely destroying her seriousness from a minute ago, Miki's parental concerns looked like a huge lie.
"Ehm, no, we had a bottle in one of those fancy metal ice buckets, and I actually think the bottle wasn't a standard sized one…"
"Ahh~, I see now, that makes a lot more sense." Miki immediately understood why they had a rough morning now. "Still, where are all those bruises coming from? Don't tell me you two are bad drunks?!"
"Nonono, Kagamin~'s super funny when drunk!"
"And Kona, although making no sense at all, was super cute!"
"Then…?"
"You see… We had this hammock on the terrace of our room and…"
"Wait… You tried to enter a hammock after emptying a bottle champagne? I almost broke my wrist once after that thing flipped when I tried to enter while being totally sober…"
"Look what I told you, Kona, hammocks are dangerous."
"Haha~, come on, we made it in the end, didn't we, Kagamin~."
"Sure… after I hit the floor two times when entering and once when exciting that thing…"
"Don't forget the time where you kicked me out of it…"
"That was your own fault for having the reaction time of and dead fish at that time, Kona!"
"Quick question…" Miki interrupted the playful bickering of the couple. "Are you two by any chance idiots?" That was the only thing going through her head while listening to them.
"Occasionally~." The ability to match their answer on the spot was as unparalleled as usual.
"Well, as long as you're having fun…"
"We are~."
"You know, there is a limit to being lovey-dovey…"
"There isn't~."
"Haa…" The two made her give up. "Anyway, tell me about the inn. Was it good?"
"It was incredible! The room was just so…" Kagami energetically started talking about their trip and the Inn. She mentioned the luxurious room, the delicious food and especially praised the terrace and hot spring bath outside. She obviously kept a few events hidden to herself when making her recap.
"Wow… way to make me jealous… I think I'll have a talk with my husband about this…"
"I highly recommend it~." The group kept talking about the inn for a while, but Kagami's sense of danger soon informed her about imminent trouble. She noticed that Miki had started staring at their necks with the hickeys again while having a smug smile. Miki was about to say something, but Kagami was faster.
"Haah… I'm still exhausted… How about another nap, Kona?"
"Huh? Okay, sure…" She didn't know what the sudden change in Kagami caused, but a nap didn't sound bad.
"Well, goodbye, mom." Kagami grabbed Konata's hand and dragged her out of the living room and directly upstairs to her own room before Miki even had the chance to react.
"That daughter of mine sure became good at this…" She sighed and looked a bit disappointed, but let them be for the time being.
….
Two hours passed and Miki decided to visit them in Kagami's room because she was still interested in all sorts of details after all. There was also the fact that Sojiro paid for their trip that had tickled her interest as well, but once she entered the room, she immediately discarded her plan. She saw the two peacefully sleeping on the bed and couldn't bear to wake them up. Kagami was using Konata as a body pillow as usual by wrapping her limbs around her body, and both had a happy smile on their lips.
"My, aren't those little perverts adorable?" She knew perfectly well what happened on the weekend after all anyway and so, she just watched them for a moment, but then quietly left the room with an equally sweet smile again.
.
Happy birthday, Kagamin~… and Tsukasa as well of course. I never thought I would be able to publish a chapter at the right time to meet a day in real life. The twins' birthday is supposed to be today (7. July) after all (Actual experiences may vary due to your time zone).
As said at the beginning, I didn't want this story to turn M-Rated… It just happened. Well, I wonder how many of you are a bit disappointed now because it's barely M, though… I had fun while was writing the anniversary and suddenly noticed that I might go to have a problem and when it came to the actual hot spring scenes, I was pretty sure of it. I liked what I wrote though, and so I decided not to edit half of the chapter and changed the age rating in the end after all. Some of you were probably expecting more, but this level of detail I went into here is all I'm comfortable with. It's not because I'm prude, I surely am not, but rather my lack of vocabulary. Describing those scenes in detail immediately become beyond awkward and cringy without the proper and more importantly fitting vocabulary(I think it was already becoming partially awkward... I have to learn some specific vocab soon). Googling them and hoping to pick the right word isn't much of a choice either. Well, I could write a detailed scene in German (my native language/country), but I don't think that'll help in any way at all (And no, fellow German reader, I could, but I won't). Also, leaving things up to the imagination by only giving a good push is nice on its own way. I'm not sure if more chapters are going to follow this one regarding M-Rated content, but I'll surely not hold back like in some previous chapters anymore.
….
Hammocks are dangerous! Trust me! (Maybe I'm just too stupid for them, but I'll ignore that possibility.)
Almost the entire drunk scene is based on a real event with me playing the part of Kagami… I'm pretty similar when it comes to alcohol. I can more or less continue to talk like normal, but I'm feeling a lot dumber, and my motor skills are basically dead at some point. Konata's also based on a real person, and just like her, she totally doesn't make any sense at all when drinking a certain amount. It's pretty funny, though. One day we actually tried to enter a hammock in my garden together, and it wasn't any fun at all. Well, it was on that evening, but the next day really wasn't, and we spent the entire day without moving at all…
….
On another, at least for now, relatively unrelated news to the story, something absolutely fantastic happened her in Germany last week. You may have heard it already, but our parliament voted to legalize same-sex marriages! We were pretty early to allow civil unions about 16 years ago, but after our current ruling party was elected, they always blocked accepting the actual marriage (That's what you get when you vote for a party that represents Christian morals, guys…). Our chancellor was against it, but after getting pressured and somewhat taken by surprise, she offered a free vote, and every other major party directly jumped at the opportunity and pulled through it only a few days later. Basically every other party voted yes, and even ¼ of the chancellor's own party agreed with a yes.
It doesn't change that much legally because the civil union we had here basically given the same rights (and duties), but it makes a huge difference. Being completely equal and allowed to say, 'this is my husband/wife' instead of simple 'partner' is something great among not being forced anymore to out oneself in official documents asking for the family status because it's now 'married' for everyone. Also, this allows married same-sex couples to adopt a child together. You could adopt children as a single person already and then still raise them together including a second adoption for the partner, but this also isn't the same.
There are probably some idiots going to file a suit claiming that the new law/same-sex marriages are illegal because of some bullshit, but I sincerely hope they're going to crash and burn in a very flashy way. (I actually became somewhat depressed by the stuff those people were writing…)
- Our federal council also just approved the change of the marriage law just minutes before posting this chapter. Today's another good day~.
…..
Another side note, the story has now broken the 250k wall. Also, I looked at the statistics a couple days ago and noticed that the story had 22,224 views. While I'm happy about the number, I was in a pretty bad mood for a while because I looked a couple minutes too late…
Wow, the rambling this time was longer than some of the one-shots posted here on FF…
To make it short, I hope you like the, slightly less tame chapter and don't mind the change to M-Rated. I liked them being more open after all.
I have more than a couple ideas for the next chapter already, but I'm not really sure what I'm going to use, and that's why no spoiler this time. Except, it's going to be about their summer break. I will try to keep the real date and story date in line now and summer holidays normally being around August, I'll do my best to get it ready somewhere next month after taking a short break that I originally wanted to do after ch. 34...