Hello, it's been nearly three months. Sorry about that. I got side tracked by life and the like. But it's good to be back. Here's the new chapter. Enjoy if you can.
LUCKY STAR
"Yo, I'm home." Misao looked at her brother from top to bottom and frowned. A whiff of the air around him confirmed her suspicions. "You seriously started drinking without me. Really," she said, annoyed.
Masaru rolled his eyes. "Well, I was obligated by my code of chivalry to honor my guest's request," he said, his sarcasm thick enough he should choke on it. He stepped to the side and gestured at the pair of shoes neither he nor Misao owned, neatly placed next to the shoes they did own. Misao recognized them as Akira's. "We can talk about this inside," Masaru said. "Let me pay for the pizza first."
Misao blinked, remembering that there was a pizza delivery guy next to her. He was still smiling awkwardly when she glanced at him. Feeling somewhat guilty for wasting the delivery guy's time, Misao quickly walked into the house, kicking off her shoes and heading straight for the living room.
On the coffee table was an empty bottle of rice wine and two glasses. Akira sat on one side, resting her chin on her arms crossed on the table. She tilted her head towards Misao.
"Hello, Misa-chan," Akira greeted sleepily.
Misao sweatdropped. "First time drinking?" she asked, taking a seat next to her.
"I got drunk and said some things I might regret once I'm sober," she said. "Right now I don't really care but it might make being with us a little awkward."
Misao scratched her head. "I can see that you're drunk but you honestly don't sound like you are."
"Oh, I am. This might be my first time but I can tell. Waves and ripples of unconscious thought appear and disappear before I can even recognize them."
Misao blinked. "Okay, what?"
Akira chuckled. "I'm just messing with you. I was trying to sound deep but I guess I didn't succeed. It's really hard to force myself to think up things but if I let the the thoughts just flow I end up talking constantly."
Misao nodded, picking up the bottle to see if there was still some wine left - there was none. Disappointed, she set down the bottle again. "What did you say earlier that made things awkward?" she asked curiously.
"I asked Masaru to have sex with me."
Misao blinked again. "What," she repeated.
Akira scowled, tilting her head away from Misao. "It was probably a bad idea. I kinda argued with him about it but ultimately he refused. Now he's really annoyed with me. It's also kinda messed up that I asked that from him since one of the conversations we had prior was about how Ayano basically hates me now more than she ever did. Knowing what I did today would probably make her hate me even more. Really I shouldn't have asked him to drink with me at all but I saw the opportunity and took it. I just wish it didn't backfire on me the way it did. By the way, please promise me you won't tell Ayano about this. Nothing may have happened today but the mere fact that I tried would really offend her."
"Uh..." Misao awkwardly glanced away. "I'm not really comfortable about this. I won't tell her unless she asks, but seriously don't tell me to keep this from her. She's pissed off because of me enough as it is."
It was Akira's turn to blink this time. "Something happen?"
Misao winced. "Kinda. I'll talk about it once Masaru's back."
"Which I am," Masaru said, walking into the room with two pizza boxes cradled in one arm and 1.5 liter soda bottle held in other arm. "I'll get this set up. Start talking."
Misao's face soured upon being ordered to do what she was already going to do. She rolled her eyes and made no comment. No use adding fuel to the fire. She began telling her story.
LUCKY STAR
It was April and Miki Araki, a relatively tall girl with sharp eyes and shoulder length indigo hair, was doing the same thing she did last year on the first day of school. She was in front of the bulletin board, gently elbowing her way through the crowd to see what class she'd be in. After much struggle, she found her name on the class rosters. She'd be in class 3-B. She elbowed her way back out the crowd, sighing in relief upon reaching open air.
She then blinked in amused confusion. Right in front of Miki looked to be a little girl with long cobalt blue hair and a lazy expression, hopelessly staring at the literal wall of students in front of her. Miki couldn't help but giggle.
"I don't suppose it's your hobby to laugh at people's problems, is it?" the little girl asked. "Because if it is, it's really rude and you should stop."
Miki smiled and shook her head. "I'm sorry. Tell you what: I'll make it up to you be checking the class lists for you."
The girl smiled back. "Kanata Kagerou. Look for me in the third year lists."
Miki nodded and jumped back into the melee of students around the bulletin board. She came back shortly after, looking at little drained. She bowed forward, resting her hands on her knees.
"Are you okay?" Kanata asked. "I could get you some water if you'd like."
Miki shook her head. "No, I'm fine." She stood up straight, taking a deep breath. "Well that was unpleasant. By the way, you're my classmate Kagerou-san. 3-B."
"Oh? That's wonderful. Any you are?"
Miki blinked, realizing she hadn't said her name yet. With a chuckle, she told Kanata. "Sorry, sorry. I'm Miki Araki. Nice to meet you."
LUCKY STAR
Konata nodded quietly upon Miki finishing her rather short story of how she and Kanata met. It was interesting to know how simple it was.
Her father used to tell her stories about Kanata. How she was the perfect woman to him and stuff like that. And yet all of them seemed so... unreal. It seemed like a fairy tale he made up to make her feel happy whenever she got sad that she didn't have a mom. The way Miki described Kanata made her seem... human. Meeting her wasn't all that special - it wasn't like she was a movie star or pop idol. She was just another girl. And somehow, that made Konata feel all the more happy.
"I'm just wondering but did you know my mother when she was studying at Ryoo?" Miyuki asked, snapping Konata out of her daze. She looked curiously between Miyuki and Miki.
"Oh, Yukari?" Miki thought for a bit. "We knew of each other. We didn't necessarily know each other. Your mother entered Ryoo maybe two or three years after I graduated, I think. I became somewhat famous around the school you see, and after I left people kept talking about the torch being passed on to the next generation."
"I... I see?" Miyuki said in confusion.
Konata was confused as well. What was she talking about? What torch? Why was she famous?
"Ryoo has this... reputation," Miki explained, choosing her words carefully, "of students, male or female, becoming part of gay relationships. There's usually at least one every year."
Or four in the case of this year, Konata thought.
"In any case, Kanata and I seemed to be the trend setters. Every year after we graduated, a pair of girls end up together for an unspecified amount of time during their time in the school and they become very popular among their year level."
A number of things in those two sentences were screaming in Konata's mind. Miki and Kanata once dated? They became really popular? Like Tsukasa and Konata herself this year? What?
"That's rather interesting. Neither of you two met in person?" Miyuki asked.
"No. I had a friend who was a third year when your mother started dating that other girl - Honoka I think was her name. They apparently had very cute arguments every day during break times. I wish I could have seen it."
Miyuki stiffened. "Oh. Yes. That..."
Konata saw her opportunity and couldn't help but smirk. "What is it, Miyuki? Something wrong?" she asked teasingly.
"Well, thing is," Miyuki began, "they actually broke up because of that and Honoka-san ended up dating Yutaka-chan's mother. Mother was secretly bitter about that for over twenty years."
Konata blinked, unable to make a witty retort. And really, how could she? That wasn't exactly something she was comfortable joking about. After all the drama she and her friends had to go through in the past six months - Kagami's depression, the events leading up to Hiyori and Patricia's terrible break up, the death threats - how could she joke about drama someone else had? She didn't know what happened. She wasn't there nor did she feel anywhere close to Yukari or Honoka. She had no right to joke about it.
"Wow, I forgot about that," she muttered. "I feel kinda bad for teasing you about that now."
Miyuki sighed. "Don't worry about it. It's not that big of a deal. I just don't like talking about it. They still do it sometimes and while it's quite cute it gets annoying."
"Wait, why do they still argue if they- Oooooh." Konata cut herself off when she remembered how Honoka was dating Yukari. "You know, I still can't get over your family situation."
"Oh? They still see each other?" Miki asked. "That's news to me. I thought they were both married."
Miyuki, Tsukasa, and Konata sweatdropped. All three of them were aware of Miyuki having four parents and having to explain it again to someone who didn't was a little awkward. Miyuki was the best at explaining and also the one involved so she was the one who told Miki about it.
"Well, that's certainly an interesting family situation you have, Miyuki-chan. In any case, what was this little personal research about, anyway?"
This caused Konata to ponder for a second. Konata had gotten so excited about learning more about her Mother from a perspective other than her family's that she almost completely disregarded how out of the blue Miyuki's questioning was. What was Miyuki's reason for that?
As if Miyuki could sense Konata's curiosity, she turned to the bluenette and smiled awkwardly. She began talking.
"For the sake of brevity, I'll skip the conversation the lead to this but yesterday it came to my attention that many of us are connected in ways other than that we are friends. As we discussed earlier, our parents know each other and were in fact in a relationship with each other in high school. That said, I wished to see how far this goes.
"Of course, I have to draw a line at some point. People are very interconnected whether they realize it or not. If we go back far enough, we'll find that everyone is connected to everyone else. But that isn't something I think I would be able to conceivably research in a single life time. I'd limit it to just our immediate family members and possibly first cousins, aunts, and uncles.
"In simple terms, I got curious and wanted to know about our parents' relationships."
Konata found herself nodding again for a similar reason to the last. She wasn't sure what to think. For one, the idea of Miyuki going through all the trouble she was going through just to sate her curiosity was admirable and also a little cute. For another, Miyuki was very close to convincing Konata to help. She kinda wanted to know too. It wouldn't be that hard to ask her dad some questions, maybe even ask her Aunt Yuki some as well. Really, it would be a great way to pass the break, especially if she got all the others involved as well.
She blinked in confusion. Miyuki was smiling and shaking her head for some reason.
"I'm afraid I'd rather I do this alone," Miyuki said. "I'm sorry. I'm just not comfortable accepting your help with this. It just feels wrong for some reason."
Konata wanted to complain but it didn't feel right. Miyuki started it and could very easily see it through to the end. She didn't really need Konata's input on the matter. She couldn't really blame her if she didn't want help. But then again, she'd be going to Konata's house anyway in which case, it doesn't really matter what she says, Konata would help her regardless.
When Miyuki was presented with this argument, she thought for a bit. "Well, I suppose that's reasonable. Alright then."
Konata smiled. "Great. See you... tomorrow?"
"How about the day after?"
"Deal."
Konata blinked, noticing how the two Hiiragis were staring at them with amusement. "Are you done?" Miki asked, smirking. "Because I have more stories I can tell if you wish to listen."
Konata immediately nodded while Miyuki took a moment to consider the offer. "It's starting to get late, though," she muttered regrettably. "I think I'll stay for one more story and then head out. It doesn't have to be a big event. Really, anything you tell me could be interesting."
Konata smiled, glad that she'd get more stories from Miki.
"Okay then. Since you're leaving, I'll go for another small thing that happened not three weeks after school started. It was just after lunch began..."
LUCKY STAR
Akira nodded quietly. "That's rough, buddy."
Misao sighed. "Ain't it ever." She lowered her head onto the table. "That's worse is, she's kinda right. Our relationship's basically been a big downward spiral. The closer we get, the lower it goes.
"Maybe you two need some time away from each other?" Masaru suggested, pointing his half eaten pizza at Misao. "The best kind of relationship is one where both of you can function without each other."
"Yeah, but the thing is, she can't function without me," Misao muttered.
Masaru raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?" he asked dryly. "Because if that's really true then you just crippled that girl from ever being her own person."
Misao blinked. "I... uh... what?"
"If you're certain she can't function without you then you've ruined her," Masaru said plainly. "Level with me, Misao. Do you really think she'll get better."
Misao stood and yelled. "Why is everyone questioning me today!?" She glared at her brother. "You wanna know what I think!? Yes, I do she'll get better! She wants to get get better so she will get better! I'll even help her! I'll do everything I can!"
Akira rolled her eyes. "Simmer down, Misao. He's just trying to help. You know what it's like when he does that."
"I... just... GAAAAHH!" With that scream, Misao plopped back down onto the couch. "Dammit, Masaru. You're an asshole."
Masaru took another bite of his pizza, completely unfazed by Misao's outburst. "Well, I'm not denying that." He tilted his head to the side, looking away. "How about we turn it around?" A small smile found its way to his face. "Can you function without her?"
Misao started getting angry again. "You-"
"All you've ever talked about for the past few months has been Kagami Hiiragi," Masaru snapped. "Forgive me if I find it a little concerning."
Misao bit back the insult she was about to snarl. He was right, unfortunately. What has she talked about other than Kagami? Nothing she could remember at least.
"I think I'll be fine if I'm ever separated from her. It's not the end of the world if that ever happens."
Masaru smiled. "Then maybe you should take me up on that offer? Just spend some time away from each other. Some time apart shouldn't be that bad for you two."
Misao sunk into the couch in defeat. "Fine, I might just do that. The only problem is how. Our houses are just one train ride away."
Masaru thought for a bit. "We could go with Mom and Dad when they visit our relatives. They said they'd be back by Christmas morning and leave for their visit the very next day."
Misao frowned. "That leaves me with only two days to prepare..." Her frown deepened. "We'd be gone all break..." She blinked. "Wait, you said we. You're seriously going with me?"
"Uh..." Masaru scratched his cheeks. "Yeah. Why not, I guess."
Akira smiled sleepily. "You two are very sweet when you strip away all the facades and toughness you have going for you."
The two stared at her. "I don't... uh..." Misao looked away. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Akira yawned lowering her head onto the table. "You two should be more honest with each other. It's cuter that way..." She trailed off.
The Kusakabe siblings glanced between each other and Akira. "She needs to get home," Masaru said. "Not-it."
Misao rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, you've been home all day. Why don't you do it?"
"Because I'm not good to commute. Do you seriously expect a drunk person to escort an even drunker person home?"
"Mother fucker, you're sober as shit! Don't try to weasel your way out of this, you still owe me."
"Fine!" Masaru said, raising his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. I'll do it."
"Honestly, I don't wanna go home. I don't feel welcome there. Rather, I feel like I shouldn't feel welcome and that sort of influences how I feel in reality. It's a weird thing, one's perception of what should and shouldn't be. The entirety of all disagreements have something to do with it. It's so interesting..."
"Yeah yeah, that's all really interesting," Masaru said, clearly ignoring Akira. He knelt in front of her and slung her arm over his shoulder. "Up you go." He stood, wincing as Akira stayed limp and nearly pulled him back down. "Hey, use your feet, you're heavy."
"I am being held a...ahhhh... gainst my will," Akira yawned. Shortly after, she gave up resisting and stood up on her own. "I surrender..."
"Right. Let's get going... step at a time, step at a time. No need to rush."
Misao watched the two of them exit the living room. "Stay safe you two."
Once they were out of earshot, Misao grinned and pounced on the pizza, ready to take an entire box all on her own.
LUCKY STAR
Kagami blinked as the train doors slid open. Standing right in front of her was none other than Konata Izumi. They both stood there for a second before Kagami stepped off the train, greeting her friend.
"Uh, hey."
"Yo," Konata said, waving awkwardly. She gave Kagami a once-over and frowned. "Is something wrong?"
Kagami resisted the urge to scowl. "Er, no. Nothing's wrong, per se. I'm just... well, it's been a long day and a lot happened. I'm just really tired is all."
"Oh." Konata nodded slowly. "Okay. You should get home then. You should rest."
Kagami nodded back. "See you, I guess." She began walking away. By the time she left the station, Konata must have already been a hundred or so meters away. Kagami sighed, her breath condensing in front of her face.
She stopped to look up at the train in the distance. "See you," she repeated, continuing forward through the lamp lit streets. The walk home was uneventful
LUCKY STAR
Honestly this has been in the works since the last chapter was released, which is pitiful. Three months of constant work and yet I was only able to come up with this. I am not on top of my updates. Shameful.
So, there are two sections in this chapter. The Kusakabe residence and the Hiiragi residence. Not exactly new locations, though there's definitely some interesting things going on in there. Although whether you found it interesting or not has yet to be decided.
The first Kusakabe scenes was pretty much done when I uploaded the revised chapter 48. The second took me around two more weeks to get right. This dynamic is what I envision Ayano-Misao-Masaru interactions being like without the tension caused by Ayano and Masaru's growing dissatisfaction with their relationship. I literally had only one scene of that dynamic and it was at the start. I kinda wish I made more to be honest. It'd make this one with Akira instead of Ayano seem all the more uncanny.
The two Hiiragi sections were pretty fun, though I'm a little disappointed that was all I wrote. I had a bunch of stories I could have just inserted in here but I had no idea how to fit it into the story that made sense. It'd be like the Confession arc all over again. In any case, this is just the beginning of all the flashback scenes. There are going to be a lot more of them, especially since Yuki will be in the next chapter.
Anyway, I've made this end note long enough already. The next chapter will be up... someday, I guess. I hope you enjoyed this chapter - and if not, I apologize. See you next time.
