[Disclaimer: I do not own any characters used in this story; Konosuba is property of Natsume Akatsuki and animated by studio Deen. The characters portrayed in this story are 18. Be warned: the following story is rated M for mature audience. I've decided to keep my chapters short for reading purposes. With that said, enjoy Chapter 4 of Konosuba: What the Heart Wants!]

It had been a few days since Megumin had left. For the most part, the house seemed quiet, which was what he had always wanted. But even with all the peace and quiet, the fact that she was absent from the group had made him actually miss her company. He missed the times when things were normal, that being profound more than ever at the moment. And yeah, he may have still had Aqua and Darkness, though the fact that Megumin wasn't around just made it feel...incomplete.

He knew that talking about the fight was something that she hated, but he wanted Megumin back in the group. Leaving things like this...in shambles and separated like a broken puzzle...he couldn't deal with it. They were friends before lovers; he wanted to bring things back to normal, no matter what it took.

Leaving the bed ever so quietly, Kazuma retrieves some clothing before exiting the room. Aqua was unyielding about her negative feelings towards Megumin--despite the fact that she was the one who slapped her first. She was too arrogant to even want to apologize, so reasoning with her was just wasting oxygen. That was one flaw she possessed that he wished she didn't have.

After leaving the house, Kazuma made his way into town. The weather was a bit concerning, however, the clouds hovering above threatening to unleash hell upon those that were unfortunate enough to be under them. Still, a little rain wouldn't hurt anyone. He just hoped he'd made it there before it came pouring down. It was bad enough he forgot his umbrella back at the house.

"Dammit! Just my luck!" Kazuma cursed to himself as he rushed through the streets of Axel. Luck wasn't on his side, for, after just stepping foot in town, it had begun to pour down over. It was showering down upon the town, people scrambling about just to get to indoors and out of such fierce weather. The crackle of distant thunder was also an indication that something else was coming.

He was able to find her house after running through the streets in the pouring rain. Drenched, he stood before the door before bringing his hand up to knock upon her wooden door. He could see that the lights were still on, meaning that they were most likely still awake, yet none came to the door. He knocks once more, albeit a little harder this time. He could now hear footsteps approaching the door, followed by the locks being undone. Thank goodness. He didn't know how long he was going to remain standing outside.

Upon the door being flung open, Kazuma was greeted by distressed Yunyun, who answered the door in a robe that looked to be just thrown on. She was also sweating and had a look of minor irritation. Was she in the middle of something?

"Well well...look at who decided to stop by..." Her tone was unpleasant and rather crude, but he expected this greeting from her. He could tell she didn't want him on her front door. Kazuma had more than enough of his share of attitudes for this week.

"Hello to you, too, Yunyun," he greets her. "Is Megumin here? I really want to talk to her."

"No, she isn't. She actually left--"

"Did you find out who--Kazuma?"

Before Yunyun even realized it, Megumin had appeared, a robe also covering her. Discovering that it was Kazuma, she rushed over, pulling him into the house without Yunyun's permission. Closing the door behind them, Yunyun watched as she brought him to the kitchen area.

"What are you doing here, Kazuma?" Megumin inquires.

"I came to talk to you, Megumin." He replies.

"Funny how you care to show up now after she had been here for a whole week," Yunyun remarks.

"Some concerning friend you are."

"Yunyun, please," Megumin tells Yunyun. "What happened wasn't Kazuma's fault."

"But he is the reason you're here in the first place, isn't he?"

Kazuma would admit that the aboveboard affection he had for Aqua were a bit much, but she didn't seem to be bothered by it until recently. He didn't think much of her feelings about them dating, which was lead to that moment a week ago. However, if she was uncomfortable, why didn't she just tell him?

"If this is about about that fight with Aqua--"

"Aqua isn't the only reason why she left." Yunyun interrupted him.

"What is she talking about?" He asks Megumin.

"She was pissed about the fight, but the real reason she decided to come here was because of you!"

"Wait, me?" He replies. "I didn't do anything wrong! I was thrown in the middle of this bullshit because of these two fighting for no reason!"

It was more than apparent that Kazuma was starting to allow his anger to be expressed. He was only human; he could only tolerate so much before he begins to be upset. And he was just about fed up with this whole debacle they were going through.

"So my feelings are not reason enough?" Megumin asks him, somewhat sadly.

"What are you talking about? Of course your feelings matter..."

"If that were true, then why are you still with Aqua after all she did? She basically assaulted her and you're still laying in bed with her as if nothing happened..."

"Now I've had just about enough of you, Yunyun!" Kazuma stands to his feet, approaching the girl. They were just inches apart, with Kazuma giving her a glare that was fuelled with malice. Megumin had to get in-between them out of fear that they fight might become physical--not that Kazuma would hit her out of anger.

"Kazuma, please!" Megumin implores him. "Everybody just relax! I don't want to see you two fighting!"

"I came here because I wanted to tell you that I miss you and want you back..." He admits.

"Aqua may have her feelings about things, but Darkness and I truly want you back home with us. It just doesn't feel the same without you there..."

Megumin felt moved by his words. On one hand, having him admit that he missed her made her heart flutter, but there was still Aqua. Things would never be the same between them. If she returned, would that tension still be there? She had felt bad for making him feel like he was the main issue, though, he wasn't the only casualty here.

"What can I do to bring you back to us?"

Megumin sighed in response to his question.

"It's not going to be that easy. After everything with Aqua and I, I just--"

An aggressive knocking upon the door caught everyone's attention. It was obvious that she wasn't expecting anymore guest, yet there was someone clearly there. Yunyun goes over to peak through the peephole, only for her to turn to the two soon after. Then that familiar voice could be heard from the other end. It was Aqua.

Opening the door, the other on the other side was none other than Aqua. It was not surprise that she knew where Yunyun lived; they all knew where she lived. He was more shocked that she knew that they were both here, of all places.

"So this is why you were sneaking off tonight...to speak to Megumin?" She asks.

"Aqua, we can talk about--"

"Don't you dare, Kazuma! I figured it was just an amount of time before you came looking here for her. Seeing as you had to sneak out to do it, there was a reason you didn't want me to find out."

Before Kazuma could even explain, Aqua had already stormed off. He could tell that she was hurt, but there was nothing that he could do since she really didn't give him room to talk. Everything was falling apart, despite everything he was doing. It just felt so pointless, like he should just stop before everyone gets hurt. Why was this so damn difficult!?

"I'm just as much tired of this nonsense!" Yunyun states. "It's been fun and all, but you really should go, Kazuma." She gestures for him to leave as she kept the door open.

Megumin was silent as Kazuma made his way out of the door. She felt guilty for putting him through so much, but this was just the confrontation she had been scared of. Now that Aqua knew he had come here, things were only going to be even more complicated from there. Was there ever going to be peace between them? Was suffering all they could do now?

Kazuma didn't bother trying to catch up to Aqua. At this point, he was done with trying to peacemaker and bring everyone back together. If they didn't want to work things out, then it was probably better to just leave things as they are. He was both mentally and emotionally exhausted at this point.

Being occupied with his thoughts, he failed to realize that the tree he was walking under was a potential health hazard. The roots were already weakened from the passing of time, and with the wind howling and blowing, it was only a matter of time before it collapses. Tilting ever so slowly, the closer he approached, it wasn't until he was passing under it did the roots finally upheave from the ground, sending the tree tumbling forward. Kazuma was able to see this as it happened, but was already too late for him to react; the tree was already coming down upon, him using his arms to shield himself.

A loud thud resounded in the area as the tree made impact with the ground.

[Chapter Finished]