Wherein Misao goes exploring and Kagami continues to have alarming gay thoughts.

Sorry for the delay. TW: Incest mention, dubiously-consensual kissing, and mild netorare/cuckolding (or a hitherto unexplained open relationship, depending on how you choose to interpret things). Enjoy if you can!

Party Games Chapter 4: The Second Day, Round 2 Lower Bracket

"What's it like to kiss a girl?"

"You mean, like, compared to a boy?"

"Yeah."

"That was my first kiss. I can't really compa—"

"Hey, Kagami, what about this one?"

Sat on her bed, Kagami blinked and looked up from the light novel she was failing to read. A half-naked Tsukasa held up a large white T-shirt in front of her. Kagami pursed her lips as she examined the article of clothing. "Hmm. The fabric's a little thin but it should still be fine."

Tsukasa frowned at the shirt as she held it at arm's length. "I don't know. Won't my underwear show through it?"

Kagami snorted, returning her attention to her book. "You're in a private retreat in the mountains, almost everyone who's liable to see you is a girl, and you're on first name terms with all of them. I don't think it'll be that big a deal if your bra shows through a wet T-shirt."

"I know, but…" Tsukasa hummed thoughtfully. "Actually… What if I just don't wear anything?"

Once again, Kagami's gaze snapped away from her book. "Wait, let's not get ahead of ourselves. All that stuff I said just now was not an endorsement for you to go skinny dipping."

This earned a blank stare. "What?"

"Skinny dipping? You know, swimming naked?"

Tsukasa's face flushed, eyes wide as she averted her gaze. "O-oh… Uh…" She glanced back at Kagami for an instant before turning completely away, pressing the shirt against her cheeks. "I know I said nothing, but I didn't mean that kind of nothing," she whimpered, voice muffled by the shirt.

Kagami felt a wry smile tug at her lips. "Then what did you mean by it? No underwear?"

"I meant: what if I just go bra and panties? They're basically like a bikini, aren't they?"

Kagami tilted her head to the side. "I mean… they're not really built for it, but I guess you could use them like a swimsuit? I don't think they'd be very comfortable when wet, though."

Tsukasa sighed. "This is hard," she whined, walking to Kagami's bed and falling face first into the mattress. "I wish I brought an actual swimsuit."

"Well, Miyuki forgot to tell us about it. You couldn't have known." Kagami gave Tsukasa a pat on the head. "Best just make do with the cards you were dealt."

"I really wanna go swimming with everyone, though…"

Kagami giggled. "Just wear the shirt, Tsukasa. It'll be fine."

Tsukasa whimpered again. She pushed herself off the bed into a kneeling position, still holding the now-somewhat-wrinkly shirt in her hands. "I guess," she muttered in surrender, finally putting on the shirt. "What are you gonna wear, sis?"

Kagami shrugged. "I figured what I'm already wearing is fine. What you were wearing earlier would have been fine too, by the way."

"But the fabric would get really heavy once it gets wet."

Kagami raised a brow. "And is that why you picked that shirt?" She received a nod. "And I'm guessing it's also why you don't plan to wear shorts or anything else." Another nod. Kagami sighed and shrugged again. "Fair enough, I suppose."

With Tsukasa finally resolved on what she would wear, the two left the room and made their way down to the pool.

Most of the others were already in the water by the time they arrived. Miyuki was sitting on the edge of the pool, only her legs submerged. Next to her was Minami, giving Yutaka swimming lessons, the two holding hands as the shorter girl kicked at the water. Honoka and Yukari were a short distance away, reclined on lawn chairs under a large umbrella.

"Let's go swim, sis!" Tsukasa cheered, rushing toward the water before Kagami could stop her.

"Wait, we should put on sun… block… first…"

Kagami's voice died in her throat as Konata emerged from the pool, climbing back onto land to talk to Tsukasa.

It was strange. She had seen Konata in a swimsuit in the past. She had also seen her naked during shared baths as well. She really shouldn't have felt anything from seeing Konata in a wet T-shirt. And yet, the way it clung to her body rang alarm bells inside Kagami's mind for some reason. It certainly didn't help that Konata wasn't wearing a bra.

Konata noticed Kagami's gaze and stared back with an unreadable expression. It wasn't the same as her usual deadpan face. The slight furrowing of her brow and twitching of her lips gave off an uncharacteristic air of vulnerability.

The alarm bells rang louder as Kagami felt her face heat up.

With a shake of her head, she shelved her messy thoughts and approached—there would be time to examine them later. "Sunblock, Tsukasa," she said sternly.

Tsukasa scratched her head and giggled. "Oh yeah. Forgot about that. Be right back, Konata."

Kagami brought them to the chairs near the two adults, applying sunblock on the exposed skin of Tsukasa's arms and legs. "You're sure you don't wanna wear some shorts or whatever?" she asked.

Tsukasa nodded. "You sure you don't want to wear some shorts. It'd be lighter than those pants."

"I'm sure." Kagami booped Tsukasa's nose with the sunblock bottle's nozzle, leaving a smear of lotion on her face. "Finish up and get in there. I'll be with you in a bit."

After a moment of rubbing the sunblock all over her face, Tsukasa stood and made for the water, turning back for only a second to smile at Kagami. Kagami smiled back and began rubbing sunblock on her own arms, feet, and face.

Minutes later, Kagami noticed Miyuki approaching from the other side of the pool. A combination of her vibrant pink hair, flower pattern bikini, and beautifully pale skin made it easy to spot her in the distance. Though, upon closer inspection, her expression looked uncharacteristically tense.

"You look different without your glasses," Kagami remarked when Miyuki took a seat next to her. "Not better or worse. Just… different."

Miyuki winced. "I'll take your word for it. Unfortunately, my eyesight is poor enough that I wouldn't be able to tell, even if you put a mirror in front of me. I can barely see without them." She squinted at the pool for a moment before angling her head towards Kagami. "I take it that you're not in the mood for swimming?"

Kagami shrugged. "Swimming's fine. Being molested, though?"

As if to punctuate Kagami's statement, they heard a shriek and frantic splashing as Konata and Patricia lifted Hiyori over their heads. Another loud splash followed as they dropped Hiyori back into the water and waded toward Tsukasa, their next target.

Kagami smiled wryly. "I'd rather not be manhandled, thank you very much."

Miyuki chuckled. "It's all in good fun. Nothing wrong with a little roughhousing now and again."

"Oh? Then why are you completely dry from the waist up?"

Miyuki's cheeks flushed as she averted her eyes. "That is, ahem, completely unrelated. I simply dislike having water enter my eyes."

Kagami snorted. "Yeah, sure. I'll buy that."

A shriek rang across the pool as Patricia dove under water and lifted Tsukasa onto her shoulders. With the deliberately rocking motions of Patricia's strides, the only thing Tsukasa could do was curl up tightly, hanging onto Patricia's head as if she was an extremely uncooperative life preserver.

"You're sure you wouldn't have fun playing in the water with them?" Miyuki asked again.

Kagami pulled up her knees to her chest. "Maybe I would," she replied distantly, still staring at the chaos in the middle of the pool.

Konata jumped up and grabbed onto Tsukasa from behind, sending all three of them toppling into the water. Near the shallower end of the pool, Minami paused Yutaka's swimming lessons as they both watched the three screaming girls struggle to stand back up.

Kagami sighed. "At the same time, I think I'll take a dip later, once they're all tuckered out—though knowing Konata, she'll still be right as rain to annoy me, hours later," she added in a mutter.

Miyuki giggled, but did not disagree.

They sat in silence for a moment, appreciating the sunlight reflecting off the rippling water, the fresh mountain air carried by the summer breeze, and the laughs and cries of their friends enjoying themselves.

"Miyuki," Yukari called some time later. "Be a dear and fetch us a bottle of wine from the fridge."

Next to her, Honoka slapped her arm. "Yukari, it's not even noon yet. Control yourself."

"I want a drink, though…"

"Yes, but alcohol? And this early?"

Miyuki stood, smiling at the two adults. "May I suggest a glass of lemonade instead?"

"Please and thank you," Honoka answered before Yukari could voice a reply. The older Takara pouted, muttering something about Honoka being a meanie. Honoka turned her nose and shot back with a remark of her own, though Kagami couldn't hear it clearly.

As the two began to bicker, Miyuki bowed at them slightly and started back towards the house, nudging Kagami's shoulder as she passed by. Raising a brow, Kagami stood and followed.

"Need some help?" Kagami asked as she re-entered the house with Miyuki, closing the sliding door behind her.

"Not necessarily," Miyuki replied, approaching the fridge. As she looked inside, she gestured towards the metal basket filled with dishes hanging over the sink. "I'm perfectly capable of procuring drinks on my own, but I imagine you'd appreciate having something to do other than sit at the poolside alone while my parents argue."

Kagami snorted, moving a set of plastic cups from the basket to the counter. "That's a bit presumptuous, but you're not wrong. Thanks for being so thoughtful—though I don't know what to feel about making lemonade for the people we're supposedly trying to avoid by making lemonade."

Miyuki giggled as she pulled out a pitcher of cold water and set it down next to the cups. "It'll be for everyone else as well. Best to just look at the positives." Her amused smile turned into a frown. "I'm forgetting something," she muttered.

"Lemon?" Kagami suggested. "Right now, this is still just water."

"Ah. Thank you." Miyuki reached for a box at the top of the fridge that contained several sachets of powdered juice mix. She spent a moment squinting at the labels before selecting the one that said lemon, and returning the box where she found it.

Kagami sat at the kitchen table, resting her chin on her palm as she watched Miyuki stir the mix into the water. The sound of the metal stirrer hitting the glass walls of the pitcher were just distracting enough that Kagami couldn't fall completely into a daze.

Which was a good thing, all things considered. Whenever left to simply wander, her mind seemed to keep flashing back to the conversation she'd had with Tsukasa before dawn that morning. While she certainly still agreed with her decision to kiss her sister if the right situation ever arose, the fact that she didn't feel more conflicted about it left her concerned about the implications. Similarly, the strange feelings she had felt about Tsukasa and Miyuki kissing the previous night had continued to feel no less strange hours later. Compounding on them were her unresolvedfeelings about seeing Konata in a wet T-shirt a few minutes prior, coupled with the inexplicably seductive look on Konata's face when their eyes met. She could deal with the other things, but that had been entirely too much to handle so early into the morning.

With all of those things considered, the distraction of Miyuki's stirring was—

"Why are you staring into space?"

Kagami blinked as her eyes refocused.

"Er… Uh…"

And then she winced. The loud sounds of stirring had completely failed to keep her mind from wandering, apparently.

"It's nothing. I'm just… distracted, I guess…"

Miyuki tilted her head slightly as she lifted the stirrer out of the pitcher. "Oh? Distracted by what?"

Kagami internally listed all the things currently occupying her mind—all three of them—and concluded that they were too much to unpack right now. So, rather than going on a long, meandering explanation about things she only barely understood herself, she instead went with a rather crude, "Uh… A lot of things…?"

She winced even harder upon realizing how stupid she sounded just now.

Miyuki stared, tilting her head to the other side. "I see…"

Kagami pursed her lips, tensely awaiting the inevitable follow up questions. She hadn't been concise, articulate, or any other smart-sounding adjective, but at the very least, she had technically told the truth—which had to count for something, right?

But when no follow up came, she could only blink in confusion.

"That's it? 'I see'?"

Miyuki averted her eyes, shifting her weight. "I mean… I imagine it's something personal, so I let it be. It seemed like the most tactful thing to do…"

Kagami blinked again, gawking at the light blush and the timid, awkward smile that had formed on Miyuki's face. It was like she was embarrassed about being tactful or something—which was simultaneously the most wholesome thing Kagami ever witnessed, and the most baffling. If it weren't such a Miyuki-like sentiment, she probably would have suffered whiplash.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes. "For some reason, I expected you to make fun of me, even though that's not your style…"

The smile on Miyuki's face disappeared as she raised a brow. "I don't quite follow."

Kagami scratched her head. "Er… Well… Konata or Misao or my older sisters would normally jump on this opportunity to tease me. I guess I'm just so used to it that I've sorta come to expect it."

"Oh, I understood that," Miyuki said with a dismissive hand wave. "What I didn't understand was why you said it wasn't my style."

Kagami fidgeted. "Because… uh… it isn't…?"

Miyuki pressed the issue. "How so? What constitutes my style?"

"I don't know how to explain…"

"Please try."

"I—"

Kagami cut herself off with a sharp intake of breath.

She detected a strange intensity peeking through the cracks in Miyuki's voice, giving it a texture that Kagami had never heard before—especially not from someone as docile and polite as Miyuki.

But then again, Kagami had only ever seen Miyuki be passive. She would explain scientific concepts and spout obscure trivia when prompted, but would otherwise not speak unless spoken to. And whenever she did speak, there was always a sense that she wasn't invested in what she was saying—which was fair, given how inane most of their lunch break conversation topics were.

That lack of investment was not what Kagami sensed right now, though—quite the opposite, in fact. Hidden underneath a veneer of polite curiosity was what seemed to be a vested interest in Kagami's opinion of her.

And Kagami wasn't sure how to feel about that.

She rubbed her eyes, groaning as she put yet another item on her list of things that would keep her up at night thinking about. As if her miserable pile of unresolved feelings wasn't large enough already. She'd have shelved the topic right then and there if it weren't for the fact that Miyuki was still waiting for a reply.

"Look, Miyuki, I really am serious about not knowing how to explain it. All I know is that you wouldn't have made fun of me, regardless of whether what I said was personal or not."

Miyuki regarded this for a moment. "So… this is less an informed assumption and more… intuition?"

Kagami shrugged. "Pretty much."

"I suppose that's fair," Miyuki conceded with a tired sigh.

There was a moment of silence as Kagami felt the air become easier to breathe. It was as if tension was draining out of the room in a measurable way. Or perhaps the inexplicable intensity that Miyuki kept hidden was simply buried deeper. Kagami didn't care, either way.

"In any case," Miyuki said, breaking the silence. "Whatever it is that's bothering you, they're your troubles to bear and I won't pry. Just know that I'd be willing to lend an ear if you ever feel like opening up."

A small, wry smile found its way onto Kagami's face. Just like that, Miyuki was somehow back to the Miyuki that Kagami was used to. Tactful, nice, er… smart… other things… Wow, Kagami really didn't know Miyuki as much as she thought she did, huh? Just her luck. More food for thought to stack onto her already precariously full plate.

"Th-thanks, Miyuki… I…" Kagami pursed her lips for a moment as she thought on how to respond. "I appreciate the offer," she eventually said. She pulled back the I guess that she nearly appended to that last sentiment.

"Additionally, if I may offer one other thing?"

"Hmm?" Kagami looked up and raised a brow.

"Just a word of advice." Miyuki stepped forward and handed Kagami the pitcher. "If you truly wish to distract yourself from what's troubling you, it would be much more effective if you were actually having fun, instead of simply sitting on the sidelines."

With that, Miyuki left the kitchen, Kagami following closely behind as she stewed on Miyuki's words.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Miyuki was right. She was prone to sudden bouts of introspection and had far too much time on her hands. She needed something to do. Something to focus on. Preferably, something that did not remind her of the things troubling her. Unfortunately, the pool-time fun that Miyuki was implicitly encouraging was not that something. Not when both Miyuki and Tsukasa still made her think about the previous night's kiss. Not when seeing a braless Konata in a wet T-shirt made her short circuit for some reason. Not when there was blood in the water and Hiyori was floating belly-down like some sort of corpse—what on earth even happened to cause that, anyway? But that was getting off topic. Bottom line, if she wanted a distraction, it had to come from somewhere else—and since she didn't have the temperament to make her own fun, someone else.

Looks like she'd be joining Misao's trip to the town after all…

Kagami sighed again as she set the pitcher on the table next to the two adults. Once Miyuki finished handing them both a cup each, Kagami pulled her aside.

"Thanks for talking to me, Miyuki," Kagami muttered. "I think I'm gonna take your advice… Although, maybe not to the letter…"

Miyuki smiled warmly. "What I want is for you to enjoy yourself, Kagami. That's all I ask."

Kagami pursed her lips and nodded. "If anyone asks, tell them I decided to group with Misao for a while. And thanks again."

She received a nod back. "Will do. And you're most very welcome, Kagami. Have fun."

Kagami re-entered the house and made her way to Misao's room. Hopefully, her snaggletoothed friend hadn't left yet.

Later…

Misao looked up at the beams of light poking through the leafy canopy, casting patches of light on the winding concrete road before her. A warm breeze gave the branches a gentle sway, making the shadows dance in turn. She took a moment to appreciate them. A few paces of walking later, shadowy trees gave way to a view overlooking the small rural town she and her friends were heading towards, which she also took a moment to appreciate as well.

She had always loved the outdoors. Mountains, plains, rivers, beaches—really, she'd take any of them over the bustling boredom of a city. Of course, that wasn't to say she didn't enjoy what cities offered—having a bajillion stores, restaurants, and arcades within walking distance of each other was really convenient. But there was just something about nature's fresh air and open space that made her feel so alive—more alive than the smoky shadows of a glass and concrete skyline ever could.

Sadly, her brother didn't seem to share her love of rural Japan.

Masaru walked some distance behind her, eyes trained on the ground. His slouched posture, pocketed hands, and grumpy frown made it clear he was bored out of his mind. Well, at least he hadn't complained yet—even though Misao could tell he wanted to.

In complete contrast to him, Ayano looked positively glowing, as if Masaru's grumpiness gave her boundless amusement. Misao had to suppress the urge to tease them.

"What's gotten you all smiley all of a sudden?"

At the sound of Kagami's dry remark, Misao reigned in her expression. "Nothin'," she said, turning to the twin-tailed girl with a dismissive wave. "Just remembered somethin' funny."

Kagami raised a brow. "Is that so?" With the roll of her eyes, she turned away, towards the town in the distance.

Eventually, the winding road reached the foot of the mountain, the forest of trees that lined the side of the road now replaced with loosely spaced houses with well-maintained lawns and shrubbery. Even with their lax pace, the trek down into town had lasted only ten, maybe fifteen minutes tops—a far cry from the forty minutes it had taken them the previous day.

Then again, they were going downhill.

"If only going uphill were this easy," Kagami grumbled, as if she had read Misao's mind. She looked back the way they came and groaned. "I'm not gonna enjoy climbing back up there."

Misao followed Kagami's gaze up the mountain, her eyebrows rising when she noticed the conspicuous white box of concrete in what was an otherwise completely green landscape. "Cool. We can see Takara's house from here," she said with a grin.

Kagami sighed. "They did not need to build that place so far up."

"That's the price ta pay fer privacy," Masaru muttered as he and Ayano walked past them. "I personally think it's worth it. If only there weren't so many people stayin' there."

"You could always leave," Misao suggested, letting out a snicker. "Ya got money, don'tcha?"

Masaru shot her a smug smile, patting his back pocket. "That's the plan, dear sister. Ideally, I spend as little time inside that house as possible."

Next to Misao, Kagami laughed humorlessly. "Hah. That's awfully ungrateful for someone who only got third-hand tickets to this little vacation."

Masaru visibly tensed, forcing Misao to hold back a snicker.

All throughout childhood, her brother had toned down his attitude whenever they hung out. She could never figure out the reason why. It wasn't until early last year did she find out that Masaru was actually intimidated by Kagami.

On one hand, Kagami was plenty intimidating—which was fair enough. On the other hand, she was also two years younger and a full head shorter than him—which was hilarious. And to make it even better, he had also been taking judo lessons with Ayano and Akane for the past three years. The fact that he was still intimidated by Kagami even now was downright hysterical.

"Grateful, huh…?" Masaru coughed into his fist, looking away. "I suppose I should be grateful fer this opportunity ta be stranded in the middle of nowhere with thirteen girls, only five'a whom I know."

Kagami raised a brow but did not reply.

Ayano beamed and seemed to tighten her hold around Masaru's arm, causing the elder Kusakabe to relax slightly. "You'll have to forgive his rudeness," she said gently. "He wasn't particularly happy to lose his internet connection for five days."

Kagami smirked. "But at least he's got a gaggle of girls to keep him company."

"If I wanted a harem, I wouldn't be dating Ayano," he growled. "I wouldn't have joined this trip if it wasn't for her either."

Ayano elbowed him, still smiling. "You agreed to it, fair and square, love. Casting me in a bad light like this is hurting my feelings."

"I'm sure your heart bleeds. Would you like a bandaid? Maybe a kiss and a lolipop to make the boo-boo go away?"

"I wouldn't say no to those, but I know you can do better than that. Try again."

"Aaand… there they go…" Misao sighed. She knew from experience that they'd be bantering for the next several minutes. Thankfully, she had gotten good at tuning them out.

Funnily enough, Misao used to think that it was Ayano that made Masaru hold back his biting remarks. She later found out that Ayano actually enjoyed Masaru's sharp tongue—and not just in a 'she liked kissing him' kind of way. No. She lapped up the venom he spat from his lips like a tasty snack. Apparently, lobbing insults and sarcastic quips at each other was some bizarre form of flirting for them. That particular revelation had rocked Misao's view of Ayano in ways that still left her reeling to this day.

Of course Misao was still glad that Ayano was enjoying her relationship with him. She wasn't about to begrudge her best friend's happiness—even if it meant acknowledging Masaru's involvement in it.

Wait, did that mean her brother, by extension, had a better lovelife than anyone else in their friend group? Oh god, it did, didn't it!?

She winced and suppressed a shudder.

At least things wouldn't stay that way for long. Tsukasa had been shooting that Takara girl heart-eyes during breakfast and the midget seemed convinced she was in love with Kagami when she and Misao talked earlier. If there was ever an ideal place and time for them to find a romantic partner, their week at the Takara summer home would be it. She just hoped they wouldn't skirt around the topic for too long. Watching Ayano and Masaru's will-they-won't-they phase had been the peak of agony—easily the worst part of her middle school years. She did not have the patience to go through that again. The first time was enough, thank you very much.

Misao shook her head and put the topic out of mind, instead turning her attention to Kagami. "So, got any places in particular ya wanna see?"

Kagami shrugged. "Not really. Didn't seem like there's anything to do here when we passed through yesterday."

"That's why we're exploring today, ain't it?"

Another shrug. "Fair enough."

The four of them continued wandering the town, eyeing the numerous signs and strange looking alleys along the road. Misao led them towards anything that piqued her interest.

One building looked to be a carpentry shop, with a collection of handcrafted furniture on display in their storefront. The sign advertising their business was a chiseled-wood sculpture of a bear sitting on a three-legged stool for some reason.

"Ya think Takara bought her furniture from this store?" Misao wondered, running her hand over a wooden table that looked uncannily similar to the one they had in the kitchen.

"Probably," Kagami replied, tapping one of the chairs displayed alongside the table—also similar to the ones in the Takara summer home. "I imagine it'd be cheaper than buying from somewhere else and then shipping it all here—not that they'd need to worry about finances," she added in a mutter.

They window shopped a little more but did not buy anything—they weren't exactly in the market for furniture in the first place. They moved on before long.

The community center was probably the biggest building in town. It had a fenced off basketball court out back, a karaoke machine with its own dedicated room, and much to everyone's surprise, they also had a few arcade cabinets tucked into the corner of their recreational area.

"Huh?" Masaru sat at one of them and experimented with the buttons. "These are obscure old-ass games but the sticks are all smooth, the buttons still click, and the screens look brand new. This is obviously a restoration—and a damn good one at that."

Misao turned to Kagami. "Ya thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

Kagami raised a brow. "That Konata would love this place? Absolutely."

"Wanna be nice or what? Cuz I'm perfectly willin' ta pretend we never found this place."

"Let's wait on deciding. Maybe if she's less annoying tonight."

Misao snorted. "Tough chance'a that."

They stayed there for half an hour, Masaru insisting on having another go every time he hit a game over. He ended up spending more money on arcade tokens than he bargained for that day. They left the community center at least two thousand yen poorer.

Hidden away in a side street stood a flower shop, stacked floor to ceiling with potted plants. Shelves of them spilled out into the street. Seemingly abandoned cars and pickup trucks parked nearby were filled with greenery. A wooden sign crudely duct taped onto a lamp post was covered in vines.

"I kinda don't wanna be here," Kagami muttered. "This place is giving me the creeps."

Masaru let out a dry chuckle as he sniffed one of the vases with s flower arrangement. "Is it the plants or the fact that nobody's here?"

"A little of both," Kagami admitted, peeking through the windows. "Normally I'd praise anyone who puts in this much effort into something, but the number of plants they're maintaining here is just absurd."

"Must have a lotta time on their hands," Masaru said as he and Ayano examined the rack of flower crowns a little ways inside the building. "Two hundred yen? That's a damn good deal."

"Rather cheap for what I assume is a gift for me," Ayano said flatly. Then she smiled. "Though I imagine they'll look quite regal if you were to wear them."

"My head's a lil' small fer this kinda crown," Masaru retorted, snatching a flower crown and pulling out his wallet. "I bet they'll fit better on your big head, though." With a snicker, he made for the empty cashier's desk.

"Anyone hear muffled screaming?" Misao asked from near the back of the shop.

Everyone stopped and listened for a moment. They could now more clearly hear a woman's squeaks and moans through the far wall, accompanied by a rhythmic thump. Misao felt her face heat up slightly as she realized what was happening.

"I guess that explains why no one's here," Masaru muttered, putting his payment onto the counter. "Let's not disturb them. They seem ta be enjoyin' themselves."

The four jumped when the muffled voice yelled, louder and clearer than they've yet heard. "I'm so close!" The rhythmic thumping increased in tempo.

"Aight, time ta go," Masaru said quickly, tossing the flower crown onto Ayano's head and pushing her towards the exit.

In complete agreement with the sentiment, Misao took Kagami's hand and followed her brother out the door. The twin-tailed girl did not complain as Misao dragged her along. If her completely flushed face and incomprehensible muttering was anything to go on, she probably fell into some mental rabbit hole of embarrassment that Misao would need to dig her out of.

Well, she could do that later, once they'd put some distance between themselves and the flower shop they'd just left.

Later…

Ayano leaned back on the bench, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow and tugging the front of her blouse.

It had been fairly cloudy and windy for most of the day so far. It was somewhat surprising how suddenly the wind had subsided and the sky had become cloudless. In a matter of minutes, a pleasant day had become one where the sun bore down on them like a burning ray of death. And due to her own lack of foresight, she had forgotten to bring both an umbrella and a bottle of water.

Served her right, though. She should never have trusted the weather to be nice.

Thankfully, Misao chose to postpone their continued exploration of whatever odds and ends the town might offer in favor of finding shelter—a wise decision, in Ayano's opinion. That's how she and Kagami found themselves sitting at a nice picnic table under the shade of a tree while the Kusakabe siblings bought lunch.

Ayano continued fanning herself, unable to take her mind off of the unrelenting heat and the continuous drone of crying cicadas. Kagami seemed similarly dazed, leaned over the table with her chin on her palms and a blank stare on her face. The twin-tailed girl remained motionless, like an uncannily realistic statue.

That observation pushed an edge of worry past Ayano's discomfort. Come to think of it, Kagami had seemed a little off all morning—even before their little incident at the flower shop. She hid it well enough that Misao and Masaru didn't seem to notice, but there were signs as early as breakfast that she was distracted by something—though by what, Ayano couldn't begin to guess.

So she didn't guess.

"What's on your mind?" Ayano asked, causing Kagami to blink and jump in her seat.

"What?"

Ayano gave her a slight smile. "You seem distracted."

Kagami pursed her lips, her gaze drifting past Ayano as she took a deep breath. "Well," she began with a sigh. "Yeah… a little bit."

"So what's distracting you?"

Kagami pursed her lips tighter, a wry smile adorning her face. "A lot of things," she replied.

Ayano raised a brow. "Would you mind sharing?"

Kagami met Ayano's gaze for only an instant before averting her eyes once more. "Maybe," she said slowly. "Depends on how you'll react."

Ayano's brows rose higher. This was an uncharacteristic level of timidness—more expected of Tsukasa than Kagami. Still, anything that could make Kagami act this out of character was an intriguing prospect. "How would I know how I'll react before you tell me?"

Kagami opened her mouth to speak before closing it. She sat up straight, cupping her chin in her hand. "You do have a point, I guess," she reluctantly conceded after a moment of contemplation. "Now let me think about how to explain this…"

Ayano tugged her blouse again as she gave Kagami another moment to gather her thoughts. She was doubtful that it would be all that complicated. Whatever the issue was, Kagami had a way of making it much harder for herself than it needed to be. Ayano was sure that, once it was out there, they could easily come up with a—

"What's it like to kiss a boy?"

Ayano blinked. "Come again?"

Kagami fidgeted in her seat, refusing to look up from her hands laid flat on the table. "You… you've kissed Masaru, right…? What's it like…?"

Ayano blinked once more. She didn't know what she expected but it certainly wasn't this. How was she supposed to react? What could she possibly say that would adequately answer that question?

Ayano scratched her cheek. "I'm not sure how to explain…"

Another wry smile tugged at Kagami's lips. "Try anyway."

"I—"

Ayano cut herself off with a sharp intake of breath. Part of her wondered whether Kagami was joking, though she quickly wrote off that possibility after a moment of thought. Kagami trended towards straightforward jokes with a simple set up and punchline. Mind games weren't her style. That meant that Kagami was being serious.

Which begged the question,

"What brought this on?"

Kagami winced at those words, pulling her arms closer to her chest. Ayano could already sense Kagami gearing up for a full retreat from the situation. "Never mind. It was a stupid question anywa—"

Ayano gave the table in front of Kagami a sharp tap, causing the twin-tailed girl to flinch. "Hey! None of that," she said sternly. "I'm perfectly willing to answer. I just need a little bit more context. Please work with me here."

Kagami met Ayano's eyes, quivering slightly in what Ayano could only assume was fear—it certainly couldn't be because she was cold. Ayano responded to the tense look with another small smile. Kagami regarded this smile for several long seconds before letting out a sigh and relaxing. "Yeah, I guess I was being a little vague…"

Ayano snorted. Only a little? Perhaps that was an understatement—though it ultimately mattered little. She had given enough clues for Ayano to at least make an educated guess.

"Let me see if I have this right," Ayano began, leaning forward onto the table, steepling her hands in front of her face. "You've been off since breakfast this morning but were fine when we talked last night. That means whatever brought this on had happened between me heading off to bed, and all of us reconvening the next morning. Whatever it was also involved kissing in some way. Given the way you phrased your question—and the fact that there were only girls in your group last night—I can only assume that a girl kissed another girl. That sound right?"

Kagami fidgeted before giving a reluctant nod.

Ayano suppressed a smirk. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that you kissed Miss Izumi."

Kagami immediately flushed red like a blooming rose garden, no doubt conjuring the moment in her head. Of course, she denied this ever happening, as she was wont to do—though it was surprisingly not an explosive denial as Ayano expected. It was, instead, uncharacteristically timid, which suggested some level of reluctant honesty.

"It was actually… Miyuki… who kissed Tsukasa…"

Ayano nodded thoughtfully, idly adjusting the flower crown on her head. "That's…"

Surprising, she wanted to say. She could have sworn it was Konata, given the conversation they had earlier that morning about how she was supposedly in love with Kagami. It just made too much sense for that to not be the case.

At the same time, what Kagami said also made sense. During breakfast, Tsukasa always seemed to light up with a thousand watt smile every time she and Miyuki interacted. And given the fact that Kagami and Tsukasa were twins and slept in the same room, they probably talked about it with each other, which explained why Kagami seemed so distracted.

That still left some questions, though.

"So… I believe you," Ayano said slowly. "And I get where you're coming from… but there are still some things about this that need clarification."

Kagami frowned. "Like what?"

"Like what has you so fixated on it. Are you jealous? Does the fact that two girls kissed confuse you? Are you just scared because things are different and you don't like it?"

"Um…" Kagami pulled her legs up to her chest and curled up into a tight ball. Even with her face buried in her arms, the redness of her ears was a dead giveaway as to what she was feeling. "Y-yes…?" she whimpered.

All of the above, then, Ayano concluded to herself. She suppressed the urge to chuckle, instead standing and leaning forward to pat Kagami on the head.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Kagami," she said, gently rubbing Kagami's lilac hair.

"You're one to talk," Kagami snapped, voice muffled by her hands. "You've had a boyfriend for three years."

Ayano snorted, removing her hand from Kagami's head. "And do you think I was as comfortable with him now as when we first started? We had our fair share of awkwardness too, you know."

Kagami whimpered again.

With the slow shake of her head, Ayano sat back down. "Just relax, Kagami. As cute as this little display might be, it's completely unnecessary. You'll receive no judgement from me."

A moment passed where neither of them spoke, the only sound that filled the silence being the ever present cry of cicadas.

"You better hurry and decide whether you want to talk about this or not. It won't be long before Masaru and Misao come back with lunch."

Kagami let out an exasperated groan at the mention of the Kusakabe siblings' return. She looked up from her hands, shooting Ayano a dry look before sighing.

"Earlier this morning, I asked Tsukasa what it's like to kiss a girl. She told me she doesn't have anything to compare to since she's only ever kissed Miyuki once."

Ayano smiled ruefully as she averted her eyes. "I don't think I can offer you much better. I've only ever kissed Masaru."

Another sigh. "Figured as much."

"I think I know a way to fix that, though." Ayano frowned. "Buuuut… you might not like it.

Kagami raised a brow. "I'm open to ideas."

Ayano gave Kagami a conspiratorial look and beckoned her closer with a curl of an index finger. Kagami complied, leaning forward and meeting Ayano halfway across the table. No doubt she expected Ayano to whisper something in her ear.

That was not what Ayano had in mind.

Kagami seized up when their lips met, only relaxing into the kiss when Ayano gently caressed her cheek. When Ayano broke contact, their separation was slow and drawn out—only further drawn out by Kagami following Ayano's retreating lips in the hope that they'd meet again. In the span of a few seconds, Ayano saw Kagami's face transition from that of blissful satisfaction, confused longing, and finally, intense panic.

"Why did you do that!?" Kagami hissed, recoiling as if she were physically struck.

Ayano looked away, twirling strands of her hair around her fingers. "A few reasons, I guess," she muttered. "It's mostly so I can get information to help you—"

"And you decided to do that by kissing me!?"

"—But also because it'd make Masaru and Misao jealous," Ayano continued, not missing a beat. She could almost hear the record scratch noise play in Kagami's mind.

"Wa-wa-wait, what?"

Ayano shot her a mischievous smile. "They've considered you the most beautiful girl they've known since we entered middle school. I just took what I assume is your first kiss, so I'll enjoy holding it over them a little."

"But that's…! I…! You…! We—!"

"I'd like to interrupt your freak out to remind you that we are on a time limit."

Kagami shut her mouth and eyes, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly and shakily. She repeated this breathing exercise a few times, each successive exhale becoming calmer and steadier than the last. After the last repetition, Kagami opened her eyes, giving Ayano a serious look.

"You took my first kiss without permission."

Ayano grimaced. Kagami had spoken in a neutral tone, though Ayano could still feel the bite of an icy edge to those words. Pangs of guilt stabbed at her from the inside.

"I did," she admitted quietly. "I'm sorry."

Kagami pursed her lips, turning her head away. "I don't hate you for this," she said carefully. "But we will have words about this in the future."

Ayano nodded.

"I'm glad we understand each other. Now…" Kagami closed her eyes and took another deep breath. When she next opened her eyes, her face relaxed somewhat. "Tell me how it felt."

Ayano gave her a small smile. "Other than the fact that you don't have pronounced canines sticking out of your lips? Physically indistinguishable from Masaru—which I sort of expected going into it."

Kagami nodded thoughtfully. "Huh… That's… Huh…"

"It's really not that complicated, Kagami. Other than fangs and piercings that might get in the way, there's very little about the physicality of kissing that changes when kissing one person over another—at least when it comes to closed-mouth kissing. Things change when you start adding tongue, but I don't think either of us would be willing to go that far with each other right now."

"You seem unusually casual about all this," Kagami noted warily. "This doesn't exactly seem like a common topic of conversation."

Ayano shrugged. "You're not the first person to come to me about this sort of thing. Akane and Misao have asked for advice before."

This earned raised eyebrows, but no further comment.

"In any case, what you feel and think about who you're kissing matters more than the whats, wheres, and hows. I kissed you the same way I kissed Masaru—and like I said, you're physically indistinguishable from each other—but at the same time, I didn't feel the same way about it. Kissing you didn't have the same sense of familiarity and comfort that I get when kissing him. It's like how kissing me didn't excite you as much as the thought of kissing Miss Izumi did."

Upon using Konata as an example, Kagami's face once again lit up red, causing Ayano to chuckle.

"In a similar vein, the thought of kissing your sister would probably turn you off."

Ayano had expected Kagami's flushed face to pale. When it didn't, she backpedaled in alarm. "Actually, let's not open that can of worms," she said quickly. "What about the thought of kissing Masaru, then?"

This gave Kagami pause. After a moment's contemplation, Kagami shrugged. "Not sure," she muttered. "I know I feel something but I can't pin down what it is."

Ayano looked past Kagami and smirked. "Well, there's certainly a way to find out." She stood and waved at the two tanned brunettes trudging along the sidewalk towards them. "Masaru, I have a favor to ask of you!"

Kagami turned around and hissed an expletive that Ayano was surprised she would use. "Ayano, I'm begging you. Do not bring—"

Kagami didn't get to finish her plea as the Kusakabe siblings walked into earshot, both carrying plastic bags filled with take-out boxes.

"I'm gone fer fifteen minutes and the first thing ya say ta me is that ya need a favor? No hello? No how are ya? No thanks for the food ya bought us? You're breakin' my heart, Ayano."

"I may have broken it in other ways too," Ayano mumbled guiltily. "But I'm sure we can glue it back together later. In the meantime, Kagami and I were having a rather delicate discussion just now—which prompted that favor I wanted."

"Save the preamble and spit it out," he said dryly as he and Misao laid their food onto the table.

Ayano shot Kagami a sharp, mischievous smile. "How agreeable would you be to kissing Kagami?"

End of Chapter

Thank you to picardyThird and Asianpotter1 for beta reading this chapter

Once again, I apologise for the delay. At the same time, I regret to inform you that the next chapter probably won't arrive any time soon. Like I said, the rate I was posting new chapters back in February is simply not sustainable for me. I'm sorry.

In any case, this new chapter was fun to write. Only a rare few Lucky Star fanfics give all three girls from class 3-C a chance to be in the spotlight. I'm glad that this is one of them.

I've had a few conversations with reviewers and commenters about my characterization of Miyuki. Yes, she's quite different from her canon counterpart in that she's much more mindful of the people around her. While this detracts from much of the comedy involving Miyuki's absentmindedness, it's a trade off I'm willing to make since it makes her relationship with the other characters a little deeper and more involved.

In that same vein, I also made some changes/additions to Ayano's characterization in the hopes of it achieving a similar effect. In canon—or at least in the anime—Ayano reads as a rather one-note nice-girl who is non-confrontational. In other words, boring. Yes, I know there's also that interpretation where she's a yandere or sadist deep down—which I do plan to play with in this story in some way—but I wanted something a liiiittle more agreeable to the rest of the class. Hopefully it made her more interesting.

Stray thoughts:

Kagami is right on the cusp of being a disaster gay if not being one outright. Her gay panic gives me life.

The town exploration is loosely based on places and events in my own life. Yes, even the flower shop.

The kiss has me a little worried since I spent so much of the chapter building up Ayano's relationship with Masaru, only to have her "cheat" on him by kissing Kagami. Not entirely sure how well that'll play out for my readers. Hopefully the TW in my opening author notes were enough.

Next chapter: The Second Day, Round 2 Upper Bracket