Another TomoxYomi, with implied KaguraxSakaki. I am hoping my faithful reviewers will enjoy! I don't own Azumanga Daioh.

Chapter 7, "Feelings Finally Revealed".

Kagura had slowly, very slightly grown closer to Sakaki since Tomo's stupid prank. That had been fine with her, but now she questioned if it might go…farther, than she'd anticipated. "Damn Tomo! If she hadn't been such and idiot and done that, I wouldn't have to be worrying over it. Wait…GAH! Why am I worrying about it? None of this should be happening." She complained as she mulled over her thoughts.

In those brief few seconds, a whole new wave of emotions had flooded her mind. And, for reasons she didn't understand, she wanted to have that experience again. To test this, she'd need to push her pride out of the way and ask…Tomo…for a favor. The thought tore her up, but it was the only way she could have done it.

"I'll do it tomorrow morning. My only problem is getting her to help me. There's no telling what she might make me do in return…" she feared as she decided to go to bed.

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Getting Tomo to do something proved to be one of her greatest challenges. After laughing at her for a while, Tomo decided to respond.

"What makes you think I'll help you? You're smarter than me; at least that's what you always say. Figure it out yourself." Tomo quipped before starting to walk away. Kagura stopped her.

"Wait, Tomo. I really need your help on this! Please, help me!" Kagura pleaded. When Tomo gave her a look that beamed with superiority, she knew what she wanted.

"Alright! You're…you're…smarter than me." She whispered the last part.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you." Tomo snickered, which drew the attention of the others. Including Sakaki.

"You're smarter than me!" Kagura said quickly.

"You're damn right I am! Now, you were asking a favor of me?" Tomo asked, enjoying that she had finally made Kagura submit to her.

"Yes. Now, follow me somewhere more…private." Kagura motioned, and they left their friends confused, especially Yomi.

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"Alright, now what is it? You wouldn't be asking me for help in less it was something serious." Tomo figured, and Kagura nodded. "Let me guess…could it be…Sakaki?" Tomo inquired, grinning.

"What! No! How did you know?" Kagura hastily asked, wondering how she could have known.

"First off, anyone can read you like a book. And second, I figured this would happen after my little prank!" Tomo finished, correctly.

"It's that obvious? I mean…well, I'm confused now. I wanted you to do what you did before…" Kagura told her quietly.

"What? Well, that might be a little hard, and I like to keep things original-"Tomo began, but Kagura stopped her.

"I don't care what you do, or how you do it, I just need to…so I can be sure." She informed Tomo.

"I'm still not so sure…" Tomo joked, but the other girl took it seriously.

"I need your help! Don't make me blackmail you!" she threatened.

"Blackmail? With what, may I ask?" Tomo prodded, and got a surprise:

"I'll tell the others what happened between you and Yomi!" she bluffed. Tomo flushed red.

"H-hang on! I could just as easily tell Sakaki about you!" she countered. The two stood in a stand-off stance, before Tomo relaxed. "Alright, I'll help you. But I'll expect something in return." She requested.

"Anything!" Kagura said, then froze; that was probably the biggest mistake of her life.

"Glad to be of service." Tomo said nonchalantly, but nothing could hide the gleam in her eyes.

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Yomi pondered what was going on between the two of them. 'Why are they going off together like that? What if they're plotting something? Wait…what am I thinking? It's Tomo and Kagura! But…then…why would Tomo agree to go with her…why do I even care? It's not like I wanted Tomo to hang out with me, or anything along those lines…' she contradicted herself over and over again.

She didn't even realize she thought about Tomo so often after that single act. She decided to go look for them, when they reentered the room. She stopped them at the door.

"So, what were you two doing?" she demanded, which surprised them.

"We were having conversation, Yomi. It's nothing to get worried over!" Tomo insisted, but it wasn't good enough for Yomi.

"It's never just conversation between you two. I want to know what you were really doing!" she continued, particularly after Tomo.

"It was nothing, Yomi! Jeez, you're not my Mom…are you?" Tomo joked, but Yomi continued to eye them before backing off.

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After school, Tomo decided to find out what had Yomi so wound up. "Hey, Yomi, wait up. Why did you get so…I don't know, protective, after we came back?" she asked, but Yomi ignored her. "Aw, come on! I didn't even do anything! Why are you mad at ME? Be mad at Kagura! She was the one who wanted to talk!" Tomo tried to reason.

Yomi stopped, turned, and faced her. "I'm mad because…you two always fight, and now all of a sudden you're leaving me behind to go talk to her…in private…" Yomi informed her, worry and hurt thickening her voice.

"What do you mean? Yomi…you don't think…" Tomo realized her friend's beliefs right away.

"Why shouldn't I? After last week, I'm sure you two have gotten a lot closer. Why should I care, anyway? It's not like you felt the same way about me…" Yomi snapped at her.

"Yomi! There's nothing like that going on! I can't believe you thought…me…and Kagura…GAH! That will haunt me forever!" Tomo squirmed. Yomi faced her again, but for a new reason.

"You two…really…aren't?" she asked.

"No! Why would you care if we were, anyway?" Tomo asked out of curiosity.

"Because I love you, you lunkhead!" Yomi finally expressed to her, blushing furiously.

And it left Tomo speechless. "W-w-w-what…y-you l-l-love me?" Tomo stuttered uncontrollably, barely able to speak.

"Think what you want of me, but…yes, I do." Yomi finished, and grabbed Tomo and held her close to her, ready to face whatever Tomo had to say.

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"Y-Yomi…I…I didn't realize. Why didn't you t-tell me?" Tomo asked, still stammering.

"I was afraid you'd reject me…that we'd lose our friendship…" Yomi quietly elaborated to her.

"Well, I had the same problem! I just never thought it'd turn out like this…" Tomo said to her, which took Yomi off guard.

"You're telling me that I confessed when you felt the same way? What the hell!" Yomi asked, letting go of her.

"I've loved you for a lot longer than you know! Why do you think I try my best to get into the same class as you? Or why I follow you everywhere and listen to you more than anyone else?" Tomo asked her, genuinely perplexed that Yomi hadn't gotten the hint over the years.

"I didn't know!" Yomi countered.

"That's because you're dense!" Tomo retorted. They stopped, and began laughing. Tomo bawling her eyes out and Yomi lightly chuckling. "So…what now?" Tomo asked after she could speak again.

"Why do I always have to know?" Yomi asked.

"Because you're smarter than me!" Tomo blurted, and immediately cursed herself.

"I suppose, we're a couple now. It's that simple!" Yomi told her before grabbing Tomo around the neck and kissing her.

"Mmph!" Tomo yelled, only to be muffled by her new girlfriend, as she continued to flush red. The two parted, reluctantly, and went on their separate ways without another word. At this point, no words were needed.

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The next morning, Yomi was late along with Tomo. Much to their friend's surprise. "I'd expect it from Tomo, but not from you, Yomi!" Kagura implied, confused.

"So what? We had our reasons, and that's all you need to know!" Tomo quipped, and took hold of Yomi's hand. The others noticed the action, and looked on, awestruck.

"Yomi, don't tell me…HER?" Kagura asked in shock.

"Yes, her. It was actually thanks in part to your dragging her off that started the chain of events leading up to it." Yomi informed her. Tomo slowly turned to her.

"Why do you have to talk like that? It's so confusing!" Tomo told her.

"Maybe if you paid attention in class it wouldn't be so confusing!" Yomi answered.

"Yeah? Well…wh-what do you know, anyway?" Tomo tried to defend.

"If I remember correctly, you admitted last night that I was smarter than you." Yomi reminded her.

"Shut up! You tricked me into saying that didn't you? Admit it!" Tomo attacked her.

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Chiyo herself looked at this as an opportunity to get more information concerning her own problem. And so did Osaka, although as a side thought to Chiyo. And Kagura figured that now she might be able to count on Yomi's help too.

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End of Chapter 7.

Here is 7. RR it, lest I slaughter you all!