Hello, everyone!
I'm back yet again with another chapter! So far there are only thirteen chapters of KanonNomi, though we progressed a fair bit. On the other hand, the word count on this story has went over 100k since the last chapter, so we're slowly getting close to the word count of AyumiNomi (129k)... but we're still far from MioNomi word counr (191k).
I guess I'm more worried about the frequency of chapter updates. Especially since I do have a few other KamiNomi fic projects I'd like to work in the meantime.
Anyway, we're obviously not at the end of KanonNomi just yet, but we might be closer than we think. Who knows.
Since I'm not really late this time and I moved the responses to the reviews to the ending author's notes, there' not really much to say this time, aside from that I hope you'll like this chapter. It's... interesting.
But anyway, enough with that (pretty short by my standards) author's note. Onto the chapter!
Enjoy!
(* * *)
Keima heard a gasp and looked up from his desk to see Ayumi looking at him with a shocked expression on her face and her hand near her mouth as if covering it.
It was lunch break and the majority of the 3-B students were out, probably pushing each other in the line to the Demeter bread stand, so the classroom was next to empty. Keima raised his eyebrow at Ayumi.
"What?" he questioned.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Ayumi asked.
He stared blankly at her. "And why would you think that?"
"Well... you're kinda... studying in class," Ayumi said, pointing to all the stuff on his desk, which was littered with torn pages, all covered with his messy handwriting.
He could understand why she'd be confused.
"I'm not studying," he said, before looking around to see why Chihiro, Miyako or Eri hadn't commented on it, but he didn't see any of them them, "where are the others?"
"Still at the bread stand," Ayumi told him, showing the sandwich in her hands, "I rushed there to be the first in line and got right back as fast as I could!"
"Why?"
"Well, hello, I'm supposed to be protecting you, remember?" the runner gave him how-could-you-forget-already look. "Well, there have been much less bullies lately, but still... anyway, what's all of this?" she gestured to his desk.
"I'm researching," Keima said.
"Researching what?" Ayumi said, tilting her head and scrunching her forehead. Keima knew reading and studying weren't the runner's strong suit, so he could understand the forehead thing. However, he still couldn't get used to the general idea of Ayumi or Chihiro not only not kicking him or calling him names, but talking to him and, as slight as it was, being interested in what he was doing, without calling him gross in the process.
Well, let's see how long that 'without calling him gross' thing would last since he was apparently having a longer conversation now.
"I'm researching galge," he said. There was a moment of silence and then, as expected, Ayumi let out exasperated sigh.
"Why?" she asked. "Did, like, some blue-haired rival appeared, competing for your title of the dating sims master and you felt you need to up your... game?" Ayumi chuckled at her own pun.
"Why blue-haired?" Keima asked.
"I don't know," Ayumi shrugged, "I just had this strange mental image for some reason.. and what's this?" she pointed to some other notes. "These look like studying notes."
"Those are for Kanon," Keima said, though technically the gaming notes were for Kanon's sake as well.
"You're helping her study?" Ayumi asked.
"Yes... that's one-I mean the only perk to being my girlfriend," Keima said.
"Totally," Ayumi rolled her eyes, "because the only reason Kanon-chan asked you out is to better her grades."
At this moment Chihiro, Miyako, Eri and, what's worse, Yui entered the classroom. Though on the bright side, the drummer's presence made enough commotion that no-one else asked about what he was doing. That was a good thing, because while Kanon hadn't directly forbidden him from saying anything, he had a feeling she wanted to keep that game-making thing a secret for now.
(* * *)
After the classes had ended, Keima left the school. Fortunately, 2-B pencils had practice today, so Eri wasn't here. Keima did encounter Minami Ikoma on his way out, however, and spent some time talking to her, before he finally managed to leave school grounds. Keima stopped by his home to grab a bigger backpack and headed for the railway station, before catching a train to Narusawa City. The car he was riding in was rather empty, but still...
"Hey, isn't that guy, Kanon-chan's boyfriend?"
"No way!"
"Quiet or he'll hear us!"
'I can hear you, you know?' Keima thought as he played his games. He had to admit he was a bit surprised. School was one thing, but how did the rest of the town learn the identity of Kanon's boyfriend.. or how he looked? Were students at school taking photos of him inconspicuously and posting them online or something? Well, he didn't mind whispers as long as it didn't interfere with his gaming, but if his experience was anything to go by, then whispers won't be the only thing. In moments like these he felt he was actually grateful abut the devils protecting him.
After a while Keima got off the bus and ten minutes later he was walking through a corridor and passing various people and rooms, before finally entering the room that was his destination.
"Hello, Keima-kun!" Kanon waved at him from inside. She was wearing rather plain-looking blue overalls and glasses instead of stage clothes. Not that he complained or cared.
"Hey, Kanon... and good day," the last part was directed at the last person in the room: Okada.
"Good day, Katsuragi-san," the manager said, before pushing up her glasses, "now let us not waste any time and get to it," she said all business-like.
Apparently, Okada wanted to make sure that both teens realized it was working time, not flirting time now. Keima could understand it too – he could bet his M-funds that Kanon's schedule was tight as ever.
"Alright," Keima said.
Even Kanon, who knew what kind of person Keima was and had memories of some of his life, sweatdropped a bit when she saw what Keima was pulling out of his bag, but Okada, who was new to this, watched in shock at the mountain of paper that had appeared.
"What the hell is this!?" the older woman asked.
"Research on galge, with emphasis on music-themed ones. And here," he brought a smaller stack of paper out of his backpack, "are the studying notes."
"T-thank you, Keima-kun," Kanon said, though her expression was unsure, "but you didn't have to go that far... I'm pretty sure half of these notes would let me get 70% if I memorized them."
"Impossible!" Okada said. "Kanon, you cannot get good grades by memorizing some notes!"
"But I did get 100% on that one test back when Keima-kun was tutoring me," Kanon argued, making Okada stop in shock again.
"This guy," the manager pointed to Keima, "was the one who tutored you for that test?"
Kanon nodded.
"We're wasting time here," Keima said and turned to Kanon. "Did you prepare the stuff I asked for?" Kanon nodded. "Good, then let's get started."
(* * *)
What followed was kinda similar to what Okada had been expecting... except for the scale of the entire thing.
Kanon had prepared a flip chart board and soon Keima was using it, explaining what he called the essentials of a galge, quickly covering several charts. Okada didn't exactly follow the lecture. It sounded like nonsense to her and Keima's voice was suddenly holier-than-thou, which made the older woman's eyebrow twitch. Kanon, however, was listening with bated breath, though Okada was under the impression that the idol was following only because she was used to a fast-paced life.
The 'galge 101' lecture didn't take very long and Keima was done after 20 minutes. However, after that he asked if Kanon had any questions... and then it started. Kanon apparently had trouble understanding the way galges were viewed and, more importantly, how Keima viewed them. Actually, Okada was pretty sure she could detect jealousy in the idol's voice. Keima tried to be calm and patient, but he was practically oozing passion and apparently didn't want to use any shortcuts or simplify what he saw great about his games. It dawned on Okada that Keima didn't just want to help Kanon here. He wanted to make a masterpiece. That in itself wasn't the worst. The worst happened when Kanon drew him into discussion about the music and its role in the game plot and mechanics. The ideas the idol suggested all had flaws and Keima shot all of those ideas down, but what the gamer apparently hadn't expected was Kanon not backing down. Instead the idol put her foot down, saying she shall have it in the game.
Okada had never seen Katsuragi being so passionate...
Okada had never seen Kanon being so stubborn...
Actually, Okada realized as she was looking at both teens almost glaring at each other, this was the first time the manager witnessed Kanon and Keima fighting.
Well, kind of...
Thus, it was another 40 minutes before Keima managed to go into the details of how and why some mechanics worked and pointed out that they should start from the basics – how many heroines were there supposed to be in the game, what was the setting and such. Then for the next half an hour the two had managed to make a few drafts though Keima firmly said that neither of those would work.
"You know that what we choose to do is not up to you, Katsuragi-kun?" Okada noticed, getting a glare from Keima and a pleading look from Kanon.
"Can we move onto the next point?" Kanon asked.
"Alright," Keima said, "the next is the game title."
Kanon blinked. "The title? Isn't it too early for that?" she asked. "We don't even have a working setting yet."
"That's true, but we do have setting drafts," Keima pointed to the few scenarios scattered among the notes and crumpled sheets of paper, "in that case it's perfectly fine to have drafts of the title as well. We can brainstorm them for now. Maybe if we have a good idea then it could help to figure out the setting."
"I guess you have a point," Kanon said and the two started to make suggestions, using the help of the list of existing titles Keima had.
"Excuse me, can I make a suggestion?" Okada said a minute later surprising both of them. It would be the first time the manager were to make any actual input and neither teen expected it.
"I don't know how this entire gaming business works," Okada admitted, "but the point of this endeavor is to promote Kanon and her songs."
"Galges are more than that," Keima said, "but that's part of it."
"Then I say we look at it more from the marketing point of view," the manager said, "how long will the game production take?"
"Hard to say," Keima answered, "if we use the summer vacation correctly and come up with scenario and dialogue quickly enough, then the gaming company should be able to provide the art and the finished product before the end of the year."
"I see," Okada said, before turning to the idol, "Kanon, what about that song that's being composed, right now?"
"You mean 'Surprise-colored Summer'?" Kanon raised her eyebrow.
"Yes, the plan is to release that song at the beginning of summer, right? In that case," Okada pushed up her glasses, giving off a very Keima-like vibe, "let's postpone the release of that song for a few weeks."
"Why?" Kanon asked.
"Wait, you mean to-" Keima started.
"Yes... the game is supposed to have Kanon's songs anyway, so it'd be logical to use the songs as part of the game promotion a few months before the game is released... then why not name the game after the song that will be promoting it?"
"So you want to name the game 'Surprise-colored Summer' after the song that isn't even made yet?" Keima asked.
"What's so wrong about it?" Okada shrugged. "Summer is a great chance for a romance, isn't it? Surprise could work with the scenario and colors works were with the main heroine, right?" the manager indicated to Kanon's hair.
Keima was about to say something, but Okada stopped him. "For god's sake! It's not like it has to be just one game! If it works well we can make another or a sequel, so the first one doesn't have to be a masterpiece, right?"
Keima's gaze was hard.
"Fine," he said finally, writing the suggestion down, "though that'd require making the song and setting on game scenarios relatively quickly. Anyway, let's move onto-"
"Time!" Kanon said suddenly, leaning on the table as if she had just ran a mile, her hands making a 'T' sign. "I can't keep going so fast for so long. I need a break!"
"Good idea, especially since Kanon has more things to do today," Okada said, looking at Keima, "you understand that best, right, Katsuragi-kun?"
Obviously, the dark-haired woman was alluding to the first time she had met Keima, when the boy had accused her of poor managerial skills and of having Kanon work too much.
"Of course," Keima said with indignation, but Kanon knew he did get carried away with this game design thing, doing the same thing Okada had done before.
'Those two are really similar', Kanon thought.
"Anyway, we're taking a break for fifteen minutes," Okada said as she stood up, "I'm going to the toilet."
If Keima thought that the older woman leaving meant a time to relax he was proven wrong the moment he heard a chair being placed next to his.
"Keima-kun!" Kanon said in glee as she flung her hands over Keima and clung to him, suddenly looking energized.
"You didn't need a break at all!" Keima cried out.
"I did... it's just that Keima-kun is my battery charger!" the idol said. "That means I can't live without you."
"You sure charge your batteries fast!" he commented, trying to distract himself from the way she was snuggling to him. Oh god, she was snuggling to him! "And I sure hope your batteries can last a week without charging!"
"That's why we shouldn't waste time!" Kanon said as she leaned closer to him, Keima could see her pink eyes, while pink hair obscured his vision, the idol's pink tongue moistening her pink slightly parted lips. Even her face was pink – the blood in Kanon's cheeks gave it an appealing shade of red.
(* * *)
"Your manager will be back soon," Keima said when he could think and move again as Kanon moved back and leaned on his chest instead.
"She won't," Kanon said back and he could feel her breath on his neck.
"Yes, she will!" he said, his voice a little more exasperated and commanding, at least he hoped so. "She only went to the toilet!"
"She knows to give us some alone time," Kanon muttered lazily, her skin and hair brushing his neck.
Keima briefly wondered if Kanon should change her surname to Goidō, 'cause the way he was feeling now was similar to the effect Yui had on him.
"I can't believe you're doing this during work," he said, "and I thought you were a hard-working and responsible role model!"
"Not falling for that," Kanon said, before looking up at him, "besides weren't you the one who told me I needed to work less?"
"Yes, but this is going from one extremity to the other!"
"Am I too forward?" Kanon asked, looking uncertain. "Are you... feeling uncomfortable, Keima-kun? Am I doing... this wrong?"
"I'm pretty sure everyone in my place would be delighted to-"
"I'm asking for your opinion, Keima-kun," she interrupted softly.
"It's fine, it certainly would take some time to get used to," he said.
"Do you have the same feeling you get from your games?" Kanon asked, her expression darkening a bit.
This made Keima cringe a bit. He could stay quiet and pretend to like it, but it wasn't him and Tenri had specifically told him to not force anything, so while it hurt him to know this might sadden her, he opted for honesty.
"Not really, but that's not very surprising, right? I think you are doing really good," he added. The genuine comment made the pink-haired girl blush a bit.
"I-I could try to experiment, see what you'd like more," Kanon said, eyes involuntarily darting to his lips. Well, at least he knew she really liked them.
"Yes, but we can try that when we're not working!" he hissed.
Kanon groaned before her gaze sharpened. "Saturday, 10 o'clock," she said, "my apartment."
"Your apartment?" Keima echoed. Weren't this going a bit too fast?
"Is something the matter?" Kanon asked, clearly challenging him.
"I'll have to look into my schedule and see if I'm not seeing another girl at the time," Keima said, "or a dozen."
"Give me the names and I'll fix your schedule," Kanon answered with a smile on her lips and a glint in her eye.
Yup, so there goes his Saturday.
(* * *)
A small movement brought Keima's attention from the game he was playing with one hand to the girl that was snuggling with him, his other hand that was softly stroking her hair stopped. He was currently in Kanon Nakagawa's apartment, with said girl lying in a bed with him. From outside this looked like a very suggestive predicament, but wasn't really. Aside from a few – several a fews to be accurate – kisses and some cuddling it was fairly innocent and the last eighty minutes Keima had all the time to watch. Of course he was mainly watching the screen of his console or Kanon herself, but he also made sure to notice all the details in the idol's room, from her teddy bears collection and her pet turtle's place to the pink color that seemed to permeate the room.
Pale pink walls. Pink bed sheets. Even the pink carpet matched the curtains.
"You woke up," he noticed.
"I fell asleep?" Kanon asked. "How long was I out?"
"Almost hour and half," he said which earned a groan from Kanon.
"Great, I had to be awake nineteen hours a day this week and I had to fall asleep now," she scoffed, "such a waste..."
"I wouldn't call it a waste," Keima said.
He sensed Kanon move as her head left his stomach and chest and laid on her second pillow.
The "game design" meeting ended with moderate success and, as promised, Keima had arrived at the idol's apartment at 10 A.M. on Saturday. As it turned out, he arrived over 30 minutes before Kanon herself arrived. And, as promised, Kanon went on to "experiment" on what kinds of activities Keima liked. Talking wasn't bad, but it was obvious Kanon was looking for the activities involving more contact. While the experiment went relatively well, it was also embarrassing. Keima very much dreaded what he would hear next time he would see Haqua, Rimyuel or, Heavens forbid, Nora.
As expected however, Kanon could take only as much and soon she was back to "recharging her batteries". Keima didn't oppose. No matter what he felt, he understood that Kanon yearned for his attention and closeness. He only made sure Kanon wasn't going too fast, but that hardly required him to do anything – Kanon was keeping herself in check well enough... most of the time. Soon she had fallen asleep on his chest.
"You know," the idol's voice brought him back from his musings, "I've been thinking..."
Well, at least Keima wasn't hugging Apollo.
"Yes?" he prodded.
"The schoolwork," Kanon started, "it's more troublesome than I thought it'd be this year... also the schedule for the game is tight... and I have to go in fifty minutes," she added as she glanced at the nearby clock.
"And?" he asked, awaiting some conclusions.
"I need more," Kanon said.
"More what?"
"More time with you," the idol said.
"Then quit being an idol," Keima suggested.
"You know full well I won't," she told him, her gaze showing him she knew he was testing her.
"Good," he said, "what else can you do though?"
"I need to waste less time sleeping..." Kanon said slowly. "And I need to work less."
"Great diagnosis," Keima said, "but I was asking for a cure."
"I think I might have an idea... but you won't like it..."
"What is it?" Keima asked.
"We'll talk about it some other time," Kanon said, "for now let me think about it..."
(* * *)
That 'some other time' came soon enough and as Kanon had foreseen, he didn't like it.
"I'd love to!"
"Absolutely not!"
It was Monday now and the three of them were in Keima's room. Keima was sitting on his chair, while both girls were sitting on his bed.
"Why not?" Kanon asked, though she wasn't exactly surprised by Keima's refusal.
"Your plan to get more free time is to have my sister," Keima pointed to Eri, "substitute for you on regular basis?"
"Not on regular basis," Kanon said, "but I suppose you'd be worried about her."
"Of course, I would," Keima admitted, "what if you were to be targeted again?"
"Nii-sama," Eri said slowly and patiently, as if talking to a five year old, "both you and Kanon-chan are guarded. When me and Kanon-chan substitute then she's going to be with you, so we both will be guarded just as before," she said, "besides, if it's the devils who'll try to attack then they wouldn't be fooled by illusions or disguises, so I'm not likely to be attacked."
"See?" Kanon asked, before her tone turned pleading. "Please agree, Keima-kun! With this we could get several hours a week!"
"I can't believe you came up with this!" Keima said. "I mean what about your fans?"
Kanon blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Don't you think it's a little unfair to them?" the gamer said. "I mean they come to see and hear you, so won't you feel guilty that your fans think it's you on the stage while it's actually Eri?"
"Ooh..." Kanon exclaimed in understanding, "I get your point, but I think you misunderstood Keima-kun. I don't plan for Eri to substitute for me during concerts, interviews or book signings."
"Then when?" Keima asked quizzically.
"I mean she could substitute for me during gravures, photo shoots, filming commercials. Generally, things for advertisement and sponsors that don't involve my fans at all."
"I'd gladly help you, Kanon-chan!" Eri said enthusiastically.
"We know, but you have your own things like club and schoolwork", Keima said, "the last one is something you're not even remotely as good as Kanon."
"Pleeeaaseee..." Eri pleaded with doe eyes and Kanon joined her. Keima groaned.
"Fineee," he said in defeat, before looking at Eri with sharp eyes, "but I'm getting someone to tutor you. Probably Urara or Kusunoki."
"Why Kusunoki-san though?" Eri asked.
"Because she can bring you to order when you're lazy," Keima said.
It was Eri's turn to groan now, but Kanon smiled. It seems her plan was accepted. Next would be actually set it in motion.
(* * *)
"Feelings are like rain rain.. endless rain rain", Eri Katsuragi hummed as she was heading for the Narusawa TV.
On first sight it would be nothing unusual. After all, anyone who knows the female Katsuragi sibling when asked about her singing Kanon Nakagawa's song would respond with 'that's normal'. However, today was a little bit different. Eri wasn't singing because she was in a good mood (though she was!) or because she liked that particular song (though she did!). The reason was much more pragmatic – the dark haired girl was exercising her voice, trying her best for it to imitate Kanon-chan's as much as possible.
And the reason for that was because today was another day when Eri was supposed to substitute for Kanon-chan for a few hours.
They had been doing it for some time now, though it wasn't a common thing. During the last several weeks it had happened barely once per week or so. Eri was happy though. Not only did she get to feel like Kanon-chan again, but they were short episodes, so she didn't have to experience the drawback that was the idol's hectic lifestyle. Moreover, by doing this she was helping Kanon-chan and she was helping nii-sama.
And most importantly – she was helping both of them at the same time.
Eri giggled, once she got over being angry at her brother, it had become quite interesting. The other day Kanon-chan had visited the Katsuragi household. Between Keima's father being shocked, Mari being a step away from turning into a jelly at how cute and great Kanon was, Eri trying to pick her own jelly form from the floor and Keima trying to control the chaos it was a pretty memorable event to say the least.
Less amusing, but just as chaotic was that one time when Kanon-chan came to school and had a music match against Yui-san, both girls taking it more seriously than necessary.
Such events were rare, however, as Kanon schedule was tight as usual and she and nii-sama rarely saw each other. And apparently, nii-sama was helping Kanon with something and neither of them wanted to tell Eri what it was. Though when the fire-truck lover consulted Chihiro-san and Ayumi-san, the band leader responded with something along the lines 'I'm sure Kanon-chan is very happy when Katsuragi is helping her'. Eri didn't really understand it, but from Chihiro's tone and Ayumi's astounded expression and colored cheeks there was definitely more going on than Eri understood.
Chihiro-san even commented that 'Katsuragi sure has it good', but Eri wasn't so sure. Yes, Kanon-chan was cute, pretty, lovely, adorable and perfect, but nii-sama was, well... nii-sama. As much as Eri was happy he was dating Kanon-chan, she knew her brother well enough to realize that a real girl couldn't just sway him like that, so the relationship was apparently much less... spectacular than people like okaa-san or Chihiro-san thought.
On the other hand, the school had more or less got used to the notion of 'Kanon-chan dating the otamega' and the whispers and bullying behavior pretty much ceased entirely (aside from Yui-san of course). Though even with that being said there was still something amiss. Eri couldn't put her finger on it though.
Still, it was not the time to think about it. After all, things have changed recently. Not only the summer was around for some time, but the summer vacation started, meaning no school. Suddenly people had a lot of time to meet, go to swimming pools, practice and laze about. Apparently they were also supposed to be studying, but said activity could be compared to Kappa right now – everyone heard of it, but no-one had ever seen it.
Well... Eri had seen it a few dozen years before, but it didn't matter.
What did matter was that nii-sama had more time now and Kanon-chan really wanted to be able to meet with him more. Thus, as soon as summer vacation started, Eri began to substitute for Kanon more often. She didn't mind though. After all, if Kanon-chan became her sister-in-law someday it'd be like a dream come true...
Especially since the substituting thing wasn't difficult now. Kanon and Eri had already found out a good way to go about this. Eri would go to wherever venue Kanon was at and meet with her. Since she had a free pass and was already well-known, no-one stopped her and no-one was surprised to see her. Of course, Kanon's staff was puzzled why that little dark-haired teen out of all of Kanon's fans had such a privilege, but they accepted it nonetheless.
So, Kanon and Eri would meet and Apollo would cast two illusions, making the girls swap places – Eri (or rather Ernon) would stay and act as a professional idol and Kanon (or Kari) would leave the building, her excitement to meet with Keima nicely imitating the way Eri acted after meeting her favorite pink-haired singer.
(* * *)
Today it was no different. Kanon and Eri swapped places and the idol was able to spend another date with Keima, which consisted of bowling, karaoke and a trip to the park. Kanon would never think being swung on the park swings by Keima would be this fun. Seriously, being able to spend time with the person she liked was making her very happy. She could also tell that Keima was being somewhat affected by her displays of feelings and affection. On the other hand, he definitely wasn't feeling about her nearly as strong as she was... oh, well, it was still a progress.
Kanon had just gotten back from her escapade and walked through the corridors of the Narusawa TV building. Soon she reached her changing room, where Eri should be. In fact, she heard the room earlier then she saw the door.
"Kanon! One hundred percent! Solar revolution!" was coming from the other side of the door and for the life of her Kanon couldn't figure out if it was Eri singing or was she just playing the music out loud.
Kanon knocked on the door hard enough for Eri to hear.
"Kanon-chan?" she said loudly, trying to imitate Eri's voice. Being a singer and amateur voice actor Kanon was able to change her voice, but it was still difficult. She wondered how Eri could do it so well in the first place.
A few seconds later the door opened and her own face popped out making the idol feel even weirder than looking at any mirrors. Even when Apollo was in them.
"Eri!" the female Katsuragi said, letting the idol in into her own changing room. "Come in!"
As soon as the door were closed, both girls sighed in relief.
"Kanon-chan!" Eri exclaimed as she practically jumped at Kanon, though on the outside it seemed that it was Kanon who jumped on Eri.
Kanon did notice that over the past weeks the female Katsuragi sibling had become much more... physical when it came to contact with her.
"Yes, I missed you too, Eri," the idol said as she hugged the dark-haired (well, pink-haired at the moment) girl, before looking at the phone which was generating the music.
"You shouldn't really do that," Kanon said, pointing at Eri's phone.
"Eeh?" the former devil said. "But the phone is charging, so it should be fine."
"But someone could see it as weird," Kanon explained.
"Ohh... in that case it's fine," Eri said happily, "manager-san went on a break and no-one will be here for at least ten minutes!"
"Umm... gals," a third voice resounded weirdly as if coming from another room and after a small flash of light Apollo materialized in a full length mirror Kanon used to check her appearance.
"I know you have a lot of music to listen to and a lot to talk and fangirl about," the ditsy goddess exclaimed, trying to shout over the music, "but keeping up two spells like that for hours isn't the easiest thing to do, so maybe we should deal with it first."
"Geez, Apollo, it's not like you have to ask for that. You can undo the spell as soon as we're alone," Kanon said, "but yeah, let's switch before Okada-san is back."
"Alrighty," Apollo said and there was a series of smaller sparkles around Kanon and Eri as both illusions were released. Eri's appearance shortened by a few centimeters, while Kanon' seemed to grow by the same height. The long dark hair on Kanon's back shortened and turned pink, while Eri's at the same time sprouted downwards, darkening immediately.
"Here," Eri handed Kanon back her glasses and both girls started to undress to swap clothes, because Apollo insisted it would be much easier if the clothes stayed real. Besides, Kanon was very adapt at changing her clothes quickly and Eri was no slouch either.
"Seriously, I can't thank you enough for this, Eri," Kanon said as she took her shirt off, "you're a lifesaver."
Curiously, she got no response. Not even an embarrassed giggle. She turned to Eri in surprise and saw the other girl standing stiff, a look between shocked and scared evident on her features, her gaze fixed behind Kanon. The idol slowly turned around, cold sweat running down her brow, facing the door. The door that were wide open now, somehow neither teen hearing them open because of the music.
And in the doorway, her eyes wide and mouth agape, there was Mrs. Nakagawa.
Oh crap...
(* * *)
*gasp* Kanon's mom (who's for some reason at Narusawa TV right now) saw Kanon and Eri! o.O
How much did she see? Well... judging from her facial expression she saw... something :P. As for how much... you'll have to see the next chapter to learn that :P.
But yeah, this (and what follows after that) is something I had planned for a long time, though it didn't come out exactly as I first planned it. Well, we'll see.
As for the other things, we have another non-Kanon (non-canon?) girl in this chapter, but at least there's much more Kanon in the chapter this time...
...actually there's a lot of Kanon–Keima interactions here as well. It seems our pink-haired gal is getting... bold. She even invited Keima to her apartment!
But yeah, I tried to make the details fuzzy, but as rare as they meet, Kanon's lips are certainly getting used to Keima's :P.
And there's also the game making thing, during which Kanon and Keima butted heads. This is actually the first time they argue as boyfriend and girlfriend. This kinda made me think, 'cause I didn't really try to make them do that before, especially as Kanon is happy to spend even a minute with Keima. So aside from Kanon not having time, Keima being bullied and not really being into real girls, their relationship was rather obstacle-free, albeit slow...
...I wonder if this is ok. I tend to portray things a little too smooth-going, so I wonder if I should just leave the couple argument-free and just have them fight other obstacles... or should they actually have a fight at some point.
Any opinions on that would be appreciated. :)
As always I want to thank you for reading, favoriting, following and reviewing my story! Here are the responses for the latest reviews:
ZelgadisGW: I'm not sure if this will be a separate arc, more like plot thread mixed with the other ones. About Keima falling for Kanon and being in her clutches... who knows? xD Yes, Kanon that appreciates Keima is better than yanderish Kanon. Yes, probably Hinoki did something Hinokish again ;). Heh, you're right. Other schools don't know about Keima, but I bet some jealous guys said something bad and Nanaka was all "I'll show ya!" xD. Lol, is Tenri and Diana a salty duo? And yes, cinema advertisements is the biggest plothole! Thank you for the review. :)
Ghost Man: It seems Tenri is becoming smarter and more sneaky by the chapter :P. However, we differ with thoughts on Mari – I wouldn't date that :P. And Kanon is a good player too :). *sigh* I try, but it appears there are still some typos and errors here and there. I hope there are less mistakes in this chapter.
Rt16: On one hand I agree, but going slow is kinda logical in Kanon's case... on the other hand... I don't think it's going that slow, considering this chapter. Anyway, thank you for your opinion. :)
Guest: Yes, no-one expected a Spanish Inquisition! xD Yup, Keima is a magic tricks guinea pig for Tenri and Kanon's fans thinking he was going to the cinema with a different girl would be... amusing. In my personal opinion the first LN (first two girls) was better, but I still recommend reading the remaining novel. Thank you, I'll try to bring more chapters your way. :)
El Sasori69: I didn't hear of "Project Diva X". Maybe I should check it out. I'm glad you read and comment other stories. Thank you for that. And thank you for the review. :)
Fss The Red Devil: Thank you very much and no need to be sorry. I'm happy you reviewed anyway :). Speaking of that... that's on long review. Yeah, Ayumi had kinda proven she's to be feared when she says she'll kick your butt. Love the "open season on Keima's head" and "voltage-loving girl" bits. Not to mention the POK, 4th wall interaction and similar mysterious abilities xD. Yeah, sorry about it being so much Tenri, but there was much less in this chapter, so there you go :P. I'm pretty sure Keima discouraged Kanon from stopping being and idol or from going into the next level of idol fame, but not from game-making. I hope I'm not forgetting something important here. No, the review didn't give me aneurysm, actually it made the ending of a long day better.
Ok, that's it for now! Await the next chapter!
See you next time!