The days after the trip to Yokohama went by quickly. Tsukasa visited Miyuki quite often to get her homework done and Kagami basically stayed almost all the time at Konatas place again, mainly to beat some school related information inside her little head, at least according to her. The testing period in school right after golden week went by smoothly for all of them. Kagami and Miyuki had obviously no problem in the first place, but Tsukasa and Konata also did rather well. Tsukasa mainly because of Miyuki and Konata because of a very pushy Kagami and a bit of her approved all-night cramming session the day before each test. Even after the tests were over, Kagami insisted on continuing their studying together. Konata wasn't happy about that, not in the slightest. Unfortunately for her, Kagami can be very persistent with things she wants to do. Sometimes even more than Konata herself and lately. Kagami found a few methods to get her way with Konata when it comes to studying. Especially the improved ignoring method of her was a reliable way to stop Konata when she gets all hyper and clingy. The first weekend after golden week arrived and Kagami was on her way to Konatas house, just like she was most of the days in the last weeks. Almost the only exceptions were made when Konata felt like moving out of her room, but then it ended just at Kagamis house instead of her own. The two basically spent every free minute with each other.
"Hello." Kagami said as she entered Konatas house with the key she received from Konata.
"Welcome back." Konatas father, Sojiro, joked from the living room.
"Oh, hey..." She answered. "Is Konata in her room?"
"No, she went to get something earlier, but she should get back soon."
"Oh, okay… Man, I should really remember to call her first." She sighed.
"She actually picks up the phone if you call her? Every time I try to call her, nothing happens."
"Well, you got a point there. Is it okay if I wait in her room?"
"You don't really have to ask, just make yourself at home here." He said. "But, actually, I have something I wanted to talk about with you. Do you have a minute?" He asked and pointed at the living room.
"Uhm… well, okay." Kagami hesitantly agreed. Even though, or maybe because, she spends a lot of time with Konata, she thinks that he is a pretty creepy guy, so being alone with him isn't her first choice. Still, she went to the living room and sat down on the couch near to him.
"You two became really good friends, didn't you?" He asked a couple moments later.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that…" She was a bit confused at what the conversation was about.
"Do you know why?" Sojiro said and Kagami shook her head a bit.
"That's an interesting question. I often asked myself the same… I guess it just happened and I have absolutely no idea why and to be honest, I don't really care either in the end."
"What do you mean?"
"I just have fun around and with her, even though she's very hard to handle and teases me all the time. It's weird but well, without her around, it's just boring and because of this, I don't care why." She explained and at the same time, she started to blush slightly.
"I understand. It's good to hear that you two are so good friends, even though how she is from an outside point of view and especially that you don't care about it."
"Well… I wouldn't say it isn't annoying but yeah..." She said. "What do you want to tell me in the first place?"
"Ah, straight to the point, just as Konata told me, you're a sharp one." He joked and saw Kagami getting annoyed, so he continued. "I'm not really sure if I should tell you because it's sort of complicated…"
"You don't have to tell me."
"It's important at the same time. It's something about Konatas past and somehow, it has something to do with you now." He said it in an unusually serious tone. Kagami never heard him speaking like that, so she felt a bit uneasy and nervous.
"With me?" She asked. "How?"
"Like I said, it's complicated. See, in grade school, she also had a pretty close friend… She really spent a lot of time with her and was really happy and then something bad happened."
"B-Bad?" Kagami had a bad feeling.
"No, no accident or such. As soon as she finished school, her friend had to move away because of the work of her parents." He explained. "Konata didn't handle it well... to say it lightly."
"Why?"
"You know what happened to her mother, right? I'm not entirely sure myself, but I think ever since then, she had a problem with losing people because after her friend left, she was really sad in middle school. Even to the point where she was distancing herself from other people until I decided to do something about it."
"What did you do?" Kagami became really silent during the conversation but she wanted to hear more, even if she felt somehow bad.
"The only thing I could think of was that I became not only her father, but also her best friend because there was no chance I would ever leave her. That's also why I started working from home to spend as much time with her as possible. It worked pretty good and soon, she was happy again, but it had some side effects."
"Side effects?"
"Well, the hobbies Konata now has... She was heavily influenced by me with that. I don't really mind her having these hobbies, but I thought it probably wasn't the right hobby for a middle school girl. And I was right, the first two years in middle school, the only person in her life was me because the other girls in her school thought it was really weird. So in the end, I made things worse rather than better." He was getting very sad by the end.
"Uhm..." Kagami gulped again because she couldn't find any good words. "But Konata told me she had a friend in middle school."
"Yeah..." He sighed, causing Kagami to feel even more uncomfortable. "She found one in her last year. The girl was also very interested in games and so, the two became friends. I was happy at first, but couldn't help, but feel uneasy and sadly, I was right. By the time middle school ended, the two somehow lost the contact with each other even though she tried to stay in touch with her and Konata quickly got sad again because she lost another important person."
"Why?!" Kagami asked. She wasn't uneasy anymore because it became anger now.
"It's not over yet. As high school started, she said she doesn't want friends anymore. She was very silent in the first days of school, so that she needn't to interact with people. I nearly died inside, seeing her this sad, but she didn't manage to hold up her barrier for long because she met your sister Tsukasa and helped her with some kind of problem."
"Oh yeah, Tsukasa told that she was surprised that Konata helped her, even though it was just a misunderstanding in the first place. She was surprised because Konata was really silent in class and never talked to anyone. I never imagined anything like that behind it."
"The times I saw Tsukasa, I guess Konata had no chance but to be friends with her, no matter how hard she tried because of Tsukasas happy go lucky nature."
"Oh, yeah, I know what you mean."
"Konata was dragged into having friends once more. I was happy because for at least three years, she could be happy and I could hide my concerns for some time. It didn't end just with Tsukasa, basically at the same time, Miyuki followed. Probably because she was in the same class and Miyuki was already befriended with her."
"Yes, Tsukasa and I knew her for a long time already."
"And then there was you, who met her a little later and even more changed."
"Huh?" Kagami looked pretty confused.
"You two became friends and Konata became really active and happy, way more than she was with Tsukasa before and it took only very little time to make her change like that. A thing I'm still very impressed at. That's why I asked you earlier if you know why you two became such good friends."
"I see… but still, it just happened. At first, I was sort of confused at her behavior and even a bit appalled, but that ended really quick as I got to know her better."
"Even more happened... Lately, when I was really busy with my last book." As he mentioned the book, she instantly averted her eyes for some unknown reason but she decided to listen to him more. "I had little to no time for her and felt really bad when I had to leave her for almost a month. Until I heard what happened… You were there for her and I felt incredibly relieved. Konata told me that she wasn't lonely on the phone as she told me about you and I could hear that she was really happy about it. I have to thank you for that." Sojiro was really grateful for it.
"You don't have to thank me for that." Kagami reassured him. "She, I think accidentally, told me that she felt a bit lonely and somehow, I couldn't bear to leave her alone and I just had to stay." She felt a bit embarrassed again at her sudden honesty.
"Still, it's beyond my words to express how much I want to thank you. Even more, it's not just that… It didn't stop after I came back and I have a feeling that you two are better friends than ever."
"Yeah, I think the same, although I don't know what happened." She answered. "But somehow, I can feel a really big but coming from you soon, Sojiro-san. I'm still not exactly sure why you are telling me all this."
"Isn't that pretty obvious after what I just told you? It's pretty simple, although it's not really my right to ask."
"Please do."
"Please don't leave her as soon as high school ends." He pleaded.
"Huh?" Kagami asked as she was completely dumbfounded.
"Well, it's still over a year and a half till high school ends, but I'm already fearing what could happen if you would leave her."
"W-What makes you think that?" She started to feel a weird pain inside her.
"I told you about the two girls she was friends with before... She was so sad when they left her, to the point where she made the choice to not have friends in the first place." He explained. "And if you still ask what that has to do with you, it's, again, pretty simple. The two girls who, may unintentionally, hurt her this bad were close to Konata, but they weren't even remotely near the point of friendship you two have right now. I don't even want to imagine what happens if you're suddenly gone. It's probably going to surpass even my wildest nightmares…"
"…" Kagami was at a loss of words, she couldn't even mumble something, just looking with big eyes at nothing and lost in thoughts and the pain inside her felt even more intense.
"I know it's a tough request but please, if it's somehow possible to keep the contact with her after school ends." Sojiro pled and after some time, Kagami found some words again.
"I... wow... That's some story, a really sad one, but I can understand your concern, I think. To make you feel better, I wasn't intending to leave her or rather, leave anyone I know here. Way before I know about that what you just told me. Even with college, I was planning on either a local or one in Yokohama, which is a place I can come to visit my friends whenever they or I want. On top of that, Konata already knows that."
"She knows?"
"Yeah, when we were in Yokohama last week, we somehow ended up with talking about college and I told her. To help you, she didn't sound sad at all after hearing my plans, she even encouraged me."
"That is really good to hear. Thank you!" He almost yelled. "I never imagined she would find such a good friend like you..." He was incredibly happy, Kagami was blushing again and the pain in her chest was gone.
"Uhm..." She mumbled before changed the subject. "Even more, I was getting really angry at the two girls in your story. I mean, sure, Konata is a bit 'special', but she really is a good person inside. Leaving her was a real poor choice if you ask me!"
"I'm the last person you have to tell that. It's nice to hear that from other people, though."
"Do you have their addresses? I would love to tell them a thing or two for hurting my Konata…"
"Your Konata?"
"Ehm…" Kagami realized her slip of the tongue and didn't know what to say.
"Hmm." He started smiling for some reason.
"So…" The subject got immediately ignored by her. "To conclude that, unless Konata doesn't want to be friends with me anymore or she really hurts me with something, which I doubt, you really have nothing to worry about it at all. Even without telling me all that, because it changed nothing for me. But still let me say it like this, all that will belong to the past and only the past."
"Thank you, Kagami! Really, thank you! You can't even imagine how happy I am to hear that and I'll trust you."
"I think I have to thank you, too. Telling me this story must've been hard for you and it means a lot to me that you trust me this much." She said. "I never imagined that I would say what I'm about to say."
"Huh?" He was confused.
"Please don't get me wrong, I always thought you're just a creepy, perverted, and weird man… I guess you know why." She told and he nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. "But you really are a good father to her."
"Thank you, that means a lot to me, especially if it comes from a cute high school girl." He joked.
"The creepy pervert part is still true, though." She said and then both laughed.
"Now that this thing is off my heart, I can happily go back to my writing because I know my daughter isn't going to be lonely for quite some time." He concluded. 'Didn't Konata always says she's a grade a tsundere? Well, maybe I'm not important enough to keep her guard up.'
Sojiro then opened his laptop and continued his light novel. Kagami stood up, said goodbye, and finally made her way towards Konatas room.
'Wow.' Kagami thought and sighed. 'I certainly didn't see that coming. Sure, she was weird or rather is but it's because of something like that? I didn't expect her to be this complex. Somehow, I feel really sorry for her. It's so sad and I really hate these girls, even though at least one of them isn't at fault at all." By now, Kagami was already inside Konatas room but still completely busy with herself.
"Kagamin~?"
'And even more, the old class of hers, avoiding her just because she has a weird hobby. Idiots! Sure, it's sometimes hard and even I don't like that hobby much either, but you have to look at the person and not their hobbies… Wait, why am I defending her like that? I guess I'm just angry at them.' She continued thinking until she heard a voice.
"KAGAMIN~!"
"Huh?"
"Ah, someone's in there, great!" Konata finally got a reaction.
"Why shouldn't there someone be?"
"Ehm… because I said you name at least ten times and never got a response at all."
"Y-You didn't."
"Sure I did. So, what's going on inside your head? You looked awfully concentrated and angry at the same time."
"N-Nothing." Kagami tried to play it off. "Wait, why are you here?"
"I kind of life here!?" She explained. "I mean, sure, you're spending almost as much time here as I do, but it's still my house."
"Thanks captain obvious." She pointed out. "Your dad said you went out or something."
"Yeah, but I got back like 15 minutes ago."
"Huh, you did?"
"Yeah, but I have to admit that your stealth skills really have improved, Kagamin~. I didn't hear you open the front door at all."
"That's probably because I'm here for about half an hour already."
"Really? Where?"
"I was talking with your dad."
"That's unusual. What were you two talking about?" Konata got curious at the odd combination.
"Ah... uhm…" She mumbled. 'I don't think she wanted me to know that…' She thought. "Nothing interesting..."
"Yeah, you're totally convincing me right now." Konata obviously wasn't buying it.
"It really was nothing that would change anything."
"Huh? What do you mean? You're not making sense at all, I mean even less than usual."
"Oi! Shut up, that's my line."
"Alright, that's my Kagamin~, much better." Konatas concerns were gone as she saw Kagami acting normal again, at least until…
"But..."
"But?"
Kagami moved closer towards Konata and started hugging her. Out of reflex, Konata tried to back off because she was genuinely surprised at the sudden hug. However, as she tried, she immediately noticed that she couldn't because Kagami was using the same strength she uses while sleeping and Konata knew that there was no getting out of it. On top of that, Kagami didn't just not let her go, she also hugged her more tightly than Konata ever did before with her 'surprise' hugs. The two were really close and after some time, Kagami started resting her chin on Konatas right shoulder. She didn't care about the fact that her face was almost catching fire. Ever since the talk with Konatas father, she had the overwhelming urge to hug the little girl and not letting her go anytime soon. Konata, on the other hand, was still extremely confused. Normally, she was the one who hugs Kagami with no warning and not the other way around but she liked it, just like the sleeping Kagami does all the time, Konata liked it when Kagami hugged her. She thought it felt nice, even though she didn't know why. A few moments later, Konata decided to return the hug by putting her arms tightly around Kagamis waist. After some time, which felt like an eternity, the two let go of each other. Kagamis face was so incredible red and even Konatas cheeks were burning, normally she wasn't affected by a hug from her but somehow, it felt different, more powerful.
"I-I'm sorry K-Konata." Kagami deeply apologized after she had realized what happened.
"H-Huh? Nah, I don't mind. It was kind of nice." Konata answered while trying to sound unaffected. "But I have a question."
"W-What is it?"
"Why?" She asked. "What did I do to earn this 'gift'? Or was it my father who scared you this much?" She teased.
"Nothing, it has nothing to do with you or anything like that, I just felt like doing it. Any problems with that?"
"No, it was just extremely dere of you, even to a degree I thought a tsundere couldn't go to."
"S-Shut up idiot! I already told you, I am not a tsundere!"
"Well, there's that and…"
"I told you to shut up!" Kagami hissed.
"And then there's this."
"Grr." She played right in Konatas hand.
"So, are you going to tell me now what you were talking about with my dad? I'm sure it has something to do with your sudden dere overload."
"No, I'm not and again, shut up."
"Okay, fine, Kagamin~. Well, I'm going to find out someday anyway, so I can as well wait for it."
"Whatever."
"What are we doing now, now that you're here already?"
"Actually, I just felt like dropping by on my way home from shopping. You can come with me if you want."
"Sure, I'm in." Konata easily agreed to the proposal
"By the way, where were you earlier?" Kagami asked.
"Huh? Ah, I just went to buy some pocky and stuff like that. For some reason, my supply was pretty low."
"Oh, I see. Feel free to bring them with you."
"Sure, you're the reason why my supply is low all the time in the first place after all." She teased.
"Oi!"
"Am I wrong?"
"Shut up." No, she wasn't
Konata quickly grabbed some things, including the pocky and carefully avoided all school and homework related things and then, the two left for Kagamis home.
….
"Onee-chan, is that you?" Konata and Kagami heard Tsukasa yelling after they entered the house.
"Yeah." Kagami answered.
"Great! Can you help me for a minute or so?"
"Sure!" Kagami yelled back. "You can go to my room if you want. She probably just wants to know something about homework or so." Kagami said to Konata and then followed the voice of her sister.
"Okay." Konata nodded.
"Oh, hey Konata." She got suddenly greeted by another person.
"I didn't see you at all, Miki, hi."
"No need to be mean, Konata." She jokingly pouted.
"Nah, I'm pretty different when I'm mean. You can ask Kagamin~ if you want."
"I can imagine that. Why are you here?"
"Kagami came over to my place and invited me on the way."
"Oh, Kagami is here too?"
"So much for that." Konata teased. "That sure runs in the family, huh?"
"Well, I guess you got me there." She joked. "Actually, it's a good thing you're here. I wanted to ask you a couple things."
"Oh, now it's my turn, I see..."
"What do you mean?"
"When I came home, Kagami was talking with my dad and now you want to talk with me."
"I see. What did they talk about?"
"I have absolutely no idea." Konata heavily sighed. "She won't tell me."
"Well, it can't be helped then." Miki probably was as curious as Konata.
"I'm sure I'm going to find a way. After all, I have one or two tricks when it comes to Kagamin~."
"Back to Kagami, that's good. Can I ask you some things about her?"
"Sure, ask away."
"I think I already asked that before but do you know by now, how you two became this good friends, like the one you are now?"
"No, like I already said, it just happened somehow. Tsukasa introduced us and the rest happened on its own. I don't even know why Tsukasa became my friend, especially because I didn't..." Konata immediately stopped and Miki saw her facial expression changed to a sad one.
"What happened?" She got a bit worried.
"Oh, I really don't want to talk about that, like absolutely not." She then changed the subject. "So, what were you going on with Kagami?"
"Oh, I'm sorry for asking then." Miki apologized. "You know how Kagami sometimes is, right?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess I know what you mean. She can be a bit, well best I can describe it as cold or maybe unapproachable, I guess."
"Yes, something along these lines. In the past, she was really complex. Sure, she always had friends but she never was really close to them, she even kept some distance to her older sisters. The only person in her inner circle was Tsukasa."
"I can't really see what that has to do with me?" Konata tilted her head a little.
"Like I said the only person was Tsukasa. 'Was'. You came and somehow immediately passed her barrier. I really want to know why."
"I'm not really sure I can give you a good answer to that. I just happen to have some experience with that type of personality." Konata answered. 'Even though it comes from games, anime, and manga...' She thought. "I simply knew how to get a reaction out of her and the rest just happened, I guess."
"Well, I guess I just have to thank you for that even though you don't know why. It makes me really happy as a mother to see her that cheerful after you two became friends."
"You don't have to. I'm pretty happy myself to have found a friend like her. In the past I..." She stopped again. "Ah, never mind that."
"Konata? What..." She was interrupted.
"Konata! There you are." Kagami yelled. "Didn't you want to wait in my room?"
"Sorry Kagamin~, Miki wanted to talk a bit so I stayed here."
"Ah, I see." Kagami still wasn't sure how to feel about Konata and her mother being friends.
"But we're done now, right, Miki?" She asked and Miki nodded. "We can go to your room."
Konata said goodbye to her and left for Kagamis room. Kagami was about to follow but got stopped.
"Kagami? Can you come here for a second?" Miki asked her over.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Do you happen to know what happened in Konatas past? It felt like I accidentally stepped on a landmine after the topic scratched that area." She told and Kagami turned a bit pale as she looked away.
"Well, uhm..." She mumbled. She just wanted to forget about it already.
"So you do?"
"Yeah, her dad told me today."
"Ah, okay. That answers one question. What happened?" She recalled Konata mentioning the talk with her father.
"I really can't tell you, it's extremely private and sort of sad. Even I myself think I shouldn't know about it, but her dad really wanted to tell me." Kagami explained and became seemingly uncomfortable.
"I guess I have to respect that, but please take good care of her okay? I have a feeling that she was hurt pretty bad by something. I mean besides her mother."
"Yeah." Kagami slowly nodded. "And yes, I will."
"That's good to hear."
"Ah, by the way, can she stay over today, well… I haven't asked her yet but…"
"Sure, I'm already thinking of her almost like family… I kind of want to keep her. She can come and stay over whenever she wants, but I think I already said that once."
"Well, yeah, but still…" She suppressed the urge to retort to various things.
Kagami also went to her room where Konata was waiting.
"So, what were you talking about with my mom?" Kagami asked as she entered her room.
"Uhm nothing, nothing at all." Konata teased.
"I guess I earned that." Receiving the same treatment as Konata
"Absolutely."
"Well, fine, I won't ask again for now." And giving the same answer as her.
"Thanks. What are we going to do now?"
"How about we do some homework for a change?"
"Uhh… Kagamin~." Konata sighed. "Well, I would love to but unfortunately, I forgot all my homework related stuff at home. Too bad..." She wasn't sorry for it at all.
"Don't worry, you can use my books. We can just share them."
"…" She hadn't thought about that.
"You didn't really think that would work, did you?"
"I have to admit that it was one of my weaker tries..."
"It definitely was."
"But Kagamin~…"
"Shut up, besides, it's really not that much, half an hour at most and we're done."
"You're really eager with all that homework stuff, aren't you? I mean, that's like the 15532 time you mentioned that word."
"I think you're exaggerating a bit there."
"Nah, you probably just forgot because your memory got reset every time, but I remember every single time."
"Somehow, I have the feeling that you switched over to something different in the middle of the conversation."
"Me? Going off-topic? Never!" Konata dramatically exclaimed.
"Shut up, you idiot. That's one of your main selling points. Let's do our homework and get over it already."
"15533." She mumbled.
"Cut it out."
"Fine." Konata pouted a bit before both started doing their homework.
30 minutes later, like Kagami said, it really wasn't much homework and she had already finished hers. Konata on the other wasn't motivated at all, even less than normal. Due to this, her homework was nowhere near to be finished and she also had no intention of finishing it. Konata tried one of her older tricks, she stood up and quickly rushed behind Kagami and before she even had the chance to react Konata jumped on her back. Her arms were around Kagamis neck, and her legs around her waist. Just like a kid who gets a piggyback ride.
"So, what do you want?" Kagami actually stayed calm.
"Nothing."
"I see." She nodded. "So how about you get off me then?" Even though she was calm, it was still a god thing Konata couldn't see her face from this position.
"Nah."
"You really are bothersome sometimes... You know that, right?"
"Am I really?" Konata asked. "You don't seem to fight back that often anymore lately."
"T-That's just because it's too exhausting."
"And after 'that' earlier at my home… I'm pretty sure now that you like it, too… Not that I had any doubts before."
"D-Don't jump to conclusions, idiot." She yelled. "I was just in a good mood and wanted to do you a favor."
"Really? It didn't feel like just doing a favor."
"S-Shut up, idiot."
Konata kept teasing her for a couple minutes until Kagami was finally embarrassed and annoyed enough to take action against it. She stood up, with Konata still clinging to her back, and went to her bed. As she reached it, she turned around to let herself fall backward on it, trapping Konata between the bed and Kagami lying on top of her.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Kagami sounded pretty smug.
"mmphmp mffmp." Konata mumbled some impossible to understand words in Kagamis neck.
"What?"
"mmmffp!" She mumbled again and then bit Kagamis neck.
"Oi! Don't bite my neck, idiot." She yelled as she lifted her head.
"Then don't try to suffocate me!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I wanted to punish you, but not kill you."
"Hmm… did you gain weight or something, you feel pretty heavy."
"W-What?"
"Around here." Konata pinched the side of Kagami. "See?"
"Y-You're k-kidding, right!?" Kagami started tearing up. "You know how s-sensitive I am about that and still…"
"Calm down, Kagamin~, of course I am." She reassured her and pinched her waist again. "Please show me the fat there."
"…"
"Man, why are girls always so sensitive about their weight?"
"Konata…" She sighed, she was super angry a second ago, but it was hard to say angry at Konata. "I think that topic is a little bit worn out, don't you agree?"
"It still works, so I'll keep it up a bit more." Konata teased. "By the way, what are you going to do now? I would be actually a bit happy if you would let me go... Or at least turn around because your front should be softer because…"
"Not going to happen, pervert."
"Huh?"
"I think it's time for another revenge." Kagami said in a teasingly tone.
"W-What?" Konata wasn't expecting that and had a bad feeling.
"You heard me, Konata." Kagami got up, faced Konata and pinned her down so that she couldn't escape from the bed.
"Oho, I didn't expect Kagami to be the one on top after all." Konata tried to remain her composure by teasing but doom was still lingering literally right above her.
"S-Shut up, you perverted old man."
"See? No girl after all."
"Oh man…" She sighed while trying not to laugh.
"But sure, go ahead. I can't wait to get you into more Cosplay."
"H-Huh?"
"Well, I have that list from Yokohama that I have to go through."
"Y-You don't actually…" Kagamis resolve for revenge started wavering.
"Sure I do. I told you that this is going to be my future revenge."
"B-But..."
"Well, it's up to you."
"You're pretty sly, Konata."
"Like you're one to talk." Konata said as she looked at Kagami and the scene both were into right now. Both on the bed and Kagami on top, completely restraining her beneath.
"I guess I have to risk it... I have to get some stress relieve."
"Okay… I'm actually a bit scared now." She turned a bit pale.
"You should."
Kagami was about to attack Konata to do whatever she planned, but the door of her room opened and her mother stuck her head inside. Her expression was really interesting.
"Uhm... am I interrupting you two on something?" Miki asked as she was looking in the direction of the two girls on the bed.
"No, not really." Konata calmly answered. For some reason, she sounded incredibly relieved. "Saved by Miki, that's quite some luck."
"Shut up."
"Okay… I guess?" Miki answered but still looked confused. "I made dinner and wanted to ask if you two wanted to join."
"Sure." The two answered and started following Miki after they got up.
"Just that you know, Kagamin~, that counts. Next is my turn."
"You wish, not going to happen."
"You two sure are lively." Miki said. "Care to explain what you're talking about?"
"Uhm… that's a bit complex." Kagami answered.
"Sort of." Konata agreed. "One day, Kagami got a bit ahead of herself and.."
"And another day Konata totally overdid it." Kagami finished while getting closer to Konata, putting her arm around Konatas neck and playfully tried to choke her. "Right?"
"Yeah… I'm the one who constantly overdoes it…" She coughed and Kagami hardened her grip around Konatas neck.
"Yes. You."
Miki was smiling the entire time at the playful little bantering of the two.
"Oh, hey Kona-chan." Tsukasa said as the other entered the kitchen. "I didn't even know you were here."
"Uh Kagamin~, can you let me go now, slowly, I'm really dying over here."
"Oh, sure… I kind of already forgot…" Her being this close to Konata was a natural thing already.
"How very nice of you." Konata remarked and coughed a bit. "Hi Tsukasa, I came with Kagami earlier."
"Really? Why didn't you say a thing?"
"Because you immediately called for your sister and then I got caught up in a conversation with your mom and somehow I forgot, I guess."
"Oh, okay."
"Don't worry, I'll try to remember next time."
"I'll make you remember." Kagami added and the three girls and Miki, who was just listening to them, started eating
"Wow, this is really good." Konata praised the food on her plate.
"It is." Kagami added.
"Thanks." Miki said.
"I really don't get how you can be this bad at cooking when you have a mom like her, Kagamin~." Konata teased her as she casually gained even more points with Miki.
"Oi! At least I got a bit better…"
"Oh yeah, your cooking lessons." Miki got interested in the topic. "How is it going? It was pretty silent around that topic lately."
"Well… after the accident with the rice and my arm, it died down a bit and in Yokohama in between, we didn't really have any time."
"Sorry for feeling bad that I injured you."
"It was an accident, so again, don't mind it."
"Still…" Kagami said. "But like I said last week, we should try it again soon."
"Sure, we can start next week again. I don't want Miki to lose her kitchen here after all." She joked.
"Thank you, Konata." Miki sincerely answered.
"Oi!" Kagami was pouting for some time already.
They finished eating and Kagami went together with Konata back to her room, but Tsukasa stayed with her mother for a bit.
"You seem pretty unimpressed." Miki turned to Tsukasa.
"With what?"
"The two being this close."
"Ah… that. They're always like that after all."
"Really?"
"Pretty much. I would be more impressed if they wouldn't be all over each other like that. They're inseparable after all."
"Hmm… maybe it's just because I didn't see her like that often and was a bit surprised."
"That could be true."
….
Back in Kagamis room, the two were talking.
"Hmm… I really wonder which Cosplay set I should get for you first."
"How about none?"
"W-Wow… how bold, but naked is a bit…"
"Oi, do you want to die?"
"Nah, but it's my turn now and so I have to do it."
"OiOiOi!" Kagami yelled. "First off, I said no, that doesn't count and second, you really don't have to do something like Cosplay."
"But I want to, you looked at so many outfits back in Yokohama and I have to find the perfect one out of them."
"I didn't look at them!"
"Of course you did, I clearly saw you looking."
"S-Shut up, idiot." As usual, when Kagami was cornered, she retorted her standard line.
"Yeah yeah."
"So, what are we going to do now?" Kagami didn't want to talk about it anymore.
"Oho, pretty eager to change the subject aren't we?"
"Yes."
"Fine, your honesty shall be rewarded. Let's do something else."
"What do you want to do?" She was too grateful to say something.
"I have absolutely no idea, not even a bit." Konata announced.
"I could totally see that coming."
"Well, what did you expect then?" She joked.
"Pretty much this." After all, Kagami knows how she works.
"Then make your own suggestion, you already had your precious homework time, so it can't be bad…"
"We could study for school." Kagami joked and tried not to laugh at Konatas sudden change of expression.
"Shut up, idiot." Konata was not amused.
"Fine."
"And the roles are changed again…."
"Yeah yeah, how about a movie or something like that."
"Or anime." She was really hard to break.
"Yeah, no, let's not do that today."
"Aww, how mean." Konata pouted.
"Let's just find a movie, okay?"
"Yep."
After some time flipping through the TV channels, the two found something interesting, which wasn't an anime, and started watching it. After the movie was halfway done, Konata looked at the clock and was surprised.
"Oh wow, it's already this late, huh." Konata exclaimed. "I should better head home soon."
"Hmm? You're not staying?"
"I can?"
"Duh, I'm wondering why you're even asking right now." Kagami answered. "Sure you can."
"Well… okay then." She said. "Yeah, sort of stupid indeed."
"That's just you being you."
"…"
Konata and Kagami continued watching the movie and followed by another one. Somewhere in the second movie, they had changed into their pajamas and continued watching it from the bed because it was more comfortable than the floor.
"Man, I'm pretty tired." Kagami said as the movie finished.
"We could go to sleep if you want." Konata was also a bit tired after watching two movies in a row.
"Sounds good."
"Wait! I don't have to sleep on a futon right?"
"Why not?"
"Because it's unfair."
"Why?"
"Because you never have to sleep in one at my house." Konata explained.
"Well, I guess you have a point there, somehow… You know what, I'm in a good mood today."
"Yay."
"But the same rule as always, weird thing means out."
"But I don't want to kick you out when you do weird things again, Kagamin~." Konata teased.
"Shut up, you little idiot." She couldn't give Konata a real argument because there was none.
Kagami switched off the light and both went to sleep. While sleeping, Kagami was dreaming about the thing Konatas father told her and because of that, she woke up in the middle of the night. It was dark, but she could still see Konata sleeping a bit further away from her in the bed.
"I can't believe she had a childhood like that… It's so sad, especially what happened in middle school. You can't just avoid a person because of her hobbies. Just look at her..." Kagami said so and looked at Konatas sleeping face. "How can you do that to such a cute… Wait?" She shook her head at her own sudden words. "Whatever, let's just ignore that… I really hope I can keep that promise. No, there's no 'hope', I will… I wasn't intending on anyway long before. Why should I leave friends? I really don't want her to be hurt." She concluded her monolog and then she saw Konata stirring a bit. It looked like she also had a bad dream.
"…Kagamin~… leaving?…" Konata mumbled, at least that was all Kagami could understand.
"Oi, don't misinterpret things and then dream about it." Kagami muttered to herself because she was arguing with a sleeping person. "As long as you want to, I'll not leave you." She quietly said before she pulled Konata close to her and hugged her tightly again, as in to comfort both.
"…Thanks…" Konata mumbled even though she was completely asleep.
"You're welcome." She answered to a sleeping person again, which made her feel a bit stupid. "So much for the weird thing rule..." Kagami said to herself as she looked at her hugging Konata. She started to blush and tried to get some sleep on her own. "Well… whatever, let's just hope she won't kick me out of my bed now." After a little chuckle, Kagami quickly fell asleep again, without ever releasing Konata from her arms.
….
Konata was the first one who awoke in the morning and was surprised at the view.
"Uh, Kagamin~ sure is close." She said as she took the scenery in. "I wonder why? Her hugging is nothing new but this close… Kagamin~?!" She said her name louder in order to check if she's awake, but there was no reaction at all. "So much for that. Maybe she had a bad dream and unintentional drew me closer and…" She froze. "I wasn't sleep talking, right? Right?!" Konata rapidly shook her head. "Let's just ignore that idea. Well, it's kind of nice. It feels a bit like the hug she gave me yesterday for whatever reason. It's really warm and comforting. Seeing her cute sleeping face is also a nice service. That's one of the, if not the most adorable sleeping face I've ever seen, in the games I played that is… Pretty high praise, if you ask me." She joked with herself. "Wait… calling her cute and adorable in the situation we're in at the moment is a bit… Well, it's true, so it's fine." After some more minutes of Konata arguing with herself, she felt Kagami waking up.
"You're pretty close." Kagami said as she opened her eyes.
"Good morning, sleepyhead, good to see you, too."
"Yeah yeah, good morning."
"And the close thing is your fault." Konata said and she immediately was rewarded with a blush on Kagamis face.
"Oh, I'm sorry then."
"Kagamin~, you apologize too much. Just be grateful that I didn't use your rule of kicking out on yourself."
"I'm sorry."
"That was on purpose now, wasn't it?" Konata suspiciously looked at her.
"Sure it was." Kagami started laughing.
They relaxed a little more on the bed, but Konata decided that she had to go to the toilet and left the room.
"Ah, good, it looks like she hasn't noticed what happened in the night." Both sighed in relief in the different rooms. "That would be so embarrassing, but I really wonder why it feels so good having her close. Hmm..." Both still talking to themselves. "Well, whatever… let's just enjoy it while it lasts" As usual, no more thoughts were wasted on it.
"Let's take it easy today, okay Kagamin~? I don't really feel like doing anything at all today." Konata said after coming back from the bath.
"Yeah, me neither." Kagami agreed. "Maybe we can just do something with Tsukasa today or so."
"Sounds good to me."
"But that may could take some time." She said as she looked at the clock. "She's probably going to sleep for some more hours."
"I wish I could sleep that long." Konata complained.
"Aren't you doing the same all the time when I'm no around?"
"Well, yeah… sort of." Konata admitted.
"So why are you complaining?"
"When was the last time you weren't around?" Konata answered. "Not that I'm complaining or anything."
"You kind of have a point there. Well, I'm sorry for correcting your sleeping habits."
"Thank you, you really should feel bad about it after all!"
"I wasn't serious, idiot."
"But you should." Konata was serious about it.
"Shut up."
After some more chatting, the two went downstairs for some breakfast. They waited almost two hours after eating until Tsukasa finally woke up.
"Oh Tsukasa, you're alive?"
"Of course I am, Kona-chan." Tsukasa answered and yawned a little.
"I wish I could sleep like that again..." Konata started complaining
"I don't believe you woke up much earlier than I did, Kona-chan."
"Oh please, I woke up before Kagamin~ did!"
"Yeaah, suuure." Tsukasa teased and then looked at Konatas serious face. "Wait, really? Why?"
"I'm the one who wants to know that the most… I just can't sleep like usual when your sister is around, I guess…"
"And like I said before, it's a good thing for you to fix your sleeping habit." Kagami interjected. "Maybe you'll even start growing a bit. You know the saying. 'A good sleep is good for a child's growth.'"
"Oi! I have the strong feeling that this wasn't nice at all." Konata pouted.
"Just your imagination, just your imagination, Konata." She just played it off.
"Sure, especially because you and Tsukasa are the same height and her sleeping is also completely broken."
"That's because Tsukasa sleeps way more than you."
"Wait, shouldn't she be taller than you then?" Konata still doubted her.
"Shut up, Konata."
"But doesn't Kona-chan has a point there?" Tsukasa agreed.
"Don't worry, Tsukasa, Kagamin~ always tells me to shut up when she knows I'm going to win the argument."
"Shut up idiot."
"See?" Konata teased.
"Oh, I see." Tsukasa understood and just went along with it.
"Ah, Tsukasa, want to hang out today, we're kind of bored and wanted to do something with you."
"Sure, lately I'm just with Yuki-chan, hanging out with you would be really great."
"Good, though I really didn't plan anything." Konata admitted while scratching her head. "Let's just play some games, watch TV, read some manga or whatever you want."
"Sounds good, I don't feel like going out today either." Tsukasa approved.
"If we can ditch the manga part, I have no objections." Kagami always found something.
"But Kagamin~." Konata protested. "Wait, all the good stuff is at my home anyway."
"Urgh, I don't even want to know what you mean by 'good stuff'..."
The three girls started with watching TV and continued the day with gaming, chatting, and whatever else that they wanted to do.
.
I'm kind of sorry for this…
I don't even like the chapter on my own, except the non past related parts that is, but else... It was way too cringy even for myself.
I wanted to add a little more… not really drama, but… ah, whatever, please just ignore it. I even liked the idea, but the result… nope, I'll just pretend I was drunk when I wrote this chapter from own.
I even wanted to delete this chapter altogether because it feels so out of place, but there are going to be one or two references in the future… so I couldn't even do that… If it reads a bit weird here and there, it's probably because I edited the most cringeworthy stuff out of the chapter to reduce the damage a little.
Let's get to the good stuff now (Probably). All old chapters are done now, this one here was from beginning of 2015, and that means the next one is a completely fresh written chapter. It's also already done and will be up by the weekend (because I don't want this one to be the most recent for too long…). I only need to find a title and decide whether to split it or not because it became an about 17-18k words monster.
I think my writing style in ch.16 changed a good bit (might as well be my imagination but…) and so please, don't be confused if it feels somehow different. Story wise is it going to continue, but it may will feel like a little skip, not time wise but… well, you'll see soon enough what I mean.
If you're into a downright adorable and playful Kagami, who also mastered teasing to the point where she can easily drive Konata in a corner, prepare for a ride next time.