A couple days had passed since Kagami learned a bit more about Konata's past. It didn't change much in how she thought about Konata, but their dynamic changed a bit because Kagami became much clingier herself. The resistance when Konata jumped at her in the usual 'surprise' hug was almost nonexistent lately and even the blushing in response subsided to a minimum. She became not only more tolerant to being hugged, Kagami also occasionally hugged her under the pretext of attempted, but failed, revenge or just because she felt like teasing Konata a little herself. She grew comfortable with the steadily increasing closeness as the distance between her and Konata was reduced bit by bit. Konata didn't mind the development, she was just confused by it because she couldn't find out the 'why' in Kagami's change. She had no idea that her father told Kagami something she rather didn't want her to find out. Still, she really didn't mind the change. To say it in her words, Kagami's dere side finally became dominant. Konata herself didn't change much, mostly because it was hardly possible for her to become any clingier without breaking several boundaries.
Konata also had no time to think about Kagami's change at the moment because she was about to face a medium big disaster. She was in class right now when Kuroi-sensei made an important announcement.
"Great news, everyone, due to a teacher only event, there's going to be no school on Monday!"
Loud cheers erupted through the classroom and everyone was extremely happy about the news, everyone except Konata. She had a complex expression on her face because she remembered something important.
"Sensei, there's also bad news, right? Every time you have good news, bad news are always right behind, whether it's here or online…" Konata's worries caused the class to immediately fall silent and their gazes nervously shifted between Konata and Kuroi-sensei, who sighed in response.
"Fine… you got me there, as a reward for the free day, you all are getting a free surprise test someday in the remaining week." The good mood in the class was instantly gone and Konata was about to complain, but the bell to end the class rang and even before the bell stopped, Kuroi-sensei had vanished out of the room. Everyone in class sighed in defeat and began packing their stuff because the school was over for the day and the weekend was about to start. Konata and Tsukasa, Miyuki had to leave earlier due to a prior engagement, met up a little later with Kagami, who had heard the same news earlier in her class, but she wasn't that affected by it because she studies on a normal basis. The sympathy for Konata and Tsukasa wasn't that high in response.
"Come on, you two, it's not that bad." She still tried to cheer them up a bit in the end.
"Tell me only one good thing about it, Kagamin~." Konata really wasn't happy about it.
"How about that we've gotten a long weekend out of it?"
"Oh! Right!" Their faces lit up again after being reminded of it. The shock was so great that they had completely forgotten about it.
"You two really are hopeless…"
"Sorry, Tsukasa, but I'll be lending your sister throughout the entire weekend for some emergency cramming."
"Okay, no problem here." Tsukasa easily agreed. "I'll be spending the weekend at Yuki-chan's place for the same, once she comes back in the evening today."
"It's settled then!" The two, Konata and Tsukasa, continued to care-freely walk towards the station.
"Oi!" They suddenly heard someone yelling. "Don't you think I should have the right to say something on my own, Konata?"
"Hmm? You don't want to come over?" She innocently tilted her head as she asked.
"That's… not what I wanted to say… but if I come over, we'll also do some more cooking."
"Sure~, a weekend full of gaming and dangerous cooking sounds good."
"What's up with the gaming?" Kagami retorted to the thing she never heard about before first. "Wait, what about studying for the test?"
"Emergency cramming is scheduled for Monday evening or night, depending on how much time we have."
"I wonder about that…" Kagami's glaring made it pretty clear that she had other plans.
"Nah, it's fine, totally fine." Konata had great confidence in her planning skills.
"Well, you're the one who needs the studying out of the two of us, not me. I should manage pretty well even with just a little studying for a change. Although… are you REALLY~ sure you only want to spend so little time studying on the weekend?" Konata usually would've instantly agreed, but there was something in Kagami's voice, that sent shivers down her spine and a cold sweat appeared on her back.
"What's wrong, Kona-chan?" Tsukasa innocently asked as she had no idea on what's going on.
"K-Kagamin~?" Konata also wasn't sure, but her body was in a state of high alertness.
"It's just that every minute we won't spend on studying will get added to my cooking lessons." It didn't sound as bad as Konata had expected.
"Hmm… I'm okay with that." The anxiousness she had before started subsiding, but Kagami was just waiting for Konata to let her guard down.
"Oh, I forgot… I'm really craving for some rice lately." In the moment she announced this fearful information, all color vanished from Konata's face as she stopped in her tracks. Even Tsukasa, who was still walking beside her, almost stumbled over her own feet and started trembling a little.
"A-Ah..!" Konata had no chance of winning since the very beginning. She would either drown in study material or die in a kitchen fire.
"Poor Kona-chan…" Tsukasa was no help and she was happy that she'll be spending the weekend at Miyuki's place.
"So, Konata, what will you do?" Unlike Konata, who had nothing to win, Kagami had nothing to lose. Overall, she was quite happy with the current situation as she broadly grinned.
"Hmm…" Konata started sorting out her options. "Well… whatever, life is too short to take the easy choice." Not that she had any. "I'll take rice option and tell dad to buy a spare fire extinguisher later." She was ready to sacrifice her life in order to not study over the weekend.
"Just because of that remark, we'll be spending the entire time we're not in the kitchen on studying." Her sacrifice was in vain.
"Kaaagaaamiiin…" Konata groaned as she threw a tantrum and looked hopefully at Tsukasa for any help possible but it was no use.
"Oh, hey Yuki-chan." She had just gotten a call from Miyuki at the best time possible for her. "You're going to finish earlier, huh? Great! I'll be at you place an hour earlier than originally planned then."
"Traitor…" Konata quietly mumbled.
Kagami had skillfully ignored Konata's wailing and Tsukasa continued to talk with Miyuki over her phone while trying her best not to get involved. The three were on the train by now and had just arrived at the twin's station.
"Well then, I need some time to prepare so I'll be coming later today, Konata. I'm looking forward to working with you in the kitchen and the studying." Kagami teased her and overly cheerful excited the train.
"Bye and good luck, Kona-chan." Tsukasa quickly followed her sister.
"W-What just happened?" Konata loudly sighed as she stared after the leaving twins. "I really need to step up my game or else Kagamin~ will completely overwhelm me sooner or later…" With her renewed motivation, she started to come up with a plan to at least keep the studying to an absolute minimum.
…..
Konata had made various preparations in the almost two hours that had passed. She decided that she had 'forgotten' most of her study material at school to limit Kagami's rampage. She also had warned her father and ordered him to absolutely not leave his room, no matter what he hears in the kitchen or anywhere else. He reluctantly agreed mainly because he was having a good run with his light novel progress. He was a bit sad he couldn't watch two high school girls spending the weekend together and doing… Konata quickly interrupted his loud thinking, but for some reason, he only got more motivated with his light novel afterward. Lastly, Konata made some slight adjustments to the kitchen. She hid all the bigger pots to keep Kagami from experimenting with too much rice. After she did a single prayer, Konata heard Kagami open the front door with the spare key she gave her before. She had finally learned that ringing the bell was useless.
"Hello…"
"Hey there, Kagamin~, you're pretty early… not that you said when you were coming, though…" Konata came out of the kitchen as she heard her and noticed something. "What's with that huge bag you're carrying there?"
"Duh, clothes and study materials."
"Sure… but it looks like more than just that."
"Well, I actually brought some extra text books just for you, because you probably 'forgot' most of them at school, right?" Kagami looked incredibly smug right now and her grinning only got wider as she looked at Konata's crestfallen face.
"E-Eh…" She couldn't believe her ears. One of her plans had already failed 15 seconds after Kagami entered the house. She really needs to getter at making plans, was one of the things she was thinking right now. Now she could only hope that the cooking lessons would go extremely well so that Kagami's mood would be too good for studying. Unfortunately, for her, rice was the subject of the weekend and that means… she's pretty much screwed.
"Looks like I was right, huh?"
"Well… looks like Kagamin~ knows me well… too well."
"I'm not sure how I should feel about it, though." She wasn't denying it at least.
"Funny, I just thought exactly the same…"
"He." Kagami chuckled a bit. "Whatever, let's go to your room for now."
"Sure, you can go first. I'll get something to drink and be there in a minute." She said and Kagami nodded as he left for her room. Konata turned around and went back to the kitchen to get some chilled tea out of the fridge. She stayed a bit and said her final goodbye to the kitchen in her mind because it's probably the last time she'll see it in its original state and then went back to her room.
"I've got the drinks… Oi…" Konata entered her room and stopped in her tracks when she saw Kagami. "Not even two minutes here and already…" Kagami was lying down on Konata's bed, her chin buried in the pillow while loosely focusing on the light novel she was holding in front of her while kicking her legs in the air from time to time.
"Something's wrong?" Kagami asked as she looked at her while cutely tilting her head a little in the process.
"No… not really." She wanted to say something but quickly changed her mind because Kagami being in this state, totally relaxed, compared to before, was only good for Konata. She quietly thanked the manufacturer of the mattress for infusing it with the special power of taming a wild tsundere and decided to play with her a little. She sneaked up on her and with a little jump, she landed on Kagami's back. Konata leaned forward, next to Kagami's head and took a quick peek at the light novel. "Anything interesting in it?" She quickly asked because reading it herself was too boring and tiring because she was missing the pictures in it.
"I wouldn't be reading it if it weren't interested in it, would I?"
"That's true… What's it about?"
"You should just read it if you're interested."
"Kagamin~…" Konata simply poked her cheek with her finger to answer. Kagami knew perfectly well that she doesn't like reading light novels, but she always tried her luck.
"Fine… I'll give you a summary… It's about a guy who starts playing a virtual reality game and…"
"Ah, let me guess… he got trapped in the game. That's a pretty common thing lately…"
"Nope, he can leave the game whenever he wants. It's more of a comedy story. He starts playing the game with his two sisters and a friend, but the game accidentally identified him as a girl and his sister forced him to play with the female character. The funny thing is, he's actually so feminine in his behavior ingame unconsciously, that no one believes him that he's male in real life. He settles down with being a crafter because he couldn't keep up with his hard-core gamer sisters and friends, mainly because he had also chosen the worst weapon and skills for fighting. He's actually quite successful in crafting various things and soon got famous among other players and crafters to the point he even got hunted down for his discoveries. In the second volume I'm reading here right now, he also picks up the cooking skill and is instantly very talented at it but only further increased his girl power with it. They're currently involved in a camping event as a certain someone jumped on me…"
"Heh~, it sure sounds interesting." Konata actually took a liking to the story and even ignored the relation in cooking skill and a higher girl power, especially coming from Kagami. It probably was a good idea.
"Yeah, I really like it and it even was just an impulse buy without any info on it because I liked the cover of the first volume."
"That's how I found most of my favorite manga, too."
"Now that you're interested in the story, how about…"
"Kagamin~." She tried it again, but Konata's stubbornness was stronger than her own.
"Almost… but hey, I heard that they started adapting the light novel to a manga."
"Really?! That's great, I'm looking forward to reading it… Wait, why would you try to get me to read the novel then?" Konata got a little upset because she almost got tricked into reading a light novel.
"Because it already has several volumes and the manga just started, which means it'll take ages to keep up and isn't the source material almost always better than the adaption?"
"Please don't start with logic now… That's my only weak point."
"Only, huh?" Kagami tried her best to not laugh on the spot.
"Shut up, well, maybe… if I get hooked on the manga and become impatient at some point… I may give the novel a try. Don't get your hopes up, though, I mean, I haven't even read the light novel of my own father."
"Oh, yeah, there's that…" Just hearing her mention the novel of Konata's father, Kagami quickly got a bit embarrassed and her cheeks showed a slight red tint. Konata saw that and got interested in the matter again, but because she really had no interest in reading her father's light novel, she didn't press the issue any further but gave Kagami a little treat instead.
"Speaking of which, he said he's progressing really well with the second volume, especially after I mentioned that you're staying over the weekend for some reason, so, look forward to it."
"E-Ehh? Wait… nevermind… Okay, sure." Kagami tried her best to sound unaffected by it, but she was looking for the second volume, but at the same time, she looked a bit shocked.
…
A little time had passed and Kagami's focus on her light novel started shifting towards something different.
"Konata?"
"Hmm?"
"Is it comfortable up there?"
"It is, thanks for asking." Konata was still sitting on Kagami's back on the bed. Sometime after they stopped talking about the novel, she had casually grabbed a nearby manga and turned around to lay with her own back on Kagami's, facing the ceiling this way while having no worry in the world.
"Mind standing up anytime soon?"
"Wasn't planning on, why?"
"It's getting a bit hot down here, being trapped between you and the bed. It's quite stuffed." Kagami really had become calmer in dealing with this kind of situations. The blush was still present as ever on her face, even though it became less visible, but she could casually hold a conversation with Konata now.
"Hmm… How about that, if we play our usual game for a bit, I'll get off you. I have a feeling that, if we put a bit of effort in, we might be able to beat it today or tomorrow."
"You're pretty sly, Konata." Kagami, again, could see right through her but she decided to play along. It was already evening and the sun had started setting a while ago, studying or concentrating in the kitchen works best on a fresh day after all. Kagami thought so, but the idea of beating the game was also very tempting to her, but admitting it was something different. "Fine, I'll go easy on you today, but we'll go all out tomorrow…"
"Yay… I think, probably..." Konata had mixed feelings as she stood up from Kagami and grabbed the two game controllers on the floor.
They resumed the game where they last left and jumped straight to the next boss battle, who got easily overpowered by the perfect teamplay of Konata and Kagami. He died in record time and the two continued to gain level after level afterward until late at night. They progressed really far and just as Konata had predicted, the two had just passed the checkpoint right before the final boss.
"I guess that's a good point to end. It's late and…" Kagami made the proposal, but for some reason, it wasn't very well received as Konata interrupted her in mid-sentence.
"Ehhh?!" Konata almost yelled in disbelief at her. "What's wrong with you?! How could anyone stop right now? You're being completely unreasonable here!" Konata's priorities were, as always, all over the place when she held her overly dramatic speech.
"Konata…" Kagami wasn't sure what to say and decided to just let out a big sigh.
"Anything wrong?"
"Haa…" She started rubbing her temples as if to fight back a starting headache. "Where should I start? There are so many things wrong here…"
"You can't just stop a game right before the final boss battle and simply go to sleep! Sure, there are still tons of side missions, but we can do them whenever we want. I for sure won't be able to sleep before the boss is dead." She really is passionate about the things she likes.
"If you only would use just a fraction of your energy for school related stuff, you probably could even surpass Miyuki."
"Kagamin~, the only thing I ever would remotely want to surpass her in, is something studying wouldn't help at all…"
"What are you talking about?" Kagami was confused for a second, but she immediately understood as she looked at Konata's dirty grin. "You're such a perverted old man…"
"Thanks."
"I wasn't complimenting you… argh, whatever!" Kagami finally gave up. "I was only joking in the first place… I'm not that cruel to stop right before the last battle."
"That's my Kagamin~, unreasonable, but kind at the same time." Konata's mood instantly got better as her faith in Kagami returned.
"Unreasonable, huh? If I'm unreasonable, what are you then?"
"Me? I'm just perfect, nothing else." Konata answered with a perfectly straight face.
"P-Perfect…" Kagami didn't even try to hold back as she violently started laughing on the spot. It was so hard that she even fell over and rolled up in a ball on Konata's bed.
"Oi!" Konata puffed out her cheeks because she really wasn't happy with the reaction she got. "Want me to jump on you again or what?" She got ready to jump at the laughing ball beside her but it looked like Kagami started calming down again.
"Ah, that was a good one." She finished laughing and wiped a small tear out of her right eye as she sat down normally on the bed again. "Oh man, I almost died just now." She said and Konata finally snapped. She had decided to not jump at her just a second ago, but that was a mistake and the thought of being nice was forgotten instantly. She got on her knees and forcefully jumped at Kagami and tackled her down. Kagami landed on her back and Konata sat down on her stomach. She seemed happy as it looked like she had won over Kagami, she didn't know what she had won, but she also didn't care. However, her grin only lasted for a second or two. Konata looked down at Kagami below her and she had an even bigger grin and Konata got scared a little by it.
"So, what now?" It looked like she had seen through Konata once more again. Like usual, she acted on impulse and had no plan on how to continue. Konata realized the same and started panicking.
"W-Well then… let's finish this boss." She quickly changed her attention to the game again. Kagami chuckled a little at the panicked reaction and decided to let her go for now.
The two, without Konata ever leaving from Konata's stomach, continued the game and about 30 minutes later, the beat the final boss.
"YES!" Konata raised her fist in victory after the enemy fell dead on the floor.
"Wow, that was quite an intense battle." Kagami sighed as the tension left her. She also was very happy that they made it, but was exhausted at the same time.
"All that's left now are the countless side quests."
"Sure, but not today." After the battles fought today, the one ingame and the one on the bed, it got really late and Kagami was tired. "But more importantly…"
"More importantly?"
"How about you finally get off me… again…" She gestured at Konata, who had made herself comfortable on Kagami for the whole boss battle.
"Oh… I totally forgot about that… You're a surprisingly good cushion, Kagamin~." She quickly got off her again and sat down normally on the bed.
"Thanks… but it's time for bed now, let's sleep."
"Okay, I got my object of beating the game cleared, so I'm all good."
Konata saved the game, turned the TV off and both got ready to sleep and lay down and the bed again. Neither did Konata offer a futon nor did Kagami asked for one like usual at this point. After they laid down, Konata switched off the light with a remote and they quickly fell asleep.
…..
The next morning was a little different than usual, no, Kagami was still actively hugging Konata throughout the night, but she also was the first to wake up in the morning for a change. She slowly opened her eyes, blinked a few times and took the scene in front of her in. Kagami was lying on her side and her arms were tightly embracing Konata's waist and resting her head on her shoulder. Konata herself was lying on her back, one of her legs was sandwiched between Kagami's own and the blanket, which was supposed to cover them, was nowhere to be seen.
"W-Well…" Kagami was slightly overwhelmed at the intimate position both were in and started blushing a bit. "I was doubting it a little before, but now that I woke up first… I guess I fully have to accept it that my sleeping habits are a bit… whatever this is." She looked at the situation they were in again. "I probably should let go of her now, so that won't get a free pass for teasing me." Despite what she had just said, she wasn't moving one bit and looked really hesitant. A couple minutes passed, but there was still no change in the situation and it didn't look like Kagami would move anytime soon. "It probably wouldn't change much if I stay a little longer like that, would it?" She loosened her grip around Konata's waist a little for now to let her breathe a bit more freely. "I'm starting to understand why Konata likes walking up like that… Sure, it's super embarrassing, but at the same time, it's really comfortable and calming. Yep, staying like this a little longer is perfectly fine." Kagami's resolve was absolute. She retightened her grip around Konata's waist again and snuggled her head into her shoulder once more. After she found a comfortable spot, Kagami let out a comfortable sigh and quickly fell asleep again.
A little over 20 minutes passed and it was now Konata's time to wake up. She opened her eyes, also blinked a few times and let out a loud yawn and was about to get up before she noticed Kagami besides her. She stopped moving, mainly because she couldn't, and took a better look at her face.
"You can't do that to me, Kagamin~, showing me such a cute sleeping face… You sure play dirty." Konata intensified her gaze at her as she looked at the wide smile on Kagami's face. "How can I try to wake you up now?" She got comfortable on her pillow again after she decided against waking up and continued to look at Kagami's sleeping face until she woke up, which happened a few minutes later.
"Morning…" Konata greeted her as she saw her opening her eyes.
"…Morning…" Kagami slowly greeted her back.
They continued to gaze into each other eyes for some time and their already close face even came a bit closer. Their cheeks, even Konata's, became really flushed and both quickly averted their faces to another direction.
'W-What was that just now?!' Both screamed the same thought inside their heads and it took some time for them to speak up again.
"S-Slept well, Kagamin~?"
"Y-Yeah, like a baby and you?"
"Same here…"
"That's good." The two had some awkward small talk while fighting back their embarrassment. It worked and both had considerably calmed down again.
"Let's get up for now."
"Yeah, I'm hungry… Time for breakfast."
"Sounds good." Konata readily agreed to Kagami's proposal. She didn't dare to say anything else or even tease her right now.
Both quickly let go of each other, stood up, went down to the kitchen, and had a quick breakfast. It was just some toast with eggs because the big cooking showdown was scheduled for lunch. Konata lucked out for now, or so she thought. They finished eating and went back to her room.
"Let's get some studying done for now."
"Damn…" Konata cursed under her breath but had to play along because she had nothing to divert Kagami's attention to at the moment.
"Nothing to retort, huh?"
"No…" She was again scared at Kagami's skill of looking into her head.
Even so, Konata somehow managed to talk her down to only one subject and both, although one of them reluctantly, diligently studied while Kagami helped Konata with everything she didn't understand. After a painfully long period of studying, Konata's words, and some carefree chatting, it was time for lunch. Both went to the kitchen and Konata actually thought about going back to studying on the way but decided against it. The war was about to start again. The enemy: Small, white grains called rice.
….
"So…"
"Yeah, sooo…" Both girls said and stared some kitchen utensils in front of them and they almost stared back at them in fear. Today's victims were a bowl, a pot including a fitting lid, a measuring cup and last but not least, a small sack of rice.
"You really want to do it?"
"Y-Yes." Kagami's voice cracked a little while answering Konata's question but her resolve was firm. She really wanted to success with the rice.
"Okay…" Konata had to accept her fate.
"Do we start like last time?"
"Hmm…" She thought of the best way to cook rice with her. "No, I think we should try a different approach today."
"Okay, well it can't be worse than last time after all, right?" Kagami carelessly announced and Konata immediately lost her fake composure.
"K-Kagamin~, how could you say that?! Raising such a death flag… Now I'll die for sure! You killed me!" Konata dramatically explained her grave mistake and the only thing Kagami could do in response was to roll her eyes before speaking up again.
"You're done? So, what's that different approach you're talking about?" As soon as the flag was raised, Kagami also immediately crushed it by ignoring again.
"Last time, we used a quick and dirty technique." Konata also brushed it off as if nothing happened. "Quick and dirty as in we just boiled the water and threw the rice in it. It's usually a really fail proof method to cook rice somewhat okay at least, I thought it was the better method for you because of your record and it's less work to do but the constant boiling water was no good, no good at all.
"That's true." Kagami didn't even try to fight back because it had no use because everything was completely true.
"We'll try a more fitting method for making Japanese rice in a pot today."
"Sure, lead the way."
"Okay, first let's wash the rice and I'll explain everything else." Konata gave her a measuring cup and told her to put two full cups of rice in the bowl. One cup per person. It was easy to remember and Kagami promised not to forget it. She thought that it wasn't enough at first, but Konata reassured her that it'll be much more after cooking. After putting the rice in the bowl, Kagami washed the rice until the water stayed clean from rest over starch.
"So far so good." Konata nodded in approval, but everything until now also worked the last times.
"What now?"
"We have to wait. The rice needs to soak for at least 30 minutes in the water."
"I guess we'll wait then…" Kagami being this obedient was rare, but Konata was really grateful for it.
The two went to the living room and waited said 30 minutes. Luckily, for Konata, 30 minutes means exactly one anime episode. She switched the TV on and after the episode, or waiting time, depending on the asked person, ended, they went back to the kitchen.
"Now that the rice has finished soaking, the dangerous part is about to start." Konata steeled her nerves and got ready for the worst.
"I kind of want to hit you right now, but I guess I shouldn't because…" Kagami didn't finish her sentence but Konata still understood what she means. The disaster-success score wasn't in Kagami's favor.
"Thanks for sparing me." She made a little joke and continued with her explanation. Kagami got rid of the water where the rice soaked in and poured the rice in a pot, just as told and also added two and a half cups of water to it and closed the lid. A little more than one cup per cup of rice, as explained by Konata afterward.
"I guess preparations are complete, right?" She asked and Konata nodded.
"Yes… but that means we need to start… boiling it."
"O-Okay." Konata's nervousness was contagious, but Kagami still, although hesitantly, turned up the heat on the stove. The rice started boiling pretty quick and because of that, she reduced the heat again because, according to Konata, it only needs to simmer or rather steam now.
"W-Wait a moment…" Konata started looking around and seemed pretty confused. "We're alive? Why are we alive?!"
"D-Don't ask me!" Kagami was equally surprised at the disaster that didn't happen.
"We haven't won just yet, but this is… I wasn't expecting this kind of progress at all!" She couldn't contain her astonishment and Kagami's reaction wasn't any different but she still got a bit angry and playfully nudged Konata's shoulder.
"Have a little faith in me, okay?"
"I tried, but… whatever, the rice needs to steam for about 20 minutes, let's just hope for the best.
The following 20 minutes were the most nerve-wracking both ever had in their lives. Konata moved with each passing minute a little further away because she felt doom lingering right above or rather in front of her again. The pot was releasing a very ominous looking aura in her eyes. Kagami on the hand was getting nervous to a dangerous point. She started cycling around the pot and was steadily increasing her pace. Konata, who started watching her instead of the pot, even got a little dizzy because of her. Very long 20 minutes finally passed, but the odyssey wasn't completely over. Konata removed the pot from the stove, but it had to rest for about ten additional minutes with the lid closed.
"It's over, nothing catastrophic can happen anymore. Sure, the rice could be burned, overcooked, undercooked or whatever, but…"
"Are you trying to console me or…"
"How should I know what I'm doing here, Kagamin~?! I just wanted to say something…" Konata managed to lift the mood just by saying something stupid and caused both of them to laugh for a while. The remaining minutes were spent in silence and the tension returned. It was time and Konata had to open the lid because Kagami was too nervous. She looked inside and…
"It's…"
"I knew it…" The disappointment was written all over her face.
"… perfectly fine looking rice." Konata finished her overly long dramatic pause.
"You… You… Kagami got angry, but it only lasted for a split second. "W-Wait… y-you mean… No, it can't be… No way!" She was extremely bewildered and confused to the point where she forgot how to speak in sentences. "REALLY?!"
"It certainly looks like it." Konata could only smile at the enthusiastic reaction from Kagami, but she herself was also extremely happy and proud. She tried a bit of the rice and her smile promptly got a bit wider. "It's good, here, have a taste." Konata took another sample and offered it to Kagami who quickly tasted it.
"It's… It's really rice…" Her voice trembled a little. "I-I did it… I really made rice!" Kagami was absolutely euphoric and suddenly jumped at Konata in front of her, locking her in a bear crushing hug. Konata was surprised at first, but soon welcomed it and let her do as she pleased. She lifted Konata in the air and suddenly started spinning around in the kitchen. Konata had never seen Kagami this happy before.
"K-Kagamin~, I'm also pretty happy but please stop at least with the spinning. I don't want to survive the rice just to die in the aftermath." Konata got a little scared by the various obstacles in the kitchen, but Kagami soon stopped and let her down but she didn't release her.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She repeatedly thanked her and with every thank you, she embraced her more tightly.
"K-Kagamin~… can't… breathe…"
"S-Sorry…" She realized the state Konata was in and released her grip just enough to let Konata breathe again.
"Thanks…" Konata took a deep breath and her facial color turned to normal again. She was finally able to relax a little and thanks to Kagami's happiness being contagious, her smile increased again. She, too, was incredibly happy and finally returned Kagami's one-sided hug. "You did well, Kagamin~."
The two continued their embrace in the kitchen for a minute or two and Konata had an idea.
…..
"Yuki-chan, can you help me with this problem here?"
"Which one is it?" Miyuki bent slightly over the table to look at the problem Tsukasa had difficulties with. Both were in her room and currently studying. Ever since Kagami started spending so much time with Konata, Tsukasa usually spends her time at Miyuki's place and this weekend was no exception.
"Hmm?" Tsukasa suddenly felt her phone vibrating. "Oh, it's onee-chan. Hey onee-chan, what's up?"
"Tsukasa?!" She was expecting her sister, but the voice she heard was different.
"Kona-chan? Did something happen? You sound really excited." Tsukasa noticed the different tone in her voice. Kagami had calmed down a little and Konata could finally get a bit excited.
"She did it! She really did it, Tsukasa!"
"Huh? Onee-chan did what?" She was pretty confused due to the complete lack of information. It looked like Miyuki also got interested as she tilted her head after hearing those words.
"I DID IT!" The sister Tsukasa was expecting in the first place didn't help at all in understanding what was going on.
"C-Calm down, onee-chan… Kona-chan, what happened?" She called out to Konata again because she had the feeling her sister wasn't going to be useful, judging by the scream.
"Rice… Kagamin~ made rice and destroyed neither the kitchen nor killed me in the process!"
"EHHH?! S-Seriously?" Now it was Tsukasa, who started to freak out, which made Miyuki tilting her head even more but she stayed silent. "There's no way that's true! You… and onee-chan… that can't be!" Tsukasa's poor choice of words made Miyuki even flinch in surprise. It was really easy to misunderstand after all.
"W-What?" Staying silent wasn't an option anymore.
"Oh, sorry Yuki-chan, Kona-chan wants to tell me that she succeeded in teaching onee-chan how to make rice! Unbelievable, right?"
"Ehhh?" Even though Miyuki said the same as Tsukasa in reaction, the meaning was completely different. Her voice was full of disappointment. 'Seriously?!' She immediately slumped down on her place again as her excitement vanished. "Yeah… unbelievable…"
The back and forth between Konata and Tsukasa over the phone continued for a couple minutes until Konata could finally make her believe it. Tsukasa was greatly shocked.
"It's true… Kona-chan is an alien after all..."
…..
"Tsukasa sure doesn't trust your cooking skill at all, Kagamin~" Konata joked after the call was over.
"Oh, you, shut up…" Kagami jokingly answered as she removed one arm from Konata's waist, yes, they were still hugging each other, and lightly hit Konata on her head.
"Hehe…"
"Oh…" Now it was Kagami's phone that wanted attention. "Hey mom, I did it! I finally made rice!"
"That was quick." Konata guessed that she would call soon because Tsukasa guaranteed told her already.
"That's great. Can you give me Konata for a second?" Miki more or less ignored her.
"Huh? S-Sure?" She didn't fully understand why. "Here Konata, mom wants to talk with her favorite child."
"Okay." Konata grabbed the phone and Kagami was a bit confused that neither Konata nor her mother on the phone said something to her remark.
"Hey Miki, what's up?"
"Don't -what's up- me… I just got a call from Tsukasa. Are you serious?" Miki really is the mother of Tsukasa. Konata thought so after getting the exact same reaction from the second person today.
"Yep."
"Eh… You're not hurt, right? All body parts are still there? An exploding pot didn't hit your head and you're just imagining things?"
"Wow… Miki, you sure are…" She couldn't even find words. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine and so is the kitchen oh, and your daughter, too. I also haven't dreamed it or saw a movie about it and mixing things up either before you ask." Konata quickly denied a few things before Miki couldn't even ask.
"Just what are you?" It looked like she finally started accepting reality, in her own way.
"-What-, huh? I'm just someone with great compatibility to Kagamin~."
"Oi!" Someone wasn't so sure about that compatibility.
"Okay, that's it. I've decided, marriage preparations are starting next week. Take good care of her. Oh, and please tell her."
"Eh?" More wasn't possible for Konata.
"Well then, take care and bye." And just like that, Miki ended the call and the storm left behind a bewildered Konata.
"Ehhh?"
"W-What's wrong?" Kagami got rather confused at the sudden change in her behavior.
"W-Wait… what… ehh?"
"Just what did my mother say to you?"
"Ehm… Kagamin~, hypothetically speaking… if your mother says that she decided on something, how possible is it for her to be just joking?"
"Well, she often jokes about things, but once she decided on something, it's 100% and absolutely going to happen." She cluelessly explained to Konata and her already confused face got even more complex.
"I-I see… ehm… well… that's…"
"Just. What. Happened?" Kagami started to get worried. Konata, on the other hand, got strangely conscious of the fact that she was still being hugged by her. She quickly put her hands on Kagami's shoulder and with a bit of pushing force, she separated herself from her. Being told 'that' by Miki and the embracement at the same time was too much for Konata to take in and so she had to put a bit of distance between the two. It had a way stronger effect on her than last time Miki joked about it, the feeling was completely different and confused Konata greatly.
"That's…" After she got a bit of distance from Kagami and some time to deeply breathe in and out a few times, she finally calmed down to some extent. "Please ask your mother about that yourself…"
"As if she would ever tell me anything." Kagami has a point, Miki likes to tease her too much after all.
"Neither will I." Unfortunately, for Kagami, Konata was no different when it comes to that.
"Haa… looks like I was worried for nothing after all."
"Thanks for worrying, Kagamin~." It was impossible to say whether Konata was serious, or just teasing her again, but it looked like she was okay again in Kagami's eyes, at least on the surface. 'Miki was just joking, right? There's no way she's serious right? Yep, she's joking! I mean Kagamin~ and I are…' Konata was intensely arguing with herself, but soon got interrupted by the person that's part of the reason for her inner fight.
"Konata? What's going on, you're making quite the interesting face there." The internal conflict was apparently even present on her face.
"Ah… nothing, just thinking about… stuff. Yeah, just the usual stuff, nothing else!"
"Okay…" Kagami wasn't buying it, but the usual stuff is something she doesn't want to know about because it's Konata and so the chances are high that it's nothing a high school girl should think about. It actually was a good plan to keep her from further questioning Konata. "So, now that I mastered the boss called 'rice', what now?"
"First, Kagamin~, nice one. Looks like my efforts in raising you aren't wasted." Konata looked so incredibly smug right now that Kagami had great difficulties not to smack her. "Second, you haven't mastered it yet because you only made it successfully once. Well… on the other hand, it's not like you really have to master rice… I guess it's fine with stopping the rice thing…"
"Hmm? Why is it fine now all of the sudden?"
"Oh man… I already have a bad feeling." Konata started hesitating for some reason. "You know, that thing that basically every Japanese household has? The thing called rice cooker? You know, wash the rice, put it, press a button and you're done?"
"Eh?" In the exact moment, Konata finished her short explanation, something inside Kagami shattered. She tilted her head and her lifeless eyes stared right through Konata at nothing in particular. Konata had successfully broken her. Kagami titled her head in the other direction and blinked multiple times. "H-Huh?" She didn't understand anything anymore. "Wait… wait… wait a moment… what was that?"
"Hmm? You mean about the rice cooker?" Konata also was having a hard time, but for an entirely different reason. She focused all her might on not starting to laugh on the spot, mainly because Kagami would kill her then, even faster that is.
"No, it's about that flying cat in your garden… WHAT ELSE COULD I MEAN?!"
"…" Konata was losing it, no she had already lost it. She pressed both hands to her mouth to suppress her laughing, but it was no use. She started laughing and it was impossible for her to calm down for a minute or two. After it finally started subsiding a little, she wiped away a tear of joy and breathed heavily. "Haa… haa… that was… perfect…" She had a great time. Had.
"Ko-na-ta…" Kagami slowly said her name as she completely snapped. The air in the kitchen completely froze and every chuckle Konata still gave off was instantly gone. Her tsundere radar sensed danger like never before. She was in big trouble and decided to slowly back away while trying to calm her down.
"K-Kagamin~ please calm down and listen before you actually kill me, okay?" She was fearing for her very life and nothing else. "W-We had a perfectly fine reason for not telling you about it."
"I'm all ears, Ko-na-ta." Kagami was often scary before, but the feeling Konata had right now surpassed everything before. "And who's we?"
"Miki, Tsukasa and I are we… I mean, they haven't told you either, right?"
"Eh?" Kagami got a little surprised at the sudden revelation and her hellish anger had a little confusion mixed in now. Konata was deeply relieved for even a slight change, but she wasn't so stupid to let her guard down just now. The enemy is just waiting for it after all.
"The two probably had the same idea I had."
"And what glorious idea is that?"
"It's all good if you only use the rice cooker, but you should still at least know how to make it on your own. It's kind of like math in school. You could easily use a calculator to solve everything but it's kind of stupid if you can't do it without one."
"Huh?" Kagami couldn't believe her ears. Her eyes grew big and she blinked a few times to make sure it was real. Her anger was put on hold. The problem wasn't that Konata had a point, it was how she made the point. She had used the school as a reference, not only that, it was a rational reference Kagami could relate to. It went completely past her expectations of Konata. Kagami tried to say something as she opened her mouth, but she was too shocked. "Ehh… uhh… I… whaaat?" It was no use, her brain wasn't able to process it and she continued to stare open-mouthed at Konata.
"Not good, huh? I tried to use a school related reference to make it easier for you to understand but…"
"N-No, nonono, that's exactly the problem here! I can absolutely understand what you mean and that's what scares me the most… Are you alright, Konata?" It looked like Konata is going to survive it. Kagami had considerably calmed down and even started teasing her. Konata should've gotten angry at the complete lack of trust or tease back, but she didn't because she was too happy to be alive and didn't want to risk it.
"Haa…" She exhaled deeply. The tension and she got down on her knees because all remaining strength had left her. "Man, I was never this scared of you before, Kagamin~."
"You sure know how to make a scene." Kagami could only roll her eyes in response.
"No, I actually seriously thought it's game over for me."
"Well, it kind of was a close call so I can't really blame you." Kagami laughed a bit but her eyes told a different story. It was by no mean a joke and Konata started feeling uncomfortable again.
"Wow, I really dodged a bullet there…"
"But still… doing something like that to me… you three sure a cruel…" She got a little depressed over it.
"Ignoring our reasoning, how did you feel after finally being successful?"
"It felt great! I think I never felt this accomplished before." Kagami's eyes started shining as she remembered it with a smile on her lips.
"For that alone, it was worth it, wasn't it? You wouldn't feel like that with a rice cooker."
"You're right. I'm sorry for getting so angry earlier, Konata."
"No, don't worry about it. It's only natural to react like that. I think I would've reacted at least similar." Konata reassured her because she knew that she absolutely earned the received anger.
"Although… I still think I have to punish you later." Kagami was fine after all as she teased Konata again who just turned pale.
"P-Please be gentle." Konata managed to make a little joke in midst of the lingering danger. They looked each other in the eyes for a couple seconds and after suppressing a few giggles, both finally started laughing.
"Haa…" Their laughing died down after a while. "It's great how much I can relax around you, Konata." Kagami suddenly and out of nowhere dropped a little bomb on her who wasn't expecting something like that at all. Konata's cheeks actually got a little red.
"T-Thanks… same here." She awkwardly agreed. 'You can't just get that cute on me without a warning, Kagamin~! It's not good for my heart!'
"You're very welcome." Her sincere reply didn't help at all.
"S-Sure…" Kagami became dangerous again, but for a very different reason. 'Gah, stop it! I can't take it! What's up with that adorable creature in front of me?' Her face got a bit redder again and looked a bit feverish because of that.
"Huh? You didn't catch a cold, right?" Whether it was intentional or not, nobody could tell, but her eyes looked suspicious, Kagami quickly delivered a finishing blow to Konata. She first brushed away her own hair and then Konata's, once the hair wasn't in the way anymore, she pressed her forehead against Konata's own to check her temperature in the most embarrassing way.
"W-Wha-" It was Konata's turn to break. She couldn't keep with her anymore. The situation was beyond her comprehension. It should be the other way around, but Kagami leveled up too much lately and she finally went past the level Konata could handle effortlessly. After verifying her temperature, Kagami backed off a little and tilted her head in a way too cute manner.
"Hmm…" She intensely stared at Konata afterward. "It doesn't feel like you have a fever… Wait…" She noticed something and started grinning. She was playing! She was definitely playing with Konata! "Don't tell me you're just embarrassed and blushing because of it? Ha, this is perfect!" Every remaining part of Konata's face also turned red in response.
"…" Konata didn't answer, no, she couldn't answer. She looked a couple seconds in utter bewilderment at her, then turned around and simply left for her room because she couldn't take it anymore.
"Oi! Konata, wait!" Kagami yelled and started following her. Konata was already in her room and Kagami decided to give her two minutes out of consideration and then entered.
"Hey Kona, are you alright?" So much for consideration. She was still on a high and decided to even start calling her with a nickname in this situation but Konata still didn't answer. She was lying on her bed and had her head buried under the pillow. Kagami sat down next to her on the bed and began gently stroking her back, causing Konata to flinch. "You know that you can tell me if something's wrong, Kona." She said so, but she really did not intend to help her at all.
"Mmffm mmmfm…" It almost sounded like Konata wanted to say something, but because she was buried under the pillow, only muffled sounds could be heard. 'W-What the… just what is going on here?!' Konata's thoughts weren't muffled, though. 'Who is that person and what has she done to my Kagamin~? It can't be her, right?! T-There's no way Kagamin~ could drive that much into a corner. She's just delivering blow after blow…' As if Kagami could read her mind, she started to continue her relentless assault. She lifted up the pillow and placed her head right next to Konata's, she was basically lying right next to Konata on the bed and looked at her face. –badump- 'What's now…' Konata's mental health wasn't in a good condition.
"Hmm? Hey Kona, did your face just became redder?" Kagami continued to stare at her face until Konata couldn't bear it any longer and turned around to the other side because her stare almost hurt. "Aww, so shy…"
"H-Hey K-Kagamin~…" She finally managed to get some kind of words out.
"What is it, Kona?
"Uhh… W-What is going on here? I… I…"
"What do you mean? Everything is normal, isn't it?" Kagami feigned innocence.
"N-No… no, no, NO! There are many fitting words, but normal… no, normal is not one of them!" Konata finally regained the ability to talk. Her face was still completely flushed, but it was getting a better now that she was able the retort again.
"I overdid it a little, huh? Haa… that was exhausting…" Kagami's façade crumbled and her real motive started leaking out.
"W-What… Wait… What? Ehh?!" Konata's face instantly went from red to pale as she heard her words.
"I'm a bit scared of your next revenge now… but that sure was worth it." Kagami smirked at Konata who went into shock.
"T-That was just an act?!" N-No way… You're a monster! W-Why?"
"Did you really think all I would say is 'eh, it's fine' after the rice cooker thing?" Kagami was angry after all in the end.
"Wow…" Konata deeply inhaled multiple times to get down to a normal level again. "You're quite… wow… I never would've thought you had this much power in you. I'm impressed… no, wait, I'm scared at your true form. You're really scary, Kagamin~."
"It was all just on a whim, though…" She casually remarked.
"Do you think that makes it better? No, it makes it ten times worse and scarier!"
"Well, I learned from the best after all." Kagami looked at her again while giving her a cheeky smirk.
"No, wait a moment, don't make me responsible for this, you went way past everything I ever taught you."
"Hmm… you may be right there… Well, I had my fun and your reactions were really cute too, Kona." Konata wasn't so sure if she's really done here. She was having mixed feelings about it.
"Give me a break already, Kagamin~…" She really wanted to stop her to calm her heart a little.
"Okay… fine, I'll stop for now." She gave her another smirk. "But I kind of like the nickname. I think I'll stay with 'Kona' now."
"S-Sure, do whatever you want…" Konata had finally given up on hope.
The two spent the next couple of minutes in silence. Kagami finally gave her some time to breathe and Konata had simply nothing to say. Both remained on the bed, but Kagami had changed her position. She was lying on her back with her hand behind her head and her legs crossed. She overall looked pretty happy and satisfied with herself. Konata, on the other hand, had retrieved her pillow and it was over her head again. She occasionally let out some muffled sounds, but none of it was even remotely understandable. She still was really embarrassed and the incredible smug looking Kagami next to her wasn't much of a help. The muffled sounds continued for some time until Kagami finally had enough of Konata throwing a tantrum. She grabbed the pillow and got rid of it again and also turned Konata around to face her again. Konata was lying on her back now and Kagami simply sat down on top of her to keep her from running away. She had no idea her pride would be hurt that much, or so she thought. Both looked each other in the eyes once more and Konata's bashfulness suddenly vanished, instead, an evil looking grin appeared. She did a complete 180 and Kagami had a bad feeling now.
"Ka-ga-min~." Yes, it was bad. "That was a mistake… I've decided, your next Cosplay is going to be a naked bunny girl costume!"
"E-Eh?! Just what is a naked bunny girl?"
"You know the bunny ear things for your head, right?"
"Yes?" Konata looked up and down on her and shivers immediately went down Kagami's spine.
"That's the only thing you're going to wear… and maybe stockings for… uhm… reasons." Konata made this bold statement and Kagami didn't go just pale, she was as white as a ghost.
"W-What…" She really didn't take it well as she continued to stare open-mouthed at Konata below her.
"Is something wrong, Kagamin?"
"No… wait, of course is something wrong here!" She almost made a grave mistake. 'Calm down me, you can't let her win now.'
"Oh? Nah, I was just kidding, it would be also bad for me…" Tsundere rage wouldn't even begin to describe the apocalyptic events.
"Yeah, because I would kill you."
"Yeah, let's go with that." Tsundere rage was definitely one of her fears but her eyes said more. 'It would also be bad for my heart…. Wait… did I just got excited there for a moment?! Don't tell me Kagamin~ v2 from earlier still has an effect on me?'
"Okay?" Kagami looked a bit confused, every other feeling she had at the moment got completely ignored the moment she thought about them.
Their ongoing gazing into each other eyes started becoming a bit uncomfortable and both averted their eyes. A weird atmosphere started to build around them.
"H-How about we play a bit more of our game, do a few side missions or something like that, Kagamin~?"
"S-Sounds good, I'm in." Kagami normally would've suggested more studying, but the atmosphere didn't leave any room for hesitating.
They played their game for some time, but decided to end the day early to go to bed. Both just wanted to sleep and have a fresh start because the weird atmosphere kept lingering over them even while gaming and even more, Konata was really exhausted for several reasons.
….
.
Directly continued in the next chapter. Just splitted because of lenght reasons.