The surprise camping trip ended a few days ago and Konata was working on her plan ever since she came back home. She was making relatively good progress with it, but soon ran into a different problem. It was Wednesday, school had just ended and Konata stopped her favorite tsundere on the way home.

"Hey Kagamin~, I need a little help with something."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Did you know that your birthday is on Saturday?"

"Yes… I was actually aware of that, but thanks for reminding me, Kona…"

"But did you also know that it's Tsukasa's birthday as well?"

"She's my twin sister… I wasn't so sure, but now that you mention it… her birthday is on the same day as mine… weird…"

"Wow, your sarcasm sure became good, Kagamin~."

"Thanks. So, what do you want?"

"You see… I actually kind of forgot about Tsukasa and I have no idea what I should get for her…"

"I know that you're a little forgetful, Kona, but that's… even for you…"

"I was feeling bad enough about it already, but it's also your fault a little."

"Really now?" Kagami just doubtfully looked at her.

"Really! I've been so distracted with the preparations for your present lately that I forgot about everything else."

"Is that so? Wait… Preparations? W-What are you doing, Kona? Should I be worried? Scared?"

"Hmm… Maybe? Maybe not? I don't know."

"I take that as a yes." She had a really bad feeling about this.

"W-Well, you're probably going to be surprised, but then, the plan isn't finished yet, sooo..."

"Yep, scared it is."

"Anyway, getting back to the topic… Do you have an idea on what I could get for Tsukasa?"

"Hmm…" Kagami started thinking about it. "Oh, I actually do remember something she wanted."

"Seriously?! That's great!"

"Yeah, but we'd need to go to Akiba for that…"

"What? That makes it even better. Wait, we?"

"Oh, you want to go alone?"

"So, what is it that Tsukasa wants?" Konata completely ignored her and the idea of going alone.

"It was some kind of cookbook about sweets from animes or something like that…"

"Hmm… Tsukasa gets to make some new sweets and I get to eat more, huh? Sound's good, she's getting that."

"Sure…"

The two finished their conversation and went to the station in order to take the train to Akiba. They arrived there a little while later and went straight to Konata's usual store where Kagami and Tsukasa found the book last time when she was looking for Konata's birthday present.

"Ah, there's the book, Kona." She pointed at a shelf of books at the side of the store.

"Great! Now that I've taken care of Tsukasa's present, I can focus on the plan for yours again."

"I know that I already said I'm scared, but my curiosity is kind of winning right now."

"Curiosity kills the cat, Kagamin~."

"So, I'm a cat now?"

"… Oh, I like the idea of that." Konata made a little joke and Kagami became silent for a couple seconds, but then something unexpected happened.

"Meow." Kagami decided to play along and promptly got rewarded with something good.

"…" Konata fell completely silent and just stared with her mouth open at her. She obviously wasn't expecting this was really surprised and startled. In a good way, though, but she still started blushing because what she just witnessed was too cute in her eyes. Kagami did not only made the sound of a cat, she also formed one of her hands into a paw and imitated a cat-like motion with it.

"O-Okay, I admit… that was a bit much." Kagami got embarrassed from herself. She did it without much thinking to give Konata a little service, but the aftermath hit her with full force when she realized what she just did.

"D-Don't worry, it was… nice, but good thins this area of the store is empty… I wouldn't want anyone else to see my Kagamin~ acting like that."

"Y-Yeah, I wouldn't want to show it to anyone else either…"

"…"

"…" Both got a little too aggressive and needed a minute or two to cool down again.

"I… I wonder if there's anything else we can do, now that we're here already."

"I don't think there's much we both like here, Kona."

"Hmm… OH!" Konata's mischievous smile looked very alarming to Kagami.

"I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Don't worry, Kagamin~, it'll be… yeah…" Konata guided her to another corner of the store and gestured at something 'special'.

"No."

"Don't be like that, Kagamin~."

"B-But…"

"Pleeeeaaaaseeee…" Konata was basically begging and it looked like it was working.

"Do you really want it that badly?"

"YES! I would do everything if you agree!"

"E-Everything?" And she got interested.

"Uh… well, within certain limits, I guess…" Konata wasn't sure how to interpret Kagami's reaction.

"Hmm…"

"Wait, you're actually thinking about it?!"

"O-Okay, but I have a couple demands!"

"Huh? Sure… everything…"

"First…" Kagami went behind Konata and pushed her out of the cosplay area the two were in until now and went to the checkout. "Pay for the book."

"Eh?" Konata didn't understand what was going on, but she did as told.

"Okay then. Now, get out."

"Ehh…" She got only more confused, but she had no time to ask for details because Kagami was already pushing her again and both soon were outside of the store.

"You wait here!"

"Ehhhh….?!"

"I'm going to decide what I wear and not you, Kona." Kagami turned around and entered the store again.

"W-Wait… What?" Konata couldn't follow anymore and wanted details, but she was alone already. "What just happened?" She just looked like an abandoned dog that was left to wait in front of a supermarket.

…..

20 painfully long minutes of waiting passed and Kagami finally left the store again. It looked like the task of choosing a fitting cosplay took a great toll on her. She looked really exhausted and for some reason, her face was bright red.

"Welcome ba- eh? W-What happened, Kagamin~?"

"I don't want to talk about it now…"

"I thought you wanted to choose it on your own in order to get a less embarrassing cosplay… Looks like I was wrong…"

"Shut up! Something happened, okay?"

"Huh? What happened?"

"T-That's not important… Just bear in mind that my payback will be grand and your idea for my birthday better be good." It seemed like Kagami really took a lot of damage in the 20 minutes inside the store while choosing an outfit.

"O-Okay… I'll do my best…" Konata still didn't know what was going on, but she had no other choice except to play along anyway.

"You better do."

"Well then, let me have a look at…" She was about to grab the bag Kagami was holding, but she had no intention of handing it over to her and quickly turned away.

"Nope, that's a secret. You're going to see it once I come over again."

"Eh… I feel kind of cheated right now…"

"Deal with it."

"I guess I have no choice…" Konata had to accept it in the end. "Hmm… today is no good because it's too late already… not enough time to enjoy it. Saturday's also no good. It's your birthday and I'm also busy for some time… because of… reasons... Sunday is the party with everyone. I guess that's not a good idea, right?" She obviously got no response besides a glare. "Oh, how about Friday?"

"No, Friday doesn't work. I have something to do with Tsukasa there… What about tomorrow?"

"Thursday, huh? That's actually perfect. My dad's not home tomorrow because he has a meeting with his editor."

"Oh, yeah, I really wouldn't want him to see that…" Kagami's face turned red by just thinking about the cosplay again.

"'That'? What exactly is 'that'? You can't tease me like that, Kagamin~!"

"That's already part of my reward."

"Oi!"

"W-Well then…" Her voice cracked a little because she was chuckling at Konata's reaction too much. "Tomorrow it is then. I guess I'll come over after school."

"Oh man, I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight…" Konata was already looking forward to it and became really excited.

"You'll manage."

….

Thursday arrived and it was time. School had already ended and Konata was eagerly waiting in her room for Kagami to arrive.

"I can't wait anymore Hurry up and come already, Kagamin~!" Konata's excited since yesterday never died down, if anything, it only got worse, and she got what she wanted a couple minutes later.

"H-Hey there, Kona." Kagami finally arrived and entered her room. She was already plenty nervous, even though she still had her normal clothes on.

"Yay, Kagamin~ has arrived!"

"Y-Yes…"

"Why are you still in your normal clothes? Hurry up and change!"

"Aren't you a little too excited, Kona?"

"No way, that's just the beginning of my excitement."

"Wow…" The second thoughts Kagami had ever since yesterday, only increased again, but there was no turning back now. "Your father really is gone, right?"

"Yep, it's only me and you for the whole day."

"O-Okay…" Konata's wording didn't help with her nervousness at all. "It'll probably take some time for me to get ready. You'll stay here in your room and don't even think about leaving before I come back! Do you understand?"

"Roger!" She gave her a little salute and Kagami left the room. She went somewhere to change and get ready.

…

An unbearably long time passed and Konata started thinking that Kagami had already fled out of the house. She really wanted to take a look outside, but the risks were too high after the warning she received earlier.

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" Konata was becoming impatient and decided to read a manga in order to pass time and fight back the urge to leave the room after all. She grabbed a random one out of her shelf and was about to sit down on her bed again, but just at the exact moment, the door opened. Konata looked at Kagami and the manga she was holding until just now, fell out of her hand and hit the floor, together with her chin.

"D-Do you want some tea, m-master?" Kagami was holding a tablet with two cups of tea and some snacks while asking, but because of her strong embarrassment, the question had a few stutters in it.

"…" Nothing. Konata just stared at her for a whole minute. She looked like she wanted to say something, but there was just no way she could say just one single word and no one could ever blame her for it. She rubbed her eyes with her palms and resumed her staring after she confirmed that it wasn't a dream. The tea obviously wasn't the cause for her to be this shocked. Kagami stood in front of her and was wearing a completely black and white maid dress.

Long, thigh-high black stocking with white lace at the end, adorned her slender legs and the wide and fluffy black skirt, which also had a lace finish, matched it perfectly. On top of the skirt was a small, white apron that was tied together with a big ribbon on her back. The top of Kagami's outfit also matched the skirt and stockings. It was mainly black as well, but the chest area was emphasized by a white and frilly piece of fabric, combined with a slightly see-through lace right beneath her collarbone. It was just enough to fire up one's imagination, though, because everything that should be hidden, also was hidden. The pair of fitting, white gloves that reached all the way over her elbows and a few ribbons here and there made the picture perfect. Looking at her head, however, was a bit confusing, though. On one hand, Kagami was wearing a traditional, white hair-band, but on the other hand, there were also some cat ears sticking out right behind it. The last noteworthy detail was her hair, Kagami had once more changed her twintails into a single ponytail, which got held together by a rather big, white ribbon.

"K-Kona?" She became a little worried because Konata hadn't said a single word ever since Kagami entered the room a couple minutes ago.

"…" It also didn't look like she's going to say anything anytime soon. Konata was still only staring at her with an open mouth. She occasionally slapped her cheeks or shook her head a few times, but there was absolutely no spoken response. Konata often got rendered speechless by Kagami before, but the situation now was a completely different one and had completely broken her.

"C-Can you please say something? D-Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is?" Even though her clothes were completely black and white, her face was glowing in a deep red color and got even redder with each passing minute in silence.

"… I… I…" nope, still nobody home. Konata couldn't even decide where to look because she was too scared to miss a detail.

"H-Hey, K-Kona…"

Another few minutes passed and it started to look like Konata was regaining her consciousness a little again. She slapped her cheek once more, shook her head a last time and looked Kagami directly in the eyes.

"What?!" She could talk again, but it didn't help Kagami at all.

"Eh?"

"S-Sorry, Kagamin~, I… I… just don't have any words… I need to invent a couple new ones to describe the situation…"

"Huh? W-Why?"

"What would you say if there's a greater goddess right in front of you?" Konata looked absolutely serious and Kagamis became just more embarrassed.

"G-Goddess?"

"No, no that I think about it… that's not nearly enough…"

"I-I think the first comparison was already way too much."

"Nononononono. No!" Konata strongly denied it with all her might. "Do you have just the slightest how good you look, Kagamin~?" She was way too overexcited right now and didn't even try to watch her words.

"R-Really?"

"Absolutely! So good that it's already dangerous for me…"

"Dangerous?"

"H-Huh? D-Did I say that out loud?" All color instantly left her face. "Ehm… I… No, don't mind that and please just ignore that… Please."

"Uh… okay…" Kagami looked a bit confused, but didn't question her any further. At least audible. 'Dangerous? What does she mean? W-What kind of dangerous?!'

"By the way…" Konata wanted to change the topic quickly for her own safety. 'I need to calm down or else things will escalate really quickly here… Kagamin's dangerous…' Both sat down on the bed and took a deep breath. "What's up with the cat ears?"

"Hmm? Oh, those…" Kagami put a hand on her head to confirm. "W-Well… that's a rather embarrassing story…"

"My favorite. Besides, as if your face could get even redder."

"…" She just sighed. "Remember the cat discussion we had in the store yesterday?"

"Of course I do."

"Looks like someone heard us…"

"W-What?"

"A friend of yours, a certain female clerk of the store heard us and thought it was a good idea to give me those ears as a gift together with the cosplay…"

"I… I see… she sure is suicidal…" Tsundere rage didn't happen lately, but it still was something to fear. "Anything else she did or say?"

"H-Huh?" N-No… no… she didn't…" Kagami's reaction was a bit doubtful. 'There's no way that I could tell her that the clerk asked me if I'm Kona's girlfriend or how she grinned like an idiot after she looked at my face when I denied it…' The clerk really is a bit suicidal.

"O-Okay…" Konata realized something was off, but didn't feel like saying anything more.

"But I think the cat discussion was fundamentally wrong…"

"What do you mean with that, Kagamin~?"

"I think you would be the better cat out of the two of us." Kagami said so, removed the cat-ear headband from her head and placed it on Konata's.

"Eh?" She was a bit confused.

"Yep, looks better." Kagami looked really happy with Konata wearing them now.

"Nonono, cat girl maids are textbook examples for moe." The cat-ears wandered back to Kagami's head.

"But cats are small and cute." And back to Konata's head. 'W-Wait, what did I say just now?'

"H-Huh?" Konata though she misheard something. 'Did she say what I think she said just now?! Wait while camping… Kagamin~ said it's easy to fall for cute girls and now she… d-does that mean… WAHHH! My head's starting to hurt…'

"A-And if I remember right, you like cats, don't you?" Kagami desperately wanted to divert the attention away from her and remembered the zoo visit in Yokohama where Konata basically wanted to bring all feline creatures home with her

"Yes, I do like cats…" Konata admitted her love for cats and did something bold at the same time. While she said it, she placed the cat ears again on Kagami's head. 'AHHH! I'm dead! I'm sooo dead! It's over! Everything's over!'

"Hmm…" Kagami needed a second to buffer. 'What? W-What? WHAT?! WHAAAT?! No… Did she just… Eh… Wait… Did she? Did she not? Uh… I'm confused! She said she likes cats and put the ears back on my head… Doesn't that mean…? What does that mean?! Is she trying to tell me something? Is she not? WAHHH! My head's starting to hurt…' And now there were two girls who were completely losing it.

"I-I mean it's easier to look at this way. It wouldn't make any sense for me to wear them myself when I like cats… I can't even see them on my head…" Konata hastily tried to make something up.

"I see…" She wasn't sure what to say. 'Eh? Is that it? Is she trying to cover? Is she just stupid? What is it?! That doesn't help at all, Kona!' Kagami's mind was in utter despair.

"I mean, what else could I mean, Kagamin~?" Konata took another dangerous gamble and wanted to try her luck by pushing her a bit.

"W-Well…" Kagami could instantly list several things she wanted to hear from her, but saying just one of them was too difficult for her. "A-Anyway…" She decided not to say anything, instead, the ownership of the cat-ears once more changed to Konata. "Be a good girl and keep them up now."

"That's a dog… Too bad cats don't listen to anyone." And they were back on Kagami's head, but Konata soon realized her stupid mistake.

"You just admitted that you're a cat, Kona… Leave the ears on your head already!"

"I did not!"

"Yes, you did."

"I'm not a cat, Kagamin~!"

"Yes, you are."

"No, you are."

"Kona, I'm not."

"Of course you are!"

"You definitely fit the image of a cure, but stoic cat way better."

"No, that's you!"

The cat-ears changed the head they were sitting on with every exchange of words. Their 'fight', if you can even call it something like that, was going nowhere, but Kagami had a plan to end this farce. A really, really dirty trick, but it was the only thing she could do right now and her dignity didn't matter today, it's too late for that anyway. She stood up from the bed, went in front of Konata and lifted her skirt just a little bit while slightly bowing at the same time.

"I prepared them just for you, so please wear them, master." Kagami's plea, her wording, together with the bowing while wearing the maid outfit was too much. Konata hadn't even noticed that she was wearing the cat ears again. Kagami definitely found another one of her weak spots. It took Konata some moments before she could respond again.

"W-What?" At least partially respond, that is.

"Yes~, it absolutely looks the cutest on you, after all, master." She knew it worked more than just good on Konata and Kagami was ready to exploit it to the maximum.

"I… I… Wait!" Unfortunately, for Kagami, Konata seemed to have found a something. "I'm your master, right? Well then, I, the master, order you, the maid, to wear the cat ears." She looked really smug after finding the weakness in Kagami's plan.

"Ehh… B-But…" Kagami, on the other hand, wasn't happy at all that she found a way out so fast.

It didn't stop the two, though. Both refused to admit defeat at this point. The dispute only got more and more fired up as time passed. The cat-ears didn't know what was going on anymore and soon even got ignored altogether. Without realizing it, Konata and Kagami were only arguing about who of the two is the cuter one and nothing else. Giving up still wasn't an option and it started to get physical. Kagami, still in front of Konata, pushed her a little and she landed with her back on the bed behind her. Kagami quickly followed and trapped Konata between the bed and herself. She thought for a second that she was having the upper hand in whatever the two were doing right now, but that bit of overconfidence was fatal because Konata was far from giving up. She pushed her to the side and before Kagami could even realize it, the position of them changed and Konata was on top now. Kagami liked that as much as Konata did before, which means not even in the slightest. She got a little more violent and soon was the dominant one again. Konata obviously wasn't any different and it ended up in an endless loop once more. The bed wasn't able to handle the two anymore and they ran out of spaced

-Thud- Konata and Kagami both landed hard on the floor. Konata was the first and Kagami ended up flat on top of her.

A few moments passed and Kagami finally used her arms to push herself up a little and thanks to that, Konata got a good view of the girl above her and couldn't stop her face from starting to blush. The maid cosplay had become partially undone and overall was a complete mess. She gulped heavily and wasn't sure where to look without feeling guilty, more than she already was, that is. Kagami's situation wasn't much different. Beneath her, trapped between her arms she was using to push her away from the ground, laid a completely defenseless girl. Konata's clothes also became really messy during their playful fight and her long, blue hair covered the complete floor around her. Many thoughts were flying through Kagami's head and none of them were rational. She looked up and down on Konata one last time and then stared right into her eyes. Konata wasn't sure what was going on and so she simply did the same.

'Whatever… I don't care anymore…' Something inside Kagami snapped and her reasoning disappeared into nowhere. All the thoughts about losing someone important, or being scared by something, didn't matter to her anymore right now. The last few days, or even weeks, were a heavy burden on her and Kagami had enough. She already felt like going insane and wanted to end it already.

'H-Huh? What is going on here?' Konata realized the complex look on Kagami's face and was more than just a little confused. This feeling soon vanished, though, because of what happened next.

'W-Well then, here goes nothing…' Kagami closed her eyes and slowly began to lower her head.

'W-W-Wait…!' Konata, still lying right beneath her on the floor, wasn't –that- dense and even she realized what was about to happen. 'W-What?! N-No way! K-Kagamin~ actually… WHAT?! Eh… W-What do I do now? I-I wasn't expecting this… How could I? Ehm… uh…' She may know what was going on, but she still started panicking for obvious reasons.

Konata gave up on thinking any further and just decided to let it happen. She also closed her eyes and waited.

And then-

"Hey, Konata! The meeting ended earlier, want to grab something to eat somewhere?" A loud voice of a man echoed from downstairs to Konata's room and everything was over before it even happened. Both girls got so startled that they fell out of their trance and instead of finishing what Kagami started, their foreheads hit each other due to the shock. Kagami rolled to the side and freed Konata beneath her. Konata instantly dashed out of her room and downstairs to her father. Kagami needed a minute to realize what she just did, or rather was about to do.

"Oh no… W-What have I done…?" She fell silent again and stared at nothing in particular.

A bright red Konata had reached her father in the meanwhile and hindered him from coming upstairs.

"Hey, dad! Hey, dad. Hey, dad… Hey… Dad…" Her excitement died down and all adrenaline had left her instantly. Her facial expression also changed more into despair than everything else.

"What's wrong?" Sojiro saw her red face and the messy clothes. "Don't tell me you caught a cold?"

"No… I'm fine… Absolutely perfect… Never been better actually… haha…" No, she really wasn't fine, but then, it wasn't a cold she had. Although, she probably would've preferred a cold or even a broken arm.

"If you're not sick, what else…" He suddenly looked very serious. "D-Don't tell me you're not alone up there?!"

"N-No, of c-course not…"

"I'm going up now!" he wasn't buying it.

"Wait!" Konata desperately tried to stop him, but there was no need anyway. Sojiro was about to reach the stairs when he saw someone literally flying down from there.

"O-Oh, hello Kagami-" He wanted to greet her, but she just ran past him with a face even redder than Konata's and left the house without saying a single word. "H-Huh?"

"Great…" Konata looked even worse than before. "I should've thrown a poke ball when I had the chance to…" She tried to make a little joke to cheer herself up, but it didn't help at all.

"Eh? Did something happen?" The whole situation was above his comprehension and confused him a little.

"I'm going to bed…" Konata didn't care anymore.

"But it's not even seven…"

"I'm tired…"

"What about food?"

"…" She wasn't listening to him anymore and made her way upstairs. 'Right out of a manga, huh… I think I have to kill the editor of my dad… Great… What now? Like I can face Kagamin~ ever again… Oh… Her birthday… That's going to be awkward… HER BIRTHDAY! That's bad! What about my plan? No… I have to change everything now… right? Uhm… Not that I care about that right now because… AAAHHHH!' She finally lost it.

"Hmm…" Sojiro still stood in the hallway.

"AAAHHHHHHHH!" He suddenly heard a loud scream. No, there were two of them. One originated from somewhere upstairs and the other one sounded like it came from right in front of the house. It soon became silent again and Sojiro just scratched his head.

"She better uses a master ball, though. It was a rare Kagami after all… Wait, why was she wearing cat-ears in the first place? Dad's confused…" Kagami had changed into her normal clothes before leaving, but it looked like she forgot a little detail. Sojiro was too scared to confront his daughter today, though, and went back to his work.

The day in the Izumi household ended just like that, but in contrary to her earlier statement, Konata didn't sleep even for a single second.

.

Well… I hope you like cliffhangers…

I actually didn't plan to release the chapter like this. It was supposed to be just the beginning of a chapter, but then someone sent me a message and spoilt something I wanted to use later on in the story. I got a little angry and the idea of a teaser chapter came to my mind. Well, it more ended up in a normal chapter with some sort of cliffhanger, but… whatever. If you don't like the end, feel free to send your thanks to - Dawn101seeker-, he was the trigger of it, because I had fun with the chapter. :-)

It actually works quite well with what I planned for in the next chapter and so I'm not that angry about it anymore. Let's call this chapter a build up to what will happen in the next one.

Kagami's so cute that it should be illegal…

Anyway, next chapter… I don't know when, but I'm fairly sure it's not happening in October. I actually don't even know where this one here came from so quickly.