Roughly a week since Christmas passed and the year was about to end. The girls had planned to make the obligatory shrine visit on New Year's Eve together, but that idea proved to be too much on that day. The twins were helping from sunrise to evening at their own shrine because their older sisters, Inori and Matsuri, couldn't help until late, but once they arrived, Kagami and Tsukasa instantly, totally not out of revenge for leaving them alone, left the shrine to them.
Tsukasa headed home first, but Kagami immediately took the shortest route towards Konata's house. Normally, she obviously would've wanted to get rid of her shrine maiden clothes first, but she was too exhausted from running all over the place all day long and so, a coat to hide the clothes was enough for the time being because she wanted to get comforted by Konata as soon as possible. Arriving at Konata's house, she directly went upstairs and entered the girl's room without any care at all. Inside, not even looking at the destination, Kagami instantly crashed face first into the bed.
"I hofsh fou're Fagamin~…" Feeling the impact on her bed, Konata started mumbling into her pillow without turning her head to confirm whether it really is Kagami or not. Yes, she was also lying on her bed and both were rather lucky that Kagami didn't crash down on top of her earlier.
"Yesh~." The mumble was answered by another mumble.
"That's good… Hmmm?" Konata finally turned her head, but then furrowed her brows while checking the girl out.
"W-What's wrong?"
"Good job!" She suddenly gave Kagami a thumbs up out of nowhere. "Out of all the Miko cosplays I saw today, you're definitely the best. Very authentic looking."
"Thanks… I'm the real deal after all…" Kagami took the 'compliment' without thinking at first, but then had a couple complaints. "Don't call it cosplay! Wait, just how many Mikos have you seen today, Kona?!"
"Uhh… About 50, I guess…?"
"That place's as crazy as usual, huh?"
"You mean as -great- as usual, right?"
"Sure, whatever…" Kagami was too exhausted for that.
"Yes, Comiket was great as usual." Konata had spent the entire day at the Comiket, looking at cosplayers and spending an unholy amount of money on her hobby. However, running from one stand to another while caring a tree worth of books, even managed to exhaust the surprisingly sporty Konata and so, that's the reason why she's lying on her bed half dead when Kagami arrived at her place.
"Just how much did you buy?"
"Everything."
"E-Everything?"
"Just kidding~."
"I see, that's good, but please don't make such believable jokes. So, how much?"
"Damn, that didn't avert her attention… Well… Let's just say quite a lot, but don't worry, my father was in a good mood and paid for the most…"
"I'm not sure if that makes it any better… Not to even mentioning the two of you buying these things in the first place… By the way, speaking of which, where is your father? I haven't seen him earlier."
"Uhh… He's either dead or writhing in pain in his room…"
"That bad, huh?"
"Well, he isn't the youngest anymore. I guess I'll have to abduct Kagamin~ the next time again."
"I wonder about that."
"Oh, now that we're at it, I found a really good manga author. You should take a look later."
"First, what's the age rating of them, miss second-year high school student?"
"Ehm… V-Various…?"
"Ranging from?"
"All ages to… something… slightly… not so…"
"Kona~?"
"I-It's fine… Everything's yuri and it's nothing we… Actually, nevermind that..." For some reason, Konata's cheeks suddenly developed a red tint when she turned her head away. "A-Anyway… the girl who made then is actually two years younger than us from what she told me… So… it should be fine."
"Haa… I'm not sure where to even start…" There were many things for Kagami to retort to, but somehow, her curiosity got the better of her when she saw Konata getting embarrassed. "W-Well, maybe I'll take a quick glance later on, if it makes you happy…"
"Great!"
"Not now, though, Kona. I just want to lie down and do nothing for a while…"
"No objections here."
…..
And so, for the next 30 minutes, the two motionlessly passed the time on Konata's bed and recovered a bit from their exhaustion that got accumulated throughout the day.
Then, at some point, the door opened and an also very exhausted looking Tsukasa staggered into the room. Kagami had emailed her earlier that she should come to over and that the front door's open.
"Hey… Onee-chan… Kona-chan…" Tsukasa saw the two relaxing on the bed and without any warning, she decided to join and let herself fall down between the two.
"Good work earlier, sis." Even though her quality cuddle time with Konata was over, Kagami didn't mind the extra person much and she just made a little room for her by moving a bit.
"… N. You as well, onee-chan…"
"Good girl~." Konata had already accepted Tsukasa as something like a little sister and so she had no problem with her forcing her way between them on the bed. Because Tsukasa is someone you just want to spoil no matter the occasion, Konata simply started patting her head as to say that she did well today.
"Ehehe~." Feeling happy, she pulled the two girls next to her closer and let out a comfortable sigh afterward.
"It can't be helped~." Letting Tsukasa have her will, Kagami and Konata started cuddling with her a little while thinking that it's pretty understandable why Miyuki is so fond of her and especially why she can't say no to Tsukasa. There was a time when Kagami was even jealous towards her little sister when it comes to Konata, but those times are long over. She could tell pretty well when Konata had hidden motives just by looking at her, but right now, while she's being affectionate with her little sister, all she could see was familiarly love and so, there was no danger at all for her. Letting her guard down towards her sister and Konata was no problem at all. Her older sisters are a different topic, though. Not because of Konata, she trusted her, but because Inori and Matsuri are a little dangerous or, rather, they like teasing Kagami way too much.
"It would be nice if Yuki-chan could be here already as well…" Even though she was currently being healed already, Tsukasa still felt like there was something important missing.
"Heh~." Two girls immediately started grinning.
"W-What?"
"Nothing~."
"So you prefer cuddling with Miyuki, huh?" Even though Konata was in a good mood, a good chance for teasing is a good chance for teasing. While thinking so, she faked a sad voice.
"…"
"Just kidding~… Wait, you didn't answer, did you?!" She immediately wanted to let her off the hook, but Konata became a little dumbfounded at the reaction of Tsukasa.
"I-It wasn't on purpose! I-It's not like…"
"Stop right there! Tsukasa, being tsun doesn't fit you at all. That's more the job of…"
"I'll hit you if you continue, Kona."
"See what I mean? That's more like it~."
"Urgh…" Kagami directly walked into the trap."
"B-But…" Tsukasa wanted to complain that it wasn't she meant, even though it was exactly what she meant, but just in that moment, the door of Konata's room opened once more.
"Good evening to-… Ehm… W-What's going on here…?" Miyuki entered the room and while greeting the girls, she wasn't sure how to react at the sight in front of her because she saw three girls lying on the bed cuddling with each other. More precisely, she saw an embarrassed looking Tsukasa sandwiched between a moody Kagami and a happy looking Konata. It was rather hard for her not to misunderstand something.
"Yuuuukiiii-chaaaan!" Tsukasa immediately stood up and leaped into her arms. Not understanding what's going, she just reflexively returned to hug for the time being while receiving warm gazes from the girls on the bed. "Kona-chan's teasing me again!"
"Now, now…" Tsukasa's head was patted for the second time today. "What did she do?"
"She… She… uhm…" She started to remember to whom she was complaining to right now and became unable to continue. "A-Actually, nevermind…"
"Is that so?"
"Y-Yes!" Tsukasa separated from her again and looked even more embarrassed than before. The gazes she saw coming from her sister and Konata didn't help at all.
"W-What is going on with Tsukasa-san?" Miyuki looked in the direction of Konata and Kagami.
"Who knows~."
"I wonder~." Sadly, those two were having too much fun to be of any help.
"Okay…" She had the suspicion they know perfectly well, but she also knows them well enough that it's no use to continue here. "By the way, what was that situation earlier? I mean, you three cuddling on the bed." Something felt off all of the sudden. Somehow, Miyuki was still smiling, but her eyes had a different expression.
"T-That… Recovering from exhaustion, I guess…?"
"I see… Well, I'm also pretty tired myself because I played with my younger relatives all day, but… How does that end up in a three-way cuddling?" Her eyes still weren't smiling.
"Ehm… B-Because she's cuddly?" Konata had no idea what was wrong, but she was feeling a little scared at the moment and answered with something rather stupid.
"Oh~. That's what you mean? Yes, that makes sense." After hearing the, for her, perfectly reasonable excuse, Miyuki's eyes became gentle again.
"R-Really?" Even Konata herself wasn't satisfied with her answer, but she surely wasn't going to argue here. Furthermore, the readiness of Miyuki to agree with Tsukasa's cuddliness caused her to start a change of topic while grinning again. "Ah, now that I remember, Miyuki, Tsukasa, how was your Christmas? I heard a couple things, but I'm rea~ly interested in the whole story."
"H-Huh?! T-That's…" The surprised girls in question shortly looked at each other in bewilderment before they looked away again while starting to blush. Seeing this reaction, Konata instantly moved to the corner of her bed and sat down in a cross-legged position there. Kagami, equally interested, quickly followed suit. With an expectant expression, the two looked Miyuki and Tsukasa.
"Well then, we're listening~."
"I-It was pretty boring, you know…? We were both sick after all…"
"Yes… Yes! N-Nothing interesting at all happened!" Tsukasa strongly agreed, but nobody believed them.
"Heh~?"
"A-Absolutely… Nothing of importance that would be worth mentioning!"
"M-More importantly… What did you and onee-chan do on Christmas, K-Kona-chan? We also were pretty curious about that."
"Ahaha, changing the topic, huh? That's my specialty, you know? Very well, I'm in a good mood, so why not? Let's put your Christmas aside… for now."
"T-Thank you very much, Kona-chan."
"You're really not good at this… Well, whatever… our Christmas, huh? We spent most of the evening in the city."
"Kona had made a reservation in a restaurant for us back in October already and so we dressed up a little while having a nice evening."
"Aww~." Tsukasa's eyes were shining.
"Afterward, we simply strolled through the city. Tokyo at night around Christmas is really amazing. It was like a sea of colorful lights and everything was shining. It was really romantic just wandering around and peacefully looking at everything."
"Best of all, because there were couples all over the place, we could flirt all we want with each other because no one bat an eye at two girls being affectionate other~." That was an important detail for Konata.
"Y-Yes…" Kagami blushed a little. "Well, after it had gotten late, we simply grabbed a Christmas cake at the next best bakery that was still open and we headed back to Kona's place."
"Guess whose spontaneous idea it was to buy a cake~? Back at home, we… we, ehm…" Konata suddenly started to choke on her own words because the rest of the night was a little difficult to explain and she obviously had to omit some details. "Well, yes, we ate the cake and… went to bed?" The end sounded more like a question as she looked at Kagami to find out whether she'll get punished now or not.
"I think need to train the end a little more, Kona."
"Yes…" It looks like she at least narrowly escaped death.
"Wow~, that sounds so nice…" Tsukasa was clearly envious.
"What were your presents for each other, Kagami-san, Konata-san?"
"Presents, huh? Yeah, Kagami definitely won this time… Here~." Konata rolled back the sleeve of her left arm and a silvery bracelet with a couple charms attached to it became visible.
"So cute!" Tsukasa immediately moved closer and took a better look at it. "What are those symbols on the charms?"
"Those are anime logos."
"Really? I never would've guessed that."
"Exactly that was my intention, sis. I wanted to get something that Kona likes, but doesn't embarrass me when she wears it…"
"That's why closet otakus are such a handful…"
"I'm not an otaku!" Kagami obviously didn't like Konata's accusation.
"And why is every single anime on those charms based on a light novel you are reading, Kagamin~?"
"T-That's just a coincidence!"
"And that's why closet otakus are so…"
"Shut up already!"
"Tehe~."
"O-Onee-chan, what did you get from Kona-chan?"
"Right…" She sighed after her loss and then started to fiddle with something on her neck. The necklace she got from Konata on her birthday came into view, but something was different. Next to the original flower pendant, there was now also a small heart in the same silver and light gold color. On the heart was the letter 'K' from the Latin alphabet engraved.
"Oh~, that's also really cute! What does the 'K' mean, Kona-chan?"
"That's actually pretty clever, if I may say so myself. Both, Kagamin~'s and my name start with the same Latin letter. That means, depending on who asks about it, it could either mean Kagami, Konata, or both."
"Heh~."
"That's pretty well thought out, Konata-san." Tsukasa and Miyuki looked impressed."
"Yeah, Kona's sometimes pretty good at that kind of things."
"I always am!"
"Occasionally."
"Most of the time…"
"So-so."
"More than often enough!"
"Let's just say it's a surprisingly high amount, Kona."
"That's just a nice sounding insult, isn't it?"
"…"
"Oi!" The two were momentarily lost in their own world when Tsukasa said something again.
"You were right, Yuki-chan, we didn't just lose, we got completely outclassed…"
"Hmm? Oh, yes, you're right…"
"What's this about~?" Konata sensed something delicious.
"It's just that your Christmas and your gifts are so much more thought out than ours…"
"Interesting~." She once more started to grin today. "Well, it's not like our relationships are the same, right~? Why do you want to compare us anyway~? Kagami and I obviously put more effort into it because we love each other. Makes sense, right~?"
"Y-You're probably right there…"
"What did you give each other as a present, sis?" Kagami tried to calm down Konata a bit by joining the… interrogation.
"We… We just went shopping together when we recovered from our colds and bought each other something nice in the end…"
"Oh? That sounds way better than you're describing it. A shopping date, huh? Kind of romantic even, if you ask me. Hey, Kona, let's do that as well on the next weekend." Kagami took a liking to the idea and directly started making plans with Konata. Unintentionally, her idea to 'help' inflicted more damage than Konata could ever hope to achieve.
"Sure~." Konata came closer and whispered something into her ear. "Let's go cosplay shopping."
"I'm serious here, Kona."
"Do you think I'm not?" Her eyes definitely looked serious.
"Come on, let's just make this a normal date and do that next time, okay?"
"Yes!" Konata actually got a positive reaction out of her proposal and so she had no problem with waiting for it a little. Meanwhile, the damage Kagami inflicted before finally reached the couple.
"D-Date?!"
"R-Romantic?!" While Konata and Kagami were merrily planning their date, two girls were a bit lost. Tsukasa and Miyuki had just noticed that they had basically asked each other out on a date as their Christmas present and became incredibly embarrassed after glancing at each other.
"It wasn't supposed to be a date?" Konata noticed the awkward atmosphere around the two and after looking at Kagami, she noticed that she wasn't the only one who was having quite a lot of fun right now.
"Even though it was such a romantic idea?" Kagami finished them off. The room fell silent and while two girls were grinning at each other, the other two couldn't even look at each other.
"Well then, Kagamin~, let's go and prepare dinner in the kitchen."
"Sure." Noticing her intention to leave the two alone, Kagami quickly stood up and followed her.
Preparing dinner was a bit of a stretch, though. When Konata and her dad were on their way back from the Comiket, she had already decided that she's not going to visit the shrine and to invite the girls to her place. Konata also didn't want to cook today and so she made her father buy sushi for everyone. The reason she wanted to go to the kitchen with Kagami obviously was something different.
"Something definitely happened at their Christmas…"
"No doubt about it."
"They're so obvious~… Wait… D-Don't tell me we were like them?!"
"D-Don't remind me of our dark past, Kona!"
"Y-Yeah…" Konata accidentally opened old wounds and the two were writhing in pain from the inflicted mental damage.
"W-Well, I really do wonder what happened between Miyuki and my sister, though."
"You know, in manga, having a cold usually leads to all sorts of events and raises a ton of flags. The two both having a cold even doubled that…"
"Kona, life isn't a manga."
"Yeah…" She actually sounded a bit sad." The two finished the 'preparation' of the food and called the other two to the living room.
Dinner went by peacefully and the girls were chatting like usual again. It looks like Miyuki and Tsukasa had recovered from earlier and the two, especially Konata, decided to leave them be for the time being.
There were still a few hours left until midnight and because of that, they decided to kill some time in the living room until the old year ends. Unfortunately, their exhaustion from the day had finally caught up with them again. The next thing Kagami realized was that it was almost 6 in the morning of the next day. It looks like they had fallen asleep and totally missed the change of the year.
"Hey girls, wake up! We totally overslept! It's already New Year!"
"Just five more minutes… onee-chan… Wait, what was that?!" Tsukasa first said the usual when her sister tries to wake her up, but then registered what she said."
"'Morning, Kagamin~… Oh, you're right, it really is morning… Well then, good night, I'll sleep for another five to seven hours…" Being totally uninterested in the drama, she turned around on the sofa she was sleeping on and closed her eyes again.
"Stop right there, Kona! Now that we're awake already, let's all go see the first sunrise of the year at least."
"But it's sooo cold outside…"
"Kona~."
"Fine…"
"Great! You two are coming as well, right?" Kagami was happy that Konata agreed and directly turned to ask Miyuki and Tsukasa.
"I'm in, onee-chan!"
"Me as well, it would be too much of a waste to not do at least this now."
…
The girls got dressed and left Konata's house. After a bit of walking, they arrived at a nearby park, which was located at a slightly higher location than the rest of the neighborhood for a better view. Konata and Kagami sat down on a bench and directly started cuddling with each other. It was cold after all, according to their excuse. Miyuki and Tsukasa, on the other hand, started to explore the park a bit because it's their first time being there. After a short while, though, they also sat down on a bench slightly in front of the couple.
15 minutes passed and the girls noticed that the sun finally started to rise and focused on the horizon.
"So beautiful~." Tsukasa muttered while watching the spectacle in front of her.
"Indeed." Miyuki agreed with her. Kagami and Konata were busier with themselves, rather than admire the sunrise.
"Well then, happy New Year, Kagamin~, I hope the following year will be as great as the last one and we'll spend a lot of time together."
"Kona…" She was touched by her nice words. "Happy New Year to you as well. I feel the same way and, yes, we will spend a lot of time together. Whether you want or not, though."
"Eh?" Konata had a bad feeling after hearing her wording.
"Somewhere around summer, at last, we'll start studying for college together because I'll get both of us into a good one."
"B-But…"
"There is no but. Period."
"I-I see…"
"Well, you could break up to get out of it, but…"
"College, huh? I'm so not looking forward to it, but if you give me no choice other than to go to one…" She didn't even let Kagami finish her sentence before accepting her unchangeable fate.
"That's the answer I wanted to hear"
"Ehehe." For a while, the two just wordlessly looked into each other's eyes. Then, they brought their faces closer and shared their first kiss of the year. Their lips stayed connected for a considerable amount of time and the kiss was full of passion. When the two finally parted, they lovingly looked at each other and immediately shared another kiss. With her cheeks dyed in red, Konata spoke up after a while. "The first out of many, right?"
"An uncountable amount, yes."
"O look forward to every single one, Kagamin~."
"Me as well. It'll be a good year."
"Undoubtedly." The leaned onto each other while holding hands again and finally decided to look at the scenery. What they saw was unexpected, though. Completely ignoring the sunrise, even though it was her idea, Kagami and Konata's eyes were glued on Miyuki and Tsukasa. There was a pink aura radiating from them that couldn't be ignored. The two hadn't noticed that it didn't even reach 4% of the pink space they had created before, but this didn't matter right now. Judging by their heads from behind, the two were still watching the sunrise, but Kagami noticed something interesting.
"Hey, Kona, is it just me or are they… holding hands?"
"Huh? Wait… You're right, they are holding hands. Heh~." The couple continued to watch them, rather than the sunrise, with warm gazes and without saying anything. They were pretty interested and had tons of question, but disturbing the good of them could almost be counted as a crime.
About 10 perfectly harmonic minutes passed, but Konata slowly, but finally, had enough of being outside.
"Hey girls, let's head back for now. I'm super cold and also still pretty tired." She really wanted to crawl into her bed and Kagami felt similar as she gave her a big nod. Miyuki and Tsukasa just flinched at the sudden voice. It looks like they were lost in their own world until now. After coming back to reality, they realized they were holding hands and quickly separated again.
"Y-Yes, i-it indeed is quite c-cold…"
"Y-Yeah, I-I also want to sleep a little more, K-Kona-chan…" The two were more than just embarrassed.
The group left the park and went back. Inside the house again, they directly went to Konata's room.
Even though it was already bright outside by now, the four all agreed that they wanted to sleep a little more. Konata spread two futons for Miyuki and Tsukasa on the floor and then joined Kagami, who was naturally and without even thinking about, already waiting in her bed. Tsukasa and Miyuki looked a bit envious for a second, but it didn't look like anyone had noticed. Konata switched off the light and everyone felt more or less quickly asleep.
….
The next morning, or rather, a little after noon. After waking up, Konata was greeted by something extremely familiar. Just like every single time when one of them slept over at the other's place, she was splendidly used as a hug pillow by Kagami. Enjoying the situation, as usual, Konata started kissing her until she started to wake up.
"'Morning…" Kagami returned the last kiss and then slowly opened her eyes.
"Good morning~." Konata seemed to be in a good mood and started another attack after the first was so well received and began to kiss Kagami's neck.
"Mhh~." She also was in a good mood and returned the attack by climbing on top of Konata. She was about to go on the offensive herself as she moved her head already when she heard a rustling from the side and completely froze up.
"What's wrong, Kagamin~, you can't just stop there…"
"K-K-Kona!" She awkwardly pointed into the room. "R-Remember?! We aren't alone…"
"Eh?! Oh… Right… Great…" Konata's face was the textbook example of disappointment. Kagami got off her again and Konata moved to the edge of her bed in order to give the two, who disturbed them, a glare from hell itself. Because they got interrupted before they got to the good part, her mood had hit rock bottom. Finally seeing the two on the floor washed away her anger, though, because she saw something too sweet to stay angry.
"Well, well, look at this~."
"Hmm? … Oh~." The two looked at the sleeping Miyuki and Tsukasa next to their bed. The reason they were surprised was because of one futon was empty. Tsukasa had made her way into Miyuki's and was peacefully sleeping right next to her while clinging to her arm.
"They're still at the friends phase… right?"
"Uhh… It should be so, but… I'm not so sure anymore…" The two were wondering what's up with the pseudo-couple.
"Should we wait until they wake up and look if they also jump at each other?"
"Yeah… Let's not."
"Aww…" Konata thought it was a nice idea, but, in the next moment, her expectations got shattered anyway. Miyuki and Tsukasa started to wake up and after noticing what was going on, Tsukasa almost jumped back into her own futon. While carefully trying not to look at Miyuki. Tsukasa's eyes wandered around the room and accidentally looked at the bed.
"Good morning~." Konata and Kagami were grinning from ear to ear.
"W-What's wrong, K-Kona-chan, o-onee-chan?"
"Nothing~." As usual, the two were in perfect sync.
"I-Is that so?"
"So, now that everyone's awake, how does breakfast sounds? Wait… How does lunch sounds?" Konata quickly corrected herself after looking at the clock. "Hey, Tsukasa, can you help me preparing?"
"H-Huh?! Oh, sure…"
"Kona, let me help, Tsukasa's a guest, after all, you know?"
"Kagamin~, technically, you're also a guest… I know one could easily forget that fact and I more than welcome you to move in, but… anyway, I'm going to let Tsukasa help me, okay?" Konata gave her a wink and then dragged Tsukasa out of the room."
"O-Okay…" Kagami actually forgot for a moment that she's a guest, but after seeing Konata's wink, she understood that Tsukasa help her wasn't her plan in the first place.
…..
The two arrived at the kitchen and started preparing until Tsukasa noticed something.
"Ehm, Kona-chan, what are we making?"
"Now that you mention it… Good question…" Konata started thinking. "Okay, let's go with fried noodles!"
"You just decided?"
"Yeah… Well, it's not like I wanted to bring you her because I wanted to cook with you in the first place…" When she said so, Konata moved to the kitchen table and set down. "Let's have a little chat, Tsukasa~." She pointed at the seat across the table and start to rest her chin in her hands while having a smile on her face.
"E-Eh?" She had a really bad feeling, but unable to get out of it, she sat down.
"Hehe." Konata just stared at her while occasionally giggling to herself for a while.
"W-What's wrong, K-Kona-chan? Is there anything you want?"
"You know perfectly well what I want. What I want to know, that is."
"Au… I-It's about Christmas, r-right?"
"Right on the first try, good girl. Now come on and tell onee-chan everything~."
"…" The tension was suddenly gone.
"P-Please be so kind and do me a favor and forget about that, Tsukasa-san!" Konata immediately became embarrassed and suddenly even used polite speech. "I-I kind of wanted to say that line, but hearing it, it's super embarrassing…" She does see her as a little sister and Tsukasa is happy that she thinks so, but that line was a bit much, even for her.
"I-It's okay, Kona-chan, d-don't mind it… I-It wasn't that bad and I'm even a little happy… A-Anyway, fine, I'll tell you…" Somehow or another did Konata's inability to stay serious wash away the tension and Tsukasa decided to let her know what happened. It was totally not out of pity or anything.
"T-Thanks for not minding it…"
"Well… as you know, I went to Yuki-chan's place before Christmas to help her get over her cold."
"Yes."
"There, things kind of… got out of hand a little…"
"Hoh~?" Her eyes started to sparkle.
"It started harmless with nursing by feeding her or wiping the sweat from her body…"
"Harmless, huh? … Okay…"
"But it soon became a bit weird when we first slept together…"
"…" Konata just blinked a couple times with a frightening speed without saying a word.
"What's wrong?"
"No, I'm sorry, I think I misheard you just now… Did you say you s-slept together?"
"Yes."
-BAM- Konata's chin slid away from the palm of her hand where she was resting her head on until now and her whole face energetically hit the table with an enormous force accompanied by a loud sound. "W-W-What?!"
"K-Kona-chan?! Are you okay?" She became worried about her after seeing the 'accident'.
"I-I'm fine…"
"Puh, that's good. Anyway, then…"
"Wait, wait, WAIT! Don't just -anyway- me now! Y-You two slept together?!"
"Uh… Well, she was feeling cold and so I thought body warmth would help. Because of that, I climbed into her bed and we both slept until the next day…"
-BAM!- Konata, who had just recovered from her faceplant, hit the table again with a force that wasn't even comparable to earlier.
"K-K-Kona-chan?!"
"P-Please don't look at me… I'm just filth, no, that's insulting the filth…" Even though the misunderstanding was perfectly reasonable, she still felt incredibly guilty from her dirty thoughts because Tsukasa was way too innocent right now. Even looking at her was too bright for Konata. "W-What happened then?"
"Uhh…" Tsukasa had a hard time ignoring what happened just now, but still continued. "Well… I started to get sick as well and when my fever was really bad… I had a dream…"
"A dream?"
"Yes… As far as I remember… Yuki-chan and I were a c-couple and… uh…" Her cheeks suddenly started to burn up and Konata was finally able to look at her because the 'innocence aura' died down a little. "Ehm… I ended up saying that I loved her and, unfortunately… I was sleep talking and it looks like Yuki-chan heard it… Oh! We also took a bath together where she washed me and always slept together the next couple days…"
"Okay… I see…" She had a blank look on her face. Kagami said before that the life wasn't a manga and she was right because it had already way passed the realms of manga. "W-Where should I start…?" There were so many things to retort to that Konata had trouble deciding on something. "Y-You two had quite the Christmas, huh?"
"It wasn't boring…"
"What are you planning to do now?"
"Kona-chan… there's more…"
"Even more?!"
"Rather, you noticed our awkwardness, right?"
"Ehm, yes… and I can understand why now… Kagamin~ and I had a similar phase."
"no, Kona-chan, the reason for it has yet to come…"
"W-What?! That was already more than enough of a reason… Kagamin~ and I were worse after less happened…"
"I'm sorry…"
"W-Why are you apologizing?!"
"I just felt like I had to do it…"
"I somehow feel like I have lost to something right now… Anyway, so, what is the real reason?"
"You see… It seems like Yuki-chan likes to have monologues when I'm asleep… Or at least when she thinks I'm asleep…"
"My déjà-vu senses are tingling… Eh?!" Konata remembered the time when she was only half asleep and overheard Kagami talking and while remembering, she started to think about if maybe the same happened when she thought Kagami was asleep while thinking out loud. "W-Whatever… What did she say?"
"S-She said that I'm a j-jackpot and a really l-lovable girl and that she's missing out on something if our relationship stays's the same…"
"Wah~, Miyuki, so bold~. Well, I wholeheartedly agree with her, though. She can be happy that I already have my Kagamin~."
"K-Kona-chan!" Tsukasa was already embarrassed enough and hearing Konata complimenting her so so open like that, only heated up her face even more.
"What? I'm just being honest."
"S-Stop that…"
"Embarrassed Tsukasa… N~, pretty cute. Almost as cute as Kagamin~ herself when being flustered. I wonder how Miyuki would react when seeing you like that~."
"C-Can I continue now?"
"Sure~. Huh? What? There's more? You two sure are something else…"
"Somehow, I really don't want to hear that from you, Kona-chan…"
"Fair enough, continue."
"The same thing happened again a few days later…"
"Tsukasa, eavesdropping on people is not nice, you know?" She looked with cold eyes at her.
"I-It wasn't on purpose!"
"Hehe." Konata was only playing with her. "What did she say this time?"
"She was wondering why we were sleeping in the same bed again, even though both of us had basically recovered from our colds already…"
"Because you wanted to, right?"
"Exactly…"
"I totally understand you, sharing a bed with someone is the best thing ever."
"Yuki-chan said something similar… Then, she thought about my feelings outside of being friends for her… At last, she wondered how long our relationship will last like this. When she was about to answer herself, I interrupted her."
"How?"
"I panicked and pretended to sleep talk by telling her to sleep already before hugging her…"
"Poor Miyuki…" Konata had a good idea how she was feeling at that moment.
"E-Eh?"
"Nah, I probably would've reacted exactly the same as you did… Actually… I think I did something rather similar a couple of times… Haa…" Konata first felt sorry for Miyuki, but it quickly changed into sympathy for Tsukasa and ended up into self-loathing.
"O-Okay…"
"So, the big question, how 'far' do your feelings outside of being friends go?"
"T-That's… complicated…"
"Complicated, huh? Miyuki obviously loves you, though."
"…" Tsukasa was unable to answer.
"We both know that you're already aware of it. Rather, it's impossible not to be after the Christmas you two had."
"I'm not sure if it's fully l-love, but yes, I realized…"
"No, it's love in its purest form." There was no doubt about it.
"I-I see…"
"You love her as well, don't you, Tsukasa?"
"That's… I know it's more than friendship I feel, but…"
"Do you like being with her?"
"Of course!"
"More than with everyone else?"
"Yes."
"More than with your own twin sister?"
"Yes… I'm sorry, onee-chan…"
"What do you enjoy the most when being with her?"
"Everything."
"What would think when another person gets as close as you to Miyuki?"
"Nothing, I simply wouldn't let that happen."
"W-Wow…" Konata wasn't expecting this kind of answer. "E-Ehm… That means you want to be the only special person for Miyuki and want her all for you alone?"
"Absolutely."
"Okay… Well, this could go on for quite a while and so let's skip a bit. How do you feel when you think about Miyuki?"
"Hmm… Warm and… fuzzy?"
"Tsukasa?"
"Y-Yes?"
"You love her."
"I-I really do?"
"No doubt whatsoever."
"…" She became speechless with a complex expression on her face.
"The important question now is what you want to do with that information…"
"What I want to do…"
"Exactly."
"What I want to do…" Tsukasa repeated her statement without even minding Konata. She absentmindedly stared at nothing in particular, while being lost in thought for a couple minutes.
"Oi~! Tsukasa~!"
"H-Huh?" She snapped back from her trance.
"What are you thinking so hard about?"
"Well, it's not that easy, Kona-chan…"
"What's not easy?"
"That's…"
"You love each other and Miyuki wants to be together with you. It couldn't be easier, you know?"
"But… But what should I… do?"
"A wise person once said to me; 'Just kiss her.'" Konata recalled the advice Kuroi-sensei gave her back when she told her about her situation.
"Ah!" Tsukasa's face became even redder and she instantly looked away.
"…" Konata couldn't believe her eyes and blinked a few times.
"…" Not a single word came out.
"Tsukasa-san? What might be the reaction mean you're showing me right now? I can't help but wonder about it, Tsukasa-san." She started using polite speech again.
"Y-You see…"
"I see what? Don't tell me you two already…"
"W-Well…"
"Those kids these days… wow…"
"A-Aren't we the same age?"
"When? How? Why?"
"K-Kona-chan, first, it was only on the cheek, you know?"
"Haa~, don't scare me like that! Then again, isn't that already pretty amazing?"
"Yes…" Tsukasa touched her lips and cheeks while recalling the sensation. When thinking that 'amazing' is a good word to describe it, she showed an incredibly goofy grin.
"I don't really need to ask after looking at you, but how was it?" Konata had a pretty good idea on how much she liked it.
"Ehehe~." That was the only answer she could give.
"I see… Well then, go and get her, girl."
"I'm not sure… Can't I keep progressing it as slow as it went to this point?"
"Haa… That's why today's youth is so hopeless…"
"We're still the same age, Kona-chan!"
"Aren't you worried she might get stolen away if you take too long."
"Not at all."
"Quite the confidence you have. Why is that so?"
"Because it simply won't happen."
"Why?"
"Because I wouldn't let it happen."
"R-Really?"
"Yes. Not a chance."
"T-That's… You actually were serious earlier…" For some reason, Konata had goosebumps and the room actually felt rather chilly.
"Why are all the girls of the Hiiragi household so scary? Poor Tadao-san… Next time I visit them, I'll bring a present for him…" She muttered her condolences while feeling deep sympathy for the only male in the house.
"Hmm?" Tsukasa didn't understand.
"W-Why don't you just go upstairs and make her yours again?" Konata decided to ignore her question.
"Okay… I do admit now that I absolutely l-love Yuki-chan and I want to have the same you and onee-chan have, but… I'm happy how our relationship slowly progressed into what we're having now. I somehow don't want to miss out on something by jumping straight to the finish line, you know?"
"Even though the finish line is basically right in front of you after running a full marathon?"
"I think there are still lots of things I can experience with Yuki-chan until we get together, don't you agree, Kona-chan?"
"Well… You know, between realizing that I love Kagamin~ and us getting together, there was mostly awkwardness and suffering. When we got together, though… Oh~. Then again, I think I can understand your point. It does sound kind of sweet without all the negative aspects we had. If it works with you, I won't stop you. Do how you think it's best."
"Thank you, Kona-chan."
"More importantly~."
"More importantly?"
"Please stand up." Konata stood up and urged Tsukasa to do the same.
"Hmm?" She tilted her head in confusion, but still did as told. Konata walked up to her and simply hugged her on the spot. Tsukasa was a little bewildered at first, but returned the hug soon enough.
"You did well, Tsukasa, I'm proud of you."
"Ehehe~."
"Congratulations on coming to terms with your feelings."
"Thank you very much and I'm happy you helped me such much, Kona-chan."
"I'm only repaying the favor."
"Hehe."
"Once you get her, let's all go on a real double date, okay?"
"Yes."
The two continued their hug for a couple minutes while feeling happy.
…
"Hoh~? What do we have here?" A voice entered their ears and when the two turned their heads, they saw Kagami standing in the door frame." Might I be interrupting on something?"
"Just a little~." Konata playfully answered her while hugging Tsukasa a little tighter.
"You can be happy it's Tsukasa, Kona."
"Don't worry, she'll always be the only exception, Kagamin~."
"And the only one I'll ever tolerate. It's good we're on the same page with that." There wasn't any anger or jealousy at all in her voice, just playfulness and a little bit of a warning for Konata in the background.
"Ehehe~." Tsukasa was happy to be said exception.
"So, what's going on?" Kagami came back to the topic at hand.
"Well…" Konata finally separated from her pseudo little sister and was about to explain the situation to Kagami when another person showed up next to her in the door, what caused Konata to stop. Instead, her eyes wandered back and forth between Tsukasa and the newly arrived Miyuki.
"Ah, I see~." Kagami understood her and decided to leave it for later.
"E-Ehm, what is going on?"
"N-Nothing! Nothing at all, Yuki-chan."
"Okay." Miyuki immediately trusted Tsukasa and simply shrugged her shoulders.
"By the way, Kona, sis, how's the lunch status? Is it done soon? I'm a little hungry…"
"…"
"…" Tsukasa and Konata looked at each other and turned pale.
"What's wrong?"
"Ehm… We'll start immediately!"
"Start?!"
"We're sorry!"
"Good grief…"
The two girls, who had completely forgotten about lunch while having their lively conversation, immediately started preparing the food. Afterward, they all ate together and had a nice day.
Later, when Miyuki had to head home first, everything was explained to Kagami, which conclusion resulted in having another group hug. When Kagami wanted to hear all the details, it ended with Tsukasa staying another night at Konata's place. They talked until long into the night and it somehow ended up with the three sleeping together in Konata's bed, but obviously, nothing more than a little harmless cuddling happened.
.
Well, that went further than I had planned… Well, whatever… I have finished my timeline for this story for the next 17 months inside my story. This was supposed to be the 'January chapter', but the whole Tsukasa thing originally wasn't a part of it. I regret nothing, though...
As always, Tsukasa's as cute as ever, but it looks like she also has a slightly hidden side to her. Well, she's a girl of the Hiiragi family after all, so, of course, she has.
Konata and Kagami are still as lovey-dovey as always, nothing new here. Not a bad thing if you ask me. Except when you have to watch your sugar level, that is.
I have created a timeline with a couple 'events' every month and I'm planning to release a chapter for each month. It's probably a rough idea, though. Looking at the events I planned, one month could easily fill two chapters while another chapter would need two months to have enough. Still, with this, it should be doable to do around 12-15 chapters before having to think about events again.
My other project, rewriting the first chapters… Well, I started the first chapter and corrected a couple grand grammar errors… but I became so embarrassed at some point that I hid myself under my blanket for the rest of the day (I surely still make mistakes, but I think it's not that bad anymore because those were just so…urgh… and the super awkward writing finished me off…). That means, I still want to do it, but it might take slightly longer than expected.
Next chapter, the 'February chapter', will probably include Valentine's Day, among other things and will probably come out in May… I guess I have to speed up a little… Maybe I can make it someday that the chapter comes out in the same month…
Tip of the month: I was a little bored two or so weeks ago and found the visual novel 'Highway Blossoms' inside the vast internet. I'm usually not much of a fan of VN except obviously 'Kindred Spirits', but wow, that 'game' was amazing. The actual story in the background was a bit lacking, but, what mattered, the characters and their interactions were so great! If you're into yuri (well, I assume you are?) and have a couple bucks left, you should really try it. Best read I had in a long time.