After coming back from Yokohama, Konata and Kagami spend the next days with intense studying. Even though it was only a few days, the two made some excellent progress, mainly because the study books Konata got from Kagami were extremely helpful.
Thanks to that, the two decided to take a break from studying on New Year's Eve because both had something to do and wanted to meet up with their friends in the evening.
Konata went together with her father and Hiyori to winter comiket. She was better prepared than ever for comiket this year. Not only did she have her usual bag carrier, Sojiro, she also had an insider, Hiyori, who was selling her own works this time that helped her to get inside earlier and let Konata skip past all the peasants that had to line up and wait outside.
Kagami, on the other hand, decided to help out at the shrine of her father during the morning and afternoon. She wanted to pay him back a little for allowing to let them live together and even paying for a significant part for Yokohama as well by helping a ton over the day. She also wanted to make up to her dad a little because, other than Tsukasa, she isn't going to work as a miko in the evening for various reasons.
Tsukasa had joined her somewhere along the afternoon, and the two kept helping with various miscellaneous things until evening. Kagami assisted Tsukasa with getting into her miko clothing and then left things to her. Afterwards, she went to the entrance of the shrine where she was supposed to meet up with Konata. Luckily, she was already waiting there and Kagami also immediately found her.
"Oh, you're early, Kona. How was comiket? Sorry I couldn't come with you~." So she said, but she wasn't able to suppress the smile on her lips.
"Yeah, you sure look sorry, Kagami~. It was great. Thanks to dad and Hiyorin, it was the smoothest comiket ever."
"You shamelessly used them for your own gain, didn't you?" She effortlessly figured her out.
"So did they. Dad's novel aside, have you read the mangas Hiyorin sold on comiket…?"
"Now that you mention it… I hope you worked them good there." Kagami remembered that those two used the couple as reference material quite a bit in the past.
"Never mind that, you really stopped cosplaying as a miko, huh?" Konata noticed that she was wearing casual clothes.
"I didn't have much of a choice, did I? And, don't call it cosplay!"
"Yeah… shrine maiden really doesn't work anymore, like… at all. Actually, shouldn't you have stepped down last year already, Kagamin~?"
"Technically speaking… But, we just came out shortly before last December, so there was no way to stop working as a shrine maiden directly after…"
"Well, good paint. Although, I have to admit that the conversation you had with your father about stop being a shrine maiden was quite amusing if you ask me~."
"Oi! I already want to die just by remembering it! It was so incredibly embarrassing!" Kagami's face turned red by merely thinking about it.
"Hehe, but your timing was seriously awkward, Kagamin~. To tell him literally days after I told him about living together… The entire time, I wasn't sure whether I should laugh or be scared of the look your father was giving me…"
"He did? I never noticed that because I was too busy being embarrassed…"
"I really don't get fathers at all…" Konata sighed because of their overprotectiveness. "I mean, we're dating for almost one and a half years already now… What does he think we're doing? Occasionally holding hands or what…?"
"That's just how dads are…" Kagami let out a sigh as well.
"I was really happy that Miki secretly kept him in check the entire time." Konata was concerned he would blurt out the topic of moving together at that time. "Other than that, it was very entertaining~."
"It really wasn't for me, idiot!"
"Just look at the bright side, Kagamin~."
"Just what would that be? I'm pretty sure there's nothing positive at all."
"There sure is~. You can cosplay all you want as a miko for me without feeling guilty now."
"Tha… That's not going to happen…" She didn't sound very convincing, though.
"Ehehe~. Speaking of which, Tsukasa is…?"
"Working as a miko like a good girl."
"I see… Yeah, she is a good girl."
"Unlike you, Kona, or rather… us…" Kagami wasn't any better after all.
"Yep, you really aren't a good girl, Kagamin~."
"I kind of feel like hitting you today, you little good for nothing." While the two kept bickering in their usual manner for a short while, a familiar face suddenly showed up.
"Oh, Konata-senpai and Kagami-senpai, hey there~." Hiyori arrived at the main entrance of the shrine and spotted the couple while there were having, well, fun.
"Ah, Hiyorin, you made it back in one piece from comiket, huh?"
"Yeah, thanks to you, I was pretty popular and was way too busy the entire day…"
"Literally thanks to us, isn't it?" Kagami just had to make this remark. "You better treat us to something nice with your profits from using us as an inspiration."
"Sure, that's the least I can do." She didn't feel bad at all.
"I'm looking forward to it."
"By the way, are the others not here yet?"
"Tsukasa's working as a miko at the moment, but other than that, we're the only ones."
"I see… Wait, why is Tsukasa-senpai working as a miko and you…"
"Just. don't. ask." Kagami stopped her mid-sentence with an intense glare on her face. Seeing that, Hiyori immediately shut up while slightly trembling.
"Anyway, Hiyorin…" Konata wanted to change the topic because she was slightly concerned about her safety. "How's the serialization for dad's novel coming along? I've been waiting to read a manga version of it for quite a while already." She still had no intention of reading the light novel even after about two years had passed already.
"I'm currently in the middle of getting my work samples and art into the best shape. It's a good thing I wasn't late at all for my comiket submissions and wasn't stressed out over that. I'm going to send everything to Sojiro-sensei's editor next week like he asked me to and then I have to wait for their decision on the matter.
"Ah, I see. Well, I'm looking forward to it."
"Yes, I also can't wait and want to start already."
…..
The group kept chatting for a while, and once Kagami was shortly distracted by something, Hiyori quickly got closer to Konata and asked why she was almost killed earlier. After Konata explained why Kagami stopped being a shrine maiden, Hiyori couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the evening. 15 more minutes passed and the rest of their group, Miyuki, Minami, and Yutaka showed up at the shrine as well. Yutaka apparently was at Minami's place already before, and so the three decided to come together. Unlike Konata and the others, those three were actually wearing fitting kimonos for the occasion. All of them were flowery themed, and while Miyuki's red and white Kimono had a somewhat traditional and modest motif, the kimonos of Yutaka and Minami were a lot more playful. The two were even wearing the same design, and only the base color was different. Yutaka's was mainly pink and white while Minami had decided for a dark blue tone.
"Oh~, what a sight for sore eyes." Konata spotted them first and liked what she was seeing.
"Ah, Konata-oneechan!" Yutaka noticed her and quickly ran up to the group.
"Good evening…" Miyuki and Minami caught up with them as well.
"You sure went all out, huh?" Hiyori was impressed at how dressed up they were.
"It's fun to do it once in a while, isn't it~?" Yutaka was happy about being able to wear a kimono.
"Yutaka-chan said I should wear one as well, and so I did." Minami had a rather simple reason.
"Due to family reasons, I was wearing a kimono all day long already. It would've been weirder not wearing one when visiting a shrine for me now." Having visited a lot of her relatives, Miyuki already had a hectic day before arriving here.
While the girls kept chatting about their kimonos and various other things, Konata and Kagami suddenly spotted two familiar people.
"Oh, Inori and Matsuri are cosplaying as mikos today as well, huh?"
"Yeah, they're taking over for Tsukasa, so she can spend the evening with us a little earlier. And, it's still not cosplaying!"
"Heh~, they're such good girls~… They just have nothing planned for today, right~?"
"More or less." The two were just casually being rude as usual.
"I see~. Eh… W-Wait a moment… Why is glaring Matsuri at us like that…?" Konata looked at the slightly scary look on her face. "Don't tell me she heard us just now?!"
"Nah, she's just angry… no, jealous that I stopped being a miko before her."
"Oh my, she's such a cutie~."
"I know, right~." Forget being rude, the two were just casually being evil. Hiyori was standing next to the couple until now, but she began feeling uncomfortable with this position, and her instincts were telling her to retreat a few steps.
Some more time passed that was spent with chatting and trying various things from the food-stands all around them. Tsukasa was done with helping out as a miko as well, and the group was finally complete.
They walked around the shrine grounds for a while longer, and everyone enjoyed the festival-like atmosphere. Once they found a less populated area where they were alone, Kagami and Konata stopped the group, though, because the two had to tell them something.
"Tsukasa, you haven't told them already, right?"
"Told them about… Ah, no, of course I didn't, onee-chan." Being her sister, Tsukasa apparently already knew what they want to talk about.
"I see, that's good. Well then, how to start this…" Kagami wanted to announce that she and Konata are going to live together soon, but she had no idea how to begin, especially because she had just talked with the first years about that very topic only a few weeks ago. "Kona and I are planning something slightly big for the future, and we thought our friends would be interested in hearing about it."
"An important announcement from our lovey-dovey power couple…?" Hiyori's eyes started shining by just thinking about it. "D-D-Don't tell me you're thinking about going overseas in order to get married there?!" Her delusions already got the better of her.
"… Eh, no… That's not what I wanted to announce..." There definitely was no pause at the beginning.
"Then, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, Kagami-senpai." Hiyori was serious because, for her, there wasn't much left that the couple could possibly announce.
"No, once we passed our entrance tests for college, we're going to live together in Yokohama and no, I'm not talking about the dorm. Kona found a wonderful apartment for us."
"Eh…? When did that happen? Weren't you talking about the dorm not that long ago…?" It entirely didn't match up with the story Kagami told them the last time they talked about it.
"Well… Long story short, Kona suggested it to me last week when we went to Yokohama over Christmas. We also visited the apartment already, and it's ours in March if everything works out." Kagami didn't feel like talking about the whole surprise part.
"Haa~… Keep your calm, Hiyori, keep calm…" She had almost lost it earlier before, but she tried not to get too excited because all the excitement's bad for her health. "How many bedrooms?"
"Two." Strictly speaking, that is.
"Ehh…?" Hiyori wasn't happy with that answer, but it was at least good for her health.
"Well, Konata's going to use the second bedroom for her PC and anime stuff, though."
"I see~." Her disappointment was instantly cast away again.
"What was that question even for, Hiyorin?" Konata thought that she would know them well enough by now.
"Good question… I'm probably trying to keep it easy because I would get too excited otherwise."
"Come on, we know you want to, Hiyorin." No one believed she could pull that off.
"No, it's totally fine, you know? If I don't waste my time on getting excited, I can use up my saved energy for my delusions and creativity."
"Ahh… That's how it is…" Konata and the others were relieved that fundamentally nothing changed and that Hiyori was still Hiyori.
"So, how big is the playground?" Absolutely nothing changed.
"We don't have any furniture yet, so we don't know big the bed's going to be." It was hard to say what was worse with this situation. Hiyori's extremely suggestive remark, or how the couple understood it without a problem and casually answered.
"O-Okay…" She wasn't expecting an answer, and so it was becoming a lot harder for her not to get excited. While she continued to hold back, Yutaka and Minami got interested in the topic as well.
"So, you're really going to move out, Konata-oneechan?" Yutaka was a little sad that she's going to leave the house. "You as well, Kagami-senpai…" She wasn't talking about the Hiiragi house here.
"Wow, that's big." Minami was impressed by the couple's decision.
While the couple kept chatting with the first years about various details, the girls soon left Konata and Kagami alone again because they had to take care of Hiyori. Even though she didn't want to get too excited anymore, her delusions still took a significant toll and her mental sanity and so, the first years wanted to get something to drink for her and let her think about something else.
Now that the third years were alone, Miyuki and Tsukasa came closer to the two because they wanted to say something about the topic as well.
"Congratulations on moving together, Konata-san and Kagami-san." Miyuki was happy for them, but she didn't sound overly cheerful while saying so.
"It's so unfair that you and Kona-chan are moving together, onee-chan!" Tsukasa let out her feelings more openly. In short, the two were simply extremely jealous.
"Ehehe~. You know, it wouldn't be too hard to do the same eventually."
"No way, that's way too early!" Miyuki immediately denied Konata's suggestion.
"Ah… Right, you two still haven't come out after all… It would look somewhat suspicious if you two suddenly wanted to live together for no reason." Konata remembered that the two aren't so open about the topic like she and Kagami are. "Not that coming out would be hard, though."
"It's by far the hardest thing I can imagine right now, and I'm about to take an entrance test to study medicine, you know?!"
"Even when Tsukasa's mother already knows about the two of you?" Konata casually dropped a massive bomb.
"Yes, even the-… Wait, what did you just say, Konata-san?!"
"M-Mom knows about us?! How…?" This was apparently news to Miyuki and Miyuki.
"You two, Miki acknowledged Kagamin~ and me as a couple before we even realized our feelings… You didn't seriously believe that that Miki wouldn't know about it after half a year of you two dating, right…?"
"Eh, what's that about?" Kagami never heard about the first part either.
"Well, that's slightly embarrassing, so I'll keep it to myself…" Miki wanted to marry off Kagami to Konata because she's useless at managing a household after all.
"W-What are we going to do now, Y-Yuki-chan…?"
"I-I have no idea…"
"You don't have to do anything. Sure, Miki's super sad for a while now already because you two don't want to tell her, but it's not like she would do anything like talking about it with others, for example, Miyuki's parents."
"Shut up, Kona, you're not helping." Kagami stopped her before the situation got worse.
"S-Should we tell my mom, Yuki-chan…?"
"I-I don't know…" Miyuki felt conflicted. On the one hand, she didn't want to come out yet, but on the other hand, it would make no difference anymore now. "Is it okay if I think a little longer about it? Until after the entrance tests at least…"
"Of course, that's no problem at all. I absolutely don't want this to affect your scores, after all, Yuki-chan." Tsukasa completely understood her concern.
"Thank you, and I'm sorry about that…"
"No, it's fine, Yuki-chan. I'm okay with waiting a little longer." She was already happy with the fact that Miyuki was even considering it. "By the way, does anyone else want something to drink as well?" Tsukasa tried to change the topic before the mood got any worse.
"Sure, good idea, I'll come with you, sis." Kagami decided to help her, and the twins left to get some drinks for the four as well.
"Somehow, I'm sorry about that…" Konata and Miyuki were alone at the moment, and she quickly apologized for going overboard because she felt terrible about it now.
"It's not your fault, Konata-san. It was only a matter of time before someone found out. Besides, it was a quite a pleasant feeling when we told Minami-san about us, so…"
"Oh, that's good. Speaking from experience, it's much nicer to be open about it after all."
"Thank you, I hope so, too. But, don't get me wrong, Konata-san, I'm not sure if you and Kagami-san are the right standard here… I think we'll aim for about 10% of your openness in the not-so-far future…"
"Ahh, you mean the normal amount of how couples are acting who aren't hiding the fact that they're dating?"
"Yes, that normal amount. You and Kagami-san are way too shameless. Oh, I don't mean any offense with that, though, Konata-san."
"Naturally, why would I feel offended by something like that in the first place?" Although there was slight sarcasm mixed into it, Konata totally got where she was coming from. The two are pretty shameless, and that's a fact.
"Ehehe."
"Ahaha~." The two began laughing at some time because they were having fun with their conversation that got slightly silly at the end and the topic was over with that. "How did you and Tsukasa spend your Christmas, Miyuki?" Konata was interested whether something interesting happened or not.
"It was great. We had the house for us alone and had a lot of fun together."
"Hoh~? Now that sounds interesting." Konata liked the sound of it. "Wait, was it really okay for Tsukasa to cosp-… be a miko today~?"
"What does that have… A-AH!" Miyuki completely turned red once she understood what Konata was implying. "N-No… N-No, n-nothing of that sort happened! N-Nothing at all!" She furiously waved her hands and denies it with her entire body.
"If you deny it one more time, I'll actually believe it." Konata thought she was acting way too suspicious.
"R-Really!" She became even more embarrassed. "We simply baked a Christmas cake together and totally overate ourselves because it ended up being way too big. Thanks to that, we stayed at home and watched a couple Christmas movies on the big TV in our living room. Because we were totally alone, we used the chance to openly cuddle all we want without worrying the entire time…"
"I-Is that so…? I'm sorry for suggesting weird things…" Konata was blended by their innocent purity and felt dirty by just remembering how she and Kagami spend the nights of Christmas. They even destroyed a lamp because the two were too wild after all.
Luckily, Konata didn't need to stay ashamed on her own for too long because the other girls of the group joined them again soon enough. Finally being united again, Konata let herself be comforted by Kagami, and the group continued to enjoy the evening.
The night progressed smoothly without any notable incidents. The clock soon passed midnight, and the group went through the obligatory formalities after arriving in the new year, such as exchanging greetings and the likes.
A couple more hours passed, and everyone managed to stay awake until the morning. Going to an elevated place near the shrine and the group enjoyed the first sunrise of the new year.
After that, because everyone was tired, the girls finally went home again. Except for Kagami that is, though, because she also went to Konata's place, but nobody expected anything else anyway.
With that, January of the new year was finally there, but it wasn't an enjoyable month for the third years because their entrance tests were coming closer and closer. Tsukasa didn't have it that hard and somehow managed to stay sane because her cooking school only asked for some decent general knowledge and focused more on the practical abilities. She really doesn't have any need to study for that, but Miyuki, Kagami, and especially Konata were under a lot of stress basically the entire month. It was their final sprint before their important tests in February after all. Studying day in and out made the month pass in the blink of an eye, though, and it was almost time for the tests already.
.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Well, just like the Christmas Chapter last time, New Year wasn't really the focus this time either…
I know that a miko / shrine maiden doesn't have that kind of requirement (anymore) because it's nowadays just a better part-time job, but I liked the joke, and so I made this chapter anyway… Kagami being embarrassed is always a nice thing after all.
The rest of the chapter was basically just used to tell the others about their apartment to make the chapter a little longer…
For the next chapter, I'll more or less skip right to their entrance exams and the aftermath of it. I'll also probably stop with posting the chapter at the same time when something happens in the story and just post them whenever they're ready again. Meaning, the plot of the next chapter happens around the middle/end of February, but it's probably going to happen earlier…
I also spent a lot of time with creating the new characters (most fun I had in a while when thinking about new stuff) and some stories for the future, so the story is going to last a while longer.