The girls had successfully graduated from High School, and Konata and Kagami moved to Yokohama to attend their dream college in a few weeks. Their furniture was already long assembled, and today, both arrived with their belongings they still had in their old homes, like clothing and various everyday necessities. Not to mention stuff like Konata's manga or Kagami's Light Novels.
The couple's parents had offered their help after transporting the stuff to Yokohama, but the two wanted to unpack and arrange the apartment on their own.
Unpacking their clothes and toiletries and stowing them away wasn't a big task and was quickly dealt with. The two's manga and Light Novels also only let to one insignificant problem, but after having a short discussion of who gets how much place on the shelves in Konata's otaku room, this topic was over as well. After some more organizing of various stuff, things were slowly becoming complicated.
The last time they were here, Kagami went shopping for accessories and decorations with Tsukasa to put in their apartment. Konata was looking at precisely those right now because they were carefully stowed away until now.
"Okay, let's decorate our apartment… right?" Konata didn't sound overly motivated.
"Yes… We should make it look nice here…" It's not like Konata and Kagami didn't want to decorate their home, but they still had no idea how.
"Let's just put it at random places and see how it… works?" Konata had a sloppy idea, but it was at least something.
"Yeah… Let's do that." Kagami had no better idea, either.
They put some photos and vases on the drawers in the hallway, decorated the walls with some framed prints, and placed some weird looking accessories that Tsukasa had chosen for them here and there.
"I guess that works, huh…?" The two were in the hallway again while Konata was looking around.
"Yes, it looks nice… I think…" Kagami looked around as well and nodded. "I guess we can keep it like that until Tsukasa revisits us and tells us how we really should decorate our apartment." Not only had the two no idea how to properly decorate a home, but they also hadn't the most significant interest in doing it right in the first place.
"…" Konata instantly looked gloomy the moment she heard Tsukasa's name.
"I'm sorry…" Kagami regretted mentioning her little sister. "It'll be fine, Kona. It'll go back to normal soon enough. I'm sure she still loves us. Ah, maybe once she gets more intimate with Miyuki, she'll understand the videos. It shouldn't take too long now, after what Miyuki did for their relationship yesterday."
"Those stupid videos… If only things like that didn't exist…"
"Yeah… That's true… Want to watch some more later?"
"Of course!" Konata thought the videos were stupid because they ruined her relationship with Tsukasa, but that didn't mean she doesn't love them for other reasons.
"Okay~." Kagami had successfully changed the topic, and also found an activity for the evening.
"Ehehe~." Konata was feeling better. "Ah, wait a moment!" She suddenly disappeared into their bedroom before quickly coming back with a framed picture and carefully placed it on the drawer in the hallway, right in the middle between the other decorations. "Yes, it looks very nice here~." She was looking at the frame with a sweet smile. It was showing the picture their friends had secretly taken almost two years ago during their flower-viewing back then. The where Konata was peacefully sleeping under a big cherry blossom tree while Kagami was happily napping on her shoulder before they started dating. The picture was framed in a light pink, glass frame that was decorated with a few hearts and roses.
"Aww…" Kagami was touched. Not only was it a very important picture for her because it captured the exact moment where she fell in love with Konata, the picture, including the frame was her Christmas present for Konata. "You sure know how to score points with me, Kona."
"I'm good you, know~?"
"Yes, you sure are. But…" Kagami looked around, took a quick glance at their bedroom, and then focused on the picture again. "I don't think we can ever invite any of the friends over we might make in college… They'll find out about our relationship in three seconds… if they're blind…"
"Ahaha… fair point." Konata looked around as well and came to the same conclusion. "Well, that's no reason for us to hold back in our own home, right?"
"That's true. We can simply meet up at their place, and we're good." Kagami also wanted to live in their apartment as they please.
There were still some smaller details left, and maybe also some more personal decoration, but their moving to Yokohama was officially over now.
"Okay, now that the business part is dealt with, let's get to the fun part, Kagamin~."
…
The next three days weren't something Kagami and Konata would, or ever could talk about with anyone. The two lived entirely on delivery food and hadn't set even one foot outside during those days. In short, the two had a ton of fun, and that kind of fun happened at least once in every single room of their apartment. With no one able to interrupt them, whether intentional or not, Konata and Kagami had really let loose. The fourth day arrived, and the two became unable to look at any part of their apartment without feeling extremely ashamed of themselves. Because of that, the couple finally decided to leave their home to explore the city. That was their excuse for hiding their embarrassment when looking back at the past three days at least.
"Ah, finally some fresh air again~." The two were standing in front of their apartment complex, and Kagami comfortably stretched herself.
"Yeah~." Konata had the same reaction. "Man, that sure was a lot of fun~."
"T-That's true…" Kagami had mixed feelings. "We're never ever going to mention what happened during those days, okay?"
"T-That's probably a good idea…" There were now two girls that were looking slightly embarrassed in front of the building.
"Okay…" Kagami took a deep breath. "So, any idea where we should go, Kona?"
"Hmm… I think we should do some grocery shopping because another day of delivery food… Nope, I really don't want that."
"I'm absolutely with you on that." She couldn't stand that food anymore either. "Still, what should we do before that?"
"You sure are asking some hard questions, Kagamin~. Oh, how about pay a certain sweets store a visit?"
"A-Ah! I totally forgot about that! We totally have to visit the grandma right now! We still have to tell her the good news!"
"Well then, let's go."
Without making a stop somewhere, the couple directly headed over to the sweets store to chat a little with the owner.
"Welco-… My, Kagami-chan and Konata-chan, you've finally come to visit again." The grandma noticed the two entering her store and instantly began to smile. "I've missed you. The two of you took way too long to come!"
"We're sorry about that…" Kagami apologized. "We were super… busy lately, and so we hadn't found the time to visit yet." She didn't want to say she had merely forgotten.
"No, it's no problem. I take you have good news for me, then?"
"Of course we have! Just as expected, Kona and I passed the entrance test without problems, and we successfully moved here a few days ago."
"My, congratulation, you two, I'm very happy about that. To celebrate the occasion, I'll give you a lot of service later on." The grandma pointed at the sweets all around her in the store.
"Thank you very much!" Kagami's eyes were sparkling.
"Grandma, you shouldn't be able to tame Kagamin~ so easily… I'll get worried about her like that…"
"Shut up, Kona."
"Ehehe~."
"You two sure are good friends. That's nice to see." She had fun listening to their conversation.
"Of course!" The two gave a firm answer.
"Oh, I like that response. That'll give you another service later."
"Really?! Thank you very much!"
"Calm down, Kagamin~."
"Okay, let's change the topic for a bit, okay?" The grandma wanted to talk about something else all of a sudden.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Remember how I talked about my granddaughter that lives together with me? You, Kagami-chan, wanted to meet her because she attends the same college as you, right?"
"Ah, now that you mention it… Yeah, it would be really nice to talk with her and get some information and tips for our college life."
"You're in luck then. I talked with Mio-chan, my granddaughter, and she wants to meet you two as well after I talked about you with her."
"Really? That's great." Kagami was happy about it.
"She'll be happy to hear that. How does the following Friday sound? She told me that she's free there in case you came to visit me."
"Sure, Kona and I are mostly free until college starts." Their apartment was basically finished and so the couple had a lot of time on their hands.
"Great, I'll tell her then."
"Okay, I look forward to it!" Kagami really wanted to meet the girl.
"You're a tad too excited again, Kagamin~…" Konata started pouting and seemed a little jealous, but Kagami didn't take the bait.
"Anyway…" She quickly changed to the topic because, although she was happy about Konata's reaction, this was neither the right time nor place to indulge in it. "About that extra service, you mentioned earlier, grandma…" Kagami looked around with a greedy smile on her lips.
"Oh, I may have made a mistake…"
"Yes. Yes, you did, grandma…" Konata sympathized with her, but there was nothing she could do once she becomes like that.
Kagami took her by the word, and the couple left the store with an ungodly amount of various sweets and the promise to meet the granddaughter of the owner on the coming Friday.
…..
The day of their meet-up quickly arrived, and Konata and Kagami went to the sweets store again.
"Ah, welcome back, you two." The grandma cheerfully greeted them the second they entered
"We're here as promised~." Kagami was in a good mood.
"Grandma, are they here yet… Ah…" A girl with black hair and similar colored eyes peeked through the door of the room in the back, but she found the answer on her own. "Nevermind, grandma…" She noticed the couple and quickly entered the room. "Ahem, it's nice to meet you. My grandmother told me a lot of things about you, and I really wanted to meet you. My name is Aihara Mio."
"…" Kagami was unable to answer and only looked at her with a blank stare.
"Okay… Well, my name is Izumi Konata, and it's nice to meet you, too." Konata introduced herself first because Kagami seemed to be having some problems.
"Ehh…?" She finally had a reaction, faced Konata, and began whispering. "K-Kona, that's the girl I told you about! The black-haired beauty I saw when we left the store after having had our entrance tests!"
"My, thank you very much~." Mio seemed to have rather good ears. "And your name is?"
"Ah… Uhm, sorry about that…" Kagami began to blush. "I-I'm Hiiragi Kagami, and likewise, it's nice to meet you…"
"Well then, Kagami, thank you very much for the compliment."
"Y-You're welcome…" She was extremely embarrassed about her slip up.
"You're not very good at this whole first impression thing, aren't you, Kagamin~?"
"S-Shut up, Kona… That wasn't on purpose!"
"And that's exactly why it's funny~."
"Ahaha, you two sure are a funny bunch." Mio began to laugh as she listened to them. "I think it was a good first impression. Being complimented by a cute girl can't possibly a bad start~."
"Woah, she's dangerous!" Konata was impressed by her quick reaction to the situation.
"That's not the first time I heard that~." Mio gave Konata a bewitching smile.
"Wow, has anyone ever told you that your personality and looks don't match, Mio-san?" The difference was quite a surprise for Konata.
"…" Mio turned silent for the first time. "M-Maybe one or two times…"
"Talk about first impressions…" Kagami let out a sigh as she listened to Konata.
"Ah, I know that look from Kagamin~. By the way, I'm not complaining, you know? It's unexpected, but the contrast is super cool."
"Oho, both of the girls are skilled at smooth-talking, but thank you very much, Konata."
"That's my honest opinion, though…"
"Ehehe~, grandma was right." Mio had taken a liking to the two. "Oi, Naomi, will you come out already?!" She yelled towards the room in the back where she came from earlier. "Just as grandma said, the two are good girls!"
"R-Really…?" A feeble voice came from the room before a blonde-haired girl reluctantly and timidly peeked into the store. She noticed the couple and instantly disappeared again, though. A few seconds passed, and a golden flurry suddenly dashed through the room before hiding behind Mio.
"Nice entrance, Naomi, it didn't look awkward at all." Mio sarcastically rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm, already proud you came out of the room on your own without me dragging you here."
"W-What…? You wanted to do something like that, Mio-chan…?"
"Of course." She did not even try to lie. "Okay, now properly introduce yourself, Naomi."
"E-Eh?! T-There's no way I can do that! C-Can't you do that for me, Mio-chan…?"
"What do you think?" Her tone already carried the answer.
"Auu… H-How about I do that next time…?" Naomi tried her best to talk her out of it. "I-I already showed up… T-That should be enough for today…"
"Na-o-mi~."
"F-Fine… I really should've bought more cosplay for you last week… It's not nearly enough…" While mumbling the second part, Naomi gave up with a cute looking pout. "H-Hello… my name is… T-Ta- "She bit her tongue. "T-Toujou Naomi… It's… nice… to m-meet you…" While only showing her head from behind Mio's back, her voice was barely audible, but she somehow managed to introduce herself.
"Very good, Naomi." Mio wanted to pat her head as a reward, but she knew that it wasn't the right time for that.
"T-Thank you…" Naomi really wanted the pat, but understood it.
"She's a bit shy, isn't she…?" Kagami wanted to break the ice.
"Juuust a little…" Mio nodded in agreement.
"Wait, what?!" Konata's first words after the introduction were odd. "S-She's…!" She pointed at Naomi and faced Kagami with a shocked expression. "That's her, Kagamin~! That's the cosplay girl from the anime store I told you about!" She naturally recognized her again.
"Eeek!" Being scared and startled by Konata's sudden action, Naomi completely hid behind Mio again while she was shivering.
"Oh…" Mio had a bad feeling about the situation. "I might've made a big mistake…" Konata's pointing at Naomi and how she was talking to Kagami left a sour impression behind.
"Woah, seriously?! You were totally right, Kona… She really is extremely cute! Not to mention beautiful."
"E-Eh?!" Naomi was so surprised that the shivering stopped, and she even forgot to hide behind Mio.
"Haa…" Mio let out a relieved sigh. It seems like it all was just a big misunderstanding on their side.
"I can totally understand why you were interested in her." Kagami looked at Naomi again and gave a big nod. "She's even cuter than you described."
"Y-You were interested in… me, K-Konata-san…?" Naomi couldn't believe those words.
"Ehm… of course…?"
"You two aren't scared or intimidated by her looks? Maybe even put off?"
"…?" Kagami and Konata were looking at Mio like they were talking to a complete idiot. "What…?"
"I see." Mio was more than happy.
"Why would we? She looks super nice and interesting, and not scary or intimidating… Is there something wrong with your eyes, Mio-san?" Konata had not even the slightest idea what she was talking about.
"Yes!" Kagami agreed with her. "If anything, I just hate Naomi-san a little bit because she's way too cute, but that's a good thing." She was jealous.
"Y-You two…" Mio noticed that the two were entirely serious and was now resisting the urge to hug them.
"Really…? You aren't…" Naomi was still scared from talking with the couple, but she looked a tiny bit more secure now.
"Well then, let's go to the room in the back and have a nice, long chat~." Mio was in an excellent mood after hearing the two's honest opinion of Naomi and guided them out of the store.
….
The group entered the room and continued the chatting after sitting down at the table there.
"Okay, I just have to ask now…" Konata was interested in something for a while already. "Mio-san, how did you get to know Naomi-san? Is she on a homestay at your place? With her being foreign and all…"
"Auu…" Naomi shrunk down on her place.
"Ahaha… Naomi's not really a foreigner. She's born in Japan after all."
"Ah, so she's a halvsie then?"
"Well, more or less… Her mother's from England and her father… Uhm, how was it with your father again, Naomi?" She wanted to integrate her in the conversation.
"E-Eh?!" She didn't expect to be suddenly asked something. "D-Daddy… Daddy's father was half English as well, so… Daddy's a quarter English…"
"Ah, right! In short, Naomi's… ehm, 5/8 English, I guess. But, she's Japanese because she's born and grown up here."
"Heh~, that's super cool."
"Yes, that's absolutely right~." Mio was pleased with her answer and Konata was rapidly gaining points in her book."
"Okay, then how did you two get to know each other? I don't want to be rude or anything… but your looks… and more importantly, personalities seem to be polar opposites after all…" Konata wanted to know how the two became friends.
"That's a very accurate description of the two of us." Mio couldn't say anything about her evaluation. "Naomi and I are, more or less, the very depiction of childhood friends and that's why it didn't matter how much of an odd combination we are on the surface. Our parents knew each other long before our birth and two of us were born just three weeks apart."
"Woah, how awesome is that?!" Konata had always had a sweet spot for childhood friends in anime, manga, and games.
"Hehe, it sure is~." Mio's opinion of Konata continued to rise. "Okay, it's my turn now. I want to know more about the two of you, too."
"Uh… sure…" Konata hesitated for a moment because she obviously couldn't tell her everything that's going on between her and Kagami. "Anything specific?"
"Hmm… Well, let's start with how you two got to know each other as well for starters?"
"It's not particularly interesting though…" Kagami took over the explanation from here because she didn't trust Konata with staying silent about their relationship. "We met each other at the beginning of our first year in High School. My twin sister was in the same class as Kona, and she introduced her to me after a while."
"Heh~, so you have a twin? Are you two much alike?" Twins aren't that common, so Mio was a little interested in the topic.
"Not really, but that's because we're fraternal twins. We look a little alike, but that's all."
"Yeah, their personalities are the complete opposites…" Konata couldn't stay silent on the topic. "Tsukasa, that's her sister, is super gentle, innocent, honest, and nice… Not to mention a good cook, and…"
"Kona?"
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
"Okay~."
"Haha, you two sure are good friends." Mio was enjoying their little bantering again.
"Best friends~." Konata managed to hold back.
"Grandma told me that you're going to attend the college here together. How did it come to that?"
"Well, I dreamed to be a lawyer ever since I was little, and I have wanted to attend the college here since the moment I found out about it."
"Yeah, the law course here is rather famous for being good."
"Yes. Kona took an interest in marketing last year, and so she ended up going for the business course."
"I see… and that's also why you two decided to live together?" Mio finally came to her main point of interest.
"You know about that, too?"
"Yep, grandma is a very chatty person."
"Yeah, I noticed that already. Going to the same college was the main reason we decided to live together. We thought it would be more fun to live together with a friend." Friends and fun were very broad words, so Kagami wasn't necessarily lying. "Our parents also like the idea because living together with a person you know and trust, would make living in a different city much easier and more importantly, more secure." She managed to explain their situation without letting some details slip out.
"Mh-hmm, that makes sense." Mio nodded after hearing the story. "How is your apartment? How many rooms?" She wasn't done yet with the topic.
"Hmm… Excluding the kitchen, bathroom, and stuff… Three rooms… No, depending on how you count, it's actually four." Kagami wasn't sure whether the Japanese room was part of the living room or a room on its own.
"Oh, it's quite big, huh?" Mio sounded disappointed. She had hoped a little that the two were living in a small, preferably one-room apartment because that would help her to find out whether Konata and Kagami are a couple or not. With an apartment this big, there was no way how close the two actually are.
"Yeah, it's super nice. A much smaller apartment would've worked as well, but I'm surely not going to complain." Kagami forgot about the part where she actually complained a lot about it when Konata showed her the apartment the first time.
"I see~." Mio's mood improved again because it sounded like the two wouldn't have needed this much rooms. "Hmm…" In her fantasy, she was hoping that Konata and Kagami were actually sharing a bedroom, but she naturally couldn't ask about that out of the blue. Mio would love to visit their apartment, but that's not something you could ask a basically stranger on their first meet-up. It would sound super weird after all.
"Uhm…" Kagami wanted to say something. "Can I ask you a couple questions about the college, Mio-san? Your grandmother told me that you're attending it as well, and I'm really interested in hearing some first-hand experience."
"Hmm, sure… but I don't think there's much I can tell you, though. I'm studying computer science there, and that's obviously a completely different department on the campus. I haven't heard anything negative about the law department, though. The facilities on the campus grounds itself are really nice, modern, and clean, so it's all green on that front. Oh, and the food in the cafeteria is super delicious and not expensive at all. You just have to remember to get there early if you don't want to wait forever because it's super popular. Other than that… I don't know what else I could tell you…"
"No, don't worry, that's already plenty useful information. Thank you very much."
"No problem. Ah, now that I think about it, Naomi could help Konata, though. She's studying business management, and that's in the same department as Konata's marketing, and so there are a lot of shared mandatory courses." Mio wanted to get Naomi included in the conversation again because she had become silent again.
"H-Huh?!" She was surprised by the sudden involvement.
"Really? Kagami, and naturally Konata as well focused their attention on Naomi now.
"Uhh…" She wasn't good at getting attention. With tears in the corner of her eyes, Naomi tried to hide behind Mio while slightly trembling again.
"Ahaha…" Mio forced a laugh. "Please excuse her. It's nothing personal, she's just not good at dealing with new people as she's extremely shy."
"It's fine, everyone has their quirks." Kagami didn't want to make a big deal about it.
"The whole incident in the anime store is making more and more sense now." Konata began to understand why Naomi had such a hard time talking with her and even ran away in the end. Still, there was something to her that Konata really wanted to befriend Naomi. Now more than ever. "Mio-san, there's something I want to try, can I?" She pointed at the frightened girl clinging to her.
"Sure, go ahead, but I don't think you'll get her to talk in this state."
"I think I have an idea that could work, but I think I have to apologize to you beforehand, Mio-san…" Konata looked a little conflicted about her plan. "I'm sorry about what's going to happen…"
"Huh…" She was confused.
"Naomi-san?"
"…" There was naturally no reaction.
"You're interested in cosplay, right? I would love to discuss a few topics with you."
"!?" She reacted with a noticeable twitch.
"You know, I think I have some great ideas that would fit Mio-san really well. She has a great figure that would work with a lot of things." Konata had figured her out already.
"K-Kona!" Kagami hadn't expected this and got angry because of her shamelessness.
"E-Eh?" Mio began to understand why she apologized beforehand.
"F-For example…?" Her interest was piqued. Naomi timidly let go of Mio and looked at Konata with a faint sparkle in her eyes.
"S-Seriously?!" Mio was shocked that Konata's plan actually worked so well. At the same time, she also facepalmed because she had a distinct feeling that the topic is going to make her suffer.
"Hmm…" Konata checked out Mio again before continuing. "The most prominent choice would be Mio from K-On! The look fits quite well, and even the name is the same."
"That much is obvious!" Naomi became lively in a matter of seconds. "Mio-chan cosplaying as… well, Mio was one of the first things I made her do."
"Heh~." Konata sent a playful smirk towards Mio.
"Auu…" Mio was the one feeling shy now, and Kagami gave her a knowing look of sympathy.
"I have two different school uniforms of K-On for Mio-chan already!" She looked proud for some reason.
"As expected, you have a great taste, Naomi-san."
"Ehehe~." She was happy to be praised.
"Yeah, the school uniform of K-On is pretty nice, but what about the outfits Mio's wearing in the music videos of the band. They all look really good if you ask me."
"AH!" Naomi let out a loud gasp. "T-That's…! I totally forgot about the music videos of K-On! Thank you very much for the idea, Konata-san!"
"You're welcome. Especially the one…" Konata and Naomi continued to have a lively discussion.
"Ehm… Mio-san…?" Kagami looked confused.
"Y-Yes…?"
"What was that about Naomi-san being super shy and bad with strangers?"
"I'm sorry… I've known Naomi for almost 20 years now, but I have no idea what's going on right now…" Mio was the most surprised of them all. Not even in her wildest dream had she imagined such a scenario.
"Ah, Konata-san, have you ever heard about Vocaloid?" Naomi took a short glance at Kagami before focusing on Konata again.
"Oh-oh…" Kagami suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Heh~." Konata made another smirk. "Of course I have, and yes, Kagamin~ makes a perfect Hatsune Miku~." She had noticed Naomi's glance.
"Auu…" Kagami had the same reaction as Mio earlier as she got roped into it as well.
"As expected, I knew it!" Naomi looked quite smug. "Does that mean you make her cosplay as well, Konata-san?"
"Hmm… In the beginning, yes, I had forced her just a little~, but now, she actually loves it as much as I do~." Konata fondly remembered the memory where she had replaced Kagami's clothes with a cosplay of Hatsune Miku while she was taking a bath.
"H-Hey!" Kagami tried to protest that she likes to cosplay now, but wasn't overly persuasive because she couldn't even convince herself of the claim.
"How nice! Mio-chan still complains every time I buy her new cosplay…"
"Ah, Kagamin~ also complains all the time, but you can easily notice how happy she actually is. Well, she thinks she can hide it, but she really can't, though. Oh, maybe it's the same with Mio-san?"
"W-What?!" Naomi instantly looked at her partner. "I-Is that true, Mio-chan?! Is you scolding me all the time really just a trick to hide it?!"
"N-No comment."
"Hmm…" Naomi wasn't convinced, but quickly came back to the topic because it was more important right now. "Do you cosplay as well, Konata-san?"
"Not really… Kagamin~'s the only one."
"You really should try it together! I recently cosplayed together with Mio-chan, and it was sooo much more fun!"
"Really? I see… it's worth a try. It's not like I haven't thought about it before. Kagamin~, we're going shopping tomorrow!" Konata didn't waste any time.
"Please tell me how it was!"
"Of course~."
"Haa…" While the two continued their energetic discussion about cosplay, Kagami let out a strained sigh. She wasn't sure whether she was a fan of this newly formed friendship or not.
"Looks like you have it rough as well, huh, Kagami?" Mio was sympathizing with her.
"Oh, you have no idea…"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that…" Mio's eyes looked into the far distance without focusing on anything.
"Haa…" The two shared another sigh. While Kagami and Mio began to bond over their shared misfortune and suffering, both decided to get to know each other a little better as well in the form of some small-talk while the other two were still busy with their discussion.
"So, what are your hobbies, Mio-san?" She couldn't think of anything better on the spot.
"Other than being kept busy by Naomi? Let me think…" Naomi filled like 90% of her private life. "I'm a little technic-nerd, that's also why I'm studying computer science. What else…"
"Hmm…" Kagami had a complicated expression.
"Yes… I know that I really don't look the part. You're not the first one who gave me this look. It's nothing hardcore, though, so don't worry."
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't mind it. Oh, I also love to laze around and spend the entire day reading if a certain someone lets me…"
"R-Really?! What kind of stuff do you read, Mio-san?" Kagami's eyes began to sparkle.
"Nothing specific, basically anything that catches my interest really. From the sound of it, do you happen to like reading as well, Kagami?" Mio had noticed the excited tone in her voice.
"Y-Yes… I'm a big fan of Light Novels. I especially enjoy reading those with a fantasy or adventure setting."
"Oho, I had a lot of fun with those, too."
"What stories have you read before, Mio-san?" Having found a kindred spirit, Kagami became quite energetic herself and wanted to talk about it.
"Let's see…" Mio thought about the latest novels she read and shared them with Kagami.
The two started a heated-up discussion on their own, and they had their fair share of fun as well. Both of them were even able to exchange some recommendations while talking about their favorite novels.
It soon began to crystallize who of the two couples were becoming best friends with whom in the near future.
Quite some time passed, and Konata and Naomi's discussion about cosplay was slowly coming to an end. As it turned out, the two were having a very similar, and, more importantly, interesting taste. Thanks to that, Mio and Kagami were pretty worried about their own future well-being.
"Ah~, so many new ideas I'll have Kagamin~ to try." Konata had a satisfied expression on her face.
"Mh-hm~." Naomi, too, seemed to be happy. "I can't wait for Mio-chan to try it either~."
"Haa…" The two girls in question weren't quite as enthusiastic about it. While sighing, Mio leaned over to Naomi and began to whisper something.
"Good job, Naomi. It seems like you're having a lot of fun with Konata." Even though it earned her a lot of misfortune, she was proud of her.
"H-Huh…?! W-What do you mean?" Naomi instantly became shy and flustered the moment she snapped back to reality. It seemed like her whole excitement during the conversation with Konata happened unconsciously. "A-Auu…" Her whole face was red. "I-I didn't mean to…"
"No, it's a good thing, Naomi. It's nice to talk about something you like with a friend that has the same interest, right?"
"…F-Friend?" Naomi had not yet realized that she already had befriended Konata.
"Good grief… Well, today already has been far more successful than I had thought it would be, so I'll let it be for today…" Her opening up to Konata so much was already something she couldn't have imagined.
"…" She went entirely silent because it was too much for her to take in.
Mio, Konata, and Kagami chatted for a while longer, but Naomi didn't say any word anymore and became completely reserved again. She overexerted herself a little during the conversation with Konata.
Before leaving, the girls decided to exchange mail addresses with each other for staying in contact. Naomi only hesitantly shared hers with Konata, though, and only after she promised her to exchange lots of cosplay stuff. Kagami didn't manage to get her address just yet. After having promised to meet up again, the girls said goodbye to each other, and Konata and Kagami left once they bought a ton of sweets on their way out, and headed home.
…..
Mio and Naomi stayed behind and began talking about the couple once they were gone.
"Haha, those two sure were some interesting girls~." Mio had fun during their meet-up.
"Y-Yeah…" Naomi finally said something again after they were alone now.
"I like that Kagami girl. Talking with her about books was nice. I kind of want to go to the bookstore now and get some of her recommendations. About Konata…" She looked conflicted about her. "I don't dislike her, surely not, but I have the feeling she could be dangerous… For me… I think she has way too many cosplay ideas for you, Naomi."
"Yes." She had a big smile on her lips. "She really has~."
"What about you, Naomi? What do you think about Konata? My selfish concern aside, she seemed to be a nice girl. Not to mention how I've never seen you this happy with a stranger before."
"T-That's…!" She started to panic. "I-It's not what you think it is! I-I was just so absorbed in discussing cosplay that I forgot about everything around me. I-it's not like I had fun with Konata-san herself!" Because Naomi had no idea how to react, she accidentally ended up acting like a full-blown tsundere.
"Ahaha~, what was that? Stop being so adorable, or I won't be able to hold back anymore." Mio never saw her behaving like that before, so it was a fresh experience.
"M-Mio-chan!" She just got more embarrassed. "I-It's the truth, okay?! Don't look at me and b-believe me already!" Her condition got worse.
"Yes, yes, okay, I get it~. So you wouldn't mind if we don't meet the two again, right?"
"W-What?!" Her face looked like the very definition of despair. "T-That's too early to decide, isn't it?! Y-You also like Kagami-san, right? I would feel bad if you had to hold back for me…"
"Wow…" Mio didn't know how to react to that. "Although that side of yours is pretty cute, Naomi, why don't you just admit you enjoyed the time spent together with Konata?"
"Never!"
"Were you always this stubborn?"
"Yes!"
"Ah, I see… Well, I already know you had fun, so might as well be honest, you know?"
"L-Like I said, Mio-chan… Okay, fine…" Naomi finally gave up. She had enough with putting up a front as well after all. Playing tsundere was totally unlike her and too tiring. "Yes… talking with Konata-san about cosplay was fun. I really want to do it again… So… not meeting up with her again wouldn't be… nice at all…"
"It's nice finding new friends, isn't it?"
"I-I wouldn't go that far…" Naomi wasn't convinced that she and Konata had become friends already. "M-Maybe in the future, but now… a f-friend… I don't know…" She began to fidget because she had no experience in finding friends.
"Oh my god, why are you so adorable?!" Mio finally couldn't hold back anymore and embraced her while gently patting the head of the nervously fidgeting girl.
"Ehehe~." It wasn't overly hard to please her.
"I'm so happy for you, Naomi. It's such a nice outcome. Ah, how about you try talking about something other than cosplay with Konata next time? Maybe some normal girls talk, or…"
"Nope, not happening." Naomi instantly rejected her with a calm, yet firm voice.
"Okay… maybe not…"
"Yes, that's definitely impossible!"
"W-Well… Baby steps… Taking it easy at a slow pace is still better than nothing." Mio understood that pushing the issue was no use when she's that resolute. "As long as you're willing to see her again in the future, I'm more than happy already."
"That's fine~."
"Hehe, well, I want to see Kagami again, too. I want to hear some more recommendations and discuss some more books~."
"Mio-chan also had fun, huh?"
"Yes." She nodded in agreement. "There's that, and I still want to find out whether the two are an actual couple or not…"
"What do you think after having met them now, Mio-chan? I haven't paid any attention to that whatsoever, so I don't know at all."
"Yeah, no wonder when you were so happily chatting with Konata."
"Auu…"
"Well, I'm not sure…" She wasn't certain about her theory. "It's definitely not impossible, though. I somehow feel like the two are kind of giving off a similar feeling as us, don't you think so, too?"
"Hmm… Konata-san did seem to be rather fond of Kagami-san. Just like me, she enjoys her cosplaying for her after all, and she also seemed to be super happy whenever she talked about Kagami-san… She smiled, even more, every time she mentioned her name."
"My, aren't you observant of your new friend~?" She couldn't help the teasing.
"M-Mio-chan!"
"Ahaha~. Okay, I'll try my best to get some more proof out of them the next time we see each other."
"Don't overdo it, though, Mio-can. Not that they get suspicious about us in the end."
"That's a good point. I'll try to be subtle with my research. I think it's fine for them to know if they're together as well, but it would be terrible if they aren't."
While the two continued to talk about Konata and Kagami, the couple in question had a very similar conversation.
…..
"Well, that was an interesting afternoon."
"You can say that, Kona. Still, I can't believe how small the world is. How high were the chances that the black-haired girl I saw in the store actually ended up being the granddaughter of the sweets store grandma?"
"Yeah, that was pretty surprising. But, I think Naomi-san was even more surprising. The cosplay loving pseudo-foreigner girl I only saw once, was actually the childhood friend of your girl…"
"Looks like we were lucky, huh?" The two wanted to befriend those two unknown girls because they seemed to be interesting, but they had no idea how they could even find them in the first place, so the result of today was astonishing.
"Absolutely! I was super happy that I got to see her again. Talking about cosplay with Naomi-san was really fun, and I got lots of inspiration for my Kagamin~ to try."
"Great…" Kagami wasn't quite as happy about it. "I think you two got a little too along for my liking… Did you really to mention that I cosplay for you?"
"It's fine, isn't it?" Konata didn't see the problem. "Naomi-san and Mio-san are doing the same after all."
"W-Well…" She had no argument against that. "Okay, it helped with how Naomi-san opened up to you… So it's not entirely bad, I guess…"
"Ehehe~. Even so, you also had a lot of fun with Mio-san, too, hadn't you?"
"Yeah, she's an easy to talk to person. It's been a while since I could talk so much about Light Novels with someone. The only other one lately was Hiyori, but her taste is, well… She's Hiyori after all. Mio-san was a refreshing experience in that regard. I also got lots of nice recommendations~."
"Heh~, good for you, Kagamin~." Konata was happy for her because she wasn't the slightest bit interested in the topic.
"Still, that aside, I really wonder what happened to Naomi-san, though. She was way too anxious and scared for just being shy, or bad with strangers as Mio-san said."
"That's true… Maybe something happened to her in the past…?" Konata was wondering about it as well. "I have absolutely no idea what, though… She's way too cute for anyone to ever hate her…"
"It's a total mystery, isn't it? Maybe she's someday able to tell us. I really want to help her for some reason." There was something about Naomi that made Kagami want to take care of her.
"Yes!" Konata was highly motivated. "I'll do my best to make her open up more." She wanted to help her even more than Kagami.
"That's good to hear. Well then, let's get to the next topic, Kona." She still wasn't done. "What do you think about the relationship between Mio-san and Naomi-san." Kagami had the same intention as Mio. "Didn't they have a kind of similar vibe as you and I? Actually, don't you think they seem to be even more intimate and natural with each other, compared to us?"
"Hmm… Well, that are childhood friends for you." Konata hadn't put much thought into it. "It would be weirder if they weren't so comfortable around each other after being together since they were born if you ask me."
"If you say it like that… But, I have the feeling there might be more to it."
"Oh my, Kagamin~ is shipping someone~."
"Shut up!"
"But no, I don't think so…" Konata didn't agree with her implication. "That's super unlikely. Trust me, if manga and anime taught me one thing, it's that childhood friends basically NEVER end up being together. As regrettable as it is because I'm always rooting for the poor childhood friend, it's the rule that they lose."
"Hmm…" Kagami wasn't convinced by her argumentation. "I think I'll try to gather more hint regardless. Wouldn't it be awesome if our new, maybe future best friends in Yokohama end up with preferring girls as well? We wouldn't need to hold back around them or hiding the whole thing in the first place. We could even occasionally advice or just talk about things we can't talk about with others…"
"Yeah, it would be great…" Konata shared her sentiment. "We also could invite them to our apartment without having to worry about getting found out because it would happen in no time at all." The two weren't hiding the true nature of their relationship inside their home after all.
"Yeah, our apartment basically screams that we're a couple… Ah~, it would be soo nice…"
"Well, maybe childhood friends can end up together in real life? That would be beyond awesome…" Konata was less optimistic, but also hoped for it.
While the couple continued to talk about Mio and Naomi, while looking forward to their next meet-up, the two eventually arrived at their apartment. Finally being home again, and alone on top of that, it didn't take long before they opted for having some fun together again. Konata and Kagami were already long convinced that living on their own was the absolute best.
Unaware of just how similar the two couples were in their interest in each other, the inevitable revelation of it will be saved for another time.
….
The 400k words have actually fallen… (Well, there's always a ton of my rambling at the end of the chapters, so the actual number might be a bit smaller…) I never thought it would become THIS long, and it's still not over…
The chapter came out so fast because I decided doing one with Mio and Naomi in it. I have so much stuff ready for them that I couldn't hold myself back.
Well, our couple finally moved out and in their new home and properly settled down there (Wow, that word is so unfitting). Remember, getting your first own apartment can be really exciting, in various ways.
The couples have finally met each other, and they're off to a good start. They still need to get to know each other better (especially some secrets), but then nobody will be able to stop them anymore.
Is it just me or did Naomi ended up being waaay too cute in this chapter? I just wrote away and almost vomited pure sugar twice… The gap in her shyness/anxiousness and how she gets easily excited was so adorable…
Anyway, next chapter is probably going to be about the last chapter's mentioned flower viewing with the couple's old, but still relevant friends. Because I first have to think about what to write, it's definitely going to take a little longer this time.