Konata and Naomi had just finished their cosplay shopping trip and left the store with their haul. The two of them were carrying a couple of bags each, and it was apparent that they had bought way too much. Especially Naomi, who went completely overboard today because she even had problems carrying all her bags. On top of that, she ended up buying Konata something in the end, even though she tried her best to decline, but it was of no use.
"I still don't think you should've bought me something, Naomi-san…" Konata opened one of her bags and pointed at the two matching sets of bunny ears. "Why two, anyway?"
"Isn't it obvious? One for you and one for Kagami-san, of course!"
"Of course, she says…"
"Absolutely! I can guarantee that it's going to be fun to cosplay together!"
"S-Sure…" Konata was utterly overpowered by Naomi's assertive personality.
"Ehehe~." Naomi was happy to have gotten her will.
"So, how about visiting a café together?" Defeated, Konata changed the topic.
"A café?"
"I can guarantee that it's going to be fun~ ."
"B-But…" Naomi didn't seem convinced, especially after Konata imitated her. Shopping for cosplay was one thing but visiting a café together with a friend without any mental preparation caught her off-guard.
"You're also thirsty after running around and chatting so much, right?" Konata didn't leave her any room for argument.
"T-That's true…" She gave in.
"That being said, do you know any good cafés, Naomi-san…?" Konata hadn't planned it through at all.
"I do, but if we're going there, we'll have to make another stop first~." She looked shy after Konata's suggestion, but she suddenly looked at her with a small grin.
"W-What is wrong, Naomi-san…?" Konata suddenly shuddered for some inexplicable reason.
"You know, my favorite café around here is really fancy, so I'll have to dress you up a bit first~."
"H-Huh?! You don't mean you want to go shopping for normal clothes with me now, right? R-Right?!" Konata had a slight fear of going clothes shopping with others after she went with Tsukasa once in the past where she went completely overboard.
"Don't worry, I have a good sense of fashion. You can leave everything to me, Konata-san." Naomi was confident with her skills.
"Th-That's not the problem. You just had the thought that going shopping together would be nice, didn't you? We were talking about going to a café, right ?"
"O-Of course not…" Naomi's eyes were swimming all over the place. "I am totally not looking forward to choosing some clothes for someone other than Mio-chan or myself!"
"You aren't fooling anyone here, my dear Naomi-san." Konata had no difficulty seeing through her.
"I-I like clothes, okay?" She gave up. "It's not such a bad idea, isn't it? I-I think it would be a lot of fun…" Naomi's shy and earnest expression came back.
"Hmm…" Konata began to consider it because she was weak to this side of her. "H-How about we do that next time? It's going to take a while, isn't it? I'm a bit tired and really thirsty, so I would prefer a café now…"
"O-Okay…" She was sad about it but could understand. "Oh, how about something for your hair instead, Konata-san? I'm now really in the mood to dress you up, and I know a super cute accessory store on the way to the café!"
"You really want to dress me up that much, huh? Fine, an accessory shouldn't take much time. Lead the way, Naomi-san." Because she couldn't bear seeing her look sad, Konata agreed to her compromise.
"Yay! Thank you very much, Konata-san!" Energetic again, she led Konata to her favorite accessory store to choose something for her.
"Her mood swings are even stronger than Kagamin~'s… Being this adorable makes it actually hard to deal with her… I should ask Mio-san next time on how she's able to deal with her, especially how to say no to her." She hoped that Mio could help her to deal with Naomi, but little did she know that Mio would love to find an answer for that herself.
Arriving at the store, Naomi grabbed Konata's arm and dragged her inside. There, the two went to the hair-accessory corner together.
"Just leave it to me, Konata-san!"
"S-Sure…" She was once more overwhelmed by her enthusiasm.
"Let's see…" Naomi scanned through the accessories. "Ah, that looks super cute!" Her eyes stopped at a hairband with a medium sized, slightly off-centered, light pink ribbon attached to it and put it on Konata's head.
"S-Seriously…?"
"Yes, it's super cute and adorable !" There was no arguing allowed from Konata's side. Naomi looked at Konata again and gave an energetic nod. "It fits you perfectly!"
"S-Seriously…?" She could only repeat herself.
"You should wear more cute clothes, Konata-san! It's such a waste to always wear such plain clothes."
"S-Seriously…?" She was only able to act like a broken music player.
"Next time we go shopping, I'll choose all kinds of cute dresses for you, Konata-san!" Her eyes were sparkling again.
"N-Naomi-san…" Konata finally snapped back and tried to stop her. "I-I don't think such clothes or accessories would suit me much… l-like at all… Those things are more for, you know… cute girls like you…"
"Ehh, but you really are cute! I told you I have a good fashion sense! I'm confident that it's going to look great on you! Just like the ribbon right now¬–it fits you almost too well!"
"I-I see…" Konata began to realize that she was already at the point where she had no saying in the matter anymore. "Uhhh… me wearing a pink ribbon… Kagamin~ will definitely laugh at me… and I don't even want to think about a dress…"
"Why would she laugh at you looking cute? There's nothing wrong about looking cute, especially if you have such a good basis for it, Konata-san. I'm sure Kagami-san would like it, too, seeing you get even cuter." Because she never had any friends, Naomi had no idea when she should stop or how to read the mood.
"C-Can we go to the café now? Please…" Konata couldn't take much more. Being called cute over and over again by such an honest person like Naomi was wearing her down.
"Sure, just let me quickly pay for the headband first, Konata-san."
"Huh? You're even going to pay for it?"
"Of course! It's me who wants you to wear it after all. Little presents like that should be fine, right? It doesn't cost much anyway."
"I just can't win against you, can I?"
"Hmm? What do you mean, Konata-san?" She didn't even realize what she was doing.
"N-Nothing… let's just get going, Naomi-san…"
"Okay~."
After having left the accessory store, Naomi finally guided them to her favorite café, and the two went inside.
"Wow, the café really is rather fancy. Maybe I'm underdressed after all…" Konata looked around and noticed that everyone was looking quite fashionable.
"There's a great clothing store nearby, want to go, Konata-san?" Naomi tried to use this chance.
"Calm down, my dear Naomi-san."
"Fine…" She began to pout, and the sparkles in her eyes disappeared yet again. "Don't worry, Konata-san, your new ribbon makes you look more than cute enough for here."
"Uuu… Naomi-san, you really have to get a better understanding of how your unfiltered words are affecting others… and fast…"
"Hmm?" All she responded was with a cute tilt of her head.
"My poor, poor heart…"
The two sat down at a free table and Konata buried her head in the menu to calm herself down.
"Do you want a recommendation of which cake to choose, Konata-san? I've come here with Mio-chan so often that I've basically had everything on the menu already. The green tea here is also delicious!"
"Green tea sounds great, just what I need right now. Hmm… Oh, how about we get a big cake set with multiple different ones together? This way, I can try out more and find out what I like the best."
"Sharing a cake set with a friend… Yes! Let's do that!" Because she never had the chance to do something like that except with Mio, of course, she was really hooked onto the idea, and her excitement won over her shyness yet again.
"And she says I'm the cute one…"
"Did you say something, Konata-san?"
"No, don't mind me… Well, I'll leave the ordering to you."
"Okay…" A waitress came over at the perfect moment, and Naomi ordered some tea and a way too large cake set for the two because she was looking forward to it so much. While they were waiting, Konata decided to be a little mischievous again because she had enough of being led around by Naomi.
"You know, this kind of feels like a date, doesn't it?"
"Fue?!" Naomi was more than just a little surprised by that remark.
"I mean, you're all dressed up, and you bought these clothes just for today. Then we went shopping together, and you even got me some presents, including that… c-cute ribbon… Now, we're sitting in this fancy café together with nothing, but couples around and just decided to share a cake set."
"H-Huh?!" Naomi looked around and noticed that basically all the other tables were filled with couples that were flirting their time away. She never noticed that this café was a gathering spot for couples whenever she came with Mio before, probably because they were one of those couples, too, and had just eyes for each other. "Th-Th-That really wasn't my intention!" She was completely flustered, and Konata looked pleased by her reaction.
"Ehehe~. Don't worry about it, Naomi-san, I know it's not a date. I just wanted to tease you a bit after you didn't stop calling me cute over and over again earlier, even though it was embarrassing…"
"You're soo mean…" She began to pout again. "Why would you want to tease me just because I called you cute? You are cute, or is calling a cute girl cute bad?!"
"I-I'm sorry…" Konata had no proof, but she had to be doing the praising on purpose now. Still, the only thing she could do now was to give up.
"Okay, you're forgiven." Naomi showed her an innocent smile, and everything was forgotten.
Both kept chatting about anime and cosplay afterward because that was more fun, and the two were so into it that they even didn't notice the cakes that were placed in front of them at some point of time, but something kept bugging Konata until she finally had to ask her.
"There's something I really want to know, Naomi-san…"
"Yes?"
"Where's that big gap in your personality coming from?"
"H-Huh?!" Naomi completely froze up.
"You see, I think we managed to get closer now because you seem to have warmed up to me."
"I-I guess that's true…" She gave Konata a shy nod.
"It was completely different when we first met. Not to mention how different of a treatment Kagamin~ still gets because she hasn't made the same progress I have. You were so shy that it was really worrying. I'm sure there's a reason that made your shyness and fear of strangers so strong, and I would really like to hear it…"
"…" Naomi remained silent.
"I would understand if you don't want to tell me, Naomi-san, but seeing a friend acting like that kind of puts me on edge, too. We… we are friends, right?" Konata felt guilty using such a cheap trick, but she really wanted to know the reason.
"…" Silence filled the air for about another minute, but Naomi finally opened her mouth. "Y-Yes… We are friends." Her entire face was red. "I-Is it okay if I tell you only a little bit about it, Konata-san? It's hard for me to talk about, and…" She was clearly uncomfortable with the topic.
"Of course!" Konata was already glad she was willing to at least talk a little bit about it with her.
"Th-Thank you…" She took a deep breath to calm herself. "It's basically because of how I look…"
"Ehh…" It was beyond Konata's understanding to link Naomi's great looks to her extreme shyness.
"My complex has been with me since my kindergarten days… Kids are brutally honest and react very strongly to anything or anyone that's just slightly different than the norm… Thanks to my foreign looks, especially my hair, and even more so my e-eyes… Well, I think you can imagine the rest, right…?"
"Yes, I have a pretty good idea… kids are assholes…" Konata's reaction was rather blunt, to say the least.
"T-That's just how kids are… A-Anyway, thanks to that, I became extremely self-conscious about my looks and want to hide whenever someone pays just the slightest bit attention to me because they're definitely going to gossip about me behind my back…"
"I don't think that's true, Naomi-san… kids aside, I'm sure they're just staring at you because you look so gorgeous."
"There's no way that could be the case! They're staring at me because I'm different from normal and people generally don't like something like that…. You and Kagami-san are the odd ones here… I'm happy about it, but the two of you are definitely weird!" After having made a lot of painful experiences during her childhood, it became impossible for Naomi to think positively about her predicament.
"Well, I'm not going to deny that we're weird…" Konata was perfectly self-aware in that regard. "But, just do me a favor and take a good look at the people that are sneaking glances at you. You might notice an interesting thing or two." If she paid attention to those people, Konata was sure Naomi would quickly notice that most of them were blushing because of her, rather than talking bad about the girl.
"I'm not sure why I should, but if you're asking me…"
"Trust me, you're going to be surprised. Well, ignore kids because they're just brats, but people around our age should have interesting reactions."
"O-Okay…" Naomi wasn't fully convinced. "I don't think you're right b-because when I was small, th-there were also some other th-things like…"
"Ah, stop right there, Naomi-san. You only wanted to tell me a little, right? It's also obvious that there's more to the story than just kindergarten brats making fun of you. Sure, that's more than bad enough already, and I'm sure that there's more to it. But anyway, I'm already glad you told me that much, but let's save the rest of the story for another time. I can see that you're suffering just talking about it and today was supposed to be fun, right?" Konata had heard enough to get a sufficient picture of the situation and didn't want to bother her any more than that.
"Th-Thank you, Konata-san, you're right, I really don't like to talk about it, especially for long periods of time. You're very kind, aren't you?"
"I don't think I've heard that one before, but thanks."
"No, you really are kind. I'm glad that Mio-chan forced me to meet you back then. I didn't think I would ever be able to find a f-friend other than her." Naomi still had difficulties saying the F-word without stuttering.
"Yes, I should also thank Mio-san for that. I was happy that I got to see you again after the day we shortly met in the cosplay store back then. You're every bit as interesting as I thought you would be. Not to mention an all-day feast for my eyes."
"You really are good with words, after all, Konata-san."
"Ehehe~, I'm just being honest, though. Be it as it may, let's get back to some more interesting and fun topics." Konata thought it was high time for it.
"Gladly! Hmm… Ah, about our idea to all cosplay together, do you think you can persuade Kagami-san to take part in it?"
"No problem whatsoever." Konata was confident.
"That's great, Mio-chan also shouldn't be a problem."
"Oh, I just had a brilliant idea, Naomi-san !" Konata had wanted to change the topic, but she just thought about something good. "How about you ask Kagamin~ yourself?"
"Fueh?!" She looked bewildered again.
"Kagamin~ really wants to get to know you better and befriend you, too. I'm sure she would say yes in a heartbeat and would be really happy if you were to ask her."
"B-But…"
"Come on, I'll go together with you. It also doesn't have to be now. We can just meet up as a group first a couple extra times before so you can warm up to her a little more during those times."
"D-Do I really have to…?" Being so far out of her comfort zone, Naomi began to slowly regress back to her shy personality again.
"Kagamin~'s super important to me. The two of you getting along would make me really happy." Konata's persuasion skills leveled up quite a bit just today.
"Uuuh… I take back what I said earlier… You are not kind at all, Konata-san!"
"That sounds more like me alright."
"Haha…" Naomi enjoyed her bantering with Konata and let out a small laugh.
"So, will you ask her?"
"O-Only if you help me…"
"Good girl." Konata was proud of the progress she made.
"Th-Thanks…"
"Ah!" Konata suddenly shouted when she looked at the table. "We totally forgot about the cakes!"
"Oh, you're right." Naomi also just noticed them for the first time. "Wait, when did they even arrive?"
"No idea…" The two were so busy with their chat that they didn't notice anything happening around them.
"Well then, let's eat?"
"Ah, wait a moment, Naomi-san! I just had another great idea!"
"W-What is it this time?!" She instinctively put up her guard after hearing those words again.
"You wanted to prove to Mio-san that you could meet me all on your own, right? How about we take a commemoration picture to show her your progress?" Konata was definitely just thinking of helping Naomi. She absolutely didn't intend to tease Kagami about how well she was getting along with Naomi.
"Th-That's actually really a good idea!" Naomi was surprised but liked the plan.
Having decided to go with the suggestion, the two huddled close together, and Naomi took a selfie of the two of them on her phone. Their cheeks were touching, and they made sure to get everything on the picture. Naomi with her beautiful, red dress, Konata and her new hairband with the adorable, light pink ribbon, with the both of them making a cute pose together with the many different, and delicious-looking cakes, the fancy teacups, and the many shopping bags full of cosplay. All in all, it was a lovely commemoration photo of their successful date. At least, that's what it looked like.
Afterward, Naomi sent the picture to Konata's phone before the two of them each forwarded it to Mio and Kagami respectively.
"Hehe, I wonder how Kagamin~'s going to react to it."
"Yes, I want to know what Mio-chan will think about it, too."
"Let's eat the cakes now, Mio-san."
"Finally!" She was starving at this point.
The two were in a good mood while happily munching on the delicious cakes and went on chatting about some entirely uncomplicated topics.
Quite some time passed, and because Naomi and Konata were slowly running out of stuff to talk about, they decided to call it quits for today. The two shared the bill after Konata kept insisting because Naomi already bought her enough stuff today, having also been pushed by the fact that the hairband actually was rather expensive, even if Naomi had claimed otherwise. Then they said goodbye to each other and separated while carrying their shopping bags filled to the brim with cosplay.
…
A little while ago, back in the sweets store, two girls were still staring at their phones. Kagami and Mio had no idea how to react to the picture their partners had sent them.
"…"
"…"
The two remained silent while the air around them felt cold, with a black aura oozing out of their bodies. It was apparent that both of them were jealous, but they tried their best not to show it since they were still trying to hide their relationship after all. However, it wasn't working whatsoever as they couldn't be more obvious than right now, but because Mio and Kagami were so busy with themselves and the picture on their phones, the two hadn't noticed how the other one was acting. In the meantime, Tsukasa and the grandma were still too busy with their sweets that they hadn't even noticed anything going on with the two.
"S-Since when have they gotten so… c-close…?" Mio was the first to get a couple words out, looking like a ghost.
"I-I have no idea…" Kagami was equally pale. "K-Kona told me that she was slowly getting Naomi-san to warm up to her, but that's…"
"I thought the two were only exchanging mails about their cosplay hobby… J-Just when did that happen…" Mio was slightly freaking out and was starting to forget about the part where she was hiding her relationship with Naomi.
"W-Why didn't Konata tell me about it…? Doesn't that look…" Kagami, too, was losing it.
"D-Don't tell me she's ch… Ah!" The two exclaimed and were about to imagine the worst, namely Konata and Naomi cheating on them, but then they noticed the bags full of cosplay in the back of the picture.
"D-Don't scare me like that, Naomi!"
"K-Kona, you big idiot!" After connecting the dots and realizing that the two just went to a café together after being exhausted from cosplay shopping, the two managed to calm down after voicing out their frustrations. It may have looked like a date because of the feeling the picture was giving off, but it was all just in their heads. In the end, Naomi and Konata simply had a fun day together, without any hidden meanings.
"Eh…?"
"H-Huh…?" Both of them finally noticed the presence of the other again.
"D-Did you say something, Kagami?"
"M-Me? What do you mean? I-I didn't say anything at all… but I think I heard something coming from you, Mio-san…"
"Th-That must've been your imagination… I was just silently looking at the picture Naomi sent me, w-without saying anything whatsoever!"
"Yeah, same here." Kagami and Mio managed not to freak out entirely and felt relieved that the other party hadn't noticed a thing. For the better or for worse, their secret about them dating Konata and Naomi respectively would stay safe for a while longer. But, thanks to their non-existent acting abilities and with how they were slowly becoming comfortable with each other's company and letting their guards down, it was only a matter of time until said secret gets out.
"A-Anyway… it looks like they bought a lot of cosplay…" Mio tried to move the attention away from herself.
"Y-Yeah, it seems like it, Mio-san…"
"We have it rough, don't we? I hope they not only bought embarrassing stuff but cute outfits as well…"
"Indeed, we're going to be busy in the near future, huh? If I could have a say in this, I would like to wear something more stylish …" After calming down, the two slowly returned to normal.
"Mh-hmm…" Mio gave a small nod while grumbling. "W-Well, I'm at least happy that it seems like Naomi finally found a new friend…" Her words and feelings were sincere, but it was clear that she was still cautious of Konata after seeing the picture. "Just how was Konata able to pull that off…"
"That's just how Kona is. Even I don't know what it is, but there's something with her that just draws people to her and makes them interested in the girl, despite being how she actually is on the outside, a hopeless otaku and all."
"I-I see…" Mio unconsciously raised her guard towards Konata even further.
"Well, she's basically the same as Naomi-san in that regard."
"Hmm…? What?"
"Well, Kona wanted to befriend her the moment she met Naomi-san, and I felt the same after exchanging a couple words with her when you introduced her to us. Not that she talked much to me, though…"
"I guess you have a point… People have been interested in Naomi for a long time… She completely misunderstands their intentions, though… and I don't let those with sketchy intentions get close to her anyway… She's mine." She made sure Kagami didn't hear the last part.
"By the way, do you have any tips on how I can befriend Naomi-san, too? Kona seems to have a lot of fun with her, and I feel a little left out… I'm also interested in why she's so shy, but I have the feeling there's a big reason behind it, so I don't want to bother her with it now, but I would be really happy if she tells me when she trusts me a little more."
"Thank you for not asking, Kagami. You're right, it's complicated, and even if I wanted to tell you, I don't feel like I should because it's really personal."
"Don't worry about it, I completely understand. Still, befriending her would be nice." Kagami wasn't disappointed that Mio wouldn't tell her.
"Naomi warming up to you… Let's see…" She began to think about it. "Honestly, I have no idea… I really don't understand the magic that Konata used… Don't feel down, though, it's not your fault. Konata's the odd one."
"Yeah, odd is a fitting description for Kona." She couldn't deny that.
"I think the problem will solve itself with enough time. Let us spend more time as a group, and I'm sure she'll eventually warm up to you sooner or later."
"I thought so… Yeah, I'll let it happen naturally." She wasn't happy with the answer, but Kagami couldn't think of a better one.
"Ah, well, you could always cosplay together with, or for her. I'm sure that would speed things up."
"Is it just me or have we had this idea in the past already…? Anyway, no, let's not do that, Mio-san." Kagami wasn't a fan of the idea.
"Ehehe~. You're right, it probably isn't a good idea. It could end up with all four of us cosplaying together… Imagine the kind of chaos that would be…"
"D-Don't raise any strange flags like that, Mio-san! I don't even want to think what would happen if the two dragged us into doing a group cosplay…" Kagami was already panicking at the mere thought of it.
"I-I'm sorry, I spoke without thinking…"
"It's fine… probably…"
"I hope so, too… haha…"
"Ahaha…" The two forced out a dry laugh while having a mysteriously bad feeling for some reason.
For the next hour, Mio and Kagami discussed the plot of a light novel series the two read lately and shared a couple of new recommendations, with Mio doing most of the recommending because Kagami hadn't read that much recently. Their conversation was slightly awkward at the beginning because of the previous topic, but the girls had soon forgotten about. Kagami thought for a second to talk about Sojiro and his light novels but felt that it wasn't a good time for it after everything that had happened today. Talking about a yuri novel after almost blowing her cover probably wasn't the best idea.
Tsukasa eventually finished her sweets creating session with the grandma and the twins headed out soon after. They had stayed in the store way too long already, and it had to be reopened soon anyway.
On the way back to the station, the two stopped at a fast food chain because they had gotten hungry. They got some food and sat down at an empty table.
"As someone who attends a cooking school, is it even okay for you to eat at a fast food restaurant, sis?"
"It's fine once in a while, onee-chan. I specialize in desserts and sweets anyway~." Tsukasa was in a good mood after the sweets store visit.
"Seems like you had fun with the grandma, huh?"
"Absolutely! Her sweet making skills were even better than I had imagined."
"Yeah, she's the real deal." Kagami agreed with her evaluation.
"Just today alone did I learn so much already!"
"Today alone…?"
"Yes, I'll definitely come and revisit her. She's a great inspiration, and I can't wait to learn more from her. She's also very interested in my western sweets' recipes. Some of them work very well with grandma's traditional ones. I'll definitely come over a lot!"
"Don't bother the grandma too much, okay?"
"Nono, she was the one who suggested it first. She's as excited about it as I am. She was looking forward to making sweets that her granddaughter, your friend Mio-san, likes. Why does she not like grandma's sweets in the first place?! They're world class!" Tsukasa just couldn't understand Mio's tastes.
"Yeah, it seems like Mio-san isn't a fan of anything related to traditional Japanese stuff."
"Mio-san is…? The one who spent the day with you in the store…? The one who could pose on the cover of a magazine featuring nothing but traditional looking Japanese beauties…? That Mio-san is…?" Tsukasa naturally was unable to process something like this.
"It's so contradictory it's actually funny, isn't it?" Kagami could relate to her skepticism.
"How mysterious…" She thought it was interesting. "Ah, by the way, onee-chan, would it be possible to spend a night at your and Kona-chan's place every now and then?"
"Hmm…? That came out of nowhere. Sure, I don't mind. I'll ask Kona later, but I'm sure she'll be happy to see you more often and agree right away. Why are you asking, though? Just how often are you planning to visit the sweets store?"
"The grandma actually offered me a part-time job in her store, and I'm thinking about accepting it. I thought it would be easier to sleep here, rather than commute all the time. Also, that means having more time with Kona-chan and onee-chan, and that alone is worth it."
"Wow, she offered you a part-time job? That's great! I'm so happy for you! You said you were looking for one, right? That's the perfect opportunity, isn't it? You should go for it!" Kagami was encouraging her because that was precisely the kind of part-time job Tsukasa wanted.
"Ehehe~, thank you, onee-chan. I really want to go for it, too. If I really can stay a night a week at your place, that would be perfect!"
"Of course, you can even stay two nights if that helps you, sis." While Kagami's main reason for agreeing was to support her sister, she also had a slight ulterior motive. Having Tsukasa for a night or two in their apartment would also help with Konata's and her problem of being all over each other 24/7.
"Yay!" Tsukasa was happy. "I'm going to call the grandma tomorrow and say yes to her offer. Thank you, onee-chan."
"How about you stay today as well, sis? Tomorrow's Sunday after all."
"I'd love to, but I'm actually busy from the evening on, so today's no good, onee-chan." She denied the offer surprisingly fast and strong.
"Oh? What have you planned?"
"Yuki-chan said she's going to be free from the evening of today and the entire Sunday tomorrow. There's no way I'm going to do anything except visiting her!" She seemed extremely excited about having Miyuki all to herself for an extended amount of time again.
"She's quite busy with college, isn't she?"
"Oh my god, YES!" Tsukasa was not even trying to hide her frustration and openly voiced it out.
"Who am I to stop you then. Have… fun with her, sis." Kagami felt somewhat weird saying something like that to her own little sister.
"Thanks, onee-chan. I'll definitely have fun!" She was looking forward to seeing Miyuki. Excited enough that Kagami didn't feel like asking about details.
After chatting for a bit longer, the twins went to the station together. Once Tsukasa boarded her train, and the two said goodbye to each other, Kagami went home as well.
….
"I'm back!" Kagami entered the apartment and greeted anyone who was able to hear her.
"Welcome home, Kagamin~." Konata replied to her from the living room.
"Hey there, Kona." She entered the living room and found her lazily relaxing on the sofa. "Yeah, I'm home." She walked up to Konata and then gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as an additional greeting before sitting down next to her on the sofa.
"Did you have fun with Tsukasa?"
"Hmm… I actually didn't spend much time with her today…"
"Eh?"
"Well, she instantly hit it off with the sweets store grandma, and the two spent the entire day talking and making sweets…"
"Oh… I can't say I'm overly surprised, though."
"Yeah, but I met Mio-san in the store, so it wasn't boring at least. We ended up talking about all sorts of stuff."
"Oh~?" Konata seemed interested.
"By the way, how was your date with Naomi-san, Kona?" She made a hard topic change, only partly because she didn't want to tell her what the two talked about.
"D-Date… A-Ah…" Konata froze up after hearing those words.
"Feeling guilty, huh?"
"N-No. Nothing to feel guilty about happened, you know…?" Konata awkwardly looked away because she definitely was feeling guilty after getting confronted.
"Is that so? Anything to prove your innocence that it wasn't a date, Kona?"
"…" She was looking hard for the right words.
"Haha, I'm just messing with you, Kona." Kagami suddenly began to smile, and her whole atmosphere instantly changed.
"W-What…?" She couldn't follow at all.
"Hah, that was fun~." Her smile got even bigger after seeing her reaction. She then playfully leaned against Konata's side and cuddled her a bit. "I was stunned and even shocked when I saw the picture of you and Naomi-san, but it was ultimately just two friends getting along, right? No matter how date-like it seemed…" There may still have been some slight doubts in the end.
"Absolutely! We just went to the café because we got thirsty and wanted to chat after we…" Konata wasn't sure whether she should mention that she went cosplay shopping with Naomi for hours.
"After…?" Kagami already knew, but she was having so much fun teasing Konata at this moment. "Are you possibly hiding something from me…?"
"W-We went cosplay shopping, okay?"
"I know~." She was definitely having a good time. "I saw the shopping bags from the store with pieces of cosplay peeping out of them in the picture.
"S-Still, you're angry, aren't you, Kagamin~?!"
"Just a little bit, but only because you lied to me."
"Hmm…? Ah, technically, I didn't lie… My plan really was to read manga all day up until yesterday… I just forgot to tell you of my change of plans…"
"Forgot, huh? Or maybe concerned I would stop you?"
"N-No comment…" Konata declined to answer because Kagami had hit the bullseye.
"Case closed then." She looked smug and then focused her attention on Konata's head. "By the way, nice hairband you're wearing there. The ribbon looks really c-cute… pfft…" It was impossible for her not to laugh because Konata never wore anything cute before. To make things even better, it suited her perfectly, making it impossible for her to stay silent.
"S-Shut up, Kagamin~… Uuuh, I knew it… I kept telling Naomi-san, but…" Konata's face became red, and she wanted to take the hairband off, but Kagami stopped her.
"Nope, you're going to keep wearing it." She took a liking to Konata wearing cute things.
"Ehh… You're such a bully today…"
"Ehehe~. Why do you have that thing in the first place? It wasn't your idea, was it?"
"Absolutely not! Naomi-san bought it for me and forced me to wear it…" Konata let out a tired sigh.
"Oh, seems like Naomi-san has great tastes. You look super cute with it, after all, Kona."
"N-Not you, too, Kagamin~… Naomi-san also kept calling me c-cute again and again… I'm really not good with this kind of thing…"
"Heh, she already figured you out, huh?"
"Uuh… Everyone's bullying me today… Naomi-san even talked me into going shopping for normal clothes with her next time… She wants to, using her words, get a lot of c-cute dresses for me… Can you believe that?! Just imagine me wearing a dress for a second, Kagamin!"
"…" She was doing exactly that at that very moment. Kagami stayed silent for over a whole minute because she was enjoying what she was seeing inside her head. "W-When are you two going?! Is it soon?! Do you need any extra money?! Oh, can I make some requests?! Oh, oh, what about…" She was more than just excited about Konata dressing all up.
"Y-You're really scary right now, Kagamin~…"
"A-Ah, I'm sorry… My imagination went into overdrive for a moment… S-Still, I think it'll suit you, Kona. You should totally go for it."
"I don't think I have much of a choice anyway… Refusing Naomi-san was already impossible at that time because she was looking so forward to it and now you too…"
"Good, very good."
"You could at least act like you're on my side…"
"Nope, I'm 100% behind Naomi-san with this. I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry at all about your misfortune." She wasn't feeling the slightest bit guilty about betraying Konata.
"Uuuh…" She felt like crying right now.
"Kona in a cute dress~…" Kagami was about to let her imagination get the better of her again but barely managed to snap back to reality. "Still, it's impressive how you managed to befriend Naomi-san… Especially since she's still extremely shy around me…" She was jealous that Naomi had only warmed up to Konata.
"Ehehe~." Konata looked super smug because she was pleased about her accomplishment. "It wasn't easy, and it only happened because of how I am."
"A shameless pervert and otaku?"
"Exact–hey! Well, you're not really wrong, but hey!" She couldn't deny it, but that still didn't mean she had to like the accusation. "Anyway, you shouldn't be too sad about Naomi-san being shy. There are some circumstances involved, and I only managed to get close to her so fast because of our shared love for cosplay and being a bit pushy."
"I see… wait, you know why she's so shy, or rather, why she's afraid of strangers?"
"She told me a thing or two, but it's still far from everything, though. I assume you're curious, but you understand how I can't tell you, right?"
"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask. I talked with Mio-san about the same thing already, and I'll just patiently wait until she decides to tell me on her own once we get closer."
"That's a good plan."
"By the way, what kind of cosplay did you buy this time, Kona?" Kagami shifted her attention to the bags of cosplay next to the sofa and started rummaging through it.
"Hehe, all sorts of great stuff~."
"I don't know why, but I don't think I'm going to agree with that, but let's see… Eh…?" She noticed the matching set of bunny ears and looked confused.
"What's wrong, Kagamin~?"
"Ehm…" She pulled the bunny ears out of the bag and showed them to Konata. "Why are there two of them? Just what kind of perverted play are you planning, Kona?!"
"Perverted play? Oh, I'm curious now~. Just what have you imagined doing with them?"
"D-Don't you dare turn this back on me now!" She blushed a little bit.
"Hehe. No, I got them as a gift from Naomi-san, so there sadly is no kind of play involved. Well, we can change that, though, if that's what you want~."
"You got them from Naomi-san…" Kagami ignored Konata's suggestion.
"Yeah, why are you asking?"
"Is Naomi-san a pervert?"
"Huh? Maybe…? You can never know after all, but why do you think so?"
"I mean, she bought you bunny ears…"
"And…?" Konata couldn't follow her.
"There are absolutely no applications for bunny ears that don't involve something at least suggestive. Just name the first thing that comes to mind when seeing these!" She held up the ears.
"Sexy bunny girl costumes!" Her answer came instantly. "A-Ah, that's what you mean. Don't worry, Kagamin~, that's not the only use for bunny ears. There are also a lot of wholesome cosplays to do with them."
"Just name me one." Kagami didn't believe her.
"That's easy! There's… for example… Eh?" Konata's voice grew more and more silent. "Ehmm… wait, Naomi-san might really be a pervert after all…" She couldn't think of any wholesome cosplays either in the end. "She even bought the bunny ears for the two of us… Does she want us to… Ehh?" Konata was confused.
"She totally did that on purpose, right?" Kagami was questioning her intentions. "There's no way that there's no hidden implication with this gift! Naomi-san definitely wants to find out how we feel about doing some kind of perverted cosplay. She suggested it because she suspects you and I are a couple like I have my suspicions about her and Mio-san! She's trying to make sure of it by making us do things only intimate couples would do! There's no other rational explanation than that, I'm sure of it!" Kagami looked triumphant after having made her detective-like deduction.
"Yeah… I think you're overthinking thinks just a liiitle bit… I really don't think Naomi-san's the scheming type, like at all…" Konata didn't think that she had that character trait.
"Hmmng…" Kagami made a frustrated expression. "Argh! I don't get those two at all!"
"C-Calm down, Kagamin~… knowing Naomi-san, she most likely just likes bunnies and thought the fake ears were cute or something like that."
"There's just no way that's true! Don't be so gullible, Kona."
"Haa…" Konata let out a strained sigh because Kagami was being such a huge pain right now.
"I'm not giving up! I'll prove it! I'll prove that the two are an actual couple and not just childhood friends!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah… Good luck with that…" Konata didn't want to deal with her any longer.
"Anyway…" Kagami noticed that Konata wasn't being overly cooperative, or even interested. "How about we talk about our own relationship instead? We tried to be more independent by not spending the day together, and I want to know what you think about it, Kona."
"Well… I have some mixed feelings… I had fun with Naomi-san, but I think it would've been even more fun with you around, Kagamin~." She gave her an honest answer.
"Yeah, it's exactly the same for me… I had a great time with my sister, or rather, Mio-san, but I still missed you almost the entire time…"
"That's kind of bad, right…?" Konata wasn't sure how she should feel about it.
"It's not overly… good, I guess…" Kagami, too, wasn't sure about it. "At least we still had fun… That probably means we aren't a complete lost cause yet. It's something…"
"Is missing each other even such a bad thing in the first place? I understand feeling lonely after just a few hours, if it even takes that long, and I can get how that could be rather unhealthy, but, personally, I don't think missing each other is something to be overly concerned about. Actually, I would be sad if you hadn't missed me…"
"That's… true, I wouldn't like that, either." She agreed with Konata's view on the topic.
"You also said you had fun, even without me, Kagamin~. We don't need each other, we simply prefer to be together as often as possible." Konata was sure that it actually wasn't quite as bad as the two initially thought.
"Oh, that's a nice way to put it, Kona. Maybe all we really need is a hobby each, and then we'd be good."
"Yeah… you know, I'm not much of an otaku lately because I've spent too much time with you, Kagamin~. Just like I initially mentioned, my backlog is gigantic, and I really have to catch up…"
"Sounds like Kona alright." She wasn't surprised by her idea of a hobby. "Well, it's not like I'm much better… I haven't even read a third of the light novels I planned to, and Mio-san keeps recommending me more and more… If it goes on like this, I'll never be able to read all of them… I've managed to read some gems here and there, but I'm getting scared when I think about what I might have missed already…"
"Not much better, she says… Kagamin~, you little light novel otaku~."
"Uuh… hearing that from you makes this sound at least ten times worse…" Being called an otaku by a hard-core otaku was still hard for Kagami to swallow.
"Ahaha…" Konata suddenly started laughing.
"What's wrong?"
"No, I was just thinking how we're unable to stay serious for longer than… I don't know, maybe five minutes? I mean, we began discussing how it might be kind of unhealthy to feel lonely without the other around, and now we're arguing about which of us is the bigger otaku…"
"Ah! Y-You're right…" Kagami only just realized. "We might actually be hopeless after all… for an entirely different reason, though."
"I-I can't argue with that…" Konata had to agree here.
"By the way, you're undoubtedly the bigger otaku, Kona." She had to make that clear.
"Barely, but I guess you're right."
"Getting back to the topic for just a minute," Kagami wanted to add something. "Aside from having a hobby, doing stuff like today, meeting up with friends, together or individually, is also something we should do more often. We've met up with Mio-san and Naomi-san a few times now, but we're holed up in the apartment way too often and way too long."
"That's true, especially when those two are so interesting. It's a real waste."
"Absolutely! I'll definitely prove that they are a couple!" Kagami's eyes were shining.
"Shut up for a moment, Kagamin~." She didn't want to talk about that topic again. "Maybe we also should go home every so often on the weekends… We haven't gone back once since moving here after all."
"Y-Yes, we should do that, I'm actually feeling really guilty about it…"
"Mhm… I also don't think I can make excuses to my father much longer… He might come for me instead really soon…"
"How about we make a trip home on the next weekend and visit our family, Kona?"
"Yes, let's do that."
"Ah, speaking of family!" Kagami remembered something else. "Tsukasa asked me if it's okay if she stays a night or two per week at our place, what do you think?"
"Sure, but why?"
"The sweets grandma actually offered her a part-time job in the store. Tsukasa wants to accept it because that's exactly the kind of part-time job she likes but she said that the commute would be a problem for her. Probably not so much from Miyuki's place but definitely from home. Staying here would really help her out."
"Oh, I see. That's awesome, I'm happy for her. Of course, she can stay here. Tsukasa's great, so I'm all for it."
"Thanks, I'll tell her that it's okay later then."
"Yay~."
"You really love my sister, don't you?"
"I very much do." An immediate answer. "Ah, but I love you a tiny bit more, Kagamin~."
"A tiny bit, huh?"
"Yep~. Also, in a completely different way."
"Then I can live with that~." Neither of them were serious and were just having fun.
"Is she okay with sleeping on the sofa?"
"She and Miyuki said it's comfortable, didn't they? I think it should be okay."
"That's true. Still, having her sleep in the living room all the time is kind of…" Konata wanted to make it as comfortable as possible for Tsukasa.
"Do you have a better idea? Want to give her your otaku room?"
"Hmm… There actually could be enough space for a bed in there, but it might be bad if I do an all-nighter with PC-gaming when she's here… We just talked about investing more time in our hobbies again after all…"
"I… didn't exactly mean going as far as pulling all-nighters, you know? You're always so extreme, Kona…"
"And you love that about me~."
"I can't exactly deny that…"
"Ehehe~. Oh, what about the Japanese room? The tatamis together with a fluffy futon might be even more comfortable than the sofa, and she can have the room more or less for herself. We only use the room for the kotatsu and we… sadly won't be needing it for at least half a year, probably even a bit longer than that…" Konata was still sad about the kotatsu because they put it away not too long ago.
"Oh, that's a good idea. Let's suggest that to her next time."
"Yay, I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a lot of fun with Tsukasa here."
"Don't make Miyuki misunderstand, okay?" Kagami was worried that Konata would make her accidentally jealous.
"It's fine, it's fine~."
"Extreme and carefree…"
"You love that, too~."
"Shut up, Kona." Because she couldn't deny that either, she went with her standard phrase.
"Haha. Sooo… I'm kind of tired of talking…" Konata raised up her arms in an exaggerated manner before she let herself fall to the side and placed her head on Kagami's lap. "Let's do something more relaxing, Kagamin~." She tried to get the TV-remote on the table, but her arms weren't able to reach it. Because she didn't want to get up from Kagami's lap, she simply gave up. "Kagamiiin~…"
"Geez, who spoilt you this much?"
"That would've been you, my beloved Kagamin~."
"Well, it can't be helped then~." Not denying her influence because it was entirely accurate, she gently leaned forward to grab the remote while making sure Konata stayed comfortable on her lap.
"You're so nice, Kagamin~."
"I know, so feel free to compliment me more."
"Nice and not conceited at all~."
"Anything specific you want to watch, Kona?"
"I'll leave it to you. I already have all the entertainment I need here~." While saying so, Konata turned around and buried her face in Kagami's thighs.
"Pervert…" Even so, she comfortably leaned back on the sofa while lovingly stroking Konata's head and turned on the TV. She decided to keep it on a random movie, but the two simply flirted the entire evening away while cuddling on the sofa and only paying attention to each other, not the movie.
On the following day, the couple tried to find some wholesome cosplay involving the bunny ears Naomi got for them. The result of it was clear: there were absolutely no wholesome applications for them whatsoever. Every single idea they tried ended up being either extremely suggestive or most of the time simply sexy or downright erotic. All in all, it was an enjoyable day, not to mention that Konata and Kagami found out that they really like bunnies. Maybe not precisely for the reason people usually like bunnies, though.