Well, I decided to update this and see if any reviews come in. If you do like it, review it damnit! It's possible I'll be working on this in lieu of my Writer's Block on my other story, as I cannot think of any ideas for that story at the moment; I exhausted my cache of thoughts on it for the moment. As always, I don't own Azumanga Daioh.
Chapter 2, "Awkward Interlude".
The evening of that day found Kagura pondering her dilemma. 'Crap! They've been friends since elementary school! I'm screwed!' she thought in defeat, playing back Yomi's challenge. "Damnit! Why do these things have to happen!" she asked aloud, earning glances from people around her. "Err…maybe I should go…" she told herself, and walked away quickly. She got home, wanting to get away from the summer heat. "I wonder what she's doing now…" she mused, thinking of the object of her affection.
She wasn't sure what made her love Tomo; she always argued with her, and they didn't have very much in common. However, there were a few qualities that she admired in Tomo: energy, strength, and devotion to her friends. The latter quality, though, had shown itself only in the most serious of occasions. "Oh, man! This had to happen to me! Why did it have to be her?" she questioned herself.
She did her work to try and wipe her thoughts away, but it didn't work. In fact, it seemed to make it worse. "Gah! I can't get her out of my head! Maybe…I should…talk to her. Just to relieve some stress." She decided, and went back out. The sun was setting, and she considered waiting, but convinced herself it was for the best and headed to her destination. Upon arriving, she took a quick peek in the window. Tomo lay on her bed, apparently asleep. 'Figures. I was actually expecting something different?' she thought, but ducked when she noticed the other girl stir.
"Aw, man. How long did I sleep?" Tomo asked, looking to the clock. "No! I need to do my work! Unless…" she schemed, and picked up her phone. After dialing and waiting for it to ring, Yomi answered, knowing full well who it was. "Hey, Yomi. You know the drill…what? You can't say no! Wait, don't hang-"she pleaded, but paused at the tone, "Up." She finished, and fell back on her bed.
Sliding the window open, Kagura slowly climbed into Tomo's room. "Yo!" she announced, making Tomo jump.
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"DAMNIT! Don't do that – Hey! What the hell are you doing here? You just broke into my room!" Tomo accused, trying to stop shaking.
"What, I'm not welcome here?" Kagura asked.
"…W-what? Y-you're not here to…bother me?" Tomo stuttered, completely confused.
"I just wanted to hang out with you…" the recently-intruder told her, trying her best not to flush red at the statement.
"Impastabowl!" Tomo declared, pointing a finger at her.
"W-what? That's not even a word! Anyway, I just wanna hang out!" Kagura fought back
"…Well…can I copy your work?" Tomo asked bluntly, causing Kagura to face-fault.
"What for?" she asked the hyperactive girl, stumped by her apparent transition from intruder to guest.
"Because I didn't do it, idiot." Tomo replied.
"Don't call me and idiot, idiot!" Kagura growled at her.
"Quiet! Anyway, can I? Yomi turned me down." Tomo informed her.
"She did? That's weird…" the athlete mused.
"It is? Why?" Tomo asked, cocking her head quizzically.
"Ah! Nothing! Never mind!" Kagura evaded.
"She always turns me down these days. But I guess I'm boring you, aren't I?" Tomo replied, changing the subject.
'Yomi loves her, but she won't help her out? That's really weird…hey! Maybe this is a way I can get on her good side!' Kagura figured. "Yeah, I could go get my work really quick." She told Tomo.
"…R-really? You'd do that?" the other girl questioned, even more confused. Before she could ask again, Kagura leapt out the window and sprinted home.
"This is going to be perfect! I've finally got an advantage now!" Kagura told herself as she got home, grabbed her work, and practically flew back to Tomo's.
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The next morning, Yomi entered the room and stretched. She was aghast to see Tomo and…Kagura…sitting together. "W-what's going on here?" she asked frantically, running up to them.
"Kagura was kind enough to lend me her help in my work. Unlike some others…" Tomo implied, and looked away to take a glance at something. While she was turned, Kagura smirked at Yomi, who snorted and walked to her desk.
'Advantage: Kagura!' she grinned triumphantly. She didn't like doing that to her friend, but if it might psyche her out, she'd risk it.
"…Is she mad at me?" Tomo turned and asked, looking towards Yomi. Tomo looked at her best friend, and became dazed.
"Uh-oh…that's a bad sign…" Kagura whispered, worrying that she'd lost the upper hand.
"Well this is an odd sight." Sakaki interrupted her thoughts, walking over to them.
"Ah, I suppose it is. But anyway, I owe my life to her! Yukari would've killed me if I hadn't gotten this!" Tomo admitted, scratching her head.
"So, are you two friends now?" Sakaki asked, in an attempt to help Kagura along.
"I guess so." Tomo stated, earning shocked looks from Kagura, Sakaki, and most of all, Yomi.
"W-what made you two friends?" Yomi asked accusingly at Kagura, approaching them again.
"Well, she hung out with me last night, and she acted really cool. She's also nice enough to let me copy a few notes." Tomo stressed, causing Yomi to silently curse herself for denying her the previous night. Kagura herself blushed at the statement, and turned away to avoid showing it.
"You could have told me that!" Yomi defended. "Well, yeah, but I actually had fun hanging out with her!" Tomo replied, slapping Kagura on the back, which caused the latter to blush even more.
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"Uh, hey, Tomo. Would you want to…eat lunch with me today?" Kagura asked quickly, mustering all her strength not to blush or blurt anything out.
"…C-come again?" Tomo replied, but she had no reservations about flushing a light red.
"Would you? I'm not trying to impose or anything…" Kagura told her.
"…I would…" Tomo responded, and for a split second Kagura held the thought that this was progress. It was ruined when Yomi forced herself between them.
"Aren't I invited?" she asked enthusiastically, but threw a glance at Kagura.
"W-well of course! Damn, I'm pretty popular today!" Tomo basked in the attention, and the three left together.
"Ya think we should help?" Osaka suggested to the others.
"Normally, no, but I think it might get ugly if we don't." Sakaki replied. She, Osaka, and Chiyo left as well, while Yukari stalked off to annoy her own rival. They arrived to find a spectacle; Kagura and Yomi were sitting unusually close to Tomo in the school yard. Tomo was lightly blushing, but otherwise masked it with her lunchbox.
"That's weird…" Osaka stated, although she really didn't have the right to say that, being Osaka. At the sight of their friends, Yomi and Kagura scooted away from Tomo, allowing the wildcat some breathing room.
"What are you doing here?" She asked the new group.
"We just…came up to check on you…" Chiyo replied.
"…Is this some kind of conspiracy? You guys never pay this much attention to me. Pretty suspicious if you ask me." Tomo implied, glancing at everyone present.
"Well, it's because-"Osaka almost blurted, but was silenced by the others.
"J-just ignore her! So, were you doing anything in particular?" Chiyo switched subjects.
"…Eating. You?" Tomo responded, confused.
"Well…" Chiyo began, and elaborated a made up set of events leading to this confrontation.
"So, what now?' Kagura asked, having remained silent most of the time.
"Lunch is about to end. We should head back." Yomi suggested, and decided to make a big leap; she took Tomo's hand and interlaced her fingers with the other girl's. Tomo was struck speechless as Yomi pulled her away.
"…I think you just hit a snag…" Osaka pointed out. Kagura didn't say anything, but she flushed with confusion, anger, and worry.
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Kagura invaded Tomo's room that night too. "Yo!" she called again, but was taken aback when she found Yomi there as well.
"What are you doing here?" Yomi asked, trying to mask her surprise.
"I could ask you the same!" Kagura retorted, not knowing what else to say.
"I come here all the time." Yomi bluntly informed her.
"…Y-you do?" Kagura asked.
"Of course." Yomi replied, and sat quite close to Tomo, the latter blushing and unable to speak.
"Y-Yomi? What are y-you doing?" Tomo asked hastily, backing away.
"…I'm not sure." Yomi lied, but also backed away. 'Damn! I just fell back down a couple of notches!' she thought as Kagura jumped into the room.
"Damnit! What's going on here?" Tomo wailed, jumping up.
"Ah! Don't get mad!" Yomi tried to calm her.
"Yeah, settle down moron!" Kagura interjected, earning a glare from both of them. "Oh, right. Sorry." She apologized.
"Is there something you two wanna tell me?" Tomo asked, a serious tone in her voice.
"No!" the other two girls replied in unison.
"Go away! I want to think!" Tomo shouted.
"That's impossible!" Yomi joked.
"AGH! GO AWAY!" Tomo shouted, before forcing them out. They stood facing each other in the street next to the house they'd been booted from. No words were exchanged, but rather frustration and confusion filled their faces. They both turned and left without saying anything, each planning new ways to approach their angered goal.
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End of Chapter 2.
Well, here it is! Thanks for the reviews! And continue to RR!