Disclaimer: If I owned Lucky Star, I would have come to America myself and slapped the bejeezus out of Bandai Entertainment USA's manga division myself before throwing a wad of money at them and telling them to get the god damned Lucky Star manga onto the god damned shelves. That hasn't happened. I don't own it.
Author's Notes: So like, 6 months later.... they remembered something. It was something somewhat important.... but then they forgot it again and updated their fanfiction instead. Thanks for being patient everyone. Please expect that each chapter will come out when it comes out. One of us works and the other is a grad student, 'nuff said right? Anyway, as a heads up - the beginning of this story uses a sorta script format, because the characters are in a chatroom and that's how it would look. Don't be a jerk and report the story for that, please. Anyway, this will be a comedic chapter featuring goings-on at Konata's house. Please enjoy.
Chapter 2
A Father's Dream
Konata leaped and did a flip in mid-air before thrusting her sword forward and down into the apparent head of a disfigured monster. It keeled over in a heap and then evaporated into purple smoke, experience points, and 'gold.' A window depicting her smug face popped up to the side of the screen as her avatar struck a victory pose.
A new window appeared over the first, showing a lazy cat smile with closed eyes.
KonaKona: So Kagamin, come over and spend the night tomorrow.
A questionable look accompanied Kagami's reply.
Kagami: Huh? Why just me?
Tsukasa's silent avatar (allegedly) listened for an answer as to why she wasn't addressed as well.
KonaKona: Well, why should Tsukasa come?
Kagami: Wh-why should she come? What kind of a question is that?
Tsukasa: 'A'
KonaKona: Well, she'd hate it, right?
An imposing window appeared over Konata's.
Nanakon: You're not planning to copy Hiragii's homework, are you?
Konata's window dinged irritably as her mouth frowned itself into a triangle.
KonaKona: ~Ah!
A vexed expression was Kagami's next.
Kagami: These are the kinds of awkward conversations I wanted to avoid here... Look, Tsukasa's right here. Ask her yourself, don't use me as a middleman.
Tsukasa: Is something wrong with Kona-chan's house?
The next window was the back of Konata's head.
KonaKona: ;^;
KonaKona: You're all so cruel! I'm not asking for homework and I'm doing a favor by NOT asking Tsukasa to come to Winter Comiket!
Tsukasa's virtual jaw dropped. Her calmly standing avatar masked the trembling she went into at her desk chair.
Tsukasa: ('A') C-comiket?
Kagami: I guess it's admirable that she hasn't tried to rope you in again, like she did with me. I'll give her that.
KonaKona: Sensei! You owe me an apology!
Nanakon: Just be sure to do your homework, and I'll never accuse you of anything! ^3^
Tsukasa took her turn and dealt a decisive tap to an enemy Small Rat.
Tsukasa: FUNGAAAA!
KonaKona: Tsukasa, you're brutal!
Tsukasa's window looked sheepish. She seemed to be getting over the Comiket anxiety, having realized she didn't have to go or worry about refusing. Kagami remained in business mode.
Kagami: So why exactly do you need me to stay the night? It wasn't necessary last time, was it?
KonaKona: That way we can get up extra early and ride in together instead of trying to meet up.
Kagami: I see... so that's your plan... that's your only plan, right?
KonaKona: :3
Kagami: Right?!
Kagami folded her arms impatiently. She must have rang the doorbell at least three minutes ago. How long could it possibly take Konata to come to the door? At her feet was her bag of overnight necessities and other preparations for the upcoming event, which she had gotten tired of holding. From inside the house, she could hear a whoop and a holler, along with some victorious music.
From far away there was a patter, which became a tap, which transformed into a thumping. The door swung open and a panting Konata declared, "I finally got all the Tiger Stamps!"
Kagami was entirely indifferent to Konata's zealous victory, of course. She sighed under flattened brows.
"You've just gotta find a way to be late for everything, don't you?"
Konata waved a hand dismissively as she closed the door behind Kagami.
"I am not late for everything. I'm usually on time and you just don't notice me. Besides, you're 30 minutes early." Her eyelids drooped suggestively, "So you just couldn't wait to be with me, huh?"
Kagami did her best not to comment on Konata's blatant mis-truth about her punctuality. She blushed a little.
"Hey, don't start saying embarrassing things as soon as I get here..."
Konata wrapped her arms around Kagami and nuzzled her chest with a feline grin, "You're dodging the queeestiioooon."
"Woah, s-stop it!" Kagami whispered harshly. She took a quick glance around the hall to verify that they were alone, sighed, and placed a hand atop Konata's head. "Don't do this where everyone can see us." Kagami's heart was beating fast. Being like this in her own home was enough, but being in someone else's home somehow made her feel even more nervous.
"I know when we can get away with it, don't worry," Konata crooned from between Kagami's boobs, "Dad's not back yet, and Yuu-chan is over at Minami's house."
Feeling a small wave of relief, Kagami let her muscles relax. Her fingers began to mix affectionately into Konata's hair.
"You didn't by any chance invite me over at this hour because you -knew- no one would be home, did you?"
Konata dodged expertly as she continued nuzzling, "Well, it is still a decent hour to go someplace isn't it? That's why they're not here."
"Now who's dodging the question?" Kagami rolled her eyes. "And hey, stop getting so comfortable there." She tapped the smaller girl's forehead with her index finger, gently pushing her face out from its resting place at her chest. "Are you gonna keep me in the hallway the whole time I'm here?"
Konata hopped backwards into the hallway, her hands clasped behind her back. "Nah. You wanna play a game?" It was amazing-- the speed with which she could flip from intimate to platonic.
Mulling the idea over for a moment, Kagami tapped a thoughtful finger to her chin.
"Hm... Actually... I think I have a better idea." She focused her sharp blue eyes on Konata, an elegant little smile curling her lips. "Let's go to your room."
Konata's eyes widened in surprise, and she blushed despite herself. Her heart even skipped a beat. "Ah-okay!"
Kagami took hold of her girlfriend's hand. Sensing that Konata wasn't about to lead the way herself, Kagami gently guided her down the hallway to where her bedroom was. She cast a single smirk to the shorter girl while leading her.
Konata realized her heart was beating fast. Doki-doki-doki-doki... was this how the fictional girls in her eroge felt? She suddenly didn't feel so dominant as usual. It was bizarre, especially because it wasn't entirely disagreeable. She trailed along behind Kagami, looking up at the gently flapping twintails. I never thought Kagami would be so forward... Her eyes squinted into the shapes of greater than and less than, and her mouth opened into a big smile.
Kagamin is going to...!
Kagami shut the door behind them.
Without wasting any time, she dropped her leather bag onto the ground, knelt down, and reached into it.
"I've got something in here for you..."
"Wha, you--" Konata didn't know what to say. This was getting a little weird. Why wasn't Kagami stuttering and denying the emotional implications of her actions? Had becoming a couple eliminated her tsun-tsun? Konata took a step back.
Neither Kagami's grin nor her decisively half-lidded gaze faltered as her arm slid slowly out of the bag, revealing the contents to be...
...a textbook.
All at once Konata's racing heart came to a screeching halt.
"Huh?"
"I thought that since we were going to have some extra time alone today, you and I could do our homework together." Kagami explained, sounding very satisfied. Konata could almost feel her insides turning blue.
"Wha-... homework?"
Kagami gave a little nod. "And I figured, since you and I are a thing now - I should be even more concerned with your academics than before. After all, our futures will affect each other now. Your performance could become a reflection on me!"
"Wait... Kagami, you've thought that far ahead? And... homework??"
"So I'll do you a big favor from now on, and sit with you through your work sometimes. That way you can actually learn the material, and I'll be here to correct any mistakes. We can start right now!" Kagami beamed and pulled out Konata's desk chair, patting its seat with her hand.
"N-now hold it, maybe we should reconsider..." Konata began, her voice quivering to a pause. Looking at her companion's bright smile seemed to suck the protest right out of her. Slumping, the otaku dragged herself to the chair as if in chains.
What is this sudden, awful feeling of obligation?
"I'm home!" Yutaka's small voice announced into the hallway of the Izumi home. She slipped her shoes off by the doorway, noticing an extra pair next to Konata's.
Oneechan must have a friend over... maybe I shouldn't bother her.
Carefully, the tiny redhead crept down the hall toward her room.
I wonder if I should start dinner. Oneechan and her friend are probably busy, maybe they want to wait. Should I ask? Passing Konata's room on the way to her own, Yutaka noticed that her cousin's door was slightly open. She decided to peek in, curious as to how busy the older girl was.
Konata and Kagami were peacefully seated at Konata's desk, carefully going over a set of notes and writing accordingly. Kagami was in the middle of commenting on Konata's progress.
I guess they are busy. I shouldn't disturb them.
Before she could even turn her head back to the hallway, Konata shot a look to her younger cousin and locked her in place. Desperation flooded her lazy features. Bags hung beneath her eyes where fake tears of protest had forcibly cascaded earlier. The blue-haired girl's ahoge trembled and drooped. Yutaka could practically read the thoughts that the older girl despairingly directed at her.
Yuu-chan, SAVE ME!
"Ah!" Yutaka exclaimed. Kagami looked up from her pages.
"Oh, hello Yutaka-chan. We didn't hear you come in."
"H-hello!" Yutaka stammered, her cousin's relentless, pleading gaze boring into her. "I was just going to ask if you were hungry for dinner. Since Oneechan's dad will be home soon, I could get started now--"
"YES! And I'll help!"
By the time dinner was served, Konata was on the road to recovery. Her lazy cat smile was back, but her limp ahoge was testament to her recent trauma. It would take significant tsundere teasing, or perhaps a new eroge, to fully heal the wound.
Soujirou slipped in through the front door, finally home and looking particularly cheerful. He quickly noticed that dinner was under preparation and made his way to the kitchen. "I'm home! Ah, you girls have already started dinner...!" The older man sounded both touched and a little too excited by the prospect.
"Welcome home, Dad." Konata greeted casually. Soujirou shut his eyes and inhaled deeply as he moved toward his seat.
"Thank you for preparing my dinner, Konata, Yutaka..." Taking his place at the table, Soujirou opened his eyes and beamed at his two family members.
"Hello, Izumi-san." A third voice caught his attention as quickly as the pigtailed head of lavender hair did. Souojirou immediately perked when he spotted her, his eyes suddenly shimmering. This time, he was definitely too excited.
"Why, hellooooooo Kagami-chan!" The older man's voice was elated, as if he had been greeted by the bouncing Fujiko herself. His eyes brimmed in an almost childlike excitement. "Konata didn't tell me that you would be over tonight! Hello!"
"Ah... hello." Kagami responded, more than an ounce of awkwardness weighing on her voice.
"Oh yeah, Dad, I invited Kagami over. That's okay, right?" Konata motioned towards Kaami with closed eyes.
"Okay?" Soujirou laughed, almost squeaking, "What kind of parent would I be if it wasn't okay? It's cruel not to accept these kinds of things!"
"Er...thanks Dad," Konata replied.
Dinner commenced. There was eating, a little banter.
"..and it was supposed to be animated by a very reputable studio, but a few days later they canceled it and the manga artist said that it was all a 'dream'. It was really weird."
"That's too bad... it sounds like Hiyori-chan would've really liked that show, too."
"It's okay, she's a fan of the manga."
"She seems like the type who'd prefer manga anyway..." Kagami added to the cousins' conversation, her voice a little more than casual. For some reason, the hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end. Her eyes slowly moved from side to side, scanning for a source...
"Want some fried rice, Kagami-san?" Yutaka broke the older girl from her mini-trance. She offered the serving plate to her. "You haven't had that much."
"Ah, thank you!" Kagami accepted. "Sorry to be rude."
What is this uneasy feeling I have?
"Did you gain a few kilos recently? You can tell me. I won't judge you." Konata poked.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The tsundere growled in response. Her defensive banter ceased when a stifled little sound of happiness escaped from the man at the end of the table. Slowly, Kagami turned her attention over to Soujirou.
He was staring - and smiling, as well. In fact, he looked as if he could have begun bouncing in his seat if anything else were to excite him.
Kagami immediately whipped her attention back to her plate.
What the hell is with that?!
"Kagami-chaaan, you don't have to sit so far apart from Konata," Soujirou volunteered reassurance. "It's not like you're a GUY, and you're practically family here.
Konata scooted over so that her arm and leg were pressed against Kagami's. "Kay, Dad." She continued eating normally.
Kagami twitched a little. Wha... She did not return to her food. That wasn't normal. The girl couldn't help but shudder. That definitely wasn't normal! She cast a look over to Konata, hoping that the smaller girl's aura could give her some sort of reassurance. Konata was only carrying on as usual though, as if her father was -not- acting even more bizarre than usual.
I could just be reading too much into this...again. Guess I'll just ignore it..
Soujirou began to cry silently.
Kagami glanced up from her rice. Though he'd been able to stifle his sobs, numerous sniffles and a rather obvious river of tears did not go unnoticed.
"Ah... I-Izumi-san, are you alright?" Kagami sweatdropped.
It seemed he could no longer contain himself. There was a flash of grey sleeves, and Kagami's hands were grasped in Soujirou's. She could feel the last hint of steam brushing past her hands, as they were suspended over the middle of the table. Kagami was effectively creeped out.
"I"m just so -SNIFF- so glad that you're HERE," Soujiro gushed. His eyes shimmered in an overly romantic, nay, melodramatic manner, and his backdrop was filled with pastels, flowers, google-eyed cherubs, and a cornucopia. "Please...I'm trusting you to look after my precious daughter. You have my blessing. And you're welcome here any time! Any time at all!" Soujirou freed one of Kagami's hands so that he could wipe is eyes on his sleeve.
Kagami's mouth hung slightly agape as Soujirou's monologue came to a close. Her hair seemed to have frazzled itself. There was barely enough of an awkward silence to register amongst the table's participants. In one flash, Kagami stood. In another, she had snatched Konata by the arm.
"YOU. Come with me, NOW."
Konata, of course, had no chance to argue. Soujirou only sighed happily as they swiftly exited the room.
"Oh, my heart has wings at this moment. Can you feel it, Yutaka?"
Yutaka stared at the doorway, looking adorably perplexed.
"What... just happened?"
The pair rushed into Konata's room like a gust of wind. Kagami released the smaller girl's arm, but now faced her with being at the mercy of a raging tsundere.
"Would you care to explain ANYTHING that just happened out there?"
Konata smiled sweetly as she made for the door. "I'd rather not, but it's really considerate of you to consider my feelings!" Her hair was flipping around the doorway as she made her escape.
Konata's long hair was to be her undoing this time, as Kagami's hand lashed out at lighting speed and snagged the fleeting blue strands.
"Oh no you don't!" She yanked the tiny otaku back into the room. Konata yelped and grabbed her hair, trying to alleviate the pain on her scalp.
"Owowowowow---Let me gooo!"
Kagami placed herself in the bedroom doorway this time, cold fire in her eyes. "Of all people to tell, you... You told him, didn't you?!"
Konata fell on her tailbone with a surprisingly loud thump, and pouted up at Kagami.
"I--I-Of course not! No, I would never! I'd never tell him. I didn't tell him. I didn't. Not exactly." She started out speaking quickly, in a reassuring manner. She ended in a mutter.
"Explain." Kagami demanded with a twitch, not in the mood for Konata's poor attempts at BS-ing.
Konata's eyes were overshadowed in a nervous smile as she turned away from Kagami. "It's...ah..." She flipped around with sparkles, with a finger to her lips and a wink, "Classified information."
Konata's one open eye was met with a terrifying visage. Kagami loomed over her like a soul-sucking shadow, eyes burning.
"You have five seconds." She hissed.
T-Tendou Soun!!
"Does...does it really matter? He's obviously fine with it and all..." Konata laughed weakly.
"That's exactly the disturbing thing about it, coming from him!" Kagami's shoulders dropped along with her frightening aura. She bowed her face into her open palms. "Really Konata, what were you thinking? You of all people should know why we wouldn't want him to know. If you have a good reason, I want to hear it from you!" She looked at the shorter girl with sincerity.
Konata squirmed a little where she sat, as if fighting with the guilty reaction Kagami's cuteness was causing. Then she sighed.
"Well, it's really not my fault. He kinda figured it out on his own. We were playing a marathon round of S0p-r Sm0sh Br-th-rs, and it was really close, right? Well, he manages to send me off the edge pretty far, and I'm trying to get back on. That's when he says all casually...."
"So how long have you and Kagami been together?"
"A few days now," Konata muttered.
It was in the next moment that two amazing things happened. Soujirou would later recount it as a testimony to the power of a father. He had tricked a confession out of his cunning daughter. Just as Soujirou discovered the truth, Konata discovered she'd just verified that truth. And in that instant, Konata's video-gaming concentration faltered. And so the revelation was marked by the ringing crack of the homerun bat. Konata's Solid Sn-ke flew into oblivion as Soujirou's Pe-ch twirled tauntingly.
Konata had lost the game. Both games. In the same instant.
"OOH!" Soujirou squealed in unison with the princess on the TV screen. "Then I was right! I was right!" The man turned to his poor, petrified daughter and stood. His features were overshadowed, his towering height somehow seeming ominous. Each second that passed after his last utterance seemed to stretch on agonizingly.
"Konata..."
Konata only managed to make some sort of retching noise from deep within her throat. Before the poor thing could choke any further, she was swiftly stifled in an immense bear hug.
"DADDY'S SO PROUD OF YOU!!"
The gagging intensified as Konata squirmed.
The estatic man swayed his flailing daughter back and forth affectionately a few times, then finally loosened up enough to allow her some breath... only to volley her with questions.
"So how did you do it, huh? What was it like? Tell me, how willing was she? Have you tried anything with her in her miko cos--"
"Dad!" she interrupted reproachfully. Her demeanor was that of surprise and disgust.
Soujirou silenced himself immediately, timid to his daughter's raised voice.
"She's a tsundere Dad. I can't move that fast!" She seemed ashamed that he had overlooked what should have been obvious to any dating-sim veteran.
"Ah! Of course, how could I forget? Kagami-chan is your tsundere friend! And somehow... somehow that makes me even happier..." The older man's eyes shone.
"Really? I didn't think you liked tsundere that much. After all, you got with Mom, and she didn't sound like one at.... Wait..." Konata stood up and took a step back, suspicion in her voice, "You know, you're not taking any pictures.
"A tsundere for Konata is fine too. Don't you know your father? If it's moe it's moe! Ah!" Soujirou's hand went over his heart. "As for pictures... well I'd need both of you here, wouldn't I?"
"No, dad, no pictures. You know things are delicate at this stage, right? If you took pictures, Kagami would go into berserker mode. She made me promise that I wouldn't tell you, not that I blame her."
"Just think of me as..." Soujirou struck a mischievous pose. "An obstacle!" The photographer hoped to appeal to his daughter by way of another gaming reference.
It didn't help. Konata was serious about this one. She already found all his photography annoying in the first place. With a shy and secretive new girlfriend, it was unacceptable.
"No."
Soujirou whined, and relented... for the moment at least.
"If that's the case, then we'll take some tonight, just you n' me... to commemorate my daughter's cleared tsundere route!" He flashed her a thumbs-up. Konata looked pouty.
"I have other stuff to doooo." Of course, she meant that she had some anime to record and an MMO campaign later.
Soujirou went about setting up his fancy camera anyway, and Konata button mashed her way through a 100-man-brawl. She was frowning, as if trying to figure out some puzzle.
"How did you know?"
"Hm?" Soujirou looked over his shoulder. "You mean about you and Kagami?"
"Yeah."
"Well... let's just say that you left behind a rather obvious trail of hints, daughter." The older man cupped his chin between his index finger and thumb, trying to strike a wily pose. "You underestimated your father's power."
"COMPLETE!" Shouted Konata's game, signaling that she could rest her controller on the floor and give her full attention back to her dad.
"Well, isn't this the part where you're supposed to explain how you figured it all out, Detective C-n0n?" Konata chided.
"Gladly!" Soujirou exclaimed, standing fully and facing the center of the room. He kept his hand in its previous position, assuming it made him look rather dashing.
"There were a number of things that tipped me off, Konata... all of them left behind so carelessly by YOU!" He pointed a finger at her for dramatic effect.
Soujirou cleared his throat.
"Number one! Your cell phone statement had a sudden jump in calls just toward the end of this month. 'How strange', I thought. 'My daughter rarely puts her cell phone to use in such a way.' So I took a look at your history - just to make sure you weren't getting involved in something troublesome, of course - and saw that every one of those new calls was made to Kagami!"
Konata tucked in her knees and put her hands on them. She slouched. Her feet fidgeted against one another.
"But that could be just because of entrance exams. Kagami is the only one I can rely on to help me with that."
"Number two!" Soujirou boomed, this time putting both his fists on his hips for emphasis. "For a number of the latest galge you have been playing, the first route you have gone for was the tsundere character's route! If not that, then you went for the girl with the twin-tails! Or better yet, both! Usually my little girl likes some variety, so this was curious indeed." He nodded gravely to himself.
Konata was still not impressed, and regarded her father with skepticism. She nibbled on her thumbnail a little. Her voice was hushed, but straightforward and deductive.
"Tsundere characters have become more numerous, and the correlation of the pigtail aesthetic to the tsundere has been duly noted by fandom. The increased number of pigtailed tsundere increases the likelihood that you would see me playing that route. Also, you have no way of knowing how I play each game. You witness only about 20% of my galge activities, so it could all be a coincidence. None of that was feasible enough for you to draw a conclusion until you underhandedly tricked it out of me."
"And finally..." Soujirou began pacing back and forth. "Finally, I noticed something very different about your desktop. You previously had a Haruhi season 2 picture as your background! Before then, it was Sh00fle or P0p0ta0! Your background has always reflected your interests, dear, but recently - it's changed to a picture of you and Kagami-chan! That was the last clue I needed. The pieces all came together so easily... Konata and Kagami are--!"
Konata started where she was perched, and fell in slow motion. Her eyes were wide as she looked up at her grinning father. Slowly she closed them.
I win...! seemed to emanate from her father's visage.
Konata suddenly popped up, glaring and rubbing her shoulder. Her mouth was SUCH a triangle. "Dad! That's terrible! What about the sacred and understood privacy of the personal computer?!"
Soujirou jumped in place, his face turning blue and his confidence dropping alarmingly.
"No no! I only saw it over your shoulder honey, I swear! When you called me in to look at your video recorder! It was an honest mistake, please don't be mad at me!" Soujirou was practically cowering as his sentence finished, feeling the arrow of his daughter's resentment sending chills of pain through his heart.
"You... betrayed me..." Konata hung her head and hugged her knees. She jerked her shoulders to simulate crying.
"No really! It was only a glimpse, I wasn't trying to violate your privacy, I just happened to see! Believe me, Daddy's sorry!!"
Soujirou threw himself onto the ground and kowtowed to his sniffling daughter.
After a great fake sniffle, Konata peeked up from behind her arms. "So you'll never ever ever break that sacred trust again?"
"NO of course not! Never!" Soujirou whimpered a little and kept his face to the ground.
Konata sat up strait and spoke blandly. "Good...but you know...for the sake of that computer confidentiality contract, I must have you make restitution to me."
Catching each of her references, Soujirou couldn't help but smile.
"Ah, you are still making me so proud... How can I make it up to you?"
"You have to promise not to take pictures or video of us in any manner. You may not set up a camera that will take the picturess or videos for you either. You must not follow or spy on us or listen in on our phone conversations. Don't let on that you know about us, either. Don't even hint that you know. Otherwise, you'll have to join the Unforgivable Father's club, along with G0-nd- and --s0k0 and that guy from P-r-n00 -g0nt." She was careful not to allow loopholes.
"Yes yes, of course." Soujirou bowed his head. I hope that's not a sacrifice I'll have to make...
"And also, I'll stop helping you on the galge."
"Okay, okay." Soujirou lifted his hands reassuringly. "Don't worry about me."
A small silence passed, with both parent and child seeming pleased with the turn of events.
"One thing confuses me, Konata..." Soujirou eventually piped up.
"What's that?" Konata said absently as she stood up to go get a snack from the kitchen.
"Well, you've always taken after me more than your mom... at least as far as personality goes. So I'm surprised that you didn't go after someone... well... a girl I'd have really gone for. Someone more like your mom."
Konata turned around and considered the question thoughtfully. "Well...I dunno. I found that I liked teasing people at an early age. And I like contests and competition. I like games. Being with Kagami is fun. She gives good reactions, but she still challenges me...And I like how she's so independent about all the things I'm weak in...She supports me but she also pushes me...It's really cute when she shows her soft side. Yeah. I don't think somebody like Mom would challenge me like that and still care for me in that way." Konata seemed a little suprised at herself, when she finished. "Yeah..." she nodded a little and turned again to go into the kitchen.
Soujirou himself seemed surprised at his daughter's insight. He had been expecting a much simpler answer. He smiled at the sight of his daughter's back as she moved into the kitchen.
She's really growing, isn't she... but that was still so cute!
Konata strolled back in, crunching on a rice cracker. "So, it doesn't bother you that I like girls that way?"
"Nope." Soujirou answered, having gone back to tinkering with his equipment. "What makes you think that it would?"
Konata shrugged dismissively, "Well, I just wondered. It's one thing to like all that stuff in games, and it's another thing to have a person like that for a daughter, in real life. It's not exactly approved of. Most people would probably just think I'm immature..."
"Are you kidding?" Soujirou clicked his camera onto its tripod and turned to face Konata. "On top of the fact that I love my daughter no matter how weird she is, this sort of thing is a blessing for me! I would be fine if you were just trying something different, but I'm even more okay if this is how it'll be from now on!"
"So you're just a freak, is all." Konata concluded without sentiment.
"No, no! Well, maybe - but there's a much deeper reasoning to it than that, Konata." Soujirou defended.
"You're going to say something about human worth and love no matter what, right? Still, even if that is all true, you wouldn't accept it if you weren't into it."
"If it means that you'll be spending the rest of your life with another girl - there's no boyfriend!" Soujirou went on rambling. "It also means that you can't get married! No boy will ever take you away from me this way... I'll always be the only man in your life! What man wouldn't want it this way? It's a father's dream!"
Konata's temple sported blue lines over a sick purple hue. "That's not a deep reason at all..." Then Konata smiled, "Still, I'm glad you're okay with it."
Soujirou gave his daughter another uninvited hug. "I'm glad too. Now," He reached for his camera's remote shutter button, keeping his other arm around Konata. "Let's take those commemorative photos!"
"I said no pictuuures!" Konata fussed and squirmed. Although she had more than enough power to get away, she couldn't. She would hurt her dad...and she was actually rather glad he was so happy about her choices.
The two of them posed together, Soujirou beaming and Konata trying to look like her smile wasn't forced. The camera clicked, and they posed again.
"Oh, and yeah... that sorta stuff does get me goin', too." The older man mentioned.
-Click-
Konata wasn't quite smiling in that particular picture.
Of course, Konata didn't tell it quite like that. Her abridged version painted a very heroic, sentimental and martyred self-portrait. Even altered, it didn't do much to affect Kagami's reaction.
"That was... disturbing." Kagami commented after it was all over.
"He's really happy that you'll never get married? I thought that a parent's dream is to finally get their kid out of the house. And out of all that happened, the things that bothered you the most were that he looked at your computer screen and forgot that I'm a 'tsundere'?" The pigtailed girl's long-overdue injection of reality had finally made its way into the conversation.
"But doesn't that bother you?? He hardly remembers who you are if he forgot you were a tsundere!"
"No, in fact I'd have preferred it that way. More like, everything in that conversation that didn't bother you is what bothered me." Kagami explained rather flatly.
Konata put on a cute, appeasing face, "But that's what makes us such a good couple, right? Our differences..."
Kagami sighed, and put a hand on top of Konata's head.
"You must mean the different planets we're from, right?" She sounded exasperated, but there was a hint of playfulness to what she said.
"I'm from Keron, and Kagami's from the Oni Planet!"
Kagami smiled a little and kept her hand atop Konata's head, ruffling her blue bangs a little.
"I'm really not happy with this development, but I guess this time it wasn't really your fault. Your dad's freakishly observant about you..."
"That's right! I'm a victim!" Konata reiterated passionately.
"Yeah, about as innocent as she is tall..." Kagami pulled both of Konata's cheeks a little. "Don't let this one incident go to your head."
"Why would I let that go to my heeeeead?" Konata whined from behind stretched cheeks.
Kagami didn't answer, knowing that she didn't need to explain Konata's own nature to her. Instead, she gave in to the annoying fondness that was welling up in her for the little otaku. She leaned in toward the face she pinched in her hands, and placed a tentative kiss upon the shorter girl's nose.
Kagami then released Konata's face and backed up, blushing lightly. That in turn left Konata's fondness for her shy little tsundere bubbling over. The pigtailed girl was pounced.
"WAH!" Was Kagami's elegant outcry as she hit the floor of Konata's room.
At that point, Konata usually would have proceeded to smother Kagami's face in kisses. However, her fox-like hearing told her something was amiss. She remained bent over a wide-eyed Kagami as her head snapped to the door, which had opened a crack. The door suddenly sweatdropped (complete with dancing yellow lines) and abruptly closed itself.
Konata's eyes became ominous glittering stars.
She leaped up to her feet and struck a flamboyant pose. "In the name of the moon, I will punish you!" she cried. With that, she flung the door open and took off through the hallway, after a not-so-mysterious set of scrambling feet.
"EEK!"
Kagami sighed as she propped herself on her elbows from her spot on the floor. She wore her signature expression of exasperation.
"I guess I shouldn't have figured that anything about this relationship would be normal..."
Footnotes: Was that worth the wait? Probably not, since there was so little fanservice. One of these days we'll write a chapter with lots of fanservice, but who knows when that will be? Thank you for being such devoted readers and waiting for us to update for all this time. We've actually been working steadily on it ever since Ch. 1 came out. How slow! Please let us know what you think. A lot of time did go into this one.
Next Time: Kagami here. Don't you hate it when you're using spell-check on something you wrote, and it keeps trying to correct everyone's name in the story? You have to teach it everyone's name AND the possessive version too! And don't you find it a little insulting when it tells you that YOUR OWN name is spelled wrong?? Then it starts correcting your grammar in all these random places and you're not even sure what grammatical error you could have made because you thought you knew this stuff already but apparently your computer knows better! You just wanna tell it to stop being so damn critical!
Next Time: "It's a Matter of Love". O-tanoshimi ni!
