As promised and long awaited.
This chapter was exhausting, so all I have to say is this:
I love Konami sooooo freakin much it hurts inside.
Chapter 7
That same night.
"Hey, girls?"
The sound of Sojiro's voice downstairs still wasn't even to deter them from their feeling of shock.
"You doing alright up there?"
Still, neither of them could offer an answer. They each just backed away from each other slowly, gingerly moving in awkward positions from the discomfort of the wet sensations they felt. Nearly petrified emotionally by what just happened, neither of them made a sound. If it hadn't been for Yutaka fainting onto the floor, they might have stayed in that state forever.
Minami barely caught the exhausted girl's limp body before he head made contact with the carpeted floor. She gingerly shook Yutaka, feeling a sense of panic from a complete lack of sway as to what her next move was. Never, in her entire life had she felt like such a ball being yanked around on a chain by her emotions.
First, it was a kiss she never consciously intended to plant on Yutaka's cheek. From there, she had no control over herself until this moment, now feeling tired and confused; scared and nervous.
Yutaka's eyes started to open up, and since Minami's face was the first thing she saw, she smiled. Relief washed over Minami as she realized what kind of awkward…very awkward and wobble position they had put themselves in.
"Yes, were fine!" Minami called out towards the door for Yutaka's uncle to hear.
Finally, Sojiro heard a reply. "Geez…did they fall asleep or something?" he asked to no one in particular. "You two need anything?" he called out again.
"No, we're ok!"
"..hmmm…" he thought something through for a second. "..Well, just holler if you need anything!"
This odd form of communication involving loud voices felt very foreign to Minami. Her household never utilized such volume in speech, so not only way it new for her, but her voice had never actually had to scream like this before. The words that had come out of her mouth sounded extremely forced.
The very odd and alien tone in her voice had made Yutaka leaned forward and stare at her, surprised. She had never seen Minami scared like this before. She was scared to be caught, scared to be kicked out, and scared to be forced never to see Yutaka again unless the current situation was handled with extreme care and delicacy. Unlike Minami, Yutaka knew of Sojiro's very, shall we say, tolerant views of society. Yes, having a moment like the one they just had probably wouldn't have been the best of ideas, but at least she knew Sojiro wouldn't be out of his mind angry. (At least, that's what she felt. The cold and the medicine she was may have been affecting her thinking a bit, which would explain her willingness of her part moment ago while experiencing out-of-her-mind bliss.)
They both took a few deep breaths, and Minami's face seemed to return to its normal expression of high alert placidness. She looked at Yutaka, now calmed down, and asked, "Are you ok?"
She slowly nodded her response. "Mhm…" she moaned, still wearing a smirk of contentment. That kind of response made Minami ponder whether some of Konata's perversity and libido may have either rubbed of on her, or they shared that common trait in their blood. "…I'm doing…really…good…" she sighed in satisfaction and yawned. "I do feel kind of wet, though…."
Minami blushed and put her face in her hands. "Uuughh…" she groaned. "….I can't believe this just happened…."
Yutaka noticed her sense of regret and she instantly became upset. "What? Why, Minami-chan?" she asked.
The scared childish look on Yutaka's face was relatively easy to understand. Minami realized that what she just said made it sound like she was pondering hindsight. Yutaka was now under the impression Minami hadn't wanted any of it. It scared her. She was worried that the person she loved didn't love her back.
"No, no, wait….don't…" Minami put up her hands when she saw Yutaka starting to cry, and she put her arms around her. "…It's ok. I didn't mean it like that."
Yutaka clenched her hands together behind the taller girl's back. "…Are you sure?…" she asked. It wasn't enough for her. She had to know. After so long, and after so many sleepless nights she had finally received the type of embrace she had always wanted. Now, she desperately needed to know if that embrace meant what she hoped it meant.
Minami sighed and stroked the top of her head. "….Oh…I'm so sorry, Yutaka….I didn't mean it like that at all…please…stop crying…"
She couldn't. The experience they just had was now introducing the shock from what many people describe as "the first time". Now, after giving herself up to Minami, the last thing she wished to feel was the betrayal of their intimacy. It had to have meant something. "…tell me…tell me you love me…"
Minami wasn't sure she had heard that right, and she looked into Yutaka's eyes; those eyes she had only until now had the courage to peer at. "….Wh-what?"
That was not the response Yutaka had been hoping for.
"…Ah! No, wait!.." Yutaka had started to cry again, and Minami suddenly hugged her tighter, running her hands up and down her back. "…Yutaka, I love you. I do! Please stop crying! I mean it!"
She did stop. Nearly instantly. "…Are you…are you sure?" Yutaka asked, looking up at her with teary eyes.
Minami nodded while wiping some of the tears off her cheek. "Yeah….Yeah, I do…more than anyone in the world…"
Their next kiss, a slow and soft caress of the lips, had not a hint of lust or passion. It was simply reassurance of the other's feelings. Reassurance of the other's love. They both needed that at that moment more than anything the way a person needs water after running a marathon.
Yutaka pulled away and buried her face in Minami's shoulder. "Minami-chan, I love you…I love you…I love you…" she whispered, breathing out slowly.
Minami kissed her one more time on the cheek and wiped her face again. "I love you too, Yutaka…" She stared at her face, then her gazed worked her way down her body to her legs. "Wait here for a second." she said, standing up, "I'll be right back. I promise."
Yutaka simply nodded her compliance as Minami left the room. She closed the door behind her, walked a little ways down the hall, and opened the bathroom door. She closed the door behind her and grabbed a towel from the wall.
Feeling very embarrassed, although she was completely safe in the locked bathroom, she took her clothes off to wipe herself down. The thought of a shower had crossed her mind since her body felt the need for one so bad, but this was the best she could do without attracting too much attention.
For the most part, she was safe. Yutaka's…overflow…had only splashed across her thigh, missing her socks and barely nipping at the hem of her skirt. With just some water, she easily looked presentable again. Her hair was a bit disheveled, but that wasn't something a little finger combing couldn't fix.
There still was one rather large problem: her own soiling.
She had to, if anything, remove her underwear. There was no place to put it, but no way to get around it. The soiled undergarment was so uncomfortable, it was impossible not to deal with. In the corner of the bathroom was a laundry basket filled a little with what appeared to be dirty clothes. Since that was her best and only option, she left the article of clothing in there under some of the other garments ready for wash.
No feeling very much relieved, she opened the bathroom door.
Now, it was hard to gauge just how alert and cognitive she was at that moment. For one, wearing a skirt without underwear was a treacherous thing to do. Second, the opening of the door had caused a draft of air to brush against herself down there, and she shivered uncontrollably. Nervously looking both ways, she prepared herself and bolted down the hall a few seconds before bursting into Yutaka's empty room.
Now, she started to feel a bit guilty again. She needed to borrow some underwear, and it was embarrassing to admit, even to herself, that she knew exactly where to look. Her face was red with embarrassment as she pulled on a plain pair of panties, which it surprisingly well even though she was much taller. Height, however, does not always have an effect of size. She knew this better than anyone, considering her complex over her bust.
Now that she was in here, she realized it would probably be a good idea to grab some things for Yutaka as well. Nervously, she wrapped up a fresh pair of pajamas and clean underwear in a towel all folded on the edge of her bed. Now back in Konata's room, Yutaka was very happy to have such amenities. The cold wet sensation had begun to really bother her.
She gave Yutaka the bundle, and turned around to leave the room so she could change. What she didn't expect was Yutaka to say, "Minami-chan…I…I need some help…."
-o0o-
It was starting to get late, but usually not late enough for Konata to come home just yet. Usually she was out playing and visiting friends if she didn't come home after school, so when Sojiro heard the door open a little earlier than usual, he got up and greeted her at the door.
"Hey, Konata." he said, "You want some dinner? I was about to start on some for Yutaka and….." He trailed off when he the aura about her.
Konata stood in the small foyer of the home, absent mindedly kicking her shoes off. Her head was ducked low, her hair covering her face. Her shoulders slumped down, her body nearly inactive. To someone who never met this blue haired ball of marbles, they probably would have assumed that she was just tired, or even depressed. The depressed assumption would be close, but not even scratching the surface. The life, it seemed, had been drained out of her.
"Whoa, you okay Konata?" her father asked. "You look like your computer crashed." She looked up at him, bottom lip quivering, on the verge of crying. He had no idea what the problem was, but as a father, he knew to hold out his arms and let his daughter bury her face in his stomach. "Sh…shhhh…hey now, what's this all about?"
She looked up and him, wiping her eyes and shaking her head slowly back and forth. "..I…I couldn't do anything…."
"Do anything?" he asked, patting her on the head. "Do anything about what?"
The next word out of her mouth was the hardest to say. The very mention of her pushed Konata farther over the edge. As she squeaked out "Kagami" in between sobs, Sojiro simply sighed and rubbed her back as her tears started to soak the front of his shirt. He looked up at the ceiling and tried to put things into context by himself, since Konata didn't seem to be in the talking mood as of this moment.
She was no doubt extremely upset, which would suggest that maybe she had been rejected? That couldn't have been it. Her "I couldn't do anything" admission didn't make sense in that situation. From what it sounded like, Kagami was hurt. Because of that realization, he imagined the worst possible scenario
He pushed her back and squatted down to her eyelevel, his face stern and serious. "Konata, what happened to Kagami?!" he asked as if he was interrogating her. She stopped crying and stared at him with a blank face. "What happened to Kagami? Is she hurt?!"
Konata shook her head. "No…she's sick…" she mumbled quietly.
He sighed, relieved that it wasn't the worst, but looked at her with a confused expression. "Did she catch whatever's going around?"
She nodded.
"Then….." he rubbed the back of his head and stood up. "…Why are you crying like this? From the way you're acting, I thought she had been hit by a car or….something! You really scared me…."
"You don't understand….You don't understand!…..You don't understand!"
He stepped back, surprised by the growing anger in her voice, but squatted down again to ask, "Okay, you're right Konata, I don't." he put a hand on her shoulder, "Tell me what happened."
Although it wasn't more than an hour ago, the thought of bringing it up and retelling the story, reiterating the pain and desperation was the last thing she wanted to do. Her eyes started to water up again as she sobbed, "…Kagami….she started to cry…..and she grabbed me…..she was hurting…..I don't know what happened…..she just started crying and held onto me…I don't know what happened!"
"Okay…okay…Shhhhh" he patted her on the back and led her farther inside the house. "…Why don't you go upstairs…" he said as comforting as possible. "…You look tired…"
She nodded slowly while wiping her eyes again. Wasn't that the truth. While Kagami was experiencing her fit back home, Konata's adrenalin had spiked while she gripped her hand. Now, after walking home and letting out a cry, she looked exhausted. There were bags under her eyes and slightly blotchy cheeks. Now running out of steam, she agreed and headed for the stairs.
Sojiro, now with a determined look on his face, went into the kitchen and picked up the cordless phone. He knew the Hiragi's home phone number by heart, mainly because of the countless times Konata had forgotten her phone and the countless times he called to see if she was there. Nine times out of ten, his first guess was the right one.
The other end picked up after what seemed like painfully long time listening to ringing. "Hello?" a female voice from the other end asked.
Sojiro cleared his throat. "Um, this is Sojiro, Konata's dad…"
Matsuri scratched her chin, but slowly nodded in realization. "Ohh, okay, sorry. I've been sick lately and my mind isn't moving as fast as I would like."
"It's fine." he said. "Are you one of Kagami's sisters?"
"Yeah, Matsuri." she said. "Are you calling about Konata? If your looking for her, she isn't here."
He knew who Matsuri was. Konata had been very clear one evening of how much she disliked the older college student. He never took it too seriously though, since Konata seemed to hang out with Kagami all the time and they fought more than any siblings he ever knew.
"Yes, I know." he said. "She just came home about a couple of minutes ago."
"Um…" Matsuri sounded confused more than she did congested. "…well, okay then why did you call, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Ummm…." he sighed, "…it's kind of hard to explain…Konata came home pretty upset, and she said something about Kagami being sick, or being hurt, or something along those lines. I'm not sure… She was really emotional when she came back home."
Matsuri sounded very pensive. "Ohhhh….Yeah, Konata came by to visit Kagami today with her friends." she said, the conversation's mood dropping fast. "Kagami spiked a fever. Her headache was so bad she cried."
"Is that what Konata's talking about?" he asked, "She made it sound like it was a lot worse."
"Oh, it was worse than you think." she said. "Kagami was grabbing onto Konata for a while. That's how bad it must have hurt….I'm not really sure how to explain it, but it was really really bad. I gave her some codine syrup about an hour ago, so she feels fine now, but….."
He slowly nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "…Yikes…" he sighed. "…Is she going to be alright?"
Matsuri shrugged to herself as she held the phone. "Dad is taking her to the hospital when he gets home any minute now." she said. "I think she'll be okay, but it's still best not to take any chances her."
Sojiro silently agreed. The many times Yutaka had gotten sick never got that bad. She just had a weak constitution, but he couldn't help imagining what a debilitating cold would be like for the poor girl. "Yeah…that's a good idea." he said.
This time it was Matsuri's turn to ask a question. "So…um, is uh…Konata okay?"
-o0o-
She wasn't crying anymore, but her eyes still watered as she whimpered to herself. The back of her hand was damp from her eyes, and everything was a little blurry as she walked upstairs. When she came to her room, she opened the door and walked inside to see Yutaka and Minami sitting together on the floor. In her mental state, that's all she picked up from the situation. Usually, she would have joked about their proximity or something concerning their rather unusually close relationship, but right now she didn't feel it at all.
"Oh…hey Yutaka…Minami…" she sighed, turning around. "…sorry guys…"
"Konata onee-chan?" Yutaka asked, "Are you okay?" Minami didn't say anything, but she too noticed the otaku's depressive state and felt concerned.
Konata bit her bottom lip to keep from crying. She was extremely tired of crying and didn't want to start again, but some things never go the way you want. She turned around and shook her head as she brought an arm over her eyes. "No…no I'm now…*sniff*.." she admitted defeat as she plopped herself on the floor.
Yutaka scooted closer and gave her a hug. Konata returned the hug and cried on her shoulder, which felt unusual for the salmon haired girl. Minami got up and squatted down on her haunches in front of them.
"What happened?" Minami asked, voice smoothly intimidating and serious. "Are you hurt?"
Konata shook her head. "No..no it's not me." she said. "It's Kagami.."
Yutaka and Minami looked at each other, giving each other a look. They both knew that Konata and Kagami weren't just friends, they were best friends right down to the shared soul between them like they are. If anyone in the world cared about anybody, it was those two.
"….Kagami got sick *sniff* and she…"
"She what?" Yutaka asked, "Is she ok?"
Konata started balling. "I don't know!…Waahhh…"
Minami sighed and stood up while Yutaka just hugged the crying girl. She left the room and went down to the kitchen for a glass of water. Sojiro was still there, talking to someone on the phone. She couldn't make out what the conversation was about, but by his inflection she knew it had to have been about Konata. She pointed to a clean glass by the sink as if to ask if she could use it, and he nodded as if to say it was fine while still exchanging dialogue.
She came back to Konata's room to find the once crying girl now hunched over the kotatsu. She looked clearly fatigued, but she wouldn't succumb to sleep. Minami leaned down and held out the water.
"Here you go." she said, trying to sound as nice as possible.
Konata looked up and accepted the drink. "Thanks, Minami…" she said before gulping about half of it down.
"I'm sure Kagami-sempai is ok…" Yutaka said, unable to think of anything else to say. "…She's pretty tough, isn't she?"
Konata slowly nodded.
Minami agreed, trying to support Yutaka's argument which seemed to calm Konata down. "Um…yeah…and her family is all there to take care of her…" Minami said.
Konata sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Thanks, you guys…" she forced a slight smile at them. "…Thanks…"
-o0o-
"God….that was really scary.." Misao complained, nervously pulling the hem of her skirt down.
Miyuki sighed. "Yes. I'd have to agree. I've never seen Kagami-san…or anyone…sick like that before."
Miyuki and Misao had been walking home together, rather slowly, for about an hour. Actually, the route they were talking wasn't exactly straight to either of their houses, but to the train station. The train station had a few vending machines in the middle of the platform, and they had been sitting on the benches around it sipping some hot coffee. Going home and moping around didn't feel like the best thing to do for either of them.
"Yeah…I know, right?" Misao said. "That was like…intense…or something."
Miyuki nodded, holding out her phone, and sighed. Earlier she had tried to call Konata, but Tsukasa answered. It turns out Konata's phone fell out of her pocket when Kagami was pulling on her skirt and gripping her hand. Bad luck, it seemed to Miyuki, had begun to plague them.
"Do you think we should have gone looking for her?" Misao asked, "As much as I hate to say it, I'm kinda worried at that little shrimp."
Miyuki looked up from her phone and shook her head. "No…" she said. "Konata-san left on her own. I don't think she wanted to be followed."
Misao groaned. "I guess your right…" she said, throwing her empty coffee can into the garbage. "…You think she went home?"
Miyuki shrugged, but nodded. "That definitely presents itself as a strong possibility." she said. "If only I had her home phone number."
"Don't you?" Misao asked.
Miyuki shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not." she said, "Konata-san and I are not as close as Kagami."
Misao nodded in understand. "Yeah…I know what you mean." she said, sounding upset. "I used to be best friends with Kagami before high school when Konata came along."
"You sound angry." Miyuki observed. "Is that why you don't like Konata-san?"
"Well…." Misao looked up from the trash can and shrugged. "…I sorta don't like her for a lot of reasons."
That was news to Miyuki. "Oh?" she sounded surprised. "Why? If I may."
Misao sighed and sat down on one of the benches. People around them walked by back and forth to and from trains going to the left or the right. None of them paid any heed to the two girls waiting. "Cause she's…..she's better than me at, like everything, and she's so freakin annoying! I don't get why Kagami likes hanging out with her all the time!" Miyuki was a little taken back her sudden admittance of distaste and expression of anger. "Uh, sorry Miyuki…..I'm not really serious…She's okay…I guess I get jealous easily."
Miyuki sat down next to her and started fiddling with her thumbs. "I..I'm afraid to admit it, but I do know what you mean."
Misao looked up, surprised. "No way…you do?" she asked. "You serious?"
Miyuki nodded. "Well, I sort of do…" she sighed. "…I, um…I used to spend more time with Tsukasa-san before Konata and Kagami started spending time together like they do."
Misao smiled. "So you do know…" she sighed. "…Yeah, it really kicks hard in the ass, huh…"
Miyuki looked a little shocked. "…Kicks…in the….excuse me?"
Misao laughed. "Hahaha…wow Miyuki, that's an awesome face! Hahaha…."
Miyuki looked down at the ground, embarrassed and a bit miffed by the language Misao used. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean by that."
"Oh, I mean it sucks." Misao clarified. "You know, this whole thing…"
"Oh, I see." Miyuki agreed with a nod.
A train rolled up to a stop in front of the platform to their left, and Miyuki stood. "Well, this is my train." she said, bowing, then walking away. "Please take care, Kusakabe-san."
Misao got up and ran after her just before Miyuki stepped onto the train. "Wait! Hang on a sec!" Miyuki stopped and turned around as she boarded the train. Misao stopped in front of the open doors. A few people were thinking of using those doors, but decided to just walk the extra feet to the next car. "…Um…You think I could….Uhh…You think I could…you know…walk home with you?" Misao asked nervously. "…I kinda don't really wanna go home right now…."
Miyuki looked surprised, but didn't offer any reason why not. "Um, if you really want to." she said. "I have no objection against it."
Misao walked onto the train and stood next to her just before the doors closed. "Thanks, Miyuki." she said. "Sorry…"
"It's perfectly fine." Miyuki said. "You want to sit down?"
Misao nodded, and they sat in two seats by the window. "Sure."
Something suddenly occurred to Miyuki, and she was surprised she hadn't asked about it sooner. "By the way," she said, "How is Minegishi-san?"
Misao's face turned extremely sour. "I don't want to talk about her…" she said, crossing her arms.
"Did you two fight?" Miyuki asked.
"No, we didn't fight…." she said, pulling out her phone. "If you really want to know…" she opened her phone and scrolled through some messages. "I asked her if she wanted me to visit after school today this morning."
"Did she turn you down?" Miyuki asked, adjusting her glasses.
Misao closed her phone and shoved it back into her pocket angrily. "Not at first, but…" she growled, "…Then she sent me a message asking me to come over some other time. It turns out my stupid brother went to visit her, and she didn't want me coming over."
"Wait, your brother?" Miyuki asked, "Does Minegishi-san know your brother?"
"Does she ever…" Misao said, angrily wringing her hands.
"What!?" That was news to Miyuki. "Wait, are they dating?"
Misao sounded like it was common knowledge. "You didn't know?"
Miyuki just shook head slowly and answered, "Noooo…I didn't."
"Yeah, well…" Misao returned her eyes to whatever was in front of her and shrugged. "…they are….freakin stupid…damn-it…"
Miyuki's eyes looked at her hesitantly. "Does it make you angry that much?"
"Yeah…it does." Misao growled. "Ayano was my best friend, and now my stupid brother stole her away from me! First, it was Konata, now it's that jerk!"
Unintentionally, Miyuki was getting closer to the heart of situation. "So, that's why Misao doesn't like Konata…" She turned to the fuming girl and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Misao snapped out of her angry trance and looked at her. "I know you are angry at them both, but they didn't do any of this to hurt you."
Misao started to tear up and she started to wipe her eyes. "..Yeah I know *sniff*….It just kinda sucks….kinda sucks a lot…" she said, turning her face away and leaning her forehead against the seat in front of her. "…Sorry, I didn't mean to act like this…"
Miyuki patted her shoulder a couple of times. "It's okay…" she said, "I…I know how this feels."
"Do you?" Misao asked, "Really?"
Miyuki sighed. She shuffled her feet across the floor and twirled her thumbs together. "….You know…I really like to study, and learn about interesting things…" she said.
"Okay? This is off topic." Misao thought to herself.
"When I'm learning….I forget all about how lonely I can feel." she admitted. "It's hard to say this since I'm not the best at saying how I feel….. but I guess I can feel pretty lonely sometimes too."
Misao wiped her eyes. She felt a little guilty feeling sorry for herself when she wasn't the only one feeling neglected. "Yeah, this world sure is tough sometimes, huh…"
Miyuki nodded. "Yeah…sure is…"
"Heyyy…um, Miyuki?" Misao asked, turning in her seat.
Miyuki looked at her and rubbed the back of head. "Oh, I'm sorry." she said, "I didn't mean to…I mean, I wasn't trying to sound…No…sorry…"
"Nah, it's cool." Misao said. "Don't worry about it. I was gonna thank you for listening to me. Sometimes, you just gotta tell someone these things."
"Mmm…" Miyuki nodded. "Yes, I do believe you're right. I do feel a little better now." she said, smiling a little bit. "Thank you for listening to me as well."
"No sweat." Misao said, nudging her shoulder gently and smiling back. "Anytime."
The rode the train in silence for a while, neither of them moving or saying anything. The clacking sounds of the train cars and the city around them going by in the distance was kind of relaxing. Eventually, Misao yawned and Miyuki chimed in right after her.
Miyuki suddenly turned to Misao and asked nervously while turning her face away with a slight blush on her face, "Kusak-…I mean, Misao, um…would you…would you like to come over?…You know…for a while?"
Misao looked at her with a stare. A dazed and warm stare like someone gazing across a lake during a sunset. "Uhmmm….yeah, ok. Sure."
-o0o-
What was even right anymore? What was even true? What was happening?
Kagami lay on her back, eyes half closed, hair spread out all over her bed. Her thought processes were still intact and her cognitive logic was still functional, but all five senses were almost lost somewhere among themselves, traveling together in group through unknown and unfamiliar territory back home to sanity.
She had no idea what she was seeing, feeling, or sensing. Her vision told her enough to say she was in her room, but everything was too fuzzy, or warm, or something like that. Her pillow under her head felt unusually soft. The sheets on her bed felt extremely pleasant and stimulating to her fingers. The slight draft around her from somewhere unknown brushed against her skin in a pleasant cooling sensation that soothed the warm glow in her body. Everything sounded gentle and far away somehow, like a mother's whispering.
Yep, she was high.
It may have been possible (and probably likely) that Matsuri may having given her too much of that codine syrup. Plus, the oxy pill on top of all added to the affects more so than necessary.
The last thing Kagami could be was a pill abuser. Because of that, the fact that she was still awake was a bit disturbing for her family. The mixture of narcotics she had taken should have completely knocked out a large animal in a deep somatic sleep, yet there she was, awake and thinking. Perhaps not thinking to clearly, but her eyes were open.
Tsukasa entered the room without knocking, holding a bottle of water in her hand. She sat down next to Kagami and helped her sit up. Kagami was reluctant to move, but the mention of water gave her enough motivation to move the bottle up to her lips. Before she handed the empty bottle back to Tsukasa, she drank the entire thing, but in the process dripped some of the liquid on her chest.
"Ahhh…" Kagami sighed. The water was almost like coffee at that moment. The hydration had increased her sharpness of perception and she could feel her mind running fast enough to form sentences again. This time, with actual words.
"Hey sis…" Tsukasa said, wiping Kagami off with the back of her school uniform sleeve she still hadn't changed out of. "…how are you feeling?"
"I'm…I'm stupid…" Kagami said, eyes rolling around in her head.
Tsukasa looked at her, confused. Kagami knew she wasn't stupid. In fact, she prided herself on being intelligent. "No you're not." Tsukasa said. "Why would you say that?"
This time, Kagami gave her the confused look. "But….I'm all stupid right now….Bleehhhh…." she trailed off in a non-coherent noises.
If Tsukasa had a hazard to guess, Kagami probably meant she felt dumb downed by the drugs. "Ohh…okay." Tsukasa understood. Although Kagami was definitely not herself, she was just glad her big sister was okay. She gave her a hug and smiled. While giving her a squeeze, she said, "I don't know if you understand what I'm saying, sis, but I'm so happy that you okay."
"Mmmhhmm…" Kagami smiled and started petting Tsukasa's hair. It felt unnaturally soft and warm, like velvet fur off a really cute animal. "….C'mere wittle kitty kitty…." Tsukasa giggled and pulled away when a knock on the door grabbed her attention. The door opened, and a slightly taller than average man stepped inside. His hair, shorter than most, was a bit messed up from running his hand back over his scalp anxiously. His eyes had slight bags under them, giving off a more serious and intimidating presence than meant efficient business. "Oh, hey dad." Tsukasa said.
"Hey there, Tsukasa." he said, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the other side of Kagami. "Hey, Kagami, are you with me?"
Kagami turned slowly, eyes having a hard time fixing on a position. "Huh?" she asked, "Oh….hey dad…" she said, very lazily.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"I feel stupid…" she said again, sighing.
He looked at Tsukasa, perplexed. "I think she means she feels loopy or something." she said.
He inched the bridge of his nose hard with his thumb and index finer in an attempt to keep his headache at bay. "Okay…got it." he said, standing up. "Kagami, listen to me." She turned to him and looked at him with a listless expression, it was hard to tell if he was getting through to her. "I need to take you to the hospital, okay?"
She shook her head and started to pout by cowering her body up Tsukasa's arms. "I don't wanna…" she said. "I wanna…I wanna stay….stay here with Konata…"
Tsukasa and Tadao looked at each other, each with surprise on their face. With a raised eyebrow and hands on his hips, Tadao said, "Okay….what and how much did she take?"
The loopy individual, still rubbing her face against the warm body next to her, kept saying strange words in a whiny tone. Trying to answer her father while pushing Kagami away gently, Tsukasa said, "She had a tablespoon of that syrup stuff and a pill."
He sighed and rubbed his forehead "Ah…I don't think they were supposed to be mixed." he said. "…Why did she say Konata's name?"
"Um…well, Konata and Miyuki and Misao were visiting earlier." she said.
He sounded angry. "What? Why?"
"Um…sorry dad, but they just wanted to visit." she said, giving up on pushing Kagami away and letting her sister lay her head down on her lap. "She was doing a lot better before, I swear. We didn't know, dad."
"Okay, okay, don't worry about that." he said. "But why does she think you're Konata?"
"Um…." Tsukasa looked down at Kagami's completely placid face. "Cause when she started crying, Konata was there…"
He slowly nodded his head up and down. "Oh…okay…" he sighed, feeling very sorry and sympathetic towards his daughter. Matsuri had described to him earlier after she had gotten off the phone how much Kagami had suffered. What he didn't know was who Matsuri was talking about when she said something about Kagami grabbing "her" hand. Who that "her" was wasn't clear until now.
"Hey, dad?" Tsukasa asked. He focused his attention on her and nodded her for to go ahead and ask her question. "Do we really need to take her to the hospital?"
He looked at her, then down at Kagami, then shook his head slowly. "No…I suppose not, or at least, not right this moment." he said. "It's probably a good idea if I take her tomorrow morning after she gets some sleep."
The both looked down at her and saw she had passed out on Tsukasa's lap. It wasn't hard to slip away from the drugged up girl all sacked out in what looked like an uncomfortable position. Tsukasa stood and walked out of the room with her father, closing the door behind her.
"For now…" Tadao sighed, leaning against the wall with his head in his hands for a second. "…We'll just let her sleep and see what happens."
-o0o-
The house phone rang again, and Sojiro got up from his spot in the living room, startled. He sighed, realizing what it was, and picked it up after walking to the kitchen. "Hello?" he asked.
"Um…" the voice on the other end sounded shy and warm, but it carried a faint familiarity to it. "…Mr. Izumi-san? This is Kagami's sister, Tsukasa."
How could he forget. "Oh yes, hi." he replied. "Is Kagami-san any better?"
"Um, yes she is." she said. "I..just wanted to call and let Konata know we don't have to take Kagami to the hospital…or at least, until tomorrow. Is she home yet?"
"Yeah, she is, and…. actually, I didn't mention it to Konata." he said. "I didn't want to have her worked up again, but thank you for letting us know."
"Oh, it's nothing." Tsukasa replied. "Is…is Kona-chan okay?"
Sojiro sighed. "Yeah, I think so." he said. "She was pretty worked up earlier when she got home, but I think she's okay now.
There was an audible sigh from the other end. "Oh…good." she said. "..I was worried about her. She left her phone here, and Miyuki-san called to ask where she had run off to."
He shook his head. "Please excuse her." he said. "I really try to get her to carry her phone with her more, but she can be pretty obstinate."
Tsukasa giggled. "Yes, she can…"
There was a pause as someone in the other room took the phone away and Sojiro could hear noises in the background, including some rather panicked sounding voices. He looked at the phone, then brought it back up to his hear.
"Um, hello?" he asked to see if anyone was there.
A man's voice on the other end picked up. "Mr. Izumi?!"
"Um, yeah that's me." he said. "Who's this?"
"This is Mr. Hiragi." the voice said. "Listen, I have a…*mghmm*….a request…Um, and I wouldn't be asking unless I didn't think it wasn't necessary."
Sojiro raised an eyebrow. The person on the other end sounded like he was forcing out a composed tone. "Okay, I'm listening. What's wrong? Did something happen?"
There was a long sigh on the other end. Finally, Tadao said, "Do you think Konata could come over right now? I know it's pushing dinner time, but….like I said, I wouldn't be asking unless I wasn't serious."
"Um.." Sojiro shrugged. "Yeah…yeah, that's no problem." he said. "What's going on?"
-o0o-
Later That Evening
Konata got off the train, and started running down the platform stairs and down the street. She breathed heavily, panic in her voice, pain in her eyes, and in her heart, nothing else mattered. The light of the sun had dimmed considerably, giving the roads an eerie and depressing appearance as the clouds in the sky held a slight reddish tint against the less radiant sky while birds flew far in the distance across the horizon.
The question was why.
It was almost impossible to say for sure anymore. After Kagami's painful episode, something inside of her snapped that held some residual feeling back like reins. Old proverbs came to mind about things more appreciated after they're gone. Maybe she was just being paranoid or over reactive, but the thought of something like that happening to Kagami was literally killing her. But, why? Why was she feeling like the world had gone to hell in a hand basket over this one girl that she continually butted heads with?
It wasn't something she had thought about before. Yes, something about their relationship was different than the rest of her friends. She could admit that to herself, but that was all she was willing to admit. Her inhibitions and fear had always kept her in the offensive. Always teasing, always picking fights with, always agitating her to keep a healthy distance. She only did that to her. It was only her that she felt this way about. She had been content with going through the daily motions of their back and forth, but what happened had traumatized her. Now, there was no way she was letting something more permanent happen to her best friend until she had her last feelings out in the open.
What those feelings were…those feelings were still a mystery to her as well. All she knew was she felt more profound, more anxious, more worried, more passionate, more expounding, more EVERYTHING. She just had to be there. Even if she didn't get to say anything. She just wanted to be there for some reason.
As she ran down the sidewalk, and moped almost ran her over and she tumbled to the ground in a flurry of blue hair. After barely dodging the jerk on two wheels, she lunged to the side and fell onto the ground on her right side. Her right knee, elbow, and wrist all had the ran swelling and scratches to show for her fall.
Wincing, she got up again and started down the street, weaving in and out of people around her. Those pedestrians she ran by gave her, then each other funny looks. Some weren't entirely certain it was human. All they noticed was a big blue ribbon flying by like a kite caught in a heavy wind high above.
Two minutes felt massively painful. The pressure and burning in her lungs were killing her as her arms pumped the air and her feet pounded the ground. Even more time passed by, and she tried to curse the distance from her home to Kagami's, but her lungs burned to much for her to do anything else but pant and wheeze. Even though she was naturally athletic, she had to admire Misao for doing this every day for practice.
At last, a house. THE house.
She rounded a corner and was about to rush right up to the door and turn the handle, but she collapsed on the ground right before her hand made contact with the handle.
Now, on her back, gasping for air, she tried to swallow but her throat was so dry it hurt and her tongue stuck to roof of her mouth. Only after a few violent coughs did she finally have enough moisture in her throat to breath comfortably again.
The first thought Matsuri had when opening the door for Konata was "Geez…you look like hell!" She didn't say it, of course, since Konata looked pretty persistent and indignant despite her panting.
"Where's….*Haaahhh*….Kagami?" Konata gasped out, holding herself up with the door.
Matsuri just pointed up, and Konata stumbled inside. She passed Matsuri by the foyer and headed straight for the stairs.
-o0o-
On her bed, now coming down slightly from the medicine, Kagami laid on her side, cringing from the headache but too weak to do anything about it. Her earlier feeling of relaxed serenity was now being slowly replaced by cognitive physical pain all over, and especially her head. She still wasn't fully awake or cognitive yet. When she was left alone in her room for too long, she started to feel it all over again.
The fever symptoms weren't too surprising, but her first reactions were very much shocking for the rest of her family. Instead of calling for help from her sister or mother or father, she called out for Konata. Tsukasa and Tadao still thought she was in a semi-daze, and she still was to some extent. However, it wasn't either of them she wanted to see. It was Konata. Of all people, she wanted Konata. Of course, she was still pretty doped up on whatever she had taken, but her lack of inhibition had betrayed her.
At first, as if instinctually, she fought the urge to say it, but at that moment, she didn't care anymore about how it looked or how much it would affect her life afterward. It was what she wanted.
It wasn't a mystery to anyone that she didn't get along the best with Konata, and especially lately. She had become more snappy and angry with the short blue haired annoyance in a sailor uniform, and she didn't know why. Every time she was away from her, she wanted to be there with her. Every time she was there with her, she just wanted to be away. It was a never ending paradox of always feeling like the grass was greener on the other side for some unknown reason.
-o0o-
While climbing the stairs, hand over hand on the railing, still panting, Konata realized something. With each step she took, the more strongly she felt about her epiphany. Her desperation, her illogical fear of losing her, her panic, her painful heart, it was perfectly clear.
Her father had always tried to explain how he and her mother felt about each other despite the obvious driving forces that should have kept them away from each other, and each time he did, the less she understood. He always used words to describe the feeling, but always kept saying those words never did justice. They never captured the full meaning. Those words just never felt good enough, or deep enough, or powerful enough.
He also said one day she would understand.
-o0o-
Those contradictory feeling of annoyance one moment than longing the next were virtually impossible to understand, but now, in her fit of pain and sanity, it made sense.
The paradox had a more simpler answer than she could have possibly guessed. It was her defense mechanism to keep herself from getting too close, or hurt. She couldn't help but long to be close to her precious little otaku, but she wouldn't dare let herself get any closer for fear of getting hurt.
Why was that?
Why be afraid? Why feel this way if she was just a friend.
But she wasn't just a friend to Kagami. To the sick girl now crying, not just from the pain but from the realization and the longing in her heart. She had known all along, but for the passed couple of years had forced herself to deny how she truly felt. It was cruel to live that way. She felt bitter for forcing herself to suffer through day after day like that.
-o0o-
As Konata rushed towards Kagami's door, she understood.
It was because she loved her.
-o0o-
It was her own fault, she realized. It was her own fault for forcing herself to deny the truth.
The truth that she loved her.
-o0o-
The door still open with a loud thwack.
Konata stood in the door way, panting, head hanging in exhaustion, eyes wet tears. Kagami sat up as fast as she could in surprise by the intruder, and when her eyes focused, she instantly felt scared and surprised. She felt like this was somehow a dream. Somehow Konata had showed up in a dream of sort just as she was thinking about her. It wasn't a dream. Not in the least. The surroundings were too real and her mind was too alert. She didn't understand why Konata was there in her threshold. It made no sense. Unrenowned to her, Kagami had absolutely no recollection of ever calling out Konata's name in her delirious state. Even if she didn't understand why she was there, Kagami was just happy and almost about to burst into tears to see the girl she loved standing there.
"Kagami!" Konata screamed, catching her breath. She walked forward slowly in a determined slump as she fell to her knees in front of Kagami who now sat up with tension and water in her eyes.
"…Konata…" she whispered.
Konata pounded her knees as she sat on her heels, then looked up at her. "Kagami…please come back…" she said desperately as if the purple haired girl was in a coma.
"….I'm right here, Konata." Kagami said, holding out her hand.
Konata took it and pulled herself up to fling her arms over and around the shoulders of the sick girl's body. She started sniffling and weeping on her shoulder, but pulled away for a second to look directly into her eyes. "Don't die, Kagaminnnn….." she said through sobs, gripping her shoulders. "I never got a chance to tell you I love you, damn-it!"
Kagami's eyes went wide with surprise (not to mention everyone else in the house who could hear her scream). Konata brought her arms together, hugging herself as Kagami wrapped her arms around her. "Shut up, would you?" she said. "I'm not dieing, so stop acting so stupid."
Konata started sobbing into her shoulder. "You're…..You're okay?…sniff*…You're really okay?"
Kagami nodded slowly, running her hand down Konata's back.
"You're okay!" Konata yelled out, clomping her arms around Kagami's waist. "You're okay!"
"Geez, Konata…" Kagami pushed her away gently and sighed. "Honestly….why did you think I was dieing?"
"Because I heard you were gonna go to the hospital, but then your dad called and said you were calling out in your sleep and Tsukasa was crying on the phone and your dad sounded like he was going to freak out…" she took in a big gasp of air, "…and my dad told me about it and I rushed over here and I thought you were going to-"
Kagami cut her off by putting a hand over her mouth. "I'm fine…" she said, "…Not good, but fine. Would you get a hold of yourself and quit over reacting? I swear, you're worse than Tsukasa sometimes…"
Konata gasped, jumped back from Kagami, and stared directly at her with wide fearful eyes. Something told her she had said something she probably shouldn't have. She slowly started to step back, hands shaking, tears silently streaming down her cheeks.
"Konata…wait…" Kagami slowly swung her legs over the edge of her bed and grimaced as she stood up. Her body was still sore and she really didn't feel like moving, but she felt as if she really needed to. "…hang on, don't go…"
"No…no no no…" Konata shook her head in her hands and slumped down on the ground. "…no no no…no no no….NO NO NO!"
"Shhh.." Kagami collapsed on her kneed in front of Konata and put a hand on her shoulder. "…It's okay…I'm not mad. Stop crying, would you?"
"I said it…" Konata sobbed. "…*sniff*…I said it…" Kagami put a finger under her chin and slowly raised her eyes up. Konata complied and looked up at Kagami with tears running down her cheeks. "Kagami…." she whispered.
She leaned forward and brushed the tears from her eyes before gently planted a kiss on her forehead. Konata gasped and froze stiff, eyes still transfixed on Kagami's face. "It's okay….really." Kagami reassured her.
Konata brought a hand up without thinking too much about it and let her fingers gently graze down across Kagami's cheek. She whispered, "…Kagami…" almost inaudibly this time.
"You are such a freakin pain barging in her and scaring me half to death!" Kagami said, her face mere inches away from Konata's face. She leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "…but I love you too…"
Kagami wasn't sure if it was the fever or something else but she felt a hot flood of fire erupt from her heart and radiate out to the rest of her body. She suddenly felt extremely hot and felt the urge to tug at her pajama top. Konata felt like she was shut out from the rest of the world. Around her was nothing but white limbo as the only thing in front of her seemed to blush with such a bright pink tint in he cheeks.
They stared at each other, the hot air of their breath passing between them. Their hands finding themselves locked together in front of them. The distance between their lips shrank more and more until at last the sweet contact of the most soft and moist sensation they had ever felt now began to engrave itself into their memories forever.
I cried (I'm pretty sure) when I was writing this at some point. Yeah...it happened...
Well, please rate and review after reaching for those tissue boxes. It's a good thing I keep mine close...heh heh...
Until next time...*sniff*...