Chapter 7: Humidity

Saturday morning was rainy but there were none of those lightning storms and constant booming of thunder unlike last night. The once dark clouds were tinted white with some gray remaining. Everything was obviously drenched in precipitate especially the lush grass and blossoming flowers. Almost nothing escaped what it seemed to be Mother Nature's full force. Leaves were scattered all over the suburban streets and sweeping them under more rain was a complete drag. Not only leaves but there were branches as well that could hurt somebody with its sharp tips. One would be too intimidated to go anywhere with the mess made by last night's full-scale assault. The city government recently announced the suspension of classes in pre-school to high school levels because of some roads being inaccessible to motorists and the extent of the lightning storm that short-circuited the monorail's systems. People have already thought of sitting this Saturday out because of the imminent danger of taking a stroll outside. Despite the bad news, there was also good news: the typhoon bringing destructive forces by wind has died down an hour after the said rescue mission. It seemed that today would be the start of a new stage in life.

Everybody involved took this free time to prepare for Kagami's big day in 24 hours or tomorrow in simple terms. Tsukasa began making cookies as a gift for her twin sister to give to her admirer. The cookies needed to be baked perfectly to give out that sentimental value; plus an added dash of love to make it really look like a Valentine's present (which was considerably still far away). It couldn't take Kagami a few minutes to pick out what to wear on her big day tomorrow. But it's better to be safe than sorry. As early as now, she's trying out clothing combinations. She wasn't trying to attract men but she was trying to look her best. Who would be dumb enough to look like someone who climbed the highest mountains, swam the deepest seas, and fought the fiercest creatures just to get to the venue on time? After all, a well-dressed girl goes a long way. The rest of those involved in this large-scale operation (as Konata defined it as Operation: Kagami's Flag) provided moral support. Everybody was very excited for this. It was the first time in Konata, Miyuki, and Tsukasa's lives that one of their best friends has fallen deeply and madly in love.

Maybe too excited…

"Aren't we going a little too overboard?" Kagami worryingly asked Konata on the phone. "I'm only going to meet him and close the deal between us. It's not like a date or something."

"That's where you're wrong, Kagamin. Even the slightest meetings can turn into really big things. Trust us on this."

"Well, I've never seen Tsukasa so enthusiastic even at baking cookies."

"It's a historical event, Kagamin. Admit it that you're in love."

"Who said anything about falling in love? I'm only going to meet him and settle some things right, period."

"Ho, ho, ho, like what I said: even the slightest meetings can turn into really big things. Better be safe than ending up regretting later."

"Fine, fine, I believe in you."

Meanwhile in the depths of the Tokyo Metropolis, Miyuki was creating preparations of her own. She was planning on something that wasn't originally on the agenda but figured to be pretty romantic in the case of Kagami and Hajime. Together with her mother and a little bit of their wealth, they picked out the best china, silverware, and glassware for this occasion. In other words, they were planning on a formal candlelight dinner for two. To Kagami, that is way too overboard. A simple meeting of minds had already grown into a date. But she kept her word that she would support Kagami all the way for better or for worse. She wanted tomorrow to be worth remembering not just to her but to everyone close to Kagami as well.

The only ones that were yet to be informed about all of this were Ayano, Misao, and Kuroi-sensei. They had a lot of free time on their hands thanks to the suspension of classes. The first to be informed was Kuroi-sensei through the power of the chat room.

"Ah, sensei is online." Konata said; creating a new chat room for the two of them.

For the purposes of the chat log, the following will be written in script/dialogue form:

konakona: Good morning sensei!

nanakon: Ah Izumi, you won't believe what happened last night.

konakona: You mean somebody from our school was struck by lightning and brought to the hospital?

nanakon: You mean Hiiragi was on the news?

nanakon: But she wasn't hospitalized. I stayed with Kusakabe and Minegishi at school last night.

konakona: Kagamin was struck by lightning?

nanakon: Yeah, and it was a hard one too. Luckily we pulled her out of the rain before the second one.

konakona: Wait, I'm confused. Kagamin was struck by lightning.

konakona: But she wasn't confined in the hospital.

konakona: The news said someone from our school was hit on the way home.

nanakon: And you completely thought it was Hiiragi.

konakona: Well, that's what we assumed when she didn't come home on time.

nanakon: Oh well, what's done is done. Want to level up?

konakona: You're on, sensei!

nanakon: That's great! Make sure you do your homework first.

"Sensei, please don't talk about real life in the virtual world." Konata said after a few seconds of utter silence.

Time moves fast when everybody is busy. It was already noon and much of the preparations were complete. The cookies were left to cool in a rack before the first batch was served for a taste test. Tsukasa felt proud of her accomplishment. They were chocolate chip cookies shaped in hearts. She was done on her part. Kagami on the other hand, still hasn't picked what to wear for tomorrow. If today were Sunday, she would be probably late for their date. She slaved inside her room for hours, trying different combination colors. However, Hajime was the type of guy who would think "regardless of what you wear, you're still the apple of my eye" idea. So why was she trying hard to come up with the perfect attire? Somehow, she wanted to be presentable or appropriate and at the same time her elegance illuminating—an easy description which was very hard to execute. After slaving inside her room for a few more minutes, she paused for a break. Usually she wouldn't think of what to wear but this was a big event for her. She would be answering the one-million dollar question with a simple yes or no as an answer that would determine the next set of events.

Speaking of which, she was so preoccupied with the event itself, she hadn't begun to think about whether she would accept him into her love life or not. Like choosing what to wear for such an important event, it wasn't easy. She has to understand the advantages and consequences of whatever decision she will make. Her friends could help but only her heart would make the ultimate decision.

"Kagami, Miyuki-chan's on the phone!" Her mother called.

Kagami hurried downstairs and responded to the call.

"Hello?"

"Kagami-san, there's somebody who wants to talk to you." Miyuki handed over the headset to her cousin.

"Hello, Kagami-san…"

"Hajime-senpai…!"

"Please, call me Takashi. I really don't mind if bad people would call me names."

"What made you call here?"

"I was wondering if you could come to Tokyo Tower tomorrow."

"Yes, I will be going."

"That's great! Meet me here in front of Miyuki's house then we'll go together."

"I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow."

"And oh yeah, one more thing before I hang up."

"What is it?"

"I also heard from Miyuki that you were struck by lightning when you came to the rooftop. It was my fault for calling you there. I'm sorry."

"Actually, I should be the one who's supposed to be apologizing. I was very naïve to change my mind and meet you at the rooftop."

"Don't worry, the entire tower is weatherproof. We're safe there."

"Okay then. I have to go. I'll get in trouble if I'm in the phone for too long."

"I understand. I won't take long."

After the call, a certain kind of feeling overwhelmed her. For her it was too early to feel that kind of feeling. It was displaced amongst all the others. It felt so overwhelming; she immediately hurried to her room and took several deep breaths to calm down. Today wasn't the time to experience that overwhelming feeling. In fact, the feeling would depend solely on her decision tomorrow when she would confront her admirer.

"Onee-san, the cookies are ready!" Tsukasa knocked on her door thrice.

"I'll be right down in a jiffy."

The choosing of the proper attire has to wait. Right now, the gift comes first—the freshly-baked cookies. It has been several minutes since they were drawn out from the oven. They should be cooled enough by now. The family members were all gathered on the table; awaiting for the twins. Kagami wasn't at the kitchen yet but she could smell the emanating aroma of the cookies. Judging from the aroma, she could tell that Tsukasa did a pretty good job.

"What a heavenly smell…" Kagami commended her twin sister for a good job.

"The recipe's from a new cookbook so…I don't know if I did it right." Tsukasa fearfully replied.

"Don't worry; whether it tastes bad or good, at least you tried."

"Thanks for understanding, onee-san."

"Don't mention it. That's what egg twins are for."

Konata completely forgot to tell Kuroi-sensei about Kagami's upcoming date (the term was exaggerated because it was only a meeting of minds to settle restless issues). But she figured out that it was better to surprise her. As their respective characters were harvesting for some experience in a forest terrain, Kuroi-sensei asked Konata a favor through the chat room.

nanakon: Izumi, can you lend me some money? Say about 100,000 or so.

konakona: What for, sensei?

nanakon: There's this armor I really like back at town but I'm 100,000 short.

konakona: Sorry sensei, I already spent mine on potions.

nanakon: It's okay

nanakon: But do you really need a lot of potions? You got like gargantuan HP

konakona: I was planning on leveling up at the dungeons where super monsters are worth of thousands of experience points.

nanakon: That's a bit too harsh. You already have beaten me several times.

konakona: The same with ten more players hehe…

nanakon: Ah, I'm supposed to meet someone right now.

nanakon: g2g

konakona: Okay then sensei.

nanakon: Oh yeah, if you're going to fight the boss there, hit and run got it?

konakona: As clear as crystal, sensei

Your friend nanakon has logged out

As she turned off her computer, a certain somebody knocked on the door. It wasn't whom she expected to be meeting today. Her visitor had golden eyes and blue short hair with a bouquet of flowers on his right hand and a heart-shaped box of éclairs on his left hand. He wore a brown jacket and looked very presentable even though he forgot to shave.

"It's been several months since. But now I have decided." He said.

"Um…come in for a moment, Souijiro." Kuroi-sensei invited him inside.

TO BE CONTINUED