Lucky Legacy

Chapter One

The Changing of the Guard

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The warm summer breeze gently wafted through the trees, gently shaking the leaves free from their branches and sending them cascading towards the ground in brilliant confetti of green and gold. Summer was here; a time of endless possibility for the young but carrying bittersweet feelings for the older girls who were forced to part with many a childhood friend as they left for new beginnings.

"So…I guess this is it, huh Konata?" Hiiragi Kagami said, biting her lip and looking down to avoid her friend's eyes.

Konata's brow creased ever so slightly as she gently touched Kagami's shoulder. "What's it? What's wrong, Kagami?"

"I-It's just that…" Kagami's bottom lip trembled softly. "Today was the last day of school a-and…the last time we'll get to see each other every day…"

Konata laughed lightly, turning Kagami's shoulders so that she was facing her. "Silly Kagami; we have plenty of time left. It's not goodbye yet…"

"But summer is going to go by so fast!" Kagami said, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "A-and after than we might not see each other every day…" Kagami went on before Konata could interrupt. "I don't know if I'm ready to face the rest of the world…without you."

Konata gasped softly as her eyes went wide with sudden realization. "K-kagami…what are you saying?"

Kagami's face lit up with a luminescent blush. "I…I wasn't going to say anything…but if this is one of the last times I'm going to see you then…I may as well just say it…"

"Kaga-" Konata tried to say before a single finger rested across her lips.

"Don't…just let me talk. I know I can be hard on you and sometimes I can come off as a little abrasive…but it's only because you're my friend…and I r-really admire you Kona-chan. Maybe…maybe more than I should; I don't know. What I do know is that I'm a better person for having met you and…and…I don't want you to leave me!"

Kagami stared breathlessly at the clearly shocked Konata. Each passing second of silence between them only made Kagami feel more and more that she had said too much; that she had gambled their friendship and lost. Kagami could barely bring herself to look the baffled girl in the eye for fear of meeting rejection or contempt.

Humiliated, and a little heartbroken, Kagami started to get up. 'F-forget it! Just forget what I said and-" But Kagami was cut short by Konata throwing her arms around her waist and hugging her tightly.

"Kagami…" Kagami was startled to see a smile on Konata's face. "You know…you're really cute when you get embarrassed." With that, Konata leaned in slowly closing the distance between them.

"K-Konata!" Kagami said, blushing and looking around. "N-no…someone will see…"

"Who?" Konata gently cupped Kagami's chin and forced her eyes up to meet her own. "No one's here…it's just us."

"I…I don't-"

"Kagami…" Konata said seriously. "For as long as I've known you, you've always been concerned about what your future holds." Konata leaned a little closer, close enough that Kagami could smell the mix of her cherry chapstick and cream soda. "Just this once…I want you to live for now. Whatever happens after this…we can deal with later. But just this once…"

"Konata…" Kagami sighed softly, closing the distance between them and capturing the smaller pair of lips in a tigh-

"What'cha doing?"

"GAAAAH!"

Like a daring soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save his comrades, sixteen year old Tamura Hiyori flung her body forward to cover the sketchpad now pressed tightly against her chest. In doing so, however, she overshot the pad and banged her head on the window, causing her to lose balance on the window seat and topple backwards only to sprawl at her friend's feet.

Patricia Martin had left Miyuki's room to find her friend who disappeared half an hour into a M--io K-rt game. She was hardly surprised to find her perching on the window seat and scribbling furiously on her ever-present sketchpad. Now, being the bright and curious girl that she was, Patty was naturally interested in what was keeping Hiyori so interested (since her "usual subjects" were currently talking in Miyuki's room).

Hiyori fixed her crooked glasses with one hand while keeping the other firmly pressing the sketchpad against her body. "Who, me?"

Patty nodded slowly, wondering if she phrased her question correctly. "Considering you're the only one here? Yes, you."

"Oh…well…I really wasn't looking at anything particular…just…just looking at the sunset!" Hiyori swallowed the nervous knot in her throat as she tried to avoid Patty's probing blue eyes. "You know …I was just walking by and I noticed…the lighting…is just so…bright… in the backyard and, and…the shadows are just so…dark?"

Patty's brow wrinkled, and for a shadow of a second, Hiyori thought her hastily thrown together excuse had actually fooled her. Then, a slow and knowing smile spread across Patty's face as if to say I smell a lie.

"Oh, really?" Hiyori scooted back a couple inches as Patty leaned closer. "Then you wouldn't mind if I took a look at your latest masterpiece, would you?" Patty teased, reaching for the sketchpad.

Hiyori shot up from her place on the floor, backing away from Patty as if she had turned into a snake until her back rested against the wall beneath the window. "Oh, w-well, uh, I mean it's not really ready yet! I still have to shade it and draw the background and color the lines…"

"That's okay…" Patty smirked, reaching forward and tugging at the corners of the sketchbook. "I'm sure whatever you have so far will be interesting to say the least."

Hiyori wiggled the book out of Patty's hands, gulping nervously. "Y-yeah, well as a personal rule I don't show my pieces until I'm totally comfortable with the finished product!"

"That's fine." Patty said, undeterred. "I'm interested in your artistic process."

"I don't have my usual pencils!" The panicked artist blurted out. "The details are all wrong!"

"If it's just a picture of the sunset, how much detail can there be? It's not like you were staring straight at it."

"Y-you know, I-I actually don't like it very m-much." Hiyori stammered, nervously pushing her glasses farther up on the bridge of her nose. "I'm p-probably just going to shred it when I get home."

Patty's smug smirk became a triumphant grin as she sensed her imminent victory. "All the more reason to let me see it NOW!" Seeing a faltering slack in her friend's grip, Patty snatched the book out of Hiyori's nervously trembling fingers.

"HEY! Wait, you can't-" Hiyori lunged for the book, only to have Patty worm out of her grasp and scramble back across the floor.

"Victory is mine!" Patty crowed in her native tongue before cracking open the sketchbook. "Now, let's see what we have here…"

"Patty, wait! Please…" Hiyori pleaded, trying to grab the book back as Patty casually thumbed through the pages.

"Let's see…C-de G-ass slash…picture of Minami feeding Yutaka a strawberry…Str-ab-rry P-nic four-panel…picture of Minami hugging Yutaka from behind…"

"Paaaaty!" Hiyori cried, grabbing Patty's legs and pulling her to the floor. "Stop! Please!"

Patty squeaked as her friend tackled her to the carpet, but was otherwise un-phased as she continued to tick off the pages leading up to Hiyori's latest work. " M-I H-me fanart…Picture of Minami picking a leaf out of Yutaka's hair, complete with luminescent blush…doodles of Kagami-san in a S-ilor M-on outfit…"

Oh God! She's almost there! Hiyori thought as she grabbed desperately at her book. "GIVE IT BACK!!"

"Mikuru cosplaying as a nurse…"

"I'M BEGGING YOU!!!"

"Yutaka sleeping on Minami's lap…"

"PATTY!" Hiyori cried, grabbing the page before Patty could turn it. "Whatever you do, don't turn that-"

Riiiiip!

In her frantic attempts to keep Patty from reading any further, Hiyori tore the last page out in one clean break from the spine. The good news was that her picture was still intact albeit a little wrinkled. The bad news…

Patty's eyes, previously narrowed in fiendish delight, shot open wide as dinner plates as they landed on the last page of Hiyori's sketchbook.

"No…" Hiyori mouthed in mute horror as Patty's lips fell open in slack jawed awe.

"Oh…my…" Patty said breathlessly as she scanned the page.

In the half hour that she had been gone, Hiyori had managed to sketch a complete picture of Kagami and Konata as they knelt on the grass just outside the window. Their eyes were half closed and their lips were hovering mere inches away from each other as their arms snaked up to tangle their fingers in each other's hair.

"I really admire you Kona-chan; maybe more than I should?!" Patty quoted, looking up at her mortified friend. "Hiyorin! I'm surprised at you!" Hiyori cringed, covering her face as it blushed red. "Peeping on them on their graduation day no less!" Patty frowned, lightly rapping Hiyori on the head with her own sketchbook.

"I swear I didn't mean to! I was just walking by and I was looking for the bathroom and I came in here because I thought I heard voices and I looked out the window and…and…" Hiyori pulled at her hair agitatedly. "I couldn't help it…"

Patty sighed, turning back to the drawing with a smile. "What are we going to do with you…?"

Hiyori hung her head in shame. "Commit me. It's for my own good."

"Nonsense!" Patty said, handing Hiyori her sketchbook who grabbed it without hesitation. "An imagination like yours needs to be harnessed for the good of otaku everywhere! And besides…" Patty smiled. "Sugary dialogue aside, you're actually getting good at this."

"R-really?" Hiyori asked hesitantly.

"Yep!" Patty said, enthusiastically. "I mean, I'm no art critic, but I can tell that you've really been defining your style; this is a lot better than your earlier stuff"

Hiyori blushed lightly at Patty's sudden complement. "Thanks…"

Patty shrugged off her thanks, standing up and dusting herself off. "Well, we should probably get back to Miyuki-san's room. I guess if we're gone too long, people will come looking for us." Patty paused at the door, looking back at Hiyori.

"And besides, we don't want to keep your little manga models waiting, do we?"

Throwing a wink over her shoulder, Patty lightly bounced out of the room, humming a few bars of her favorite anime song. Hiyori only blushed, mumbling to herself as she picked up her scattered sketchbook.

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"France? Really?"

Minami nodded slowly, taking a sip from her freshly opened soda before answering her friend. "That's what she said." Minami said softly, thoughtfully chewing on the end of her straw.

Yutaka shifted from her spot on the cushion, nibbling on a cookie. "I knew Miyuki-san wanted to go to medical school, but why France?"

"Well," Minami said, "She said something about this school having a good medical research program; that's what she wants to specialize in. At first she was planning to stay in Japan and go to a more local university but then this college offered her a scholarship and so…but she hasn't told anyone yet, so don't tell your cousin. "

Yutaka nodded earnestly. "Of Course! Although…I can't imagine being that far away from home for so long…but I guess if a school like that offered to pay for her tuition, it would be silly of her not to take them up on it, right?"

"Yeah…I guess so." Minami mumbled more to herself than to Yutaka.

The change in her friend's tone was not lost on Yutaka whose brow crinkled in worry. "Hey, is everything okay Minami-chan?"

"Huh?" Minami looked up quickly as if Yutaka's question had interrupted her train of thought before shaking her head and smiling reassuringly. "Oh, yes; everything's fine."

Yutaka remained unconvinced, but decided not to press the issue. For now, she busied herself with nibbling on her cookie, deciding to ask again later. "Anyway, it's lucky that Miyuki-san got a scholarship; college is getting expensive these days!"

Minami nodded. "I guess cost is a factor for a lot of students in choosing a school."

"Onee-chan even said that some schools are having to cut back on the number of students they let in." Yutaka said. "Even schools like Tokyo and Kyoto are having problems with student housing."

"I guess one of the downsides to applying to a good school like that is having to compete with a lot of other kids." Minami said, thoughtfully. "Do you want some more water?" She said, gesturing to Yutaka's empty glass.

"Uh…" Yutaka trailed off as Minami rested in a half kneel, as if she were waiting for a cue to get up and refill her glass. "No thanks! You don't have to get me aA-CHOO!" Yutaka covered her nose as a thunderous sneeze suddenly caused her to jump slightly

Minami looked sideways at her smaller friend, eyes tinged with concern. "Is that still from that cold you had last week?"

"Oh, yeah…" Yutaka said. "But, I'm feeling a lot better! Really, there's no need to go through any-"

"If you want to get any better, you need to drink plenty of fluids…" Minami reached across the table to collect Yutaka's glass.

"But really, I'm fine! You don't need to make a…a…ACHOO!" Yutaka wiped her nose with the corner of her sleeve as another sneeze betrayed her.

Minami shook her head, standing up as she did so. "It's no trouble; I need to refill my drink anyway."

"But…" Yutaka looked at Minami's glass; still full save for a couple sips. "You-"

"And you should really have some tea when you get home." Minami said, heading for the door before Yutaka could say anything else. "Stay here; I'll be back in a sec."

Yutaka started to go after her but not two seconds after she left, Hiyori and Patty came through the door, talking quietly to each other.

"But Kona-chan?" Patty sighed. "Really?"

"Yeah, so?" Hiyori said.

"When has she ever been "Kona-chan?"

Hiyori shrugged. "That sort of familiarity step is common in these relationship scenarios. I thought it could be part of her character's development."

"Character derailment is more like it…" Patty mumbled.

"I thought it would be cute change of pace!" Hiyori insisted.

Yutaka looked helplessly at her friends, as confused as if they were speaking Portuguese. "Hey, what are you guys talking about?" She asked curiously.

Patty and Hiyori shared a look before nervously glancing back at Yutaka. "Sunsets, Yuu-chan." Patty said simply. "Sunsets."

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"I still can't believe that you're going to be graduating with us, Patty-chan!" Yutaka said, enthusiastically. "So you're really staying in Japan?"

"For another two years at least." Patty said. "I was surprised my marks were good enough to stay here but they were better than I had originally feared so..." Patty left it at that, trailing off sheepishly.

Minami nodded. "That's great but…I mean is your family okay with this?"

Patty nodded earnestly. "I talked to my Dad about it and he's been as supportive as he's always been. He says as long as I'm safe and happy I can stay here as long as I want."

"Oh? And what about all the "faithful" waiting for their sensei to enlighten them in the ways of the Japanese otaku?" Hiyori grinned.

Patty rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Oh…well…you see…"

"Guess the flock can wait huh?" Hiyori said, sipping her drink and smiling as Patty nervously pushed her fingers together.

Minami and Yutaka shared a brief glance of confusion as Patty hastily reclaimed the conversation. "H-hey, do you guys know if Tsukasa-san heard anything about that cooking school?"

Yutaka nodded. "Onee-chan said that she's applying to a cooking school in Tokyo. Nothing's really for sure yet, but Tsukasa-san has always been great at baking!"

"Well, she's lucky that she's able to do what she likes." Patty said, helping herself to another one of Tsukasa's cookies.

"That's the dream, isn't it?" Hiyori said. "Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life. I hope all our fiends can be so lucky."

"Here's hoping." Patty said, knocking on the wooden tabletop.

A knock at the door announced the arrival of Konata, who stuck her head in the room. "Uhh…Yuu-chan?"

"Hmm? What's up Onee-chan?" Yutaka said.

"Well, we should probably get going." Konata said nervously. "Dad's getting comfortable enough around everyone to start saying weird things so…" Yutaka gave an involuntary shiver as Patty and Hiyori nodded sympathetically.

"I feel your father's pain, sempai." Hiyori said, fingering the cover of her sketchbook.

Yutaka stood up after her cousin. "Well, I guess we should leave, then."

Minami nodded, following Yutaka's suit. "I should probably go feed Cherry…"

Patty nodded, following Minami out the door. "The last train should be running soon; you going home too, Hiyori-chan?" She called back

"I guess I should. I wanted to restock my notepads, but I guess that can wait until tomorrow."

As the four of them wound their way through the house, all around them there were signs that the party was over. Miyuki and Tsukasa came in from the backyard, teary-eyed but smiling as Konata struggled to pull her father away from the Hiiragi's before he could elaborate on his explanation of yuri. Minami and Miyuki's mother were chatting pleasantly as they picked up the stray plates and cups that littered the living room. Yui was in the process of helping a veryinebriated Kuroi out the door while trying to slip her keys out of her pocket.

Yutaka couldn't help but notice her cousin and her friends clustered together and talking off to the side of all the commotion. Someone must have said something funny because they all started giggling hysterically. Then, one by one, each of them left through the front door as their families left, thanking Miyuki and her mother for throwing the celebration. For some unknown reason, Yutaka couldn't help watching as one by one the older girls left.

"Hey Yuu-chan! C'mon! Let's go!"

As if a spell was broken, Patty's voice called from the walkway out front and caused Yutaka to break from her daydream to see her friends already outside; chatting with her cousin as they slowly meandered their way to their cars.

"Coming!" Yutaka said, crossing the threshold into the warm summer night and joining her friends

"So do you guys want to do something later this week?" Hiyori asked.

"I'll see what I can do…" Patty said. "I may be pulling extra shifts at the café."

"Well…we can always meet up at my place." Minami volunteered shyly.

"Ooh! Maybe we can have a sleepover!" Yutaka said, excitedly.

"I guess we could sleep over this weekend…I'll talk to my mom…"

"That reminds me; I still have that doujin I borrowed from you, Hiyori-chan." Patty said

"Oh, I totally forgot about that until just now! Kinda weird how I don't remember where my stuff is, huh?"

"Nah, it happens to me all the time. I won't realize I'm missing something until it turns up behind the couch or underneath the bed."

"I guess I'm kinda forgetful like that too, huh Minami-chan?"

"I guess so…"

Konata let Yutaka and her friends walk a couple paces ahead of her as they were embroiled in a heated discussion about missing items and forgetting important things. Lost in her own world, she didn't notice Miyuki, Tsukasa and Kagami fall in step beside her until they stopped at the gate leading out of Miyuki's house. She glanced back and forth between the younger girls walking ahead and her friends standing beside her. Seeing her distant gaze and wistful smile mirrored in their expressions, she could tell that they were thinking the same thing she was.

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AN: Whew! Sorry that was long; this was more of an expeditionary chapter than anything else but i promise the plot will arrive in the next chapter (though, seeing as it's Lucky Star, it's going to be more of a theme versus a solid plot) I hope that they'll read more like one-shots bound by an overarching history so read and review please! And thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter too! Your feedback was very helpful.

I'm also playing with the idea of running a parallel story to this one about Konata and Kagami in Kyoto so let me know what you guys think about that!

Bye-nee!

DOTMW