Disclaimer: I...don't...own...anything.
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Somewhere near the train station.
In a modest little diner about 5 minutes from the station and Studio Peach filled with about 30 people in it. Tetsuya and Kagami occupide a small table for two right next to the window where the diner's name, SOS Brigade Eatary, was boldly displayed along with caricature of characters from Haruhi. You can imagine what the waiting staff was wearing.
I'm turning more and more like Konata, thought Kagami with the slightest hint of dispair to it like it wasa bad thing.
It was a chore just to get here. Tetsuya, for his part, had a pretty hard time swallowing his pride and let who is essentially his junior treat him to dinner. Kagami suspected this was just his usual male pride. But Kagami, as her friends would know, can be very insistant when she has her mind set to something. And right now her mind was set to talking. A lot of talking. Mainly about what happened just a little while ago at the studio before they recorded.
"Shimakage, I want to discuss some stuff from this afternoon," started Kagami just as her order arrived: A plate of beef curry and a glass of iced tea.
Tetsuya was just swallowing a mouthful of his order, A bowl of Udon noodles (something he carefully selected to be cheap enough that it wouldn't hurt Kagami's bank while not so cheap that it woud insult Kagami's generosity), and looked up to the girl sitting opposite him.
"You mean that little meeting with Natsume-san?" he said, trying to pass it off as casual. "You should just for get about it."
"I can't forget about it. Not after the things she said. And I have the feeling you know exactly what she was talking about and you just don't want to tell me about it."
Tetsuya was examining her expression. It was completely neutral. She didn't look at all anxious like he expected. She was waiting for the answer eagerly. He couldn't back out from this now.
With a heavy sugh, he continued. "You want to know if what she said was true? About you being just a last minute replacement?"
Kagami nodded once.
"Well...maybe at first. May Aoi-san was really just desperate to finish the production in a hurry so we could get it into the market." He paused, checking out Kagami's expression. No change.
"What are Natsume-san's skills...compared to me," she asked flatly.
"...Natsume went to a professional voice acting school. From what I sampled in her work, she has pretty good modulation and expression of character. And she has good range."
"Is she better than me...overall?"
"...She does have more professional experience than you so it's easier for her to hit the right marks."
"I see." again, as flat as a broken casio.
Tetsuya noticed that his irritation was strangely rising.
"And what about Fairy Tail?" she asked.
"What about?"
"What was the original schedule of the start of production?"
Tetsuya's eyebrows shot up. He was caught off-guard by that question at first but eventually he saw the logic she was using. His irritation was rising a little faster now. And just when I thought I was finally getting to her.
"Fairy Tail was originally slated to start recording last Wednesday," he said honestly, eager for Kagami's reply.
Another flat "I see."
"Thanks to you, we started over a week early and are now ahead of schedule."
"Was it really that smart casting me as Lucy?"
"...Pardon?"
"I'm a beginner, aren't I? Was it really smart to cast me as the lead female role? I don't think it was fair to Natsume-san to give me her role just to start production early."
"Well like I mentioned before, she has skill but she also has bad working habits. Aoi-san was talking about replacing her long before you showed-up, Hiiragi."
"Then why didn't you guys get someone more experienced?"
"It's not that simple."
"Than what is it about, then?"
Tetusya didn't answer her immediately. He took another mouthful of noodles and soup to try and calm down his still growing irritation which he now suspects is being triggered by that completely expressionless face in front of him.
He knew she wasn't being honest with herself again. Just as she was always been before. He thought she was finally being more open when they met this afternoon. Just when he decided to be nicer, to give her more slack.
She was doing it again. Putting on an armor to guard herself. However this was different. Before it was an armor of sternness, snobbishness, and cockiness to hide her shy side. But now it was different. It was an armor of apathy, feigned ignorance, and disinterest. He knew what this armor was hiding and he instantly missed her old armor instead.
He remembered that after she left them that weekend at the mall. On the way home (his real home, not his apartment.) His mother was driving, he was in the front seat and Sayori was cutely snoozing in the back clutching onto a newly bought bunny doll.
"You should give her a chance, honey," his mother told him.
"Why? She can't even admit her own feelings that well."
"As if you're any different?"
He turned to her and gave her a slight glare. Hitomi took it in stride and even humor. "I remember when you said that I should be more honest with myself. When you're father passed away, I was very sad but I didn't show it. I acted like I almost didn't care. And you hated that. You hated me for it."
"...I didn't really hate you. I just..."
"Wished I showed it openly...so that you can help me with it?"
He was quiet. Hitomi stole a glance at Tetsuya and she saw his cheeks slightly flushed. She smiled to herself as she looked back down the road.
"You always liked to help out people didn't you, you yourself can't admit that. You always like to make it look like you prefer that you don't care, huh? You know, you're quite the tsudere yourself."
Still quiet.
"Just admit it...that girl fascinates you. And you really want to get to know her."
"She does not!!" he blurted out immediately, as if on instinct.
Hitomi chuckled to herself, ignoring his protests.
That was three days ago, and he told himself that he would do it. He would be nicer. He would give her more leeway to open up. And that afternoon she almost did. He saw it. She admitted things she would never admit before and he could feel that they were reaching a common ground. But now that was gone.
With the incident with Natsume-san, she retreated back into her shell, staying on the defense again, not letting anyone in. Not letting him in. He felt his frustration reach near boiling point but he had enough discipline in him to keep himself check.
"That wasn't necessary, you know?" said Kagami, with a hint of sadness to it.
Tetsuya arched his brows. "What wasn't unnecessary?"
"You pretended to say nice things about me in front of Natsume-san just to make her angry. I think it was rude of you to use me like that?"
Tetsuya visible tensed. She thinks I was pretending to say nice things? She thought I said those things just to make Natsume mad? She thinks all those things I said about her were not true?! Tetsuya couldn't believe his ears. He stared at her for a long time, trying to find the right words to say and how to say them right.
His mind kept drawing blanks as he tried to look for a way to say what he wanted to say without showing her just how unbelievably angry he was with her for saying something like that. He tried to keep his face stoic but some of that anger must have seeped out into his face as he saw Kagami react to it.
He drowned out his feelings by taking his bowl of udon and shoving it down his mouth. In less than a minute the bowl was empty and he set the bowl down onto the table. The warm soup relaxed him somewhat as it traveled down into his stomach and he could feel his mind clear a little. Yup, he definitely needed that.
He gave Kagami a glare. "Listen here, Hiiragi. You're right. Aoi-san was hasty is offering you a job the first time around when she barely even knew you or what you could do. And yes, maybe we could've just let Natsume-san keep the job or find someone just as experienced. But guess what.You turned up in front of me. You were offered the job. You, and I want to stress this, accepted the job. and guess what happened after that. You blew away our expectations for it! You think Aoi-san was the only one in that recording booth that was surprised?"
Kagami was silent, incredulous.
"I will admit that you were a last minute replacement at first and you probably deserve our apology for that. However, do you really think Aoi-san would call you back just like that if she didn't think you had talent? If she wasn't the least bit impressed with you? You think we hired you again to star in what will be a long-running series, and probably the flagship series of the studio,just to start early?"
Kagami didn't answer and now she was trying to avoid his eyes.
"Hiiragi, in this business, I find that one of the most annoying people I can deal with are people like Natsume-san: people who flatter themselves a little too much. However, I'd rather deal with them than deal with people who don't flatter themselves at all! The fact of the matter is you are talented. You maybe rough around the edges but you have amazing potential and we all see that...everyone except you. What's the point in having good qualities when you're only gonna hide behind you're own shyness?"
Now Kagami looked up. "So I'm to believe that all those things you said about me to Natsume-san were all true? That I'm a natural, a professional, and all that?"
"Yes."
"I don't believe you."
"Then I supposed that you also don't believe all that stuff you said to me previously? That you truly felt that you were talented enough? That you were proud of this job of yours and that you were glad I'm there to help you improve?"
Kagami didn't say anything. She kept her neutral face on, refusing to reveal a shred of emotion.
Tetsuya's irritation was almost unbearable for him but he seemed to have kept it hidden. Kagami must've seen some of it, he thought, since she looked away from him, avoiding his glance. Was she afraid of him now? Because she knew he was mad at her? That seemed unlikely to Tetsuya because the Kagami he knew would argue with him till the cows come home. This new Kagami, he didn't like at all. A long silence followed. Eventually Tetsuya was the one to break it again.
"Before, you said you didn't need me and that you were good enough on your own," he said, catching her attention again. "Regardless of whether that's true or not, I wanna know...do you believe that...even when you said it to me?"
Kagami's opened her moth as if to say something. Her eyes suddenly went wide as if she surprised herself with whatever popped into her mind. She remained silent. Her expression slowly diminished and she looked defeated but seemed to not know why herself.
However, that was all Tetsuya needed. His mother was right. He was very good at reading people. And he read Kagami right there and then. He saw the real problem she was facing. The real reason why that argument with Natsume affected her so much. And he saw that he could not help her. His reaction showed. And Kagami was surprised to see that he no longer seemed angry and instead looked...upset?
"I see..." he eventually said. "...so that's what it is...and it looks like I'm not the one to help you with this. You need a close friend on this one."
Kagami was starting to get a little confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"Listen. When you get the opportunity, ask the closest friend you know this question: Am I doing fine?"
Now she was confused. "Fine? Fine at what?"
"Doesn't matter. Just ask it as it is. If your close friend is really close then he or she will give you the answer you definitely need to hear."
Before she could say anything else, he got up from his seat and made to leave, apparently deciding that there was nothing left to talk about. Kagami didn't really try to stop him but something inside her wanted him to stay. He gave the usual "I'll see you at work," remark that passed for a farewell and she nodded back listlessly. Once he left she returned to her own food. Halfway through eating it, she realized the reason she wanted him to stay was that she didn't want to be lonely.
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Some time later, at the Izumi residence.
Konata was seated on the floor in front of her own TV with Playstation 2 controller in her hands. Her face was the definition of serious. Her thumbs flew across the controller buttons with the grace and fierceness only a veteran of her experience can accomplish.
On the TV screen itself, a rousing game of Tekken 5 was on going. Her character was King and he was facing off against Kuma the bear. Kuma was throwing hits wildly. Konata was keeping King back knowing she needed to find an opening first before attempting to strike. Kuma in the mean time kept charging and kept swinging his claws trying to hurt his opponent.
At one point Kuma got close enough and attempted a flying kick. A powerful...but amateurish move when used like that. Flying kicks had high damage and often knocked an opponent back. You needed careful timing to use this move properly. because after landing and missing...
"I have you now..." Konata mumbled with a grin and a sparkle in her eye.
In the short moment where Kuma was recovering from the jump kick, King moved it and performed a grab. King was the only pro-wrestler in the character roster and his most devastating moves consisted of a chain of grabs that simply drained the enemy's life bar. Konata performed this combination of grabs and quickly defeated Kuma.
Konata raised her hands in victory and exclaimed a short "Woo-hoo!"
"Dang it!" exclaimed Misao...who happened to be playing Kuma and sitting next to Konata.
"Looks like I win again," said Konata, her nose five time longer.
A vein popped on Misao's temple. "Another round!"
"You sure, Misakichi?"
"I ain't quittin' until I beat you, Chibikko. C'mon. Best seven out of twelve!"
"Alright have it your way."
The two players started a new match. Misao was learning slightly from her last match with Konata and decided to stay with Kuma for a while. Meanwhile, sitting on Konata's bed, Yutaka and Ayano both watched the action with barely repressed giggles.
"Onee-chan brings home the most unusual friends," Yutaka mentioned to Ayano in a hushed tone.
"But then I'm glad that Misao is making new friends," replied Ayano. "Still, I'm kinda embarrassed because I feel that me and Misao are imposing on your household...even if it was Izumi-san who made the challenge to Misao.
"Oh, don't worry about it. Onee-chan always has friends coming over. And uncle Sojiro actually likes having lots of high school girls in his house...for some reason. I don't really get it."
Ayano sweat-dropped.
The game continued with Konata and Misao trying their best to beat the other. Konata would continued to win a couple more rounds and Misao would continued to ask for a rematch which she would always get. A while passed before a knock came at Konata's door. It opened to reveal Sojiro Izumi in his usual yukata.
"Hey, Konata," he said. "someone on the phone for you."
"Better get it then." Konata moved to get up from her sitting position as the game was paused.
"Hurry up, will ya!" said Misao. "I'm sure I'll beat you this time!"
Konata waved her off and made her way to the living room where the phone was. She picked up the phone and sat herself down on the first step of the stairwell right next to her. She put the receiver to the side of her head. "Konata, speaking. Who is this?"
"Konata? It's me, Kagami," replied the caller. "Have you got a minute."
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Author's note: Hmmmm...Not much to say about this chapter. Just trying to advance the plot. I apologize if the pace seems a bit fast. I'm trying to minimize filler and concentrate on the character interactions.
Other notes: Oh yeah. andyjay18 has informed me that a Fairy Tail anime is actually being produced and is due to air in November. A quick look inot Wikipedia and a few other places on the net confirmed it for me. Of course, this won't affect anything I've established already. Just so you guys know.