It All Started with an Act of Kindness

Chapter 2

Welcome Home

Kagami stopped with the girl at the front door to her apartment and quickly unlocked the door. She was excited to have someone to keep her company for once and she was happy to have been helping someone in need. She got behind the girl and placed her hands over the small girl's big, green eyes.

"Hey, what are you-AHH" The girl said as she was moved quickly into the apartment and heard the door shut behind her. She kept her eyes closed even after feeling the hands remove themselves from over them and heard Kagami's voice speak sweetly in the air.

"Welcome home. This will be your home from now on. You will be safe here with me. I will protect you from whatever may harm you." The girl listened to these words and slowly opened her eyes. She was met with a fairly small apartment but it was very comfortable looking. A purple couch and a glass table sat in front of an entertainment center with a TV and some video game systems. Her eyes lit up at that. She had forgotten how much she missed video games. There was a wooden Kitchen table and a small walk-in kitchen.

"I know it isn't much, but I hope you are comfortable here. I get by somehow." Kagami laughed while looking at the girl's face which was full of curiosity. The girl raised her hands and shook her head.

"Oh, no it is great. I don't want to be a burden though...I..." The girl looked down and sniffed softly as if she were about to cry. Kagami got a sad look in her eyes. She really wanted to see what the girl was like when she wasn't sad. Her eyes were so big and a pretty shade of green, but when she got like this, they seemed to lose their luster. She had gotten glimpses of her when she wasn't in complete despair while they were at the cafe. She wanted to bring that girl back.

"You are not going to be a burden on me. I offered to bring you here and you will stay here. I can't leave you out there on your own, after all." Kagami said while pulling the girl into a hug. The girl sobbed softly into her shoulder and reached around her and hugged back. Kagami led her to the couch and sat down next to her.

"It's all right. Let it all out. I don't know what happened to you but it must have been hard." Kagami said while stroking the girl's blue hair. The girl cried and cried leaving a damp spot on kagami's shirt and only ceased when she had cried herself to sleep. Kagami stood up and went to get her a blanket.

She placed the blanket over the girl and brushed the blue hair from her eyes.

"What happened to you? Well you sleep while I make us something for dinner." She said stroking the girl's hair. She smiled as she noticed a small, cute sigh come from the girl and her lips curl into a small smile. Kagami nodded and rolled up her sleeves as she made her way into the kitchen to make some food for when the girl woke up.

"What's this?" The small girl asked as she walked into the kitchen holding the blanket around her. She smelled food and saw Kagami busy at work preparing what looked like a normal dinner for two, but she seemed really anxious about it. Kagami jumped at the noise as she was not expecting the girl to wake so soon. She looked at her and smiled at how cute she looked wrapped up in a blanket. She looked like a little girl and her sleepy face was just adorable. Kagami had a slight blush as she pushed the girl back into the living room.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why did you push me back out here?" the girl asked confused.

"It was supposed to be a surprise. Here you sit here and play video games while I finish dinner. It shouldn't be too much longer." Kagami said turning the TV on and putting a controller in the girl's small hand. She ran back into the kitchen while she heard the beeps from the TV and her face drooped when she saw the stove.

"OH NOOOOO! MY STEW IS BOILING OVER!"

"Uh huh..." Was all the small girl could say as she was absorbed in the game he was playing and not noticing the burning smell in the apartment.

After about half an hour Kagami went and grabbed the girl and whirled her around to the table where food awaited them. The girl's eyes lit up again and she sat down and looked at Kagami with a grateful look.

"Eat up! I hope you like it!" Kagami said as she looked on at the girl who picked up her chopsticks and took a bite. The girl's eyes opened wide and her face turned green as she fell out of the chair.

"What is this? I'm sorry, but this is horrible. Worse than Serasvaati cooking something." The girl said coughing. Kagami thought this would happen. She seemed to be the only one who can handle her horrible cooking skills anyway.

"I'm sorry, I know I am a horrible cook but I wanted to do something nice for you." Kagami said with her hands above her head in prayer's fashion. The girl stood up and went into the kitchen with Kagami wondering what he was doing.

"You sit there and let me handle this." The girl stated while starting to make something. Kagami sat there and stared in amazement at the skill this girl showed when cooking. Everything was precise and the aroma was magnificent. She felt as if she was in one of those TV shows with the master chefs and was about to try their creations.

"Here, this will be much more edible." The girl said as she handed Kagami a plate and sat down next to her. Kagami looked at the meal and thought it looked great.

"Thank you...uh.." She said still wondering what the girl's name was. The girl was silently eating her food and looked up for a brief second and their eyes met.

"Konata Izumi..." She said while going back to her meal. Kagami smiled and was happy to finally know her name.

After dinner, they decided to play some video games and Kagami was surprised how good Konata was. Kagami just couldn't win against the girl. After a few hours of getting her butt handed to her, she decided it was time for bed. Konata looked at her and knew the question she was going to ask. Where would she sleep?

"You can sleep in my bedroom with me. I have a futon that I will sleep on. You can have my bed." Kagami said patting the girl on the head which earned a slight blush from the smaller girl. Kagami thought again just how cute she looked when she blushed.

"O-ok if it isn't too much trouble..." Konata said quietly as they got ready for bed. Konata took a quick shower and felt great after and saw the bed all made and ready for her to sleep in while Kagami was busy preparing the futon next to the bed. Konata went and sat down on the bed while watching Kagami finish up the futon. Kagami gave the small girl a smile and Konata thought how could anybody be this nice to a complete stranger? She didn't even know anything about her, yet she took her in without so much as a second thought.

"I'll be right here if you need anything. Don't hesitate to wake me up if something is wrong." Kagami said while laying down in the futon and turning the lamp off. Konata nodded and pulled the blanket over her and closed her eyes. Within minutes, she could hear the other girl's slight snoring. She soon drifted into sleep herself and was plagued by the same visions of that day...just like every night.

"Konata...why didn't you save us?"

"Onee-chan, are you watching again?"

"Konata...Konata...it hurts..."

Konata shot up with sweat forming on her brow. She has had the same dream over and over again since that day. She looked at the clock and saw that she had only been asleep for two hours. She looked down at Kagami and the other girl was still sound asleep. Konata got up to go get a drink of water while thinking of nothing but the dream and Kagami, who was doing everything to comfort her. Konata went back to bed with mixed feelings of fear and happiness. She was truly grateful to Kagami...Truly

"Huh? Why do I feel a weight on me?" Kagami said to herself as she woke up. She looked at the window and saw it was still night and she felt a weight on her back. She turned and saw Konata laying next to her asleep. Kagami blushed a bit and saw that the girl's hair was stuck to her face like she had been crying. Kagami let out a soft sigh and moved the hair from the girl's face and pulled her in for a hug.

"Konata, you are really something else. I promise that I will never leave you alone." Kagami said before placing a light kiss on the girl's forehead. She was greeted back with a small breath before Kagami fell back into sleep. Konata opened her eyes and looked at the sleeping girl and could only give a small smile to the sleeping figure.

"Kagami...Thank you for being here..."

END

would have written this sooner but I fell asleep last night. I got it up as soon as I could and I hope you guys enjoy it. Let me know what you think. I do all of this for you. Please R&R. Things are getting a little close between Konata and Kagami now :D

-PhantasmFlash