Chapter 11: Day and Night

Hey guys, I'm here again, asking for more reviews! I like that people are reviewing it so far, but please, I'm greedy on this matter! I want more! And I've noticed that I forgot to put ratings on a few of the chapters. So to correct this in the laziest way possible, just remember this. Unless otherwise stated, this fanfiction will be rated T throughout. I will tell you if it takes a turn upward. I find it hilarious that my idea of a short chapter is longer then the first few chapters now... I'll probably just make it so I'll finish a chapter when I feel it is a good time to finish. If it's a day and over 10,000 words, that's how long it will be. If it's a lunch and 200 words (HIGHLY unlikely) that's how long it will be. Either way, enjoy~! Oh, and sorry these are taking so long, my beta is now juggling something like 5 different fanfics he wants to work on and he forgets about this a lot hehe...

On the way home

As Tony walked Tsukasa home, he constantly thought of various ways to approach Miyuki with his idea. Hey Miyuki, ever wanna... No... Miyuki, I know we haven't talked much, but... No... Maybe I can just straight ask her... I'll have to come up with something by tomorrow... He concluded. "So Tsukasa, where IS your house, anyway?" Tony asked, walking beside Tsukasa.

"It should only be a little while until we get there from here Kan-chan." She stated. "Thanks a lot for walking me home, but you didn't have to you know!" Tsukasa said.

"I know, but it's the least I can do for you helping me out with my friend. Besides, the streets are dangerous at night. This one time, I saw a woman almost get kidnapped right off the street! I don't wanna think of what might have happened if I hadn't been where I was at the time..." Tony replied.

"Really? I've never seen anything like that! It's a good thing I guess, that would be really scary... I don't know what I would do..." Tsukasa started looking to ground as her ribbon drooped.

"It is a scary situation. If you ever find yourself in such a predicament, I want you to call the police, and then call me. Tell me and them where you are. One of us will handle it, though probably through different methods..." Tony trailed off. He pulled out a piece of paper and pencil he had gotten from the plot and wrote his cellphone number on it. He handed the paper to Tsukasa.

"What do you mean?" Tsukasa asked, scared of the answer.

"The police will negotiate with them. I'll flat out kick their a-..." Tony stopped.

"Look Kan-chan! A Kitty!" Tsukasa shouted as she ran forward and picked up the aforementioned feline, not noticing the fact that Tony had ended his sentence prematurely. As she petted it, she turned around. "Isn't he cu-.. Kan-chan?" She asked, puzzled. Tony had vanished.

"Tsukasa." She heard from above. She looked up to see Tony sitting like a dog on a streetlight, his eyes glued on the cat. "You keep that thing the HELL away from me." He shouted.

"What? Why, it's so cute! What are you doing up there?" Tsukasa asked as she started walking towards the light.

"Tsukasa, please stop." Tony said. "Can you keep a secret?" He asked. He seemed almost... panicked...

"Sure Kan-chan, what's up?" Tsukasa asked, worried.

"Okay, I guess I can trust you... Cats freak me the hell out. I don't know why, but I'm afraid of them. Just their..." He started, but was stopped as he shuddered. "About the only thing that's REMOTELY cute about them is their mouth." He commented.

"You're afraid of cats?"

"Terrified. So please. Put the cat down before I listen to my head telling me to run home at full speed." Tony pleaded, his voice trembling a bit. He was about to lose it. Tsukasa, seeing this, released the cat. The cat merely looked at her, meowed in confusion, and walked away.

"Better Kan-chan?" She asked, looking up to see him jumping down.

"Yeah, thanks Tsukasa. Please, don't tell anyone about this?" He pleaded after landing. "A fear of cats isn't exactly very manly."

"No problem! So how long have you been afraid of cats?" Tsukasa asked, trying to find out exactly why Tony loathed her furry feline friends with such passion. They started walking again.

"No clue, just for as long as I can remember. I've done a good enough job of keeping it under wraps so far, you're actually the only person other then me that knows."

"Really? No one else has ever asked?" Tsukasa asked in wonderment that no one would ask someone like Tony if he had any fears.

"Of course other people have asked, but I wouldn't tell someone something so embarrassing unless I trusted them." He commented without second thought. After giving a bit of thought, he added almost under his breath, "Not that I actually had any good friends..."

"What do you mean?" Tsukasa continued, having heard his addition. She was a little flattered that Tony already trusted her enough to trust her with such a secret.

"Well, the training I was put through isn't exactly conducive to having many friends. I barely had time for school, and even there I didn't know how to treat other kids my age. My parents were gone before they really got a chance to teach me anything like that. And my brother didn't exactly help." Tony said, his tone turning melancholic. "To be perfectly honest... You four are probably the only good friends I REALLY have." He added. His eyes suddenly widened as he realized exactly what he had just told her and how potentially bad it might be if she looked too far into it. He had told her that she would be helping with a friend of his, and here he had let it slip that they were his only friends. Crap.

"Really? I can't believe that! You seem so nice and like you know what to say all the time!" Tsukasa shouted as they continued walking. Luckily, it seemed she had missed his slip up.

"Well, no one has ever really asked me to join them before. I never knew how to approach new people, so friendless I stayed." Tony said. At this point, his smile returned. "I'm... grateful to you guys for giving me a chance." Tsukasa smiled as well.

"It's been my pleasure. And I'm sure the others would say the same." She said. She felt really happy that she could mean so much to someone.

"And I'm sorry if I came off as a... well, an arrogant prick. I'm kinda still learning how to behave around others. Please tell me if I do anything inappropriate. Aside from the obvious, that is." Tony said.

"No! Don't worry Kan-chan! I think you've been really nice for the most part!" Tsukasa shouted, not wanting her friend to feel bad.

"Thanks." Tony smiled. "So I heard you liked Disney?"

"Yeah, how could you tell?" Tsukasa asked.

"Lucky guess. You sing beautifully." Tony complimented.

"Thanks!" Tsukasa said appreciatively, blushing. No one ever complimented her singing other at that Karaoke place. Then again, she didn't really sing in that many other situations, she was surprised she had this time... "Don't tell anyone, but I always kinda wanted to be a princess, you know? Like, live in a palace, find Prince Charming, that stuff!" Tsukasa laughed.

"Don't forget you would have to be kidnapped or poisoned before your happily ever after." Tony chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess... But it would all turn out for the best, right? It always does!" Tsukasa shouted in excitement.

"Yeah, I guess it does in the movies. If only real life were like that..." Tony trailed off. "Their songs sure are catchy though."

"Totally! I always listened to those songs repeatedly, even after I knew them by heart!" Tsukasa said excitedly.

That explains the bar. Tony thought with a smile. Anyone who listens to songs like that THAT much is bound to be able to come up with more than a few rhymes. "Well, I'm a pretty big fan of Disney myself. It would be awesome if people joined you when you burst into song, wouldn't it?"

"I know, right? That bartender was really nice, I can't believe that she joined us!" Tsukasa laughed.

"It was weird for me too!" Tony laughed. They both laughed for what seemed a while. Tsukasa was so enthralled in the conversation, she almost missed her house as they walked.

"We're here!" Tsukasa announced. "Thanks again for walking me home Kan-chan."

"It's no problem, Tsukasa. I'll see you later!" Tony shouted. He waited a second before adding, "Thanks for listening to my problems Tsukasa. You don't know what it means to get that off my chest."

"I'm really glad I could help you feel better Kan-chan. If you ever want to talk, about anything, just let me know!" Tsukasa smiled.

"Thanks Tsukasa..." Tony smiled as he broke into what was a light jog for him.

He is really fast... Tsukasa thought as he left.

POV: Kagami

Kagami arrived home about ten minutes after her "Date" ended. She still felt bad for having hurt Tony like that. What was odd was that she didn't usually zone out like that, not for hours! She might start thinking of something else, but only for a minute or two before she snapped out of it. It was also weird that it didn't feel like much time had passed at all! She was thinking about Konata and her friends for what seemed like five minutes! She knew she was occupied with the same thought the entire time, so apparently she could think of Konata without boring herself, even at lengths of two hours. I feel so bad... but he said he understood... Wait, understood what? Why I ignored him on our date? I don't see how he could, I don't even! I'm really mean, I mean- Kagami continued to beat herself up as she couldn't get the memory to fade. But among all else, one particular sentence remained prevalent, standing out against everything else said. You will find love soon... the same words Tsukasa said... Speaking of which, I wonder what they're up to? It would seem they haven't left yet, Tsukasa isn't home yet. Either that or she's on her way home now. I hope she'll be okay coming home by herself, the streets can be pretty dangerous at night... Kagami thought as she set herself to bed, merely wanting the day to be over. She soon surrendered to the embrace of slumber. How long she was able to sleep, she didn't know, but before long, there came a knock at the door. "Come in..." Kagami said drowsily.

"Hey, are you still awake Kagami?" Her father asked as he entered.

"Obviously I am now... What's up dad?" Kagami asked, not bothering to hide her annoyance at having been waken.

"I know it's late, but... How... how're you doing?" Tadao asked, hoping she would confess to whatever relationship she was in without him having to ask outright.

"Um.. I'm doing fine dad, why do you ask?" Kagami mumbled, confused.

"Ummmmm... Tell me... You've never brought any guy friends home, do you have any guy friends? Or a boyfriend?" The man asked.

"Yeah, I have a... guy friend..." Kagami said, tormented that in one day he had been raised to a boyfriend and back down to guy friend.

"And are you and your guy friend dating?" Her father grilled.

*Sigh* "No. No, I don't think so... Why are you suddenly so interested in my love life? You never ask me stuff like this, even when it's a decent hour, so what gives?" Kagami asked, going on the offensive with her own questions.

"Jus-Just wondering Kagami! So, are you seeing anyone right now?" Tadao pressed on. Kagami was getting slightly irritated because one, she had been woken up at... Midnight! And two because her father was prying into her business and clearly hiding his motives. Suspicious.

"I'm seeing you right now, aren't I?" Kagami said, her voice drowning in a tone that made it clear she wished to resume her slumber. Her father, though picking up on this, decided he would need this question answered before he could rest peacefully.

"Kagami, you know what I mean. Are you dating anyone?" Her father reworded.

"I have one guy friend. I'm not dating him. Who else would I date?" Kagami muttered, burying her face in her pillow. The world wouldn't let her forget about that stupid date! At this point, she was going to say whatever she needed to in order to get her father to leave and allow her to go back to sleep.

"Okay Kagami. That's all I needed to hear." Tadao said as he walked to the door. "Good night."

"Good night." Kagami said, muffled by her pillow. She couldn't fall asleep immediately, however. A thought had started to plague her mind, having been pushed to the wayside and paid no attention to previously. I used Tony. Kagami realized to her horror. She stayed laying there, contemplating the approximate difficulty of smothering herself with her pillow until her mind allowed her to finally rest.

Tadao stopped at the door and looked back at his daughter as it looked like she was asleep. My daughter? Vile? How could I think that of my daughter, even if she was... It was hard to say things like that to a stranger, how could I ever to my daughter? I don't know what I would do. And I hope I never have to find out. He thought as he closed the door silently.

POV: Konata

As Miyuki walked in the front door of the Izumi residence, a practically unconscious Konata with her, she heard in an extreme panic, "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DAUGHTER!" As Sojiro, having awoken while they were out, ran over and took Konata off of Miyuki. "Konata! Are you feeling okay? Speak to me! Boy, when I get my hands on that kid..." Sojiro growled through clenched teeth.

"Da- *hiccup* dad, I'm jus a lillle drunk. Tony di'n do nossin. Ih fac, hes tha one who sen me hom!" Konata slurred, trying her best in her inebriated state to absolve her friend of the guilt wrongfully being place on him.

"You don't need to be getting drunk as sick as you are!" Sojiro shouted.

"I's feelin mush be'er iis mornin. I wasss ce'ebra'ing." Konata smiled before passing out. Sojiro carried her into her room and set her in her bed. He came back to the living room.

*Sigh* "Thanks for carrying her all the way home Miyuki, would you like to stay here for the night since it's so late?" He offered.

"Thank you very much Izumi-san, it is rather late." Miyuki bowed. As small as Konata was, carrying her all that way was still quite the challenge.

"Alright, a futon is oddly already laid out in Konata's room. You can have it if you want" Sojiro said as he motioned to Konata's room.

The next morning

Konata awoke, sitting up. She started to yawn, but was promptly stopped by the pounding of her own head. OW! What the... oh right... She remembered through the pounding. Thank Haruhi it's Saturday! I really don't think I could go to school with this hangover... Hm? What's that? She wondered, hearing faint breathing. She looked over the side of her bed to see a slumbering Miyuki in the futon Tsukasa had slept in. She's moe even in her sleep! Konata thought excitedly. She must have gotten me home last night after I got wasted. Why do I remember Tony being there? Wasn't he doing something with Kagami? Or whatever it is he said he was doing... Konata continued, her head pounding on every word. She decided she would have to go back to sleep so as to avoid aggravating her cranium. She turned over and closed her eyes until...

RING RING RING! RING RING RING! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!
RING RING RING! RING RING RING! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!

The sound of her cell phone amplified by her condition, her head felt like it was tearing itself to shreds. She very quickly picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey, what's going on Konata?" She heard Kagami from the other side of the phone. Even through her headache, Konata could tell something in her tone was... off...

"Not much Kagami. What's wrong?" Konata asked, worry easily discernible in her voice.

"Nothing... Nothing... You wanna call the others and we can all hang out?" Came from the phone.

"Sure, you get Tsukasa, I'll get Miyuki and Tony. But Kagami, are you sure nothing's wrong?" Konata asked again.

"I'm fine Konata. I'll go get Tsukasa, we can all go out somewhere! Can we meet at your house?" Kagami asked.

"Sure. Come on over whenever you want!" Konata said with a smile.

"Cool thanks! I'll get Tsukasa now and we'll come over right away!" Kagami happily said as she hung up.

I hope she's okay... My head REALLY hurts now... Hmmm... "Miyuki-san~." She called as she shook the moe goddess, leaning over her own bed to do so. Miyuki's eyes fluttered open slowly.

*Yawn* "Hello Konata-san. Are you feeling better?" Miyuki sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Actually Miyuki-san, I still have a big headache from last night. I was wondering if you could go get Tony and bring him back? We're all going to hang out today if you can make it." Konata said before adding, "I really need to take a short nap before Kagami and Tsukasa get here."

"Of course Konata-san. Where does Kanpeki-san live?" Miyuki asked, surprising Konata with her formality.

"Kan... oh right, his name... He lives next door!" Konata informed Miyuki.

"On which side?"

"... I.. dunno... Try both?" Konata suggested.

"But... What if I get the wrong one first?" Miyuki asked in a panic.

"Then say 'Wrong Door!' and go to the other!"

"How will I know though? His parents might answer the door and-"

"Miyuki~..." Konata moaned, clutching her head and burying her face into her pillow.

"Oh, I'm sorry Konata-san! I'll go right now!" Miyuki said in a low whisper. And so she left.

As Miyuki walked out, she heard bustling in the kitchen. She decided to go get Tony first. As she left the house, she heard a yell from the kitchen, "Where the hell is all our food?". She decided that it wasn't her business and so left. She then took a right, headed for 3-14-19 Kita-Satte . She knocked on the door, but didn't hear anything from within. I wonder if this is the wrong house? She decided it must have been, as Tony had to have gotten home. She turned to leave, but stopped. She turned back to the door and said "Wro- Wrong door!" before hurriedly turning and walking towards the other house. As she was walking, head down, she bumped into something. "Ow!" She looked at the obstacle in her way to see a sign. It read 'Vacant'. Well, that would explain it... How did I miss this? She wondered as she continued around the sign and towards Tony's house. She knocked on the door upon arriving and heard bustling from inside. The door opened to reveal the boy she was seeking, with odd looking street clothes on. She couldn't pin it, but something was weird about them.

"Hey Miyuki! What's up?" Tony asked before adding under his breath, "I'm pretty sure this is only the second time I've talked directly to Miyuki... It's already chapter 11!"

"Hello Kanpeki-san, sorry for the time. We're all hanging out today, would you like to join us?" Miyuki asked.

"Yeah! I've got nothing better to do." Tony smiled. He followed Miyuki back to Konata's house, humming a theme unknown to the girl. "*Humming* love and glory, *Humming* tell the story, *Humming* nothing we can't live through, *Humming* rise again~!" As they arrived at their friend's house, Tony wondered what Konata's father's reaction to him would be. Hopefully he would listen to reason should it come to it. They entered.

"You've got nerve coming back here. You're no friend of my daughters. Kagami told me." Sojiro said soon as he saw the boy.

"Wa...oohh..." Tony realized what had happened. Not sleeping for days, his memory must be pretty hazy. My guess is he doesn't even remember our little incursion. "As a matter of fact, I am now. And I didn't say I was her frien... You know what? I'm tired of explaining this! I've done so twice already! I'm here because I was invited by your daughter." Tony started. He saw the expression of disbelief on the man's face he was expecting and so added, "Don't worry, Kagami and Tsukasa have been invited as well. And obviously Miyuki."

"How do I know you're not lying to me again?" Sojiro asked, suspicious.

"Well, you could always ask Konata yourself, she should be sober and well. Shall we?" Tony said, motioning towards Konata's room.

"Fine..." Sojiro said, deciding to ask his daughter. Tony walked to the door, Sojiro behind him and Miyuki behind him.

*Knock Knock Knock* "Konata? Tony asking permission to come aboard!" He shouted.

"Permission granted!" They heard from inside before a loud groan. They entered to see Konata sitting on the edge of her bed, clutching her head. "That was cruel." She said. (A/N I'm turning into Dr. Seuss...)

"Well you didn't have to respond like that." Tony said, smirking. "How ar-"

"Konata, is this kid a friend of yours?" Sojiro yelled, much to the agony of Konata.

"Gah! Yeah, yeah, he is! Geez dad, now THAT was cruel..." Konata said, tucking her head in onto her chest, clutching it ever harder.

"Sorry Konata... I was just wondering cause Kagami told me he wasn't. She said you were almost openly hostile..." The girl's father trailed off.

"Well, things changed while you were asleep." Konata said, but realized she had the perfect opportunity to stick one to him. "You've been asleep for almost a year now, we were beginning to think you would never wake up! Me and Tony are married now!" She said, sure Tony wouldn't mind her lying about a wedding since he himself had.

"WHAT?" Sojiro yelled. Konata squirmed in pain, but it was well worth it. Obviously her father hadn't thought about it too much, having stopped such functions the instant word of his daughter's marriage hit his ears.

"Interesting joke Konata..." Tony smirked, chuckling at the antics. He had no right to complain, he figured. After all, he himself had lied about a wedding.

*Sigh* "Don't joke about that Konata! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Does that mean you think you're old enough to get one?" Konata asked.

"Yes I am! Konata, I've missed you!" Sojiro shouted, clinging to his daughter for the first time since she had gotten sick.

"Gah! Dad! Not in front of Miyuki and To... Where'd Tony go?" Konata asked. Tony had disappeared.

"That kid running loose in my house? Who knows what he could be doing!" Sojiro shouted. Konata clutched her head.

"Dad, volume! Besides, I don't think he'd be doing anything wrong, he isn't that kind of a guy." Konata said. "He trusted me with his... crap, I never gave him his phone back... But I trust him." She finished. Tony reappeared in the doorway.

"Hey Konata, I noticed you still had a hangover from last night so I brought you something to help." Tony said, holding a cup filled with a yellowish liquid in one hand and a small white pill in the other. "These two work together to relieve hangovers without side effects." Tony offered her the medicine. "It should take three minutes to take full effect."

"Konata. Don't take it. You know I don't trust this kid." Sojiro warned.

"..." Konata was torn between heeding her father and forgoing the uncertain treatment that would end her suffering, or listening to her friend and potentially putting a stop to her head's trauma. "... Tony... I trust you!" Konata shouted, shoving the pill in her mouth and drinking the liquid to wash it down. The pill went down fine, but the liquid was very sour and made her almost wish she hadn't drunk it. "BLEEGH! That was really sour!"

"KONATA! Okay Tony, what the HELL did you just give my daughter?" Sojiro yelled at the top of his lungs. Konata noticed the absence of aching in her head.

"Later. How are you feeling Konata?" Tony asked. Konata shot him a look that told him he was about to be in deep trouble. Konata fainted.

"KONATA! Damn it kid, what the HELL did you give her?" Sojiro yelled. Tony, however, didn't miss a beat.

"Konata, get up. I know you're faking." Tony smirked.

"Aw~... How'd you know?" Konata whined.

"Konata... You ARE trying to kill me, aren't you?" Sojiro sighed.

"You're trying to get me killed, aren't you?" Tony asked. "So. Tell us how you're really feeling Konata."

"Better... Much better, actually... What did you-"

I'm pretty much inconsequental at this point, huh? Miyuki thought to herself.

"NOW!" Sojiro interrupted.

"Come here Mr. Izumi." Tony beckoned the man out. On seeing Konata was getting up as well, he added, "Miyuki, please keep Konata here."

"O-of course!" Miyuki said, surprised that she was suddenly included. I guess I'm not totally irrelevant!

"Come." Tony said shortly as he and Sojiro went into the living room.

"Okay, spill it. What did you give my daughter?" Sojiro demanded once there.

"You sure you want to know? Once I tell you, the cure won't work for you, I can ju-"

"NOW!" Sojiro demanded again. Tony smirked.

"A placebo."

"Wa...What?"

"A placebo. A sugar pill. It had absolutely no medical value whatsoever." Tony chuckled.

"... Well then what was in the cup?" Sojiro asked, a dazed, confused look on his face.

"Merely water-diluted lemon extract."

"Why?"

"Gives it a mediciney look and taste." Tony's smirk grew. "In other words..."

"Nothing at all."

"Exactly."

"Well then why does she feel better?" Sojiro wondered.

"She feels better because she thinks what I gave her was a cure for her hangover. I put in all the details to sell it. She's believes she's getting better, so she is. It's all in her head." Tony chuckled again.

"So... You didn't really give her anything?"

"I gave her the knowledge that she's okay. Please don't tell her, her hangover will return the instant you do." Tony pleaded.

"..."

"I hope you can see, I only have the best interests of your daughter in mind." Tony added.

"Yeah... I guess..." Sojiro commented, amazed at how this kid he had only met once, and not a nice encounter at that, had helped his daughter help herself. He stood there dumbfounded until they heard the sound of fist on wood. "Come in!" Sojiro shouted.

Uh-oh! The plot! Tony thought before the door opened.

POV: Kagami

Kagami woke up, the thoughts of last night not hitting until several minutes after she had awoken. She felt like crying. She bit back her emotions as she left her room and walked down the stairs to the sound of her breakfast. "Hey mo-... Tsukasa? How are you up so early?" Kagami asked the cooking Tsukasa.

"Well... I figure that if I AM going to be a wife someday, I've gotta start acting like one, right?" Tsukasa said, looking quite cheerful. In truth, she was exhausted. She had set her alarm for forty minutes before she had actually gotten up and set it on top of her so that when it rang, the vibrations would also help wake her. Every time she had been woken up by it, she had muttered "Five more minutes..." before realizing that no one was there to hear. She groggily sat up just enough to hit the five minute snooze. The next time it rang, she was more awake. This cycle of five minutes was continued until she had the willpower to rise from bed and drag herself downstairs. But Kagami had no necessity to know that.

Wow, she's really maturing... Did what Konata say really effect her that much? Kagami thought to herself. "Hey Tsukasa, did you talk to Tony recently?" Kagami asked her sister.

"Yeah, yesterday." Tsukasa called behind her, finishing a batch of waffles.

"No, I mean after school." Kagami reiterated, expecting a surefire no.

"Yeah, I do mean after school." Tsukasa said, laying down a plate of waffles.

"What? When?" Kagami asked, a pit forming in her stomach.

"At the bar. Kan-chan walked in and-... Onee-chan?" Tsukasa shouted as Kagami smashed her face into the table.

"Tsukasa... What did he say?" Kagami hesitantly asked.

"Well, something about being rejected and ignored. He was really sad and mad..." Tsukasa trailed off. Kagami was almost in tears.

"Thanks for breakfast Tsukasa, but I'm not hungry..." Kagami said, her appetite having left her.

"O-Okay Onee-chan." Tsukasa stuttered at her sister's sudden loss of hunger. Did I say something wrong? She thought to herself as she Kagami got up from the table and walked out.
Kagami didn't even really know where she was going. She was just walking. She soon found herself at her desk, looking at her phone.

Okay, I guess I might as well give Konata a call, see if she wants to hang out today. It IS a Saturday. She thought as she clicked number one on her phone. It was Konata's speed dial. Her Otaku picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, what's going on Konata?" Kagami said, not thinking of how she must sound.

"Not much Kagami. What's wrong?" She heard Konata ask on the other end. Her worry was clear and somehow... comforting.

"Nothing... Nothing... You wanna call the others and we can all hang out?" Kagami asked.

"Sure, you get Tsukasa, I'll get Miyuki and Tony. But Kagami, are you sure nothing's wrong?" Konata asked again. The name of Tony gave Kagami a pit to match her first.

That's not what I meant... Kagami cried on the inside. She wasn't sure how she would handle seeing Tony again so soon. "I'm fine Konata. I'll go get Tsukasa, we can all go out somewhere! Can we meet at your house?" Kagami said.

"Sure. Come on over whenever you want!" Konata authorized.

"Cool thanks! I'll get Tsukasa now and we'll come over right away!" Kagami happily said as she hung up. *Sigh* Kagami internally let out breath she didn't know she even COULD hold as she walked back to the kitchen. She had secretly hoped it would be a day of just the girls, but she knew the notion was ridiculous to hope for without asking for it. She walked in the kitchen to see no one. She kept going until she arrived in her living room to see Tsukasa finishing a plate of waffles. "Hey Tsukasa, wanna go hang out with Konata and the others?" Kagami asked. The question was a mere formality, as Kagami knew her sister would come along without question.

"Sure Onee-chan! Just let me get ready." Tsukasa chimed. It was only now that Kagami noticed her sister in cooking attire. Her apron had a picture of a bottle of Balsamic Vinegar. Curious. Tsukasa walked excitedly to her room to change into appropriate clothes.

She was even dressed like a housewife... Does she really take that much stock in Konata's opinion? No way, there must be something else... But what? Kagami wondered. I'll have to figure that out later, right now I need to think of what to say to Tony... I really hope it isn't going to be awkward... Kagami hoped in her mind. She knew such a fantasy was pointless and unlikely.

"Okay Onee-chan, I'm ready!" Tsukasa shouted as she walked out of her room. She got an idea. Kagami soon found herself being dragged by the hand by her sister out of her house.

"Tsu-Tsukasa! What's going on?" Kagami stuttered at her sister's sudden aggression.

"We ARE going to Kona-chan's house aren't we?" Tsukasa called behind her.

"Yeah, but why are you dragging me? And how do you know where we were going to meet up?" Kagami asked.

"Well, you always drag me when you want to leave. And since Kan-chan lives next to Kona-chan, I guessed that that was where we were meeting." Tsukasa said.

"Alright..." Kagami said. "I'm sorry for dragging you everywhere like that, I was just always use to it, you never said anything so I guess I assumed it never bothered you." Kagami apologized. Tsukasa smiled as she released her sister's hand.

"It's okay Onee-chan, I know you didn't mean anything by it." Tsukasa excused. "Now, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Kagami asked, caught off guard by the seemingly random question.

"I noticed you seemed off this morning. Especially when you weren't hungry this morning." Tsukasa observed. Kagami was genuinely surprised.

I hope I wasn't obvious! What should I say? Hmmm... "The wedding yesterday didn't exactly go as planned..." Kagami lied, scratching the back of her head. She was glad Tsukasa was still slightly in front of her.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's okay." Tsukasa said understandingly. "I can just ask Kan-chan later." Tsukasa smiled.

"Ga- What makes you think he would know anything?" Kagami shouted.

"Wasn't Kan-chan supposed to be the Maid of Honor?" Tsukasa smiled.

Crap! She caught me! "Yeah, but... I don't think he knows what happened."

"Well what happened?" Tsukasa asked, Konata's house coming into sight.

"I'd... rather not talk about it." Kagami reiterated.

"That's okay Onee-chan." Tsukasa said, arriving at Konata's house. Kagami walked up and knocked on the door.

Well, here we go...

"Come in!" She heard from inside. She opened the door.

"Hey, we've come to see Kona-... Hey Tony..." Kagami said, averting her gaze. She had been right in that she wasn't sure if she could handle the boy.

"Hey Kagami, Tsukasa, come on it. Konata should be okay by now." Tony said, seemingly oblivious to Kagami's mood.

"Tha...thanks. What was wrong?" Kagami asked.

"She had a hangover, but it's fine now." Tony responded.

"Well, that's good. I'm glad..." Kagami sighed.

"I figured you would be." Tony said, giving the first indication that anything had happened.

"Oh-kay~. So did I interrupt a murder?" Kagami laughed a bit.

"Actually... This guy isn't all that bad..." Sojiro commented, looking at Tony.

"I'm glad to hear you say that Mr. Izumi." Tony smiled. "Well, let's go see Konata. I'm sure Miyuki is having problems restraining her by now."

"Then let's go!" Kagami shouted cheerfully as they walked to the Otaku's room.

Luckier Channel

"Luckier~! Channel~! Hiya luckies!" Akira shouted. "I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!"

"I'm her assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"

"I wasn't in this chapter, but I bet you all liked it anyway! And we-"

"Akira, you got another letter." The same voice from the last two times called, clearly annoyed.

"Wow, we're getting these pretty often now..." Minoru commented as Akira opened the letter.

*Peel peel peel* "Yeah, we've gotten one almost every time for the last few chapters!" Akira said as she read the letter. She also pulled something out. *Gasp*

"What is it Akira-sama?" Minoru asked.

"The... The writer said that they noticed me talking about my financial difficulties so... They sent ¥ 10,000 and said they would do their best to help. Pu-pull a few strings, ya know?" Akira said, stunned at the kindness. 10,000 yen wasn't an incredible amount, but it helped. And it carried no strings.

"That's awesome Akira-sama! I'm happy for you."

"... Yeah..." Akira said in a daze.

*Music Tone*

"Well... That's it for today, bye nii!" Akira said dazedly.

"..."

"That was really nice, I was NOT expecting that..."

"Yeah, this story sure is full of surprises."

"No kidding."

*End*

Aftersection

And so ends another chapter. Tony absolutely unnecessary to the story now? I'll go ahead and tell ya, he was never completely necessary to the story, he's more here to hopefully add originality to the story. I could have written this story almost as easily without him having any part in it. But I didn't want it to seem like I was copying other's works, because I might come up with the same things as someone else :P. I hope you all understand. However, now that the intro-arc is basically over, he's probably gonna back off a bit. And don't forget, when you're trying to get someone you like, don't you try to be as smooth as possible? While I won't write him out completely for a long while at least, He will probably talk less. And believe me, if I hadn't done Konami, I would receive blowback from not only you guys, but from myself XD Like I said, It doesn't work otherwise. One more thing and then I think I'll conclude this. If you currently have no clue what I'm talking about, this is basically a response to stealthmomo. As for the destruction of the 4th wall, mostly whenever I've seen it done it wasn't subtle. It was a little less blunt then I was being. I wasn't going for subtly, in fact I was going for quite the opposite. I apologize if that wasn't right, I'll see if I can't correct it in future chapters. Thanks a lot for the review stealthmomo! Yours are the kind I love, the kind that tell me what I'm doing good, bad, and anything I need to improve on, because I know there's a lot. That's not to discourage anyone from reviewing, please keep it up! I love hearing your opinions, otherwise I don't know if my chapters are any good or not! The next chapter should be out soon after this one, I ended this one early because it felt right. And thanks for all the reviews Kenpokid, I also like it when people give a chapter by chapter review so I know about each chapter individually too. I'm rambling AGAIN! See you in chapter 12 I hope!