Chapter 9: Onee-chan, The Lock
Yo yo yo, everybody! Been a month, just like I promised! Gotta say, this was my absolute favorite chapter to write so far. It was a bit of a slow start, but once I got going, it just became so much fun. Sorry for not posting until late, I meant to post early in the day. Got busy with mortgage stuff and everything. So that took up most of my day. Sorry again!
Ah, Dave. Yeah, I had the slumber party in the last chapter, but I split them apart so you guys aren't without a chapter for too long while I worked on Luckier Star. Don't worry, slumber party is coming up! This chapter! The Omakes are also really fun. The only thing is that, while I have a bunch of ideas for them, they actually would make decent ideas for chapters, so... Anyway, glad you liked it!
WingsofSeyfert, yeah, long chapters are kind of one of my things along a truly ludicrous amounts of references. In Luckier Star, I haven't had a chapter under eight thousand words since chapter 24. I'm glad I'm keeping them believably in character, that's one of the things I'm most concerned about. I actually picture the entire thing as the anime in my head and listen to the character saying the things. If it sounds weird for them to say, I erase it. At least, that's how I've always written stuff. I'm glad it's keeping ya entertained!
NoMutant, don't feel like a bother! I was feeling bad that it was taking so long. I feel even worse with how long it's been for Luckier Star. I barely worked on that while I was working on this, so I pretty much started the chapter not long ago... Plus, all of the ideas I had for it when I first started it out right after the last chapter came out were ones I couldn't think to work with, so I just had to wing the whole thing. And I understand keeping the two styles separate. It is actually pretty difficult going from one to the other. My original idea was to put Luckier Star on the back burner for a couple months while I finished this story up, but it just grew and I realized I wasn't going to finish it up that easily. Not that I particularly WANT to, but I didn't think I'd enjoy writing it this much. I like to think of Konata as part Keima, she's the greatest conqueror ever! Thus, she's got a few ultimate techniques she keeps hidden for important times. Always a pleasure and I'm glad you liked it!
Prospector, be very very careful. Tsukasa is VERY protective over the secret of the Ama Ama Dango and Kagami is very VERY protective over Tsukasa. Not even Miki knows what goes into each dango. They would probably be considered Tsukasa's ultimate technique though.
Redlerred, I aim to disintegrate. After writing for these characters for over four years, I'm glad to see I'm not that bad at it! And as for Miyuki's stop, I have a very good reason for having her along their stop! Mainly... I kind of... forgot that she wasn't on their route. My bad. From now on, I may correct that. Thanks for pointing that out! It helps me get better! Hope I don't keep ya waiting too long for the next one!
This chapter... This chapter was awesome. I really enjoyed this one. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did writing it! Although, that would be pretty difficult!
Walking Down the Street
Minami practically power walked to the Izumi household. She knew she would be the last person to arrive, but she didn't want to forget her tickets again. She had had to shop for her mother again and the sale was limited to once per trip. She had had to go back into the store many times to get the amount her mother had wanted and it had taken a long time. However, the tickets in hand, she rushed in as dignified a manner as she could manage. Finally, her goal came into sight. She smiled a small smile as she arrived. She opened the door to see the other seven girls, sitting around and having their own conversations. Miyuki, however, looked at Minami and smiled with her eyes.
"It would seem we've all arrived." Miyuki said. "Now, shall we begin?" Miyuki asked.
"Well..." Kagami said. "We're all here now, but I didn't really think about what we would do." Kagami said.
"I know!" Konata said. "Why don't we all talk about the person we like~..." Konata said. Hiyori looked up, a gleam in her eyes.
"Great idea!" She said excitedly. "Yeah, let's all do that!" Hiyori said excitedly.
"That's a stupid idea." Kagami said. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing that is for everyone?" Kagami asked.
"Come on~, we're all friends here! Besides, what if we're all embarrassed? Then isn't it fine?" Konata asked. Kagami glared at her.
"Fine. You go first." Kagami said. Konata smiled and scratched her cheek.
"Hm~? Man Kagamin, you're desperate to see what kind of person I like, aren't you?" Konata asked.
"Just... Shut up. Forever." Kagami said.
"Well~, I like you Kagamin!" Konata said. Kagami blushed deeply and pointed to herself.
"Wh-wh-what? M-m-m-me?" She asked.
"And~!" Konata chimed.
"... And?" Kagami asked, deadpanning.
"And I like Miyuki~, Tsukasa~, Patty~, Hiyori~..." Konata listed off.
"You're an idiot." Kagami said.
"I'm also not lying~." Konata said.
"So if we're not doing serious answers..." Kagami sighed. "I guess it isn't too bad." Kagami said.
"Alright, Kagamin next!" Konata said. Seemingly everyone leaned in, apparently interested in her answer. All except one.
"Mums the word!" Patricia mouthed and put her thumb up. Kagami put her palm on her forehead.
"I already told you, you idiot. I don't have anyone in mind... in..." For some reason, she felt compelled to look around, her eyes falling on Tsukasa. "...particular." She blushed lightly as she looked down at the ground. Wha... She thought.
"Hm?" Konata hummed. "Well, if you don't want to tell us, then I guess that's okay." Konata said. "Aright Kagamin, who-"
"Tsukasa." Kagami said. Konata kicked her head to the side.
"Alright, I was gonna ask who she chose next, so Tsukasa! Who~ do you like?" Konata asked.
"Um..." She mumbled, a light blush on her face. "I.. don't really know..." She mumbled, glancing around the room.
"Oh really? So you're available~?" Konata chimed, giving her a perverse look.
"Um... I.. guess?" Tsukasa said, almost a question.
"Konata, you're not taking my sister." Kagami said.
"Hm? Then who do you want to take your sister?" Konata giggled.
"Someone who isn't you." Kagami answered back.
"So cruel Kagamin~." Konata chimed.
"Next." Kagami said.
"Who do you want to hear Tsukasa?" Konata asked.
"Um... Yuki-chan?" Tsukasa asked.
"Alright, Miyuki~! Who do you like?" Konata asked. Miyuki giggled lightly.
"Hm. I wonder about that." She said rather vaguely.
"Do you have someone you like?" Kagami asked, unable to deny that she was a tad curious. With how pretty and smart Miyuki was, it was doubtless that someone, somewhere liked her. It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that someone had even confessed to her. Miyuki closed her eyes for a moment as everyone looked at her.
"... Yes. I do." Miyuki said.
"What~? Seriously?" Konata seemed excited. "You have to tell us who now!" Konata said.
"Hm hm." Miyuki giggled again. "I think I'll keep that a secret between me and them." Miyuki said.
"Come on, Miyuki~! You gotta tell us! It's the purpose of the game!" Konata said.
"I think I had better choose our next person." Miyuki said. Konata huffed.
"Fine. Don't tell us." Konata said.
"I think my choice will be... Minami." Miyuki gave mock thought to the idea. Minami looked relatively surprised.
"Me...?" She asked. Miyuki nodded.
"You. Do you have someone you like?" Miyuki asked. Minami blushed.
"... I do... also..." She mumbled. Miyuki smiled, though Yutaka seemed the most interested in the game now.
"Very well. You may choose another now." Miyuki said.
"Hey, that's not the game, we have to tell who we like!" Konata said.
"And has one person done so thus far?" Miyuki asked.
"I did!" Konata protested.
"Has one person done so seriously thus far?" Miyuki asked.
"Maybe I WAS serious!" Konata said.
"Then perhaps you should have only chosen one person and people would take you seriously." Miyuki said. Konata opened her mouth to counter, but came up with nothing. She sighed.
"Fair enough." She shrugged. "Who do you choose Minami?"
"Um..." She looked around. Her first thought was Yutaka, but that would be way too embarrassing. "Hiyori." She said, doing her best to regain her composure.
"You all know." Hiyori said. "I'm married to my work. I don't have time for girls." Hiyori said.
"Girls~?" Konata chimed. "So you're a lesbian?" Konata asked.
"Hm? Did I say something like that?" Hiyori wondered. "Well, I guess so." Hiyori said.
"Interesting~..." Konata chimed.
"You know, I don't think I've ever actually seen your work." Kagami said.
"Um... It's... niche..." Hiyori said cautiously.
"Is there any way I could see it sometime?" Kagami asked. Hiyori took a folded piece of paper from her pocket and gave it to the Tsundere.
"Here's my commission information." Hiyori said.
"Lame~..." Kagami said. "Though, I guess it's how you make money. How about something you've already drawn?" Kagami asked.
"NO!" Hiyori jumped. "Uh, no! No. It isn't the kind of stuff you'd be in to." Hiyori said.
"I dunno Hiyori, I think Kagamin would really like it~." Konata said.
"She'd have to come to Comiket and buy some..." Hiyori said.
"I have all of your stuff in my room." Konata said.
"We're getting off topic! I thought we were playing the game!" Hiyori said. Kagami sighed.
"I'll look at it later." Kagami said.
"So who do you choose?" Konata asked.
"Yutaka." Hiyori said, as if hearing Minami's inner desires.
"O-Oh! Me?" Yutaka asked.
"You~." Patricia chimed.
"Well... I... also have someone I like..." She blushed. Minami seemed quite surprised, and the most excited, especially considering how she normally seemed.
"Patty is the only one left." Konata said. "Well Patty?" Konata asked.
"I'd prefer to help others with their love life than to focus on mine." Patricia said. "So I don't really have anyone I can think of at the moment." Patricia said.
"Well, that's it!" Konata said. "Wait, does that mean literally everybody here is a lesbian?" Konata asked.
"I don't recall saying anything about that." Miyuki said.
"I don't know." Kagami said.
"..." Minami blushed a bit.
"I didn't say that." Patricia said.
"Almost nobody said anything about that, idiot. Literally nobody but Hiyori and you said anything like that." Kagami said. She scratched her head. "Geez, that made me hungry." Kagami said.
"You're always hungry, Kagami." Konata said.
"Shut up." Kagami glared at Konata.
"Who wants to cook?" Konata asked.
"You're the host, shouldn't you cook?" Kagami asked.
"But I don't feel like it~..." Konata slouched over. Kagami sighed.
"You're hopeless. I'll cook." Kagami began to stand.
"NO!" More than one person all jumped up. Kagami jumped back.
"Wah!" Kagami shouted as she reeled back.
"Perhaps if Tsukasa goes with her..." Miyuki giggled lightly.
"I'll cook." Minami said as she stood. Miyuki looked at her curiously, as she knew Minami wasn't the best cook. She wasn't bad, but she certainly wasn't all that good. Miyuki looked into her eyes to see that she indeed had a plan of some sort. "Miyuki, could you and Tsukasa-san come help?" Minami asked. Miyuki looked at her curiously.
"Sure! I'd be happy to help!" Tsukasa said cheerfully. She stood with Minami as Miyuki smiled and stood. Kagami stood too.
"Can I at least come with you guys?" Kagami asked.
"No boys allowed, Kagamin." Konata said.
"The hell does that mean?" Kagami asked as the three people left the room. Minami smiled a small smile as the three walked into the kitchen. Tsukasa smiled happily at being an a kitchen, and Konata's no less seeing as how she was practically the only other really good cook among them, and began moving around the room as if she knew it better than her own. Miyuki and Minami simply moved to see if there was anything they could help with.
"What do you want to make, Tsukasa?" Miyuki asked.
"Hmm..." Tsukasa hummed as she looked through the refrigerator. "Great, she has leeks..." Tsukasa nodded to herself. "Yakitori skewers, mainly. Yuki-chan, could you brew some green tea? Minami-chan, could you make some rice?" Tsukasa asked. She could do it all herself easily enough, but Minami and Miyuki had come to help, so she wanted to give them something to do.
"I'll get right on it." Miyuki smiled. However, Minami grabbed her own stomach and bent over a bit.
"Ouch... My stomach hurts..." She said. She had seen enough people fake it to get out of class to know what not to do, so she was fairly confident in her ability to fake it. She had been observing her surrogate older sister and guessed that the person Miyuki liked was Tsukasa. "I'm going to go sit for a few minutes..." Minami said. Miyuki stared at her before smiling, finally understanding what her friend had done.
"Oh! Please do, I'm sorry for asking you to help when you don't feel well!" Tsukasa apologized as if it had been her fault. Miyuki smiled a bit wider at her kindness.
"Sorry for leaving it to you two..." Minami apologized.
"No problem, Minami-chan!" Tsukasa said. Minami looked at Miyuki, who was smiling warmly.
"Thank you." She mouthed. Minami nodded and left the room. She walked back to the group.
"DORYAAAA!" Kagami shouted as she threw Konata onto the ground again. "Could a barbarian do THIS?" Kagami asked in a shout.
"Yeah, kinda." Konata said casually.
"Minami? I thought you were cooking!" Patricia said as everyone looked over at her.
"My... stomach began to hurt." Minami said. "They said they would be okay without me, so I came back to sit down." Minami said.
"Are you okay Minami-chan? Can I help?" Yutaka asked, seemingly excited at the prospect of being able to nurse Minami back to health for a change.
"I'm okay, Yutaka." Minami smiled. The small girl smiled.
"I'm glad." She said. Miyuki and Tsukasa came out of the kitchen. Miyuki, while she looked happy to have had some alone time with Tsukasa, also seemed a little disappointed by how little time she got to spend with her. It couldn't be helped though. The more of the cooking Tsukasa had taken over, the quicker the cooking had went. And so the two finished in record time.
"How did you two finish so quickly?" Patricia asked.
"As expected of the Goddess of Cooking." Konata said. They heard a door open down the hall. "DAD, CLOTHES!" Konata shouted.
"Oh, right!" They heard Sojiro. A sigh of relief went around the room.
"Thanks Konata." Kagami said. Konata giggled a bit.
"He probably smelled food. Especially with Tsukasa's cooking." Konata said.
"I made enough for everyone! They're still hot, so eat up!" Tsukasa chimed as everyone began to dig in.
With Yet More Hiiragis
"Inori, I don't get this." Matsuri poked her sister.
"Too bad, I don't either." Inori said.
"But you're older than I am!" Matsuri protested.
"We're in different classes, Matsuri. I'm a psychology major, you're not. I haven't even taken that class." Inori said.
"But you're the older sister, shouldn't you know everything?" Matsuri asked.
"What kind of image do you have of me?" Inori asked. "Not that I hate being viewed like that." Inori smiled.
"Mom, can you help me with my history work? You're good at history!" Matsuri said. Miki came over to her, as the two were doing their homework in the living room, and looked over her daughter's work.
"... Okinawa and Taiwan were annexed in 1895 and Korea was in 1910, you have them switched." Miki said.
"Thanks Mom!" Matsuri said.
"Buddhism was introduced in Japan in 538 AD, not 583." Miki said.
"Man, how do you know this stuff off the top of your head..." Matsuri mumbled.
"In the Heian Period, it was the Fujiwara clan who dominated politics, not the Miyamoto." Miki said.
"Heh." Matsuri smiled. "Thank you Mom!" Matsuri said.
"That's all I'm helping you with. You have to do the rest on your own." Miki said.
"Hey, at least I know I have three right!" Matsuri chuckled.
"Unless I gave you the wrong answers to punish you for asking my help." Miki said. Matsuri shot her mother a look.
"... How could you do that to me? Now I don't know what's right and what's wrong!" Matsuri complained as she slouched over the table. Miki put her hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"Fight." She cheered as she walked back over to her place at the table.
"That's whatcha get for asking for help with work you should know." Inori chuckled.
Back at the Slumber Party
"So what can we all do..." Kagami wondered idly.
"Oh! I know! Let's play the King Game!" Konata suggested. Miyuki smiled.
"A wonderful idea, Konata-san." Miyuki said happily. It was a perfect opportunity to force Minami and Yutaka closer together. As she began to formulate plans, Konata stood.
"I'm gonna go get some chopsticks ready! Could you come help me Kagamin?" Konata asked.
"You're writing on chopsticks. I'm sure you'll be fine on your own." Kagami said.
"Please?" Konata asked honestly. It caught Kagami off guard.
"Oh! Well... Okay." Kagami stood and followed the Otaku out of the room as the rest of the room began talking. "Alright, so what's the deal Konata? Why did you need me to come?" Kagami asked as the two walked down the hall.
"I had an idea!" Konata said.
"Yeah, I know, the King Game." Kagami said.
"Not that, not that! Could you sit next to Minami? I'll sit next to Yu-chan and we'll tell each other their numbers through signs. That way, if one of us is the king, we can help them out!" Konata said. Kagami nodded as the two began the chopsticks.
"Seems like a good idea." Kagami said. "How did you do that?" She asked curiously.
"I read it in a manga once!" Konata said happily.
"That sounds about right." Kagami chuckled. "Let's do it!" Kagami said as they finished. They headed back to the room to see everyone standing, trying to work out where each of them would sit. Yutaka sat first, with Konata sitting next to her quickly. Minami sat across from her with Kagami sitting next to her. Tsukasa seemed to immediately take the free seat next to Kagami while Miyuki quietly took the other side of Tsukasa. Patricia and Hiyori sat next to Yutaka on the other side, it being the only other seats available now.
"Alright~! Ready?" Konata asked.
"Sure, let's go." Miyuki said.
"Nothing too weird, okay?" Patricia said. She had heard the rumors...
"But nothing too safe, either~..." Hiyori said. This was definitely a great opportunity for some new material...
"Let's just settle for a happy middle ground." Konata said.
"Quit screwing around and start!" Kagami said.
"Alright! Choose your stick!" Konata said, putting her fist out with all of the chopsticks, color down. Everyone picked one. "Ha ha! I'm the king!" Konata cheered. She peeked over at Yutaka's stick to see she was one. She looked at Kagami to see her trying to subtly make a sign. Konata hummed.
It's six! Six! Kagami tried to sign. The two really should have made signs beforehand. Konata hummed.
"Okay, one has to hug eight from behind for ten seconds." Konata said. Kagami's jaw dropped as everyone checked their numbers.
"I'm... I'm eight..." Tsukasa mumbled. Konata noticed something.
Wait, why does Yu-chan look relieved? Konata wondered as she looked at her cousin. Yutaka sighed as she put her stick down. Seven. Yutaka was seven. Then who was one?
There's a limit to how wrong you can be, damn it! Kagami shouted in her head. She sighed. At least it's only Tsukasa. If there were anyone I'd want to hug... She smiled. "I'm one." Kagami said. Tsukasa sighed in relief.
"Yay!" She practically cheered. Kagami blushed as she got up and walked over to Tsukasa. She looked at Konata to see her signing that she was sorry. Or she wanted a banana. Kagami might have paraphrased. The Tsundere got on her knees behind Tsukasa and wrapped her arms around the airhead.
"L-like this?" Kagami asked.
"Ha~, Onee-chan..." Tsukasa exhaled happily. Hiyori's eyes widened. She looked around to see if anyone else was seeing what she was seeing, her Yuri vision going at full blast. She saw Patricia sneak a peek at her, smiling and putting out a thumbs up. Hiyori took out the notepad she kept on her and began drawing quickly. She only had ten seconds at most. She got a rough sketch of the two. She looked up at the two. Neither of them were moving. Hiyori knew she had taken over ten seconds for that sketch. Even with as much experience as she had drawing, she wasn't THAT good.
Time seemed to have stopped. Kagami was enjoying the hug with her sister just as much as Tsukasa was. It was so weird. She loved her sister, sure, but she had never had so much enjoyment simply out of a hug with her sister.
"... Kagami-san, the time requirement passed already." Miyuki said. Kagami opened her eyes and blushed. She looked around at everyone. Konata had her catgrin. Yutaka was gazing at Minami, almost a little too obviously. Patricia was winking and giving her damn thumbs up again. She really liked doing that, apparently. Hiyori was drawing fervently and Miyuki was staring at the two. Kagami blushed even harder and reluctantly let go.
"... Sorry." She mumbled.
"I didn't mind Onee-chan!" Tsukasa chimed happily. It did nothing for Kagami's blush.
"L-Let's just keep going, huh?" Kagami asked.
"Well, alright." Konata said as she put her chopstick in her hand again. Everyone gave her their chopstick again. Hiyori seemed rather uninterested in the game now, trying to refine her drawing and create new ones. Miyuki seemed to study the chopsticks before everyone picked one out.
"It would appear I'm the king." Miyuki smiled as she held up the stick. "Six and five will hold hands for ten seconds." She said immediately. She shot a quick look to Minami to see her blush.
"I-I'm six..." Yutaka said.
"Five." Minami said. While Yutaka seemed excited, she was doing her best to hide it. It also was covered up by nervousness. Konata stared at Miyuki for a moment. Hiyori looked up and seemed conflicted. Minami and Yutaka held hands, both blushing horribly. But the drawing she was working on was high quality stuff. And if she went after Yutaka and Minami, she might lose the inspiration for Kagami and Tsukasa. She shook her head. She had drawn a ton of Minami and Yutaka stuff. A break was good too. She continued on her drawing of the twins. It was incredible, even by her usual standards. Everyone put their sticks back in the middle before drawing again.
"Me again." Miyuki smiled quite happily. Konata studied her for a moment. "Seven and one will hug each other for ten seconds." Miyuki said.
"M-me again?" Yutaka said.
"Eh...?" Minami looked over at Miyuki, who directed an eye smile to her surrogate little sister. "Me too." She said. The two got up and hugged each other, blushing even worse than before. They stayed that way for the ten second time limit and let go. Yutaka fidgeted while Minami tried to remain more stoic. She was practically doing cartwheels inside, as she had realized what Miyuki was doing, but she tried to hide it by not doing cartwheels outside. Everyone put their sticks back in and picked again.
"Ah." Miyuki smiled as she drew the King stick again. Everyone sighed. "Five and eight will-"
"I move that if five and eight are Minami and Yutaka, Miyuki's turn be skipped!" Patricia said. Sure, she was all about getting the two together, but she had her own commands she wanted to give out. Miyuki jumped.
"I'm five." Yutaka said.
"I'm eight." Minami said.
"The motion passes!" Patricia said.
"Hmph." Konata huffed. She had figured out that Miyuki was memorizing which sticks were which when she went for a second time in a row after studying the sticks, but she seemed to want to focus on Minami and Yutaka and that was cool with her. Everyone drew sticks again.
"Ah." Minami said. "Um..." She thought. "Five and six will... shake hands." She said, deciding that she would do something a little of the safe side.
"Five~!" Konata chimed.
"Six..." Kagami sighed. Kagami walked over and held her hand out. "Let's get it over with." Kagami said.
"So cruel~, Kagamin~." Konata said as she shook hands with the Tsundere. Said Tsundere returned to her seat. Everyone drew again.
"I'm the king~!" Patricia cheered. "Finally! Alright~." She peeked over at Hiyori's stick, which was lying on the ground since she was so engrossed in her drawing. "Number two will show everybody what she's drawing~!" Patricia chimed. Everyone looked confused by such a specific request until they saw the stick in front of Hiyori. It took a moment before she realized she had been given a command. Her face paled.
"...No..." She mumbled. Oh.
"Yes!" Patricia said. Hiyori looked down at her drawing. Oh dear.
"... Please..." Hiyori mumbled. Oh dear dear dear.
"Just show us, we all know what it is." Konata said.
"Ye-yeah! It'd be boring!" Hiyori said. "You don't wanna see it!" Hiyori said desperately.
"We all do~." Patricia said. Hiyori blushed as she looked to the ground in defeat.
"H-here... please don't hate me..." She mumbled as she put the notebook down on the ground. Patricia picked it up and put it in the middle of the group. Everyone stared at it for more than a solid minute without anybody saying anything.
"..." Kagami was likely the most stunned. It was a manga page of two girls that looked exactly like Kagami and Tsukasa who were also named Kagami and Tsukasa where Tsukasa also called Kagami Onee-chan, but they couldn't be Kagami and Tsukasa because these two immediately got VERY intimate with each other.
"That's..." Tsukasa mumbled. Konata chuckled as Miyuki and Yutaka both blushed. Minami stared at the page with her face mostly emotionless, though anyone who knew her could tell she was blushing on the inside. Kagami's eyes stayed wide. Was this how they were viewed? Was this how everyone was seeing the two of them? Why? Why did people think that? Why wasn't anybody saying anything? Why didn't this revolt her, damn it?! Tsukasa was her sister! She should find the idea of becoming intimate with her sister to be disgusting, but her first thought...
That wouldn't be too bad... Kagami had thought. Was this still a twin's love? It had to be. That was stupid of Hiyori to even think something like Kagami and Tsukasa falling in love, becoming a couple, dating a few years before getting married and living happily ever after. None of that was drawn, but surely Hiyori must have been thinking the same thing! Hiyori was stupid. That page was stupid.
"Alright, that's enough!" Hiyori shouted as she picked up her book. "... Don't judge..." Hiyori mumbled.
"Hiyori." Kagami said. The mangaka jumped.
"Um..." Hiyori mumbled. Kagami held her hand out.
"Hand it over." Kagami said. Hiyori hugged her book protectively.
"What? This is one of my best works! Do you know how much something like this could-" She was cut off as she caught her mistake. It was too late, however. Far too late. Murderous intent poured off of Kagami, making nearly everyone in the room shake.
"Oh? Are you saying you were planning on selling a manga about me and my sister being intimate with each other? Especially against our will?" Kagami asked. "You know that's against the law, right? If they were to ever find you, they'd throw what's left of you in jail." Kagami said, giving special emphasis to the last sentence. Having never been subjected to such killing intent, Hiyori shivered violently.
"He-here..." Hiyori shakily tore the page out and handed it to Kagami. Kagami snatched the page out of her hand and held it in front of her, looking it over again. She had meant to crumple it now that it was in her hands, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Konata giggled.
"Hey, an Imoto is nice too." Konata said.
"L-L-Let's ju-just go already, a-a-alright?" Kagami asked as she blushed, laying the paper down next to her, carefully so as not to damage it. This was a confusing feeling she would leave for later. Hiyori sighed in relief.
"Wait." Konata said. "Hiyori, you know what would happen if Kagami found the others." Konata said. Hiyori jumped as Kagami's gaze turned back on her.
"Oh?" Kagami asked. Simply that one word laid a crushing oppression on the artist. Her body shook. Her heart thumped. Her mouth dried up. She should have immediately surrendered it. "You have more?" Kagami asked. Trembling, Hiyori began to tear another page from her book. "Just hand the entire thing over. I'll look through it and take out what I don't want you to have." Kagami said.
"Wh-what?" Hiyori asked in protest.
"Now please." Kagami said. Hiyori gave the book to her. "I'm gonna sit out a round or two while I take care of this." Kagami said. Overcome with exhaustion now that the overwhelming pressure that Kagami had put on her was gone, Hiyori collapsed on the floor behind her. She glared up at Patricia, who was smiling quite happily.
"Pay attention to the game next time." Patricia whispered, though Hiyori could tell this was in no way punishment for her. It was almost like Patricia was glad she had drawn what she did. Taking a stick out, everyone drew again.
"I'm king..." Hiyori mumbled. She, from her position on the floor behind Patricia, looked at her friend's stick. "Number five, would you kindly bash your head into a wall twenty times." Hiyori said. Patricia clenched her fist around her chopstick.
"By... your... command..." She mumbled. She sighed, got up, and walked to the wall. By will of King Hiyori, she reeled her head back and smashed it into the wall.
"Don't break my wall! Do it on the door." Konata said.
"Yeah, that." Hiyori said. Patricia looked at the two of them and walked over to the door. She hit her head again.
"Let's keep going." Konata said.
"I'm gonna sit out and watch this." Hiyori said. Konata sighed and took out two more sticks before everyone chose again. Kagami was still delicately tearing out pages of Hiyori's notebook.
"I'm the king again." Miyuki smiled. She had already given Minami and Yutaka a couple of chances and everyone else was getting suspicious. Those two things in mind, Miyuki decided to be a bit greedy. "Four and the King will... Four will lay on the King's lap like a pillow until she's called for another command." Miyuki said.
"I'm four." Tsukasa said. Kagami's ears perked up as she looked at the two. Tsukasa shrugged and laid down on Miyuki's lap as Miyuki put her hand on the airhead's head. Kagami glared at the two for a moment. Konata giggled as Kagami finished tearing things out.
"Here." Kagami tossed the book back at Hiyori. "You drew a surprising amount." She said.
"All of my work..." Hiyori mumbled. "Twenty was too few!" Hiyori complained. Everyone drew again after adding another stick to the pile.
"I'm king!" Kagami shouted. "The king and..." Kagami started strong, but realized that she didn't know Tsukasa's number. Miyuki wasn't even looking up, but was looking down at Tsukasa. Kagami leaned forward and looked in Miyuki's glasses to see the reflection in them. "Three will..." She continued, but realized that now it was her and Tsukasa doing something. "Um..." She looked down at the ground as a blush spread across her face.
"The king and three will~..." Konata chimed.
"Head pet..." Kagami mumbled the first thing that came to mind.
"Head pet...?" Konata asked.
"The king will pet three's head!" Kagami blurted out. She blushed as Tsukasa checked her stick.
"I'm getting called a lot..." Tsukasa said. "But I'm happy!" She said as she stood and walked to her sister. Kagami stood and put her hand on Tsukasa's head, ruffling her head. Tsukasa giggled and fidgeted happily. Kagami could feel a stare on her. She glared at Konata, but was surprised. She had really only felt a stare like that from the Otaku, but Konata was laughing at Patricia. Kagami looked around the room to see Miyuki, staring at her most curiously. There didn't appear to be all that much malice in it, though Kagami could almost sense a small amount of frustration coming from the girl. Rather, she seemed almost... confused about Kagami's reaction to her command. Not that Kagami could explain it. It was just a harmless command, after all.
"Wh-Who's next..." Kagami said as she put her stick back in the circle.
"Alright, I'm kinda tired of this." Konata said.
"What do you mean you're tired of this?" Kagami asked. "You're the one who suggested it!" Kagami said.
"No, I mean of people cheating." Konata said.
"What do you mean?" Kagami asked. "Are people cheating?" Kagami asked, though she began whistling to prove her own innocence. Several people in the room joined her.
"Hey, it wasn't my fault!" Patricia said accusingly. "She left her stick on the floor!" Patricia said.
"You still have five more." Hiyori said. Patricia glared at her.
"By... your... command..." Patricia said hesitantly as she slammed her head into the door again.
"So we're going to put the sticks in the middle, close our eyes, and I'm going to mix them up randomly with my eyes closed. Then, we're gonna pick so it's completely random." Konata said. After all, the only people who could cheat AFTER the sticks have been picked were Konata and Kagami. If they could get the signs right, that is. Tsukasa, Minami, and Yutaka looked around innocently, the only three people who hadn't cheated thus far. The rest sighed and shrugged as everyone put their stick back into the middle. They went through the aforementioned process and picked again.
Just Outside the Door...
Sojiro laid on the ground in the hall outside the living room and listened.
"Wha-! N-No commands like that!" Kagami shouted.
"But she's American! They're so BIG!" Konata shouted.
Next command... Sojiro thought.
"Hya!" Kagami shouted.
"I'm sorry Kagami-san, it was a command!" Miyuki apologized.
Next command...! Sojiro thought.
"Where do I put it?" Tsukasa asked innocently.
"No, lower~!" Patricia chimed.
"That's enough!" Kagami shouted.
Next command! Sojiro thought.
"I'M NOT STRIPPING GOD DAMN IT!" Kagami shouted.
"You can't say no Kagami, it's a command!" Konata said.
"NO!" Kagami shouted. "Get off of me!" Kagami shouted as a loud thud sounded off.
NEXT COMMAND! Sojiro screamed in his head.
"WHY DO I KEEP GETTING CALLED?" Kagami shouted. "And I said no commands like that!" Kagami said.
"I... also don't..." Miyuki mumbled.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Konata, Hiyori and Patricia all chanted. Blood spurt from Sojiro's nose as he fell unconscious. And all was bliss for the man.
Back Inside the Room
"I'm getting kind of tired of this game..." Kagami sighed.
"I know what you mean, all of the best commands are off limits..." Konata said. "One more!" Konata said.
"Fine..." Kagami said. Konata nodded to her to show her that she wanted Minami's number. The two signed back and forth after picking up sticks. Over the course of the game, their signing had gotten much better.
"I'm the King!" Konata said after their signing was done. "Hm..." She hummed as she faked a thought. "I think I'll have one and three tell me who they like." Konata said.
"Wh-wh-wh-WHAT?" Yutaka asked as her stick fell, revealing one.
"Hm." Minami's eyes widened.
"Yo-You know who I like, 'Nee-chan..." Yutaka said.
"Eh? I don't know anything like that~!" Konata said teasingly, obviously telling a lie. However, when no one called her on it, Yutaka blushed deeper.
"C-Can I just whisper it?" Yutaka asked. Konata shook her head.
"Nope. You have to say it loud and proud!" Konata chimed. "Unless~..." Konata trailed off.
"Unless?" Yutaka asked.
"The person you like... are they in this room~?" Konata asked. Yutaka's face was thus darker than her hair.
"..." She stared at the floor.
"Why don't you go first, Minami?" Konata asked. Minami blushed.
"It's... embarrassing..." Minami said. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Miyuki, giving her an encouraging look.
"Perhaps it's time." Miyuki said. Minami's eyes widened a bit, but then she nodded. Her sister was smart, so if she said this was the time, this was the time.
"Yutaka." Minami said. Yutaka, as if testing the limits of blush, did just that. "I know you often feel sick... And I know that it makes you sad." Minami said.
"But you always cheer me up!" Yutaka said, trying to talk cheerfully, hoping it would detract her from blush. It did not.
"Hopefully I can once again." Minami said, a small smile that spoke volumes. She took two tickets from her pocket. "I was wondering... I know that your body is frail, but would you like to go to that new amusement park that opened recently?" Minami asked.
"Oooo~!" Konata chimed. She elbowed the only girl in the room shorter than herself. Yutaka seemed to lighten up as she jumped to her feet.
"I'll be right back!" She shouted as she ran down the hall. Minami looked after the little girl in confusion.
"You like Yutaka, don't you Minami?" Konata asked. Minami blushed and nodded.
"... I do." She said.
"Remember that phrase." Kagami said teasingly. Yutaka came back in, carrying a large package.
"I have something for you too, Minami-chan!" Yutaka smiled. Minami smiled and stood.
"Are you sure it's okay for me to have this?" She asked as she accepted the present.
"It's... It's for you!" Yutaka said. "Minami-chan, I..." Yutaka started.
"Yutaka..." Minami smiled.
"I like you!" Yutaka shouted. "I really like you! I wanna go to the amusement park with you! I really really like you!" Yutaka shouted, it bursting from her like a geyser. Minami smiled a bit wider.
"Yutaka... I like you too." Minami said. She took Yutaka's hand in her own. "Will you..." She began, but the embarrassment was beginning to get to her. "Will you go out with me?" Minami asked. Yutaka's face lit up brighter than a thousand suns.
"YES! YES! YES! YES!" Yutaka began repeating in a shout.
"Minami, I think you broke Yu-chan." Konata giggled a bit. Minami blushed lightly as Yutaka continued to shout her acceptance. Konata grabbed a page from Hiyori's book, who barely noticed the tearing page as she drew what was happening in front of her, and began drawing.
"YES!" Yutaka nodded as Konata held up her horribly drawn letters.
"H-A-P-P-Y E-N-D!" Konata narrated.
"Stop with the Otaku stuff, Konata." Kagami sighed. However, oddly enough, the words seemed to snap Yutaka out of her trance.
"Minami-chan..." Yutaka mumbled as she swooned. Minami, forgetting the embarrassment of having asked out the girl she liked, went into Guardian mode and supported the girl.
"Yutaka, please don't push yourself too hard!" Minami said, her embarrassment turning to concern as Yutaka looked light-headed.
"So, who bet sleepover?" Konata asked Hiyori and Patricia. Patricia raised her hand.
"Damn, I bet they would confess at school..." Hiyori mumbled as she continued to draw.
"You bet on us...?" Yutaka asked.
"You were both pretty obvious about it." Patricia smiled. "Now, I only have the one relationship to help!" Kagami glared at her.
"Good for you two!" Tsukasa smiled happily. "I'm so happy for you! I'm kind of jealous..." Tsukasa said. Miyuki glanced at Tsukasa and smiled warmly. While Tsukasa didn't notice, Kagami sure did. Miyuki edged a bit closer to Tsukasa, which made Kagami wonder.
Does Miyuki... like Tsukasa? She wondered. That should be good. Miyuki was a good person. It would mean Tsukasa would be cared for in the future. It meant Tsukasa would be accepted. It meant Tsukasa would be provided for. Then why did Kagami feel so bad? Why was there this pit in her stomach? It wasn't like Tsukasa would forget about her if she were to start a relationship. Kagami had no reason to not want Tsukasa to find someone... right? Kagami glanced at the pages that she had been unable to destroy beside her leg. It must be a twin's love. Kagami told herself. Of course she was possessive of Tsukasa, enough that even Miyuki didn't seem good enough. That had to be it. Kagami wasn't sure. All she knew right now was that Miyuki was getting a little too close to Tsukasa and Kagami didn't like it.
"Hey!" Kagami shouted without meaning to. Everyone looked at her with a funny look. She blushed in embarrassment and fidgeted. "Do-Don't you think all of this attention might be overdoing it for Yutaka? It might not be good for her health." Kagami thought quickly. "Maybe we should move on to the next game." Kagami said.
"Well, what do you think we should play?" Konata asked.
"Um... I dunno..." Kagami mumbled. "What games do you have?" Kagami asked.
"I don't really have a lot of games. We could play The Game of Life?" Konata suggested.
"Fu fu fu..." Patricia laughed. "I suspected this, so..." Patricia produced a pack of playing cards. "Let's play poker!" She shouted.
"I don't really know how to play that..." Tsukasa said.
"I think I remember how to play. I played it online before." Kagami said. "But we don't have anything to bet." Kagami said.
"Money?" Patricia suggested.
"We're not betting money." Kagami said. "Some of us don't have as much money as others, and that would only really lead to someone getting in debt and it'd just be a big mess." Kagami said.
"Well, what do you want to bet?" Patricia asked. Kagami hummed. What would something be that she would want?
"I have an idea." Miyuki said.
"Yuki-chan?" Tsukasa asked.
"I believe that a suitable reward would be a day spent with someone. No interruptions to the two of them." Miyuki said.
"Does the person choose who it is?" Konata asked. "Or do we decide someone before?" Konata asked.
"I think the person should decide." Miyuki said.
"This is all kind of moot though, isn't it? It's not like we have chips or anything." Kagami said.
"Tada~!" Patricia held up a small pack of poker chips. It obviously wasn't meant for this many people, however.
"Well... that's convenient." Kagami said.
"You came prepared, didn't you?" Konata asked with a giggle.
"I have a suggestion though! It was a great idea Miyuki-senpai, but I think the prize should also be transferable! Like, if I won but I wanted someone else to have it, I can choose two people who can spend the day with each other." Patricia said.
"Agreed. And I move that it be paid for by those who lost." Miyuki suggested.
"Great idea!" Konata said.
"Horrible idea, we're playing for money then." Kagami said.
"Yeah, but only a little since it'll be split by everyone who's losing." Konata said. "C'mon Kagamin, live a little!" Kagami sighed.
"Fine, I guess we can do that." Kagami conceded.
"Um-!" Yutaka interrupted everyone. "M-Me and Minami-chan... We have a day at the amusement park together, so please don't use the prize on us if you win!" Yutaka said. Minami nodded.
"I agree." She said.
"Well... If that's what you want." Miyuki said.
"And since SOMEONE wants to count cards, I'm sure." Patricia began, giving Miyuki a look. "And since there's so many of us, let's play Texas Hold 'Em!" Patricia said.
"How do we play?" Minami asked, who had switched places with Konata to sit next to her new girlfriend.
"Konata, just because we're not doing homework doesn't mean you can cheat off of me by looking at my cards." Kagami said as Patricia explained the game.
"I only want to cheat when it comes to homework." Konata said with an inordinate amount of pride.
"That's not something to be proud of, you idiot." Kagami said.
"O-Onee-chan..." Tsukasa mumbled. "I don't really get it..." Tsukasa said. Kagami hummed.
"Here. You'll get two cards and you have to match them up to the five in the middle." Kagami began drawing out hands of cards on a piece of paper. Like that, she explained the game to Tsukasa in Tsukasa terms while Konata did the same for Yutaka.
"Oh! I get it!" Tsukasa smiled. "So if I have any of these kinds of cards, I should keep going?" Tsukasa asked.
"Well, you have to read the room and try not to show what cards you have." Kagami said.
"So I have to keep my cards up..." Tsukasa said.
"Also, try not to react to your cards." Kagami said, knowing she was likely asking the impossible from her little sister. Tsukasa nodded.
"Okay!" Tsukasa said.
"And whoever has the most token at the end of the game wins the prize." Miyuki said.
"Or if someone gets all of them!" Patricia said.
"I guess that'll work." Kagami said.
"Alright! Link START!" Konata said to kick the game off.
The Takara House
Yukari sighed as she draped herself across the table as Honoka took another bite of pie.
"Hono-chan~, it's boring without the children around~." Yukari complained.
"Sometimes I wonder who the childish one is." Honoka smiled.
"I wanna do something~." Yukari complained.
"Then do something." Honoka said as she read her book. She had come to visit since Minami was out and her husband was away again. Thus, it was rather boring at her house and she had nothing else to do.
"What can we do though~?" Yukari asked.
"I'm already doing something." Honoka said.
"But I'm not..." Yukari said. Honoka sighed and closed her book.
"Well, what do you want to do?" Honoka asked.
"Let's go out and meet some people!" Yukari said.
"I'm married." Honoka said.
"It doesn't have to be romantic or anything! We can just go and find new friends!" Yukari said.
"Are you saying I'm not a good enough friend?" Honoka teased her best friend.
"I'm not saying that, but more friends are always a good thing!" Yukari said.
"I suppose that's true." Honoka said. "We could go do what the kids are doing these days and go to Karaoke." Honoka smiled. Yukari slammed the table as she jumped up, causing Honoka to jump.
"That's a perfect idea! And we can invite random people to join us!" Yukari grabbed Honoka by the hand and, with blazing energy, ran out of the house to get to the car.
You Gotta Know When to Fold 'em
"Damn, I'm out." Kagami threw her cards down in frustration. She had been goaded into betting everything and she knew that, no matter the last card, she had no hand to play with any more. In the middle was an ace of hearts, an ace of spades, a six of spades, and a two of hearts.
"Alright, here's the last card!" Patricia said, laying the last card on in the middle. A five of hearts. Konata's grin turned reminiscent of a cat's. Tsukasa's bow drooped, the hair accessory having been her tell the entire time.
"All in." Konata said, putting all of her chips in the middle. Miyuki smiled and also put her chips in. Hiyori shrugged.
"I'll only really use this for material, so..." She said as she put her chips in.
"Um..." Tsukasa mumbled. It was quite impressive, or miraculous, that she had lasted this long. "I guess if everyone else is..." Tsukasa mumbled, pushing her chips in.
"Read 'em and weep!" Konata said as she laid her cards down to reveal a king and queen of hearts. "I got a flush!" Konata announced.
"Hmph." Miyuki frowned as she put her cards down.
"Oh well." Hiyori said.
"I guess that beats two pair... right?" Tsukasa asked.
"It sure does~!" Konata said as she took all of the chips and claimed the prize.
"What were they, Tsukasa?" Kagami asked.
"Aces..." Tsukasa sighed.
"Aces and what?" Konata asked with a big grin on her face.
"Just aces." Tsukasa said as she put her hand down, revealing the ace of diamonds and the ace of clubs. The entire room froze.
"... What." Konata said.
"Tsukasa, you won!" Kagami said happily. She hadn't really cared who won the prize as long as Miyuki wasn't it. Until Kagami resolved this pit in her stomach, she decided she wouldn't support anyone going after Tsukasa.
"I... won?" Tsukasa asked. "Oh! Four of a kind! I won!" Tsukasa cheered as she took all of the chips. "That means I can choose two people to spend the day together, right?" Tsukasa asked.
"Yes." Miyuki nodded. Kagami sighed.
She's probably going to give it to Yutaka and Minami. Oh, wait, they said they didn't want it. I wonder... Kagami thought.
"Onee-chan." Tsukasa said. Kagami jumped and looked at her sister.
"Huh?" Kagami asked. She saw Tsukasa with a large, almost... sly looking smile on her face.
I want to spend the day with you, Ka-ga-mi~." Tsukasa elongated her sister's name to emphasize it. Kagami blushed as she almost reeled back in surprise. She understood what her sister meant. She understood all too well. With a smile, Kagami nodded, though she saw several people's expressions on the other side of Tsukasa. Miyuki seemed quite surprised while Patricia was doing exactly what she seemed to do every time Kagami saw her, with her stupid little thumb up. She seemed to be mouthing 'GOOOOOO!', but that might have been Kagami's imagination. Hiyori was scribbling again, clearly showing no regard for her own further existence, let alone her safety. Yutaka gave a confused look to Minami, mouthing Kagami's name, though Minami's response was outside of Kagami's field of vision. Kagami giggled and nodded again.
"I would love to, Onee-chan." Kagami said. By some understanding between the two, neither of them would explain the sudden change in title. Konata yawned.
"Man, all this excitement is really getting me tired. Yu-chan found her love, and we played the king game and poker!" Konata said.
"We ate Tsukasa's delicious cooking." Miyuki added. Konata made eyes at Patricia.
"Patty, I need to talk to you." Konata said. "While the rest of you discuss sleeping arrangements." Konata said.
"Oh, okay." Patricia mumbled. Konata stood and gestured for the door, where Patricia followed her out. Kagami huffed.
"Leaving the embarrassing stuff to us..." Kagami said. "Okay, Yutaka, Minami, we've got a bit of a problem." Kagami said. The both of them jumped and blushed.
"Hm?" Minami hummed inquisitively.
"We only have seven futons. And there's eight of us." Kagami said. "So, someone... has.. to..." Kagami realized that Patricia, the person who had the wrong idea about Kagami and her sister, and Konata, the little devil who seemed to know EVERYTHING, were in a room together. Alone. "Hang on, someone else explain, I gotta go!" Kagami shouted as she leaped to her feet and ran. She burst into another room. Miyuki hummed as she watched Kagami leave, realizing it would fall to her to explain things since all of the blunt people had left. Tsukasa wouldn't be able to say something so embarrassing and Hiyori would be too busy sketching, Miyuki imagined.
"We need the two of you to sleep together." Miyuki said. Both of the people she spoke to seemed to faint as she bluntly put it into words.
Suddenly, a wild Kagami appears!
"Hey!" Kagami kicked the door open. Konata was currently feeling up Patricia from behind.
"Tell me~!" Konata said.
"I-I can't... betray...!" Patricia said.
"Konata, I'm gonna throw you again!" Kagami said. Konata looked around at her, the brief lapse in her grope enough for Patricia to get away. The blonde ran over and got behind Kagami.
"C-C-Commander~..." Patricia whined.
"What are you doing to Patty?" Kagami asked.
"What were you two talking about on the phone?" Konata asked.
"That's none of your business." Kagami said.
"Patty, what did you think you saw the other day?" Konata asked.
"Nothing!" Patricia shouted.
"What did you see?" Konata asked.
"C-Commander's panties!" Patricia shouted. Kagami turned and glared at Patricia while Konata stared at her.
"Her... panties?" Konata asked. "What was weird then?" Konata asked.
"Th-that they were pitch black!" Patricia said. Konata's eyes narrowed.
"What were you doing seeing Kagami's panties?" Konata asked.
"I bumped into her when she was running down the street! We both fell backwards and I saw them!" Patricia said, becoming more confident as she continued fleshing out her lie.
"You said you didn't see them!" Kagami said, realizing this was much better than the alternative.
"Sorry, I lied~." Patricia bonked herself on the head. "Sorry Commander, even though you told me never to tell anyone..." Patricia apologized.
"I guess I can't blame you too much. Konata can be a handful." Kagami said.
"So can Patty if you know what I mean..." Konata groped the air perversely.
"Down, Konata." Kagami sighed. Konata chuckled.
"Can I go now?" Patricia asked.
"Yeah, sure." Konata waved dismissively. The American hurried back to the living room. Kagami began to follow her. "Hey Kagamin." Konata said, stopping the Tsundere.
"What's up?" Kagami asked.
"You can tell me what you guys were talking about when you're ready. I don't know what she was saying, but Patty wouldn't be alive right now if she had seen your panties." Konata giggled as she walked past the frozen Kagami.
"Alright then." Kagami said as she followed the Otaku back into the living room.
Back in the Living Room
"Welcome back, Onee-chan! Are you feeling okay?" Tsukasa asked as Kagami walked in.
"Yeah, just had to interrupt something." Kagami chuckled. "Are you guys ready for bed?" Kagami asked.
"Y-Y-Yeah..." Yutaka mumbled. Her face seemed to be permanently colored dark red.
"I'm not!" Konata said.
"What? You're literally the one who brought up going to bed." Kagami said.
"One more thing!" Konata said. Kagami sighed.
"What?" Kagami asked.
"I wanna tell a scary~ story~..." Konata said.
"Are you sure that would... be..." Miyuki trailed off. Images of Tsukasa clinging to her entered her mind, as well as Yutaka clinging to Minami. Both of those things in her mind, she nodded. "Seems like a wonderful idea." Miyuki changed her opinion.
"Alright, I'm doing it!" Konata said.
"Listen to what other people say!" Kagami shouted.
"So, have you guys ever heard about the Hitobashira?" Konata asked, ignoring Kagami entirely.
"The..." Patricia began.
"Hito..." Tsukasa continued.
"Bashira...?" Yutaka asked.
"See, a few hundred years ago, there were certain pillars and buildings that were made of certain materials... Ones that have only just recently been found out..." Konata said.
"What... kind of materials...?" Tsukasa asked fearfully.
"Why... living SACRIFICES!" Konata shouted the last word. Yutaka and Tsukasa both screamed, the former hugging onto Minami while the latter hugged Kagami. Kagami smiled and sighed a bit happily, even with Konata's scary story.
"Sacrifices?" Patricia asked.
"Wh-wh-what buildings?" Yutaka asked, so she would know which ones to avoid in the future. Konata hummed a laugh.
"Maruoka Castle..." Konata said. "Matsue Castle..." Konata said. "And... HERE!" She shouted. Both Yutaka and Tsukasa's hug tightened, Minami putting a protective arm around her girlfriend. "They say that at night, in around an hour, on a night like this, you can sometimes hear the moans of the dead... As they wail of being buried alive." Konata said. Shaking quite fearfully, Yutaka and Tsukasa both gripped their respective guardian tightly. "Don't worry, they only come out in the darkness, so as long as we keep the light on, we're fine." Konata said.
"Whew..." Yutaka let a breath of relief out.
"Good night!" Konata turned the light out.
"Gah!" Kagami was suddenly strangled by the sheer strength in Tsukasa's hug. "Konata you idiot!" Kagami shouted, though she couldn't say she was unhappy. This was going to be a long night.
Later That Night...
Kagami laid on her futon, almost restless. She held her eyes closed, hoping she would fall asleep. It was to no avail, however. She didn't know what was keeping her awake, but obviously something must be. Everyone else gone to bed long ago and she could hear a bunch of rather rhythmic breathing all around her. They had obviously fallen asleep. She sighed under her breath as she heard rustling coming from beside her, where the other girls were sleeping. Kagami glanced up to see it was Tsukasa, tip toeing across each of the girls. Kagami rolled over and shut her eyes again, assuming that Tsukasa was simply going to use the restroom and therefore not deeming it worthy of depriving her of sleep any longer. What she had missed, however, was Tsukasa's face. Her little sister stopped walking.
"... Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked. Kagami's ears perked up as she opened her eyes back up and looked up. Tsukasa was crouched down next to Kagami, but what alerted the Tsundere the most were the tears suspended in her eyes.
"Tsukasa? What's wrong? Are you alright?" Kagami asked in a panicked tone, barely keeping it below a level that would wake others. Tsukasa, much to the relief of her sister, nodded.
"That story that Kona-chan told was just really scary..." Tsukasa said. Kagami sighed in relief.
"Ah, yeah I guess it was. So now you can't get to sleep?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa nodded.
"Could I... sleep with you tonight Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked. Kagami almost reeled back.
"Wah! So-Something like that with everyone here is kind of embarrassing, ya know?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa looked disheartened.
"Do... Do I embarrass you, Onee-chan?" She asked sadly. Kagami took a direct shot to her heart as a bolt of lightning seemingly shot through her temples, sending her head reeling back.
"No way!" Kagami shouted loudly before realizing exactly how loudly she had shouted. She looked around quickly to see that, luckily, she hadn't woken anyone up. She blushed slightly as she tried to adjust her volume back down to something a bit more appropriate. "Tsukasa, you could never embarrass me." Kagami said. "It's just the situation itself is embarrassing." Kagami said, scratching her head.
"Oh... Okay..." Tsukasa mumbled, still sounding thoroughly unwanted. It broke Kagami's heart.
"Although, I guess a little embarrassment is fine every now and again." Kagami said as she lifted her blanket. Tsukasa's face turned to a hopeful one.
"... For realsies?" Tsukasa asked. Kagami nodded.
"For. Realsies." Kagami said. Tsukasa's eyes lit up considerably.
"Yay~!" Tsukasa cheered as she got under the covers with Kagami.
"Shh! You'll wake everyone up if you aren't quiet!" Kagami scolded. It, however, went mostly ignored. Tsukasa laid herself on one of the Tsundere's arms before burrowing her face into Kagami's chest, causing Kagami to blush.
"Ha~..." Tsukasa let out a sigh of relief as she relaxed into the futon. Kagami smiled and giggled a bit.
"Geez... What am I gonna do with you..." Kagami smiled. Kagami's free arm fell naturally around Tsukasa before giving her a protective hug.
"Thanks Onee-chan." Tsukasa said. Kagami smiled.
"You are very welcome." She said. Like a key fit into a lock, the two simultaneously relaxed onto the futon and fell asleep shortly after.
After Section
BLOOPERS FOR DAYS! I accidentally typed "It did nothing for Kagami's bush." instead of blush. Again, this became a whole new kind of story. Or at least, it jumped a LOT of chapters.
Also Hiyori looking at her friend's stick. I decided to just leave that one in.
One more. Yukari slamming the table caused Honoka to hump. What's up with everyone humping in this story? Is this some kind of Freudian thing?
Alrighty, so obviously the one month limit has passed rather than me getting the next chapter of Luckier Star. Well, that was probably gonna happen anyway. I do have a lot of it done considering how much time I've had to work on it, though not as much as usual. I went to Otakon, which took a few day. It was awesome, as it usually is. Saw the most absolutely convincing Kagami and Tsukasa cosplayers I've ever seen. They were in their cheerleader outfits and they looked like someone had just plucked them right from the anime and placed them right in Otakon. Maybe I should upload the picture of them. I got Kirito's two swords, the Elucidator and The Dark Repulser. And Frostmourne. I spent too much money is what I'm saying.
What was I talking about? Oh, right, Luckier Star. Gonna go work on that now. The next chapter to be posted will be Luckier Star, then I'll come back to TRTP. Alternate like that, ya know? Well, wish me luck! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
OMAKE
"Ah~." Miyuki sat on the train along with her friends. The four of them were on the way to school, but they had a little ways to go. Miyuki took a book from her bag that she had yet to start and did just that. A few pages in and she was hooked. She turned a page. And then another. Soon, she was tuning out the world around her.
"Yuki-chan!" She heard someone call faintly. However, her book called much more. She turned another page. And another. The character in her story was currently saving her kingdom along with the help of a friendly lion she had saved. It seemed a lovey tale that she should remember. Finally, after what seemed like no time at all, she closed the book and smiled.
"That was a great story." She said after finishing the book.
"So what was it about?" Konata asked.
"A princess and a lion saving a kingdom." Miyuki said.
"Ah, that's interesting." Konata said. "You know what ELSE is interesting?" Konata asked. Miyuki looked around to see Tsukasa and Kagami also with them.
"Did I read the entire book on the way to school?" Miyuki asked. Konata chuckled.
"No, we're on our way back from school." Konata said. Miyuki stared blankly at her.
"Back... from... school..." She mumbled. "Wah?" She asked.
"I tried to wake you, Yuki-chan..." Tsukasa said. "You were reading though..." She said.
"I missed school..." Miyuki almost cried.
Such an airhead... Konata smiled.