Chapter 14 – Kagami's Reality Shatter
Kagami's POV
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Kagami…"
"*depressed groan*"
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Kagami…"
"*louder depressed groan*"
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Kagami! How long are you going to mope around like this?! It's three days into summer break and you haven't left your room at all! How are you eating?!"
"*moan* Just leave me alone, Mom. I don't want to be bothered with…well…anything, really."
"Ugh! Honestly…I understand that a ton of bad things happened recently, but you're acting like a huge baby about it."
If I cry like a baby, would you leave me alone?
"Mom, please…I just want to be left alone. For a long while."
"*sigh* Fine, have it your way. Just so you know, you won't be moping around like this much longer…"
Usually, whenever Mom makes a promise like that, I get worried about what she'll do. But on this day…I just couldn't be bothered. A lot was on my mind to be even thinking about such a thing.
As stated before…it's summer break. And for the first three days, I've locked myself in my room. Refusing to come out for pretty much anything. Food, hygiene, the no doubt intense soccer matches going on right now (I'm a HUGE soccer fan, by the way)…
In the span of two weeks, my life traumatically went down the shitter. Misao and Ayano stopped being friends with me after that fight we had, Konata broke up with me with no explanation other than "I'm sorry for everything"…not to mention that I'm STILL not in good graces with Tsukasa. Even after our 18th birthday came and went.
So many things happened so suddenly…I've been having a hard time processing it all. And it resulted in a semi-mental breakdown.
…
Well…okay, I wouldn't say "suddenly". There has been a small thought in the back of my mind as of late. And what Ayano said after she beat my ass to the ground made it stuck even more.
"That being said…you can continue to blindly live in this "happy-go-lucky schoolgirl fantasy" that you love so much."
Happy-go-lucky…schoolgirl fantasy? Has that been my life this entire time? Oblivious to anything and anyone that didn't play out in that lifestyle? Were the past 18 years of my life nothing more than a delusion? Identical to the plot of a slice-of-life school anime?
…
I…I don't know what to think anymore. If all of that is true, then…
"Wow, Kagami…you've got some surprisingly cute patterns in here. I guess you can be girly at times."
Wh-What?
I left my depressed train of thought and popped my head out from my blanket to see something I didn't expect to happen today. Or ever.
"Wh-What?! K-Kirin! W-Woah…"
*THUD*
"Ow…" I fell on the floor from the sudden shock of my (now only) friend being in my room…but was angry at what she was doing. "…K-Kirin! Get the hell out of my underwear drawer!"
"What? I was just taking a quick peak. We're both girls, aren't we?"
"Even so, you DON'T DO THAT!" I shouted with a full blush of embarrassment on my face before calming down a little. "Wh-Why are you even here, anyway?"
"Your mom invited me. She's been getting tired of seeing you mope around all day and she told me to "go wild" in ways to get you up."
Mom, you psychopath… I gained a pale look and a sweatdrop.
"Woah, Kagami…these are some titillating panties you got here. Were you saving these for Loli or something?"
"P-Put those down, damnit!" I yelled once more while swiping my panties away from Kirin's hands. "*sigh* Look, Kirin. I'm not in the mood to be dealing with your nonsense today. So, just get out."
"Hey, come on. I was serious when I said I came here to get you out of bed. Moping around like a sissy NEET is totally not like you."
"I-I am NOT a sissy NEET! I've been dealing with some emotional trauma and I'm trying to understand it all! Not like you would understand…"
"Understand?" Kirin gained a pissed-off look. "You're talking to the girl who was put into foster care at a young age because her mother didn't want her, got severely raped as a middle schooler after being tricked into going on a date with some random guy who asked me out, and found out that she had a long-lost sister due to the fact her father was a womanizing playboy getting a crap-ton of women pregnant. And that's on top of the fact that I was bullied repeatedly because I was born without a right eye. So, saying that I would never understand is the most aggravating thing to ever come out of your mouth. And trust me, there have been a lot of things in the past…"
"O-Okay, Kirin. I get it. I'm sorry…" I said with a look of guilt. Her pissed-off look beginning to creep me out.
I honestly forgot just how tragic Kirin's life was before moving to Kasukabe. I mean, how could you not? With how she acts every day…
"*sigh* Look, my point is…you can't just sit here and mentally disintegrate because the universe decided to take a quick piss on your life and is refusing to wipe. You gotta stand up and tell the damn thing to suck your metaphorical dipstick!"
"You make it sound so easy…" I said while ignoring the multiple innuendos she just made. "…but slowly realizing that the life you've been living has be nothing more than a lie isn't as simple as making a vagina joke. I mean…where do I even go from here?"
"Well, isn't that a good thing? You're no longer restricted to whatever the hell this "Lucky Star" thing was. Free to actually LIVE your own life. Weren't you tired of people writing stories about you being gay with Konata?"
"But I am gay…"
"W-Wait, seriously? You are?"
"Yeah. I am. I just never felt that way towards Kona…ta…" I then sat there in shock over what I had just said. "W-Wow…I've never been able to admit that before. Felt like that truth was sealed away somewhere deep in my mind."
"See? You're already getting used to it." Kirin said before going silent for a bit. "Oh, and just so you know…I don't swing that way, so…"
"A-As if I would have any romantic feelings for YOU!"
"Wow…that wasn't supposed to hurt, but somehow it did." Kirin said with a sweatdrop.
And seeing Kirin all disgruntled like that made me laugh a little. It was definitely a rare thing coming from her.
Again…due to how she acts every day…
"Well, I'm glad that random rejection cheered you up a bit…" Kirin retorted.
"*giggle* Sorry, sorry. I guess seeing you annoyed bring me happiness in a weird yet funny kind of way."
"Oh, whatever." Kirin then headed for my bedroom window. Putting one leg outside while still looking at me. "Just get dressed. We've got a train to hook up with."
"A train?"
"I promised your mom I would get you out of the house. So, we're going to Shibuya!"
"Wh-Why Shibuya?"
"Duh! Shibuya's a freaking epicenter of inexperienced teens needing sexual enlightenment! My knowledge will explode their minds AND their crotches! Hahahahaha!"
"Is that really a good idea?"
"It worked while Rui and I were in Tokyo. So, why the hell not? Join me, Vice-President Kagami! And together…we'll make Japan sexy again!"
"Wh-What the hell kind of goal is that?!" I yelled in utter disbelief.
"Woohoo!" But was completely ignored when Kirin fully jumped out of the window (which is on the second floor, mind you) and landed on her feet like it was nothing to her.
"Come on, Kagami! We're gonna be late like a mis-scheduled monthly!"
"K-Kirin, you little…" With nothing else to do…and honestly REALLY determined to stop Kirin from getting herself arrested…I grabbed the first set of clothes I could find and (for some stupid reason) jumped out of my window after her. Hoping to catch up.
At least this part feels different from my previous view on life…
After somehow catching up to Kirin (the girl's faster than she looks), we barely caught the next train to Shibuya. And soon we were greeted by the ever-so crowded center of Japan.
"So…we're here." I said as we exited the station. "PLEASE tell me you have a better idea than to just shout out sexual facts at people."
"What, you thought it would be THAT simple? With how conservative this country is, you really gotta be informative and detailed about it. A good chunk of these people haven't even seen the opposite gender's crotch before. Unless we're counting AV…"
"We're not counting AV." I retorted with a sweatdrop.
"Aw, well…the whole point of this is by the time sunset comes, all of Shibuya will be shoving coins into coin slots. If you know what I mean~…"
"I do…and I wish I didn't." My sweatdrop grew from there.
"Now, where to start…" As Kirin was planning out her inappropriate verbal assault on these unsuspecting people, my phone suddenly rang and I turned away to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Geez finally, Kagami! I got a hold of you!" Mom yelled over the phone. "We heard you making retorts at Kirin-san as always and all of a sudden Matsuri and I see you both jump out of your bedroom window. Where are you?"
"O-Oh, um…Kirin had another one of her weird ideas and it led us to Shibuya. We actually just got off the train."
"Shibuya?! All the way over there?!"
"Look, I know it's far. And I really didn't have any plans to come here. But Kirin did say that she was serious about cheering me up, so…here we are."
"I see…you know, Kirin-san may be a perverted nutcase, but she knows when to be a good friend when it counts. Don't you think?"
"Yeah, I often think of that a lot." I said with a small smile. "Thanks for sending her over, Mom. It helped a lot. Oddly enough."
"Anything to help my daughters. Now, if only we can get another certain problem fixed…"
"H-Hold the brakes a bit, Mom…" I said with a sweatdrop. "Anyway…tell Dad I'll be home before nightfall."
"Alright. Just be careful."
I ended the phone call in a happier mood than I was before. Honestly glad that Mom was so determined to help out. And to this extent, too.
I'm so lucky to have a mom who, in her words, "experienced it all". Whatever that means…
"Alright, Kirin. So, what are we supposed to do with this…" I then turned back to see if Kirin had some sort of idea yet…
…Only to realize that she's no longer there.
"God…DAMNIT! When I find that girl, I'm wringing her fucking neck!"
Like Mom said…Kirin is only a good friend when it counts. Which is, unfortunately, not that often.
And so, for the past hour and a half, I walked all across Shibuya looking for this questionably perverted Student Council President. This would've been hard enough if we were back home.
"Ugh…where is she?! I'm pretty sure I've been to every street corner already…even went to both Harajuku AND Omotesando…AND I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND HER STUPID ASS!"
But since this is Shibuya, it was 10x worse.
"*sigh* Maybe I should just go home. I getting tired from walking all around this…wait…i-is that…?!" As I was just about to give up and go home…I saw Kirin. Leaning against a 7-Eleven drinking a Slurpee without a care in the world.
As if she didn't drag someone all the way here for no good reason at all!
That Slurpee-obsessed little…
"Kirin!"
"Oh. There you are, Kagami. You missed out on a good Slurpee." Kirin said nonchalantly as she took a sip of her Slurpee.
"You ditched me in the middle of Shibuya for a damn Slurpee?!"
"H-Hey, I didn't ditch you! I was planning out my impromptu sex class when I realized you were gone suddenly. I looked for you and ended up getting lost…eventually finding this 7-Eleven and decided to just stand here and drink one until you eventually found me. Though, you sure took your time. Was your monthly slowing you down or something?"
"I am in NO mood to retort to that!"
I was so pissed about finding Kirin like this that I didn't even notice that she was with three other people.
One of them just happened to know me.
"Kagami-chan?"
"Huh? Yui?" I replied to the brown-haired girl known as Yui Hirasawa. "Wow…kinda rare for us to be running into each other like this."
"Yeah, it really is."
"Do you know this girl, Yui?" Asked a light-brown girl standing next to Yui.
"This is Kagami Hiiragi. A friend of mine from a different part of Japan."
"Different part, huh? So, is she like one of those girls that you break the 4th wall with?"
"4th wall?" Kirin and the third person there, a girl whose brown hair was slightly longer than the other girl's, were confused.
"Um…no. That's usually Azu-nyan."
"So, it was Azusa who started it. Figured it was her…" I said with a sweatdrop.
After all…both she and Akari are like the queens of screw logic. Even more so than Konata…
"W-Well, anyway…" Yui continued. "…these two are my classmates. Miharu Neroni is a foreigner from France who's now in our band…"
"Hiya. Ravi de vous rencontrer." The girl named Miharu said to me.
Miharu Neroni…wait…she's Mugi's half-sister, isn't she? They really do look similar…
"…And Himeko Tachibana is uh…m-my girlfriend."
"G-Girlfriend?" I was shocked to hear that last part. "W-Wow, Yui…I didn't even know you were gay."
"I-It's a…recent development. Although, it has been in the back of my mind for a while. A LONG while…"
"She's working on it, though." The girl named Himeko added. "The whole thing's been a bit of a rollercoaster for her."
"Huh…"
What could they mean by that?
"In any case…to get a foreigner AND a girlfriend to join your group…looks like you girls have changed a lot, too."
"Yeah…it's becoming a trend nowadays." Yui said.
"Hmm…so, I'm not the foreigner…" Kirin mumbled to herself. "…Hey, Kagami. If I DID swing that way and we became a couple, would you love me like a sex doll?"
"Pfft! BAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Miharu was the only one who had broken down laughing at what Kirin just said. While Yui and Himeko grew huge blushes and I facepalmed hard.
"Kirin…why the hell would you want to be loved like a sex doll?" I asked.
"Well, sex dolls do get lots of love. Mainly from lonely male NEETs who stick their Donkey Kong inside the plastic axe wound and pelvic thrust until the bitter milk comes out…but it still counts."
"Apologize to Donkey Kong and every single girl in the world RIGHT NOW!"
…
…
…
"Uh…Kagami-chan…wh-what was THAT?" Yui asked in disbelief.
"*sigh* Sorry about that. This mess of a girl is Kirin Miyagi. She came to our school after moving from Okinawa. And yes…the insanely perverted innuendos are a part of her daily vocabulary."
"Wow…"
"*sigh* Oh, God…I haven't a laugh like that in a LONG time!" Miharu said as she had finally stopped laughing. "You freaking made my day, Kirin!"
"*giggle* Thanks, Miharu." Kirin-chan said. "Glad I was able to give you a good wetting down there."
"Oh, trust me. You definitely did that."
Why would you admit that?!
"And you're friends with her, Kagami-chan?" Yui asked me.
"More than that, Yui. Kirin's the Student Council President of our school. And I'm its Vice-President."
"THAT girl? Student Council President?" Himeko asked.
"It may sound unbelievable…but it's the truth."
"I see…"
"Man, all that laughing made me thirsty. I might have to get a refill of this Slurpee…" Miharu said as she stared at her cup.
"Huh? Hey, Miharu. There's a tag sticking on your cup." Kirin said.
"Really? Where?" Miharu then pulled the tag off and read what it said.
…
Well…tried to. She stared and squinted at the ticket for a few seconds and eventually…
"Ugh…too many scribbles! I can't read this!"
Makes sense. I mean, she IS a foreigner…
"Here, give it to me. I'll read it." I said as I took the tag. "Let's see…"Congratulations! You are in possession of the Rainbow Ticket for our Summer Getaway sweepstakes! Redeem this tag at the nearest 7-Eleven for your prize: A roundtrip paid vacation for 5 to Odaiba!"."
"Odaiba?" Kirin and Yui asked.
"Oh, yeah. That thing." Himeko said. "7-Eleven is a sponsor of some idol event going on there and they started this contest to promote it. Find this "Rainbow Ticket" and you win a free trip there. Because of that, Slurpees have been selling like crazy."
"Wow…" Yui said in amazement. "…well, that's pretty lucky, Miharu-chan. You won a trip to Odaiba."
"Odaiba…" Miharu gained a confused look. "…Where exactly is that?"
"It's an artificial island that's close to Tokyo. You cross its famous Rainbow Bridge in order to get there."
"Hence the "Rainbow Ticket"." Himeko added.
"I see…well, it sounds like fun. Plus, it'll give me something to do this summer. Let's head for Odaiba, y'all!"
"Huh? Wh-What do you mean?"
"I mean we're going to this Odaiba place together."
"Huh?!" The four of us asked in total shock.
"W-Wait, you mean you're inviting us?!" Himeko asked.
"Duh. You two are my friends, right?"
"W-Well, yeah…"
"A-And you're inviting US?!" I asked. "E-Even though we just met?!"
"Well, it says here a trip for five. Other than us three, everyone else is either out of town or busy with something. And since you two are here, I figured why the hell not."
"W-Wow…Miharu, I…"
"Alright, Miharu!" Kirin cheered as she grabbed onto Miharu into a hug. "I was bored as balls sitting at home all day! Now, I finally have something to do!"
"What about Student Council work?"
"Meh. I'll just say that Konata burned it all. That should distract everyone for a while."
"Yeah, and get Konata seriously screwed over…" Kagami-chan gained a huge sweatdrop.
We may be no longer dating, but I don't want her to get into trouble…
…
Or rather…"more trouble". From what little she told me the day she broke up with me. Wish I knew what she was talking about…
"So, when should we leave?" Himeko asked.
"Well…" Miharu looked at the winning tag. "…Uh…h-hey, Kagami…"
"It says you have until the end of the month to redeem it. So, it's best that you do it now before you forget." I said as I read the rest of the ticket.
"Gotcha. I'm gonna do that real quick. Je reviens tout de suite!" Miharu then went inside the 7-Eleven to redeem the tag. While the rest of us waited outside.
"Wowie…a free trip to Odaiba! I can hardly believe it!" Yui cheered.
"Same for me." I added. "I originally had no plans this summer. So, you could really call this a stroke of luck."
"Us too, honestly."
"You know, Kagami…" Kirin said. "…if I hadn't ditched you in favor of this Slurpee, we wouldn't be a part of this lucky chance."
"Oh, yeah…"
…
…
…
*POW*
"Ow!"
"That's for ditching me, you perverted bitch!" I yelled after hitting Kirin in the head.
"Ugh…violent as ever."
"Those two seem to get along." Yui said to Himeko with a sweatdrop.
"Yeah…I guess." Himeko replied with a sweatdrop of her own.
We ended up staying in Shibuya for the rest of the day. Checking out some shops and eating at a small café for lunch. And then once Kirin and I parted ways from Yui, Himeko, and Miharu, we went back to Kasukabe. Eventually going back home for the day.
…
Cr-Crap. How am I gonna explain the fact that I jumped out of my bedroom window earlier? I'm pretty sure Dad's gonna be pissed…
"Tadaima…" I said as I nervously entered through the front door.
"There you are, Kagami! You and I need to have a little discussion about what happened earlier today!" And sure enough, Dad was the first to come up to me. Waiting to scold me for that stunt I did.
*sigh* Here we go…
"What in God's name possessed you to jump out of second-story window and travel all the way to Shibuya without a care in the world?!"
"I-It was a bit random, sure, but…"
"Calm down, Tadao." Mom said as she joined the conversation. "I already said that it was just Kirin-san being unpredictable as always."
"*sigh* It's the fact that she's so unpredictable that gets me worked up like this…" Dad gained an exasperated look.
I can at least understand how he feels. Every day with Kirin feels like an episode of D-Frag…
"So, what did she drag you into this time?" Dad asked me. "Something perverted again?"
"W-Well…yes. But it actually has a different ending this time around."
"Different?" Mom and Dad's interests were peaked.
"Thanks to me running into a friend over there, we're going to Odaiba in a few days."
"Odaiba?"
"WHAT?! ODAIBA?!"
We then noticed Matsuri peaking around the corner with a shocked yet angered look on her face.
"Matsuri…you are TERRIBLE at being sneaky." With Inori facepalming at the fact they got caught so easily.
"What are you two doing?" Dad asked.
"Well, we TOTALLY weren't spying on you guys or anything…" Matsuri said.
Why are you denying it?! You got caught!
"…But I'm SUPER TOTALLY pissed that Kagami gets to go to Odaiba all of a sudden! SO FREAKING LUCKY!"
"What's happening in Odaiba?" Mom asked.
"This impromptu idol festival that's been gaining hype online." Inori said. "Matsuri wanted to go but has no money to plan a trip there."
"And then to find out that Kagami's going on a freaking whim?! What kind of protag-luck is that?!"
"Protag-luck?" I gained a huge sweatdrop.
"Well, Matsuri…it's your fault for being so reckless with your allowance." Dad said.
"*whine*Dad~!"
"As for this trip…" He then turned back to face me. "…Do you really plan on going?"
"While it was last minute and totally unexpected…I-I kinda want to go. It's something to distract me a little bit from all the…unfortunate…stuff that's been going on with me."
I don't think I can explain the reality-shattering stuff…
"Plus…it beats sitting in my room all day every day. So, it's giving me something to do."
"That's true…" Dad thought about it for a bit. "…Okay, Kagami. You can go."
"R-Really?! Wow…th-thanks, Dad!"
"Can I go with her?!" Matsuri asked.
"With what money?" Inori retorted with a sweatdrop.
"You can go…" Dad continued. "…BUT…only on one condition."
"Huh? One condition?" I asked in confusion.
"Well…I want you to…"
*LATER THAT NIGHT…*
"*sigh* So, this was his condition? I have a feeling that Mom put him up to this…but I can at least understand why they want me to do this."
And so, here I was sitting on my bed staring at my phone. My finger hovering over the call button to connect myself to someone I haven't really spoken to in a while.
…
Well…at least not in a positive way.
Next month would make it a year…I do agree that it's gone way too long, but…what do I even say? How do I not make it feel awkward as hell?
…
I guess the only option is to just wing it…
And with that thought in mind, I pressed the call button and waited through a couple of rings before the recipient answered the call.
"H-Hey…Kagami…"
"Ts-Tsukasa, hey…I-I heard from Dad that you called earlier…"
"Y-Yeah, I did. I-I just…uh…well…I…"
I see…so, it's hard for her, too. Makes sense…
"You wanna just…talk?"
…
…
…
"Yeah…I don't mind. Let's just…talk."
"Okay, then. Let's just…talk." Was all I said. With a smile slowly growing on my face. Secretly happy that this was happening once more.
Author's Note: A bit of a detour for this story. As Kagami slowly begins to realize that her life technically isn't real and is making small steps to fully accept her new reality.
Now, to point this out…this story may be connected to Yuru Yuri: The Inner Struggles and The New Band Mate…but it's not going to be as long as those two. Especially since this story was at one point canceled and sat on the site incomplete for 2 years.
I'll probably do about 10…maybe 15 more chapters. That's enough to fit a good ending somewhere. After that…I'm not sure what I'll do. No other ideas are coming to mind at the moment.
Thanks for reading. Later.