Waiting for a Guitar Hero

Storm clouds hung heavy over Kasukabe, dark but somehow calm. A single drop of rain spattered off the head of a small young woman as she marched along the street, determination set in her face. The first veils of rain began to waft over her as she reached her goal.

Within the quiet house, Tsukasa pulled the yellow ribbon from her short purple hair and settled into her bed for the night. She had spent a long time studying for her biology test with her sister and it had exhausted her, but she knew that it would pay off when she got the exam tomorrow, it would ask her what the second stage of mitosis was in an animal cell, and she would proudly answer "Proctology."

"I study the classics

That's where I'm coming from
And you got them classic lines
That make me say 'cogito ergo sum'"

Tsukasa moaned and opened her eyes drearily as she heard a faint voice. At first she thought it might be the TV, but then she realized it was coming from outside her window. She threw back her covers and got out of bed.

"In an ipso facto way
Well I gave you all my sympathy
You tore 'em up just like Euripides
But now I'm back and not ashamed, believe me when I'm saying
Eureka, I found love"

The violet haired girl opened the window and looked out into the damp night air. In the yard, illuminated by street lights, was a large screen television set with the neck of a guitar with colored dots along the frets coming straight at the screen. A short distance away was a familiar blue haired girl slamming on a toy guitar and singing up at her window at the top of her lungs. Tsukasa could hear the lyrics clearly, now.

"The Ancients often depicted nudes: marble, cold, and white!" Konata sang in a surprisingly lovely singing voice. "So why must you be such a prude when we could carve our love in stone tonight!

"Well the ancients might have all been fags. Wearing sandals and shopping bags, and chasing after every likely lad when I'm saying: Eureka, I found love! Eureka, I found love!" The short girl lifted her Guitar Hero guitar high above her head as she played the final chords of the song, rain beginning to pour down upon her. Her electronic equipment, as electronics tend to when exposed to liquids, began to short out as the song died and the television screen exploded in a dynamic shower of sparks. The soaked gamer on the lawn, her tears masked by the pouring rain, locked eyes with Tsukasa and cried, "I love you!"

Above, Tsukasa gasped, her hand to her mouth. She felt her heart begin to pound in her chest. To think, all this time… She knew what she had to do. She raced out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Kagami saw her frantic flight to the door. "What's going on, Tsukasa? And what was going on outside? It sounded like that one indie band… Pizza Crust or something?"

"Out of my way, please, Kagamin!" the short haired girl yipped at her longer haired twin. "Konata!"

"Konata? What abou—?" Kagami began, but her younger twin had flung the door open and the winds, now fierce and howling, made their way into the house.

Konata raced to the door, reaching for the outstretched hand of her plum haired angel, her body aching to envelop the warm soft form of the Hiiragi twin. Tsukasa grasped her hand and pulled her inside, bringing her close. "Tsu… Tsukasa…"

"Konata…" the blue haired young girl said, her heart blossoming.

"You never told me you loved Guitar Hero before!" she squealed. "Omigawd! Kagamin likes that game, too. Sure not as much as Metal Slug or R-Type, but…" she leaned into her shorter friend. "Honestly, she's always so lonely 'cause no one ever seems to share her interests. Maybe you could play a little with her? I'd really appreciate it…"

Kagami and Konata looked at each other, and then at Tsukasa, her eyes already glazed over.

- - -

"Here you go, I made you two some hors d'oeuvres," Tsukasa beamed as she walked into the living room where Kagami and Konata were jamming through the riffs of Dead! on Expert mode.

"Thanks," Kagami said, swiping a tiny kabob and swiping it clean across her mouth, returning to the guitar before she missed a beat. So far, her record was perfect.

Konata, on the other hand, seethed as the screen screamed at her horrendous bass playing. If only she hadn't spent all her time, she thought, practicing on that single song. "Damn orange button of death! I could be home playing World of Warcraft!"