"Whoa, it's so huge!" Konata exclaimed, upon walking in the front door of Miyuki's house. "Miyuki…where do you get the money from, girl? It's totally awesome!"

"Yeah, yeah, you said that outside." Kagami replied, rolling her eyes. "And it's not like Yuki-san has to keep the whole place going by herself. She does have parents, you know."

"Hmmmmm~?" Konata turned her head around, a broad, catlike expression etched on her face. "Are you getting jealous, Kagamin? See, this is what it's like when parents don't have 4 kids to look after, they buy a huge house like this…"

"Why you…you're an only child and your house isn't much better than mine!" Kagami yelled back, displaying her usual short-temperedness.

"P…please, you two! This is our first time at Miyuki-san's house, so let's be polite, okay?" Tsukasa frantically tried to break up the fighting between the two, while Miyuki smiled gently.

"Oh no, please, feel free to make yourselves at home. Mother won't mind, I'm sure." Miyuki said, displaying her ever-present maturity and calmness. This seemed to relax Kagami and Konata, who instantly stopped throwing insults at each other and instead focused on admiring Miyuki's vast living room.

"Oh, hey, Miyuki! You don't have any game consoles at all! How do you live?!" Konata exclaimed, her face plastered with an expression of disbelief.

"No, I don't. As I've said before, however, I do enjoy Minesweeper and Solitaire on the computer, and I often read in my spare time." Miyuki said. Konata turned, a glint in her eye.

"Well, tonight's the night you get initiated, Yuki-san! I brought this along!"

Konata reached into her schoolbag and pulled out a PS2, holding it up so the light reflected off of its surfaces.

"You're kidding! You left all your books at home so you could bring a games console to Miyuki's house?" Kagami exclaimed. "I lent you my Math book AND my World History book because of that?"

"Hey, at least it's better than me just outright forgetting them, right? This way we can play games all weekend at Yuki-san's house!" Konata declared, her eyes bright. She quickly rummaged behind Miyuki's plasma screen TV for the appropriate cables and plugs.

"Ugh! You're such a child, Konata! Try asking, first!"

"Will your mother mind, Yuki-san?" Tsukasa asked.

"No, no, I shouldn't think so. Mother's very patient and accepting. I'm certain this will be fine." Miyuki replied. "Besides, she IS going out soon. I'm not sure why, but I think she just wanted a trip into the city this weekend."

Tsukasa and Miyuki giggled at Yukari Takara's klutzy nature, while Kagami and Konata carried on fighting, this time over how to plug the PS2 in. Several snack breaks later, they finally figured out Miyuki's TV configuration and within 10 minutes, were playing several games of Metal Slug and Street Fighter, at which Konata won nearly every round and scored higher than Kagami every time.

"How are you doing this?!" Kagami was yelling constantly, and Konata was responding the same way every time;

"I keep telling you, if you don't visualize yourself winning, you'll never win, Kagamin~" Konata replied, in a sing-song voice that infuriated Kagami further.

"Urgh! I swear, Konata, before this school year's up, I'm definitely gonna beat you!" She yelled.

"You'd better hurry up and practice then, Kagami. Our college entrance exams come soon and after that, it's the end of school, remember?" Konata said, her catlike smile in full bloom.

"Y…yeah! Of course I remember!" Kagami replied, her face blushing slightly. Clearly, she hadn't remembered until Konata said so. Her strong front started to subside slightly.

"You were doing really well though sis, you scored really high when you were playing together!" Tsukasa said, trying to rally her sister's hopes up.

"Yeah, yeah." Kagami replied, sighing. "You play for a while, I'm going to the bathroom."

With that, she set the controller down, got up and left.

"Oh dear…will she be alright, Tsukasa-san?" Miyuki asked, her face wrought with worry.

"I'm sure she will, Yuki-san." Tsukasa smiled, trying to keep spirits up. She wasn't too sure, however.

"Oh come on, it's Kagami! She'll be fine." Konata assured them. "Now, who's going to try and beat my Fei Long, huh? You, Tsukasa? Or maybe the new challenger…Miyuki-san!"

The session continued in this kind of vein for a while, with Miyuki's mother coming in at one point and, delighted at the new contraption in her household, gave it a go. However, her choices of characters according to which ones were "cute" and "funny" looking didn't fare well against Konata's choices- characters that she could play well. Yukari Takara eventually had to excuse herself, as she had been so engrossed in Street Fighter that she had missed 3 buses, and was close to missing a fourth. After saying her goodbyes, Yukari left in a hurry, leaving the girls in the house alone. 5 minutes later, Kagami came back down.

"Oh, Kagami-san, you're back. We were worried about you." Miyuki said. Tsukasa attempted to murmur something in greeting, but was busy being Ultra Combo'd by Konata.

"It's okay, I was just sorting my clothes out. I had to do it sometime." Kagami replied, attempting a smile that didn't quite come.

"Really? I thought you'd disappeared down the plughole." Konata said, not taking her eyes from the screen.

"Yeah, yeah…" Kagami shrugged off the casual jibe, staring at the other side of Miyuki's living room. As Tsukasa was glued to the TV screen, Miyuki decided to concern herself with Kagami, and offered her a drink.

"Are you alright, Kagami-san? You seem a little depressed." Miyuki said kindly, while they were in the kitchen.

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about…sorting out some of my old clothes. After unpacking all my stuff upstairs, I realised there's quite a bit that doesn't fit me anymore. I probably shouldn't have stuffed my bag full." Kagami said, smiling slightly. Miyuki didn't wish to think harsh of anyone, but she knew when someone was trying to hide the fact that they were upset. For now though, she decided to keep quiet about it and not pester her friend. Perhaps she would ask again later.

For the rest of the night, Kagami retained her aloof attitude, simply staring off into space. Miyuki had once found her staring into the rain, out of the large window on the second floor landing. When questioned, Kagami simply said that she was looking for the pizza delivery guy, as they'd ordered pizza a short time before. She then went to the bathroom and returned downstairs. After the pizza came and they had all eaten, Kagami's mood seemed to lift a little, and she even joined in playing games, although her mood was less upbeat than before- she wasn't chastising Konata when she was "Ultra Combo'd", and she wasn't demanding rematches every time she lost, rather she played in silence. Miyuki noticed that every time Konata mentioned Kagami's former promise, to "beat her before the school year ended", Kagami's mood dropped. If she was saying anything or sounding happy, she would instantly be stricken to silence.

Miyuki thought that Tsukasa would notice too, but the younger Hiiragi twin was always so shy and didn't want to provoke anything, so she would most likely not think of asking Kagami what was wrong, or risk instigating an argument between Konata and Kagami, thus making her sister feel worse. Miyuki, therefore, thought it her responsibility to try and keep Kagami's spirits up, and sometimes offered to play cards with her when she swapped places with Tsukasa in gaming against Konata, who seemed to have an insatiable appetite for video games. Kagami's mood seemed to lift a bit when she was away from the TV, which made Miyuki slightly more relieved- at least she was doing something right.

At around 8:30, however, Kagami stood up and declared that she was going to take a shower and get to bed- a surprise, as Kagami usually stayed up later, although not quite as late as Konata, of course.

"Man, someone was sure grumpy tonight. Maybe she's having guy trouble." Konata observed, mischievously.

"You think?" Tsukasa replied, thinking. "I don't know, sis only started being like that tonight. You'd think it'd be going on for a while if it was guy trouble…"

"Hmmm, I guess you're right." Konata turned back to the screen and kept thinking.

"Aha! I've got it! Maybe it's girl trouble…" She said, smirking.

"Wh…what? Girl trouble? You…you think so…?" Tsukasa seemed to have been thrown into a fluster by this sudden thought.

"Oh, I'm sure Kagami-san is simply feeling down due to all this rain." Miyuki said, telling a white lie but trying to keep everyone from worrying. "After all, too much rain may have an adverse affect on someone's personality. In fact, there is a mental disorder known as "Seasonal Affective Disorder", and sufferers often grow very depressed when the weather is dark and gloomy. Perhaps that's what's wrong with her."

"Yeah, she sure seems disordered. Heh heh." Konata replied, grinning. "I'm sure she'll be better in the morning, so let's stop worrying about it and play some Metal Slug."