Un-Lucky Space

A Lucky Star/Dead Space crossover Fanfiction

Chapter 1: Everyday Routine

Author's Notes: Hello everyone, and welcome to Un-Lucky Space! This will serve as the first ever (as far as I know anyways) crossover between Lucky Star and Dead Space. Just to clarify, this story takes place before and during the events of Dead Space 2, and is in a completely separate area of the Sprawl from where Isaac goes through. Isaac, Ellie, Stross, and other characters from Dead Space will not be making (significant) appearances in this story. The Lucky Star characters will likely be a bit OOC, but that should be expected given the nature of Dead Space. Anyways, without further adieu, I give you Un-Lucky Space. Enjoy the crap out of it!

A young woman was busy working on some faulty wiring when a soft beep sounded from her RIG. She sighed as she reluctantly tore herself away from her work to answer the call. "Level three engineer Miyuki Takara here. Is something the matter?" She asked sweetly.

"You know, Miyuki-san, its kind of scary that you still sound so cute and moe through that helmet." The blue haired girl on the other line said with a cat-like grin as she popped up on the display coming from Miyuki's RIG.

"Konata-san, you didn't just call me to say that, did you?" Miyuki asked, sounding slightly disappointed.

"Oh no, I actually need a hand with something up here." Konata said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Okay then, I'll be right there. Also, put your helmet on please." Miyuki said.

"Aw, but it's all stuffy in there!" Konata whined.

"I'm sorry Konata-san, but it's standard safety procedure." Miyuki explained. "What if something sparked and got in your eyes? Trust me when I say that you should wear your helmet at all times." She said in a motherly tone.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Konata asked, tilting her head.

"How do you think I got to need glasses and a medicated visor for my helmet?" Miyuki asked with a giggle.

"But the glasses make you so much more moe!" Konata exclaimed. "It's really one of your biggest moe points!"

"Konata-san, please just put the helmet on. For me?" Miyuki asked after an audible sigh.

"Oh, alright." Konata groaned as the helmet portion of her suit wrapped itself around her head. "Happy now?" She asked sarcastically.

"Yes. Thank you very much." Miyuki said. "Don't move, I'll be right there." She said as she set her objective locator to Konata's coordinates.

"No real hurry, take your time." Konata said. "Who knows, maybe I'll figure it out before you even get here." She said with a chuckle. "After all, it's just some faulty wiring in the life support-system control room."

"The life-support system?" Miyuki exclaimed. "Don't touch anything! I'll be right there!" She exclaimed as the RIG display faded and she hurried towards Konata's position in more than a slight panic.

"Wow, dad's sermon was really great today, wasn't it sis?" A young woman with short indigo hair asked as she and her sister walked out of the local branch of the Church of Unitology.

"Yeah, yeah." The other woman said flatly. "You know, you should really start thinking about what he's saying Tsukasa." She said.

"What do you mean, Kagami?"

"Well, don't you think it's weird how much money the church asks for every time we go?" Kagami asked.

"Well the church needs all the money it can get for all the church functions and stuff, right?" Tsukasa asked.

"What church functions?" Kagami asked. "All the money seems to do is get people a higher position in the church."

"Well, they've contributed significantly to Unitologists everywhere by doing that, right?" Tsukasa asked. "It would make sense for those people who have helped the most to get some sort or reward, right?"

"Well yeah, but the point of donating isn't to get rewarded." Kagami said. "It just seems more to me like they're just buying power. It's kind of sick, really."

"Kagami! How could you say that?" Tsukasa asked, taken aback by her sister's comment. "Unitology is a good and pure thing. Didn't you listen when mom and dad were teaching us about the glory of Altman and the Marker?"

"Of course I listened." Kagami said. "I've just thought about it more than you is all. I mean, does it all really seem right to you?"

"Why wouldn't it?" Tsukasa asked. "Give unto the church, and the church will give unto you. It says that right in the book." She said.

"Not just the whole money thing." Kagami said, shaking her head. "The whole thing just seems pretty shady. I mean, embracing death? I'm afraid to think of what that might mean."

"It means that death is only the beginning." Tsukasa said. "We shouldn't be sad about people dying. Instead, we should celebrate the occasion. After all, there really is no death. Only rebirth."

"Even that just sounds creepy to me." Kagami said nervously.

"Kagami, be careful what you say." Tsukasa warned. "People might think that you're an infidel or something." She said worriedly.

"The more sermons I go to, the less bad that starts to sound." Kagami sighed.

"Kagami!" Tsukasa exclaimed. "You don't really mean that, do you?"

"Look, can we not talk about this right now? I just want to go home and take a nap if you don't mind." Kagami said tiredly.

"Well, okay." Tsukasa said. "Just be careful what you say, alright?" She asked nervously.

"Yeah, fine, whatever." Kagami said dismissively. "Let's just go home already." She said as she started walking faster.

"Sis! Wait up!" Tsukasa exclaimed as she tried to keep up.

"Thank you for coming, Tony." Said a young woman in a lab coat with long orange hair as a young man left her office. "Remember to get plenty of rest, and take one of those pills every night before you go to sleep." She said sweetly with a smile. "Come back tomorrow for a follow-up appointment."

"Okay, thanks Dr. Minegishi." Tony said, rubbing his head as he left the 'Iwasaki Family Trust Clinic.'

"What's the diagnosis Ayano?" A taller woman with shoulder-length mint green hair asked as she approached Ayano. "He looks like he got hit in the head with a two by four."

"Actually, he was." Ayano said. "A young woman had to subdue him when he started acting strangely. He claimed that he was hearing voices in his head. I gave him some meds for the headache, as well as some sleeping medication since he didn't seem to be sleeping well."

"Another 'voices in the head' case?" The taller woman asked.

"I'm afraid so Ms. Iwasaki." Ayano said with a sigh. "We're going to run out of sleeping pills at this rate."

"Perfect. Another thing to worry about." Ms. Iwasaki groaned.

"Minami, relax. I can tell that you're stressed out, but you need to be in charge here." Ayano said, putting a hand on Minami's shoulder.

"I know. It's just that we've been getting so many cases like this the past few days that it's starting to scare me." Minami admitted.

"You're worried about your 'special project,' aren't you?" Ayano said knowingly.

"What do you-" Minami began before being cut off.

"Don't even try to lie to me." Ayano said with a giggle. "I didn't get to be a psychiatrist by not noticing stuff like this."

"Alright, fine. Yes, I'm worried about Yutaka. Who knows how much longer before she starts hearing things too?" Minami asked. "It seems like psychosis is going around like a virus nowadays."

"I'm sure she'll be okay. She's been getting stronger as she's come here regularly." Ayano said. "I think a lot of it has to do with your 'special bond' with her." She giggled, putting air quotes around special bond.

"What are you-"

"What did I say about trying to lie to me?" Ayano asked as she lifted a finger, cutting Minami off again.

Minami sighed in defeat. "Now I remember why I hired you. Nothing gets past you, does it?"

"Guilty." Ayano said playfully, closing her eyes and smiling. "Speaking of your special friend, I think that's her now." Ayano said, pointing over Minami's shoulder.

"Thank you." Minami said as she turned and saw a short woman with salmon colored hair walk into the clinic. "Yutaka, how are you feeling today?" Minami asked as she approached the smaller girl.

"I'm feeling okay today." Yutaka said sweetly. "I'm here for my weekly check-up." She said.

"Come right this way then." Minami said, leading Yutaka to her office and locking the door behind them.

"Honestly." Ayano thought with a giggle. "How discreet do they think they are?"

"I've got plenty of time today, since my cousin is working at her new job today." Yutaka said as Minami made sure the door was locked.

"Really? What's she doing?" Minami asked.

"Oh, she's just trying out a new assistant position in the engineering department." Yutaka said.

"Sounds dangerous." Minami said, remembering the patient that almost stabbed her earlier that day.

"Oh no, she's just starting. They wouldn't let her near anything important." Yutaka said. "She's probably just fixing doors and stuff. This is actually her third new job this month." She said sadly as Minami turned and approached her.

"Well, I hope it goes well for her." Minami said just before pulling Yutaka into a passionate kiss.

"Okay class, pencils down!" A tall busty woman with blonde hair chirped excitedly. "So, did everyone finish their essays?"

"Yes Ms. Martin!" The whole class chimed at once.

"Great! I'm glad to hear it." Ms. Martin said as she began moving to collect all the papers. "Keep up the good work, everyone. You can all just relax while I start grading your papers. Recess should start soon."

The class began to chatter quietly amongst themselves as they each bragged about how good their papers were, or made bets on whose was better. "I'll bet mine was better than yours!" One little boy chirped.

"No way! Mine was way better!" Came the retort from across the room.

"Please, keep it a bit quieter." Ms. Martin said happily as she finished grading the first paper.

"Sorry Ms. Martin." Both boys said, shuffling their feet under their desks.

"No worries, and you can just call me Patty, okay?" Patty said.

"Okay Ms. Martin!" The class chimed in unison, causing Patty to giggle.

"I'm so glad I decided to be an elementary school English teacher." Patty thought as she finished grading the third one paragraph essay. "I still wonder how I managed to make fourth graders actually enjoy writing essays. I think that must be worth an award or something." She thought excitedly as she moved on to the next paper. Patty lost some of that enthusiasm though as another thought occurred to her. "At least today seems like a good day so far. The kids have really been acting up lately. At least nobody has had to go to nurse Amahara yet today." She thought thankfully.

Suddenly, the bell rang, signifying the beginning of recess. "Okay kids, remember to behave out there for Ms. Kusakabe, alright?" Patty said. "I should be done with these by the time you get back in, so be prepared to be graded."

"Okay Ms. Martin!" The whole class chirped as the got out of their seats and filed out the door toward the playground.

"I said that they could call me Patty, right?" Patty wondered as she got back to her work.

"Mr. Izumi! Mr. Izumi! Check this out!" A young woman with long black hair squealed as she held a picture in front of a scruffy-looking blue haired man.

"Hmm…" Mr. Izumi hummed, cradling his chin in his fingers as he examined the photo carefully. "Not bad Hiyori." He said as he took the picture away to examine it more closely. "You really have a knack for these space vistas. Sure, they aren't difficult to take in this day and age, but you really seem to do them phenomenally."

"Thanks Mr. Izumi!" Hiyori said, bowing deeply. "It's really an honor to hear that from you."

"Please, not so formal." Mr. Izumi said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "You can just call me Sojiro." He said politely.

"Holy crap!" Hiyori thought excitedly. "I'm so glad I can say that I know the Mr. Sojiro Izumi on a first-name basis! This is so exciting!" Hiyori squealed.

"You're a really big fan of mine, aren't you?" Sojiro asked, adjusting his collar uncomfortably.

"Well yeah, who isn't?" Hiyori asked. "Your photos are everywhere! I'm just glad I get to work under such a famous person."

"Oh please, I'm not famous." Sojiro chuckled. "I'm well known at best."

"Don't be so modest sir!" Hiyori said. "My dream is to draw pictures as realistic as your photos!"

"So you're more of the drawing type huh?" Sojiro asked. "Wait a minute. Tamura? As in Ms. Hiyori Tamura, the manga artist?"

"Yeah, that's me. Why? Do you read my work?" Hiyori asked, with stars in her eyes.

"Actually, my daughter and I are both fans of yours." Sojiro said.

Hiyori felt like she was about to faint. "R- Really?" She asked. "My idol likes my work?"

"Yeah, I especially like the one where-" Sojiro began, but was cut off by a low tone from his RIG. "Please excuse me, that's my daughter." Sojiro said as he stood up and left the room to answer the call. "Hey honey, what's up?" Sojiro asked as his daughter's helmeted image appeared on his RIG display. "Looking good in that engineering suit Konata." He said with a thumbs-up.

"Yeah, well…" Konata said nervously through the helmet. "I'm not sure how much longer I'll be wearing it." She admitted.

"You aren't getting fired from another job, are you?" Sojiro asked exasperatedly.

"Well, maybe not. I think I might have given my boss a heart attack though." Konata said, looking to her right as she watched Miyuki fix the problem that Konata had called her for.

"You know that you could have told me that it wasn't a serious problem." Miyuki said tiredly.

"Well I said there wasn't any hurry." Konata said defensively.

"You also said that the problem was in the life-support control room." Miyuki said. "You could have said it was just the lights."

"Well I figured you would know that since I'm just an assistant." Konata argued. "You know I don't have clearance for the actual life-support system."

"Konata, stop arguing with your boss." Sojiro scolded her. "She's right. You should have described the problem more clearly."

"It's no problem Mr. Izumi." Miyuki said as the lights stopped flickering. "At least nothing was seriously wrong. You don't have to worry about your daughter's job."

"Oh, thank goodness." Sojiro said as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Konata, just be careful, okay?

"Alright dad. I'll see you when I got home." Konata said as she cut the video feed.

"He's really worried about your employment, isn't he?" Miyuki asked.

"Yeah, I've kind of been between jobs lately." Konata said. "Most of my other jobs didn't last too long though."

"Really?" Miyuki asked as she tilted her head with curiosity.

"Even with the helmet on, you're so moe when you tilt your head like that." Konata giggled, doubtlessly sporting a cat-like grin under her helmet.

"If you don't mind me asking, what other jobs did you have?" Miyuki asked, trying to change the subject politely.

"Well, I was working at a convenience store a few weeks ago." Konata said.

"What happened with that?" Miyuki asked.

"Some punk was shoplifting something, so I tackled him as he was leaving." Konata said proudly.

"And they fired you for that?"

"Actually, as it turns out, he was the store manager taking out a defective product. I hadn't met him before, so I didn't know it was him." Konata said nervously.

"That's terrible." Miyuki said sympathetically.

"Oh that's nothing. You should hear some of the other ones." Konata said with a chuckle.

"Um. Maybe some other time." Miyuki said. "We should get back to work for now." She said as she led Konata out of the life-support control room.

Next thing Miyuki knew, another call was coming in on her RIG. "Go on ahead Konata-san." She said. "I need to take this."

"You got it boss!" Konata exclaimed with a fist pump as she ran ahead to check on the garbage disposal system.

"Hello mother, how are you today?" Miyuki asked as a kind looking pink-haired woman popped up on the display.

"Miyuki dear, hello." Miyuki's mother, Yukari, said with a smile. "I'm doing just fine today, and how are you?"

"Oh, I'm just fine. My new assistant is a bit strange though." Miyuki admitted.

"Strange? How so?" Yukari asked with a tilt of her head.

"Oh, it's nothing. She's just a bit eccentric is all." Miyuki said.

"I know you have a thing about helmets dear, but can't you just take it off to talk to your own mother?" Yukari asked with a pouty expression.

"Well, alright. I suppose I could take it off for a couple minutes." Miyuki said as her helmet retracted into the back of her suit, revealing her kind face, pink hair, and violet eyes.

"There, now isn't that better?" Yukari asked as her daughter retrieved her glasses from her inventory and put them on.

"I suppose it is more comfortable this way." Miyuki said.

"I know it's a dangerous job and all that, but it's almost a sin to hide that pretty face I gave you." Yukari said.

"Mother, you're embarrassing me!" Miyuki exclaimed as she held her cheeks and blushed.

"You're so adorable dear." Yukari giggled. "Anyways, when is your shift over? I've got something here that I'd like you to look at."

"Is something wrong, mother?" Miyuki asked, concern in her voice.

"Oh no, nothing serious. I keep thinking that I hear something in the walls though." She said. "It's probably just a loose bulkhead, but I'd feel much better if you were to take a look at it."

"Alright. My shift ends in a few hours." Miyuki said. "I'll check that out once I got home, okay?"

"Thank you so much dear." Yukari said gratefully. "I really appreciate it. See you when you get home." She said with a wave.

"Goodbye mother. I'll see you then." Miyuki said with a smile as the video feed cut out.

"So I have to wear a helmet at all times, but you don't?" Konata said mischievously as she snuck up behind Miyuki, surprising her.

"Konata-san! What are you doing?" Miyuki exclaimed just before noticing that Konata had taken off her helmet again.

"You're so moe when you're surprised." Konata giggled, wearing a cat-like grin.

"This was different." Miyuki said as she took off her glasses and her helmet wrapped itself around her head. "I was just talking to my mother for a minute."

"Alright, so can I keep it off as long as I'm talking to someone?" Konata asked hopefully.

"Konata-san, please don't be difficult." Miyuki asked with a sigh.

"Okay, okay." Konata said as her helmet wrapped around her head as well. "Level one engineer mode activated boss!" She exclaimed as she saluted.

"It's going to be a long shift." Miyuki thought with another sigh.

"Minami, thank you for everything." Yutaka said as she finished putting her clothes back on.

"I should be the one thanking you." Minami said as he straightened her lab coat. "Because of you, I feel like there's still a point in what I do."

"Aw, you don't mean that." Yutaka said with a blush.

"Of course I do." Minami said. "You used to be so sickly, but you've gotten so much stronger since we met. It's inspired me to keep going with this clinic." Minami said, grasping Yutaka's hands in her own. "Besides the fact that without you the clinic would be finished, the fact that I love you so much inspires me to continue my work as well." Minami said, looking into Yutaka's eyes.

"You really mean it?" Yutaka asked with sparkling green eyes.

"Of course I do." Minami said, pulling Yutaka into another shorter kiss.

"How much longer can we keep this hidden though?" Yutaka asked sadly.

"Hopefully we won't have to much longer." Minami said. "I want to be with you, no matter what other people think."

"Oh Minami, that makes me so happy!" Yutaka exclaimed as she hugged Minami tightly.

"Yutaka, it gets even better." Minami said as she reached into her coat pocket. Just as she was about to reveal what she was reaching for however, there was a knock on the door.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Ms. Iwasaki, but we have a serious case coming in. You'll want to see this one." Ayano said through the door.

"Always at the worst time." Minami grumbled as she put the mysterious item back into her coat pocket. "Sorry Yutaka, can we pick this back up later?"

"Sure thing." Yutaka said. "How about tomorrow around noon?" She asked.

"Okay. I'll see you then." Minami said as she gave Yutaka a peck on the cheek, causing her to blush and giggle.

"What's taking her so long?" A security officer with glasses and dark-green hair asked impatiently as she held a young man in a full nelson.

"I'm sure she'll be out in a second." Ayano said nervously just as Minami emerged from her office.

"What's going on here?" Minami exclaimed as she watched the scene unfold before her.

"They're coming!" The man screamed. "They're coming, and they'll kill every last one of us!" He screamed even more loudly.

"Officer, hold him still!" Minami exclaimed as she retrieved as syringe and a bottle of tranquilizer fluid.

"I'm trying!" The security officer growled as she tried to hold the man still.

"Here, this should calm you down." Minami said as she stuck the syringe into the man's neck and pushed the plunger.

"You're all gonna die!" He yelled, a bit more quietly this time. "You're all doomed!... All… All doomed…" He said weakly before finally passing out in the officer's arms.

"What was that all about?" Minami asked the officer.

"Sorry about that. I'm junior security officer Yui Narumi." The officer said as she lifted the now unconscious man and put him on a nearby bed. "I came here to say hello to my little sister when I saw this guy pull a gun and walk towards your clinic." She explained. "Do you know this man?" She asked.

"I do." Ayano said shamefully.

"Well who is he?" Yui asked, catching her breath.

"His name is Nikinari Kusakabe." Ayano said nervously. "He's my fiancée."

"Hey, you two behave over there!" A young brunette yelled at two misbehaving children.

"Sorry Ms. Kusakabe." They both said as they looked down shamefully.

"You ain't getting off that easy." Ms. Kusakabe said as she approached the two students. "What happened here?" She asked as she scowled, making sure to show off her abnormal fang.

"Well he started it!" One child said, pointing to the other.

"Nuh-uh!" The other boy retorted. "You totally started it!"

"Look, I don't care who started it, I just wanna know what happened!" The brunette said impatiently.

Before the boys could explain the situation, a voice link was opened on Ms. Kusakabe's RIG. "Ms. Misao Kusakabe, would you please come to my office?"

"I'm kind of in the middle of something Nanako." Misao grumbled.

"Now. It's very important." Nanako said as she cut the voice feed.

"Perfect." Misao grumbled. "You two got lucky this time. Just behave yourselves from now on, got it?"

"Yes Ma'am!" Both boys said quickly.

"Great, what does Ms. Kuroi want?" Misao wondered as she heard one of the boys speak as she was walking away.

"Wow, who'd have thought that we'd be saved by the principal?" He asked the other boy.

"Yeah, no kidding." Misao thought. "I hope this isn't bad news. She sounded pretty stressed out." Misao thought as she made her way to the principal's office. Misao knocked on the door and entered cautiously. "You wanted to see me Ma'am?" Misao asked.

"Misao, do you know where your brother is right now?" Ms. Kuroi asked, brushing a stray blonde bang out of her face.

"He should be at home right now." Misao said, raising an eyebrow at the strange question.

"Doesn't he have a job?" Nanako asked.

"Well yeah. He works in one of the mines down on the shard. He hasn't been feeling well, so they gave him some time off. Why?" Misao asked, beginning to get suspicious.

"He's down at the Iwasaki Clinic right now." Nanako said matter-of-factly.

"Oh my god, is he okay?" Misao asked.

"He's fine now, but he was acting very strangely." Nanako said. "I've given you permission to go down there and check on him. I've already arranged for someone to cover for you during P.E."

"Thank you very much Ms. Kuroi." Misao said with a polite bow as she turned to leave.

"Don't mention it." She said back. "Just go make sure your brother is okay."

"Right. Thanks again." Misao said as she ran for the Iwasaki Clinic.

"Welcome everyone, to Lucky News!" A very young girl with golden eyes and salmon hair squealed excitedly as she waved her arms up and down. "I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!" She said with a wink and a smile.

"And I'm her assistant, Minoru Shiraishi." A young, official looking man said calmly as he evened out a stack of papers on his desk and put them down in front of him.

"In today's news, I'm still super adorable and cute and stuff!" Akira chirped with another wink.

"Kagami, why do you even bother watching that show anyways?" Tsukasa asked as she sat down with her sister in front of the TV. "They never talk about anything important, and they make fun of Unitologists all the time."

"Yeah, but at least they're funny." Kagami said as she continued to watch the show.

"In today's actual news." Minoru said.

"I'll give you some actual news." Akira said darkly.

"Anyways..." Minoru said nervously. "There was an incident at the Iwasaki Family Trust Clinic today when an armed man entered and was subdued by security officer Yui Narumi. We will now go to our reporter on the scene, Mr. Daisuke Ono."

"Hello Shiraishi, you're looking as stuffy as ever." Daisuke said, fanning his hair back dreamily.

"Thank you for that." Minoru said flatly. "So, would you like to tell us what's going on down there?"

"Well, the situation seems to have been resolved thanks to the actions of officer Narumi and doctor Iwasaki." Daisuke said, motioning to the nervously waving officer. "According to our sources, the suspect is one Nikinari Kusakabe, and will be kept at the clinic under request of psychiatrist Ayano Minegishi. As of this time, no charges are being placed. Back to you Ms. Kogami."

"Well there you have it." Minoru said. "In other news- OW!" Minoru yelled as Akira stepped on his foot under the desk.

"I'm the actual newscaster, so I get more screen time than the assistant. GOT IT?" Akira yelled as Kagami turned off the TV.

"See Tsukasa, they have real news every so often." Kagami said.

"I guess you're right sis." Tsukasa said. "They still seem to be really unprofessional though."

"Yeah, I'll give you that." Kagami sighed.

"So, are you ready to talk about today yet sis?" Tsukasa asked hopefully.

"Tsukasa, I'd really rather not get into this with you right now." Kagami sighed.

"Please sis. It feels like you've been drifting away from the rest of the family, and I'm worried." Tsukasa said in a worried tone of voice.

"Tsukasa, I'm not the one drifting away." Kagami said as she turned to look at her sister. "Its all of you that seem to be moving away from me." She said.

"What do you mean, sis?"

"I mean it seems like the church is more important to all of you than anything else!" Kagami snapped. "You all just throw credits at the church, even you!" She said, pointing an accusatory finger at Tsukasa. "Even after you got a steady job, more than half of every paycheck went right to the church!"

"But Kagami, I'm just showing my faith in Altman and the Marker." Tsukasa said, clutching her Marker pendant and looking hurt.

"Then show it in some way that doesn't force ME to pick up all the slack! While you're paying for whatever the church is actually doing, I'm the one keeping us in a barely stable living environment. This apartment doesn't pay for itself after all!" Kagami yelled.

"But Kagami, none of that will matter after convergence." Tsukasa said. "We will all be one people, one mind, and one purpose."

"And just what is that one purpose, Tsukasa?" Kagami asked skeptically.

"That isn't up to me to decide." Tsukasa said.

"So who is it up to? Dad? The Church?"

"Yes Kagami!" Tsukasa exclaimed. "I don't see why you can't just trust the church!" She yelled, beginning to tear up.

"Because I'm not a mindless sheep! And I'm not some lapdog to the church either!" Kagami yelled back. "I ask questions, and the church doesn't like questions! They only like blind followers like you and the rest of our family!" Kagami yelled as she left and locked herself in her room.

"Kagami!" Tsukasa called after her twin.

"Leave me alone for now!" Kagami yelled through her door.

"Kagami…" Tsukasa said quietly before retreating to her room to pray.

"Nikinari, where are you?" Misao asked loudly as she entered the Iwasaki Family Trust Clinic.

"He's in here, Misao." Ayano said from the other room.

"Ayano, what's going on?" Misao asked when she saw her brother unconscious and strapped to a bed. "Why is he tied down?"

"They said it's for our safety." Ayano said. "We'd like to keep him here overnight so that we can keep an eye on him, but I said that we should ask you first. Sorry to cut into your day like this."

"Why? What's the matter with him?" Misao asked.

"Well, he was acting very strangely, and he kept telling us that we were going to die." Ayano said, the words causing obvious pain as she said them.

"He's been acting strangely since he got put on sick leave from the mines on the shard. Was it really bad enough to sedate him though?" Misao asked as she looked her brother over.

"He had a gun." Ayano said sadly. "According to officer Narumi's testimony, he looked like he planned to use it too."

"Why would he do that though?" Misao asked, looking at her unconscious brother with concern. "You're his fiancée. Why would he do something like this?"

"I don't rightly know, but his actions seemed consistent with a lot of patients that we've been getting lately." Ayano said sadly. "We've been getting a lot of people claiming that others were doomed. Most of them were either miners on the shard like Nikinari, or they were Unitologists."

"What do those rock-worshippers have to do with this?" Misao asked.

"Well, I'm not saying that they had something to do with it. It's just that a lot of them seem to be developing some form of psychosis or another." Ayano explained. "A lot of them have come in saying that they've been seeing apparitions of loved ones telling them that 'convergence is coming' and whatnot."

"I always knew those marker-heads were crazy." Misao sighed. "So how is he doing?" She asked, motioning to her brother.

"He's stable, and the sedatives should wear off in a couple of hours." Ayano said. "I'd like to perform a full psychoanalysis on him before I let him go though. So back to why I called you here, may we keep him here overnight?"

"Sure thing." Misao said. "Just make sure he's alright. I'm counting on you."

"Okay. I'll do my best." Ayano said as Misao waved and left the clinic.

"There! Finally, we're all done!" Konata exclaimed as she retracted her helmet and breathed a sigh of relief. She had just finished repairing a circuit in the garbage disposal system.

"Good work Konata-san." Miyuki said as she removed her helmet as well and put her glasses on. "That circuit is back up to one hundred percent efficiency thanks to you. You didn't even need my help this time!" Miyuki said proudly.

"It was nothing." Konata said with obviously false modesty. "So our shift is over now, right?"

"That's right." Miyuki said happily. "You can go on home now if you like. I need to go home now too to take care of something." She said as she waved goodbye.

"Okay. See ya later Miyuki-san!" Konata called as she turned to leave as well. When she did though, she nearly screamed as she saw something unexpected and fell over. "N- No way!" She exclaimed as she rubbed her eyes in disbelief. When she opened them again however, what she had seen was gone. "Mom?" Konata asked quietly. "Was that you?" She asked the empty corridor.

Author's Notes: Whew! That was much longer than most of my chapters of Lucky Temptations. Well, I won't take too much of your valuable reviewing time with these author's notes, so I'll just say to tell me what you think so far. I've already got the story pretty much planned out, so you can expect semi-frequent updates.

Look forward to it!