Disclaimer: The novel series of Suzumiya Haruhi that began with 'The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi' is the creation of Nagaru Tanigawa. No disrespect is intended by the posting of this fanfiction, as I do not own the characters or settings involved. I'm merely dabbling with another set of paints. TVtropes(dot)org is part of the public domain, I think? I actually couldn't find a 'legal' section on the site! Additional characters are borrowed from Higurashi, which is the creation of Ryukishi07.
Notes: Count the tropes! Save, collect, trade for swell prizes!
"Chapter Four: Delegation"
"...so that means, if you're leading, you have to lead. That sometimes means delegating things you can do yourself, so you can lead others. Don't get this mixed up with 'not getting your hands dirty'; you should be capable, but know when to let people better suited to handling the situation do so."
"Methods of Victory" -- T.H.
She was vaguely aware of not being in her right mind, but after everything she'd been through, she found herself not particularly caring at the moment. Probably, that was what 'not being in the right mind' meant. She didn't really stop to think about that, though.
Her power was limited, but she was by no means powerless. She continued compressing the van with her ability, the tires screeching loudly against the pavement, until the driver suddenly stopped accelerating and threw the vehicle in reverse. Instead of slowly dragging it toward her, it launched backward, too fast for her--
Somehow, a few meters short of hitting her, the van suddenly stopped, as she released her power, and the rear dented, as though folded around some invisible curved wall between her and it. A cloud of smoke erupted from the ground near back of the van, obscuring it from her view, but smoke was a thing, too, not a person. So she could manipulate that, and within a few short moments forced it flat to the ground, like a liquid.
"You don't get away that easily," she growled. When the smoke was clear, though, the crumpled back of the vehicle had been opened, a large smooth hole with a glowing red rim, as though something incredibly hot had sliced through the metal. Haruhi took a moment to catch her breath, another gesture tearing the gun from the shaking grip of the van's passenger, and began to compress it again--
"Suzumiya-san, I think I speak for Kyon when I say ... that's enough," someone behind her said.
"Who--" She broke eye contact with the pair trapped in the van and glared over her shoulder at Koizumi.
The usually polite, always subservient esper shook his head sharply. "I feel that Kyon-kun needs your help right now," he warned. "More than this."
Haruhi's powers suddenly failed her, the veneer of calm shattering. "K...Kyon's okay?" she asked, hearing her voice crack.
Koizumi gave a pained smile. "I can assure you, he will recover," the esper promised solemnly.
She took another breath, feeling strangely unsteady. She stumbled toward Kyon's form on the ground. The yakuza who had called him 'Aniki' first was kneeling at his side, looking strangely confused. Kyon's shirt had been torn open, and evidently Kyon was wearing another shirt beneath it. A solid black skin-tight affair; strangely reflective, showing no clear sign of where the bullets had hit, or where he was bleeding.
"Step away from him," the somewhat familiar voice of Mori called, kneeling on Kyon's other side, and hurriedly checking his vitals. A pair of medics in uniform behind her lifted his form onto a gurney before she or Mori could try and inspect him more closely, and a heartbeat later another pair collected Mikuru.
"Nee-chan," the yakuza warned, "this is our Aniki; if you don't know what you're doing...."
"We don't have time for that," Mori snapped, frowning. The medics were shouting instructions to care for Kyon, yelling things about vital signs.... So that meant ... that Kyon must be alive.
When the yakuza thug looked about ready to throw a punch at Mori, the woman fixed him with a sharp stare. "If you want to call me 'nee-chan', then you should realize that Kyon-san is important to us, too," she growled. "We should be working together. In fact, we would be meeting to discuss it tomorrow, if this hadn't happened."
Haruhi shook her head; this wasn't her problem. She wanted to go with Kyon, to make sure he was alright. She turned to dash toward the ambulance before he was loaded into it. "Suzumiya-san," Koizumi called from behind her.
She turned to give the boy an irritable stare. "I'm going to go with Kyon," she told him.
"I respect that," Koizumi said, ducking his head. "However, I can assure you again, Kyon-kun will recover. More importantly, there are several difficulties with our current situation. With Kyon-kun ... indisposed at the moment, well. We have no vice commander; will our commander also desert us, in our time of difficulty?"
Her mouth dropped open as she stared at him.
Koizumi felt like he was participating in a three-ring circus, at the moment. For all his 'warning', he'd not arrived in the timely manner he had hoped. Haruhi was on the verge of mental collapse, and he couldn't imagine what would happen if she hadn't been stopped before she crushed the two in the minivan.
In the meantime, the street was public, shops and restaurants lining it. There had been a number of witnesses, and many of them had seen Haruhi use her power. Granted, there hadn't been any obvious lines of force, but her gestures and the van's actions.... Those things coincided. People would have noticed, at least some of them.
Worse, aside from the innocents, there were at least a dozen men wearing very similar pins, what Koizumi guessed to be Tsuruya's yakuza. Kyon used a different word from them, but Koizumi didn't feel involved enough to do the same. Once Haruhi had stopped pulling on the van, the Tsuruya men swarmed it, dragging all three of the attackers to one side of the street and holding them in place.
This didn't sit particularly well with the six members of the Organization on the scene. Mori herself was in charge of the civilian ambulance crew, but the pair of police-uniformed Tamaru brothers were still actually members of the police. The remaining pair of plainclothes observers weren't armed or of sufficient skill to take on the superior numbers of organized criminals.
At Koizumi's reminder, in reality a message from Kyon, Haruhi stilled, staring at the ambulances as they started to move away, her eyes shining. Before she said anything, a pair of black cars screeched into the area, Arakawa narrowly avoiding a collision with Tsuruya's limousine.
The green-haired heiress and the second-in-command of the Organization exited their cars together, surveying the scene.
And as if that weren't enough, Koizumi could feel the raw worry running through Haruhi at the moment. She was an emotional mess ... what was Kyon thinking, sending such a message back in time through the esper like that? Why was so much still unclear to him?
But then, as Tsuruya dashed to Haruhi's side and began demanding an explanation, and Arakawa moved to stand next to Mori, Koizumi felt an odd surge of confidence just crushing aside all of Haruhi's doubt, fear, and worry. In one smooth move, she reached into her handbag and whipped out an armband. "I need a whistle, or a megaphone," Haruhi snapped, glancing between Tsuruya and Koizumi while she pinned the armband in place on her sleeve.
Tsuruya looked at a loss in her kimono, but fumbled through her waistband before giving an apologetic shake of her head. "I can whistle really loud?" she suggested.
"Do it," Haruhi ordered.
Placing two fingers in her mouth, the Tsuruya heiress unleashed an incredibly long, loud, and piercing whistle. Koizumi couldn't help but clap his hands over his ears and wince at the noise.
When she stopped, everyone had turned to stare at her, and the pair near her. "Cut! I said cut!" Haruhi yelled, waving the arm with the 'Ultra Director' armband over her head in an exaggerated motion. "Good work, everyone! Great take! That's a wrap!" She beamed a bright smile all around, nodding as she clapped her hands together. "Okay! Police crew, take the suspect actors to the next set -- yakuza extras, you're going to get a break before we shoot the interview scenes! NPA actors, you're with us!"
Koizumi blinked slowly as the observers to the scene suddenly broke into spontaneous applause, looking at one another and claiming to have known it was a movie shoot all along.
When one of the boys who had attacked Kyon put up a struggle, Haruhi yelled, "I said cut! Stop screwing around or you might get injured before your next scene!" Suddenly cowed, all three let themselves get patted down and shoved into the back of the police car.
Mori and Arakawa strode together to Haruhi's side. "Well done," she remarked quietly. "Kyon-san is being taken to a hospital that our Organization controls. What should we do with those three?"
"I have an idea," Tsuruya said darkly, not smiling at all. "I know that man, that leader of them.... Kyon beat him up real good -- he's Sumiyoshi-rengo. His name is Watanabe." She turned to look at Haruhi. "Haruhi-san, this is my fault. I did a poor job, and I took too long to make time for an important meeting between myself and Mori-san to arrange things properly."
The formally attired girl bowed at the waist, not rising. "Please allow me to handle them, to make up for my mistake!"
"I agree that the fault is probably yours," Mori grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "If you hadn't dragged Kyon-san into your mess--"
"Shut up," Haruhi snapped, watching quiet tears roll down Tsuruya's shadowed face. "Not now, Mori-san. And no, Tsuruya-san; I won't let you do that. It's become all of our problem, and we'll deal with it together. First things first, this is no place for such a discussion. I'm guessing it'll be a problem for you if we have this discussion at Tsuruya-san's place.... Mori-san, you say your Organization controls a hospital? Do they have conference rooms there? Near Kyon?"
"Yes," Mori allowed, nodding.
"Then we'll go there," Haruhi decided. "One last important thing-- Where's Miyoko-chan?"
"Who?"
"There was a little girl, she went to see the movie with us," Haruhi explained, frowning. "We were only even here because of her! Don't tell me she got lost! At this hour? With all of this going on!?"
Koizumi didn't remember seeing a little girl.... His phone buzzed with an incoming text, and he checked it, only mildly surprised to see it was from Kyon: "Miyoko-chan is safe."
"She's fine," he assured Haruhi. "One of our most trusted men is taking care of her."
She studied his expression for a moment, before declaring, "You look very confident when you say that, so, okay. Let's go!"
Nerves still somewhat rattled, even if she was certain she could handle things, Haruhi accepted a cup of coffee from Koizumi as they took their seats around an impressive wooden table in one of the upper floors of the hospital. The same hospital that she had camped out in when Kyon had been in a coma during the winter, actually, which made sense when she realized the Organization controlled it.
She sat at the head of the table, Tsuruya to her right, and Koizumi to her left. Past Tsuruya was a rather imposing yakuza who Haruhi recognized as the heiress's bodyguard and sometimes driver, Kasai. Mori sat just past Koizumi.
Arakawa was there, too, but standing near the door as an attendant, and a little past Kasai was Mikuru, who hadn't been injured, just fainted from shock. "Okay," Haruhi said softly, closing her eyes and wrapping her hands around the cup, letting the heat from the coffee soothe her nerves. She doubted she'd drink any, as anxious as she was.
"Let's take stock of things," she continued, peering into the beverage. "I really don't like heading into situations when I don't know the circumstances. First of all, even if we did fool some people into thinking we were shooting a scene from a movie or something, that's still an awful lot of commotion for a city street."
"I agree," Mori said, frowning. "The Tamaru brothers are actual police officers. Right now we've got the three assailants, but once they're actually taken in, they leave Organization custody -- something a bit out of our hands." She gave an inquisitive, meaningful look at Tsuruya.
The green-haired girl shook her head and made a curious gesture of negation with one hand, turning to look at Kasai. The larger man coughed politely, saying, "I'm afraid that we don't have the sway to influence the police department to that degree. Because this is not only an attack, but a gun control violation, and it involves members of a boryokudan -- that is to say, the Sumiyoshi-rengo -- the National Police Agency will be involved. It's not going to be smoothed over easily."
Mori nodded at that, crossing her arms over her chest. "This is a bit beyond our control," she said, shrugging.
"We could arrange for them to be disposed of," Tsuruya said quietly. "We don't need to involve your police plants in that, but it will become ... difficult to manage, and the NPA will still investigate, which could cause a lot of trouble for our family."
"I don't think Kyon would be happy if we killed anyone," Haruhi mumbled. Koizumi nodded his agreement, while Mikuru made a nervous, sick noise, shaking slightly in her seat. Okay, enough was enough; Mikuru wasn't up for this. "Mikuru-chan, why don't you and Arakawa-san go pick up Yuki-chan? She'll probably want to know what's going on as well, right?"
"Y...yes," Mikuru agreed, rising from her seat. "I can do that, absolutely." Arakawa nodded, and the pair left together, briefly revealing another plainclothes Organization member, and another of Tsuruya's henchmen, standing guard and conversing quietly in the hall.
Still.... Even if Kyon would be unhappy with anyone being killed.... Haruhi felt a nauseated lump in the pit of her stomach. She was about to try and crush the pair because she thought that Kyon.... That he.... If it weren't for Koizumi's intercession, she felt she would have done something very regrettable.
"In that case," Koizumi remarked, picking up on her agitation, "I believe we can agree that it's best -- for the moment, at least -- to let the police handle this."
"My father really likes Kyon-kun," Tsuruya said quietly, her face bowed. "He's ... going to be really, really mad that this happened. It's possible...." She looked up and gave a sad smile, shrugging apologetically.
"That...." Haruhi felt some strange surge of amusement and shook her head, chuckling. "Damn, I just realized, I'm stuck with Kyon's paperwork again!"
Tsuruya blinked, her smile turning cautiously amused.
"Anyway," Haruhi continued, shaking her head, "I'm sure you can convince your father to talk to Kyon, first. And if you think Kyon's good at negotiating, we can leave that much to him. Still, if this goes to the police, Mori-san, what can we expect in the course of their investigation?"
"Well," the woman said slowly, pausing to sip at her coffee, "naturally, they're going to want to poll witnesses. The NPA will also undoubtedly have entries on at least some members of Tsuruya-san's organization. This means we can expect everyone at the crime scene to be under some scrutiny, even if just for a little while. Ah ... complex background checks, interviews, that sort of thing. They'll also ask about the 'movie' situation."
"We can come up with a cover story for that, then," Haruhi said, shaking her head. "I think it's safe to go ahead and have the Tamaru brothers bring those three in to the police, in any case. Surely we have at least until tomorrow morning before things become very complicated?"
"At least," Mori agreed, pulling her phone from her pocket. "If you'll excuse me a moment...." The conference room had a quartet of adjoining, smaller side rooms, and the woman retreated to one of those.
"Likewise, I must give Tsuruya-sama an update on the situation," Kasai said, rising from his seat and bowing, pausing long enough to receive Tsuruya's nod of permission before he left.
Koizumi also rose. "I'll get an update on Kyon-kun's status, Suzumiya-san," he said, smiling cautiously. "I shouldn't be long."
While they were alone, Haruhi released her coffee cup and moved to Tsuruya's side. "Stand up," she ordered the taller girl.
Tsuruya did so, not meeting her eyes. "You're too mad at yourself to focus properly," Haruhi accused. "You feel powerless because something bad happened that you didn't see coming, right?"
The heiress nodded, wincing. "Yeah," she allowed. "That's right."
"Kyon's not usually the type for revenge, I think," Haruhi said, giving a weak smile. "I don't know if I can speak for him, but Koizumi says he knows for sure that Kyon is going to be okay. I guess I'll have to apologize for calling him a 'creepy stalker'; after all, it sure came in handy today! Anyway, I'm going to go out on a limb and say ... Kyon wouldn't want you trying to shoulder all that weight. Because ... I was with Kyon when it happened! I did even less, and I actually have a power!"
Tsuruya looked up, surprised. "But--" she started, before Haruhi silenced her with a gesture.
"I have to believe that Kyon will forgive you -- in fact, that dummy probably won't even think to blame you! So, I can't let you blame yourself, either, because if you can be blamed," she said, her voice thickening as her own eyes teared up again, "then so can I. And I don't think I could bear that from him!"
Tsuruya sobbed once, then wrapped her arms around Haruhi and squeezed, almost painfully tightly. Haruhi hugged the taller girl back just as fiercely.
"We have to get through this by leaning on each other," she continued, whispering into Tsuruya's ear, "because we can't all just depend on Kyon. I mean, if we did, he could never lean on any of us, could he? You know that, right?"
"I should," Tsuruya sniffled. "But Kyon-kun ... is very important to me! That he's hurt.... I feel so mad that I let it happen!"
"I know," Haruhi soothed, "I feel the same way. It's got you so shaken, you're not even adding your extra 'sa' sound."
Tsuruya made a hiccuping noise, half laugh, half sob. "Sorry," she managed. "It's strange.... It goes away when I'm stressed, instead of opposite. Father's the same way."
"We'll get through this," Haruhi repeated, patting Tsuruya's back. "And Mikuru-chan is going to bring Yuki-chan, so we can all work together and figure things out."
"Right!" Tsuruya agreed, releasing Haruhi and wiping at her eyes, managing to smile again. "You're absolutely right. I'm glad I'm your subordinate in the brigade; that makes this easier for me. But, let's be fair! You can lean on me, too, just like you said."
They sat back down, Tsuruya offering a handkerchief for Haruhi's tears. As she wiped her face, Haruhi said, "Mikuru-chan's really shaken up by this, too ... you think she'll be okay?"
"With our help," Tsuruya said, her vocal tremor fading. "We just need to make sure she knows she can lean on us. She's my friend, but sometimes I think she's reluctant to depend on us, you know?"
"Yeah, but we can overcome that," Haruhi replied, smiling.
Arakawa was a skilled driver, Mikuru was certain. His driving seemed reckless, and should have been nerve wracking ... but she was already too agitated by everything else to really feel nervous about getting into an accident when the car skidded around corners and barely made lights. Thankfully, she had programmed Yuki's number into her phone a long time ago. Her trembling hands wouldn't have held steady long enough to dial the number manually.
The phone rang twice before Yuki's quiet breathing came across the line. "Um," Mikuru said, "Nagato-san, this is Asahina Mikuru. Um, um, something has happened to Kyon-- K...Koizumi says he's going to be okay, but...." She trailed off. "W...well, anyway, we'll be at your apartment soon to pick you up, is that okay?"
"Understood," was the clipped reply, as the phone abruptly disconnected.
Arakawa pulled into the driveway of Yuki's apartment complex, and somehow -- as though she had simply hopped down from the balcony of her apartment -- Yuki was already there. In almost no time, Yuki was seated next to Mikuru in the back of the car. "There is ... interference," Yuki remarked, her impassive gaze staring forward while Arakawa sped out of the parking lot and back toward the hospital. "Cross-temporal loops and wide-band 'noise' signal are preventing accurate scans."
"What?" Mikuru asked, blinking. Cross-temporal loops...? Well, she wasn't precisely sensitive to that, but.... She contacted her superior, querying about the situation. Surely if it were anything near the scale of a time quake.... What sort of strange time loops would be happening right at that moment? Was some other time traveler interfering with the event -- or trying to -- where Kyon had gotten injured?
The immediate response was from her supervisor, that mostly anonymous entity that usually gave her instructions. "Confer with local authority?" she repeated aloud, mystified. And how had the response come so quickly? There was almost always a twenty to thirty second delay ... except, she realized, for matters relating to Kyon.
Yuki turned to look at her, staring silently.
"S...sorry," she said with a grimace. "My superior isn't helpful, right now; I actually don't know anything."
"What is the situation?" Yuki asked.
Trembling at the memory, and cursing her weakness for fainting with Kyon when he collapsed, Mikuru took a deep breath. "K...Kyon-kun was ... shot by some enemy. Um. I guess ... they were from some violence group?"
Yuki's gaze turned piercing. "What is his status?" she asked, a tiny amount of heat in her voice.
"He's okay," Mikuru managed, swallowing nervously. "K...Koizumi seems very ... very confident that he'll be fine, for some reason."
Relaxing very slightly, Yuki nodded. "I ... want to see him," she declared.
Mikuru nodded back. "I can understand," she murmured, lowering her voice. No telling how sharp Arakawa's hearing was, though. "I.... It may be a bit selfish of me, but ... I have a personal request for you."
Yuki didn't react, except to give a tiny nod a minute later.
"We're here," Arakawa announced, stepping out of the car and opening the door for Mikuru.
The girls got out together, Yuki walking at a swift pace to the door. Mikuru wondered at the other girl's restraint, given that she'd seen Yuki win a footrace with no real sign of effort. In fact, she knew from a scientific standpoint when she had accidentally fired a laser at Kyon, Yuki was capable of moving faster than the speed of light. Was it a limitation of being severed from the IDSE, or her own self control that kept her to Mikuru's pace?
Soon enough, they were standing before the doorway to the Intensive Care Unit, where a haggard looking Koizumi waited, starting slightly and giving a weak smile when he saw the pair. "You got here quite quickly," he remarked.
"His status?" Yuki queried.
"Ah ... the surgeons are being daunted by something ... they told me they aren't sure what it is -- like a layer of paint on his body? They cannot cut or pierce it, so even though he is unconscious at the moment, they can't operate." He grimaced. "I'm worried it's some sort of attack."
Yuki relaxed slightly, and Mikuru was startled to realize that she could notice such displays from the girl. This ordeal was making even Yuki respond emotionally.... "Tactical armor," Yuki said. "Simultaneously functioning as an emergency medical compress if activated after injury. I previously modified his chronometer to provide this as an emergency protective function."
Koizumi's mouth dropped open. "He had some sort of armor attached to his watch?" he asked, surprised. He shook his head, grinning as he recovered his wits. "That explains a bit; they found flattened bullets in his clothing, too. Then, I suppose he was actually only injured the first time, before the armor activated to protect him?"
Yuki closed her eyes and cocked her head to one side. "Yes," she agreed, eyes opening. "I can deactivate the armor and restore his injuries, but security measures and other technical limitations will necessitate physical contact."
Koizumi nodded slowly. "Okay," he said, crossing his arms over his chest, "for the moment, unless it's going to put him at risk, it would be better for our situation here to actually let the doctors work on him, instead of healing him immediately. Not every doctor there is in completely under Organization control. And also, because of that ... I'm not certain that I am capable of getting you access to him through legitimate channels while he's behind this door."
"Understood," Yuki replied, vanishing into nothingness.
Koizumi sighed at that, looking about curiously. "Where...?"
"Now I can believe everything is going to be okay," Mikuru breathed.
"Right," Koizumi decided, straightening, offering her his practiced smile. "I'm going to report back to Suzumiya-san. Would you care to come with me?"
"I'll wait here for Nagato-san," she demurred, unable to smile back. Even if things were going to work out....
He nodded, seeming to understand. "Then, we'll see you later," he remarked, heading swiftly down the hallway.
Yuki returned not long after, reassuming a visible form at Mikuru's side. "Your request?" Yuki asked, once more wrapped in her calm, unaffected demeanor.
"Ah, yes," Mikuru mumbled. "Um, let's find a room to discuss this privately?"
The meeting reconvened, Tsuruya seeming more herself, and Haruhi's own confidence bolstered by her connection with the other girl. She did wish that Mikuru and Yuki would hurry up, though....
Koizumi returned to the room just a bit after Mori, and then Kasai returned, rubbing at one ear and frowning at his phone. "Any updates?" Haruhi asked, taking control of the meeting again.
"Nagato-san and Asahina-san are here," Koizumi reported as he took his seat again. "Thanks to Nagato-san, ah, it turns out that Kyon-kun wasn't that badly injured in the first place. Suffice to say that he is in capable hands for the time being."
Haruhi very badly wanted to berate Koizumi for giving such a vague update, but realized the meeting couldn't just focus on Kyon's status. There were other, more intimidating factors to deal with yet. "Good," she said, nodding. Especially about the part where Kyon hadn't been hurt as badly as she'd been afraid. "We'll want to discuss that later. Mori-san?"
"Our three criminals are in police custody," Mori replied. "We can guess that the NPA is being notified, and will have investigators here by morning. Likewise, by tomorrow morning, this will reach the news circuit. It's worth pointing out that inevitable as it may be, the story the criminals tell is unlikely to mesh with whatever cover we give."
"Bit late for that," Tsuruya remarked. "Ooh, wait, how abouts this? We were shooting a movies, but one of the gunmen had real bullets instead of blanks?"
"Someone would need to take the role of incompetent producer and spend time in jail for that," Kasai noted, grimacing. "For movies, you're supposed to use a special firearm that only holds blanks. With gun control laws as they are in this country, there's no way a regular firearm with blank rounds should end up on a set."
"I like Tsuruya's angle, though," Haruhi opined. "We don't need a 'fall guy'; we can keep the blame entirely on those three. They were supposed to have stunt firearms and switched in their own -- and we don't know how, because they're criminals. Figuring out the why and how is someone else's problem."
"That ... sounds fairly plausible," Mori allowed, tapping her lower lip. "Ah, I do have the names of those three -- in fact, Kyon has bad history with all of them, it seems. Ryuguu Ryo, Yamane Jun, and Watanabe Daichi."
"All members of that ring that Tsuruya-san and Kyon exposed," Haruhi mused. "So, we say ... we were producing a dramatic re-enactment, and those three gave false names to get onto the set as extras? Hmm, it still sounds like someone has to be incompetent for them to have made it."
"A dramatic re-enactment of the events would be too suspicious, I think," Mori said, shaking her head. "There were no actual guns involved in the original incidents, and any producer or director should have been familiar enough with the story to become very suspicious of such people joining the cast. I suppose it does seem that the 'movie' excuse is best ... if we gather enough in the way of evidence to make it look plausible, at least. I'm not honestly clear on the legality of that."
Kasai sighed softly. "We probably cannot produce a permit to film on the street before the NPA ask to see it," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Furthermore, we didn't have written permission from all those bystanders who would ostensibly have appeared in the shot. So, that's not legal, either."
"What's the penalty for thats, though?" Tsuruya mused. "Probably just a fine?"
"A fine," Kasai agreed. "Likely to include some very unreasonable markups for the road, the damaged vehicle left in the street, possibly noise and public nuisance violations, and whatever else the official we've annoyed can think of."
"Okay," Tsuruya said, nodding. "I'm going to ask Father if anyone's willing to play 'producer', and then we can back him, and pay off the fines."
"This sounds like a plan," Haruhi noted, rising. "I understand there's a lot left to be figured out, but Kasai-san, Mori-san, I believe I can leave that to you. Koizumi will stay to help out as the SOS Brigade's liaison. Tsuruya-san and I are going to find out where Mikuru-chan and Yuki-chan are." Truthfully, she had just spat out the first quick idea that had come to her ... the fact that Mori and Kasai seemed likely to be able to spin it into a plausible cover story.... It wasn't anything she was likely to complain about soon.
"Right," Tsuruya agreed, smiling. "Okies! Koizumi-kun and I can work out further liaison details later. Kasai has my number if you need me."
"Understood, Tsuruya-san," Kasai agreed, nodding.
"Thank you, Suzumiya-san," Mori said, smiling. "I'm glad you're able to take charge in such a situation."
"Take charge?" Haruhi asked, over her shoulder on the way to the door. "Kyon's my subordinate, don't you forget!"
Tsuruya chuckled at that, shaking her head. "Aren't we all, though?" she asked.
"Yeah, but they get off easy.... They only need to figure out how to deal with police and the NPA. We have to figure out what to tell Kyon's parents!"
After finding a small room, empty except for the pair of them, Mikuru nervously licked her lips and had immense difficulty meeting Yuki's eyes. "Um, Nagato-san," she began, tremulously, "I don't know how else to ask this, so I may be a bit blunt.... Please forgive me for that."
Yuki blinked, saying nothing.
Taking a breath to collect herself, Mikuru blurted out, "I need your help to not be so weak!"
Some strange expression flickered, too briefly to read, on the other girl's face. "Expound," she uttered.
Her face coloring, Mikuru wrung her hands in agitation, staring at the floor. "W...when Kyon-kun was attacked," she explained tremulously, "I was worthless! I couldn't.... I didn't do anything but faint! Kyon-kun...." She felt her eyes tear up. "Kyon-kun needs people who are better able to help him out! I'm envious of you, Nagato-san. You can do so much, and you're.... You're an amazing person! Really, I feel that between the two of us, I'm more of an 'interface' than you.
"Kyon-kun can ask you for help reliably, and you can make your own decisions. I can only beg my superiors to let me help, and ... and...." She realized that tears were streaming down her face, and stared at the floor. "S...so, I'm asking ... no, I'm begging you.... Please ... help me do something to be better able to help Kyon-kun! Looking cute, being good at cooking and sewing.... I'm just like a doll; pretty to look at, but with no practical use!"
She sniffled, her already heavily used handkerchief wiping at her eyes. "It's strange," Mikuru continued, mumbling. "When ... you were connected to the data entity, I was ... scared to be alone with you, and had a terrible feeling.... But, but now you're independent, and I think you're admirable. And ... I wish I were even the tiniest bit as strong as you!
"D...during the snow mountain incident this winter, when you were sick, I was so useless that when Kyon-kun actually asked me for help, I treated it like a joke. So, because of things like that ... I think that even if Kyon-kun thinks of me as a friend, he believes that I'm not reliable enough to depend on! And I don't know if I can bear that any longer!"
Finally raising her eyes to meet Yuki's, she found the shorter girl gazing at her with a strange, unreadable look in her eyes.
"The indicated discrepancies do not automatically correlate to significant value differences," Yuki said, blinking. "I am uncertain how to proceed."
Mikuru swallowed, bowing her head and looking away. "I guess, even for you ... making me a strong person isn't possible," she managed, her eyes tearing again.
"I am uncertain as to the meaning of 'strength' in this instance," Yuki clarified. She shifted her shoulders slightly, and her gaze seemed more penetrating, and simultaneously more clouded. "At one point it was observed that I might be envious of you."
Mikuru felt her face color again and nodded, looking away.
"Upon reflection," the humanoid interface continued, "I have realized that this is true. You have an ability to ... express yourself that I cannot even mimic with a high degree of accuracy. I term this ability on your part to be a 'strength' that I do not possess, and possibly never will to what would be termed even an adequate degree." She blinked slowly. "I do not understand how causing you to have difficulty expressing yourself would be a 'strength'."
"B...but," Mikuru protested, "you were able to ask Kyon-kun to help you when the Integrated Data Sentience Entity wanted to terminate you! You could express yourself for that, right?"
Yuki shook her head in negation. "I was unable to do so. The possibility of such a thing did not occur to me. It is only because I was not able to make such a request that I was allowed to explain the situation to him, and ask to spend the last moments of my existence with him."
Mikuru stared, shocked out of feeling sorry for herself. "Y...you were expecting to die!? I don't know if I can accept that!"
Yuki gave a terse nod in response. "Similarly, he could not accept it either. I was ... disappointed ... that I requested his presence for ... myself, and he chose to involve others." Yuki struggled, her expression shifting, and didn't quite smile. "Now, however, I believe that his solution was superior, and wish I had that 'strength' that he possesses."
Mikuru's mouth dropped open, and without realizing she had done so, she seized Yuki's shoulders. "You didn't even want to live!?" she cried, nearly a yell. "No! Do you have any idea how much that would hurt Kyon-kun?! Or the rest of us!?"
"Again," Yuki said softly, visibly struggling for words, "I lack that 'strength'. It is ... difficult ... but with time, I ... hope that I may slowly become ... stronger."
Mikuru wasn't certain what had come over her. All this time, she'd built an image of Yuki as little more than a human-shaped alien entity ... occasionally very girl like. But Yuki was trying so hard to become more than that.... She'd never even thought to try and consider things extensively from the alie-- From the other girl's point of view.
She had an unnerving sense that Kyon simply understood Yuki more clearly, and without nearly as much effort. He was so easy around her....
"M...maybe," she said, her voice quavering slightly, "we can meet in the middle somewhere, and both become stronger?"
"I ... want that," Yuki managed, her eyes shimmering.
Sniffling, Mikuru seized Yuki in a hug, and slowly, somewhat mechanically, the shorter girl returned it. "I'm sorry," Mikuru whispered. "Even just hearing your story and knowing that you see me that way.... I feel stronger already, maybe. Right?"
"It becomes difficult to breathe," Yuki's voice came, muffled. "Is this ... appropriate?"
Mikuru squeaked, releasing Yuki and blushing. "S...sorry," she said again, feeling very foolish. "But, yes. Friends who are close, at least among girls can hug ... it's usually a somewhat private thing, but it's an emotional comfort in troubled times."
Yuki nodded slowly. "I am aware of the technicalities, but the practical implementations are beyond my ability to easily grasp. Your assistance in such matters ... is appreciated," she said softly. Then, with a great deal of effort, she continued ponderously, "I think that I ... like that." Her 'almost a smile' expression returned. "Friends."
"I...in the meantime," Mikuru said, shifting her eyes away, "I think, looking back, my request to you was a bit unreasonable. B...but.... But maybe I can learn something of more practical use? Um, Nagato-san, i...if you're not there to be relied on, do you think you could teach me something like, um, first aid? I ... know that you gave him armor, and it's supposed to protect him, but if you could teach me to be helpful to him in some way...." She trailed off and made a vague, apologetic gesture.
"Yes," Yuki agreed, more easily than she had been speaking previously. "I can teach you such things."
Mikuru sighed in relief, feeling a smile actually bloom on her face. Next time such a thing happened, she was going to be able to do something about it, not just wail uselessly and faint. Not that she was eager for another violent event, but she was absolutely going to be prepared if it did happen. Strangely, she had the sense that Yuki was reassured by the idea of Mikuru becoming more reliable for Kyon.
Kyon would know, she was certain, but she doubted she could ask him about such things....
Yuki began to raise one hand, then hesitated. "His current condition has caused me significant inner turmoil," she said. "Your previous gesture had an effect on that." She paused, once again seeming to have extreme difficulty expressing herself.
"D...do you want a hug?" Mikuru asked, feeling her face color. And yet, suddenly ... looking at the smaller girl, she could see that Kyon probably thought Yuki was incredibly cute, in her own quiet way. She had a strange desire to put Yuki into a costume of some sort, possibly right next to Kyon in his apron, and take a picture of them together....
Her cheeks coloring the slightest, barely noticeable bit, Yuki managed an incredibly tiny nod. Just as Mikuru gave Yuki a comforting hug, careful not to accidentally suffocate the smaller figure again, the door exploded open suddenly, slamming against the wall with an echoing 'bang'.
"Yee!" Mikuru shrilled, involuntarily tightening her grip and looking back toward the source of commotion with wide eyes.
"There you are!" Haruhi exclaimed, grinning. She blinked, surveying the pair, and her grin grew even wider. "Ah, that looks like a good idea!" Before Mikuru could so much as move, Haruhi instantly crossed the tiny room and glommed onto the pair, followed only a heartbeat later by Tsuruya.
"He's out of surgery!" Tsuruya cheered. "He's stable, and everything looks good!"
"W...waah!" Mikuru yelped. "W...what's this!?"
"You think you're the only ones who are feeling down because of what happened!?" Haruhi asked incredulously, her voice slightly muffled by her face being pressed against Tsuruya's arm. "I feel a bit bad leaving Kanae-chan out, but next time, I suppose. And right now, she doesn't have to deal with the stress of this, actually. Bleah! His family is in the hospital right now, so let's hide here for the moment. Considering Kyon's mother ... I just want to melt."
Haruhi suddenly slumped heavily against the other girls she was embracing. "Mmm," she sighed. "Nice."
"...yes," Yuki agreed. "Nice."
She remembered being just as scared for him the last time Kyon had ended up in the hospital. This time, at least, by the time the family reached the hospital, Kyon wasn't in a coma, which reassured her a lot.
They weren't allowed to see him right away, so she simply waited, being ignored like most children her age would be, while a very familiar looking police officer explained the situation. Somehow, while working on a movie, he had been attacked by a yakuza thug, and two would-be yakuza.
She knew that the truth was more likely to involve a dark general, but she didn't see the only suspected magical girl she knew of around. No sign of Haruhi or Mikuru, either. Eventually, while her father stared, looking like he couldn't believe it, and her mother clutched onto his arm and wept uncontrollably, the police officer finished his explanations and yielded to an unfamiliar doctor.
The kindly, friendly-looking middle-aged man introduced himself as Sakura, which she thought was actually usually a girl's name. He explained that he was actually a retainer from the Tsuruya estate, brought in to consult on Kyon's condition by request of the Tsuruya family. A long, technical explanation of his condition ensued, finished with: "So, while he's doing better now, he's not expected to wake for about an hour. And when he does, he's not going to be remarkably cognizant due to the pain-killers. Ultimately, the good news is that he should be just fine, even if he might need a few days to recover."
"I just don't understand how this could happen!" her mother protested, sniffling. "What did my baby do to get himself shot?!"
"That, I do not know," Sakura said, apologetically. "I do know that he was working on a movie project -- the senior producer is explaining the circumstances to the police at the moment, but if you wish to speak to production assistant Sonou Mori-san, she's already given her statement and is free for a moment longer."
"Yes," her mother said, suddenly in control of herself again. "I'd very much like an explanation!"
Nonoko blinked, recognizing that name. Mori was the maid who assisted Arakawa during the winter trip. Was it the same woman?
She didn't think it was much of a question once she stopped to consider it. Obviously she was in on the conspiracy, and if she'd been more trustworthy, they might actually tell her what was going on. She sighed, realizing that she was going to have to find some way of proving herself to her brother and friends before they told her much of anything.
"Stay strong, kiddo," her father said encouragingly, crouching to give her a pat on the back and encouraging smile. "I'm not sure we understand why this happened, but it looks like your brother's going to be just fine!"
"Ah!" she exclaimed suddenly, seeing a looming, familiar figure stepping around a corner and into the main room.
"Sir!" someone called, a nurse trailing the man's cloud of attendants. "There's no smoking in the hospital!"
"It's not lit," the man she thought was called Aida said quietly. "Tsuruya-sama is respecting all hospital rules."
The large man turned and glanced at the nurse, raising one eyebrow before turning back, cigar clenched in his teeth. He gave a toothy, irritated smile, then pulled the cigar from his mouth and tucked it into his jacket somewhere. "No disprespects meant," he said clearly, one fang glinting. "Aida-chan, buy this hospital; see that she gets a bonus for her diligence."
"Right away, Tsuruya-sama," Aida said agreeably, scanning his clipboard. After checking a few pages, then consulting with a pocket computer of some sort, he added, "The transaction should be complete by Friday."
"Good," the Tsuruya patriarch said with a grunt. He clapped his hands together and gave an easier, relaxed smile. "Ah, the family of ... my daughter's friend!" Glancing at the doctor he asked, "And how is our boy?"
"He will be well, Tsuruya-sama," Sakura said again, bowing.
"Good, good!" Tsuruya Kenshiro said, nodding in satisfaction. "Ah, and how has your new jobs been treating you, Yuuto-kun?" he asked her father.
"Er, quite fine, actually, but we're more worried about Kyon at the moment," the man allowed, bowing deeply to the large green-haired figure.
"Do you know why Kyon got shot?" her mother pressed, frowning.
The Tsuruya patriarch sighed, looking irritable once more, and crossed his arms over his chest, cocking his head to one side. "I'm not clear on the details," he grumbled. "Rest assured, I intend to finds out. However, on the subject of my daughter and your son, I did have something else I wished to discuss."
"Oh, no," Nonoko's mother groaned, scowling. "What has he done?! Did Kyon-kun upset your daughter, Tsuruya-san? If he did, I will make him apologize--"
"No, no," the man said with a wide grin. "Quite the opposite," he continued, chuckling. "I realize this circumstances is grim, but why not chase the light of hope in the shadows of disaster? We are a traditional family, and I wish the best for my daughter! I see you wish the bests for your son, yes?"
"Yes," her mother agreed nervously. "That's absolutely the case. It's just ... sometimes I worry that he's not able to make the best decisions for himself!"
Nonoko felt her father's sad groan, and wanted to echo it now. More trouble for Kyon?
"Then we are thinking precisely alikes!" the large man boomed, grinning. "I feel the same way about my daughter, but I know that Kyon is a capable sort!" He shook his head, chuckling. "Well, on that count, there's a formal events for the family coming up soon. I'm hoping that Kyon will escorts my daughter, if he's well by then."
Nonoko's mother slowly began to perk up. "Formal ... family event?" she asked. "Well, naturally! I think your daughter's a wonderful influence on Kyon! If he's up, I'll insist on him going! But, actually, while we're on the subject...."
Koizumi had already had a very long day by the time Mori and Kasai had finished determining how the Organization and the members of the Tsuruya organized crime syndicate who answered to the green-haired heir would work together -- at least, for the time being. He did find some amusement in the fact that Kasai called Tsuruya's followers 'Haru-tachi', or 'Haru's group', after her first name. It wasn't that far off from Haruhi's name, after all, though in his mind the girl was still 'Tsuruya'.
Still, it worked out that Tsuruya would provide funding, and Mori would lead those of the Organization that would follow her into the new structure. He had implied the struggles going on 'behind the scenes' to Kyon before, but the truth of the matter was both simpler, and uglier. The Organization had to effectively beg for their budget, and therefore also had to answer to financiers with varied motivations. The Tsuruya family was a favored benefactor, generally, because they didn't ask questions, and expected the same in return.
At least now Koizumi understood why; for all of their wealth, much of it needed to be laundered, or on occasion just disposed of. The Organization had made a convenient location for the former occasionally, and the latter with some regularity.
Currently, some members of the Organization were already riled up about certain factors -- specifically, Kyon's handling of the situation recently. If Koizumi's suspicions were correct, and closed space didn't exist anymore because of certain things that he hadn't gotten the other boy to adequately explain.... That left people with power, access to money, and questionable motives free to act with relatively little responsibility.
And that was where the organized criminals would fit in, now....
Still, thanks to Tsuruya, Mori and the Organization were relatively free of the auspices of the syndicate, while still working with it.
"I believe things are in order for the moment," Koizumi said, giving the pair a tired smile. "I will relay the updates to Suzumiya-san and Kyon-kun tomorrow. Is there anything else?"
"There will be more details to work out later, but this establishes our co-operative effort," Mori said tiredly. "Unfortunately, getting past the upcoming police investigation will be the least of our concerns. Well, Kasai-san, if it's not too much trouble, please relay my regards to Tsuruya-san, and convey my gratitude for his assistance in these matters."
"I will do that," Kasai agreed. "And then, our next order of business?"
Mori looked uncomfortable. "Well, we have Kyon-san, Suzumiya-san, and Asahina-san watched," she said with a grimace. "For the purposes of ensuring their safety. Obviously, we've made quite the mistake, this time."
"Our men were there, as well," Kasai mused, folding his hands on the table before him. "One intentionally, and those other three merely by happenstance. None of them were sufficient for prevention, only capture after the fact. Even then, if that van hadn't.... Well. If extra time hadn't been bought, it would undoubtedly have eluded us, at least for the time being."
"There is that."
"With due apologies, I believe the greatest hole in defense is the fact that Kyon-dono has no full-time bodyguard," Kasai continued. He turned to look at Koizumi. "As you are the liaison for the Kyon-tachi, what is your thought on this?"
"That ... usually falls to me," Koizumi admitted, wincing. "That is to say, the last time Kyon-kun became injured, it was my responsibility." The elder organized crime member said nothing, but took a very significant look at the table, where Koizumi's hands were. His fingers specifically, he realized. "However, at this point, Kyon-kun's physical capabilities and martial skill vastly exceed my own." Which was a real pity; he'd had to devote long hours to the physical conditioning the role demanded, and seemingly overnight, Kyon had just surpassed him.
Sighing quietly, Kasai removed his glasses and set them on the table. Koizumi was surprised; there was a long scar above both eyes that crossed the bridge of his nose, previously concealed beneath the frame and lenses. The huge man stared at Koizumi for a long minute before judging, "I have seen Kyon-dono fight; it's true that it would take years of dedicated training to match that. However, do you not have ... other abilities that can be used to ensure the protection of the group in general?"
"That's not quite as easy as it may seem," Mori explained, grimacing. "That is to say.... Itsuki-kun's power cannot be easily apprehended in normal situations. Only relatively specific crises call for their release. For the others, they all endure similar limitations. However...." She turned to Koizumi and raised one eyebrow questioningly.
"When he's awake once more, I will discuss the situation with Kyon-kun," Koizumi agreed, nodding. "I feel I will be able to convince him to ensure that safeguards exist to prevent this from happening again. Most likely, once the police and NPA investigations conclude, we will be able to move forward in that regard."
"Unfortunately, that will probably be happening sooner than later," Mori sighed. "Well. Enough of that; Itsuki-kun, you'd best get some sleep while you can. I suspect that things will be busy for a bit, soon. Kasai-san, it was good to work with you."
"Likewise," the man agreed, putting his sunglasses back on, "you were more pleasant to deal with than most."
"Yes; we should all get what rest we can," Koizumi agreed, nodding and rubbing at his eyes. "Thank you for your time, Kasai-san, Mori-san." It was late; he was sure even Haruhi had gone home by now. Or was at least sensibly sleeping, even if she were likely to insist that it was in a bag in Kyon's room.
Something else to talk about with Kyon.... But, later, later.
After he first came to, Kyon found himself questioned by an unfamiliar doctor speaking to him as though he were his youngest cousin. The doctor's words came very slowly, and much to his irritation, aside from being dizzy and very uncomfortable, it was a real struggle to answer the simplest of questions.
Still, he endured it, finding some small bit of clarity as the doctor finished a checklist, and then encouraged Kyon to relax and not strain himself.
After that, his father and sister came to visit, the energetic fireball restrained from tackling him by the older man, and his sister asking -- for some reason -- the definition of the word 'omiai.' He remembered enough to figure that she had learned it from one of her anime or manga, and told her that no one actually did that anymore.
His father mumbled something about six point five percent of the population still subscribing to the idea. Kyon dozed for a minute mid-conversation, trying to formulate a rebuttal that it really only applied to men over thirty, or women over twenty five, that were absolutely without other prospects. He was able to think the argument, but not manage to vocalize it.
A short while later, he came back to his senses. This time, his mother was there, along with Tsuruya's father. He hoped very badly that he hadn't done something to upset the man. "Is Tsuruya-kun okay?" he managed to ask.
"I believe she is in the best possible hands!" the man replied cheerfully. "You take care of yourself, Kyon! I have high expectations!"
"That's right," his mother agreed, looking far too happy considering his current condition, "so I expect to see less running around and general nonsense, and more of you spending time with her! In fact, next week, you're going to a formal family event with her, as long as you're up for it!"
He was pretty sure that last part had to be brought on the pain-killers, so just nodded slowly and waited for things to make sense again.
The next time they did, it was with everything snapping back into perfect focus with jarring, crystalline clarity. Yuki stood before him, the fingertips of her hand resting on his chest. Just behind her he spotted Haruhi, Mikuru, and Tsuruya. He blinked to clear his eyes, able to sit up without help, though Haruhi didn't let him try.
Once he was up, he tried to ignore the medication-induced dreams he'd had and asked, "What's going on?"
"How much do you remember?" Mikuru asked anxiously.
"I think I saw Yamane Jun, and Ryuguu Ryo," he answered, one hand going to his head. Yuki's hand, previously on his chest, had slid to his leg when he sat up. When he dropped his hand from his head, he rested it atop hers. "It felt like I had been stabbed ... no, not quite that painful, but it really stung." He thought back for what had happened next. "Then it felt like I got punched in the chest by an elephant a few times. Or hit by a minivan. That hurt a lot worse."
"Ballistic impact spread," Yuki explained in a soft voice devoid of intonation. He still thought he caught a hint of an apologetic tone, though. "To protect your organs."
"I think it cracked a rib," he said, managing to smile. "But, then again, I'm alive, so I won't complain. Thank you for that, Nagato." Still resting his hand atop hers, he looked around at the others. "Um ... what are you girls all doing here, anyway?"
"The Organization controls this hospital, mostly," Haruhi answered.
Tsuruya giggled, "Also, my father just bought it." Then she stifled a yawn, and he glanced at the window, seeing that it was dark outside. What time was it, anyway? It was after nine by the time they'd gotten out of the movie. It had to be much later than that now.
He looked around the room, suddenly suspicious. It looked familiar.... "Is this the same room...?" he asked.
"Yeah," Haruhi answered, grinning, masking a yawn of her own. "I asked for it for you."
"Wow," he said, at a loss for anything else to say.
Mikuru's eyes shimmered, but she was smiling brightly. "I'm so glad you're okay!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together beneath her chin. "Kyon-kun, you had us all so worried!"
"Sorry," he managed. "Um, I guess I'll try not to get shot again?"
"You'd better," Haruhi warned. "Of course, you're clumsy, and a bit careless ... it's a good thing we're looking after you!"
"I'll say," he sighed. "How long do you suppose I'll have to stay here, anyway?" He could tell that Yuki had already healed his injury. He didn't even feel achy anymore. But then....
"Organization doctors will make sure that this looks okay," Mikuru said drowsily, as though she were exhausted, and had struggled to stay awake just for him. Which, he realized, was probably exactly the case. "And then.... Um...."
Tsuruya led the other girl to one of the two large, soft chairs and sat her down, covering her with a blanket before yawning hugely and collapsing into the other. "Goods that you're okay," Tsuruya mumbled, her eyes drifting shut. "Mmm, too-long day...."
Kyon shook his head, and Haruhi followed his gaze, smiling with him at the two girls. Haruhi looked tired, too, he thought. Probably just as tired as he felt -- at the very least. Yuki looked much the same as she always did, but.... "Alright," he decided, reaching out and patting Yuki's shoulder, giving her a nod while Haruhi was facing the other way. As Haruhi turned back, he managed to reach her shoulder and give a small pat as well. "Everyone's falling asleep. You should get some rest -- we can visit tomorrow."
"Stupid Kyon," Haruhi retorted, turning back to fix him with a level gaze. "You think I'm leaving after how worried you made me?!"
"Of course," he sighed, remembering when he'd woken from his 'coma'. He wasn't quite able to hide his smile even with his own yawn. "Alright, fine, make yourself comfortable, then." He was sure she'd brought a sleeping bag again.
"Mm," Haruhi agreed, covering a yawn of her own. "I am exhausted."
That and the fact that, even with Yuki healing him, he felt very, very drained. He yawned, laying back down as he felt himself drifting off already. For some reason, he felt his bed shift about -- probably Haruhi moving it to make room for her sleeping bag. Then it felt very warm, and he remembered the night he stayed with Tsuruya in her room, and how she had curled up with him while he was asleep. Best to put that out of his mind, though.
"Good night, girls," he mumbled.
"Good night," he heard Haruhi and Nagato whisper back. Something about that seemed too close.... But he lost the thought in dream before he could really think about it.