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 licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License (and it's possible that this fic technically is, too; seems fair to me). Additional characters are borrowed from Higurashi, which is the creation of Ryukishi07.
Notes: Count the tropes! Save, collect, trade for swell prizes!
"Chapter Two: The Showy Entrance"
"Don't underestimate it! The dramatic, dynamic, explosive entrance -- if you can pull it off -- may actually allow you to avoid combat. It could also make you look really silly if you flub it. Find a smooth blend of action to showmanship, dependent on the situation. Flying kicks are all well and good, but sometimes, a straight punch is really dynamic enough."
"The Last Resort: Violence and You" -- Tadamichi Kyousuke
She hadn't been hit, yet, but her bodyguard was overwhelmed already, and she could only hope to keep the encroaching thugs at bay for so long. And in her mind, they were just thugs, not truly respectable yakuza. Though she didn't want to abandon him, her self-preservation led her to step away from Kasai, backed into a wall so she could only be approached from the front--
Which gave her a view of one of the most absurdly unexpected things she had seen in a long while.
The street was largely abandoned, bystanders quickly streaming away and pretending that nothing was happening. Even before the violence that scattered the few pedestrians, it wasn't a commercial or residential district. The entire block behind her was a continuous metal wall, the exterior of a large workshop. A gap in the city's skyline let her see the last fleeting glimpses of the setting sun.
And from that fading light, charging like a professional athlete, was that same 'Kyon' she once told had the same scent as herself. He was wearing a very nice looking greatcoat, flared and cut to offer complete mobility; the lower portions of it streamed behind him like an action hero's cape as he shot forward, feet-first, and kicked one of the thugs beating Kasai.
The man she thought might be a member of the Sumiyoshi-rengo flew a handful of meters into a metal signpost reading 'no parking' with a resounding metallic thud, while Kyon adjusted from his reduced momentum and landed crouched low, instantly leg-sweeping two more of the men before popping to his feet. "Hey!" he barked out, dodging effortlessly as the thugs working on Kasai abandoned him to focus on the boy. "Twelve on two hardly seems fair! You think you're respectable businessmen?"
The thugs backed off for a moment, rallying themselves. Tsuruya found herself thankfully ignored -- for the best, since she had been so distracted she wasn't properly defending herself. She wanted to giggle at Kyon for the oddity of the situation -- that and the fact that beneath the coat he was still wearing his school uniform on a Sunday.
The man who had slammed into the post lay on the sidewalk, and the one who Kasai had already injured sneered at Kyon. "You've bought yourself ten seconds, and a one-way ticket to a world of hurt, kid," he growled. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
After a moment of hesitation, slipping between stances before settling into a Jeet-kun-do non-stance, he gave the injured thug an unfriendly stare. "Today, I'm a defender of justice, and that girl's guardian," he replied, indicating Tsuruya. She felt her heart skip a beat at the sudden protectiveness of a classmate and casual friend she realized she didn't know nearly well enough. "Cliche though it may sound ... from this point on if you want to get to her, or him, you go through me."
The ten remaining capable fighters didn't wait for the injured leader's cry of, "Take him down!" to charge. Rather than waiting defensively, Kyon skipped a step backward -- straight into one of the men who had circled behind him to take him from the back. He turned with his movement, slipping between the man's reaching hands and ramming the larger figure's sternum with his shoulder. His own hands rose, seizing the extended arm as the thug folded -- to Tsuruya's eyes in luridly slow motion -- around the body-blow.
In the span of a heartbeat, the man was thrown so hard that Tsuruya was positive his arm was dislocated even before he crossed Kyon's body and slammed into two of his friends, knocking the trio down. Kyon appeared to fall over in the same direction with the force of his blow, but actually used his momentum to deliver a punishing blow to a fourth man, just to the inside of his knee.
Somehow pulling himself back to a low, crouching position, the boy backed up a trio of steps, blocking a series of fierce punches from three more attackers as they swarmed. They spread out to try and circle around him, while Tsuruya herself snapped out of her daze and had the presence of mind to turn her stun gun on one of the two men who had been knocked prone, but weren't yet unconscious. The other frantically rolled away, and she lost track of Kyon for a minute, scrambling to evade the other thug as he snapped a kick at her.
A heartbeat later, a sweep kick from behind to the inside of his knee sent him to the ground, and she looked up to see that Kyon had demolished another pair of thugs, reducing their forces to four capable men, and the already injured man with the broken arm.
The remaining quartet gaped nervously, painfully aware of the fact that Kyon betrayed no sign of injury, himself. "I'm going to give you a chance to be reasonable," he declared. "You can give up now and acknowledge your defeat, or if your pride insists, I can knock you all out. What's it going to be?"
The man with the broken arm grimaced as he released it to dangle awkwardly, and reached into his coat to pull out a knife. "You don't know who you're messing with," he spat.
"Oh, wow, the fight went bad, so you pulled out a knife!" Kyon exclaimed in sarcastic awe. "What a brilliant and wholly original tactic!"
He sighed and hung his head as the knife-wielding thug had the courtesy to look mildly embarrassed.
Kyon waved a hand to dismiss his previous comment. "I know who I'm messing with better than you know yourselves," the boy countered. "Today's enemy may be begging for forgiveness tomorrow over a complicated misunderstanding -- mark my words." Then they both charged simultaneously.
To Tsuruya's surprise, Kyon vaulted again, clearing the thug's height with what looked like casual ease, landing behind him and snap-kicking one of the other four thugs in the chin. That thug flipped backward, landing on the sidewalk near his companions before Kyon spun in the same motion, sweeping the knife-wielder's legs out from under him.
It was insanely one-sided ... he was just so much faster than them! The three remaining men rushed together, but Kyon ignored them, hopping over the knife-wielder's body and landing with one foot atop the man's hand. He still had the knife clenched there, pressed forcefully against the sidewalk and unable to move it as he squealed in pain. "Violence begets violence," Kyon said regretfully, "and as I have heard, escalation is an ugly game."
"Aniki!" one of the remaining three protested. "Let him go, you bastard!"
"Or what?" Kyon asked, doubtfully.
"Get him!" the knife-wielder howled. "Get him!"
Screaming wordless battle cries, the three charged. Kyon sighed, moving forward, incidentally putting more weight on the hand holding the knife. Tsuruya couldn't help but wince at the sound; the knife-wielder passed out from the pain almost instantly. Not that his hand was in ideal condition to hold a knife anymore, anyway.
In mere moments Kyon was engaging the three in combat. He blocked a kick from the foremost thug, shrugged off a body-blow as he seized the extended leg, and then hurled the first man at his friends. While the last two were pinned, scrambling to get up, he finished them off with efficient straight punches, shaking his head.
"K...Kyon-kun..." she managed, awed. The entire thing had taken less than five minutes from the time he showed up. He nodded at her, giving a pained smile as he knelt to inspect Kasai.
She shook off her daze, frowning, and dashing to the bodyguard's side ... he had taken quite a beating, after all. "I'll call a cab," Kyon said, pulling a phone from his pocket and tapping a few buttons. He gave instructions to an agency or service, while she focused on Kasai's injuries. He was bruised beyond belief, but still clinging to consciousness, too worn to sit up.
He managed a weak smile, even with a bloodied, split lip. "Sorry," he coughed, trying to shift himself around.
Kyon moved to his side and put a hand on his shoulder, holding him still. "Stay down, soldier," he advised. "You've seen enough action."
The man heaved a large sigh and relaxed, and Kyon hung up the phone. "A cab should be here in a minute," he advised the bodyguard, before turning his attention to Tsuruya. "Now, I'm sorry about the timing of this, but I was actually looking for you to ask a favor."
She stared, her mouth falling open as she suppressed the urge to giggle. "I...is that all?" she asked. "What favor?"
"A while back I told you where to dig to find some of your family's treasures," he said, shrugging. "Ah, you remember that metal object?"
"Yes! You need it?" She didn't know what it was, outside of her joking with Kyon that it had to be left by either time travelers or aliens. "What for?"
"It's going to be important," he agreed, nodding. "At four fifty five tomorrow, in the club room." The cab he had called for pulled up at that moment, the driver looking alarmed as the two teens managed to get Kasai in before climbing in after -- the pile of unconscious or wisely feigning yakuza thugs prevented any questions. Really, it was remarkable that the cab driver had even stopped, given that....
Tsuruya ordered the driver to proceed to the nearest hospital, and then she paid him while Kyon helped the injured man into the emergency room. A few minutes later, when Kasai was carted off by a cadre of doctors, the pair of them stood outside on a small patch of lawn near the hospital entrance. "Anyway," Kyon said, thrusting his hands into his greatcoat pockets, "regardless of why I was looking for you -- what's going on that you get attacked by those fellows?"
Her face colored slightly. If she could convince Kyon to agree to keep it secret, she might be able to tell him, but this was her trial, after all....
"Hey," he said, frowning at her expression. "Tsuruya-ku--" He cut himself off with a cough. "Um, Tsuruya-san, we're at least friends, I'd like to think."
She smiled warmly at him; obviously, he wanted to be familiar with her, but was afraid of offending her. He worried too much, though.... After that save, she owed him enough that she really wouldn't have minded at all. Still, regardless of her ability to admit it to herself, Haruhi really liked the boy. No sense giving her the wrong impression!
"It's not that I enjoy fighting, because I'd rather talk things out almost any day -- but if that's what it takes, then ... well, that's what it takes," he said, shrugging. "And I'm not trying to sell your own abilities short, but I think I could help you, if it came down to it. If it makes you feel better, at least accept my help in exchange for lending us that object, huh?"
"I...if you can promise me you won't tell anyone else about my investigation," she said, nodding slowly. "And, even then, I can't take you from Haru-nyan--"
"For that object, Haruhi already gives her permission," he said, nodding back. "And, Tsuruya-san, I can promise you I won't tell anyone else until you agree it's time to let them know."
Feeling strangely buoyed with confidence considering the state her bodyguard was in, she nodded. "Okies! So...."
After Tsuruya excitedly filled Kyon in on the investigation he already knew they would complete, he nodded solemnly, and assured her that he'd do his best to help her out. He felt a little bad about deceiving her, and not being able to clarify that he was traveling in time, but took some solace in the fact that he admitted it to her before ever traveling back.
That still didn't leave him with a good idea of where he was supposed to go to interfere with the Organization meeting that Koizumi had mentioned he arrived during. One that he did ... something ... to impress Mori during, no less. And at this point, naturally, Tsuruya wouldn't -- or shouldn't, at least -- know about those things either.
So once he bade farewell, and he saw a pair of what he now knew were members of her father's criminal organization (ironically, people who would call him 'Aniki' later), he left to the only location he could think of. He just had to hope that the meeting he'd attended with Tsuruya's father and Mori was the same place she would choose to go before becoming more openly involved with the family.
As tempting as it was to call a taxi, he thought he'd be better off practicing with the gravity manipulation enhancements Yuki had given him. He had to admit, the raised polished metal ridges in the skinsuit looked pretty impressive, too. So a few blocks away from the hospital, he tried a vertical leap, managing to land atop a ten meter tall warehouse roof. Further adjusting his weight to near nothingness, he sped across the rooftop in almost complete silence, absolutely certain that if he were careless the industrial metal roof would ring like a beaten drum.
Was this how it was for Yuki to move, he wondered? Her casual ease at manipulating the thing that he was fumbling with so intense she didn't realize it? He could remember her riding on his bike, seeming to weigh nothing. Perhaps, she really had weighed nothing. Her silent, ghostlike footsteps.... It would explain a lot, he thought, trying very hard not to consider the -- as per Haruhi's demand -- thirty meter gap between the roof of his current warehouse and the next.
He flung himself forward, ready to shield his face with his hands and scream in terror should he start to plummet, like any proper physics-fearing mortal.
Instead, he found himself soaring through the cooling night air, gliding almost weightlessly across the gap, lighting on the roof in a run.
An excited echo of the joy he imagined from years ago reading his shounen manga ran through him, and he barely restrained the urge to whoop with uncharacteristic glee. It was just like his favorite martial arts manga, he realized, grinning fiercely, anyway.
He was legitimately roof-hopping.
And even though he knew he should be the responsible one, and it was all due to borrowed powers and skills -- both from Yuki -- it was fun. Sure, it was a bit scary, watching the streets pass meters below him, soaring in impossibly long seeming graceful arcs ... but the amazing sense of freedom was undeniable. After all, who else would he run into that was springing from rooftop to rooftop through the night silently, the way he was?
He kept his head at least enough to make sure he was headed toward the same warehouse he recalled from meeting with the Sumiyoshi-rengo, once attempting a stylish flip that almost threw him off the side of the gutter he was running along (and then he was doubly grateful for the lack of witnesses). Two buildings away from his target, was surprised to see a figure crouched near a skylight.
Well ... that was suspicious enough.
He continued moving, all but silent in the deep quiet of the industrial district at night, taking special care to land even more softly than he had previously. A glance at the street below revealed a number of cars, including a dark taxi that might have been Arakawa's car ... and there in the distance, halfway down the street was the abandoned van he vaguely remembered would still be there a month from that time.
Slowing his wild pace to a walking speed, he reduced his weight to almost nothing, approaching the figure cautiously. It was probably a man, crouched low with his back turned to Kyon ... but it was difficult to make out in the dark. Some sentry, maybe?
Or ... some spy, perhaps? Despite whatever else she said, Koizumi had warned that Kyouko represented a rival organization with different ideals and goals. Spying between two secretive agencies seemed entirely possible, though he thought that doing it from the rooftop was either incredibly brave, or not terribly sensible.
Personally, he would have opted to hide in or beneath the abandoned van ... if the vantage there was good enough. At a distance of five meters, he stopped, trying to sort out the man's intentions. It was a man, or a very mannish woman with short hair, a dark headband, black shirt and pants, and a pair of headphones linked to a handheld device projecting through a broken pane of the skylight's many square panels.
From the distance he was at, he could just hear the sounds of voices from below ... Koizumi protesting something he couldn't quite make out. He checked his phone quickly, realizing it was the time Koizumi had mentioned he made his appearance -- seven forty. Now, what on earth had been the 'dramatic' entrance that Koizumi had said he made?
As he pondered that, he realized the illumination of the PDA's bright screen had betrayed his presence to the man he crept up on.
Koizumi was not having a good day. He'd meant what he'd told Kyon -- that he would stand by the other boy's side against the Organization, if it came to it. He didn't intend to betray his word, and he didn't want to say he regretted it, precisely.... But he absolutely was not enjoying the way events were playing out at just that moment.
Mori and Arakawa stood not far away from him, side by side, Arakawa remaining uninvolved and pensive, and Mori struggling between berating him, and defending him from the other significant Organization members present.
And these people, all seven of them, were higher ranking members that Koizumi hadn't met before. The Organization wasn't massive, as far as Koizumi understood it, so that meant that the bulk of critical personnel were in one location.
Such a thing wouldn't be risked for no reason, and was only justified in this instance because of the severity of what had gone on. Koizumi had honestly explained everything that Kyon had done, his voice echoing back jarringly in the expanses of the warehouse. Except for a handful of abandoned boxes, and a great wealth of litter scattered around the walls, the room was entirely empty.
The assembled Organization members all stood roughly beneath one of the building's skylights, and had listened attentively as he spoke, his voice the only sound except for occasional creaks overhead as the aged metal construction settled. A man Koizumi didn't know, and had never met before, growled after listening to his explanation and demanded to know where Koizumi stood with the Organization.
Swallowing, Koizumi held his ground. "I swore that I would try to aid my friends, as that felt to me the best way to earn the trust of Kyon. He is the most influential person on the being we observe, regardless of what we wish to call her, or consider her," he stated levelly.
The unknown man stood tall, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at Koizumi contemptuously. He was handsome, well groomed, and wore an exceedingly immaculate dark blue suit. He had the manner of speech and bearing of a politician, even though the esper couldn't remember having seen him anywhere before. He hoped desperately that the man was just a member of the Organization, not an actual esper.
Surely anyone else with a link to Haruhi would have more sympathy for his situation.
"So, let me get this straight," the politician said, uncrossing his arms and running one hand across his hair, slicking it back neatly in one smooth motion. "You're saying that you're selling us out based on something as immaterial as trust for someone who influences a being we can't even agree on a classification for. You're claiming you'll be loyal to him because you 'promised' him, for something as transient as 'friendship'. Itsuki, we are an organization. We have oaths, ranks, agreements, and we follow our agendas.
"Your friend crossed a line, and is now personally responsible for intentionally riling up the most dangerous beings we are even aware of, outside of the unclassifiable herself. Can you, for just one moment, offer a single iota of anything that demonstrates your trust in this unknown -- who you and your friends have seen fit to deny us even knowing the proper name of -- is well placed?
"Can you prove, or even strongly imply that he is looking out for the better interests of you, let alone the world we all swore to protect?"
Koizumi swallowed. Words were his forte, and discussion was where he shone. Sure, he had powers in closed space, and he was an esper ... but those wouldn't solve real-world problems, so he used reason wherever possible. But how could he argue against this man without coming across as a petulant child? How could he defend Kyon's actions as reasonable and well considered?
Maybe he couldn't.... And maybe it was the saddest, most cliche thing ever, but all he could say was, "I chose to trust Kyon because none of us can influence Suzumiya-san the way he can. More importantly, Suzumiya-san doesn't trust anyone else the way she trusts him. Some of you believe that she is a being like a god -- if she trusts him, why shouldn't we?"
At the conclusion of his weak, but well intentioned argument, the skylight overhead suddenly exploded, spraying broken glass and bits of wood down in a shower -- sort of. Everyone scrambled away as a curtain of glimmering fragments spun down through the air, flipping over as slowly as drifting feathers. A figure in a sturdy coat fell through the pieces of broken skylight, impossibly moving much faster, landing in a crouch, as though a human could casually withstand a ten meter drop.
While he was retreating with the others, Koizumi froze, recognizing Kyon's face, but not able to understand how he'd arrived in such a manner, or why he was carrying a struggling man beneath one arm. Ignoring the man he was carrying for the moment, Kyon looked up, still crouching, and raised his free hand, clenching his fist as the scattering bits of glass and metal frame suddenly rushed together in a point over his head, compacting into a rough sphere, then falling at the proper rate.
The mass crashed to the ground, making the right sounds, but not sending further shards anywhere, as Kyon unclenched his fist. "Don't mind me dropping in," he said, eying the politician-like figure, raising one eyebrow.
"K...Kyon!" Mori barked, recognizing him as well, though she looked just as stunned as Koizumi felt. "What's the meaning of this!?"
Kyon looked distracted, giving her a dismayed stare. "I really expected you to call me 'Sir'," he observed, before blinking and shaking his head. "Never mind that," he snapped, hefting the still struggling figure he held beneath one arm. "I found this guy on your roof, eavesdropping. Is he one of yours?"
Arakawa recovered his senses first, and swiftly strode to Kyon's side, staring at the eavesdropper. "He is not one of ours," the older man declared, frowning. "This is highly disconcerting."
"Well, he's all yours now," Kyon decided, dropping the man unceremoniously.
The dark clothed figure tried to scurry away, but Arakawa easily captured him, then put him in a choke-hold until he stopped resisting. "This is problematic," the old man said, looking around the assembled Organization members. He was about to continue, but Kyon cut him off.
"I'm only here to throw my support in for Koizumi. I'm not going to go into details, since I don't really mean to interfere with your ... business." He turned his full attention to the politician-like figure, giving a very sharp look to the man. Raising a fist, and causing the suited man to flinch back several steps, he warned, "But if you're trying to threaten Koizumi, right now he's your only shot at communicating with the SOS Brigade. If you don't agree to him acting as a liaison, then you're entirely out of the loop."
"S...Sir," Mori managed, very stiffly. "Respectfully, I'd still like to know the meaning of this!"
Kyon spread his arms in a shrug, explaining, "I'll tell you this much. Within two weeks, the creation of closed space will be entirely under control. Let's call that a trial period. It will be at its worst next...."
Kyon paused, squinting his eyes and turning them toward the ceiling as though to remember something as he pulled his greatcoat tight around himself -- though, the esper had a hard time seeing how Kyon could be truly cold in such weather.
"Wednesday will be the peak," Kyon said decisively. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to meet with Koizumi and Mori-san to discuss some things about closed space at that point. Anyway, I didn't mean to disrupt your meeting, so I'll be heading out now."
Turning his attention to Koizumi and leaning close, the boy very quietly added, "Don't mention this too much. I really mean that. You'll understand soon enough."
Having delivered his cryptic missive, Kyon gazed up at the hole in the ceiling where the skylight was, and with a single inhuman leap, vanished through it.
Though he wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation, Koizumi adjusted his coat and put on his usual smile, turning to the man who was arguing against him. "I believe my point has been significantly punctuated," he said.
"If you're a liaison, you're no longer fully a part of us," the man shakily spat. "Arakawa, get him out of here. Mori, let's get some answers out of our spy."
Arakawa bit back a retort and shook his head sharply, motioning Koizumi to follow him to the warehouse entrance. Once they were outside, both sighed explosively, and Koizumi took solace in the fact that the old man was shaking slightly, though not nearly as much as he was. "H...how did he do that?" he managed, shooting the boy a sharp, alarmed look. "I thought he was a perfectly normal person!"
"W...well ... we did ask a TFEI," Koizumi said, shivering nervously. "It's possible ... they lied to us?"
"I don't think that Mori appreciates being caught that badly off guard," the older man managed, shaking his head. "That such power lurks within him.... Koizumi, you're braver than I thought, being a liaison to ... that group. Every one of them is dangerous, you know."
"Except," Koizumi said, his false smile becoming genuine, "they are my allies. I did say I would be loyal to them."
Arakawa's eyebrows rose as he studied the esper in the pool of light beneath the lamp outside of the warehouse before he nodded. "Let's get you home," he decided, moving to his car.
After roof-hopping a few blocks away, Kyon found a place to huddle up and wait to warm up. While that was happening, he checked his PDA, suspecting that there was a utility to monitor stored power somewhere. There was, displaying a neat overall percentage, and a total remaining. It was slowly charging, even giving a timer for how long it would take -- several hours. Still....
The gravity manipulation seemed more efficient than the shields, to him, given the massive drain earlier to deflect the van. He decided he'd wait until ten percent power, up from the current six, then head back to Mikuru. Maybe if he kept practicing with the gravity control, he'd be able to be more efficient at it. Controlling the debris from the shattered window while also making sure he landed without hurting himself -- or the spy -- had been much harder than he had expected.
That, of course, was ignoring his own behavior in the process. That should match up, though, he thought. He couldn't think of anything he'd forgotten in that hectic week, and was suddenly very grateful for the notes he had taken whenever other people had mentioned the antics he'd finally caught up with. There were still some unresolved issues, but he was certain he'd taken care of the current day....
One horrifyingly busy day.
He couldn't wait to get home and crawl into bed. After wrapping the coat around himself tightly, until he warmed up and the percentage reached ten, he rose and resumed roof-hopping at a more sedate pace, unable to deny the thrill of acting out like that. As unreasonable as it was ... it wasn't like anyone could see him.
Fighting the strong temptation to try and land on top of the lamppost near the bench he was going to meet the older Mikuru at, he dropped to street level a block and a half away in a quiet alley and walked at a more reasonable pace. Even better, he'd only burnt off two percent of the battery's capacity, suggesting that roof-hopping was easy on the reserves.
That was good to know.
There was no sign of Mikuru about immediately, though he wondered if she might be hiding in the bushes.... Deciding it wasn't worth worrying about too much, he took a seat on the bench and knuckled back a yawn, glancing around expectantly. She didn't take long to arrive, walking up the street from the opposite direction that he had. She was smiling brightly as she looked at him, and unbidden, the thought of the promised 'prize' returned to him.
It was the same thing he had told himself he was best off not trying to think about too hard, but....
It also wasn't like being kissed by the adult Mikuru was in any way unpleasant. In fact, given the opportunity.... Yeah, he could admit to himself that he'd occasionally imagined kissing -- or more -- with the woman. And, yes, there was that one remarkably vivid dream, where both Mikuru's older self and younger had--
He coughed, shaking his head to banish the thoughts and rising to his feet. "Asahina-san," he greeted her, nodding.
"Did everything go well for you, Kyon-kun?" she replied, clasping her hands together behind her back.
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding. "Ah ... I'm glad that's over with, though."
Mikuru looked suddenly slightly wistful. "I should probably take you home," she agreed. "Um.... Yes, a block or so outside of your house. Are you ready?"
He nodded, closing his eyes and reaching a hand out. She moved around it, grabbing him in a hug as that disconcerting sense of displacement struck again. While he was positive he was getting better at handling the time and space transportation effects, he doubted there was any way on earth to train resistance to a Mikuru-hug.
She released him -- slightly -- then stunned him as his eyes opened with another of those dazzling kisses.
Her amused giggle stuck with him long after she left. "I need a counter-attack," he sighed. "Or something."
Looking around, he found himself on the street a block from his own home. It was still dark out, so he checked his watch, pleased to see that he'd only lost ten minutes of relative time since heading out from Tsuruya's. He thrust his hands into his pocket and whistled to himself, marching toward the front door of his family home.
She knew that Kyon would be in trouble as soon as dinner ended, and he hadn't gotten home yet. He didn't call, either, which in her experience was guaranteeing that their mother would be upset. How could he forget to call when he had a cell phone?
Still....
Dinner was quiet, with their mother silently working up her anger, and their father wisely sheltering behind the newspaper. Not long after dinner was finished and Nonoko was ordered to wash the dishes (which she couldn't do without a step stool), the household's uneasy silence was broken by Kyon opening the door.
Hands still covered with soapy water, she dashed from her station at the sink to the front door, eager to see her brother. Naturally, their mother was there first, fixing him with a sharp glare. "Where have you been?" she demanded, hands on her hips. "Out this late without calling, on a school night?"
"I just left Tsuruya-kun's place a little late," Kyon countered, frowning as he took off his heavy coat and draped it over one arm.
Neither she or her brother missed the way that their mother paused at mention of Tsuruya's name. Her anger seeming to vanish, the woman asked, "What were you doing with Tsuruya?"
"There was a ... meeting with another family that her family does business with," Kyon explained. "Her father asked me to show up, too, because ... well, you know." He glanced over and gestured vaguely at his father.
"Well," Nonoko's father spat out, suddenly on-the-spot. "Y...yes, see, Tsuruya-chan is already including Kyon as part of her family, isn't that wonderful?"
Nonoko felt a bit jealous about that ... why couldn't she be included yet? In fact, during the winter vacation, wasn't she the one that had gotten to spend the most time with the green-haired girl in the snow?
Kyon nodded, spreading his hands in a 'can't be helped' shrug. "Anyway," he added, glancing at his wristwatch, "I've got a math test tomorrow, so I should probably study."
"Call next time," their mother insisted, her anger replaced with mild irritability. "It's good for you that you're getting along with Tsuruya-chan.... But don't forget!"
"Got it," Kyon agreed, hitching his school bag onto his shoulder and plodding toward the stairs. "I just lost track of time a little."
She thought that was a terrible excuse, since he had both a watch and a phone, but evidently their mother believed it. She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning. Their father quietly slipped backward out of the hall into the kitchen.
Deciding that they might be on to something, she returned to the sink to finish washing dishes. The greater question here was ... how had Tsuruya's name become a magic word that defused their mother's temper? There had to be something behind that.
And all things considered, her big brother probably really didn't know, either.
Maybe if she were careful, she could find out for him...? Pleased with that thought, she hummed to herself and returning to the job of scrubbing dishes. Her father strode into the room with only a backward glance at the hall before helping her dry them.
While she worked on the wok her mother had cooked with, she asked, "Why is it especially good for Kyon-kun to be close to Tsuru-nee-san's family?"
Her father nearly dropped the plate he was drying, and gave her a sidelong look. "Noticed that, did you?" the man asked glibly, giving her a weak smile.
She nodded almost as vigorously as she was scrubbing. "Kyon-kun's been spending a lot of time with Tsuru-nee-san, lately!" She bit her tongue before she could spill the part about Kyon's job saving the world. Instead, she said, "Tsuru-nee-san is fun!"
"I'm glad you like her," her father agreed, moving on to the next dish and sighing. "Well, this Thursday, our families are going to meet up and discuss the future ... and maybe talk about Kyon and Tsuruya-chan spending a lot more time together."
"Haru-nee-san might not like that," she opined. "If Kyon-kun spends all his time with Tsuru-nee-san, won't she be left all alone?"
"They can still be friends," her father said. "Er.... I mean, Tsuruya-chan is friends with ... what's this girl's name, then? Haru...?"
"Haruhi," she replied, pleased that she remembered the full name. "You haven't really met her, though. She's the one that fixed up Kyon!" And also the one that led to her brother being as popular as she already knew he could be ... but Haruhi tried to include her in things, so she didn't blame the older girl for taking her brother away -- not really.
"Fixed up Kyon?" her father asked, chuckling. "When did he get broken down?"
"In middle school," she said absently. "He lost his smile for a really long time. Didn't you notice? But it doesn't matter -- Haru-nee-san made him find it again!"
Her father didn't say anything for a while, just drying the dishes. Finally, he asked, "Say, do you think that Kyon likes this Haruhi girl, though?"
"Sure," she agreed, looking at her father and giggling. "He likes all of his friends! Like Mikuru-nee-chan, Yuki-nee-chan, Kanae-chan, and Koizumi-san!"
"Ah ... yeah," he replied, chuckling. "Of course. Well, never mind that. As soon as these dishes are done, I'm going to see if I can find any heirlooms for Kyon."
"Why does he need an heirloom?" she asked, unplugging the sink and washing her hands off.
"Just a little something to remind him of our family legacy," the man replied, shrugging. "I mean.... The Tsuruya family has a much more storied legacy, but I worry that Kyon might be forgetting his own family." He gave her a grin and tweaked her nose, which caused her to shriek in laughter involuntarily as he left a coating of soap bubbles there. "Plus, if I don't, and Kyon loses the family name, it'll be up to you to carry our legacy and family name on!"
"That's silly," she protested, wiping the soap from her face. "How would Kyon lose his name?"
"Well, probably best not to worry about it for now," the man advised. "I'm sure we've got some time to spare."
She nodded thoughtfully, wondering if anything she had heard was worth relaying to her brother.
After meeting with Kyon at the train station (which meant she also ran into Taniguchi and Yanagimoto), Haruhi grilled him on math questions the entire walk to the class. To his credit, he actually had studied for the test the night before, though he looked far too tired, in her mind. "Trouble sleeping?" she asked, as they passed through the school gates.
"Yesterday was just busy," he said, shaking his head. "And by 'yesterday' I mean 'Sunday several weeks ago'."
She raised an eyebrow. "Finally took care of that group that was bugging Tsuruya?" she asked.
"Yeah ... been putting it off long enough, really." He stifled a yawn. "Anyway, that ended up being a good deal of work."
"So, what was this warrior philosopher bit she was talking about, anyway? That was some time ago, but it should be fresh for you, right?"
He blinked thoughtfully, pausing at the shoe locker to switch shoes. "Actually," he allowed, "I think I get that. Probably she just wasn't used to hearing me speak much, since I'd hardly ever seen her at that point except with either you or Asahina-san. I mostly ended up quoting things I realize now I heard from her earlier." He shrugged, glancing at her sidelong and checking that no one was immediately nearby. "I'm pretty sure the part where I broke the hand of the guy with the knife was the real attention-getter."
To her amusement, just as soon as he looked away from the edge of the shoe lockers, a familiar looking first-year boy stepped into view, his face turning ashen as he made a squeaking noise and bolted away at top speed. Kyon stared after the boy in consternation for a moment, then shrugged. "It's weird," he commented, before Haruhi could even ask. "Every time I say something that I wouldn't want overheard, and a few other times.... I don't know who that kid is, but he always runs into hearing range just as I say something really off-color. He probably thinks I'm some horrific yakuza thug, or something."
Haruhi snorted, elbowing him in the ribs with a grin. "As opposed to the respectable criminal that you are," she teased quietly. "Club room -- we've got more time for you to study before class starts."
"Highly respectable," Kyon agreed, nodding solemnly before hiding another yawn. "So respectable, I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing most of the time!"
"Well, setting that aside -- just in terms of things that the students in this school know of, you did dangle someone out of a window by one ankle," she noted.
"I was provoked," he retorted, grimacing. "He may not have been in his right mind, but Yamane did try and shove Tsuruya out the window."
"That's true," she admitted, feeling her face color. "I may not say things too often, but I guess you probably wouldn't mind hearing them anyway.... So, um, if you say that looking out for my friends is my greatest strength...." She hesitated as they topped the stairs leading into the club building. Not the ideal location for what she wanted to say, but she could let that pass. It was a real place, and she would remember it every time she passed through the stairs on the way to and from the clubroom. More real than the half-dreams she recalled before Kyon had given her a genuine kiss, at any rate.
He stopped, seeing where she had paused and turning to look at her, one eyebrow raised questioningly. "Yeah?" he asked.
Taking a breath, she managed, "If it's my strength at all, it's one I got from watching you. I just wish ... you hadn't had to try and protect me so much ... back then."
"Protect you?" he asked, blinking. "When?"
"Y...you wouldn't let me make worse mistakes," she managed. "When I ... went too far. You probably just meant to protect Mikuru-chan when I was being.... W...well, never mind that. What I mean to say is, you kept me from going so far that I could have lost my most precious friends. It wasn't until after those incidents, that I started realizing that friends were precious, and not ... like toys or pets."
Her face was solid red, so flushed her skin felt tight and awkward. Why was it so hard to admit when she'd done things wrong?
"So," she said again, "um, I think you lead by example ... and if I were being honest with myself, you would always have been the vice commander...." At her limit, she shrugged, then walked stiffly to the club door and opened it. There were more words, but she couldn't spit them out, not without a boost on par with the last time she had dragged Kyon off to a distant corner of the school (tempting though that was, he did need to study).
Aside from which, did more matter? He liked her, she liked him ... and it wouldn't kill either of them to say something nice, once in a while.
"People often say things like, 'never change'," Kyon finally said, when he found his own voice, standing just inside the entrance to the club room. "They don't mean that, because people do change ... and all the time. Especially now, at our age. But even saying that, I think if you take it to mean someone's strong points, no matter how they change around those points, I can see where they're coming from. In that regard, Haruhi, you may not give yourself much credit.
"You can say you owe me, but all I did was show you the path; you walked it yourself. I didn't make any friends for you ... I just showed you that's what we could be."
Oh, no ... she felt like a shoujou anime character. She literally felt warmer from the inside out. If she didn't get Kyon back on the subject of math questions, she was liable to pin him with a leaping tackle, and then the both of them would be seriously late for class. If his studying weren't a priority.... Why couldn't she have had the presence of mind to arrange for Kanae or Mikuru, one of the cute, innocent types to be present to dissuade her!?
Heck, even Koizumi would pour water on those coals.
Seizing control of the situation, Haruhi tossed a short stack of math flashcards to the table a bit more forcefully than she had intended. "And a little help from your aunt," she admitted, her blush finally fading. "By the way -- your aunt is really, really cool! We should go visit her again some time!"
"Probably this summer," Kyon said absently. "Um ... I'll see about getting in touch with Uncle Keiichi, but there's not really a lot in the way of guest lodging in Hinamizawa. Pretty much the only hotels are in Okinomiya. Aunt Shion might be willing to put everyone up, but it's better not to assume."
"Before that," Haruhi said, frowning. "Your birthday is on that local holiday they have, right? Watanagashi? I think we should go for that!"
He shrugged, looking skeptical. "Maybe," he allowed. "But it's a long way to travel for a one-night festival ... we'd absolutely have to miss a day of school."
"Speaking of school," Haruhi responded, picking up the stack of flashcards after she sat down, "let's make sure you hit your quota of ninety or better!"
After a grueling math test, leaving Kyon wrestling uncomfortably with the difficulty of the test as compared to his recent activities.... Really, as Keiichi had suggested long ago, even with his mother's ultimatum, he just wasn't worried about his academics. He supposed it meant he had faith in Haruhi's ability to tutor....
That blind, professor-looking kid ought to be grateful. Then again, Kyon realized, he was going to grow up to invent time travel, or something along those lines.
Once he was free of class and the club assembled, Kyon looked forward to beating Koizumi in ... something. Whatever the esper chose to lose at. Strange that he just had no luck.... Haruhi dashed ahead of him to the club room, berating him for not running in the hallway. As if on cue, Okabe had popped out of the class room, a sharp, disapproving look daring the boy to run.
Shaking his head, Kyon strode to the club room at a sedate pace, still reaching it before Mikuru or Tsuruya and Kanae. That naturally meant he had to leave the room so that someone could dress up (he supposed he should be grateful it wasn't him). While Kyon was waiting in the hall with a still hot cup of tea, Koizumi walked up the hallway, in quiet discussion with his cell phone.
Curious, but not enough to try and eavesdrop, Kyon raised an eyebrow and studied the depths of his half-drunk teacup. A floating tea stem bobbed directly upright before him. He blinked at it, eyebrow rising even further.
"How auspicious," Koizumi remarked, glancing at the floating stem. "That's supposed to be good luck, you know."
"So I've heard," Kyon agreed, just before the door was suddenly wrenched open. "Ta-dah!" Haruhi cheered, gesturing at Tsuruya, who bounced out of her own accord, just as excited.
Not bounced, really ... flounced, in a flaring dark red skirt that stopped just above her knees, with black lace trim that extended further. She wore a sash of the same red shade, with a huge red bow puffed out behind her. Her blouse matched the theme of the other major articles, frilled with matching lace. Her sleeves were trailing further spills of lace, and a smaller black bow at her throat billowed with a third bow, seemingly connected to the bonnet. Dark lacey gloves and stockings completed the ensemble.
His jaw dropped as she struck a pose, just as staggered as her daring Lum cosplay. How hard had Mikuru worked to finish that so quickly? "That's amazing," he managed. "Um, wow."
"Take a picture!" Tsuruya insisted, running to put one arm around Mikuru's shoulder and grin at Kyon, striking another pose. "Me and the artists together!"
Haruhi was way ahead of her, naturally. Shaking his head, Kyon stepped into the club room with Koizumi -- members of the other clubs were peeking out of their rooms already at the commotion.
"Oh," Haruhi said suddenly, giving Kyon a serious stare. "I think we should soundproof this room."
"That's a smooth conversational shift," he opined, pulling his PDA out and snapping several pictures of Tsuruya in different poses around Mikuru, while the time traveler's blush slowly deepened. "I could see getting the materials ... but installing it would be a pain. I'm sure the school would be against it, too. I really think it would be worth more trouble than it's worth."
She gave him a hooded stare. "Yuki-chan, I want to make this room soundproof," she said.
Not looking up from her book, the quiet girl said, "Program loaded."
He pursed his lips and lowered his PDA, giving Haruhi a thoughtful look. Actually, that didn't sound so unreasonable.... "Yeah, okay," he agreed. "That sounds like a good idea. I didn't know you meant it that way, though."
Yuki raised her gaze to meet his, before giving a minute nod. A heartbeat later, she blinked and turned to Haruhi, raising a hand aimlessly, waving it limply in the air as she commented, "Quiet." A sheen of blue light expanded from above her, illuminating the interior of the room for a long breath before fading. Her attention returned to her book as her hand drifted back to her side.
Haruhi pursed her lips, while Tsuruya, Kanae, and Mikuru simultaneously cooed, looking around for remaining hints of the blue and silver glow. Kyon eyed Haruhi and wondered if Yuki's belated gesture and light effect were in response to the brigade chief's demand that things look flashier. "Better," she grudgingly allowed. "That's a bit better, Yuki-chan. But, we're going to have to teach you to put real heart into it!"
Yuki flipped to the next page of her book in response.
"Right," Kyon said, shaking his head and turning his attention back to Tsuruya. "Um, I have to admit, you really look impressive in that costume," he said, admiring the lacy flounces again. Her cheerful demeanor and energetic movements didn't really add to the Gothic Lolita feeling, but it still looked amazing.
"Though, now I want to see Yuki-chan in a similar costume," Haruhi remarked, crossing her arms over her chest and looking between Tsuruya and Yuki thoughtfully. The heiress obligingly released Mikuru and swooped over to Yuki, repeating most of her poses for Haruhi's trigger-happy camera finger. Well, he thought, storage space was cheap ... Haruhi certainly would have a lot of pictures to remember the brigade by.
"I think I'd like to see that, too," Kanae admitted, hiding most of her face behind her sketchbook, peeking at Yuki cautiously, her eternally luminescent blush underscoring her wide smile.
"I must admit," Koizumi allowed, pulling a strategy game from the closet, setting it between Kyon and himself, "Asahina-san's skill with the needle and thread is quite impressive."
"I...it wasn't that much," Mikuru said lamely, still blushing slightly herself. "I mean.... I'm glad to use my skills for something! And if it isn't too boastful ... I think that does look good on Tsuruya-san."
Tsuruya stuck her tongue out at Mikuru. "Tsuruya," she corrected. "We were close enough once that you'd call me Tsuruya all the time, not just when the club wasn't around."
"Ah, well, that...." Mikuru giggled in embarrassment. "R...right. Um, but, Suzumiya-san, I don't have a problem making another for Yuki-chan. If I did, though, Yuki-chan, would you want to wear one?"
While Kyon considered the fact that Mikuru was calling the other girl 'Yuki-chan', Yuki slowly looked up and turned her attention to Mikuru before giving a single, solemn nod and turning her attention back to her book.
"That settles it," Haruhi decided, nodding. "Of course, I think Yuki-chan will want a different color scheme."
"Okies, Mikuru-chan!" Tsuruya declared. "Tonight we buy all the extras cloth, ribbon, and lace you needs!"
"Right," the time traveler agreed absently, already furiously designing away on her own sketchbook. Sitting next to her, Kanae cautiously peeked at her work before comparing it to her sketches, then hurriedly flipping the page and starting a new drawing. "Hum ... Yuki-chan ... new design...."
"We've lost her," Haruhi said, shrugging. "We'll get Mikuru-chan back later. Hmm, maybe we should change her job title to chief of mascot services? It seems she's becoming management, now."
Kyon and Koizumi finished setting up the board for their strategy game, though Kyon was still flipping through the rules. There was something else he still wanted to do, come to think of it. "Say, Nagato," he remarked, prompting her to look up at him expectantly. "Are you busy tonight?" Her head shook once in negation, her eyes locked on him expectantly. "So ... I wanted to know if you would come with me for a bit this evening -- Haruhi, maybe you'd like to come, too?"
Surely if Haruhi was invited, she wouldn't think it was anything it shouldn't be...? To his surprise, the brigade chief didn't looked annoyed by the suggestion, like he'd somehow expected. "What's this?" she asked, simultaneous to Yuki's nod of acknowledgment.
"A surprise," he said, unable to keep a tiny trace of smug satisfaction from his voice.
She raised an eyebrow as she studied him and allowed a dubious nod. "This should be interesting," she allowed.
"Okies, since you're going as a team, Kanae-chan, want to come with Mikuru-chan and I shopping for cloth and stuffs?" Tsuruya asked, flouncing to the youngest girl's side and flashing her a bright, toothy smile. "Maybe we'll get ideas for later costumes~! Oh, and we can bring Koizumi-kun along and have him carry things~!"
"Y...yes, that sounds fun!" she agreed hurriedly, for some reason blushing even more brightly as she snapped her sketchbook shut.
"Glad to be of service," Koizumi managed with a weak smile.
"Also, while Mikuru and Kanae discuss costumes, I wanted to talk about work with you, Koizumi-kun."
Kyon noticed the way Koizumi perked up at that. "Ah? Well, naturally, then," he said smoothly.
Something else for Kyon to consider.... It wasn't intentional, but the esper was being left by the wayside more often than not ... something would have to be done about that.
After club activities had ended, as she was requested, Yuki closed her book and rose, turning her attention to her primary protection target, the one who those around her typically called 'Kyon'. It wasn't his name, but she had learned to correlate that nickname with his identity, still taking pains to acknowledge the difference between the two regardless.
Suzumiya Haruhi moved ahead of her, pushing the boy out so that Tsuruya would have relative privacy to change. Considering that none of the data of Tsuruya in undress would be unique or new to Kyon, given a bath that had been shared, she didn't really understand the necessity. Then again, she had taken that bath as well, and some strange urge toward modesty still made itself known around him ... a side effect of the memetic link with Haruhi?
Something to consider later. She followed behind the pair quietly, wondering about her specific assignment. She had no practical experience with relationships, let alone polyamorous relationships. Admittedly, she did have theoretical knowledge, thanks to observations of the extended family in Hinamizawa.
Even though, she was unclear if going somewhere with the brigade chief and vice commander constituted standard brigade activity, or some sort of relationship-based event. And if it was an event, how would priority be determined?
She presumed that she would be fine if she merely maintained her observational stance and followed silently.
Before they reached the shoe lockers, Haruhi turned to the boy and asked, "What's this all about, anyway?"
"I wanted to do something for Nagato," Kyon answered, shrugging. "That and the fact that Tsuruya's been paying me for my job ... well. You know. But I couldn't do that without Nagato's help, so I wanted to get her something."
Haruhi's eyebrows rose. "I guess that makes sense," she allowed, frowning. Then she shrugged, "And she did get you that PDA, even if you did have to do a side-quest for it...."
"Skynet?" he asked absently, changing his shoes. Yuki moved away, to her own shoe locker, but could still hear the pair.
"You seriously call it that?" Haruhi asked, sounding half amused and half disgusted. "Really?"
"Well, aloud ... I didn't give it a name when I use it," he admitted.
"Lemme see it!"
"You can try," Kyon said, a little smugly.
"Oh, wow, so it only works for you, huh? How's that set up?"
Finished changing shoes, Yuki circled around the bank of lockers expectantly. He was nodding, tugging on his last outdoor shoe as Haruhi grumbled and poked at the screen of his new PDA. The data structure within the phone did not recognize Haruhi as an administrator, so denied her access.
"Fingerprints," he finally said, holding a hand out expectantly.
Haruhi turned away from him, still jabbing at the phone. "Now I have to see what he's hiding! Yuki-chan, help me get into this thing!" Haruhi demanded, thrusting the phone toward Yuki with one hand as her other seized Kyon's tie when he tried to reach for it.
She blinked slowly, the phone in her hands as Kyon and Haruhi wrestled lightly, Kyon mostly held at bay as Haruhi weaved back and forth, preventing him from having clean access. A small change notified the resident data that while Kyon was the administrator, Haruhi was an authorized user. "Done," she acknowledged.
"Now keep Kyon off me for a minute!" Haruhi barked, leaping away from him and snatching the phone in one smooth motion.
The boy broke free, moving to dash after her -- but Yuki moved first, deducing that stepping inside Kyon's guard and hugging him tightly would immobilize him effectively.
She was right, as he instantly froze. Her back turned as she flipped through functions, Haruhi grumbled, "Why are Kyon's files still locked out? Oh, never mind ... here, it lets me rename it. 'Kyon's PDA'. Done! So obvious, really...." She turned around, blinking languorously as she saw Yuki hugging onto Kyon tightly, the boy immobilized and reddening as the few students leaving the school at that moment paused to stare.
"Er, er, good work," Haruhi managed belatedly. "Um, more emotion next time, Yuki, and then we'll have that sequel down solidly!"
"Good," Yuki allowed.
"That means you can let go!"
"Understood."
"That means let go!"
Reluctantly, and trying to reassure herself that she'd done it just to restrain him -- as per Haruhi's request -- Yuki released Kyon, who stammered wordlessly, unable to form a coherent argument before clearing his throat with a loud fake cough. "I was ... practicing," she said, turning her gaze to Haruhi. For her part, the girl looked mildly embarrassed and annoyed, but at the same time she also seemed faintly amused.
Something else to consider.
"Um," Kyon managed. "S...so, a...anyway, let's go shopping, huh?"