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!
"Title: Connected"
"Undetected routes
"Bridging the distance between
"You, and you, and I"
"Snow, Verses: A Compilation" -- Committed to record: 2011.5.18
The two most important beings in Yuki's life walked just ahead of her, the girl leaning closer to the boy than her social monitor suggested was proper. Then again, she frequently ignored that whenever she had privacy with him.
It was difficult -- bordering on impossible -- to define why. She knew a very, very small part of it was due to the memetic link she shared with Suzumiya Haruhi. Haruhi's own basic humanity 'leaked' across their connection, imprinting faint values of itself on Yuki. Inevitable, considering that Haruhi was effectively manufacturing or altering data to sustain Yuki, and it was a compromise she embraced, given it not only allowed her to survive, but also allowed her to slowly, with painfully tiny steps, actually grow outside of the confines of the structure the IDSE had given her.
Slowly, bit by bit, as she watched her rigid definitions get chipped away by those tiny intimacies.... The way Kyon smiled, or the way she felt when they were alone, and they kissed.... To another degree, that same sensation occurred again when Asahina Mikuru embraced her in the hospital. Loneliness she never attempted to acknowledge was slowly worn away, in the manner of stone and rushing water.
Did the two of them really know what they had achieved? Haruhi had said that Kyon was naturally oblivious, but that was fine. Could he have devised something so cunning unaware? Was he just lucky? Or was it Haruhi's doing, really?
She could spend quite a while mulling it over, but before she could try, Haruhi turned back to look at her, then seized her elbow and hauled her forward. Light on her feet, Yuki allowed herself to be tugged along weightlessly, until she was walking even with Kyon and Haruhi.
"I don't mind that you choose to be in the background during most club events," Haruhi said sternly, shooting her a sharp look, "but this is just the three of us, and Kyon invited you out, so don't exclude yourself!"
She nodded slightly, unsure what that part really meant. While it was effective, and she'd enjoyed it, she was absolutely under the impression that it had bothered Haruhi. So hugging the boy here would likely not be appropriate.
Likewise, as much fun as it was, kissing was probably out. What else was there to include herself in?
"Shame, Kyon," Haruhi chastised, turning her gaze to Kyon and putting one arm about Yuki's shoulders as they walked. "You're supposed to be the one who notices Yuki-chan, and you ignore her trailing behind us?"
"Isn't this the fault of the person who grabbed my wrist and hauled me down the street?" he protested, quirking one eyebrow higher.
"Then, don't be such a slowpoke!"
"So, it's my fault for getting dragged.... If I told you where we were going, you never would have stopped, either."
Haruhi sniffed, raising her nose. "Yuki and I could both keep up," she remarked. "Your penalty is for not noticing that she chose not to!"
Kyon nodded absently and pulled his PDA from his pocket. "Five and a half weeks," he remarked. "I do believe that is an all-time record for not having the brigade chief penalize me."
Haruhi's face colored faintly. "I've been going easy on you," she said with a sniff. "But then I heard you mention that Tsuruya-san's paying you for the work you do for her, so that means you have money!"
Kyon narrowed his eyes, studying Haruhi. "This may be a bit of a long shot," he said slowly, "but is it possible that you invoke penalties because you can't save your allowance at all?"
Yuki noted with interest that Haruhi's face suffused almost instantly bright red. "If you got it, spend it," she muttered. "Saving is so boring!"
"Yeah, okay," Kyon allowed, sighing. "I'll bite. What's the penalty this time?"
"I'll think of something," Haruhi mumbled.
Kyon chuckled, shaking his head. "Sure," he agreed. "Just keep in mind, even if it bores you, I would like to save a little money."
"Maybe I should see about getting official funding," Haruhi mused, releasing Yuki. "Through Mori-san, or Tsuruya-san.... Ooh, or maybe, we could finally do in the Student Council! Yeah! There's probably some money there!"
"We're transitioning from an after school club to a for-profit organization?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well!" Haruhi started excitedly, before trailing off and looking thoughtfully skyward. "Actually," she said in a calmer tone, frowning slightly, "I guess I don't like the idea of that, at all. I mean, money would be convenient to have ... that's why everyone loves to spend money, right?"
"By that logic, one year of funding all brigade cafe activities should have made me incredibly happy."
Yuki noted the sharp look that Haruhi shot Kyon as they rounded the corner, turning away from the train station and toward a shopping district. "Are you saying you aren't?" Haruhi challenged.
Kyon paused his walk, and Yuki stopped moving as well, turning to watch him curiously. Haruhi walked on a handful of steps before she caught on and turned to face him with her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrows expectantly.
"No," Kyon admitted, shaking his head, "I'm not saying that at all." He shrugged and started walking again. "And it's not like you didn't tell me that whatever I'd do with my money would just be a waste."
"Well, not exactly," Haruhi countered, falling into step beside him, "it's just, more manga that you've already read? I'm all for following new series and getting new ideas ... I just got the idea that you'd read boring things! I'm always looking for new and interesting stories, too. Not just manga, of course. I just don't have the patience to get stuck reading a long series, if I can help it.
"I don't watch anime that have a second season unless they're really well recommended," she continued, waggling a finger authoritatively. "Light novels with more than ten books are a hassle, and real novels that are more than a trilogy for that matter, too! Movies are okay, but should be in trilogies at best, as well. Too much is too much ... I get enough of my real life to not want to devote countless hours to escapism -- at least, not solely to a single story!
"It's not like I hate longer stories," she allowed, her tirade almost complete as she looked away, her face coloring. "But I picked up Mahou Sensei Negima a few years back because I like the artist's other stories.... How was I to know he wanted to make a series that rivaled the original Dragon Ball manga in length! Arg.... What a time sink!"
During the tirade, while he seemed focused on Haruhi words, Yuki caught the small glance that the boy gave her. Even though she feared she could never truly know what he meant without stating things clearly, she was certain that he was amused, at the very least. "I see," he said, when Haruhi finished. "So, you got caught up in a popular manga, and don't like the idea of it happening to me?"
"Well, smaller, more interesting stories are the key," Haruhi protested. "It's about variety of experiences, more than anything else! And ... well, I like Negima, but if I'd known it would be so long, I probably would have put it off until it was complete, then gotten all of the finished volumes and read it that way.... The waiting is a real annoyance, too, you know?"
"What do you think, Nagato?" he asked, turning to look at her instead of Haruhi as they paused again, this time before a manga and magazine shop. A small crowd of shoppers was flowing constantly throughout the district, a handful of other students from their school perusing the window display of a nearby bakery, or glancing in the window they had stopped from.
"Matters of opinion differ according to perspective," she answered without hesitation.
"No, no," Haruhi protested, frowning. "Well, I mean ... yeah, but that's obvious. What's your opinion, Yuki-chan? Is it better to read a lot of short stories, or one longer one?"
"In either case," she answered, taking a moment to consider, "the primary motivating factor is depth of immersion."
Haruhi blinked at that, looking confused. Kyon raised both of his eyebrows. "So, you're saying that you don't care about a story's length, as long as it moves you?" he suggested.
As always, he understood her better than she understood him. She gave a tiny nod to him, while Haruhi began to pout.
"Like Nagato said, though, everyone's different," Kyon said with a shrug. "But, since we're here, let's grab some manga anyway? I want to see if they've got the final volume of Yakitate! Japan, and I'm guessing your Negima is my penalty...?"
"Fine," Haruhi managed, her pout fading as her cheeks colored slightly. "If it's the last volume, lend me your manga once you're done with it!"
"I think it breaks your volume length rule," Kyon teased, opening the door and holding it for both of them.
"If I can read it all at once it doesn't matter," she countered. "Yuki-chan, what are you interested in?"
While she had read a significant volume of tomes, she preferred the density of compacted words. She'd never actually read any graphic novels at all. The most she could think of was light novels, of which she had read a few, with their occasional illustrations. Uncertain how to proceed, she approached a stand and picked up the first manga she saw.
Haruhi immediately burst into laughter, before clapping one hand over her mouth. At her side, Kyon looked like he was trying to suppress a smirk of his own. She studied the title, 'Ghost in the Shell'. "Is this not appropriate?" she asked. The more graphical medium made extracting data from the front illustration difficult.
In addition to the cover being the least adequate part of the book to judge the contents by, according to contemporary human adages, she knew that thematically, elements were redone specifically to catch the eye or try and sell the contents as a product to an unwary consumer. The cover of the book she had picked up had a very curvy woman who appeared to have lost the flesh on various parts of her body, revealing a rudimentary cybernetic understructure. The rest of her body was wrapped in a skin-tight suit of some unknown purpose, while she sat atop a spider-shaped mechanical tank-like construct.
Presumably, the story was about this character, and possibly her mechanical spider. Was there some cue she had missed that was more amusing to the others?
"If that's what you'd like, that's fine," Kyon said, shaking his head. "I haven't read that one, but I've heard it's good."
Yuki nodded slightly, satisfied she had picked something. After she had some time to try and pick meaning from the pictures, instead of the more direct words she had previously stuck with, she could decide if the pictures provided a different level of immersion.
"Anyway, I've also got 'AI Love You', which is by the author who writes Negima," Haruhi commented, still grinning. "I think that you'll really like that!"
She nodded acceptance, noting that Kyon's attention had already wandered across the store. "Found it," he said in satisfaction, a few aisles over. When she approached, she noticed that the covers of the volumes in this area tended toward young male figures in athletic poses or about to enter combat ... or more often, what was presumably the main cast all stuck together as if posing for a camera. The volume he held had what was presumably the protagonist, smiling widely, though she was unable to determine the figure's gender. Most likely a girl, given the pink headband, apron, and basket of baked goods.
"Me, too," Haruhi added, grabbing three volumes of her own. "Hmm, is that really all you want, Yuki-chan?"
"It is not yet known if I appreciate this medium," she answered. She could read it before it was paid for, of course, but she'd learned that store owners seemed not to appreciate that very much. That was why it was such a pleasant discovery when Kyon had introduced her to the library. That space was specifically set aside for culturally appropriate reading, and ostensibly, was free to all to use as much as they desired. Once Kyon had gotten her a library card, at least.
Haruhi looked at Yuki thoughtfully, then immediately turned her attention to Kyon, raising both eyebrows expectantly.
"What?" he asked, faintly annoyed as he moved to stand behind a small cluster of boys in the same school uniform as him, eagerly discussing the latest volume of their own manga. "What's that look about?"
"You know Yuki-chan best," she said with a sigh, shaking her head.
Yuki thought that was an interesting observation. Still, at least among their own club, she was right. Even then, Yuki wondered how much Kyon really understood of her. While she couldn't quantify it, she felt strangely assured that it was enough.
"Well, I think you shouldn't talk about her like she's not here," Kyon said mildly. "If you want to try and know Nagato better, maybe you should just spend some time listening and watching her, instead of saying what you think she means."
Yuki blinked, wondering if it would be appropriate to nod. Haruhi squinted at him, then sighed and turned her full focus on Yuki. "Well, if you can figure it out, I'll try, too," she agreed.
A few minutes later, Kyon paid for their manga, rolling his eyes at the total as Haruhi spotted and demanded an entire stack of Trope-tan manga, "For the club! Kanae-chan and Tsuruya-san love this, right?"
"I should point out," Kyon said, hefting the bag with all of the purchases in it, "that I haven't even gotten to do what I set out to do, here."
"What is that, anyway?" Haruhi asked. "You wanted to get Yuki-chan something, right? The manga doesn't count?"
"Not when you get more than her," Kyon retorted, smirking. "But, no." He gestured to a shop a few doors over, where Yuki could see multiple gleaming rows of handheld communication devices. "I know it's not much, Nagato, but you've done so much for us lately, that you have to at least let me make this one tiny gesture, even if it is kind of useless."
She was uncertain how to react, but didn't miss the way that Haruhi's eyebrows shot upward, and her mouth dropped open slightly. Really, it seemed as though Haruhi was somehow jealous that she hadn't thought of the idea, first.... From a technical standpoint, he was right to think that it didn't mean much to her. She had a home phone, and wasn't away from it often, except in instances where she was with the others.
Somehow, though.... Somehow, even though it was a silly piece of technology that she could emulate without effort.... As a symbol it still possessed meaning. Even despite that, she found herself asking, "Why?"
"I just thought ... if you ever wanted to call me-- Or Haruhi, or anyone else from the brigade...." He shrugged, gesturing in when an eager clerk opened and held the door for the group, welcoming them with a wide grin.
As a token from him, she would treasure it, regardless of function. Technically, she could afford to buy it herself. While the IDSE could have sabotaged her finances, she could repair them just as easily ... so money wasn't likely to be an issue, except where it was suspicious. So, she decided she would accept the token, but purchase it herself. He didn't have the power to fabricate currency, after all.
As she opened her mouth to explain this to him, he didn't even look at her, instead leaning down to peer at one of the display models. "And I won't take 'no' for an answer, this time," he said absently. "If I can't get it for you, I feel like I haven't done anything to make it a gift."
She closed her mouth, nodding acceptance gravely. He noticed, even without looking. Haruhi stared intently, nodding slowly herself.
"I'm starting to get Yuki-chan watching," she remarked, crossing her arms over her chest. "And move away from there, Yuki-chan! I see you reaching for the cheapest phone in the place! Get something nice -- something meaningful, or else you reduce the value of Kyon's gift!" If anything, the clerk haunting the trio managed to smile even more widely.
She paused, nodding again, retracting the hand she had only begun to raise. While she thought from an objective standpoint that being predictable could reveal any number of weak points for an enemy to attack ... somehow it was reassuring to be known. And while the sensation and enjoyment of it from him had been a constant since she had first been taken to the library, from Haruhi it was strangely refreshing.
First him, then recently Mikuru, and now Haruhi.... This was the very thing that the IDSE had determined would cause her to become unreliable. Except, when she analyzed the situation, she couldn't find herself agreeing with her former.... She realized with faint surprise that she wasn't even certain how to define the relationship she had with the IDSE. The nearest contemporary human analogue would be slavery -- which didn't adequately express it. But 'family' wasn't good enough, either.
Such things weren't precisely blind spots in the entity's outlook ... it had the data of everything that a human could experience in terms of relationship, but no way to directly experience it. In fact, she and the others like her had been created specifically to bridge that gap ... though, there was evidence to suggest that she and the others like her may in fact have been intended as insulative measures to protect the entity from memetic contamination.
After all, in the entity's judgment, she was contaminated with the data that she was supposed to observe, not participate in. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to consider it contamination, herself, despite the difficulty she had in expressing her changes. So, if he wanted her to have a trinket as a symbol of their connection, a communication device sufficed on several levels.
As she slowly surveyed the store, it occurred to her that frequently girls her own apparent age also used their phones as status symbols, frequently adding small charms or decorations for individuality. Was that, just as much as the fact that it was a symbol of communication part of why he had wanted to get her one of the devices?
Now which one was she supposed to choose? He perused the models, looking without really appearing interested. Haruhi was studying her. So ... something from him...?
"I'm home," Kyon announced tiredly. Not that he had endured anything particularly exhausting, except for the math test. And considering that, he was still vaguely certain he might have enjoyed fighting against a dozen boryokudan soldiers more than math tests. Having to do both ... actually wasn't as bad as he had feared. But he wasn't immune to getting tired, even if he did suspect that before her memory gambit, Haruhi had given him more energy when he woke up in the mornings.
Still, in retrospect, having to worry about both school and the abnormal side of his life -- the business of supernatural and secret organizations.... The manga weren't entirely accurate when it came down to living the experiences. Strangely, it felt like less of a burden than most of his shounen heroes made it seem, and he felt he spent significantly more time actually doing school-related things than otherwise.
"Welcome back!" his little sister cheered, launching into him like a cannon-ball. He smirked at the way his coat's passive shielding reduced her projectile momentum to nothing more than an energetic hug -- evidently without her noticing. "Dad's got something amazing going on in the kitchen!"
He shrugged, tousling her hair and removing his coat to drape over one arm before stepping into the kitchen. His mother wasn't in sight, probably out grabbing groceries. His father had spread his newspapers all across the table, along with an incredibly battered collection of archaic odds and ends, some of which seemed vaguely familiar.
"Welcome home, Kyon," his father said absently, peering very closely at....
Kyon blinked slowly, not sure he believed his eyes. There were old, tarnished coins in that pile. Bits of what may once have been distinguished samurai armor, various pieces of decoration featuring unrecognizable kanji, obscured with a combination of age and caked-on grime.... But in the center, unmistakable despite the fact that most of it had corroded into a lump of rust that suggested the function it once held....
"Is that a sword?" he managed, unable to turn the incredulous look he intended to at his father.
"It hasn't aged as well as I hoped," his father sighed. "I thought that this was a relic of your great grandfather, from the war.... Well, it seems it was actually much older than that. I couldn't really guess how old, though."
In considerably better condition than the sword was a small brass hammer, which Kyon absently picked up and turned over. There was a pin in the head of the hammer, which he unscrewed. "Well, traditionally," he said, setting the pin against the peg in the sword's handle, "there's a maker's mark on the blade's tang, inside the hilt."
"Well, yes, but-- Say, what are you doing?"
Kyon shrugged, hefting the hammer to test its weight. "This is a mekugi," he explained, nodding at the peg on the hilt while his sister watched raptly. "It's the peg that runs through both the tsuka -- the hilt -- and the tang -- the base of the blade inside the hilt. I have to say, though, this equipment looks much, much newer than the sword itself." One solid whack against the peg dislodged it. "Now that the mekugi is loose, we can pull the hilt off...." With a small grunt of exertion, he was able to convince the hilt and the tang to part, probably for the first time in decades.
"And there we have it," he said in satisfaction, putting the pin back into the top of the hammer and setting it down.
"S...so I see," his father agreed, leaning close to examine it. "Huh. Can you remove the tsuba as well?"
"Yeah," Kyon agreed, carefully pulling the aged components off the weathered sword until the hand guard was loose. "Hmm, this is a different metal," he commented, sliding the piece across the tang and then holding it up to examine it. "I think it's brass."
"Well, this tsuba could give us some background on our clan, you know. This sword has probably been in our family longer than I realized!" his father remarked, plucking the grimy disc from Kyon's hands to peer at it curiously.
Shrugging, Kyon leaned forward to squint at the maker's mark on the blade itself. At his side, his little sister stared at the artifacts with wide-eyed wonder, her fingertips just clinging to the edge of the table. "I can't read that kanji," he finally admitted, shaking his head and turning a curious glance at his father.
"I'm not the one who's suddenly proficient in classic sword maintenance," his father replied, studying the unfamiliar kanji anyway. "Huh ... well, we'll need a scholar for that-- Say, Kyon, when did you learn this much about swords, anyway?"
He felt his face color. It probably wouldn't do to explain that it was incidental knowledge to go with the swordsmanship he'd learned at Haruhi's request. "Well, you know," he said lamely, shrugging. "That club I'm in ... we do a lot of practice things."
His father accepted this with a dubious nod. "I can't make out many details on this," he added, indicating the tsuba. "It looks very ornate, but the oxidation is so severe, it's almost black.... I bet if we could find someone who knew what they were doing, this could be restored."
Not the blade, Kyon knew instantly. The tang might have legible markings and be in good condition, but the rest of the sword was a rusted, ruined mess, unlikely to be of worth to most collectors. The tsuba might be more reparable, and that would be the more important part, ultimately, if it gave a key to their heritage.
"Tsuruya-kun might know someone," he said, thinking about it. "I can make a copy of the marks on the tang, and see what she makes of the tsuba?"
The man hesitated, then nodded, giving a weak smile. "I guess it's too much to hope for that it would be done before our meeting on Thursday," he allowed, sighing. "Still, a little token of our legacy is a nice thing, isn't it?"
"I suppose," Kyon said, shrugging. He picked up the remnants of the hilt. "This tsuka is really well made ... for the sword to be rusted almost through, but the wood to not have rotted at all?"
"Well, the wrappings didn't fare too well," his father remarked, shuffling everything into a large and much abused cardboard box. "It's possible that they protected the hilt beneath them. Which may be just as well; since the tang is preserved, so is the maker's mark."
Nodding absently, Kyon copied the maker's mark onto a piece of notebook paper, then wrapped both the paper and the tsuba in his handkerchief and stuck stuck them in his coat pocket. Just as they finished clearing the table off, balling up the newspaper, now full of rusty cast off grit and oil from who-knew-what, they heard the sound of the front door opening.
Kyon's father wordlessly hefted the box and dashed toward the back door, bee-lining to the storage shed, leaving his children to finish disposing of the rest of the evidence.
"I'm home!" their mother called.
"Mom!" Kyon's sister exclaimed excitedly, launching herself toward the entryway to run interference. He hurriedly stuffed the trash into the waste bin, then realized that he would also need to take the trash out....
He had just finished replacing the trash bag when his mother stepped into the kitchen, giving him a rare, approving smile to see him in the middle of household chores. "Dinner will be ready in about an hour," she told him. "Once you finish your chores, make sure you're done with your homework."
"Got it," he agreed, hefting the sealed trash bag and marching to the outside waste bin.
His father was standing in the backyard, still, staring at the sky thoughtfully as he puffed on a cigarette. "Oh, da-- Uh, shoot, I mean," he remarked, frowning at Kyon. "I was going to do that."
"Lost your excuse to sneak out and grab a smoke without mom noticing?" Kyon asked, smirking at his father.
The man gave him a hooded stare before taking one last drag on his cigarette and stubbing it out. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her," the man said resolutely, pulling a pack of breath mints from his pocket.
"You can say that again," Kyon agreed, shaking his head. When he stepped back into the kitchen, his sister was at his mother's side, standing atop the stepping stool and washing the vegetables for the evening meal. Since neither her nor their mother noticed him, he decided to wordlessly climb the stairs.
More homework. "Ninety or better," he mumbled, dropping his coat onto his bed and turning to his schoolbag. "Ugh."
Except for the all-important math test being handed back (though, in Kyon's case, all tests were so important), Haruhi judged the day of lessons to be as boring as ever. Still, by focusing on them, she defeated them quickly. She'd gotten a ninety seven on her test, lower than usual, but Kyon had gotten a ninety six, so she wasn't much bothered. Three of her points for twenty one of his? A seven to one conversion rate was quite solid.
Kanae eagerly volunteered for mascot duty, and as much as Haruhi liked seeing Tsuruya in her elegant crimson dress, she also thought Kanae was adorable in her own outfit. After the girl had changed and the boys were allowed entry to the room again, Kanae flawlessly carried her duties out, the epitome of moe. "Yep, police woman's costume, next," Haruhi affirmed. "Your ludicrously cute features with outfits demanding authority are the perfect combination!"
"Okay," Mikuru mumbled, still busily sketching in her book, pausing occasionally stare at the ceiling, contemplating some intricacy of the amazing sewing knowledge she had collected before quickly jotting down a series of small notes, numbers, and exceptionally detailed diagrams. Haruhi had once had a passing interest in sewing, but Mikuru had elevated it to a form of science with Yuki's help, and Haruhi couldn't name half of the things that Mikuru had planned without taking time to concentrate on the last sewing book she had read.
Kyon, Tsuruya, and Koizumi were already clustered around a board game, and Yuki was slowly tapping at the keys of her laptop -- not reading the manga she had picked out the previous afternoon. Haruhi glanced at the other girl briefly, wondering what she was writing, then turned her attention to her list of required supplies for the weekend beach trip.
Kanae quietly set a hot cup of coffee on the edge of the desk, carefully carrying a tray with hot drinks for the others at the table over. "Anything interesting or unusual lately?" Haruhi asked, glancing up from the monitor to scan across the table. After serving drinks, Kanae sat next to Mikuru and began to work on her sketchbook.
"Not for me," the slider volunteered, shaking her head.
"How about you, Koizumi, Tsuruya-san? You headed out to discuss something yesterday, didn't you?" she pressed, curious.
"That's right," Koizumi agreed, sighing and tipping over his game piece as Kyon moved something across the board. "Well, it was just Organization business.... Tsuruya-san and myself end up working as liaisons for...." He paused, glancing toward the door and shrugging with a broad smile. "I suppose this is soundproofed, now. But we each work to express our interests as our current cohesive group to the two sides of the new organization that is being formed."
"It's a lot of boring paperworks, actually," Tsuruya commented, throwing the dice and grinning as her game piece crossed the finish line first. "Organization charts, defining communications channels -- and background checks."
Haruhi frowned. She supposed it made sense, but organized criminals and a secret conspiracy joining forces ... a bureaucratic nightmare? Just as well she got to ignore it. Doing paperwork for Kyon was pain enough! "I wish it were more exciting," she opined.
"I'm happier with the slow days, myself," Koizumi remarked, shaking his head slightly with an apologetic smile.
Nodding thoughtfully as Kyon collected the game pieces and prepared for another round, Haruhi realized that it was the first time she'd heard the esper declare an opinion contrary to hers without Kyon endorsing it first. She hid an internal smile ... that much better if Koizumi decided to stand on his own and be supportive, but his own person, not just a mindless yes-man.
"Since you're the one dealing with those slow days, good for you," she acknowledged. "How many can play this game?"
"Four," Kyon answered. Kanae's expectant smile fell, as she looked wordlessly between Haruhi, Tsuruya, and Koizumi.
"I'll sit out," Koizumi volunteered. "I did lose last round, after all."
"No, no, I'll sit out," Tsuruya insisted, rising to her feet and stretching. "Here you go, Haru-nyan~!"
While Haruhi looked over the rules, Kyon dealt out the game's tokens. "Say, Tsuruya-kun, there was something in my coat I wanted to ask you about," he said, glancing up as he passed Kanae her cards.
"Sure thing!" she giggled, going to where Kyon had hung his coat on the costume rack. "I gots it!"
"Er, yeah," he acknowledged, as she held the garment out for him. "Thanks ... I was going to get that, though."
"I needed to stretch, anyway," the tall girl insisted, while he stood up and rummaged inside the coat. "What's this about, then? Another alien artifact?"
"No," he said, pulling out a few objects in succession, grimacing when they weren't what he was looking for. A small spiral-bound notebook with a pen clipped to it that Haruhi decided she would investigate later, his old cell phone, his math test, his new phone, and finally, a cloth-wrapped bundle. "Of course, the heaviest thing would be at the bottom," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, my father found that last night, and we were wondering about the legacy ... I didn't know who else to ask, but I know you have contact with people who run labs and could probably figure this out, so...."
Tsuruya accepted it solemnly, eyes gleaming with excitement, and carried it to the seat opposite Mikuru, while Haruhi let herself be completely distracted from the game manual to watch. The object inside the bundle was a piece of a sword -- the hand guard. Beneath it was a carefully traced copy of some arcane kanji that she didn't recognize.
"Ooooh," the heiress cooed, moving the metal disk to one side and staring at the paper in astonishment. "I knows this name!"
"Game paused on account of ancestral heirloom weapon," Haruhi declared, turning her attention to Kyon. "Why didn't you say you had such a thing!?"
"I had no idea!" Kyon protested. "It suddenly showed up last night...." He trailed off and squinted. "Well, no ... in retrospect I think I remember seeing it in the pile of things that we got from my grandfather.... I didn't know what it was then -- and I still don't!"
Haruhi raised her eyebrows doubtfully. "You are actively trying to pretend you don't hear the call," she judged, shaking her head. "Tsuruya-san, what do you make of it?"
"Hmm!" Tsuruya mused, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I can't actually read the entire thing ... it looks like there's a prayer on it, too. But I do knows that name! Three of the swords in my family home have the same name on them! So, Kyon-kun, our ancestors used the same sword smith!"
"That's ... kind of neat," Kyon allowed, nodding. "Do you know anything else?"
"I'll find out," Tsuruya promised eagerly, carefully re-wrapping the tsuba and note, then stowing them in her schoolbag.
"Good that you're keeping yourself busy, Kyon," Haruhi judged. Then again.... It also occurred to her that Kyon could easily have asked herself or Yuki to find out what the lineage of the heirloom was. She'd need Kyon's permission, but Yuki wouldn't.
Of course, Kyon did complain about relying on Yuki too much, and she was starting to see his point.... She, naturally, would like Kyon to rely on herself more, but at the moment that mostly came down on Yuki, anyway. So for the time being, that was out. "Did you finish reading your manga last night, Yuki-chan?" she asked, turning her attention to the game board as Kyon resumed setting out pieces.
"Yes," she answered quietly, tapping another key.
"Well, what did you think of it?"
Yuki looked up from her screen, her eyes wandering across the table and studying everyone in turn before finally drifting back to Haruhi's. A long minute of thought later, she replied, "Unique."
"Well ... yeah ... but did you like it?"
Yuki nodded slightly, without hesitation. "An evocative medium," she remarked.
"Haha, is our Nagato becoming a manga fan?" Kyon asked with a chuckle, raising an eyebrow, the hints of a smile playing about the corners of his mouth.
In response, Yuki pulled her cell phone from her pocket. The model she had finally settled on was a decent, established model -- reliable, sturdy, and fairly expensive, despite not being top of the line. Haruhi wondered just how much money Tsuruya was paying Kyon that he only shrugged at the price tag after picking up all of the Trope-tan manga....
Something else to figure out at a later date.
Still, it was a solid and very shiny phone (nicer than Haruhi's, actually), with no moving parts outside of the keys. Haruhi personally thought that flip-tops were more interesting and stylish, but Yuki had merely pointed at the hinge and labeled it a structural weakness.
Yuki pressed a button to wake the device and light up the background, which had already been replaced with a picture of the cover of the manga in question.
"I don't know that one well," Tsuruya said, shaking her head. "But I thoughts the movie was good!"
Yuki blinked, turning her gaze to Tsuruya as she pocketed her phone again. "Movie?" she asked.
Even though her token 'silent character' status was slipping, Haruhi couldn't help but be pleased that slowly, Yuki was becoming more outspoken and a greater part of the group. With Koizumi finally expressing his own opinions, Mikuru behaving more confidently, and even Kanae showing what looked like real trust for the others....
Not, she admitted to herself, that she was in any way immune. Though she'd never say it aloud in Kyon's hearing (it firmly landed in his small but real 'anger' zone), in a small way, she was grateful that events put Yuki in enough danger to allow the trust that prompted all of the changes they had endured. Kyon had opened her eyes to her friends, and though he acted aloof and behaved generally the same....
He had changed. He was more at ease, at least ... and if he hadn't become so, she never would have realized that he had been stressed in the past. But instead of feeling frequently remote and disapproving, he felt more like ... well ... a friend. A guide, even, maybe.
"Your turn," Kanae reminded her, waving a hand. "Is everything alright, Suzumiya-san?"
"Ah, just distracted," she admitted, studying the board, where Kyon, Koizumi, and Kanae had already taken their moves. "So, me versus team alliteration, eh?"
"Hmm," Tsuruya mused, glancing at the board game. "I wonders if there's a poem in that?"
Haruhi rolled the dice and moved her piece. Tsuruya had gotten out a calligraphy kit in the meantime. "You're not actually in the calligraphy club, are you, Tsuruya-san?" she asked. She didn't remember seeing Tsuruya with Mikuru in her original scan of the club ... but it had been a year ago.
"Private training," the heiress responded, her brush elegantly tracing characters as quickly as Haruhi thought most people could write. Mikuru had very solid calligraphy, but Tsuruya had her beat -- hands down -- in both terms of clarity and speed. "Important things to know, in the business."
"What else did you learn?" Kyon asked, grimacing as Koizumi played a penalty card on him. "Back to the beginning.... I know you mentioned that you had some martial arts training, too?"
"All proper things!" Tsuruya exclaimed, focused on her current paper. "Tea ceremony, calligraphy, social behaviors, ninkyo dantai formality, martial arts, interrogations ... that kinds of stuff."
"You know tea ceremony, but you don't know how to prepare tea?" Haruhi asked, arching an eyebrow higher as Kanae rolled the dice and moved her piece.
"Oh, well," Tsuruya said, chuckling as she set her brush down. "That's entirely different. Mikuru-chan knows how to make teas with much less fuss, and I'm not sure how you use those tools. The teas I learned to make is from powdered tea, not tea leaves."
"Hmm," Haruhi mused, realizing she didn't actually know much about tea ceremony in general. There was a club at the school for it, but it seemed hopelessly boring. She had almost fallen asleep during her day there, when they were talking about the importance of water temperature. "Maybe you can show us, some day?" she asked, tossing the dice for her turn again. "I'd like to see how it's done, I guess."
"Sure!" Tsuruya agreed, nodding. "I can teach you, too!"
"It might be fun to do once," Kyon allowed, throwing the dice when Haruhi finished her turn. "Oh, man...." He sighed and moved his piece back several spaces after landing on a penalty square.
"It sounds enjoyable," Koizumi agreed, playing yet another penalty card on Kyon, and rolling the dice again. "I, for one, gladly embrace these tranquil days where we find them."
"As long as things don't get too boring," Haruhi opined, while Kanae took her turn. "Except the beach trip this weekend, we don't really have anything planned."
"Actually," Kyon said, wincing slightly as he checked his PDA, "my family is meeting with Tsuruya and her father for dinner tomorrow night. It's a fairly formal thing, so I'll probably have to skip club for it...."
That chafed her.... "I remember that being mentioned," she agreed, frowning. "Well, work is work, and you have to earn those paychecks somehow."
Though her face colored slightly, Tsuruya kept her attention firmly focused on her calligraphy.
Mikuru broke from her sketching to stretch her arms over her head and glance around the table, smiling when she spotted the teacup Kanae had left her. "I'll make tea for the next round, Kanae-chan," she remarked, seeing that the slider was involved with the game.
"Ah, thanks!" Kanae said, ducking her head and shooting the time traveler a grin.
Haruhi took her turn, landing twelve tiles away from the goal. A pair of sixes would win for her....
Kyon rolled the dice, then his eyes, moving forward three tiles before sending the dice across the table to Koizumi.
"Could this be a rare instance of me actually doing better than you in a board game?" the esper asked cheerfully, taking his turn. Mikuru giggled in response, rising to move to the tea set. "Perhaps I'll even win!"
"Nope!" Kanae cheered, playing a penalty card on him before rolling, stopping one square short of the goal. "Aww...."
Haruhi rolled the dice, grinning at her pair of sixes. "Better luck next time, Koizumi-kun," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and nodding in satisfaction. "Pick out a game that can have more players, Kyon!"
"Then I can collect penalty cards from even more opponents," he replied with a smirk, before walking around the table to the game cabinet. Koizumi shrugged and began putting the current board game away, while Mikuru hummed and prepared a new batch of tea.
Kyon returned to the table with a copy of a murder mystery board game Koizumi had picked up months ago. "Here," he said, setting it down and retaking his seat. "Up to eight players."
"Ooh, I know this one!" Tsuruya exclaimed, finished with her calligraphy. "I'll play! I wants the green piece!"
"Give me the gold one," Haruhi claimed quickly.
"Can I join, too?" Mikuru asked, serving everyone their refreshed tea.
"Naturally," Koizumi agreed, nodding.
"Nagato?" Kyon asked, pulling out the board and pieces.
Yuki blinked, seemingly satisfied with her work on the laptop for the moment. She closed it and gave a tiny nod, turning her attention to the board game.
In spite of herself, Haruhi smiled. It wasn't quite what she originally had in mind when she was looking for people who were different from 'normal'. She'd thought initially that playing with time travelers, aliens, espers, sliders.... Well, she'd originally thought that having fun would involve using their powers a lot. After all, that would be a kind of fun that no one else would get to have!
All the same, she couldn't quite bring herself to be upset with the way things were going. Everyone was having fun, after all. Not just her, but thanks to what she'd learned over the last year, she had at least learned that wasn't the point.
Well ... it wasn't what she had been looking for. But maybe it was what she had wanted, anyway.
Even if she wasn't going to be able to see Kyon or Tsuruya at the club the next day, she felt that things were going to be okay.
After class finished on Thursday, Mikuru briefly contemplated her options. Well, attending the club was still a requirement, of course.... And she had the basic designs. She just needed to measure Yuki to figure out what the measurements should be; Tsuruya didn't want to wait on measuring first, so there was already a very large pile of lengths of cloth, probably much more than another outfit would take.
Though, thinking of the green-haired girl, she was skipping club to take care of some business with Kyon. Humming to herself and wondering what to do with the rest of her day, she opened the door to the club room, absently heading toward the costume rack for her maid outfit before realizing she had walked in on Kanae mid-outfit change.
"Ah," Kanae managed, her face turning pink. "I forgot to lock the door."
"I always do that," Mikuru assured the slider, reddening slightly herself as she closed the door.
Kanae ducked her head and giggled, rushing to change into her stewardess outfit. "Well, I suppose that Koizumi-san and Sempai are the only boys here, but still," she said, buttoning the coat up.
Mikuru felt her face color more darkly. "Kyon-kun always knocks," she said, nodding. "Um, I'll get started on the tea while you dress."
"Thanks! Sempai's thoughtful like that -- like you!"
"Well, he did walk in on me accidentally once, after I forgot to lock the door ... the first and only time, really," Mikuru confessed, giggling.
Kanae's gasp sounded behind her, the slider simultaneously sounding eager and jealous. "S...Sempai got to see you change?"
"Ah, well...." Mikuru hesitated, setting the kettle on the hot plate. He'd seen much more of her, in that picture Tsuruya snapped, in that very fancy but embarrassingly ... she couldn't think of a proper word, and her face was red enough. Coughing and fussing aimlessly with the tea basket, her back to the slider, she managed, "It was quite embarrassing ... I almost screamed. He was so apologetic afterward!"
"Ooh," Kanae murmured. "But, then ... Sempai always knocks now, but what about Koizumi-san?"
"Koizumi-kun usually comes to club later, or follows someone else," Mikuru agreed, turning back to Kanae, who was finishing adjusting her cap. "You should be completely safe changing in here! Only the other girls should walk in on you."
As if to underscore that point, the door suddenly slammed open with an oddly muffled thud. "Hello!" Haruhi cheered, her smile widening slightly at seeing Kanae in her stewardess outfit. "Ah, that is so cute!"
Kanae tried to smile, but it was overridden by a pout. "I wouldn't have minded Sempai," it sounded like the girl was muttering.
But surely she hadn't said something like that? Mikuru hoped that Kanae was just fixated on Kyon as a sempai, or an older brother figure, not.... Oh, Haruhi would be so jealous if she found out!
"W...what was that?" she asked, eyes flicking to Haruhi nervously. "Um, and do you know where Yuki-chan is?"
"Computer club today, since Kyon's absent," Haruhi answered, shrugging. "I checked in on them, since I suspected it. Anyway, what's wrong, Kanae-chan? Don't like your costume?"
"N...no, no, it's cute!" Kanae protested immediately, waving her hands as though to ward away the very idea. "Just.... W...well, when you said 'stewardess' costume, I thought it might be a bit ... um ... well...." She trailed off and offered Mikuru a sheepish, apologetic smile. "I'm kind of envious of Tsuruya-san's first costume...."
"What, you think it's not sexy enough?" Haruhi asked, raising an eyebrow as she walked around Kanae to toss her bag on the table and drop into the chair behind the computer desk.
Kanae blushed wordlessly and stared at her feet, poking her index fingers at one another.
Mikuru silently raised the fingertips of one hand to her mouth, unsure of what to say. She hadn't designed it herself, after all, just copied the idea from an anime.... Though, that was just as true for Tsuruya's more daring outfit. And given that Haruhi, regardless of if she would admit it or not, was easily made jealous....
That and the fact that Kanae looked younger than she even was, being so tiny. Mikuru couldn't really think of how to try and make an outfit for her that was more 'sexy' than 'cute'. Something else she couldn't say, at least not without crushing the slider's confidence. She turned her eyes to Haruhi, worried about whatever was to happen next.
Haruhi made a thoughtful noise, as though considering something, then shook her head and leaned back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest. "I don't think that will work," she said disagreeably. "The initial point of a mascot for the club was to try and find someone who was really moe, someone who would draw people to the club and get us members!"
"I might be able to do that!" Kanae managed weakly. "Um ... i...if I tried--"
"We don't really want just any member, now, though," Haruhi interrupted, waggling a finger at the slider. "So, the mascot position isn't about recruiting anymore. It's just for fun, and so Mikuru-chan gets to practice her sewing! It's still nice to have cute mood-setting costumes for multiple occasions, but I don't think it's for the best to turn it into a competition.
"I do like the idea of competition in general, but all things considered, doing it here would undermine the teamwork and friendship we're trying to build. And, anyway, the chief of mascot services has a certain home field advantage, doesn't she?" Haruhi underscored the last remark by sweeping an arm out, pointing squarely at Mikuru's chest.
She squeaked involuntarily, wondering what costume was in store for her next. Though, if she got to make it herself....
"Haha, see?" Haruhi said, nodding knowingly at the way Mikuru shrunk away. "Kyon fell for that, too! Not that I can blame him...." Haruhi jumped from her seat, and Mikuru valiantly tried to flee -- but not quickly enough. She made it about three steps toward the door before Haruhi glomped onto her, holding her tightly from behind and nuzzling the back of her neck.
"N...not the ear thing again!" Mikuru protested.
"She's so moe you just want to grab her and take care of her -- and in that outfit, you're the same way!"
"Kanae-chan!" Mikuru whimpered. "Run, save yourself!"
Unexpectedly to Mikuru, Haruhi suddenly released her, as both the brigade chief and the slider burst into laughter. "So!" Haruhi said brightly, moving next to the time traveler and clapping one hand on her shoulder. "Use what you've got, and don't worry about the rest so much. We're strong in our unique attributes, not the ones that everyone has that are the same."
"W...well, even so," Kanae said, giggling, "there are some ways that I wish I was more ... um ... similar to Asahina-san in."
"W...what?" Mikuru asked, dazed. "You can always grow your hair out, Kanae-chan.... I think you might be even cuter if you grew it out!"
"That's not what I need to grow," Kanae said with a pout.
"Well, that's Mikuru-chan's specialty," Haruhi sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I'm jealous of that from Mikuru-chan, too! But in your case, well, you've got time to grow. Eat your vegetables, and drink your milk!"
Mikuru wondered what on earth Haruhi and Kanae were talking about.
"I will!" Kanae said cheerfully, pumping one fist in the air. "If you believe in it, I'll do it!"
Even though she didn't entirely understand the situation, Mikuru suddenly realized that, more than anything, she missed Kyon. She hadn't realized how much of a calming influence he was on everyone.... Which was silly of her to forget. And it wasn't just that she wanted to run away from Haruhi before another 'ear' event, or....
Well.
"Um, Suzumiya-san," she managed, creeping away toward the tea set. "Would it be alright if I were to leave the club early today?"
"What for?" Haruhi asked in surprise, as Koizumi opened the door. "Oh, hey, Koizumi-kun."
"Hello, Suzumiya-san!" the esper replied cheerfully. "What's the plan for today?"
"Not sure yet," Haruhi answered, turning a questioning gaze to Mikuru.
"Um ... if Yuki-chan and I are going with Kyon-kun to see a movie tomorrow, I was thinking of taking Yuki-chan shopping for some clothes...?"
"Yuki-chan has other clothes!" the brigade chief noted. Then she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I know she wears other things on vacation ... but ... come to think of it, you're right. I suppose for Yuki-chan, school uniforms are the new black. Okay! I get what you're going for. If Yuki-chan doesn't mind leaving the computer club, then go for it!" She beamed a bright smile at the time traveler, and Mikuru felt her heart lift.
"That leaves just the question of what shall be done with us," Koizumi remarked with a shrug, taking a seat at the table. "Is anyone up for a round of Othello?"
"Oh, I'll play," Kanae agreed.
"There's just one thing," Haruhi warned Mikuru sternly, before she could move to the door.
So close to escape! "Ah...?" Mikuru forced a smile and looked at Haruhi with nervous expectancy.
"I know you have a camera in your phone ... so I expect pictures of Yuki-chan trying on the different outfits!" Turning to the table, where Kanae and Koizumi were already setting up the board, she added, "Actually, Koizumi, after your match, we should go over preparations for this weekend. And if I'm not mistaken, Kanae-chan has to bring up her history grade, so we can help her study, too."
"Ooh," Kanae noised, frowning. "More study."
"That's right!"
"O...okay, I'll be off, then," Mikuru agreed, nodding at Haruhi as she collected her bag and retreated to the computer club room. From the hallway, she noted that the 'soundproofing' that had been put on the club room was remarkably effective, actually leaving the upper corridor eerily quiet. Though, she was trying to delay the inevitable.... As little as she relished returning to the scene of the crime -- the computer club room -- she couldn't talk to Yuki without going there.
And, really, Haruhi was a bigger danger than the computer club members.
She knocked on the door, and a moment later the computer club president answered, blinking in surprise to see her. She could tell by the faint haunted expression around his eyes that he hadn't forgotten that uncomfortable incident, either. "Uh," he managed, flinching back a step. "Y...you're here for Nagato-san?" he asked.
"Y...yes," she said weakly, unable to meet his eyes.
Yuki looked up from behind an over-sized monitor, two of the club's other members staring in awe at whatever was on the screen behind her. "U...um, Yu-- Er, Nagato," Mikuru called. "D...do you have some time...?"
After tapping a few keys -- much faster than she typed on her laptop in the clubroom lately -- Yuki glided weightlessly from her seat on silent feet, stopping in the hallway before Mikuru and gazing up into her eyes with a silent curiosity.
"Um," Mikuru managed again as the computer club president closed the door to grant them whatever privacy the hallway would allow. "Yuki-chan, would you like to come shopping with me for some new clothes?"
"I have adequate clothing," Yuki answered, blinking.
"Er.... Y...you don't want to get something special for when we go to see the movie with Kyon tomorrow?" she pressed.
There was a tiny trace of something around Yuki's eyes. Something ... like frustration? "This clothing is not appropriate?" Yuki asked.
"W...well, actually, the student handbook says we're not supposed to wear our uniforms except at school ... or on the way to and from school," Mikuru admitted. "Y...you don't have to wear something else, I just thought...." She trailed off lamely. She had thought, what? That Yuki needed her help? That the smaller girl might look better in other outfits? Maybe she was just being insensitive.
Quietly, Yuki said, "As has been remarked, I fail to adhere to many social norms. In this matter, as I am uncertain on the specifics of how to proceed, I will defer to your judgment."
"S...so, you're okay with going shopping?" Mikuru asked hesitantly, uncomfortable with the idea of making Yuki do something she didn't specifically want to.
Yuki's lips shaped a few words soundlessly, as though she were trying to figure out the answer for a long minute before she said, "His perception ensures that most information is conveyed without any extra attempts to express that information with significantly higher than average reliability given the inherent unreliability of the verbal mode of data transmission. It is therefore inferred that no additional measures are required to deliver the content of this information to him.
"However.... If 'dressing nicely' is a behavior intended to demonstrate interest, a desire to please, subservience, or comfort with an individual, then another logical issue makes itself known.
"My inability to understand him with absolute certainty is most likely caused by my inability to express myself to him equally. Therefore, by attempting to conform to social norms, I may fit better within the standards that he expresses himself with."
Dressing up indicated subservience? Well.... In the case of the SOS Brigade, that actually seemed entirely true. But by that logic, Koizumi was the least subservient member of the brigade. She shook her head, realizing she was distracting herself from the unexpected storm of words that Yuki had unleashed.
"Y...you don't have to change yourself for other people," she told the smaller girl, smiling. "I think Kyon-kun doesn't mind you being the way you are at all. I...it was just my silly idea, so ... we can forget about it!"
"For him," Yuki said, blinking one time, "and for you, I wish to."
Mikuru bit her lip, barely restraining the urge to grab the smaller girl and hug her tightly again. This was in the hallway of the school building, after all. "Okay!" she said, smiling brightly. "Then, let's find out what kind of clothes you like to wear, right?"
Yuki nodded, following behind Mikuru for a heartbeat before the time traveler shook her head, nudging Yuki to walk beside her. The 'date' she and Yuki would be sharing with Kyon.... Well, things were going to work out after all, somehow!
Frowning in dismay at his closet, Kyon realized he had four suits. One of them was the suit his parents had gotten him several months ago, to replace his previous formal attire. The other three were gifts from Tsuruya.
Sighing, he grabbed one of the three nearly identical suits and dressed. His sister was causing a ruckus downstairs, presumably throwing a fit over the fact that she wasn't going to be attending. Thankfully, Miyoko's family had agreed to watch over her for the evening. Well, thankfully to everyone but his sister, anyway.
After putting everything else on, he fumbled through his wallet until he found his reference card and correctly knotted his tie. A small mirror let him check his appearance. He'd need to properly brush his hair, and in what was starting to be a habit, he moved his Tsuruya family pin to his lapel.... After a moment of thought, he put on his coat, switching through the PDA functions until he found the ability to turn the coat invisible.
Then it occurred to him that his current outfit might be useful at other times, so he took the coat back off and scanned himself with his PDA, adding the suit to his list. He had just finished putting the coat back on and stealthing it when his door slammed violently open, and his sister escaped the grasp of his father to launch herself at him, wailing.
"Don't leave me behind!" she demanded, as he caught her, spinning with the force of the impact to keep from hurting her. "I wanna go, too!"
Her grasping hands found his coat, even though it wasn't visible, and she started, staring in confusion at the empty air she seemed to be holding.
He quickly grabbed her wrists and pried her hands free, kneeling to be closer to her height. "Imouto," he sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry ... but this is a formal thing. You know that!"
Her attention went from his invisible coat to his face, and she pouted fiercely. "I want to be a part of Kyon-kun's life!" she insisted. "And Tsuru-nee-san's, too!"
"Nonoko," their father sighed from the doorway, "I'm glad that you and Kyon get along ... but this just won't do. Kyon trusts you enough to leave you alone with your friends, doesn't he?"
Kyon's father shot him a guarded look. Between the fact that it was his father, and his ability to read people in general, the message was clear enough: Boys didn't fit into that category.
He nodded at his father. The first boy to break his sister's heart.... Well, hopefully that was years away, but if it were to happen.... Kyon's father caught the implied menace for such a doomed boy in Kyon's gaze and gave a very approving nod in return.
Kyon's sister seemed to miss the exchange, just pouting severely. "I don't want to lose my Kyon-kun," she grumbled. "Haru-nee-san wouldn't take you away like this!"
"Nonoko!" their mother called loudly from downstairs. "Miyoko-chan is here with her mother to pick you up! No misbehaving; your father and I still need to get ready, and you absolutely must let Kyon look his best!"
For a moment, the girl looked about ready to protest, before sighing. "You'd better do your best, then, Kyon-kun," she mumbled, sulking as she slunk out of the room. "Oh, hey, Miyoko-chan."
Kyon exchanged a glance and shrug with his father, as he heard Miyoko ask, "What's Kyon-nii-san busy with, Nono-chan? My mom didn't say."
"Oh, some formal thing," he heard his sister sigh, their voices dwindling from range. "He's meeting with...."
Even though they were vanishing in the distance, he heard Miyoko's shocked, "He's what!? Er, I...." The rest was too quiet to hear.
Kyon's father shook his head and stepped out of the room, tossing back, "Once you're done getting ready, we can watch a ball game while we wait for your mother."