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 (the website) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License, and so is every part of this fic that isn't the property of someone else. For example: Additional characters are borrowed from Higurashi, which is the creation of Ryukishi07, and Half Life 2, which is the property of Valve.
Notes: Count the tropes! Save, collect, trade for swell prizes!
"First Chorus: Scale"
"The smallest orbits are string that spin; the largest are perfect circles. Between, memetic structures orbit in a profound variety of minute differences, invisible from both the smallest and the largest perspectives. A wide harmonic band with the potential to carry a multitude of frequencies that do not escape observation, but are still difficult to perceive from within."
"Perspective" -- LP-MK:SK Memetic String (-working translation-)
Mikuru's time-travel left them standing at the base of the giant building that Kyon vaguely recalled seeing on a few trips through the city -- which he now realized was 'Tsuruya Towers'. It loomed overhead impressively, and the immediate surroundings were screened by thick rows of vegetation, arranged almost in a maze around the base of the structure.
Shaking his head and checking his watch, Kyon noticed that Mikuru had transfered the pair of them back to the early morning, the day of his aunt's book signing. Strangely enough, he thought he arrived at the same moment he had originally departed with the older Mikuru. A time loop he didn't even notice, this time around....
Kuyou had shifted slightly, turning to watch him expectantly. He couldn't see Ryouko from where Tsuruya had left her, but reminded himself that the girl was weightless. Mikuru stood before him uncertainly.
"Okay," he said, resisting the urge to run a hand through his hair and dislodge Ryouko. "Um ... I didn't really think this through. I should tell Tsuruya-sama about the Sumiyoshi-rengo -- if I play my cards right, we can ambush them right after they ambushed us, and rescue Sasaki at the same time."
"Why didn't we stay and gather more information?" Mikuru wondered. "We could ... get authorization to go later, right?"
"Maybe," he admitted. "Yeah, I.... W...well, we're here now." He heaved a sigh and shook his head. "Anyway, let's go talk to Tsuruya-sama."
"Um ... Kyon-kun," Mikuru offered hesitantly, looking nervously uncomfortable. "M...maybe you should ... wash up and ... relax a little first?"
"Relax?" he asked, surprised.
"We're ... not that far from my apartment," she managed, her face turning red. "You could wash up at least.... Um.... W...we have time before you need to tell Mori-san, I mean.... Since I don't go home tonight until later...."
He wanted to roll his eyes and scoff that the time traveler was being silly.... But he didn't like the way she seemed uncomfortably nervous around him.
Forcing himself to take a breath, remembering the panic-filled moments before Koizumi arrived, and how Yuki -- of all people -- had hugged him and called him by name to calm him down.... "Sorry," he managed, raising a hand and covering his eyes. "Ugh ... yeah. I didn't really...."
"Kyon-dono?" an unfamiliar voice cut in a moment later.
Kyon looked over to see a pair of Tsuruya's men looking at him in surprise. The speaker was the one on the left, but the other quickly echoed, "Aniki?"
"Yeah," he replied, frowning. He wanted to listen to Mikuru's advice, but now he'd already been seen by some of Tsuruya's men.... "I was going to ask to speak with Tsuruya-sama, but um ... I really should clean up before that."
The one who had called him 'Aniki' nodded at that, relaxing. His companion nodded as well, glancing at his phone to check the time. "Tsuruya-sama is out until this evening on business," he answered, shrugging. "But for you -- the safe-house on the floor below Tsuruya-sama's is free to use."
"Tsuruya-hime has already sent suits your sizes there for you," the second man added, nodding. "The clerk at the front desk can give you keys."
"Ah ... Tsuruya-hime is incredibly thoughtful," Kyon managed, realizing how easily the 'princess' title could be applied to Tsuruya. It also gave him a way to distinguish between her and her father respectfully while avoiding first names, so he filed the idea away for later use around the Tsuruya-tachi. "You don't think it would be a problem to use that place for a few days?" he wondered.
The first man shrugged again, explaining, "You'll have to ask Tsuruya-sama, but you can use it until he returns, absolutely."
Kyon nodded at that, bowing to the pair. "Thank you," he allowed. The men bowed back, then walked away.
Heaving a sigh, Kyon offered an arm to Mikuru, who immediately accepted it, giving him a smile. "Okay, I can calm down a little," he mumbled.
She said nothing, though her smile warmed slightly, as Kyon led the way into the lavish building, and was given keys to an apartment. It was more plushly furnished -- and larger -- than his parent's home, with no less than five bedrooms. Mikuru seemed familiar with the rooms, and Kyon wondered if she had spent time with Tsuruya in the same spot. He supposed he really wouldn't be surprised. Still, she quickly found clothes in his size, and everything else she would need -- with some small amount of blushing -- as she directed him into a washroom without accepting his protests.
A heartbeat later, she came in and dragged Kuyou away, along with plucking Ryouko off his head, so he could have enough privacy to wash.
He wasn't sure he really felt calmer ... but the time traveler was completely right, too. He had the better part of four days to engineer a plan to counter what had caught them so badly off guard.... That should be enough time. Even better, it was with the help of Tsuruya's father, which was something that Sasaki's powers shouldn't interfere with.
He took his time washing, realizing all of the small bruises and scrapes he'd garnered protecting Nagato. Mikuru was right about that much, at least.... The deeper cut across his arm was still there, too, currently covered with a shiny black patch of skinsuit, connected to his wristwatch by a nearly invisible strand that ran across his body. Also interesting was the fact that while it was active, he couldn't remove the watch.
When he finished washing and put on a pair of boxer shorts and a robe, he felt relaxed enough to try and observe his surroundings in more detail. Leaving the over-sized washroom, he saw that Ryouko and Kuyou were seated on either side of Mikuru at the couch in the front room, each holding one controller for the video game system connected there. He blinked in surprise, watching the pair of alien entities work their way through the same two-player puzzle game that his sister adored.
"What..." he wondered, tugging at the edge of his bathrobe, double-checking that he was decent.
The time traveler bounced to her feet instantly, and Kuyou and Ryouko both broke away from the game.
"Um, I thought they could coordinate better if they were trying similar activities side-by-side," she volunteered, guiding him to a chair on one side of the couch. Kuyou merely sat in the same place, still holding her controller in her lap, her gaze vaguely curious. For her part, Ryouko's controller was effectively the size of a lap-desk, and she wriggled out from under it to clamber up on the arm of the couch and watch Kyon along with Kuyou.
"A...anyway," Mikuru began, opening up an intimidatingly well-stocked first aid kit -- what were those syringes for? She produced some tape and gauze, slowly but carefully tending his injuries, her usually cute expression shifted to studious concern. He'd only seen that face on her when she was focused on other tasks before -- working on the story for the literature club's anthology, or a new design for her next sewing project.
Whatever else she was going to say, she forgot it, remaining silent until the better part of an hour had passed and he'd gotten used to the awkwardness of her peeling the robe away, leaving him in nothing more than his boxer shorts and all the bandages she had put on him. Kuyou seemed content to watch, but Ryouko turned her attention back to the game, dragging the other alien's attention with her.
The only real surprise was when Mikuru eyed the cut on his arm, held shut by the compress of his skinsuit, and then determined that it needed stitches. She conferred not with him, but with Ryouko, who was able to volunteer information on his heart-rate, respiration, and whatever else the time traveler needed. It was a little disconcerting, considering he knew her skill with needle and thread from costume making.... But this was different, and her intense focus proved it.
Ryouko deadened the sensation before Mikuru began stitching, and he quickly decided it would be best if he didn't watch. As it was, Mikuru was providing him with a very pleasantly distracting view anyway, with her rare focus and obvious Haruhi-level determination to complete her task.
Once she was done, she heaved a sigh and knelt on the floor, looking up thoughtfully, her mind obviously elsewhere.
"Asahina-san?" he prompted.
She blinked, lowering her gaze to his face, and then slightly lower, before she looked away, her eyes bright, her face reddening. "Ah," she coughed, as he pulled the robe back on and she rose to her feet, indicating where she had draped a suit for him over the back of one seat. "Um-- I was thinking, if they were going to practice communicating, this might be a good way to do that," she managed, shifting her shoulders. "It's a relatively harmless activity, so...."
"No, that makes sense," he said, shaking his head. "It was a good idea." He really hadn't thought much beyond what he needed to do to rescue Sasaki -- and now, evidently, Kyouko's family. He had four days to plan, and he'd forgotten to take all of that into account?
It bothered him to leave Yuki behind, but he was still upset about her being injured.... He frowned and looked at Ryouko at that thought. It had seemed at the time he had seen the two of them fight, Ryouko had injured Yuki much worse. She had seemed indifferent to the damage Yuki had taken, back then....
...something to worry about later. In the meantime, he'd accepted a mission he would not fail.
"I've got to get dressed," he decided, gathering the suit and picking one of the rooms in the apartment to change in.
Though she was nervous, at first, Mikuru was happy to be able to make a difference ... and it made her especially happy to manage to calm Kyon down to the rational thinker she knew he was from his previous, more excited state. After that, the pair of them now had the responsibility to avoid their past selves for the next few days....
This had happened to her once before, and then she had relied on Kyon to help her figure out how to deal with things. She suspected the previous options wouldn't work -- Mikuru couldn't imagine seeing Yuki and not warning her about what could happen, and Tsuruya was too closely involved with the rest of the brigade at this point to ignore the presence of an extra Mikuru at her house.
Even though they had two paranormal non-human chaperones, Mikuru couldn't help but think of it as an opportunity to -- just a little bit -- surround the pair of them in a slightly more domestic setting than she would normally get to enjoy. Certainly, she had felt warm and ... content after taking care of his injuries, as minor as they thankfully were.
Thinking of the pair, she glanced over to them. Kuyou was content to continue playing the video game against Ryouko, though the smaller interface was winning by leaps and bounds, as far as score went. Not long after that, Kyon returned to the room, his hair neatly combed, looking immaculate, save the one edge of a bandage visible beneath his collar. The suit was the same shade of green that Mikuru suspected was reserved for members of Tsuruya's family, though she also was confident no one would remark on Kyon wearing it.
He adjusted his collar, one finger sliding across the edge of the bandage there before checking himself briefly in a mirror and placing the Tsuruya pin on his lapel. He gave a slight nod, startling when Mikuru drew to his side and straightened out his tie -- though, it was already close to perfect. More than anything, she just wanted an excuse to touch him -- some small physical reminder that she had been able to reach him through everything confusing going on.
After a moment of surprise, he fixed her with a warm smile, and she shivered happily at the sensation of his fingertips gliding across her cheek. She felt her face warm, and tilted her face upward toward him, allowing her eyes to drift shut. She was mildly surprised when instead of going for the kiss she had expected, he gently pulled her into a hug. "Thank you, Asahina-san," he murmured.
"Ah, um," she managed, hugging him back, her eyes opening with a start to see that Kuyou was standing only a step or two away, holding Ryouko before her in both hands and watching with what looked like undisguised fascination. "Eee! Er-- Um, s-so, Suou-san, um ... um ... are you and Kyon-kun hungry, maybe?" she posed, clinging to Kyon more tightly.
Kyon's stomach gave a betraying rumble before he could offer another answer, and Mikuru managed a small smile. "Um ... I asked for some groceries, since we might be here a while, and we shouldn't probably go outside and about too much," she offered. "They came while you were washing, so if you don't mind...?"
He glanced at his wristwatch, then nodded. "I haven't heard that Tsuruya-sama is back anyway," he allowed. "That's a good idea, Mi-- Er, Asahina-san."
"Why don't you play with Kuyou and Ryouko?" she suggested, feeling a blush come to her cheeks. "You can help them learn to communicate! I'll have ... well, I suppose it's lunch now -- but it should be ready soon!"
"I will observe," Kuyou answered, turning to follow Mikuru instead of staying with Kyon.
He hesitated a moment, then offered a shrug. "If that's okay with you, Asahina-san," he said, though she half-wished he'd slipped and said her first name, "then Asakura and I can go over what happened in about eighty hours and make sure that my presentation to Tsuruya-sama is in order."
She wasn't exactly comfortable beneath Kuyou's scrutinizing gaze -- but she'd misjudged Yuki once on a very similar count. Kuyou might be just as warm a person on the inside, and just as uncertain about how to act. Really ... considering how poorly she understood whatever beings it was that existed behind Kuyou....
In the kitchen, she turned to Kuyou worriedly, and hesitantly explained, "I'm going to make yakisoba ... do you know what that is?"
Kuyou said nothing for a moment, and then began to recite the general atomic composition of the meal, by percentages.
"Er.... On ... some level that's entirely correct," she agreed, once Kuyou had finished her recitation. "Um ... but there's rather.... That is to say, from a more holistic approach, those elements are assembled into structures that are more familiar to us ... so ... if you like, I'll try and explain what exactly I'm doing as I cook. Would that be nice?"
"Nice," Kuyou echoed, offering a smile eerily reminiscent of Ryouko's.
Despite Mikuru's fears, Kuyou didn't interfere with cooking -- or even get in Mikuru's way. She asked very few questions -- and they were almost all one-word questions, too. First, she was fascinated by the cutting board and knife, and then the burner of the stove. Mikuru answered her questions to the best of her ability, wondering just how different she was from Yuki the entire time.
After she was done, she went to the table to find that Kyon had already set it while she was distracted. He and the blue-haired interface were literally elbow-deep in an augmented reality projection of the city from above, blazing lines of various colors indicating the known positions of everyone in the brigade -- and their allies -- at the time of Monday's confrontation. She shivered slightly at that, able to decipher the model's meanings easily enough.
The chibi made a gesture and folded the display away.
Smiling at the sight of the cleared table, Mikuru quickly started serving the yakisoba, only realizing how silly it was after Ryouko was seated on a chair, unable to reach the food above her. Come to think of it, did she even need to eat? Did Kuyou?
Snorting at Ryouko's flailing efforts to reach the table before her, Kyon relented, lifting her to sit on the edge of the table. She pouted for a moment, but somehow managed to use the chopsticks that looked too large for her anyway.
Then, the black-haired entity gave her dish a look of studious concentration, and attempted to shovel the entire plate of noodles into her mouth without chewing. Some moments later, after Mikuru realized that the girl was going to choke herself to death, Kyon had administered the Heimlich maneuver, leaving the table incredibly messy, and Kuyou looking confused -- but otherwise not really bothered by Kyon's grip about her midsection.
"How did you get that wrong?" Ryouko wondered.
In answer, Kuyou coughed out one last noodle, sending it flying across the table -- Ryouko rolled out of the way of the limp projectile, falling to the floor with a yelp.
"Matter is introduced to the body and transitions to energy," Kuyou answered, looking very faintly confused.
"In Ryouko's case, it may be that direct," Kyon mused, frowning as he released Kuyou, since she was still steady. "But for people -- and your body seems human -- you have to chew and swallow, first."
"Transform the matter state via application of direct physical force," she translated, blinking.
"How did you get by without eating before?" Mikuru wondered.
"This form did not eat," Kuyou answered.
"Ever?" Kyon pressed, raising an eyebrow. "Do you even know what it feels like to be hungry?"
"Probably not!" Ryouko answered from the floor. "She made that body based on her observations of Sasaki, copying her for the parts that Kuyou didn't understand well enough to make on her own."
Kuyou gave a small nod at that.
"I guess that answers that," Kyon allowed, somewhat surprised. "Um ... Suou-san, maybe you would be better off if you tried drinking something, first?"
Kuyou accepted this challenge, watching Mikuru and perfectly copying her example. It left her feeling a bit self conscious ... but she supposed that such things as reflexively swallowing might be beyond the ability of ... whatever Kuyou was ... to comprehend instinctively.
Other than being slightly amused, Kyon quickly seemed to ignore the distractions, sinking into some thought of his own. She could guess what it was based on, though -- he did have a lot weighing on him.
A knock sounded, and Kyon perked up, moving to the door to open it. Revealed in the hallway were both Kasai and Tsuruya's father -- the smaller form of the large man's aide lurking in the background, consulting his own PDA intently. "Kyon-kun," the larger man greeted, eying Kyon and raising an eyebrow. "You're not with my daughter, at school?"
"Something more important came up," the boy explained with a shake of his head. "Tsuruya-sama -- I have information on upcoming Sumiyoshi-rengo activity."
The man's doubt vanished and he looked interested. "I see," he said, nodding, then glancing pointedly at Mikuru -- but not Kuyou. "And ... her role in this?"
"She needs to avoid being seen in public until Monday," Kyon offered, his gaze flickering across Kuyou and Ryouko both before he actually glanced to Mikuru, looking slightly apologetic.
She didn't really see what he was apologizing for; she expected that she'd be perfectly safe where she was. But then, remembering the fact that these same men were supposed to be watching over her, they might be suspicious that there were two of her. "Um," she volunteered tremulously, "I'm Asahina Michiru -- um, Mikuru is my twin sister."
"Ah! Well, then this apartments is yours as long as you need," the huge man answered immediately, grinning. "Hmm, now, Son, I have some business to attend to. I'll be frees later for us to discuss things in more detail with both you and Mori-chan -- at around five or six this evening?"
"I'll look forward to it; thank you for your time, Tsuruya-sama," Kyon allowed, bowing.
The green-haired man grinned, giving a slight shake of his head. "You do your family proud, Son," he assured Kyon, before closing the door.
Mikuru fidgeted for a minute, but realized that ultimately, they had to wait. Wouldn't it have been more effective to jump back in time and drop off the information they needed to exist in the past, and then return to the point they left? Done this way, there was greater chance of something going wrong, wasn't there?
"Something bothering you, Asahina-san?" Kyon wondered.
"No," she said slowly. "Or, at least...." She hesitated a moment, but then realized with a start that while she couldn't say anything that was classified.... There were no protections whatsoever on guessing. "I don't know for certain, but it seems that we were sent back in time for something we don't really know yet," she offered.
"Hmm?" he wondered, frowning. "How do you mean? We know exactly why we're here, don't we?"
"Er.... W...well, that may be," she allowed, not really convinced. "I just think ... there may be some other reason we're back here, too."
"The authorization was for the two of us?" he asked.
"Four of us," she clarified. "Um ... Ryouko-chan is a separate entity, as is Suou-san."
"Well, it would have to be something that logically included them, then," Kyon mused. "I mean ... you're here because we can't time travel without you. I'm here because I have to take care of the Sumiyoshi-rengo and Kyouko's family. So ... even though it was Haruhi's idea that they join us, you think that Kuyou and Ryouko have to do something important?"
That wasn't what she had meant, but it did make perfect sense. "Or maybe we just need to make the most of our time to help them communicate!" she realized.
Kyon raised an eyebrow at that. "Well ... I'm in favor of that idea, but I'm going to have to put rescuing Sasaki at slightly higher priority," he disagreed, shaking his head.
Mikuru felt her face flush. "Ah-- Er, w...well, in that case, I can focus on them!"
The surprised smile on his face was answer enough, and she felt herself warming up inside again.
Once the meeting with Tsuruya's father had actually begun, Kyon found himself escorted by Kasai the short distance to the elevator, and up one floor to the man's private apartments -- which included an opulent office. He relayed the same requests that Mori had told him he'd given her, and once she was gone -- and unable to reveal the stable time loop to his oblivious past self too soon -- he'd launched into the plan he came up with.
And, though he didn't want to admit it, Ryouko had helped. The interface was able to turn all of his projections and suggestions into full augmented reality constructs, modeling several possible encounters and determining the most effective way to deploy the membership of the Tsuruya-gumi that didn't violate their established knowledge.
As much as it pained him, and as much as he wished he could violate causality to do otherwise -- he knew he had to let Sasaki get captured, at least until the point where the four vans had left the warehouse. From there, Koizumi was probably aware of them for a block or two -- and that therefore defined the target area where they would need to have their effective army on standby.
The war council consisted of Aida, Tsuruya himself, and a small handful of the men Kyon vaguely remembered as being present when he was officially welcomed into the Tsuruya branch of the Yamaguchi-gumi. By presenting the operation as a joint attempt with the Haru-tachi (both of them, Kyon supposed), it was easy to explain every event that would happen the following Monday as being a 'mere distraction ploy'.
He supposed, upon reflection, it made him look and sound almost entirely mercenary, evidently willing to use his friends as bait without hesitation. Well, he had been willing to hack at people with a sword, and he expected some of those wounds would not heal well. He didn't really notice when, at some point in the middle of a discussion on logistics he wasn't involved with, the patriarch of the family slid a tumbler before him.
He took a large mouthful without really thinking about it, and barely managed to swallow before the taste of fire filled his mouth. He coughed, garnering him a snicker from one of the men at the table, and a hearty pat on the back. "Yamazaki," the man offered. "Single-malt."
"Smooth," Kyon choked out.
The man opposite him at the table raised his own tumbler of the stuff in acknowledgment, then tossed it back without hesitation.
For himself, Kyon waited until he was done speaking before he dared to taste the drink again, driven by a combination of thirst, and the effects of the first gulp.
Some time later, he was beginning to wonder if he should start telling the green-haired man not to refill his glass. He'd delivered his plan, at least. He was fairly sure he hadn't said something he shouldn't.
But it was so hard to focus, and his point of view had developed an annoying habit of slowly sliding to one side -- and down. The other men had finished their bits, except for a last, unfamiliar fellow, who was discussing something involving more Yamaguchi-gumi members in Osaka. Kyon decided he must have dozed for a moment in his chair, because when he shook his head to clear it, that last man was walking away, and the Tsuruya patriarch had just finished heaving a truly monumental sigh, settling back into his giant, plush chair.
"You're a good young man," he declared after a moment, though his gaze was on the ceiling. "You take good care of my daughter, and you're the most capable ally our organization has enjoyed in some time. You seem somehow troubled, though?"
Kyon reached for the glass before him, thirsty -- and was again warded away by the scent of strong alcohol. That was right ... he didn't really like being too drunk. He doubted he'd get himself in trouble, or anything but.... "Tough day," he sighed, rubbing at his temples. Not really thinking about it, he asked, "Have you ever been in a fight where you thought you had good ... uh ... control over how things were, and then ... it wasn't quite as smooth as you hoped? Someone you wanted to beat up, but really injured, instead?"
"You had to hurt someone?" the larger man asked, his gaze understanding as he turned his attention to Kyon and plucked the smoking cigar from his mouth.
"A few people," Kyon realized, frowning.
The Tsuruya patriarch grunted, not looking particularly surprised. "That information had to come from somewhere," he mused. "And I don't think you'd do it for no reason -- so, as far as that goes, many a warrior can tell you.... Don't enjoy it too much, eh? But then, your hand was forced? You didn't seek to do as much harm as was done?"
"I didn't bring a real sword to the fight," Kyon answered, which he realized wasn't much of a clarification.
The large man snorted, shaking his head. "Finish that drink," he advised, stubbing out his cigar and rising to his feet. "Come along, Son -- you've had a long day, and the next will be busier! You'll fight better when your heart and soul are in harmony!"
Kyon nodded dutifully, finishing off the glass. He'd found that if he exhaled through his nose as he swallowed, the taste was ... vastly different. He wasn't sure he liked it, but it felt a lot less like drinking liquid fire. Well, until it hit his stomach and added to the already mild warmth there.
The green-haired man walked him to the elevator, and then went down one floor, grinning when it stopped and revealed his daughter and Kyon's uncle in the hallway, looking at the boy with some surprise. "Now," the man continued, not perturbed in the slightest, "as you fight so hard for our family, I thought you might want to discuss your plans with my daughter! As it happens, I have to have a word with your uncle!" Nodding in satisfaction as Kyon stumbled out of the elevator, standing next to his fiancee nervously, the Tsuruya patriarch grinned.
"Um," Kyon managed, remembering there was some reason he was supposed to be hiding something from Tsuruya.
"Heya, Kyon-kun," Keiichi offered, mildly surprised. "As it happens -- I have to run back to Hinamizawa briefly. Glad I ran into you, actually; I wouldn't want to vanish suddenly without saying anything."
"Er, yeah," Kyon agreed, nodding nervously. "Um, it's good to keep in touch...."
"You know," Tsuruya's father remarked suddenly, frowning, "now that I see both of you here together, Keiichi-kun, weren't you going to help Kasai get in touch with an old NPA contact?"
Keiichi snapped his fingers, eyes widening. "Right!" he exclaimed. "That totally slipped my mind-- You know, I think I can invite him over for a local festival -- have him bring his family along. Ah ... should be able to talk to him by the nineteenth, if he's willing to come up. Come to think of it, that's a perfect project to distract Rena-chan for a bit.... That happens to be on Kyon-kun's birthday, too." He shook his head, grinning apologetically. "Sorry-- Sorry-- Let's let Kyon-kun and Tsuruya-chan alone for a bit, shall we?"
"Indeed!" Tsuruya's father agreed, his eyebrows rising as he glanced at Kyon for a thoughtful moment.
Ducking his head apologetically, Keiichi gave the boy a grin as he stepped onto the elevator, vanishing behind the doors as they shut.
Tsuruya raised her eyebrows, and before Kyon could say anything else, offered, "Kyon-kun, I know how to keep secrets, nyoro~! Still, this one looks like it's going to be fun!"
"Well," he said, frowning at the way Tsuruya kept wavering and sliding around the hallway -- he knew she was excitable, but that was just too much dancing around! "Um ... yeah, that'd explain why you were so confident about calming down Haruhi...."
She burst into bright laughter at that, shaking her head and taking his hand in hers -- instantly, the world stabilized somewhat, now spinning around some point between the pair of them. She led him by the wrist into a familiar apartment, and burst into laughter again at the sight of Mikuru, shocked and panicked to see Tsuruya with Kyon.
"It's," Tsuruya managed between chuckles, "my good friend, Michiru-chan again, eh? Eh? Come to visit your sister?"
"Y...yes!" Mikuru squeaked.
"Now, Michiru-chan," Tsuruya teased, grinning at her time-traveling friend, "last time you had a good reason to say no, but for tonight, why don't we help Kyon-kun get to bed and get some sleep?"
Mikuru started to shake her head in protest before her eyes tracked to Kyon, and he thought for some reason it looked like Mikuru's mouth fell open the tiniest distance in longing....
Not long after that, he stumbled to the washroom, remembering to brush his teeth before putting on a set of pajamas. In the hallway he was met by Mikuru, who -- blushing, and wearing the cutest pink night-gown ever -- led him to Tsuruya. The heiress was wearing a jade colored negligee, which seemed to realize it couldn't challenge Mikuru's for cuteness, and instead favored sheer semi-transparency, which left them almost equal in power.
After that, the world slowly stopped spinning when he was in bed, a pair of soft, pretty girls snuggled up to him, occasionally leaving kisses on him through the night.
Tsuruya and Mikuru both woke before Kyon -- either because he was tired from his extended time-travel 'day', the liquor, or his injuries. Or, in Mikuru's mind, all three. The pair of them crept out of his bed together, and then took a bath, Tsuruya snickering quietly the entire time, but not asking any questions about time traveling -- much to Mikuru's relief. Ryouko splashed happily between them, which was disturbingly cute, and the time traveler struggled to ignore it, while Tsuruya thought it was adorable.
Once Tsuruya calmed down from that, they enjoyed some surprisingly mild chatter about the costumes she was working on, and somewhat less mild chatter about Kyon, which left Mikuru blushing, and the heiress guffawing as they exited. For whatever reason, Kuyou was evidently invisible to Tsuruya, still.
At least Mikuru understood one of the things Tsuruya had been chuckling about a few days ago. Later today, she supposed, in relative time....
Just as the green-haired girl was about to open the door to leave, Kyon stumbled from his room in his pajamas, rubbing at his eyes blearily. "Mik-- Asahina-san," he mumbled, correcting himself with a tired blink, then turning his gaze to his fiancee. "Tsuruya-kun.... Good morning.... Ugh, I shouldn't drink -- I had the strangest dream last night." He knuckled back a yawn and stretched slightly, waking up.
"Good morning, Kyon-kun!" Ryouko chirped from where Kuyou held her up, Mikuru greeting him simultaneously.
"'Good morning,'" the dark-haired girl echoed flawlessly.
"Hehe, good morning indeed, Kyon-kun~!" Tsuruya cheered. "If it was strange, was it at least good?"
"It was great," he agreed, face coloring slightly as he didn't meet anyone's eyes.
Tsuruya giggled again. "Okay~! Now I've got to go meet your regular self -- so take care~!"
He nodded belatedly, scrubbing his hands through his hair. "It's somewhat annoying," he remarked, once she was gone, "that I'm supposed to be better at time traveling, and in situations like this I find she's more reliable than I feel I am."
"I understand completely," Mikuru assured him, drawing to his side and patting his wrist affectionately, letting her touch on him linger. "Um ... before you go to work today," she said, her eyes unable to meet his as her face heated up again, "Dear, why don't you take a bath? I'll have breakfast ready for you by the time you get out!"
"Uh," he started, blinking, then giving her a rueful smile. "Yeah, okay," he allowed. "I start to feel like we're almost taking this too easy ... but then I think ... maybe it's good to have this much time to carefully plan. Come to think of it, I'm not a fan of rushing things anyway, so this.... Yeah-- Yes, I mean. I'd really like that -- thank you, Mikuru."
She felt herself grow light-headed ... not unlike the way she felt when he called her 'Mikuru-chan', and she happily surrendered to him when he leaned closer and planted a kiss on her lips. After a few deliriously happy moments, she drew away, managing the presence of mind to recall that she did still need to cook -- and as nice as this was, they did have very important things to be taking care of! Kyon was handling things with Tsuruya's father, so she had to focus on helping Kuyou understand the world around them better -- and that seemed just fine, to her.
Kyon let her go, smiling softly -- then freezing in alarm when Kuyou squeezed into the space between them, holding Ryouko up almost in Kyon's face as she repeated, not quite managing an identical tone, "Dear, why don't you--"
"Too soon!" Mikuru found herself blurting out, unable to deny a tiny surge of irritation. Honestly! The dark-haired girl needed to learn the importance of certain boundaries, first!
Ryouko waved her hands, prompting Kyon to leap backward a dozen steps -- and Kuyou to follow him and pin him against a wall. "I'll help cook!" the tiny schoolgirl offered, obviously far too close to Kyon for his comfort, her flailing limbs almost close enough to touch him. Not that she had any real mass, but still....
"Yes," Mikuru agreed once she calmed down, taking Kuyou's elbow and gently leading the girl to the kitchen. Well, she tried, at least -- the dark-haired girl seemed completely implacable, only moving on her own power once she seemed to realize that Mikuru wanted her to.
The time traveler knew little that wasn't classified, but she had a good grasp of math, and more importantly, thanks to Yuki she understood cooking to a profound level. She suspected Ryouko had similar cooking knowledge, or at least access to it -- and that seemed just as good a point as any to start working on establishing communications and commonalities with Kuyou.
"Okay!" she cheered scanning the kitchen after motioning Kuyou to stop before the stove. "Today, omelets!"
Kuyou found the solutions that Kyon posed to his problems fascinating; she predicted the destruction of the Chorus through forced harmonization with the Others and their Noise. And in response? It had somehow been arranged that she had gained a new functionality, an ability to retain her own observations, independent of observation source. And now that this functionality had been given to her, it was mired in certain limitations, which were sympathetic to him.
So, naturally, she tried to understand and maintain herself within those limitations as much as possible. This new 'memory' system left her with an untold wealth of spin. Over the next few days, her ability to store summaries or simplifications of her observations, and then focus her observational power elsewhere had sharpened to a point she judged adequate.
In the meantime, her resonance changed, and so, the Chorus changed, too, that slight drift making it that much harder for Others to cross over and generate further Noise.
Thanks to the other entity that -- like Kyon -- traversed time, Kuyou had learned all of that, and equally important things, too. While her counterpart, the small blue-haired entity spun memetics and phased light-sculptures representing different views of various data, Kuyou had learned how to bake cookies.
She was innately aware of how the various elements within the mass reacted to heat.
Somehow, at her reduced scale, with all of her newfound focus, the subtle nuances of the strings straightening, spinning out into faintly new shapes took on a new significance once Mikuru showed her how to do it. A collection of crystals, various powdered substances, some proteins.... And then it was transformed through a careful, deliberate process into a new shape, placed intentionally where it would be exposed to higher energies....
At the end of this process, Mikuru had transformed things into cookies, through some amazing, slow, medium-scale fusion that Kuyou was delighted to analyze the intricacies of. She could spend millions of rotations examining it and its nuances, at least!
During that same time, Kyon spent his attention elsewhere, arranging people across the mass of rock and soil that he lived on with artful precision. Much of Kuyou's newly found spare spin was focused on learning how all of those interactions worked -- like the way that Kyon had, with his mere presence and the sharing of a short memetic string, diverted the influence of a major group of humans that could have complicated his current situation.
That was an incredibly subtle bit of work, and it took some time for her to understand how the change propagated -- possible only because of her curiously time-looped state at the present. First from Kyon and then to his uncle and Tsuruya Kenshiro. That entity was the center of a major memetic influence structure, causing much of the populace in his environment to be pulled along after him, in turn directing much of the local tidal structure.
But the ripple of memetic power didn't go through that powerful network, and instead flickered across a car when Keiichi and Rena were holding hands on a northbound train. The woman was expressing desires to change state -- both within herself, and physically, to another entity that still posed major memetic influence in Kyon's life -- a being she addressed as Keiichi's sister. From there, the memetic string was sling-shotted around their joint influence, and some time later through an electronic device, crossing the country and stewing for some time with an older couple in Tokyo.
The male of the pair eventually called his offspring -- incidentally causing a probability to activate that thwarted a memetic structure designed by Kimidori Emiri. The target of that memetic discharge, instead of seeing it appear on the electronic device before her -- a pile of carefully baked silicon and plastics, mostly -- listened to the string created by the interaction-ripple between Kyon and his uncle.
And just like that, a powerful series of dangerous potentials were diverted.
Spending time with Mikuru and Kyon let her learn all sorts of things like that -- once they occulted Sasaki (impossible at the present due to Sasaki not being in a state requiring occultation), she was confident that Kyon would neutralize all of the Other's unwanted memetic strings the same way -- or show her a way to do it herself.
While it was troubling that so far, she didn't seem to be accomplishing any of the goals that she ... guessed would be assigned her by the IDSE, Ryouko was starting to realize that she was remarkably successful at performing whatever tasks Kyon asked of her. He still showed every sign of being nervous when alone in her presence, but she didn't really understand why, given how ineffectual she was against him without access to more complex forms of data manipulation, or a physical body.
But over the course of the next four days, she spent some parts of every day working with Kyon. This usually meant she created and managed different ways to display the data they had collected on what was going to happen. When they were in the 'safe-house', most of the living room's space was filled with various augmented reality constructs -- tactical maps, timelines....
Of course, all of Ryouko's data needed to be converted into some form that Kyon could understand. While initially annoying, Ryouko realized that learning to communicate with Kyon better also actually presented an opportunity to learn to communicate with Kuyou.
Kuyou, however, did not seem to be able to produce augmented reality constructs.
Or maybe she just wasn't interested.
Ryouko really wasn't sure.
She did know that when she simulated various conflicts and combats between the members of the Tsuruya-tachi and the Sumiyoshi-rengo, Kyon's tactical grasp very quickly adapted to a much wider range of variables than were present in a chess game. That, and his foreknowledge, caused the other members of the Tsuruya-tachi involved in the planning to quickly become astounded at Kyon's skill at assessing strategies.
They coordinated a plot to have the Yamaguchi-gumi simultaneously rescue Tachibana Kyouko's family from where they were scattered -- in eight separate locations, most of them in Osaka. Kyon was obviously pleased with the way the others openly called it rescue instead of kidnapping.
More importantly to the people that Kyon referred to as his ninkyo dantai ... Osaka was the heart of Sumiyoshi-rengo territory. Still, the idea that Sumiyoshi-rengo were hiding in so many places near their own town, holding civilians hostage....
As the Sumiyoshi-rengo would presumably be reeling, after that, more of the Tsuruya-tachi would set up roadblocks, intercepting every one of the escaped vans exactly as they left the Brigade's last known position. Even though Kyon hadn't been able to tell which van Sasaki was in -- Yuki had.
So his position in the assault team was specially chosen -- as Tsuruya Kenshiro's assistant.
Kuyou didn't really seem to care about any of those details. It had gotten to the point where Ryouko was certain that Kuyou was understanding over ninety percent of everything she was told ... but quite frequently, she remained indifferent anyway.
Of course, she did follow Kyon around whenever she wasn't occupied with anything else, spending a great deal of time trying to mimic Mikuru's behavior and get close, usually with a remark like, "Join me."
That led to a very interesting discussion when Kyon wasn't around where Mikuru tried very, very hard to explain certain concepts of biology and culture. Kuyou didn't seem very interested in that, either -- though Ryouko had learned some new things.
She was pretty sure people could kiss without dating, despite Mikuru's words to Kuyou.
Through it all, though Kyon was still wary, he slowly seemed to acclimate to her own presence. That seemed like a form of progress -- by her calculations, it would be months before he trusted her as much as she'd have liked.
At least she was garnering the most interesting data.
Really ... she was wondering if killing him would be half as interesting as just watching what he kept doing. Considering what she knew now....
Surely she wouldn't get in trouble for that? She'd already tried to the best of her ability after all ... right?
It was a little strange adapting to nights without Yuki's training sessions, but ultimately, Kyon realized that he'd let himself grow comfortable with that little 'cheating' aspect of what had become mere ritual. He tried not let himself think of it that way; while he did benefit, it was for Yuki's sake. Really, he needed to remember that's what it was, and the training was a positive side-effect.
Still ... it was nice being able to defend himself from dangerous boryokudan using that training.
Doing things the slow way was kind of interesting, and with Ryouko's help, he realized he came across as some sort of savant with an eidetic memory for absolutely everything. With the interface's help, he'd even come up with some very solid plans of attack to get the Yamaguchi-gumi into the various places that Kyouko's family members were being held.
He almost wished he could be involved in those raids, just to oversee them -- and have a chance to beat up some Sumiyoshi-rengo to work out his aggressions.
That, of course, was due to an undeniable irritation about the fact that he was going to need to watch everything he'd endured -- again.
At least he wasn't going to be stabbed, but he somehow thought watching his prone body get carted off by some Sumiyoshi-rengo jerks for unknown purpose might actually be harder to watch.
He dismissed those thoughts and glanced to the others in the car -- Aida, as always, Tsuruya's loyal assistant, and Tsuruya himself.
An unfamiliar man was driving, while the aide was working on something on a brand new PDA, unable to deny envious glances at Kyon's. For his part, the Tsuruya family patriarch had his almost eternally thoughtful look, the equally eternally present cigar clamped between his teeth, unlit for the moment. According to the timer that lurked in his peripheral vision, he had about fifteen minutes until his past self met with everyone else in the cafe -- walking into the trap.
The limousine abruptly began decelerating, faster than Kyon had expected; he reacted by snapping his head up, one hand going beneath his greatcoat for his weapons as his skinsuit activated. Tsuruya and Aida were too distracted to notice the sudden streaks of dark material covering his hands and the sides of his face -- all that was visible outside of his suit anyway.
When the car stopped, Kyon peered forward, through the lowered privacy barrier. He cursed to see none other than Fujiwara, standing in the middle of the street, arms spread as he stared challengingly at the vehicle before him.
Of all the things to happen....
"I've got this," he barked, slipping out of the car. The street was four lanes wide, and the cars behind the limousine were starting to honk -- drawing more attention Kyon didn't need. "What do you want?" he snapped at Fujiwara, not reaching for a weapon yet -- since the other time traveler wasn't visibly armed.
"We need to talk," Fujiwara said, dropping his hands to his sides and fixing Kyon an angry glare. "Thanks to Tachibana Kyouko, if you don't listen to me -- our reality will be destroyed in approximately twenty minutes."
"I don't have time for this," Kyon returned. "When is the you that's at the cafe, relative to the one I'm talking to?"
Someone in the car behind the limousine started to shout that they needed to get off the street.
"I'm the Elder," Fujiwara clarified. "This is still all in the yet of that other self. Anyway -- this is not a joke! If you don't listen to me, Michikyuu Kanae will frag you, and your open time loops will cause this entire time-plane to reach as/as-not because you won't exist anymore. Do you understand the scale of the frag we're talking about here?!"
Kyon scowled, glaring at the other time traveler, as horns began to sound behind them. Spitting out a curse, he allowed, "We can talk." He knocked on the window of Tsuruya's limousine, informing the man, "Something came up; I have to take care of this, Tsuruya-sama. I can catch up to you as soon as it's resolved."
The older man nodded, seemingly indifferent to Kyon having a shouting match about time-travel in the middle of a crowded street. "I see," he said. "Good luck, then!"
Kyon moved to the side of the street with the other boy as traffic resumed, a number of drivers shooting him and the equally indifferent Fujiwara death-glares once they were finally able to drive past. "Okay," Kyon said doubtfully, nodding at Fujiwara. "How do you explain this?"
"Michikyuu Kanae has the ability to identify a person's astral imprint -- or quantum wavelength, or soul, or whatever the crap you want to call it," Fujiwara explained patiently. "That's how she navigates around, right?"
Kyon nodded grudgingly, hoping he wasn't confirming some guess of Fujiwara's -- though he didn't know what specifically Kanae attached to about people.
The time traveler sighed in disgust. "When Tachibana, that stupid bi--" he was cut off by a passing car horn, the last of the irate drivers passing "--stuck you halfway between Sasaki's closed space and reality ... she split you in half." Fujiwara raised both fists, touching them together with pointer-fingers extended side-by side, drawing them apart to illustrate. "Michikyuu Kanae tried to find you, but couldn't manifest in Sasaki's presence. Once she could reach both halves, she stuck them back together." He brought his fists back together, pointer-fingers still extended. "You follow?"
It was strange, but it did make sense. He didn't really feel like he was split in two, and he wondered how exactly things like mass worked ... but then, the rules of closed spaces might be different from regular space. "That's already happened, though," he said, shaking his head. "How is that a problem?"
"Imagine if, when this happened ... there were already two of you," Fujiwara held his fists up again, pointer fingers extended, but separate. "The original you," he said, waving his right fist slightly, "and your Elder self -- the one I'm talking to." The left fist bobbed.
Taking a deep breath, he looked at Kyon intently. "Now ... Tachibana splits you in half to get you stuck." He popped up the middle finger of his right hand, and Kyon suddenly felt incredibly uneasy.
"Michikyuu Kanae, assuming she doesn't hurt herself trying to lock on to three instances of yourself, and frag out by splitting herself into pieces, finds one of you -- hopefully not the one in front of me right now, or else we run straight into as/as-not. Let's say she finds the you she can reach in Sasaki's closed space." He wiggled his middle finger very slightly.
"Yeah..." Kyon mumbled, feeling nervously sick as he suspected where Fujiwara was going with this.
"Michikyuu Kanae then puts you back together," he explained, smacking his fists together loudly enough to make a clap, leaving only a single finger on his left hand extended, his right falling to his side.
"I can't find a fault in his logic," Ryouko offered from his pocket. "This seems completely accurate, given our knowledge." Somehow, Kyon was starting to suspect that even without her input.
"Glad you agree, at least," the time traveler muttered, startling Kyon to realize he could see and hear her.
Ryouko blinked, but didn't say anything else in response.
"And then," Fujiwara continued, dropping his left hand as well, "we reach the point of as/as-not -- except, I very much doubt that there's enough sentient force outside of the being that created your dolls to resolve it. And they don't have a reason to entangle themselves with local time. What will most likely happen is....
"You have to go back in time to try and keep things from going out of control, and your existence from that point onward becomes an unstoppable, eternal spiral of twisted time -- crossing your own trail and being merged with yourself.... You have to go back, because it's a pre-determined event. Eventually you become trapped in a fragment of non-concurrent reality -- cut off from the rest. From your perspective.
"From the perspective of everyone else -- once it's complete, you will never have existed at all. You'll be completely fragged out. And if that happens, every person you've ever had an effect on has their actions changed as a result. Considering now that you're entangled with Suzumiya Haruhi and Sasaki.... You probably don't care about me, but this will most likely erase Asahina Mikuru as well."
Kyon swore again.
Fujiwara heaved a sigh of relief that he'd gotten his point across, though he still looked immensely unsatisfied. "This never should have happened ... but I trusted Tachibana too far and explained what would happen if she stranded you in Sasaki's closed space carelessly. And then she did it anyway--" He cut himself off, turning away from Kyon and visibly forcing down his fury.
"Alright," Kyon said doubtfully. "How do we avoid this, then?"
"You need to leave reality at the times that she would be able to merge you," Fujiwara explained. "Unless you have some way to change what you are to something she won't identify -- which I don't really suggest."
"So, I have to time travel around that period," Kyon mused. "That's...." He still didn't really like Fujiwara much, but if he was trying to be genuinely helpful.... Well, he also couldn't complain about the fact that regardless of everything else, the other time traveler didn't want reality destroyed. Really, that wasn't something Kyon was keen on either.
It was odd common ground, but it was undeniable in Kyon's mind.
"There's more, while we have some time," Fujiwara added, shaking his head. "I need you to do three things for me."
Kyon pursed his lips doubtfully, raising his eyebrows as he gave Fujiwara a look of supreme skepticism.
"You'll have every reason to agree!" The time traveler looked irate, heaving another sigh. "What do I have to offer to get you to agree?"
"Give me your weapon," Kyon said without hesitation.
"You'll never convince me to do that," Fujiwara snorted.
In response, Kyon pulled the cylinder out slowly, as non-threateningly as possible, but unable to keep from raising one eyebrow questioningly.
The time traveler looked incredulous for a long minute, narrowing his eyes. "So ... all that ... and you still had a pre-determined loop..." he grumbled. "So, you're dealing with that bastard, eh?"
"Wataru?" Kyon asked.
"Yeah," Fujiwara said glumly. "Alright -- put it away, showoff." He swore, shaking his head again. "How long have you had that thing?"
"To be honest, I had the weapon before you got it at the beach."
Fujiwara's face twisted into a grimace. "No wonder you told me how to get it in the first place...."
"What are these three things you need me to do?" Kyon asked. "Before I agree to anything."
"My Elder didn't tell me all three, just one to start."
"Which is...?"
Fujiwara huffed an aggrieved sigh. "Takahashi needs to be taken care of, permanently."
Kyon frowned. "I'm pretty mad at her, but I don't want to kill anyone."
"Then frame her for a crime," Fujiwara said indifferently, unmindful of a young couple that was walking past, the girl stumbling and giving the pair an astounded gasp.
"Oh, look," her boyfriend said loudly, catching her elbow and hurriedly pulling her away, "a new cafe down the street!"
"Anything in particular?" Kyon asked doubtfully.
"Something that will prevent her from ever legally being allowed to work with children again," the time traveler said. "Use your imagination, but make sure it's on her record before you let her go."
Really ... Kyon couldn't see any harm from preventing someone like Takahashi from being near children. Or getting her thrown into prison for the rest of her life. That actually sounded slightly more attractive....
"I'll agree to that," he decided.
"Good," Fujiwara said, sighing, then jerking his head toward a nearby alley. "I have to go down to last week and talk to Sasaki; evidently she's going to lead us to your second task. Come with me, and when we're done, I'll bring you back to a span where it's safe. Any time after Michikyuu Kanae won't be looking for several instances of you to merge should be fine."
"Alright," Kyon allowed, despite his misgivings. A few moments later, they were in the alley, and Fujiwara held out a hand expectantly. How often was he going to have to hold another boy's hand? First Koizumi, and now Fujiwara.... For some reason, the thought crossed his mind that he really hoped it wasn't an expression of Haruhi's inner desires.
Space fell away behind them, and Ryouko updated his augmented reality timer with the current time and date. The place they arrived in was the same somewhat familiar alley by the train station that Mikuru's older self had once dropped him off at. It suddenly occurred to him to ask, "If there are two of me around, and Kanae-chan -- for some reason -- were to go habitually to one, would she skip over the other?"
"I don't know anything you haven't told my Elder," Fujiwara answered with a shrug. "Now if it's all the same, make yourself scarce for a bit; you're around here, too, and I doubt you remember meeting yourself."
"Your solution to prevent one paradox is to make another one possible?"
"Only if you're dumb enough to try and provoke a Gemini incident, at this point," Fujiwara grumbled. "So, be careful."
Kyon gave a doubtful nod, and when Fujiwara turned away, he activated his stealth function and followed.
After feeling uncomfortably voyeuristic watching Fujiwara drop some of his masks around Sasaki, where the boy seemed to realize he was jeopardizing his friendship with her, Kyon continued following the time traveler as he sulked away, looking -- surprisingly enough -- like he was on the verge of tears.
Well ... Kyon supposed he could understand where that was coming from, but over the course of recent events, he was starting to uncomfortably realize people that he had once considered antagonists ... were really just people with different agendas. And there were places they could still work together, cooperate....
He carefully didn't sigh and betray his presence.
Still ... from what he recalled, Takahashi would be by soon, and she'd be taking Sasaki with her. His past self would be involved in an encounter with Wataru. He twitched when Ryouko popped up an augmented reality panel in front of him, reading, "Incoming transmission! It's temporally coded to go to you, and not the you that's in the cafe!"
He silently leaped to the top of a nearby building, out of earshot of Fujiwara, and asked, "So ... can I answer this call?"
"Yes!" Ryouko answered as to Kyon's surprise the panel flipped over -- revealing a screen with the time-traveler in question, staring right at him.
"Task number two is to protect Sasaki," Fujiwara said, somewhat hoarsely, looking angrier than usual. "This is pre-determined. Do it, and I'll return you up to whenever you want."
"Sure," he agreed, before Fujiwara dropped the connection.
"If I wanted, could we call him back that way?" he wondered.
"Yes!" Ryouko chirped.
"Good," decided, glancing over to the street as he saw Takahashi storming toward the cafe. Well ... fine. He had more than a few choice words he'd like to give her, later. He'd just need to make sure he didn't drop stealth when Sasaki would be able to see him. As annoying as things were -- and considering what he knew his past self was going to do, he understood why he had so little humor about the situation.
Still, with a plan in mind, he hopped to the top of her car and hunkered down, altering the effects of gravity to help him stick more easily.
Shaking, Sasaki could only acknowledge dull relief when the monitor she was staring at abruptly shut off -- the vehicle stalling simultaneously. While the men in the vehicle tensed, before anyone could as much as speak, a quartet of black sedans loudly screeched to halts in a crude diamond formation around them, doors opening to disgorge a dozen identically dark-suited men with shining pins declaring their affiliation.
She looked around anxiously, as the technician began to swear, fiddling with the equipment on the seat before her. "What the hell.... Did we get hit with an EMP?" he wondered, shaking his -- evidently -- dead phone.
The driver swore as the van didn't start, and one of the men outside of the van very calmly and deliberately removed his jacket, wrapping it around his arm before punching the swathed limb at the driver's-side window. Sasaki stared, her mouth dropping open a short distance as it cracked. The next punch sent a large spiderweb through the glass as the driver became increasingly desperate, unable to get the engine to start.
The man to Sasaki's left snarled, pulling a knife and grabbing Sasaki's arm, pulling her close to him; she tried to pull away, but he was stronger, and the man on her right grabbed her other arm, holding her still. "They'll back off if we hold her host--" He couldn't finish the statement; the front passenger window exploded inward, spraying broken glass and an alarming volume of choking, blinding gas into the enclosed space.
The murk was so dense Sasaki couldn't make out anything at all, only able to cough and scream in panic, thrashing about to try and desperately escape. There were sounds of screaming from other people -- the van was rocking violently, and she thought she saw the glint of the knife through the blinding smoke for a moment before she was jerked roughly to one side--
A moment after that, her captor had pulled her free of the smoke by her wrists -- she managed to yank one free to try and beat ineffectually at him. She felt pathetic and weak, flailing blindly at someone she couldn't even make out, since her eyes were still tearing--
"Sasaki," Kyon's voice came from that figure she was struggling against. She stopped struggling, tears flowing from her eyes -- from the gas.
"K...Kyon?" she managed shakily, her voice almost breaking.
"Yeah," he assured her. "It's me ... didn't I promise to keep an eye out on you?"
She knew it was one of the most unintellectual things she'd ever done, but she couldn't stop herself-- Her eyes still tearing, she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around him and sobbing. "K...Kyon...."
He stiffened for a moment, then relented, heaving a sigh as one arm went about her, pulling her gently to one side -- but not away. Still trembling, she drew strength from the fact that he'd somehow survived that impossible encounter -- and then immediately shown up to rescue her. She realized suddenly that she just didn't care about her own arguments anymore.
It may not have made sense, but Kyon had said he'd take look out for her -- and against what she had thought were impossible odds ... he'd succeeded. She somehow doubted she could honestly be surprised if he could do anything to keep his promises. Was that Kyon's power of friendship?
If it was, she wanted to believe in it more than anything, and all of the logic in the world could just go to hell as far as she was concerned -- because Kyon was right.
She sniffled again, her tremors only minimally subsiding. The sun was low in the sky, moving toward late evening. The street was completely filled with what she realized were Kyon's allies, and all of Takahashi's allies were sitting on the ground at the side of their abandoned vehicle. The front windows had been burst in, and ... Sasaki didn't understand how, but something had ripped off the passenger door, which was laying on the street twenty meters away.
They must have have somehow anchored it to a car and pulled it off -- that would explain why the van was shaking so much while she was in it....
The largest of the men with Kyon, a hulking figure with green hair and lit cigar clamped between his teeth remarked, "You know ... our boy, here, he managed this entire operation to great success. He almost missed it, but his planning was more than adequate!" He turned to Kyon saying, "So, my future son-in-law," though his eyes seemed to go to her, when his voice was slightly warning, "what shall we do with them, then?"
Sasaki realized that the man was warning her to watch herself -- Kyon was engaged to his daughter. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to move away from him, despite that subtle admonishment.
"I warned you, Takahashi," Kyon sighed. "I really did."
Sasaki remembered that well enough....
Turning to his superior slightly, since one of his arms was still about Sasaki, and she couldn't bring herself to let go, he said, "Tsuruya-sama, I don't particularly care what happens to her; I trust your judgment in this matter. My only request is that you ensure she's not seen in public for at least two days -- I may be against killing people, but character assassination seems fully justified."
"What?" Sasaki asked, blinking. "What do you mean?" Though, after seeing his skill, hearing him say he didn't want to hurt people was reassuring.
"I'm just going to make sure that once the police find her, they'll have very good reasons not to let her go for a while."
Takahashi's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing, merely glaring at Kyon.
"That's fine, then," the huge man agreed, crossing his arms over his chest. He nodded slightly to one of his men. "Let's get this street cleared; we can only keep it closed a few more minutes."
A smaller man, behind Tsuruya, nodded at that, checking something on a PDA.
Sasaki twitched when she felt something she hadn't noticed before pressing into her stomach -- and it suddenly vibrated. Kyon twitched slightly, too, and she embarrassedly moved enough for him to pull his own phone from his pocket. He squinted at the display, then nodded. "I'm headed to the hospital," he remarked. Nodding thoughtfully, he added, "I think it wouldn't hurt to have Sasaki looked at, anyway."
"M...me?" she wondered, shaking her head. "What about you? Weren't you hurt fighting those men?"
One of Kyon's allies snorted at that question as though it were a joke.
For his part, the boy shrugged and said, "Not that badly."
"Aniki," the man who had snorted offered, "I can give you a ride there."
"Oh? Perfect," Kyon replied, nodding wearily. "Then I can update Tsuruya-hime on what happened."
That finally prompted Sasaki to try and force herself to stop clinging to Kyon, though she was unable to resist keeping one hand on his arm. He didn't seem to mind, just escorting her to the car.
"You're safe now," he assured her, giving that same warm and simultaneously tired smile he had shown her so often after dropping her off at home from cram-school....
For the first time in a very long time, she had no trouble believing him at all.