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.
The very first instant that we had a chance -- the second the chime sounded -- I spun around and launched myself at Kyon.
For all of his placid demeanor, he did see me coming. That let him intercept my lunge towards his tie, catching my wrist. That was the first time I got to really experience how strong he was, and it was a little unsettling -- surprising.
I mean, that's why I just froze for a few seconds, letting him hold my wrist still; that's totally justifiable. He's a guy! And bigger than me!
I may not be some dainty flower, but he's got more muscle mass no matter how you want to argue gender equality.
So, I twisted my hand free and grabbed his sleeve, since he wouldn't let me take his tie. I don't like the way he's smiling, half-amused, like this is--
It is not flirting!
Anyway.
That's where we are now, and why I'm holding his sleeve.
I don't give him any warning, just breaking for the door at top speed, hauling him along with me.
On the bright side, he has no trouble keeping up, and he does ... well, I'll have to admit it here:
He lets me drag him off. No way I could do it, if he were to set himself against me.
There's an abandoned corner of the school, leading to the roof access, where a great stack of art supplies are stored. It's a quiet, out of the way place, and ideal to sneak off to when you need to discuss something in private.
Leading Kyon there, I stop him two steps from the top of the staircase and turn to face him (from the top). Coincidentally, yeah, this does let me look down at him a bit, but, anyway -- things are going pretty good, so I give him a grin. Hell, I haven't felt this excited about anything in a long time!
We're going to do it -- get somewhere! Find something! We'll be the ones to do it, even if he doesn't know how much he's going to be helping me!
"So, what's this about, then?" he asks, cocking his head slightly to one side, looking around. At least he's not acting like he's waiting for my confession, or something.
"We're going to make a club," I declare to him.
He gives me an amused look, raising one eyebrow. "What makes you think I'm going to be part of this?" he wonders.
"Do you have something better to do with your time?" I challenge.
"Mm. And what's this club going to be about?" he replies, not at all answering my own question.
Though.... Okay, that's a good question. I haven't entirely figured it out yet, but I will.
"What we talked about earlier!" I bark at him, not letting my smile slip. "Look-- I'm going to get a club room -- you get the paperwork from the office to form a club, alright?"
I run past him and back down the stairs -- I need to double-check with that quiet girl, but if she's all there is for the literature club, it should be no problem to take over! I guess, even though I didn't answer his question, he shouldn't mind too much -- I mean, he didn't chase after me, and he absolutely could have, if he wanted to.
So that means he doesn't mind, right?
When I get to the clubroom at lunchtime, that quiet girl is still there. Or is there again, I guess?
She's this tiny little slip of a girl, her eyes hidden behind her glasses when I step into the room. She raises her face, but the lenses of her spectacles turn into blinding mirrors for a moment when she moves. Only a moment -- nice effect! -- and then I can see her dull eyes.
I guess she looks pretty average, then. Small, glasses, short hair -- and quiet.
"So, this is your clubroom?" I ask, even though I already know.
She gives a silent nod in answer.
"So, listen," I tell her, "I've got another member that I'm starting a club with. If you're the only member of the Literature Club, then it's no trouble if we use this space, right?"
She stares at me quietly.
Blinks.
Gives the world's most incredibly tiny nod -- if I weren't staring at her I would have missed it -- and says, "No problem," in a voice barely louder than a breath.
...weird.
If she doesn't protest much, it'll be child's play to slowly lure her into joining our club, though -- especially since we're in the same room. She's really, really uninspired.
She'll make a good matched set with Kyon -- the queen and king of boring! Yeah, if I get to be too like the pair of them....
"Holding you to that!" I declare, grinning. I think about giving her a hearty pat on the shoulder, but she looks like she might break under the force, so settle for nodding at her brightly.
Slowly, everything is coming together.
That afternoon, I go for Kyon's tie even faster -- but still not fast enough. He raises an arm to block, so I settle for his sleeve, and do a passable job of making it look like it was completely on purpose this time.
That guy....
For some reason, I catch a dirty look from Onoki on the way out the door.
Not that it's my problem.... If you want something, you have to have the courage to take it, so it's on her, right?
I hurriedly lead Kyon to the literature club room without any trouble, and then show it off, explaining that it's going to be ours. He mostly ignores me, looking around -- like I did, actually -- for something cool and interesting.
And yeah, it's a really dull space -- but think of the potential! We could get ... a computer, maybe a small fridge to keep drinks-- A tea station! We absolutely could get that--
Gah! I'm almost shaking with excitement! We can make this place truly unique and fun -- the ideal place to hang out between missions and expeditions!
But Kyon's ignoring everything I'm saying, looking at the girl curiously and finally asking, "Are you really okay with all of this, then?"
The smaller girl, for whatever reason, is staring at Kyon like her gaze was locked onto him with a bolt. "No problem," she breathes again.
"Eh," he starts, before hesitating, his brow furrowing slightly. His eyes go away from hers thoughtfully. "Um...."
She then quietly introduces herself in her soft voice, "Nagato Yuki."
"Alright," Kyon says, heaving a tiny sigh, but unable to keep the amusement from his expression. "If it's okay by you that she wants to turn this into an ... I-don't-even-know...."
"No problem," she repeats again, still looking at him. What's so interesting about the most boring guy in the school?
Maybe she's so shy that he's the first guy who's ever talked to her, or something? She'd better get used to it, then, because I'm not letting him slip away-- out of our new club!
"Right," I say, before the conversation goes further, drawing Kyon's attention back to myself. "Come on, let's go home -- tomorrow, we'll start gathering members properly!"
I have a good candidate in mind, at least. Another girl, which should help, since Yuki seemed so shy around Kyon.
That's fine, though.
The following day, after sending Kyon to the clubroom ahead of me, I run off to intercept the girl I stumbled across in my earlier searches.
Well, I guess I stumbled across a few, but she stuck out a bit -- daydreaming on her own in some corner of the school with the most distant look ever, like she were listening to something I couldn't hear.... So it was no trouble at all to snag her wrist when I find her in the hall, and drag her along behind me to the clubroom.
She doesn't even manage to breathe out more than the merest, confused hint of a protest before she has to jog to keep up -- panting and barely keeping her footing.
She's cute!
Unreasonably cute!
When we get to the club room, Kyon has just stepped in, and I haul my newest member through the doorway after him before slamming and locking the door.
Instantly, the cute girl squeals, cowering and begging to know what's going on.
That'll attract so much attention! This girl was wasting her time and potential by doing anything else -- she'll be the perfect beacon to draw the strange and unusual to us!
"Look at her!" I gush, grabbing her shoulders and turning her around to show her off to Kyon and Yuki -- who breaks off from staring at him to look us. "Go on, introduce yourself!"
"I...I'm Asahina Mikuru!" she squeaks out. "W...what's going on?"
Ah, this girl, this upperclassman.... Well, I'm going to be her superior, so let's set that straight right now, since I won't be calling her 'sempai' -- no chance, with that face! "Listen up," I tell her. "I'll call you Mikuru-chan from now on!"
"W...what?"
In the meantime ... this girl, with that expression and that body.... "Look at these!" I protest, grabbing Mikuru-chan around the chest and squeezing her. "I'm almost jealous!" I guess it was too much to hope she was stuffing her bra, wasn't it? Didn't really seem like it, but I still wanted to check.
...well, maybe not just 'almost.' I wanted to find someone who was really cute, but it's aggravating, knowing how much cuter than me she is! So unfair!
If I had a face like that, and a rack like the one I've got my hands--
Kyon yanks me away before I can explore much further, giving me an incredulous look. "You can't do that!" he protests.
I think I pretty obviously just did. What, is he feeling left out or something? I guess that's possible....
"You want to play with her too?" I ask. There's a light in his eyes for the briefest second before he tries to deny it. Like he didn't just watch me play with her for like, five minutes?
Well, I can't say that's too surprising. Who wouldn't want to play with Mikuru-chan? Though, come to think of it.... That gives me a great idea to attract attention for our forming club!
"Anyway," I say, when he finishes sputtering out a denial, "come here every day after class from now on, Mikuru-chan!"
"Suzumiya, you can't just kidnap people for your club!"
"It wasn't a kidnapping!" I didn't have to use any chloroform. A real kidnapper would have that, for sure -- and probably a good escape vehicle, along with a cadre of guys to stand around and sneer in a superior manner without doing anything else useful.
Don't they always have those things?
"Asahina-san," Kyon says, ignoring me, "you don't have to listen to her."
Then, that cute upper classman gives Kyon to most devastatingly sweet and hopeful look. "But ... you'll be here too?" she asks, glancing between the two of us -- at him with happiness, and me with worry.
...I'm not sure why, but that annoys the hell out of me.
Still, if she doesn't care about what I do, but he makes her stick around, she can contribute meaningfully while she's here, right? A mascot costume is just the thing for that -- unless I come up with something better while I'm waiting for something more amazing to show up.
As much as my idea to order something online for Mikuru-chan to wear -- something cute and sexy -- is a good one, I wasn't able to order it until the evening. And I get one for myself, too -- it's too much fun to pass up on! The only problem is, 'one day delivery' takes longer if you order after a certain time in the day, evidently.
So much for expedited shipping!
It's not the first time things haven't lined up the way I wanted them to, but this one gets to me a bit more, for some reason. I mean, I can't expect a mysterious transfer student to show up just because I want it. And since I can't do anything on that front, I should focus on what I can do!
If I could have ordered from the school -- if we'd had a computer, like I was thinking -- then it wouldn't been much of a problem. Instead, I have to wait two more days for them to get here!
I want to use Mikuru-chan's charms to draw in more interesting people. I'll need to be careful to avoid the wrong crowd paying too much attention, but I figure I can use Kyon as the barometer for that. When he gets too interested, it's too far, right?
Something about that....
It feels right that I should keep him from getting too interested in her -- or Yuki. I'm ... not sure why I think that, though. I guess it's because he's so boring and average, if I'm careless, he'll sink into the same boring relationships as everyone else?
Not that it would bother me! Onoki and ... whoever else....
Only, I guess it would bother me, wouldn't it? When I make myself to try and look at it....
If I do things right, it'll be way too interesting for them to get distracted with thoughts of something like romance, right? So ... really ... I have to keep things interesting. I mean, for all of us! Not just him.
And one of the big ways I can think of to do that involves getting a computer for the clubroom after all. But then, that won't work if I don't know that the latest and greatest is. So, a full day pretty much wasted doing research for that -- really, going to the shopping district instead of straight home and copying down the model numbers and important stats on all of the best systems.
Well, the most expensive systems, anyway -- which means they'd better be the best systems!
At that price, I don't think I'm going to be able to sweet-talk anyone into giving them over.... But, in the vein of using Mikuru-chan's charms....
In the back of my head is the thought that Kyon, really, shouldn't mind that much. After school, when the club gets together and I tell him my plan, he doesn't raise any objections, at least. I don't like the look he gives me -- like he's not sure if I'm serious.
Idiot.
It's not like he has any better ideas!
So, in the club room, once Mikuru-chan arrives, I hand Kyon the camera and grab her wrist before she can react.
What, am I surrounded by ninja or something? She seems to see it coming, too -- I see her tense for the barest fraction of an instant before she seems to realize what's happening. Then she abruptly drops her tension, just looking innocent and confused.
What the hell is that? I mean, it's great she acts like all moe-moe, but it kind of weirds me out if it's just an act.... Then again, if it is just an act, then that means she's actually on the same page as me -- she thinks this is just as much fun as I do!
That'd be great!
I can't believe how successful my plan was-- Just like I hoped, Mikuru-chan played along perfectly! I only needed to pretend to give her the tiniest push before she sprawled over the computer club president and then fell down -- pulling him on top of her. While it looked like she was pushing him away, I could see that she was clearly holding his hand in place.
Kyon took pictures like I ordered, so he's on my side, too-- With members this loyal, I'm sure that tomorrow's plan is going to go even better!
I can't stop grinning until after we've gotten the thing installed, hooked up, and then connected to the network.
And that's just perfect-- Exactly what I wanted for our club!
Tomorrow's plan should be even more exciting and awesome-- If he went along with getting a computer, I think Kyon sure won't complain. I know I can count on Mikuru-chan to work with me on it!
The next day, I can barely restrain myself through class -- though, Kyon poking me with the eraser-side of his mechanical pencil does get me to turn and glare at him before he raises an eyebrow and asks what I'm bouncing in my seat for.
Yeah, well.... I don't want to tell him, though.
I mean, he'll get to see it as it is, and I have no doubt he'll love it. But I don't want to imagine him sitting behind me and drooling over the idea of me and Mikuru-chan in such outfits before it's time!
When class lets out, I race to my locker to get the bags I put our outfits in, then run back to the clubroom.
I get there just in time to see Kyon and Mikuru-chan chatting about something, though they cut off the second I come into sight. Maybe a bit too fast ... I kind of wonder what they were talking about, but I catch the way Mikuru-chan looks nervous when she sees me. Kyon seems to catch it, too, looking troubled, but more resolved.
That's something of an unusual look for a guy as lazy as him.
I ignore him and turn to Mikuru-chan, launching into my spiel about what the costumes are for and how we'll use them. He stares at me in dumb confusion, and Mikuru-chan watches with wide-eyed wonder. The extent of his questioning as far as I bother listening is why I didn't get one for Yuki.
Well.... I didn't think of that -- but no way am I going to admit that to him! I could say she's just not as charming, but that seems too mean -- and I kind of like her quiet attitude, so I just say, "I couldn't afford another one," which actually is entirely true.
Putting that out of my mind and ignoring what he's saying, I grab the bottom edge of Mikuru-chan's blouse and yank it upwards sharply. The upperclassman's arms fly up as she struggles against me -- for a second, Kyon looks like he's about to complain, but surprisingly enough, Mikuru-chan protests before he can say anything!
She begs him to stop looking -- and that's all the encouragement I need to keep going! I don't know why Kyon might have changed his outlook from yesterday, but it doesn't much matter. Just like I expected, Mikuru-chan stops putting on her moe-moe show the second Kyon's out of sight, though she does keep up the whining for Kyon to hear. It's actually kind of funny, so I can't help but play along -- and wonder what he's doing in the hallway.
Probably blushing and unable to stop listening in.
The whining does get annoying, though, especially if she's not really honest about her protests. Then again, you'd expect someone moe to fuss over this, wouldn't you? "Oh, hush!" I bark at her, going for her skirt.
She doesn't move a hand to stop me, her glance flicking to the door as she whimpers.
It's actually ... a little weird to undress someone else -- though kind of fun. With Mikuru-chan helping me out (even with the whining), she's like a life-sized doll~! How awesome and fun is that? This is going to be great!
...except it's not great at all-- Hell, it's not even good!
What the hell-- Mikuru-chan's on my side, and Kyon didn't get in my way, but after all that setup, the only one who really got to enjoy our costumes was Kyon!
Stupid, stupid teachers! I know I've pushed the limits in things before, but having to deal with my parents freaking out about me 'destroying my chances at a better education'.... I swear -- if I were even the slightest bit luckier, that dumb homeroom teacher would focus on someone lazy, like Kyon, and not have come after me like that!
Of course, he gets all the luck of the best seat in class and somehow falls off the teachers' radars....
Thank goodness I didn't bring the costumes home; my mom was so furious, I think she might have cut them up!
Well.... At least I only had to deal with a lecture.
So, that sucked. I saw Kyon escorting Mikuru-chan to the clubroom while the teachers were dragging me to the office to call my parents, but didn't get a chance to talk to him until class that morning.
When I complain to him about things, he gives me a mildly unimpressed look and asks, "Did you honestly believe that you could do such things without your parents being called about it?"
That's the way it should be! Why do my parents even need to know? It's not that big a deal! "Stupid teachers," I grumble again, crossing my arms over my chest and shooting Okabe a death-glare as he departs at the end of homeroom.
"...you mean, you really thought they would just let you off with a warning?" he asks, sounding a little bit surprised.
I really believed they wouldn't care that much, actually. "It wasn't that big a deal," I mutter, before shaking my head. Whatever! It was supposed to be fun, and Mikuru-chan agreed!
"The important thing is that we have a new transfer student, right?" I tell him. At least I picked up on that rumor. "A mysterious transfer student, just like I was hoping for!"
Kyon leans back in his chair and gives me a thoughtful look, shaking his head slowly. "Boy or girl?" he wonders.
"Boy, I think," I answer. "But I haven't seen them yet -- so it could be a good disguise." Hmm.... Even if she's a little weird, I think Mikuru-chan's got the 'moe' covered. Probably, it would be better to have a guy.
"That means it's a boy," Kyon says flatly, boring as ever.
I'm tempted to ask him if he's willing to bet on that, but I don't have much money after buying those costumes. Well, why waste time speculating? I'll just go talk to the new student next break -- and anyway, I have to recruit him or her anyway, so no need to take Kyon with me.
Especially since the new member might get the wrong idea if a guy and a girl were to show up together and insist they join the club.
And ... maybe a little, I think it'd be easier to get him to follow me without Kyon around.... It probably really is a boy. Anyway, once he joins the club and sees Mikuru-chan, it'll probably be good enough anyway, right?
As soon as the lunch chime sounds, I'm off like a shot, tearing towards the new student's room. When I get there, he's sitting at his desk, surrounded by a small crowd of boys and girls who are asking him about his hobbies.
It's class 1-2, so it's not as amazingly mysterious as if he were in the advance science-physics track -- class 1-9 -- but that's fine! His background can make up for that, can't it?
Physically he looks ... I'd say okay. I mean, he'd probably look like a regular pretty-boy if he were to iron his uniform, brush his hair, and practice his smile. That 'tousled' look isn't so bad, but he's not really doing himself any favors by leaving it so unkempt. Not a whole lot of guys can really pull that look off and actually look good.
I mean, there's Kyon--
Anyway, I shoulder through the crowd and reach the new boy's side. "Come with me!" I order, seizing his wrist and hauling.
He stares at me, resisting me effortlessly for a heartbeat before he nods, shrugging at the other students with his free shoulder. "Guess I'm headed to another castle!" he quips to them, before letting me drag him off.
Damn it -- why can't I win any confrontation without my targets just letting me?
A few minutes later we're at one of the spots on the grounds I know students sometimes sneak to smoke. I know a lot of little spots like this, though the best one by far is the stairwell -- mostly because it's indoors, so no one will smoke there.
"So ... can I ask what this is all about?" he wonders quietly, admiring the trees around us.
"Mysterious transfer student!" I declare, beaming a grin at him. "You stand before the leader of the SOS Brigade! We're looking for someone unique and special -- and it may just be you!"
He quirks one eyebrow higher.
"So, I am Suzumiya Haruhi, fearless leader -- and I want to know more about you! Tell me your awesome stories and legendary heroics!" I demand.
"Well," he says after a moment. After a thoughtful blink, he shrugs and says, "Okay. Most recently, I was able to beat the 'hell' level of Cave Story without cheating in just under five minutes -- I haven't gotten to the three minute mark to unlock the alternate music yet, though. I'm not sure that qualifies as 'legendary,' considering that.... Well, for me it was quite an undertaking! Something I could be proud of, hmm?"
I have to say I like the enthusiasm, but I wasn't asking about video games.... Still -- he's a transfer student, and seems mysterious enough so far. It's not like I could expect him to just open up about the conspiracy theories behind him after only a minute, is it?
"Alright -- I'll bring you to our clubroom at the end of class!" I declare. Once he joins us, I'll have more time to find out what his secrets are! "Be there!"
I catch him raising his eyebrows curiously before I turn around and run away again. But, hey ... if I've got his interest, that's something to make up for yesterday, right?
That day after class, Koizumi is waiting for me as ordered -- it's no trouble to haul him to the clubroom. When we arrive, Mikuru-chan cuts off something she was mumbling out at the sight of me and won't meet my eyes, just hunching over and edging closer to Kyon every time I look at her.
What's going on with that!? She was totally on my side yesterday! And I got in more trouble than she did over that, so what's she got to be upset about?
That's not fair! Well -- whatever; we've got someone new, now. Someone who brings our total members up to five!
"Listen up, everyone!" I cheer, pointing at the new boy. "This is Koizumi Itsuki-kun, our mysterious new transfer student!"
"Ah, right," Kyon sighs in a way that suggests an awful lot of familiarity with me. Okay, so he and I did discuss that earlier without the others-- But the club is still being formed! Heck, Koizumi-kun only just now got recruited! "I'm terribly sorry you've gotten caught up in her madness."
Hey!
"I would have just wasted my time otherwise," Koizumi-kun replies with a shrug and an easy grin, stepping past me to stand by the chair opposite Kyon. "Hmm, so, what's this club about?"
"Evidently Suzumiya plans on using us to -- somehow -- find aliens, espers, and time travelers," Kyon explains with a shake of his head.
Sound more enthusiastic!
Koizumi-kun looks inexplicably startled by that for a heartbeat before he reassumes his relaxed, somewhat amused expression, nodding. "I find those things all the time in my video games," he offers.
"Oh, yeah?" Kyon asks, shifting in his seat to face Koizumi-kun properly. "What do you like to play?"
"It's fine to talk about things like this when we're not on a mission," I decide, interjecting to remind them what our real goal is. "In fact, I'm glad to see you two getting along so well! Mikuru-chan, ah, Yuki," I almost stutter for a moment, debating giving her the respect of her last name-- Somehow, that just seems too obvious right next to 'Mikuru-chan,' so I settle for her first name alone. "You two should try and get along, too!"
Come to think of it ... now that we've gotten a full compliment and can become official, we need some sort of establishing group activity for the weekend. That's a good idea; I'll work on that next. It should give Kyon and Koizumi-kun a chance to get to know one-another better. Plus, if Mikuru-chan's upset over us getting in trouble for yesterday, that should be a chance to hang out without worrying about things like that!
Hmm, I should probably try and get Koizumi-kun to step up for Mikuru-chan, though-- Ah, a girl like that, really, she needs someone looking over her, and I don't want Kyon distracted all the time. If she's always acting all moe-moe, she'll probably get hit on a lot; someone to protect her from that would probably be great!
Something about that seems like a good idea, too, but I want to be very subtle about it. Hmm, maybe I could get the two of them in a group with me ... Kyon would be okay with Yuki, as quiet as she is. I bet it wouldn't be too hard to rig things -- marked toothpicks or something like that, right?
Hey, I've got a computer now! While Kyon and Koizumi talk about some other game -- something called 'Bastion,' which Kyon thinks has some great gimmick involving narration -- I check the internet and look for tips on what I was thinking of.
This weekend-- Yeah, now we can have the fun we should have had yesterday, with no annoying teachers to get in our way!