Disclaimer: The novel 'Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu' is the creation of Nagaru Tanigawa. I do not know the producers yet, but the animation company responsible is Kyoto Animation. 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. ;)
Yuki-chan's teleportation is highly convenient. I'd appreciate it more if it wasn't only available in apparently life-threatening situations, but I'll take what I can get.
After being sent home I slept poorly, tossing all night and wondering if my plan would be ready in time. And it's clear to me I'm going to need to set things in motion, soon. Aside from the subtle threats lurking around the corner to destroy reality....
Bah.
I would have slept better if I hadn't stayed up most of the night reading (and rereading) the notebook that Yuki-chan left for me. The one that was originally given to Haruhi. She even managed to reproduce the missing pages. Well, the tears of where those pages were, anyway.
It basically outlines that Taniguchi is an alien, sent to monitor Haruhi. Haruhi has the power to change the world with her belief in it. It names Mikuru as a timetraveler sent to watch over Haruhi. Koizumi is explained as being the one Haruhi can most depend on. Taniguchi remained loyal to his masters, and the data thought entity is not mentioned. Neither is Yuki-chan, actually.
Now, if the missing pages are what I think they are, then they tell Haruhi that I like Mikuru, and nothing she can do could change that. But why would the notebook also say what it had about Koizumi? Unless it was meant to act as a wedge between us. Or maybe, since Taniguchi had to know that Yuki-chan meant what she said about protecting me, it was meant to convince Haruhi to preserve Koizumi so that he could kill me. Yuki-chan might not see that coming.
But obviously, if that was the plan, it failed. Then again, Yuki-chan admits that the data thought entity didn't understand Haruhi well enough yet. Why would they observe her, otherwise? So it may have been a gamble on Taniguchi's part ... a gamble on Koizumi instead of me. Though, at a guess, Taniguchi didn't know which of Koizumi's memories Haruhi would let him keep.
Haunted by those thoughts, and probably thinking much too hard about the situation, is it any wonder I didn't sleep?
Koizumi's late-night coffee probably didn't help.
When my alarm goes off, I ignore it -- though, I was awake before it began. Some pleasantly normal things still happen; my little sister drags me out of bed and makes me get up.
Again: Bah.
But no use grousing. After breakfast, I meet Mikuru at the door. She's got a book in her hands. It's 'The Japanese Medical Association's Guide to Dealing With Head-Trauma'. How handy.
"Good morning, Kyon, little sister!"
"Good morning, Mikuru-nee-chan!"
"Ah," I manage. Everything proceeds in comfortable, companionable silence until after Mikuru and I head to the train station, seeing my sibling safely off with her friends. "So, what's that book for?" I ask.
"It's nothing forbidden," she assures me. So, no books from the future, at least. Or, probably even our own world. Which means this is a book about Haruhi's world. "Now, I left the costume you wanted me to get in my bag," and she blushes slightly, giving me a smile and not meeting my eyes at that part, "but I remembered what you wanted to talk about. So I studied up on it!"
"From that book?"
"No, this lets me know what the differences are, since I thought that'd be the most important part."
Very true.... Mikuru is far cleverer than her distractingly innocent veneer makes it appear. We spend the rest of the walk -- and the train ride -- with her lecturing me about head trauma and proper treatment. The other students on the train stare at me, and I catch a murmur of, "Is he studying to become a doctor?"
There's an odd thought.
When we get to school, I avoid any unwelcome savage beatings, crowds of self-appointed-Mikuru-defenders (Tsuruya included, thank you very much), and Kunikida. Mikuru and I spend fifteen minutes on the roof in an out-of-the-way spot while I try and repeat what she told me to make sure I understand it.
This is much more complicated than I originally thought. Well, if it were easy, I guess anyone would be able to save the world, and that's why it falls on me, right?
So that's class. We spend break and lunch doing the same thing. At the end of it, I think I've got enough to try and put the plan together.
To try, anyway. But before plans, there's a club meeting.
Haruhi seems calmer, more reserved throughout the school day. Maybe yesterday left her in a good mood. That's probably for the best.
When I get to the clubroom, she's already there, sitting behind her desk and doodling. Yuki-chan is reading yet another book -- today's title is 'The System of the World' -- but glances at me as I enter. Mikuru is running late, and there's no sign of Koizumi yet.
"You're here," Haruhi says in approval. "Good. Now, what should we do today? I think baseball might be fun."
How about not, Haruhi? Not again, anyway. "Maybe," I answer. "We don't have enough people, though. And I'm pretty sure that they have a club meeting today, so we won't have anywhere to play." Actually, I know this. Though, Haruhi didn't let it stop her before.
"That's fine! With our star athlete skills, they'll let us join for a day or two! And if they don't, we can beat them with our fewer numbers and really humiliate them into accepting us!" She grins and clenches her fist dramatically in the air as she says this, looking more like her old self.
Mikuru peeks into the classroom and then enters at this point. Dressed in her school uniform, of course -- it's not time for the plan yet.
"What are we doing today?" she asks brightly.
Koizumi enters a moment later, his smile seeming more cheerful and less false than it has been lately. "Hello!" he calls, before echoing Mikuru's question.
"Baseball," Haruhi says, now sounding completely decided. "We're going to show the school what our club can really do! If we set our minds and hearts to it, our youthful spirit can overcome any obstacle! Defeat any foe! Crush any other club! Starting with a plan I like to call, 'Operation SOS Brigade vs. Sports clubs!' Next week, we'll destroy the art clubs, too. Then after that, we can take on the cultural clubs, and the study clubs."
"What a marvelous plan," Koizumi agrees, taking a seat.
Mikuru blinks and looks doubtful. "Is ... that okay with everyone? You destroying all the other clubs?"
"We won't really destroy them," Haruhi assures, rising from her seat and slapping both palms flat on the table, leaning forward and grinning. "We're just going to totally humiliate them! And then, yeah, we'll take the best members from each club as we see fit, and assemble an even better and bigger SOS Brigade!"
Wow, she looks so enthusiastic, I almost hate to make her sad. Though, that seems like a really silly idea, trying to be some sort of 'best of everything' club. "Well, why don't you go ask the Baseball club if we can play?" I suggest.
"Me?" she says, indignantly, straightening up. "I'm the Brigade Chief! I should have a subordinate do it. Like, Yuki! Yuki, you can go give the challenge." She turns to look at Yuki-chan.
Looking up from her book slowly, Yuki-chan turns to look at me for guidance, and I can feel a Yuki-chan tingle. I give a tiny shake of my head, and say, "Well, that should be it, then. She'll give our challenge, and I'm sure they won't refuse. This is the SOS Brigade, after all."
"Of course," Yuki-chan replies, marking her place in the book and setting it down. "I will return."
She silently trots out of clubroom and into the hallway. Haruhi has already moved on to something else. "Alright. Kyon, you and I are the star players, so you're going to have to hit a ton of home runs. A ton, you hear! We can't just beat them, we have to totally cream them!"
"I'll give it my best," I tell her, offering her a smile, trying to ignore the churning sensation in my stomach. This will not end well, I suspect.
Koizumi shrugs, and Mikuru serves everyone a cup of tea. We sip in silence for a minute, except for Haruhi, who is making a big checklist of clubs to beat, and a schedule for when it'll all be finished. Yuki-chan opens the door and enters.
"Well, let's get ready to go," Haruhi says, pushing her paper away and standing up.
"We were refused," Yuki-chan says in that flat, quiet voice. "Our challenge was declined." Haruhi blinks in surprise while Yuki-chan goes back to her book, picking it up right where she left off.
"Maybe," I suggest, "they just need to see you to know that you're serious."
"Nope," Haruhi says, upset. Her face is drawn and her eyes are narrowed in annoyance. She doesn't quite puff out her cheeks like a child, but she looks dangerous when she's angry. I think even if she did look more like a child I'd be wary, though. "We're all going together."
Without waiting for a confirmation that we're following, she storms out of the classroom. I shrug and we move to pursue. Koizumi sidles up to me and whispers, "Is this part of your plan?"
"Not exactly," I whisper back, "but I'm working with it."
"What do we do?"
"Lose," I say with a tight smile. "Badly. I have to play my hardest, and so does she. So I'm depending on you."
"I hope you know what you're doing," he replies, just before Haruhi stops and looks back at us.
"Hey!" she snaps. We fall silent, and I swallow anxiously. "Where is the baseball club, again?" she asks.
...and here I was worried she overheard something.
"I can show the way," Yuki-chan answers, not looking up from her text. That Yuki-chan tingle isn't going away. I actually find that comforting, at this point.
Haruhi nods, and Yuki-chan leads the way. Shortly, we arrive at the field, and there's the club, practicing their hearts out. Of course, according to what Kunikida said, they're trying for Koushien, so they'd probably better.
Without more than a second to identify the student wearing the 'manager' jersey, Haruhi storms over and demands, "What's the meaning of refusing the SOS Brigade's challenge?"
The coach is a large boy. One of those who -- this is worth noting -- was in the 'Crush Kyon for making Mikuru cry!' crowd. My day just couldn't get any better.
He furrows his brow and glances across the lot of us before he looks at Haruhi. "You think you can play us?" he asks, unimpressed.
"You bet!" Haruhi answers. "I tried out for the girls' team, you know. I dropped out right away, but they wanted me back. You think we can't play?"
"You, maybe," the manager replies grudgingly. "But your friend back there with the head injury walked on us. You think we're going to respect him enough for a challenge?" Then he turns his head and spits.
Oh, good. At least he hates me for me, and not just because of Mikuru.
Again, it should be noted that when you get right down to it, it's really Haruhi's fault.
"I know he's good enough that you want him back," Haruhi replies, nodding knowingly. "And this is the only way you're going to get to play either with or against him. So let's have it."
The big guy stares at Haruhi for a moment, then looks at me. Then Mikuru, Koizumi, and Yuki-chan. Mikuru is trembling and frightened -- obviously not prime baseball material. Koizumi is difficult to read, and performed fairly well in our last game ... but they can't know that. Yuki-chan looks timid and harmless. We're also short a few members.
"I'm not going to play against you," the manager decides abruptly. Haruhi begins to look angry again, and Koizumi winces, checking his cell phone. A text message from the Coalition, no doubt; I felt a definite esper-tingle over that remark. "Not a real game, anyway."
"Then what are you suggesting?" Haruhi asks with narrowed eyes. "A test of skills? Like a batting contest?"
"Sure. We'll do the full course; batting, pitching, fielding. Everyone gets ten chances at each activity," he replies. "I'll be nice, and even let you pitch to your own classmates. And, by all means -- you go first."
"Right," Haruhi says, brightening instantly. She spins to face me and says, "It's up to us, Ky--" And then she freezes, flinching slightly, and masks it with a cough. "Koizumi," she says instead. "Let's do it! Kyon, you and Mikuru keep up, too!"
Well, that's about what I expected, more or less. We arrange ourselves in the dugout, since batting is up first. Mikuru and Yuki-chan sit to one side of me, Mikuru being closer. Yuki-chan is flipping through her book. "Um, Kyon," Mikuru hazards, while Koizumi throws Haruhi the first pitch. She nails it, of course, and that ball flees the premises.
My favorite timetraveler then continues, "A...are you sure you know what you're doing?"
"I hope so," I answer with a shrug. "Just get out there and give it your best, Mikuru-chan. Yuki-chan, you know what to do, right?"
"I am certain you will succeed," the quiet girl replies, still reading her book. And another hit from Haruhi.
"T...then.... What about the ... um...." She trails off and blushes. I spend a moment looking at Mikuru's face, the way it pinkens. I'm not looking, but hear the telltale sound of another impact, and a muttered curse from the manager. I know Haruhi's still doing her best ... but that keeps me from really enjoying the view.
I look up; Yuki-chan is staring directly at me, across Mikuru. "When we finish this," I say softly, "I want you to rush back to the clubroom, change, and then run past us in the hallway. You'll need to change again in the bathroom, and then come back. I need you to do it as quickly as possible, no matter what."
"W...why?" Mikuru asks.
I look back in time; after another hit, Haruhi looks back to her SOS Brigade for encouragement. Mikuru and I jump to our feet and wave encouragingly.
"Just trust me," I reply. "Yuki-chan, when Mikuru gets back to the clubroom, I'm going to want everyone to pretend that we didn't see her running past us."
"Understood," Yuki-chan says softly.
I take a deep breath and then turn to watch Haruhi. After ten hits -- and she hits them all, of course -- it's Koizumi's turn to bat. I get to pitch for him. He hits six times, and I don't need to make it look like I'm trying against him. Haruhi, of course, yells from the sidelines that he's going to get a penalty.
Yuki pitches for me. Seeing what she's doing while feeling the Yuki-chan tingle is unnerving, and almost cost me the first hit. But sure enough, that first hit is a hit. It makes that sweet sound of an aluminum bat kissing the ball, and I stare -- somewhat stunned, I'll admit -- and watch the thing leave the school entirely.
The manager snorts and calls out, "Somewhere there's a broken window and a bill with your name on it, Head-case!"
I find I actually prefer the 'Kyon' nickname, suddenly. And, not if this world is destroyed, Manager-san. I give Yuki-chan a shake of my head. She actually looks the tiniest bit guilty, and gives me a miniscule nod back. The next pitch is a hard one, but there's no tingle.
I rocket it into the deep outfield. Much better than I ever remember playing before, honestly. I guess Haruhi has faith in me; I haven't heard her cheer yet, though Mikuru offers her encouragement. It doesn't take long to finish, though. After me, (ten hits, thank you), Mikuru pitched to Yuki-chan.
Haruhi got really steamed at that one; the esper-tingles got disconcerting at that point. Mikuru only threw two pitches across the plate evenly, and Yuki-chan only swung at one.
It went foul.
That gave us twenty-six hits out of a possible forty. After Haruhi pitched to Mikuru, it was twenty-six to fifty. This set the pattern for the rest of the exercises. Haruhi and I were at the top of our game, Koizumi did decently, and Yuki-chan and Mikuru....
Adorable, miserable failures. Bless them for it.
At the end, the manager shook his head and grunted, "You lose. Now stay off my field; we've got Koushien to train for." And the he turned to me and said, "Head-case.... If you want to come back, I think you'd do really well. But you'd need to ditch her, first." Her being Haruhi, of course.
"No thanks," I answer, before Haruhi can try and rent me out. I guess she probably wouldn't do that now, though, but she might get upset about it. "I'd rather stay with my friends."
"Bastard," Haruhi seethes. Mikuru straightens suddenly and runs off. Haruhi doesn't notice, and growls, stalking back to the clubroom.
You know, I've heard that some girls are cute when they're angry. Haruhi is not one of them. She looks genuinely intimidating, like a tiger that's just had its meal taken from it. I can almost imagine a tail lashing behind her when she walks like that, hands in fists and stiff at her sides, trembling with barely restrained fury.
We're in the hallway when we see Mikuru again. Her face is flushed with exertion, and she looks more winded than she did after yesterdays arduous track excursion. "Excuse me," she calls, passing by with only a single backwards glance at me. It's difficult not to stare at her in that nurse's outfit. I manage, though. Haruhi breaks from her funk long enough to turn around and stare in confusion, but Mikuru is quickly out of sight.
"Did you just...?" she begins, turning to look at me.
I look as bored and tired as possible.
"Was there...." She trails off with a frown.
"Something wrong?" I ask. "I was just thinking about the challenge. I'm sorry, Suzumiya-san. Maybe if I practiced harder--"
"Nah," she sighs, slumping, releasing some of her anger. "You were perfect, Kyon. Really, the problem was these three-- Wait." She frowns and looks between Koizumi and Yuki-chan. "Yuki, where's Mikuru?"
"Mikuru left us after the challenge," Yuki-chan replies quietly.
"Y...yeah, but.... Kyon, you're her boyfriend." She turns to me. "Where did she go?"
"To the clubroom, I'm sure," I answer. It amuses me suddenly to realize that while Yuki-chan and I are both deceiving Haruhi, neither of us outright lies.
Koizumi catches on quickly. "We should go there and look for her," he says. Of course, he's also deflecting irritation from Haruhi at being one of the people responsible for us losing -- not that he really had a chance against those baseball nuts.
"Right," Haruhi agrees. When we get to the club, Mikuru is -- somehow -- already there. It's possible she ran faster than ever before, changed in a bathroom, and then ran back on the lower floor. But this seems far less likely to me than that she took me literally, and cheated. I didn't know she could timetravel so easily.
She's slumped over a table, looking worn and winded. She looks up when we enter, blinking away fatigue. "I'm sorry," she murmurs. "I ... I really didn't do well."
For a moment, Haruhi looks about ready to explode, rediscovering her lost temper. Then it suddenly fails her.
Let me tell you something about Haruhi. I said that she did not look cute when she's angry, and this is true. But Haruhi -- I strongly hope that she never hears about this -- looks utterly adorable when she's at a loss for words, more sad than anything else. It makes me want to tell her that everything will be alright, and....
No time for that now.
"It doesn't matter," Haruhi sighs. "I thought we could do it. I guess not, though. I mean ... Yuki and Mikuru aren't athletes, right?"
Yuki nods, going back to her book. Mikuru bows her head. "I'm sorry."
"Doesn't matter, doesn't matter," she sighs again.
"Well, what do we do now?" I ask. "We lost this challenge, but...."
"But nothing," Haruhi grumbles, taking her seat behind her desk and crossing her arms over it, laying her head on them and staring at the wall towards the kettle. "We could do it, Kyon. I.... With you I always thought...." She sighs, closing her eyes. "Doesn't matter."
Koizumi begins fiddling with his cell. I switch mine to 'silent', expecting a text message. While waiting for it, I set up the table for a round of Othello. Not that I can focus on the game. Koizumi can't either, but in short order I get: 'Do you know what you're doing?'
Haruhi's distracted, so the game flounders a bit while I reply: 'Yes. Are things bad?'
Koizumi gives me a frank nod. I offer him an apologetic smile, and send another text: 'How long?'
This gives him pause for thought, and I take some time to study the board. Again, I'm losing. Worse than usual. Typical, I guess. Then: 'Hours at most. Many espers dead.'
That costs me the concept of pleasant distraction. It's chilling to know that you're responsible for deaths like that. Especially on a gamble. I wonder if I can justify it. If I succeed, I won't have to. I mean, the people I'd need to justify it to would all be....
Ugh. This is terrible. But I can't stop now. I realize that I probably brought things to this point specifically so that I couldn't back down. We need to get back to our own world, and this one was just set to collapse eventually.
I just sped things up.
A lot.
Time for another push. Sighing, I concede the game. Koizumi puts it away, and Mikuru starts to pack up her bag. "Time to go home?" I ask Haruhi.
"Huh?" she responds, looking up slowly. Has she been crying, with her face on the desk like that? I wouldn't have been able to see her face ... it's possible. Though, that just makes me feel even worse. "O...oh. Yeah. Yeah, you can go, Kyon. Everyone can go."
"Tomorrow will be a better day," I say, as reassuringly as I can.
"I'd like to believe that," Haruhi murmurs. "But.... Oh, it doesn't matter."
I shrug, and take my bag into the hallway. Haruhi lays her head on the desk and doesn't look up. After a minute, Yuki-chan, Mikuru, and Koizumi join me. We move down the hallway to make sure we're out of earshot.
"I'm really worried," Koizumi says frankly. "I would be helping the other espers right now, but I think we've let the balance become skewed. I don't think I could make a difference against the Celestials, now."
"I'm not sure what I did helped things at all, either," Mikuru says anxiously. "Kyon...."
"The data integrity of this space is corrupting," Yuki-chan adds.
"So, because of what I did, reality is becoming unstable around Haruhi?" I ask.
"That would seem to be the case."
"Yes."
"Correct."
"Well, that's what we need," I say with a shrug. "As I understand it, if we're careless, or take too long, because of how things went, Haruhi could end up losing her powers -- for good. If that happens before we get back where we belong, we're toast." This may not be true for Yuki-chan or Mikuru, but I think it actually is.
"That's true enough," Koizumi agrees. "But what are you hoping to accomplish?"
"I need to get Haruhi to the point where she's willing to try and rewrite reality again completely," I say with a shrug. "Then I'll stop her."
"How.... How will that set things back the way they were?" Mikuru asks, looking very confused.
"Put on your nurse's outfit again, and come into the clubroom in fifteen minutes," I instruct. "I'm going to try and convince Haruhi of what I just said a few minutes ago."
"I still trust you," Yuki-chan says. "Though, it would be prudent to make a backup at this node."
"In a minute," I tell her. I glance at Mikuru, who gives me a hesitant nod, then runs for the girls' bathroom to change. "Koizumi, Yuki-chan.... Closed space is decaying, or corrupting into our world. We need to make Haruhi make her change before that; if she sees all the espers who've died, or the destruction of the Celestials, we could lose it all. Does that make sense?"
"A fine line," Koizumi says, frowning. "I think I understand."
"Your timing will need to be very precise," Yuki-chan adds.
"I know," I sigh. "Will I know when Haruhi's using her power?"
Yuki-chan hesitates, and then shrugs. "If you can be aware of data-creation and autoevolution, it is possible."
"Time for another push," I decide. I face Koizumi and clap my hands on his shoulders, leaning close. His turn to look uncomfortable at my nearness. "Koizumi. I'm sorry. It's time for you to go break up with your girlfriend."
"What?" he nearly yelps, biting his tongue and looking back towards the clubroom anxiously. "Why?"
"Um.... You didn't like the way she was looking at me during our challenge today. You're jealous. Something like that. Make up a reason -- the worse it is, the better."
"She's going to flip out," he protests, shaking his head quickly.
"Not as quickly as if I were to go in and ask her to change the world back first," I reply. "I trust you. And I know that Haruhi likes you enough to be thrown off by that. I also know that Haruhi doesn't like you enough to really want to date you, so she won't be too hurt. This should cause her to change things before closed space gets out of hand." I hope. I certainly sound confident, or at least, I suppose I must. Koizumi hesitates, then nods.
"I'll do it," he says. Then he pushes my hands away, stands up straight, and smiles weakly. "Wish me luck," he mutters.
"Wait," I caution him.
He hesitates, and I turn back to Yuki-chan. "Can you back him up, too? I don't want to risk everything; if we blow this, and she recreates the world, we might get another chance. I don't want to depend on it, but I'd rather not face it without your help. Either of you."
Yuki-chan nods quietly, and then in one smooth motion grabs my collar, Koizumi's collar, and yanks both of us down to knock heads before she presses her forehead against both of ours at the same time. Definite Yuki-chan tingle; it leaves me on the floor. Koizumi seems to have taken it better, though he wobbles a bit.
"Go to it," I tell him, while climbing to my feet. He runs down the hallway, leaving me with Yuki-chan.
"You have a role for me."
Not a question, but she was just in my head, so she must already know. "Will it work?" I ask her, instead of replying.
"Faith is an odd thing," she says in answer. "It is belief, and trust. Trust is an extension of permission, and belief is knowledge of data, verified or not. I am glad I was able to make a backup here. Because, Kyon ... I have faith in you. As I know Haruhi must. And...."
She hesitates, looking almost embarrassed. She even looks away from meeting my eyes, like Mikuru.
I smile at her, and raise my hand, touching her cheek gently, turning her face to mine. "And you think she's got faith in me?"
She nods.
"I have faith in you, too, Yuki-chan. Just make sure you don't hurt anyone if you can help it. Now go take apart the school, one data structure at a time."
She nods again, and one hand rises to brush over mine. This time I know it's not my imagination; she really does lean into me. And then she's gone, nothing but sparkling streams of ... it must be data. I can feel the tingle in the back of my head and my hand at the same time, now. And the Yuki-chan tingle doesn't fade at all. Glancing out a window, I watch a tree burst into swirling light.
At the same time, Haruhi's indignant yell explodes from the clubroom. "What do you mean?" she cries. "You're dumping me?"
Ah.... That went well. Mikuru appears at the end of the hallway in her nurse's outfit, and looking quite nervous. "Am I early?" she asks in a quiet voice.
"A little," I say. "Wait here a bit longer. I'll trust your judgment on when you should come in."
"Get out of my sight!" Haruhi rages. Koizumi obligingly does just that, hightailing it into the hallway, and then running towards us with a fearful glance behind. I give him an encouraging nod, and turn to the clubroom door, which he left open. I catch him stepping into closed space as he passes, vanishing into a curtain of gray shades.
When we get to the clubroom, Haruhi is standing behind her desk, once again furious, though now there are unshed tears shining in her eyes.
Okay. I take it back.
Haruhi can be cute when she's angry.
But this is hardly the time for that. "Haruhi," I say softly. She looks up at me, suddenly petulant.
"Kyon," she mumbles, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away, huffing slightly. "What do you want?"
"To help you," I answer, stepping into the room, tossing my bag on the table, and stopping a few steps away from her.
"Oh," she says quietly, sighing, running a hand through the tangle of braids and ponytails she's got now. "W...well. You should get b...back to Mikuru, you know. S...she'll be looking for you."
Maybe Koizumi hurt Haruhi worse than we'd planned.... No, no time for that. If this is all a dream, it won't matter. Right. I have to stick to the plan.
"No, she won't," I answer.
"W...why?" she asks, surprised. "Koizumi just.... Just dumped me. Did you and Mikuru break up?"
"We never went out," I say apologetically. "We were never dating in the first place."
"What?" She shakes her head, and turns around. Yuki-chan's timing is perfect; Haruhi gets to watch a segment of fence outside collapse into another display of sparkling lights. "N...no! This can't--"
"It is," I say, taking a step closer, and catching one of Haruhi's hands in mine. "Look. Think about this, Haruhi. What's happened to you lately?"
"What's happened to you?" she protests. "You've been.... This is all.... Nothing worked!"
"Tell me what was supposed to happen, then," I try.
My bag vanishes from the table, along with the windows.
"I.... I wanted you to be happy, damn it!" Now she is crying, though she won't face me, just staring outside at the school Yuki-chan is actively disassembling. Yuki-chan's efforts are initially minimal, but take off spectacularly when a flash of closed space levels a nearby block of buildings.
Things are escalating ... Haruhi, can't you just change it all back already?
"I wanted you to have what you wanted! You and that girl you always make stupid faces at ... it's ... it's all my fault, anyway. You would never have met her if I didn't bring her into our club, and...." She stops to sniffle, bowing her head.
I look through the smoke and dust, worried. The tingle told me what it was, but.... No Celestial. Perhaps Koizumi's in there right now, fighting it....
"I w...wanted to make a p...perfect world for you, Kyon. S...shouldn't my powers be used for good?" Another sniffle.
Oh, Haruhi.... "If you had that kind of powers," I say as agreeable as possible, "then you would probably best use them to benefit everyone, not just one person."
"What did I do wrong?" she demands, tearing her hand free of my grip and turning to face me. "Even, well, even when you decided to join the club again, I tried my best! I tried to act like I didn't care about you and Mikuru, but everything's falling apart! And you don't pay attention to her? What's not good enough?"
"None of this is real," I say, as Yuki-chan (almost obligingly, it seems) dissolves the desk, the tables in the middle of the room, and the half-opened door.
Mikuru gives a frightened yelp and runs in, looking behind her anxiously. "Things are getting bad!" she wails, falling to the floor by my side and clinging to my leg. "Really bad! I want to go home!"
I don't know how it was easier to focus on Haruhi than Mikuru. "Suzumiya Haruhi, do you know where you are?"
"In ... in school, at my club," she answers, staring between me and Mikuru in confusion. The school is still dissolving, somehow no students in sight. The ceiling goes first, so nothing falls on us. Above is the unfriendly, unwelcoming sky of closed space.
Did we cross over somehow? That would make things a bit easier.
"What's going on?"
"Victims of head trauma often enter a comatose state. Sometimes, within this state," and here, I try my best not to sound like me, standing stiff and staring straight at her, "patients may enter a trance or a dream-world of their own devising." This is underscored by a rising Celestial, leveling the gym across the yard.
"W...what?" Haruhi asks, blinking in confusion, shakily glancing back at the glowing giant. There is no red-wrapped Koizumi to fight it ... or any other esper in sight, either. I can feel esper-tingles, though.
"N...no, that's not right. I.... I have a power. I can change the world! I can put this school back together!" She turns her back on me and clenches her hands into fists at her sides, bristling with determination. The Yuki-chan tingle is there ... and I can feel the esper-tingle, though it's worryingly weak. I don't get any kind of Haruhi-tingle. But she begins to glow softly.
"These delusions and fantasies aren't a true comatose state, because the brain is perfectly functional; they're logically a symptom of the patient being unwilling to accept the condition that they're currently in."
The school flickers for a moment. The ceiling is restored, only to dissolve in light again. Mikuru whimpers, "Wake up!" Ah, she is smart.
Haruhi turns again, staring at me in bewilderment. "Y...you're saying that this is all in my head?" she asks me in disbelief. "But you're Kyon! This is the school!"
"These are all things you made up," I say with a shrug. "I am just a figment of your own imagination. Think about it; when you were on the island, it was Kyon that gave you the hints you needed to solve the mystery. Now that you're facing another one, your mind calls on the same symbol again."
I haven't gotten to the head-trauma stuff, but the psychology nonsense sounded pretty convincing, I have to admit. Haruhi looks at me in surprise.
"S...so, I'm ... hurt? Something happened to me?"
This is where things get tricky. Good thing Mikuru read up on this. "All you can know is what you knew from before," I say apologetically. "Though...." I turn to her.
"It's possible that you could also assemble fragmentary bits of information from what you overheard and added to your dream world," she offers, suddenly businesslike for an instant before she goes back to bawling about wanting to go home. Perfect; this scene could not be any more surreal.
As I think that, it actually does. The clubroom floor vanishes, and we're all left hanging in space for a minute before we tumble through the air. Mikuru was already clinging to me, so I manage to make her fall atop me. I work my way under Haruhi, too, just like when we fell off that cliff....
I make a better cushion than I thought. Now we're in a hollow shell of a building, which is disappearing in large pieces. I think the two of them might have cracked a rib or something. Maybe worse. When Mikuru and Haruhi climb off of me, I feel a pain in my chest. Not good, but if I pretend I'm fine, it'll throw Haruhi off enough to make this story believable.
I hope.
When we're all standing, Mikuru immediately clings to my leg again. Haruhi blinks and stares at me in confusion.
"So, what happened to me, then? What ... do I do?"
"Thinking about things, your last clear memory before you created your dream," I begin, before shrugging. Ah, damn. It hurts to breathe. This is not good! The distant Celestial pauses, as a segment of the building it was going to strike vanishes, then turns around, away from us.
Is Yuki-chan distracting it from us? Thank goodness for that.
"It's most likely that your memories just before the incident are somewhat jumbled, and unreliable," Mikuru supplies for me. "So there's a root of truth there, in addition to what your subconscious has gathered."
"My ... subconscious? My inner voices are made out of my friends?" Haruhi asks, her tears forgotten. I'd forget to cry too -- if I didn't think that I just broke a rib and pierced a lung. There's a definite feeling of something warm and wet in my chest on one side. Or maybe it's just my imagination ... but not good either way. Mikuru stands up and nods, and I drape an arm over her shoulders. This was not to feel her better, it was to keep myself steady.
Unfortunately.
Haruhi turns and looks. More scenery is vanishing, bit by bit, the Celestial trying to smash something we can't see, sending up clouds of dust. "My dream is falling apart," she says, nodding slowly. "So. I was on the rooftop...."
She hesitates, then turns and looks back at Mikuru and I. It takes almost everything I have to offer an encouraging smile. I don't think I trust myself to speak anymore. My breath is getting raspy, and it's a struggle to hide that from Haruhi.
How was I able to handle a fall from a cliff so much better than this? Maybe it doesn't matter.
"I had a notebook. From Taniguchi. It said I had powers, but.... But maybe I'm not remembering that right. Maybe ... it said something like that. It also said...." She slumps and turns away.
I sag immediately to my knees. Mikuru looks worried, glancing between us, still holding my hand.
"It said that Kyon couldn't ... ever love me. That I was too weird. But it also said to meet Taniguchi on the roof." She hesitates. "That can't be it. It was ... a suicide note."
I stare, aghast, but unable to speak. This is not what I'd planned! Mikuru is equally stunned.
"That's it! I'd been too obvious!" She turns to face us again, but her attention is elsewhere. "It makes perfect sense! Taniguchi seems like a normal guy! He hides it behind his supposed obsession with women, but he's actually a murderer!"
She pauses. I force myself to nod. This might be workable.
"Someone who wants to be a murderer," she corrects herself. "So he writes something that would make sense to me ... taking advantage of a person like me! He knows I want to meet aliens, and timetravelers, and espers ... and somehow he figured out that I liked Kyon, too!"
This sends a curious stab through my chest. Not altogether unpleasant, or unanticipated. It doesn't really alleviate the previous stab of a pierced lung, however. Sorry, folks. True love can unmake worlds, but doesn't seem to do much for your respiratory system.
Heh.
"So he leaves me a notebook that appeals to me, claiming to be an alien. The pages I took out of the notebook were the ones that he'd force me to copy, to make a suicide note. A letter about how I loved Kyon and couldn't have him. But I wouldn't! Though ... that means I must have seen through his plan! I went to confront him!"
She frowns suddenly, and turns to look at me. "What went wrong?" she asks. "I'm not ... dead, am I?"
"No," I say, shaking my head. I can't manage more than that.
Mikuru keeps up the act, while also keeping me from collapsing. "You chose to challenge him on his own terms, didn't you?" she asks.
"That's right." Haruhi shakes her head. "But he didn't kill me. He must have pushed me off the rooftop. No, there's a fence. He must have hit me, and knocked me out. But then.... What about Kyon? Why do I remember Kyon on the rooftop? And why was he with you?"
I groan; the pain is simply too much. "Kyon is my hero," Mikuru says, her eyes filling with tears. And we'd been doing so well, too! Why does it have to end like this?
Haruhi's eyes widen. "Of course," she gasps. "That's what I knew! We didn't think he could possibly-- Taniguchi hit me over the head. Kyon was my hero! He rescued me! That must be it! That's why in my dream, Kyon had a head wound!"
I force a grin I really don't feel, and nod. Mikuru smiles too, the effect completely spoiled for me by the tears in her eyes. "Please wake up," she whispers. "Come back to Kyon."
I'm growing short of breath ... what an unfair landing. At least I kept Haruhi from being hurt. That might have cost us. I'm sure Yuki-chan didn't mean for it to be like this ... or maybe it's just because of the closed space collapse. Does it really matter?
"Kyon!" Haruhi cries. Everything is going very dim, but she launches herself at me, tears streaming from her eyes....
And, well, that's when the world goes away.
I mean, again.
Author's notes: Shorter than planned, but hopefully not enough to make it suffer.