# Kyon: Big Damn Hero

## The Straightforward Flashback and Exposition Arc I

### Chapter Three: It Goes To Eleven

Disclaimer: The novel series of Suzumiya Haruhi that began with 'The
Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi' is the creation of Nagaru Tanigawa. No
disrespect is intended by the posting of this fanfiction, as I do not own the
characters or settings involved. I'm merely dabbling with another set of
paints. TVtropes(dot)org is part of the public domain, I think? I actually
couldn't find a 'legal' section on the site!

Notes: Count the tropes! Save, collect, trade for swell prizes!

* * *

"Chapter One: Expect the Unexpected"

"...aside from them, however, there aren't many who can genuinely expect all
things and calculate accordingly. So in a practical situations what it really
means is: don't be so expectant of something happening, that any other result
is a surprise. That's probably the best you can do, anyway."

"Roll With the Punches" -- Tadamichi Kyousuke

* * *

"P...please get your face out of my chest!" Mikuru blurted out, her face
coloring red.

The first year student started, realizing where she was, then scurried beneath
the table and clung to one of Kyon's legs. "Sempai!" she whimpered. "Save me!"

Placing another stone at the board, Kyon remarked, "I'm threatening your
piece, Koizumi; atari." Bending to look at the shivering girl who had grabbed
onto him, he added, "I don't think we've been introduced properly yet."

He took a moment to study her features, while she shivered in fright, clinging
to him. Her brown hair was shoulder-length, and very curly just at the tips --
fairly distinctive, he thought. She was probably as tall as Yuki, but with an
even slighter frame, not quite gangly, but not yet grown into her height. Her
dark eyes stared up at him pleadingly.

"That all but confirms it," Haruhi declared, clapping her hands together and
standing guard at the locked door. "Okay, initiate, state your name and let go
of the vice commander, or I will issue a severe penalty!"

"I-I really shouldn't," the girl stuttered. "Sempai! Why aren't you helping
me?"

"Alright," Kyon relented. "I'll help you out, but I need to know who you are,
first."

"Um! I'm Michikyuu Kanae," she said. "What's going on here?"

"It's my fault," Kyon said, sighing. "Haruhi asked me what was up with you,
and I said you probably knew alternate universe versions of us from sliding
through dimensions."

"You already know!?" the girl yelped, trying to jump away from Kyon, but only
smacking her head and jolting the table, scattering all the pieces across the
board.

"Just as well," Koizumi said with a shrug. "I don't think a six stone
advantage was going to help me much."

"Wait, you mean you're really a slider?" Kyon asked, eyes widening in
surprise. "I was joking!"

"Kyon, Kyon, Kyon," Haruhi chastised him, her grin even wider as she shook her
head. "Shame on you! You really thought that kind of thing would be a
throwaway comment?"

"...ow," Kanae moaned. "My head...."

"Okay, this is very quickly getting out of hand," Kyon decided. "Nagato?"

The quiet girl had watched everything without remark so far, so contributed,
"Quantum displacement agent. Through the accumulation of distortions through
the fabric of space-time, she can create a ripple and then ride the wavefront
of that ripple into alternate, similar realities."

"So, that means slider?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Michikyuu-san, come out from the table and take a seat. I'll try and
keep Haruhi from molesting you. Since you're a slider, please allow me to
introduce you to the SOS Brigade," he said, gesturing to the others. "It seems
Haruhi has already decided that you've joined the club. Obviously, you're in
good company, with one possible exception."

"But don't hold him being a normal person against him," Haruhi added quickly.

"Yes. That was precisely the exception I was thinking," he deadpanned.

"Mikuru-chan! Give our newest member a cup of tea and prepare the accords to
record the addition of a slider to our ranks!"

Gathering the loose stones from across the table, Koizumi remarked, "Perhaps
we shouldn't record more than her name and that she joined the brigade. We
wouldn't want certain information to fall into the hands of others too
easily."

Mikuru poured a cup of tea and set it at the table, while Kanae slid a chair
next to Kyon and huddled in it, trying to hide behind him from Haruhi's line
of sight. "U...um...." she whimpered. "Y...you're not supposed to know who I
am so easily! I only meant to tell Sempai."

"Hmm. You must be very close with Kyon in your world," Haruhi remarked, eyes
narrowing. Koizumi gave an uncomfortable twitch.

"Eh? Yes! Of course! In every world I've been to, Sempai is always willing to
help me when I'm in trouble, even if he doesn't believe my story! And he's
always very polite, and so kind...." She coughed, nervously picking up her tea
and sipping at it. After a taste, she said, "I'm, um, not usually so impolite.
I'm just a bit on edge...."

"'Every world'?" Haruhi echoed, her eyes suddenly turning sympathetic as she
stepped away from the door and sat next to Koizumi, opposite the younger girl.
"Do you mean, you're lost, Kanae-chan?"

Kanae nodded, frowning. "That's right," she agreed. "And I'm still trying to
find my way home. I've been through over a hundred worlds by now, ever since
before middle school! But Sempai almost always tells me that it's big trouble
for you to know I'm a slider, even when he doesn't believe me." Turning to
Kyon, she asked, "Sempai, why is it okay for her to know this time?"

"I told her yesterday," he said, considering. "Michikyuu-san, are you telling
me that in alternate realities, I went to middle school with Haruhi?"

"Yes, sometimes," Kanae agreed, smiling. "And sometimes junior high school as
well. Mostly in those realities, I think it was because of a zoning change
that had one or another of the schools you usually go to removed. Sorry, after
so many worlds, I tend to pay more attention to where you are than why you're
there. But please, call me Kanae-chan, Sempai."

"Huh," he mused. "There really was a slider."

"There sure is!" Haruhi agreed. "I guess you lose the 'honorary slider' title.
Hmm, even though we can help her get home, I'm reluctant to give her up so
soon after finding her."

"Y...you can?" Kanae asked, surprised. "B...but, I can't go home yet," she
said, shaking her head quickly. "Um, see, I'm not the only slider ... and the
others don't like me much."

"I think this is the first time anyone's shown up that hasn't done so
specifically to investigate Haruhi," Kyon said thoughtfully.

"She's not just a client who's also a slider," Haruhi warned. "Until it's safe
for her to go home, she's a member of the brigade! I'm serious about this."

"Hmm. Nagato, how many queued programs from Haruhi?"

"Eighty seven items in queue currently."

"It's less than a hundred!" Haruhi protested, her expression switching to a
scowl. "And just because you control my power doesn't mean you get to dictate
brigade policy! You're a vice commander, not the commander! Oh, speaking of
which, Koizumi, where's the armband?"

"I lost it," he said with a friendly smile. "My apologies."

"No problem," she said, shrugging, moving to the desk with the computer and
pulling another red armband from the drawer. "If you do find it, either give
it to Kyon, or burn it -- that's a unique badge of office!"

"I feel more lost than usual," Kanae murmured, looking anxiously at Haruhi,
then hopefully at Kyon. "You'll take care of me, won't you, Sempai?"

"Of course he will," Haruhi replied absently, writing out the characters for
'vice commander' in permanent marker. "He's totally a sucker for you calling
him 'Sempai' all the time. Look at that goofy expression!"

Kyon sighed and hung his head. "No respect," he muttered. "Michikyuu-san, I'm
sorry to put this on hold so abruptly, but there's something that Koizumi and
I need to discuss with Haruhi."

"That's fine, Sempai!" she agreed. "But, please, call me Kanae-chan."

"Nagato, Asahina-san, would you mind watching over Michikyuu-san for a bit?"
he asked.

"It's Kanae-chan, Sempai!"

"No problem," Yuki agreed, while Mikuru offered a more hesitant nod.

"You think you've got something that's going to pull me away from finally
getting a question in edgewise to a slider?" Haruhi asked Kyon skeptically.

Koizumi grinned, ducking his head apologetically as he stowed the go board and
pieces. "Well," he said, "it does concern the destruction of our world."

"Obviously, we're interested in preventing that," Kyon added. "I'm hoping
you're on the same page."

"Of course I am; what do you take me for?" Haruhi groused. "But I meant what I
said, Kanae-chan! You're part of the brigade now, and that means it's not just
Kyon, but all of us who will watch out for you! So come to this clubroom every
day after class, or there will be a penalty!"

"Thank you, Sempai! Thank you, Suzumiya-san!" Kanae cheered. Haruhi's smile
slipped a bit.

* * *

After Koizumi had finished explaining his role as an esper, Haruhi nodded
quietly, peering into the empty depths of her coffee cup. The three were
seated at one of the outdoor tables near the cafeteria. Kyon finished the last
sip of his own beverage, and then Koizumi sighed, rising to his feet. "I
apologize if this is troubling for you," he said. "But I'm afraid I must go
attend the current closed spaces. Hopefully I will be more free tomorrow, and
we can discuss what the Organization is and represents."

"Can we go with you and help?" Haruhi asked. "If I caused this, then-"

"Right now, that may not be the best idea," Koizumi cautioned. "I am in a
small bit of trouble with the Organization, as they're switching me from a
full member to a liaison for the SOS Brigade. Ah, I should be off, though;
Kyon-kun can explain more to you."

"Good luck, Koizumi," Kyon said after a moment, nodding at the esper.

Koizumi grinned back and bowed. "You as well, vice commander."

Haruhi heaved a sigh, watching him walk away. "Kyon," she said, quietly, "I'm
trying not to be upset about this. Because that just makes more trouble. But
more and more, this 'power' I've got really seems to suck! It's too dangerous
to use, and just for having it, I endanger the world? Everything I looked for
hid from me until you made them show themselves?"

"Don't get too down," he told her. "Remember, closed spaces result from your
frustration. All you need to do to make Koizumi's job easier is be happy. As
long as you respect the boundaries of other people, I don't see why you can't
be that. Especially since you now _know_ you've got a time traveler, an esper,
and an alien in your club. Isn't that what you were looking for?"

"And a slider," Haruhi added, struggling to force a smile. "It's like my
wishes were granted by a literal genie who was looking for the wording
loophole to keep me in the dark ... I mean, honestly, I'm a bit jealous. It
seems that you got to do all the fun things while I was unaware!"

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again," Kyon insisted. "The most
important thing to me about the brigade is the people in it. There's a lot I
don't care about -- if we're trying to keep closed space from forming, if
we're just hanging out and playing games, if we're working on the
anthology.... What I _do_ care about is being there with the friends we've
formed. Hey, Nagato explained what happened last December, right?"

"Yeah," Haruhi said quietly, frowning. "I guess Yuki must have been _really_
mad about me.... She doesn't show much, you know? And of course, something
else to be jealous of -- she opens up to you, not me."

"That's not it," he countered, shaking his head. "You probably see me as idle
and ignorant, but I just try and pay close attention. I think I'd be a
terrible person if I didn't pay attention to Nagato after she saved my life so
many times. The only person I can never figure out reliably is you."

She smirked at that. "Good," she decided. "If you can solve aliens, time
travelers, and everything else, at least there's one mystery left for you to
focus on, right?"

He looked away at the sky. "Anyway," he said after an extended moment of
silence, "I had to leave that world because the people who made the brigade
were there, but the brigade itself wasn't."

"Yeah, Yuki mentioned that.... Hey, I want to know something about that world
-- Yuki set it up for you, you know. What was she like? More assertive? I have
a hard time imagining her being pushy."

"Eh ... she was more like a regular girl," he said, shaking his head. "She was
quiet, just like now ... but more talkative than she usually is."

"Was she cute?" Haruhi pressed, studying the profile of his face as he stared
away.

"She looked exactly the same, just with her glasses on again," he answered
with a shrug. "Except ... well, she was more expressive. She had a very pretty
smile; Nagato doesn't smile, really. That's one of the three main things that
stick with me."

"Hmm," she mused, trying to banish the rising frustration she felt. Her own
fault for asking these questions, she supposed. "What are the others?"

"Er.... Well, your other self in that world went to Kouyouen and hadn't cut
her hair, so when we sneaked into Kitago, I asked you-- That is, I asked her
to put her hair in a ponytail." She smirked, seeing the faint coloring of his
cheeks.

"Oh?" she asked. "Hmm, what do you think about me making my longer hair
again?"

He shook his head, looking at her carefully. "It'd be a bit obvious," he
warned her. Then he hesitated, considering, "But I guess I can't just say 'no'
to everything you want to do. Especially since that one sounds reasonable.
What about toning it down a bit and just making it grow faster? Probably no
one will notice if it finishes by the end of, say, summer vacation."

She counted the weeks in her head. "Almost a full term away, huh? Well, I'm
holding you to that," she decided. Some custodian of her powers he was going
to be, if she could play his biases.

"Why do you want your hair longer again, anyway?"

She coughed quietly, looking another direction. "So, what was the other thing
that stuck with you?"

He shivered, looking away himself. "Being stabbed."

"Wow, that's pretty short of an ideal world," Haruhi observed, trying not to
snicker. "You made it out alright, though, didn't you? Any scars?"

"Of course not," he answered. "My future self and a future Nagato had to go
back and.... Well, things got a bit complicated. Anyway, Nagato healed the
injury. But this was when I was supposed to be in a coma. A scar from a stab
wound when I 'fell down the stairs' seems a bit odd, don't you think?"

"True enough," she agreed. "Anyway. I suppose we should investigate Kanae-
chan's back story?"

* * *

On Michikyuu Kanae's home world, when she was ten years old, a cataclysm had
torn a hole in the sky. Strange sleek metallic things had rained down upon the
city in her hometown, hatching into gracefully curved reflective metal
creatures, no two quite alike, but all very spindly. All very fast, and quite
dangerous.

Her friends had revealed to her then that she was a locus of power of some
kind, and that she had to learn to use her gift and flee from the aliens. They
had labored for months to keep her powers secret, even from herself, but with
the invasion, there had been no choice. In desperation, not knowing if she
could ever come back, she'd finally made the step -- her first leap.

Landing awkwardly in an alley in an unfamiliar city, her clothes torn and face
smudged, not knowing how far her pursuers were from her, she cried for help
... and was answered. A friendly boy claimed he had known her from their
elementary school, even though she didn't recognize him. He cleaned her
scrapes and cuts, then led her to an unfamiliar school, where teachers
insisted they knew her, and then she waved farewell to that kind older boy and
was reunited with the parents who she knew, even though her memories didn't
match up with theirs.

Over the following weeks, she finally found out the boy's name, but by then,
'Sempai' had become ingrained in her way of thinking, and when everything else
seemed strange, he at least listened. He smiled, sometimes he laughed and
shook his head, and she doubted he believed ... but when no one else would, he
_listened_. So, afraid that those strange, sleek invaders from the sky would
appear again, she decided to try and search for someone who could help her
find what she needed to save her home, and maybe someone who could help her
find her way there.

Sometimes her sempai believed her, and sometimes he didn't. A few times, he
told her he was an esper, and they weren't so different. Sometimes, and those
were the worst, he wasn't anywhere in the world she could find. A few times,
he said he knew aliens, time travelers, and a smaller handful of times, demons
and other, stranger things. As the weeks turned into months, and then the
months turned into years, she watched as in world by world, his attention
shifted to other things, and he warned her away from the strange girl that had
appeared by him frequently. In those worlds, he almost always believed her,
but said he was powerless to help.

She had long ago lost count of how many worlds she'd been in, how many history
tests she'd failed for remembering things correctly ... but differently. That
didn't matter to her, though; in the end, he _always_ listened, and because of
that, across countless worlds, Sempai was Sempai.

* * *

Mikuru sniffled, listening to the end of Kanae's story. "That's so sad!" she
whimpered. "Poor Kanae-chan!"

"It's not so bad!" Kanae said brightly. "Even though everything changes from
world to world, I still have my family! Sometimes I even have friends! And
most importantly, I almost always have Sempai."

"Ouch," Haruhi said, taken aback. "That doesn't sound like a fun power at
all."

"I can't let it get me down," the small girl declared confidently. "I've never
been to the same world twice, so with so many out there, I'm bound to find
what I need, as long as I don't give up!"

"That's a good attitude! But you don't need to look any further; I'm
absolutely sure we can find Kanae-chan's way home and deal with the alien
invaders! It'll be easy, won't it? Yuki-chan, you know everything, so how do
we help her find her way home to find out about these enemies?"

"Unknown," Yuki replied without hesitation. "I am not capable of traversal to
other realities; neither is the Integrated Data Sentience Entity. This
ability, much like that of Suzumiya Haruhi, can be termed 'unique'. Until the
arrival of Michikyuu Kanae, the theory of other realities could not actually
be proved, only speculated."

"Would that mean that they also don't know about Michikyuu-san, and they're
still in the dark on this one?" Kyon mused.

"It's Kanae-chan, Sempai," the underclassman reminded him.

"Possibly," Yuki allowed. "Even though it is possible to discern Michikyuu
Kanae's method of travel, I am unable to replicate or predict its function."

"Right," Haruhi decided, smacking one fist into her opposing palm. "Then I
just need to fix that, right?"

"Let's not be too hasty," Kyon warned. "Michikyuu-san, how does your ability
work?"

"It's Kanae-chan, Sempai," the girl replied. "Um ... it's hard to explain,
though. It feels like turning a little to one side and pushing against the
world, but not quite like that ... until the barrier that keeps us from
falling out of the world gives way and I tumble through. But I can't even find
my way back; the surface of reality ripples like a drop of water, so it never
feels quite the same.... I wish I knew better! But like Nagato-san says, I've
never found another slider who wanted to help me out."

"You did mention others, though?" Haruhi asked. "So, what are these other
sliders?"

"There's three of them, and they seem to travel together," the girl answered,
frowning. "I don't even really know their names, but I know they work with my
enemies. One of them is a pretty girl with a completely white face and long,
long black hair -- like a ghost. Other people aside from her friends and
myself don't seem to be able to see her, and she moves so fast...." She
shivered. "She scares me the most. She's always the last one before the metal
shapes come from the sky and I have to run again...."

"Suou Kuyou?" Kyon asked, blinking in surprise, giving Yuki a questioning
stare. Yuki said nothing, but to Kyon, her eyes looked troubled.

"Um, another one is a boy about Sempai's age, but he has a very rude manner of
speech and gray eyes. His hair is very long for a boy, and he always wears a
blue uniform. He uses a very shiny gun of some sort. He hit me with it once
before ... it doesn't kill people, I think, but it knocks them out."

"I don't know who that guy is, but he already pisses me off!" Haruhi
announced, tapping one foot anxiously. "If he shows his face around us, he's
got a big surprise in store for him!"

Kyon frowned. "So, these other sliders are able to follow you, Michikyuu-san?"
he asked.

"Ah ... well.... Yes, but I think it's because of the third one." Kanae's
smile fell as she added, "It's also why I like Sempai to call me Kanae-chan."

"Hmm? It isn't another version of _me_, is it?" Kyon asked, his eyes
darkening.

"Haha, thankfully, no," Kanae said, shaking her head quickly. "I don't know
what I'd do if I couldn't rely on Sempai. The other slider ... is another
_me_."

"Geez," Haruhi said with a wince. "Come on, Kyon, don't be so formal! She's an
underclassman, so it's not like people will make anything of it; show some
sympathy!"

"Er, sorry, Kanae-chan," he allowed. "Well, I can understand you want help.
But I'm not certain how much we can really do."

"I told you!" Haruhi said in annoyance, slapping one palm against the center
table. "Yuki-chan! What program is currently in queue?"

"Program one," the light-haired girl said. "Share every lunch with-"

"The next one! Not that one!"

"Program two: Cause Tanaka-sensei to become more interesting."

"...tempting," Kyon allowed. "But denied. You can ignore that, Nagato. Go
ahead and clear out the queue again."

"Understood."

"Erg," Haruhi grumbled, grimacing, clenching her eyes shut in concentration.
"Um, Kanae-chan can control her sliding better to find her way home and back
again." She opened one eye, peeking at Yuki. "How about now?"

Yuki blinked, a tiny crease appearing in her brow as her eyebrows drew the
slightest bit closer together. "Unable to process," she finally said. "I
cannot determine parameters of dimensional sliding. Because of this, it is not
possible to determine the effects of attempting to initiate a change in
Michikyuu Kanae's abilities; attempting to alter or tamper with them may cause
unforeseen consequences."

"Well, that's okay!" Kanae said, slumping very slightly. "I didn't really
think it would be that easy...."

"I'm trying not to get frustrated," Haruhi growled, flinging herself into her
seat. "What do we need to do?"

Mikuru wordlessly set another cup of tea before the brigade leader.

"A better understanding of dimensional sliding is required," Yuki answered. "A
form of dimensional anchor allowing Michikyuu Kanae to travel away and then
return would allow the method to be discerned more completely."

"Eh ... now, where are we going to get such a thing?" Haruhi wondered.

"Is it possible that such a thing already exists?" Mikuru asked, frowning.

Haruhi slumped further in her seat. "I was hoping you could bring one from the
future," she mumbled.

"Eh!? No, no, moving objects like weapons and tools from the future is
absolutely forbidden!" the time traveler said, shaking her head quickly.

"If even the Integrated Data Sentience Entity wasn't certain that such a thing
as alternate realities or dimensions existed ... well, they exist outside of
space and time," Kyon noted.

"Correct. Therefore, this does not preclude the creation of tools or theories
to interact with unproven facets of reality," Nagato said.

Haruhi and Kyon looked at her in surprise. "You know something?" she asked.

"The Integrated Data Sentience Entity is nearly as old as the concept of
information. Tools for the purpose of theoretical interactions have been
prepared in the past. However, as the entity is a non-physical existence, that
data exists at this point unfabricated; millions of years have passed since
the last known creation of any such items."

"Millions of years, huh?" Kyon mused, rubbing his chin. "Like, as long ago as
the cave cricket?"

Nagato nodded. Haruhi and Kanae looked at him questioningly, while Mikuru
shivered, shaking her head again. Kyon looked at the clock and pulled his now
very heavily marked note from his future self from his bag. "Four fifty five,"
he commented, just before the door slammed open.

"Ya-hoo!" Tsuruya cheered, waving excitedly. "Heya, Haru-nyan! Mikuru-chan,
Nagato-chi, and, um, girl I don't know yet! Nice to meetchas!"

He turned his attention to the paper, jotting down some additional quick
notes. "Hey, Tsuruya-san," Haruhi replied, smiling back. "What brings you here
today?"

"Kyon-kun asked mes!" Tsuruya said, placing her hands on her hips and throwing
her head back to laugh. "After running into him yesterday, how could I not?"

"What time did we meet, exactly?" Kyon asked, glancing at her sidelong.

"Hmm?" Tsuruya answered, her eyes focusing on him, though her smile didn't
dim. "You forgot? Well, I wasn't looking at my phone, but it was a bit after
sunset! And thanks for helping me deal with those pushy fellows! Haru-nyan,
don't let Kyon-kun get away! He seems quiet and unenthusiastic, but he's a
real ace in the hole when it comes to fights! A regular warrior-philosopher!"
She mimed a few boxing jabs, then laughed loudly again. "With an awesome
dynamic entrance! Your wushuu is pretty strong, Kyon-kun, so I appreciate your
help!"

"No problem," he muttered, one eyebrow twitching as he added more to his note.
"If it's not too much, did you bring that thing I asked for?"

"Yep!" she cheered. "At four fifty five sharp, just like you said!" She
reached into her school bag and pulled out a small metal case, which she set
on the table.

"Kyon got in a fight yesterday?" Haruhi asked, taken aback, then turning an
intent gaze on the boy in question. "Hmm.... I want to hear all about that!"

"You should ask him!" Tsuruya laughed, pointing at Kyon. "He was there!" She
stopped laughing abruptly and leaned in to peer at Kanae with a broad smile.
"Who's your new friend?"

"This is Michikyuu Kanae," Haruhi said, indicating the first year girl. "Our
newest member; a first year."

"That makes sense!" Tsuruya said brightly, nodding. "She's got the same smell
as everyone here but Kyon-kun! Well, nice to meetcha, Kanae-chan!"

"U...um, nice to meet you?" Kanae managed. "Um, sorry, what's your name?"

"Aha, sorry, sorry," Tsuruya chuckled. "I forget to say sometimes! I'm Tsuruya
Haruka! Well, I just came by to drop this off, but we'll see each other again
soon, I betcha anything! So, take care, everyones, and thankie again, Kyon-
kun!" The excitable green-haired girl left as briskly as she arrived, closing
the door behind her with an equally loud crash.

Muttering to himself, Kyon reached for the case, beaten to it by Haruhi as she
snatched it across the table, undoing the metal latches and swinging it open.
"What's kept in here, I wonder?" she mused, blinking in confusion as she
pulled a metal rod about twelve centimeters long from a foam recess within.
"Hmm, it looks like it's covered with engravings ... but they're all
connected, like circuitry. You asked Tsuruya-san for this yesterday?"

"I will," he answered her. "Evidently." Turning his attention to Yuki, he
asked, "Titanium cesium alloy?"

She blinked, then gave a nod. "Correct," she answered. "Furthermore, this is a
lost prototype dimensional anchor."

"Wow," Haruhi allowed, turning the item over in her hand and looking at it
from all angles. "How does it work?"

"Kanae-chan points it at enemy sliders and says, 'Dimensional Prism Power,
Make-up'," Kyon suggested, smirking.

"Now you're just being silly," Haruhi answered, not even moving her eyes away
from the rod.

"I am uncertain," Yuki replied. "I will investigate."

Haruhi handed the rod to the small girl, while Kanae watched breathlessly. "Is
this the answer we were looking for, Sempai?" she asked him worriedly. "This
will help me find my way home?"

"I have no idea, but I'll apparently think so in the future," he answered.
Turning to Mikuru, he added, "Also, thank you very much, Asahina-san."

"Um, what for?" she asked, looking between Kyon and Yuki curiously.

"You'll know some day," he answered, looking bleakly at his note to himself.
"I really, really hope that I get some calm days to focus on some normal
things, soon. This is getting really out of hand."

"Yeah," Haruhi jibed, rolling her eyes, "you do love taking notes and paying
attention in class. Without a good excuse to pay such weak attention, whatever
would you do?"

"I beg your pardon?" he asked, quirking one eyebrow higher. "I don't have good
excuses, I have _awesome_ excuses."

Haruhi grinned very brightly, chuckling. "That's true," she allowed. "Okay,
vice commander, since we're here, and it seems Yuki's going to need some time
to figure out the dimensional anchor, let's make sure you at least finish your
homework. I'm not about to let your awesome excuses make the brigade look
worse with sucky grades."

Some day, Kyon realized, he would need to learn to keep his mouth shut.

* * *

"I have determined the function of the anchor," Yuki announced, just as Kyon
was finishing his last math questions beneath Haruhi's sharp gaze. Mikuru had
briefly sneaked away to the girl's bathroom to change back into her uniform,
and Kanae was curled over the desk, sleeping soundly with her school bag as a
pillow.

"Excellent!" Haruhi cheered, jolting the first year girl awake.

"Nya...." Kanae murmured, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"So," Haruhi pressed, looking intently at Yuki, "we can go to Kanae's home,
now?"

"Negative," Nagato replied, her eyes swinging to focus briefly on Haruhi
before locking on Kyon. "We can begin conducting experiments to discern the
nature and limitations of Kanae's ability to traverse realities."

Haruhi scowled, shaking her head. "That's no fun," she groused. "How long will
it take?"

"Uncertain."

"You know," Kyon noted, packing his homework away, "you're disregarding
something here, Haruhi. As I understand it, the Integrated Data Sentience
Entity values new data more than anything else. In fact, at times, certain
factions of it tried to provoke a response from you ... like the 'ghosts' that
Sakanaka-san asked us to investigate."

"Well, it's not like I can 'react' much without you and Yuki-chan approving
it, now. Which reminds me.... Let me try another one." She clenched her eyes
shut, mumbling, "The hair on my head grows ... five times as fast."

"Hyum?" Kanae murmured, blinking as Mikuru dabbed at her mouth and wiped away
the drool from her unintended nap. "Oopsie! Thanks, Asahina-san."

"Program loaded," Yuki said, blinking.

"Er ... any side-effects to be aware of?" Kyon asked.

Yuki turned to Haruhi. "Are eyebrows to be included in this program?"

"Ack, no, I don't want hilariously bushy Asakura-type eyebrows," Haruhi said,
shaking her head quickly. "Just my hair ... you know, the part that gets
styled regularly?"

"Understood. Modifications complete." Turning back to Kyon, she asked,
"Permission to proceed?"

"Granted," he said, shrugging. "But aside from this amusing digression, the
point I was trying to get to is that if we manage to discover data that is new
to the Integrated Data Sentience Entity, they may end up willing to work with
Nagato in the future in exchange for this data."

"I didn't think of that," Haruhi allowed, glancing at Kyon. "And hey, Yuki-
chan ... that's it? There was no tingle, no glowy lights ... powers are
supposed to look awesome, not be invisible! Remember that next time."

Yuki replied, "Understood," and gave her tiny nod.

"Good. Now, Kanae-chan, how long does it take for the other sliders to show up
and find you?"

"Usually three or four weeks," the small girl said with a yawn, covering her
mouth. "Mmm. If I jump between worlds very quickly, it seems to take them a
bit longer to show up. I'd guess probably four weeks from now? I landed badly
the last time I jumped -- I was about to call Sempai when I got scared by a
loud noise and jumped right away ... so that should give me a bit of extra
time."

"Ooh," Haruhi realized, grinning. "Hey, Kyon, if Yuki-chan and Kanae-chan
can't figure out how it works together, we can capture the enemy sliders and
beat the information out of them! They obviously have a way to track Kanae-
chan, don't they?"

"And right on their heels, the alien invasion," he countered. "Anyway, it's
late; we should be getting out of the school."

Haruhi nodded absently, shutting the computer down and gathering her book bag.
"In any case, that gives us a hard cap of around four or five weeks to get it
sorted out."

The other club members rose and gathered their things, Mikuru offering Kanae a
hand when the younger girl wobbled tiredly on her feet. "Understood," Yuki
said softly. In the corridor, while Haruhi turned around and locked the club
room door, the quiet girl slipped him a note. He pocketed it with a frown.
Mikuru studiously pretended not to notice, while Kanae was looking the other
way drowsily.

* * *

After parting with the others at the train station, Kyon wasn't entirely
surprised to see a familiar black taxicab pull from a side-street, stopping
nearby. Koizumi leaned over and opened the back door, so with no hesitation,
Kyon climbed in next to him.

"How did it go?" he asked, before the esper could volunteer anything.

"It was a bit rough," Koizumi replied, still smiling. "It could have been much
worse, though. As I have mentioned before, one of the most stressful parts
about this is simply getting to where the closed space is in a timely manner.
Quite fortunately, all the spaces were within the coast of Honshu, so there
was no need to travel extremely far."

"I hope it wasn't too much trouble. Hmm, I realize this isn't a critical
issue, but out of curiosity, how much does it typically cost to deal with a
Shinjin, anyway?"

"That's entirely dependent on how much travel time is involved," Koizumi
replied, shrugging. "Hokkaido or Okinawa are of course going to be more
difficult to reach, while Tokyo is relatively simple, thanks to the bullet
train. However, you are correct in that this isn't a critical issue." He
nodded his head at Arakawa, in the driver's seat, and explained, "As I am now
a liaison, not a full member of the Organization, this has been arranged to
give you an update on the progress of closed space, and somewhat more to
request an update from you on the events within the brigade meeting after my
departure."

"Hey, Arakawa-san," Kyon said, nodding slightly. The older man grunted a
wordless reply, giving a tiny nod of his own, his eyes fixed on the road. "I'm
a bit surprised that Mori-san isn't here."

"She's still a bit ... um ... intimidated by your last meeting," Koizumi said,
his smile turning apologetic.

Kyon blinked, wondering what he was going to have to have done. "Okay," he
allowed. "In summary, we discussed Michikyuu Kanae and her abilities as a
slider, the fact that she's being pursued by sliders who want to capture her,
and that her home world was invaded by aliens. Possibly related to the Sky
Canopy Domain."

Koizumi paled, shivering. "My," he allowed. "That's ... less than comforting."

"Yeah. Kanae-chan is also lost, and doesn't have much control over her ability
to slide; she's trying to find her way home, and someone who can help deal
with the alien invasion. Surprisingly, we also discovered a limit to Haruhi's
power. Namely, that she can't affect other worlds reliably, or the ability to
travel to them."

"Is it possible that the limitation was Nagato-san's?" Koizumi asked after a
moment.

"It's possible," Kyon agreed, frowning. "That hadn't occurred to me. On that
subject, Nagato also explained that the Integrated Data Sentience Entity
doesn't have the ability to travel to or observe alternate realities, either.
They made a dimensional anchor, which was lost millions of years ago.
Naturally, Nagato is using that to try and help Kanae out. It's my hope that
any new data that Nagato discovers with Kanae's help can be used as a
bargaining chip to get back on the good side of the entity."

"I see...."

"On _that_ note," Kyon added, turning his attention to Arakawa, "would it be
possible to request that the Organization watch over Kanae as well? She's an
important person in all of this, too."

"I will pass that request on to Mori-san," the older man allowed. "If you will
permit a personal observation, I'm rather surprised you trust us so much."

"Well, you've never threatened to kill Koizumi for displeasing you," Kyon said
with a shrug. "You've never intentionally treated him poorly because you
thought that's the way things needed to be. As far as I know, anyway.

"More importantly, you haven't given me a reason not to trust you yet. Sorry
if I, um, frightened Mori-san," though he boggled at the thought he could
intimidate someone with such a smile, "but after all is said and done, I'd
like us to be able to work together. Ultimately, isn't your goal the stability
of the world, and the safety of Haruhi and the people important to her?"

Koizumi worked his jaw for a moment, his smiling masked wiped away in a look
of open-eyed astonishment before a real smile came to his lips.

"I will pass that on as well," Arakawa said, nodding.

"Is there anything else?" Koizumi asked.

Kyon shook his head, realizing they were only a few blocks from his house.
"Just that I'm sorry for the closed spaces so far. I'll do my best to keep
Haruhi in good spirits."

"That is all we can ask for," Koizumi said, nodding. "Thank you very much,
vice commander."

* * *

After enduring a haranguing lecture from his mother and missing dinner, Kyon
went to his bedroom and checked the note Yuki had given him. It read simply,
"Call me."

Shrugging, he picked up the phone and did as he was told, dialing her number
from long memory. She answered instantly, her trademark quiet breathing the
only response until he spoke. "What's going on, Nagato?" he asked.

"I am in need of assistance," she said quietly. "I am requesting your aid
immediately."

"Okay," he said, glancing around his room. "I'll do whatever I can to help. I
can be there in twenty minutes, so--"

"Acknowledged. Standby for transfer."

"...what?" he managed, as the world around him violently exploded away,
revealing a yawning chasm full of stars, brightly colored gaseous clouds as
though from distant nebulae, and myriad bolts of violently crackling energy in
every direction. When he came to his senses, he was laying on the floor of
Nagato's apartment, staring dazedly up into the girl's eyes.

Looking around, he saw a shell-shocked Mikuru wearing nothing more than a
towel about her midsection, and another wrapped around her head, seeming fresh
out of the shower, and Kanae, sprawled on the floor near Nagato's table in
pajamas and snoring contently.

"Um," he managed, sitting up and turning his eyes away from Mikuru. He
wordlessly pushed his jacket at her, since he hadn't even had time to change
out of his uniform. "What's going on, Nagato?" he added, closing his cell
phone.

She set down the receiver of her own phone and said without preamble, "An
error is likely to occur imminently."

"Mmm, Sempai," Kanae murmured in her sleep with a quiet giggle.

"Okay," he said, running his hands through his hair and trying not to look at
either Mikuru or the sleeping girl who was dreaming about him with a blush on
her cheeks. "We have been relying on you too much. What can I do to help?"

"I have already received permission from Suzumiya Haruhi to borrow you," the
quiet girl said. "With the help of the dimensional anchor, Michikyuu Kanae's
ability to slide, and Asahina Mikuru's ability to traverse time, I will
attempt to create a sealed alternate reality where my error can be expressed
without causing any damage to the reality we currently dwell in."

"Do we need to bring Haruhi into this?" he asked. "I mean, she has to start
whatever it is I authorize now, right?"

"Negative," Nagato answered. "I have deconstructed all previously queued
requests and reassembled them to form data structures that can be executed
with your permission. They are 'junk data' that I cannot destroy; I must find
a way to execute them to prevent long-term damage or undue stress to the
fabric of reality."

"Um, well, I want to help you," he said, nodding. "As long as Asahina-san and
Kanae-chan agree, then I can't think of a reason not to."

"Er ... could I ... borrow some clothes, maybe?" Mikuru asked, her voice
strained with embarrassment. "I don't mind doing whatever Kyon-kun needs, but
this is a little.... Erm...."

"Hmm?" Kanae drawled, sitting up. "Oh? Eh? What's...." She blinked, looking
around with a furrowed brow. "Did I slide in my sleep?" she asked curiously.
"Sempai? Asahina-san? Nagato-san?"

"Er, Nagato's having some ... trouble," Kyon allowed, trying to keep from
staring at Mikuru, now wearing his coat and a pair of towels, her face dark
red.

"Can I help?" Kanae-asked, rubbing one eye sleepily.

Yuki gave a tiny nod in response. "I will attempt to construct a world based
on our collective needs," she answered. "To prevent long-term physical or
mental stress, I will initiate an encoded pulse with physical and mental
mapping. Estimating forty minutes to error."

"What do you need?" Kyon asked quickly, rising to his feet.

"Wrist."

Kyon nodded knowingly and presented one hand for Yuki to take before she bit
his wrist, injecting him with nanites.

Her attention turned to Kanae, and she repeated the demand. At Kanae's
uncertain, questioning glance, he assured her, "It's fine. If she says it's
for our own protection, I believe her." Kanae nodded uncertainly and followed
suit.

With a whimpering sigh, one hand clutching the coat closed across her chest,
Mikuru also offered her wrist. "State your needs," Yuki added, turning her
attention to Kyon.

"Um, needs?" he asked. "I don't know ... I guess I need to learn martial arts,
according to Tsuruya-san. That and to be able to help you, whatever that ends
up requiring."

"I'd like to be able to slide better, and know how to get back!" Kanae added,
offering a tiny smile.

Mikuru winced. "Really, some clothes would be just great," she mumbled.

"Initializing," Yuki replied.

Then the world around Kyon exploded away again, for the second time in the
last half hour.

* * *

Author's notes: Kanae is based off the description of the girl from novel 9.
We know now that K:BDH Kanae has ... pretty much nothing to do with the
novels, so she's an OC-stand in replacing Yasumi. Apologies, novel 10/11 fans!