# Kyon: Big Damn Hero

## Heroic Antics Begin Arc I

### Chapter Six: Finally, Some Action

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: Crossing the Threshold"

"...eventually, this means that you can reach a point where words no longer
suffice. Civility is all well and good, but sometimes the simple message of
overpowering force is the one that the situation requires. Use your judgment
on when this moment is, but keep in mind that I call it a _last_ resort for a
reason; once you initiate violence, you're committed until victory or
failure."

"The Last Resort: Violence and You" -- Tadamichi Kyousuke

* * *

After the lunch chime, Kanae had decided that she would return to the club
room; if she were lucky, Sempai would be there! And if she weren't lucky,
well, Sempai's friends were her friends, too, so that would be fine.

But she had only made it a few steps down the hallway before a taller third
year boy approached her, tape across his nose and a bruise marring his face
deeply around one eye. He raised a hand in greeting before glancing around,
then asked, "Are you Michikyuu Kanae-san?"

"Um," she managed, a bit unnerved by the delinquent-looking student before
her. "Yes? Are you looking for the SOS Brigade, maybe? I'm just a new member,
so I don't know much yet."

"No, no," he said, glancing around nervously, then breaking into a smile that
she really didn't trust; the kind of expression she'd seen on the rude boy who
chased her across dimensions. For a panicked instance, she considered sliding
away ... but she couldn't do that! Not with Sempai here, and for the first
time in hundreds of worlds, someone who could help her learn how to slide
better! What if she couldn't find her way back? It was still very hard, even
with the practice that Yuki helped her get....

"Hey," he said suddenly, "you know ... Kyon, right?"

"Sempai?" she asked, smiling. Was this boy some sort of friend of her
sempai's, asking for help? Maybe that was it.... "Yes! Is something the
matter?"

"Eh, no, I just heard...." He trailed off and glanced around again, though the
only ones around them were other students heading to their lunches,
occasionally pausing to look at her or the taller boy. "Well, there is one
thing," he allowed. "Could you come with me for a bit...?"

"I.... I think I'd better go see Sempai first," she decided, shaking her head.

The boy's face twisted in annoyance before he shook his head and declared
abruptly, "I need you to come with me; your 'sempai' is causing a lot of
trouble to us!"

At this point, all of the surrounding students had stopped moving, turning
attention to the pair. Kanae backed up a few steps anxiously, and when the
upperclassman moved toward her, she sprinted away as quickly as she could,
managing to make it halfway to the clubroom before he seized her shoulder and
brought her down to the hallway floor. She whimpered, her lunch spilling out
of her bento all across the walkway, while more students crowded around.
"Help!" she yelled, cowering when the boy, huffing for breath, grabbed her
wrist and hauled her unceremoniously to her feet.

"Shut up," he snapped, glancing around and dragging her away from the spilled
lunch, "come with me before--"

"You," a voice spat, using the rudest, most informal form of the word. The boy
dragging her stilled, tightening his grip on her wrist as her sempai strode
across the messy remnants of her lunch, eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Let her
go."

"Sempai!" she cheered, though her voice shook nervously.

The boy holding her jerked her roughly back when she tried to break free. "Oh,
yeah?" he asked. "I don't think so, not after yesterday! You're getting in way
over your head, and you're about to learn a thing or two about screwing with
the wrong people!"

"Really?" her sempai asked, stopping a handful of steps away from the other
boy, almost within distance to reach out and grab her. He shifted his feet,
rising slightly to balance on the balls of either, while constantly shifting
his weight back and forth a minute distance. "I think you're the one who's
going to be in more trouble; causing a scene like this? With so many
witnesses? The question in my mind is what you might hope to accomplish." He
glanced around at the surrounding students and added, "Though, I'm going to
admit a certain share of disappointment in the other students that none of
them even _tried_ to stop you."

All of the boys in the crowd shifted their gazes to their feet, while the
girls began a low murmur.

"Where's all the fight you had yesterday?" the boy sneered. "You swore up and
down that if I dared to lay a finger on any of your 'subordinates' that you'd
crush me -- any time, any place. Well, I don't like being played like a chump,
no matter how badass you think you _are_. You don't get the jump on me, this
time."

"If I said it, it must be true," her sempai allowed, his gaze constantly
flicking about the other boy, occasionally meeting hers. "But if you're any
kind of man, you'll let her go and we can settle this properly."

With a sudden growl, the boy released her wrist and shoved her toward her
sempai, hard. Her sempai rolled back on his feet, both arms going about her as
he flung himself backward, twisting to take the other boy's kick on his side
and shielding her with his body. He landed in a slide, releasing her and then
rolling to his feet in a single smooth motion, crouching just over her head
while the crowd around gasped quietly.

"Kanae-chan," he said, not looking at her, "are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she said shakily, thinking she might have been bruised, but
certainly no worse.

He nodded, then straightened up, stepping toward the middle of the hallway,
his eyes locked on the other boy. "Alright, you," he said, using the
derogatory 'kisama' again, "what the hell is your problem?"

The other boy growled, then surged forward, swinging a powerful punch toward
her sempai. He leaned to one side, seizing the thug's extended fist and
spinning, turning all of the larger boy's force into forward momentum,
flipping him completely upside-down before slamming to the floor on his back
in the scattered bits of her lunch. Her sempai danced away a half-step, light
on his feet, hands loosely at his sides. Kanae quickly hopped to her feet and
scurried away. Almost immediately she found herself contained in a protective
circle of the girls standing on the sidelines, people she didn't know offering
murmurs of sympathy and asking if she was okay. She tried not to laugh or cry
at the absurdity of the situation.

So far, only her pride and her lunch had been lost.

Coughing, the other boy climbed to his feet, eyes shadowed with rage, his
breathing ragged and furious. "You utter bastard!" he spat at her sempai. "I
don't know where you get this sudden attitude, but you are in _way_ over your
head! If I don't stop you here, things are only going to get worse for you!"

"In that case," her sempai suggested in oddly reasonable tones, "why not just
give up? If you want me to suffer, wouldn't it be easier to ignore me and let
your bosses, presumably people more competent than you, deal with the
situation?"

The boy growled, then sank to his knees. "I'm powerless," he moaned, wrapping
his arms around himself and hunching in.

Shifting his shoulders, her sempai gave a terse nod and clenched one hand into
a fist tightly, the crackling, snapping noises from his tendons clearly
audible in the hallway. "Good," he judged. "Now see that this never happens
again." He relaxed his stance and turned to Kanae; her protective circle
backed away seamlessly to let him approach her, the other girls looking at him
with shy smiles or bashful grins. "You're certain you're okay?" he asked,
putting one hand on her shoulder and focusing his full attention on her,
seemingly unaware of the other students.

"Sempai!" she shrieked, a moment too late, as the other boy produced a knife
from his coat and charged abruptly at her sempai.

With speed she didn't think was possible, her sempai snapped his head back and
threw himself to the floor, a potentially lethal stab to the side of the head
reduced to a short, shallow scratch on one cheek. Rolling with the momentum of
his evasion, her sempai quickly righted himself and lunged, grabbing the other
boy's wrist and yanking him violently backward, just as he reached for Kanae
again.

This time, her sempai was more brutal, adding the boy's sudden momentum to a
fierce kidney jab, a leg sweep, then a swift kick to the hand holding the
knife, sending it clattering across the hallway through her ruined lunch, the
uneasy silence of the surrounding students punctuated with a sickening crunch.
The other boy howled, clutching his injured hand in agony and rolling around
on his back, tears streaming from his eyes.

"You," Kyon declared, using a more polite form and pointing at the nearest
watching boy. "See that he gets to the nurse's office." He held one hand out
to her, adding, "Let's get out of here, Kanae-chan."

She nervously nodded, her heart settling a tiny bit when she took his hand and
he led her down the hallway.

* * *

"...and that's what happened," Kanae concluded unhappily, sniffling. "Somehow,
I caused Sempai to get hurt."

"Ah," Tsuruya said, her smile vanishing. "Well, he had that cut yesterdays, so
that's not your fault," she assured the smaller girl. "Really, I'm the one who
needs to apologize! If I weren't borrowing Kyon-kun, they wouldn't have
thought that you'd be a target!" She rose from her seat and gave a full ninety
degree bow to Kanae. "I'm sorry," she added.

"A share of the blame is mine, as well," Koizumi added, grimacing. "We are
supposed to be watching over Michikyuu-san ... but obviously, we missed this."

"Logically," Yuki said, not raising her eyes from her book, "this is a
predetermined event. If the effect precedes the cause, responsibility becomes
difficult to determine."

"I'll have to ask Kyon about that later," Haruhi murmured. "He's good at that
stuff. Anyway, Tsuruya-san, Kanae-chan, I'm confident that Kyon will be just
fine -- but now I _really_ want to know what this investigation is about!"

"Sorry," Tsuruya said again with a weak chuckle, only managing to smile a tiny
bit as she straightened up and sat down. "That's still top secret.... Um!
Kanae-chan, it isn't much, but you can have my leftover lunch, since yours got
spilled! This doesn't make up for what you've suffered, but please consider it
the first step of my apology!"

"I'm not very hungry," Kanae said, shaking her head uncertainly.

"You have to eat properly or you won't finish growing," Haruhi chastised.
"Hmm, I made an extra bento for.... Er, well, I made an extra bento. There
should be enough to go around."

Kanae nodded uncertainly, offering the other girls a weak smile. She was right
to trust in her sempai, she decided. And these other new friends, while not
very familiar, were the best friends she'd had in a long time....

"Right, right!" Tsuruya said brightly. "And tomorrows, I'll escort you from
your class to this clubroom for lunch! That way they'll have to deal with mes
instead of you!"

* * *

His cheek still stinging, Kyon resolved to have it healed later -- though by
Tsuruya's unintentional hint, he knew he had the scratch before he went to
help her. As much of a pain as it was (quite literally), it did establish a
reasonable baseline for when he traveled back, which meant that he didn't do
all of his time traveling in one big block at some future date. Though, that
might build up into a daunting task....

"It's like homework all over again," he grumbled, stopping before the Computer
Research Society's room, and turning to face Mikuru. "Asahina-san, can you
take us back right here to ten minutes after club started yesterday?"

"What!?" she yelped, before blinking, bowing her head. "O...oh, right.... Um,
yes, but shouldn't we go to the nurse's office first?"

"It'll be fine," he assured her. "According to Tsuruya, she bandages this cut
herself, so...."

"Okay," she agreed anxiously, raising her hands to place them on his
shoulders, her face reddening as she turned to gaze away. "Um ... please close
your eyes...."

He did as she instructed, and time around them collapsed. It felt like part of
the nauseating lurch that Yuki had invoked when she made her training
dimensions, but only a small part, and when his feet steadied, he looked
around recognizing the hallway easily. "We made it?" he asked, as Mikuru
hesitantly lowered her hands, her face still red.

"Y...yes," she agreed, checking her wristwatch. "W...what do we do now?"

"Ah ... I think you'll want to hide," he suggested, considering that he didn't
want to make Mikuru watch him fight. Hell, he didn't particularly want to
fight! But that boy.... "Do you think the calligraphy club would mind you
dropping in for a day?"

"N...no," she agreed. "I suppose they wouldn't...."

"Good," he decided. "You should be safe there." After a moment of thought, he
reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, turning it off. If his
memory was correct, his past self should just be leaving the school to enter
the car with Mori. He didn't remember receiving any calls, but better safe
than sorry.

She gave a hesitant nod and dashed down the hall to the classroom in question,
shooting a worried glance over her shoulder at him. Just as she vanished from
sight, Tsuruya finished her own dash up the stairs into the clubroom corridor,
her eyes widening excitedly. "Kyon-kun," she caroled, but in a quiet voice,
drawing out the honorific. "Hey, hey, would it be okay if I borrowed you a bit
for helps with my investigation?"

She blinked suddenly, pausing to stare his cheek, then frowned sharply. "Ooh,
you better come with me, first of all," she decided, seizing his wrist and
leading him back into the school. He followed in bemusement until they reached
her locker and she produced a first aid kit, cleaning his wound and then
applying a bandage. "There," she said, once her treatment was done, grinning
again. There was a twinkle in her eyes as she added, "Don't get a scar, unless
you gets another one to make it cross-shaped. That makes you way more rugged
and bish!"

"Yeah, that's not the part I'm worried about," he said, smirking, though the
expression vanished the moment his cheek pulled at the cut. "Anyway, Haruhi
won't mind me helping you out; I've been dismissed from club activities
today."

"Oh! Perfects! We can keep on with our investigation!" Tsuruya said excitedly,
glancing around to make sure that no one was within eavesdropping distance.
"Okies, here's what I've found out so far ... those pushy fellows from Sunday,
they have a contact in the school, a third year named Ryuguu Ryo-san. He
loiters around on the campus behind the gym after school to make his deals. I
want to questions him, but he's a big fellow, and Kasai's out ... so if you
don't minds, could you be my muscle for a bit?"

"Sure," Kyon agreed, realizing that the boy he had just fought with (from his
perspective) must have been Ryuguu. Well, the informal 'you' would still serve
for him. "So, any plan? Maybe a little good cop, bad cop?"

Tsuruya giggled, leading the way to the shoe lockers and changing. Kyon
checked his locker, but of course, the only shoes there were yesterday's
indoor shoes.

"I should have remembered that," he grumbled to himself. Shaking his head, he
followed Tsuruya out of the school building and around to the gym, to the
shady side where the physical education storage outbuildings were. The
stereotypical location for illicit romances within the school, delinquents
hiding out....

"Now, I don't know Ryuguu-san, because we don't share a class together,"
Tsuruya warned in a whisper, "but how many people are there hanging out around
here?"

It took a moment, but Kyon was able to pick out the boy in question, somewhat
unfamiliar without tape across his nose and one eye blackened. "That's him,"
Kyon told her with a nod. "I've seen him before." Tsuruya leaped into a
thicket of bushes and he followed, almost landing on her, murmuring a quick
apology beneath his breath as they crept forward to watch Ryuguu and his
allies.

One of them Kyon knew -- Yamane, from his own class, a shady looking character
in his own right. Physically, the boy was as intimidating as Kunikida, and had
large, round glasses and shadowed eyes, cursing him with the appearance and
bearing of a sad otaku. The other one was a taller, thin first year with blond
hair. Both were carrying cameras and speaking with Ryuguu in low tones.

He couldn't pick out more than the occasional tone of voice; words weren't
carrying at this distance. At a glance, Tsuruya was staring intently, mouthing
occasional words to herself and giving slight nods. Kyon was taken aback;
could she read lips? "Okay," she whispered, when Yamane shook his head sharply
and turned away, leaving the older boy with the first year in tow. "Once
they're gone, let's go talk to him, okay?"

"Do you know what they were talking about?" he whispered back.

"I'm not that goods yet," Tsuruya said apologetically, giggling very quietly.
"But I got that Ryuguu-san is mad at the other twos. Somethings went wrong,
probably what we did on Sunday, so Ryuguu-san's having trouble, and the other
two.... Hmm. The one with glasses said something about not caring about
Ryuguu-san's problems, and that he still wanted money. I guess Ryuguu-san must
owe him something.... The first year student was just following along, doing
what he was tolds; he doesn't seem to be as high up on the food chains."

"The one with glasses is Yamane-san, from my own class," Kyon said helpfully.
"I think he's in the photography club? I know he takes a lot of pictures
during school events."

"Hmm, so he's probably a foreman or one of the workers," Tsuruya mused, eyes
sharpening. "Okies, they're gone; let's get Ryuguu-san before anyone else
shows up or he leaves."

Kyon nodded at her, and the pair stood up, walking out of the bush and
brushing leaves off. Ryuguu saw them emerge and jolted a bit, then crossed his
arms over his chest and scowled. "What?" he snapped, the moment they drew
within hearing range.

Uncertain of his role, Kyon just took up the loose, relaxed stance he had used
when fighting Ryuguu last time, and said nothing.

"How's business?" Tsuruya asked, suddenly politely professional.

Ryuguu frowned, then said, "Shouldn't be any of yours.... But.... Well, I
heard you were a bit ... strange, Tsuruya-san. So, you want to buy?"

"Maybe," Tsuruya allowed. "Whatcha got?"

"If you don't know, I'm not selling."

"Oh, I knows what you're selling," she said evenly. "Hum.... Anything from
this year's students?"

"A bit," Ryuguu allowed, dropping his hands to his sides. "Now, look, I'll
sell to you, but only because my normal distributor is having problems.
Understand that this is top-shelf stuff, meant to be shipped to the highest
paying customers and then resold. So that's the kind of price I'm looking for.
No copy protection, no censorship -- this is the real deal."

Kyon blinked, wondering what the hell was going on, but deciding he already
didn't like it. He tried to keep his expression neutral.

"So, what's the price?" Tsuruya asked, grinning. "I didn't bring a checkbook
with me, nyoro~!"

"Right now I've got three SD cards, sorted by year," Ryuguu said, shifting his
speech pattern from 'thug' to 'semi-competent salesman'. He fanned out the
three cards between his fingertips, turning them back and forth to show
Tsuruya both sides of the small digital chips. "First year, twenty thousand
yen, second year, fifteen thousand, third year, fifteen thousand."

"And these are sources?" Tsuruya pressed. "Originals, so there's no copies?"

"What, you want them exclusively?" Ryuguu asked, quirking one eyebrow up in a
smirk.

Tsuruya nodded quickly. "Think about it," she said. "If I'm paying to be a
reseller, what's the point if the next guys comes along and buys them then
undercuts me? Yous got to be a sharp businessman to make it here, don'tcha?"

"Double the price," he said, shrugging. "Then, sure, I'll give you everything
and exclusive distribution. Only caveat is that I'm absolutely keeping
personal copies."

"Hmm," Tsuruya replied, touching one fingertip to her lips and gazing upward,
musing. "Well, one hundred thousand yens is rather a lot, don'tcha think?
Especially since I'm trying to see if I'm in the third years?" She turned to
Kyon and asked, "Should we apply our discount?"

"Yeah," Kyon agreed, nodding. "I think we can negotiate a better price."

"Oh, don't even think about it," Ryuguu retorted, waving a hand dismissively.
"I'm the one holding the cards here, so to speak. There's no way that--"

Tsuruya's hand darted out, lightning-fast, and she snatched two of the cards
from Ryuguu's grasp before the boy could react. Immediately his face went red,
and his scowl turned murderous. He launched a punch toward the tall girl in
retaliation, growling from low in his throat.

Already waiting for such an opening, Kyon grabbed the extended fist as Ryuguu
attacked, while Tsuruya ducked away. Giving an unbalancing wrench to the
captured appendage, Kyon pulled Ryuguu off balance and spun him around before
shoving the boy violently forward, his arm pinned behind his back at an
awkward angle. The third year boy's nose smashed into the equipment shed
behind him, making a loud crunch and sending a spray of blood out.

"Gwah!" Ryuguu choked out, his free hand scrabbling at the wall of the shed.
"What the fu--"

Kyon jerked him away from the wall and shoved him forward again, resulting in
another meaty smash. "Free is sounding like a good price to me right now," he
managed, struggling to calm himself and keep the fury from his voice. "You,"
he said, gladly falling back onto the course informal version of the word,
"need to understand something here.

"You are not the biggest business in this school, or this town. There are
certain people in this school you _do not_ screw with. If you ever even
_think_ of laying a finger on any of my subordinates, or interfering with any
of them in any way, believe me, this is going to be the _least_ of your
worries. Any time, any place -- I will not allow it." He pulled the boy back,
spinning him around, and when Ryuguu belatedly tried to punch with his free
hand, he tilted his head to one side, narrowly dodging the blow and returning
a much stronger one, which sent the upperclassman smashing back into the shed,
eyes rolling up before he collapsed.

"Yow," Tsuruya allowed, eyes wide. "You okay there, Kyon-kun?" Despite her
question, her attention was on the prone boy as she crouched, rifling through
his pockets and pulling out a small stack of mini-discs and SD cards. "We
could have gotten more answers out of him, you knows...."

"Still can," Kyon pointed out, cracking his neck and expelling a long sigh.
"Sorry. This guy ... really pisses me off."

"Understandable," Tsuruya agreed, turning her attention to the bag at Ryuguu's
side, pulling more media and a digital camera from within, transferring
everything to her own bag. "So, I don't think good cops bad cops will cut it
here...."

Tsuruya tapped her chin thoughtfully, then pulled off the prone Ryuguu's belt
and tightly bound his wrists before him. "Okies!" she said decisively. "We'll
go with bad cop worse cop! You be worse cop, so just stand over there and look
real angry at him! I betcha that'd scare most anyones."

Kyon took a breath and did as she instructed, having no trouble maintaining
his glower at the prone boy as Tsuruya cheerfully slapped him awake, ignoring
the blood flowing from Ryuguu's nose. "Wakey-wakey!" Tsuruya called, stepping
back when Ryuguu jerked awake and tried to fumble for her. "Okies! Now, you
want to answers some of my questions, or maybe let Kyon-kun heres give you
some more manual attitude adjustments?"

"Wha," he managed, wincing. "What are you.... Hey! I don't have to take this!
I've got friends high up! You do not know who you're messing with!"

"Neither do you," Tsuruya retorted. "But, like Kyon-kun said, there are some
peoples you just don't mess with! And some of those peoples are the Tsuruya
family! Which means you've already screwed up!"

Kyon obligingly cracked his knuckles slowly, one at a time, his gaze locked on
the upperclassman's eyes.

Ryuguu shivered, then blurted out, "Fine! Take everything I have! I'm just a
middle-man; it's all on your own damn heads if you piss off my big brothers!
But because I'm just a middle-man, I don't know anything! I collect and
distribute, but that's _it_! I don't know how everyone works; they do their
own things, and as long as we get our goods, we don't ask questions!"

"That first years you were talking with," Tsuruya said primly. "What's his
name?"

"T...that.... Manabe Satoshi, class 1-7," Ryuguu said, sweating nervously.

"Good! Good! And who else...?"

"Just him and Yamane Jun, class 2-5," Ryuguu whimpered. "I swear! They handle
everything else! I'm just a go-between!"

"Hmm, hmm," Tsuruya noised, nodding. "And on the other sides? You collects
from those two, who do you sells to?"

"T...that's.... They aren't around anymore," Ryuguu said, sweating. "They got
arrested on Sunday! I'm still looking--"

"_Wrong_!" she yelled in his face.

"W...was looking," Ryuguu allowed, shaking, "f...for a new distributor to sell
to!"

"'Was' is right," Kyon interjected. "I think we all understand that you're
_done_ with this, if you know what's good for you." Though, given what he
already knew was going to happen tomorrow....

"Alright," Tsuruya said, nodding as she rose from her crouching position to
her feet. "Kyon-kun, put him to sleep again."

Kyon nodded, stepping around Ryuguu's weakly flailing arms and easily wrapping
the boy's neck in a choke-hold, which he held until Ryuguu passed out. Once
the upperclassman was prone on the ground, he took a deep breath and closed
his eyes, double-checking to see that the bigger boy still had a pulse.
"Sorry," he told Tsuruya, opening his eyes as he rose and giving her a weak
smile. "This is.... It's...."

He was surprised when Tsuruya leaned into him, giving a tight hug. "It's
okay," she said soothingly, patting his head. "This kinds of detective work is
enough to turn even someone like you hot blooded! And that's fine; Haru-nyan
is in good hands! Since you're helping me out, I am too!"

He hesitantly hugged her back, realizing the source for the 'two-timing'
rumor. Obviously, someone was within range to see all this.... "Thanks,
Tsuruya-sempai," he managed, the upperclassman's friendly embrace banishing
his anger. "A...anyway, like I said, any time you need help with this
investigation, let me know."

"You got it!" she enthused, breaking the contact and grinning at him. "I'll
start investigatings those other two! But it's a lot bigger than just the two
of them.... Which one do you think we should go after first?"

"Kanae-chan is in class 1-7," he said, frowning. "I'm a bit worried about
her...."

"You got it," Tsuruya agreed. "Satoshi-san should be easier to shake down than
Ryuguu-san, here."

He followed Tsuruya back to the school entrance, nodding at her. "Okay, you
take care," he told her. "I've got to get back ... uh ... to Haruhi."

"I thought you were dismissed from the club today?" she asked, raising one
eyebrow and smirking.

"Oh, yeah," he agreed, frowning. "Well, I have to head back in anyway, since
... I forgot my shoes. Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow, alright, Tsuruya-sempai?"

"Hehe, you can just call me Tsuruya," she said with a wink, glancing at his
indoor shoes. "I'd let you get away with more, but I don't want Haru-nyan to
get the wrong idea!"

"How about Tsuruya-kun?" he asked, smirking before the twinge from his cut
reminded him why he shouldn't.

"I like it!" she approved, nodding vigorously. "We're working on this
investigation togethers!"

"You got it," he agreed, nodding back. "Take care, Tsuruya-kun."

"You too, Kyon-kun!" she called back, waving as she strode toward the school
gates.

After scraping as much of the mud and dirt from his indoor shoes as he could,
Kyon trudged wearily to the club house, taking the longer route to avoid
encountering anyone being released from the club meeting. He knocked on the
calligraphy clubroom door, pleased when Mikuru answered, bowing and excusing
herself from her impromptu meeting with her former club members.

"How did everything go?" he asked, once they were alone in the hallway.

"Fine!" she said anxiously, peering at the bandage on his face. "The nurse
said you were okay?"

"I'll be fine," he assured her, grinning. "Okay, um, we need to return to
tomorrow ... can you take us to the clubroom, say ... two minutes before the
bell at the end of lunch? That should be enough time to get back to class."

"Okay," she agreed, her eyes unfocusing briefly before she turned to face him,
placing a hand on either shoulder. "Close your eyes," she reminded him, as
always.

* * *

After completing the temporal transition, Mikuru lowered her hands from his
shoulders, and Kyon's eyes opened, glancing around the clubroom.
Unsurprisingly, Yuki was the only club member still left in the room. She
closed her book and rose, moving to Kyon's side and raising one hand to his
cheek briefly. He blinked, then grinned at the girl, tracing his fingertips
across the bandage but leaving it in place. "Thanks, Nagato," he said, nodding
at her. "And thank you, too, Asahina-san."

"It is no problem," Yuki returned smoothly.

"No trouble at all," Mikuru agreed, even though she had butterflies in her
stomach just from remembering Kyon bleeding. It wasn't as bad as the time
she'd seen him _stabbed_, but she didn't have to like it one bit!

A knock sounded on the door, and Kyon turned around, pondering, "Who could
that be...?"

After a heartbeat, the door opened and Koizumi peered in, sighing with relief
as he saw Kyon, though there was still tension in his gaze. "I'm afraid I have
some bad news, Kyon-kun," he said, smiling weakly. "Ah ... school
administration would like to speak with you ... though it seems that some
strings were pulled, and the issue was somehow moved down to a meeting with
the Student Council President. There's an emergency session now, so...."

"Really?" Kyon asked, surprised. "I'm not sure what's stranger. That the
Student Council can handle cases like this, or that they get to skip classes
for it. Well, whatever."

"Don't forget, Kimidori Emiri will be there," Koizumi warned with a frown.
"Which probably explains _how_ the Student Council was given authority for
this meeting."

"I will go," Yuki declared, her eyes fixed on Kyon.

"M...me too," Mikuru managed, wishing she could sound as confident as Yuki.

"And naturally," Koizumi agreed, bowing slightly, "I will be at your side as
well."

"Okay, let's go," Kyon decided. "Haruhi's going to burst into the middle of
the meeting and be really pissed off about not being involved."

"Ah.... You're certain?" Koizumi asked.

Kyon nodded, turning his cell phone back on. "She absolutely will if you send
a text to her just before we enter the Student Council room," he said. "That
should give Kimidori-san enough time to state her goals and reasons, but not
to actually _do_ anything before Haruhi shows up. And despite what they've
done so far, I doubt that Kimidori-san is stupid enough to try something in
front of Haruhi."

"Good strategy," Koizumi agreed, preparing the text message and falling into
file behind Kyon as he led the way to the club room. Yuki stood perfectly at
his side, taking every step with the boy, and Mikuru fought down another surge
of jealousy at the interface's confidence.

Kyon marched to the door and flung it open without knocking, startling the
Student Council president as he shuffled through a short stack of papers.
Kimidori Emiri sat in a chair to one side, her pad of paper and pen ready,
though she seemed coolly expectant. Kyon strode to the middle of the room and
stood in an arrogant pose, arms crossed over his chest as he stared down at
the president with an expression of clear boredom. Yuki stood a half-step
behind him on his left, eyes fixed on Emiri. Mikuru tried to take up a
flanking position on his right, but was beaten by Koizumi, so settled for
closing the door and standing next to Yuki.

"Well?" Kyon demanded, when the president spent a long moment staring. "I'm
here."

"I don't..." the president began, frowning and scanning across the group. "I
expected you to bring her along, if you were going to appear in force."

"Yeah, okay," Kyon allowed, relaxing his arms and taking on his more normal
demeanor. "So, do you have anything for me, President, or is this Kimidori-
san's call?"

Emiri smiled awkwardly and set her pen down. "Currently, everything here is
within the technical limitations of the Student Council's jurisdiction," she
explained. "I do not plan to usurp the president; I'm merely a secretary."

"I really have no patience for intrigue, just now. I'm in the middle of an
investigation that I'm honestly ashamed to find out you're doing nothing
about," he said pointedly, staring at Emiri.

Emiri looked confused and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't
understand...."

"This attitude doesn't become you," the president added with a frown at Kyon.
"My job is to keep Suzumiya-kun in line, not _you_. Koizumi-kun, what's this
all about?"

"Difficult to explain quickly," the esper said with a bright smile. "For the
moment, however, I answer to Kyon-kun as my superior ... and realistically,
you probably should as well."

Emiri blinked several times, her awkward smile slipping.

"Really?" the president asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, in that case," he
asked sardonically, turning his attention back to Kyon, "what's the plan?"

"Let's start with how much trouble I'm in for protecting Kanae-chan from that
pervert," Kyon suggested.

"Technically none," the president admitted. "It's a behavior issue, but all
accounts indicate you acted in self defense, or in defense of a classmate.
Ryuguu-san is already being expelled just on the grounds of bringing a weapon
into the school and assaulting fellow students ... though he was taken away in
an ambulance. In any event, because of that, orders were handed down from the
principal to discuss your behavior.... I have the authority to demand a
meeting with an advisor for you -- several if I believe that your behavior is
likely to become problematic. Okabe-sensei is your advisor, right?"

Kyon grimaced. "Don't get me wrong, he's a good guy, but I'm not exactly eager
for that," he said. "My family?"

"Already notified," the president said, almost apologetically. "The
administrative staff did that first thing."

"Figured. Alright. So, I'm going to tell you right now, when this is over,
you're actually going to thank me for what I did today, and what's going to
happen in the coming days." Turning his full attention to Emiri, he added,
"Seeing as I'm not up for intrigue at the moment, can you cut to the chase and
say _why_ you've pulled the strings you have to arrange this?"

Emiri sighed, shifting her shoulders uncomfortably. "You are becoming a bit
troublesome," she allowed, shaking her head. "I wanted to relate to you in
clear terms that all else aside, the entity has not deviated from their chosen
course of action."

"That's a real pity," Kyon sighed. "I didn't want us to be enemies."

"Well, you made your decision," Emiri said with an apologetic shrug. "I,
personally, mean you no harm. My role has naturally changed, as I am denied
administrative access over Nagato Yuki. For the time being, despite our
differences concerning this issue at large, I wish to remain as neutral as
possible to function as negotiator between yourselves and the entity. Until
such time as you inform me otherwise, I will assume that you continue to
maintain your stance. However ... should things change and you decide to side
with us, the entity also holds no enmity against you."

The student council president blinked and looked at his secretary sidelong,
obviously very confused.

"I don't really believe that last part, but it's nice of you to say." After a
breath, Kyon warned in a low voice, "I just want to point out, though, that a
challenge against any one of us is a challenge against _all_ of us, so even
the entity may have bitten off more than it can chew."

Before anyone could respond, the door crashed open with a reverberating smash,
Haruhi stomping in and taking point in front of Kyon, shooting a dark glare at
the president. "Trying to pick us apart by calling out my underlings when I'm
not around, eh?" she challenged, bristling with fury. "Well, you've got a lot
to learn! A challenge against one of us is a challenge against _all_ of us!"

Mikuru blinked, catching Kyon's smirk at the girl in front of him as she
echoed his words of only moments before. Emiri's expression had returned to
blank neutrality, with small traces of surprise showing as she picked her pen
back up and began jotting notes down.

"Really, you are the lowest example of politician!" Haruhi spat, shaking her
head at the president.

For his part, the bespectacled boy gave her a cool look, pushing on the bridge
of his glasses with two fingers, flashing bright reflective light off them
perfectly into Haruhi's eyes as he adjusted the lenses. He instantly re-
assumed his role in Haruhi's presence, his expression gleaming with cold
malice. The chief of the SOS Brigade didn't flinch, her angry smile only
growing wider.

"Even using underhanded tactics like calling my vice commander in during
_classes_?" She paced back and forth shaking her head sadly. "I thought you
were a rival, maybe someday even an equal, but you're just a sad little man
who hides behind whatever political tricks he can to cause trouble for people
he doesn't like personally! Trying to make things difficult for Kyon when he
defended a fellow student from a crazed pervert?! Don't make me think that
Kitago is a school unworthy of its reputation!"

"You overreact," the president said in a frosty tone. "Marching in with your
pompous attitude and blatant disregard for policy.... I invite you to check
every step of the proceedings of this inquiry; you'll find that each and every
one was in complete accordance with official guidelines and policies! The only
breach here is that Kyon-kun was summoned alone. There was no request for
Koizumi-kun, Nagato-kun, Asahina-kun, or yourself to be here.

"Really, storming your way into an official meeting that doesn't involve you
personally? This matter has absolutely nothing to do with your so-called club,
that unofficial organization that I refuse to acknowledge! This is a personal
matter between the student council and a single student. Your show of force is
both unseemly and needlessly exaggerated."

"Ooh!" Haruhi exclaimed, standing still to stomp one foot on the floor and
shoot a murderous glare at the president. "Nice try," she retorted with a
sneer, "but if it smells like a load of crap, looks like a load of crap, and
acts like a load of crap ... then it's a _load of crap_! One of my brigade
members was attacked by a crazed student! Another of my brigade members did
his civic duty not only as a member of the brigade you don't acknowledge, but
as a _citizen_! An upstanding _student_ of this school!

"You're all high-and-mighty behind your desk, proud of the fact that you get
to pick on my crew just because you don't like them! What about all the other
students who just _watched_ a crazed upperclassman with a _knife_ haul away a
defenseless first year student? Not one of _them_ is worthy of reprimand?"

The president's face was a mask of contempt and barely concealed rage. He
slowly lowered his head, allowing the mirror-bright shine of his glasses to
reflect to the floor and his eyes to become visible. "Very well," he grated
out, in the tone of someone who was having a tooth pulled without anesthetic.
"In light of the greater failing of the student populous in general, we will
dismiss the _gross_ disciplinary issues in Kyon-kun's behavior ... _this_
time. After all, my quarrel isn't with your underlings, but you. Now leave,
Suzumiya-kun, before my good graces run out."

Haruhi allowed herself a single imperious sniff before turning on her heel and
grabbing Kyon's hand, hauling him out of the room. Mikuru hesitated, walking
in step with Yuki when she finally left, though the shorter girl's eyes had
been fixed on Emiri the entire time. Once they were in the hall, the time
traveler released a shaky, explosive sigh. "Scary," Mikuru moaned. "And now
we're late for class!"

"No problem, no problem!" Haruhi said brightly, seeming charged with her
victory over the student council president. "Tell your teachers to take their
complaints to the student council! They hauled us out of class for this, after
all." Turning to Kyon, she added in a more serious tone, "You need to be
careful, Kyon! I can't always bail you out when you get into trouble like
this! And you owe Koizumi-kun a thanks for texting me that this was even
happening!"

"Oh, yeah? Thanks, Koizumi, glad you're so on-the-ball." The esper maintained
his eternal smile, nodding slightly. "Anyway, Haruhi, would you be mad at me
if I was confident enough in you to say that you could bail me out again?"
Kyon asked her.

Haruhi made a squeaking noise and dropped Kyon's hand as if burned, her face
turning pink. "W...well, that may be the case!" she allowed, nodding and
looking away. "But, just because I can pick up the pieces doesn't mean you
should rely on that!"

He gave her a weak grin. "Sorry, but I may have to a bit before this
investigation finishes," he said apologetically. "Um, but I'll talk with
Tsuruya-kun -- she probably won't mind letting you take our final report to
the student council president. Trust me, that'll be a _huge_ bargaining chip
to use against him."

"Bah!" Haruhi groused, as they entered the walkway to the second year classes.
"I don't like that at all! I didn't do any work, and I don't even know what
it's about! How am I supposed to use that?"

"It's something completed entirely by your vice commander and an honorary
member," Kyon assured her. "That makes it a part of the SOS Brigade, doesn't
it?"

"Oh, well, I suppose that's true...."

Mikuru smiled, shaking her head and waving as she turned to take the walkway
to the third year classes.

Kyon caught the wave and gave her a grin, waving back before turning to face
Haruhi. Even though she had no idea what Kyon had needed to travel to
yesterday for, she was glad she could help with it. And she couldn't help but
feel glad when he had said that the brigade was a team, and no single one of
them could be attacked without the others. Maybe, she decided, she was a
greater asset than she had let herself believe previously. Cheered by that
thought, she was able to smile when she entered her classroom and
apologetically informed the teacher she was late due to student council
business.

* * *

During the next break after lunch, Haruhi pulled the half-eaten bento from her
schoolbag and wordlessly poked Kyon in the back with it. He turned and
accepted it with a raised eyebrow. "I'm really lucky to have such a
considerate brigade chief looking out for me," he said, before she could point
it out for him.

She tried to scowl, but could only manage a knowing smirk. "You'd better
believe it!" she told him, nodding studiously. "Oh, did you finish your math
homework?"

"Barely," he allowed, before digging into the bento. Haruhi wasn't at all
surprised when Taniguchi and Kunikida rose to approach Kyon, and evidently he
expected it as well, since he just grunted wordlessly before polishing off the
bento and asking, "What this time?"

"Ah ... well," Kunikida temporized, chuckling guiltily, "I wanted to apologize
to you, Kyon ... it wasn't right to make those judgments."

"Mostly, I just wanted to ask when you took a level of badass," Taniguchi
contributed. "And to tell you I'm a bit jealous of you getting yet another A
minus into your club. Mega points for saving her bacon from the jerk -- a few
more stunts like that and you're going to have your own fan-club!"

"'A minus'?" Haruhi echoed, frowning. "What's that mean?"

"Eh," Kyon sighed, shaking his head. "Taniguchi's a living perv-wiki. He's
rated all the girls on a grading scale and only learns the names of those who
get an 'A' or better."

"Well, I know where I must stand on that scale," Haruhi allowed, shooting
Taniguchi a sharp glance. "Which is funny, because on my scale, Taniguchi
isn't quite rated fifteen minutes."

Taniguchi grimaced. "Never mind that!" he protested. "This is about Kyon the
delinquent and his rise to school celebrity!"

"That's great," Kyon returned. "Because I don't care to discuss it. I already
had to explain my situation to the student council, and Ryuguu's getting
expelled. As far as I'm concerned, it's a closed issue."

"Yes, but he cut you and you don't even seem to care," Kunikida said,
grinning. "It's hard not to be a bit in awe, you know?"

"I'm sure you can find any number of rumor-mongers who are willing to tell you
whatever you want to hear," Kyon replied.

"Yeah, I hear Yanagimoto's got a bunch of them to trade," Haruhi added. "Of
course, it's really hard to believe any of them for me, but if you want
baseless rumors, go nuts...."

"Will do!" Taniguchi said cheerfully. "A 'B-plus' isn't too far off from an
'A-minus'!" Turning around, he stepped over to Yanagimoto's desk and
immediately tried to strike up a conversation.

"Sometimes, I worry about that guy," Kyon said, shaking his head.

Haruhi thought about it for a minute, then said, "I don't think his chronic
stupidity is likely to hurt him too badly. And it's not like he could get
_dumber_."

"Aha ... well ... I'll leave you two to be, then," Kunikida decided, drawing
away with a short bow.

"But, hey, how about that, Kyon? You're a school celebrity! This is going to
be _great_ publicity for the brigade! Man, if only you'd aspired to become
vice commander sooner!"

"Yeah, it's gonna be great fun talking to my parents about that tonight," Kyon
agreed, grimacing.

Haruhi snapped her fingers decisively. "I'll go with you and we can bring
Kanae-chan," she declared. "This is big, so we can skip the club meeting for
today. Problem solved! Unless your parents are aliens or worse, there's no way
they could hear her explanation for what happened with her extra-moe face and
speech without giving in! It's a tiny bit annoying, but that worshipful
'Sempai' of hers is guaranteed to melt the hearts of anyone!"

"Yeah ... I guess," he allowed, nodding. "Feels a bit weak to always be
relying on girls to take care of my problems for me."

"Oh, like the way you hid behind Kanae-chan in your fight earlier?" she
giggled. "Or the way you meekly hid behind Tsuruya while she fought off a
dozen Yakuza?"

"Hmm," Kyon mused, handing the empty bento back to her. "That's a good point!
Thanks, Haruhi."

She nodded, catching another gesture from Sakanaka and turning her head in
time to see the other girl wink at her and make a small 'victory' sign. Haruhi
couldn't help but grin at her friend and return the sign.