# Kyon: Big Damn Hero

## The Storm Begins Arc IV

### Chapter Forty Two: The Meaning of Everything

Disclaimer: The novel series of Suzumiya Haruhi that began with 'The
Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi' is the creation of Nagaru Tanigawa. No
disrespect is intended by the posting of this fanfiction, as I do not own the
characters or settings involved. I'm merely dabbling with another set of
paints. TVtropes (the website) is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License (and it's possible that this fic
technically is, too; seems fair to me). Additional characters are borrowed
from Higurashi, which is the creation of Ryukishi07.

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

* * *

"Entity One: Analysis"

"In order to function in your new environment, be sure to follow all of your
new interaction cues; these encourage behaviors that will be useful later. At
the same time, be watchful for 'noise' input, or interactions which it is best
to disregard as useful for integration."

"Adaptation" -- LP-TK:AR Datastream Segment (-working translation-)

* * *

Kyon had discovered an interesting side-effect to giving in and letting Haruhi
have her way.

No matter how 'cute' Ryouko looked as a chibi, there was no way he could bring
himself to sleep in the same room as her. In 'good child' mode, she said
nothing unless spoken to, but what could he really do?

There was no _chance_ he was going to let the tiny would-be-murderer near his
sister, and who _knew_ what mischief she would get up to if he left her
unattended?

He thought about sticking her in an old shoe-box -- possibly even weighting it
down and trapping her inside. But then, he didn't believe cardboard would
really slow her much if she genuinely attempted a hostile action....

Thinking such things, he was still wide-awake when Yuki's nightly summons
came. He arrived in her living room, feeling immediately better that the chibi
wasn't around -- except for the thought of her being alone with his sister.
Mikuru and Kanae had adjusted to the teleportation, and for once, Mikuru
hadn't seemed to be in the middle of anything. The slider, on the other hand,
was sleeping again.

Yuki's gaze swept across him and then paused. "Asakura Ryouko's presence is
disruptive," she deduced.

"Hard to sleep with her tiny form lurking in the darkness," he admitted. "I
can't say that Haruhi's failed anything she's put her will to, and I know
you're backing it ... but it's still too hard for me to look the other way --
especially that far. She can't hurt my family, can she?"

"No. I will provide you secure containment," Yuki determined. She rose
smoothly to her feet and padded away to her room, while Mikuru knelt at
Kanae's side and gently patted the smaller girl's face until she roused.

"Mm.... Mikuru-onee?" Kanae asked sleepily. She blinked and offered a tired
smile at her upperclassmen, sitting upright and rubbing at her eyes, her
luminescent blush igniting as she met Kyon's eyes.

Yuki returned a heartbeat later with a small cardboard box, the labels
proclaiming it to have once held a pair of girl's indoor shoes, approved for
use at Kitago. "This has been modified to securely contain her," Yuki said
quietly.

It wasn't as fancy looking as the sci-fi gun she had given him once, but he
had a pair of those whenever he wanted them, so he gratefully accepted what
appeared to his senses to be an unremarkable box -- one that his mother and
sister would both look at him slightly oddly if they ever found. So what if he
had a seemingly empty girl's shoe box in his closet? It was a secure prison,
where the tiny terror would be sealed away.

With this, he would be able to sleep comfortably.

"Thank you, Yuki-chan," he said earnestly. He'd have to figure out some way to
make it up to her, though.... Hmm, maybe he could take Yuki and Kanae
somewhere?

He wasn't entirely sure if that would work, but filed the idea away for later
consideration.

Yuki nodded back stoically, unable to keep a tiny blush of her own from coming
to her cheeks as their fingers touched when she passed the box over.

* * *

While she seldom remembered her dreams, except for the very best (and
frequently, also the strangest), Kanae knew for a fact that she was sleeping
immensely better at her sempai's side -- and since Tsuruya had given her a
green-light to do that, she intended to _keep_ doing it, until someone told
her to stop.

Certainly, her sempai hadn't seemed to mind, and even though Yuki was the one
among the club that she knew the least, she felt a tiny bit closer to realize
that the other slight figure seemed to feel similarly.

That thought in mind, even though she could simply _jump_ to the clubroom, or
the somewhat more reliable concept of her sempai....

It was strange, but she needed to know places better than people, to easily
jump to a space with no one around. She wondered what that meant for sliding,
and the fact that she tended to look for her sempai ... but there had been
occasions when she hadn't found any instance of him.

Then again, perhaps her sliding had just landed her far away, and she hadn't
learned how to jump closer without starting an entirely new slide? It was hard
to say....

Something else Yuki had shown her in those training sessions; really, once she
started to think about it.... If she was growing closer to Yuki, and they were
both sharing the brigade's vice commander anyway ... she should get the
brigade's most silent person something to thank her for her help.

That thought in mind, when she went to the train platform, she ran into
Haruhi, and a minute later than that, the small girl in question approached
the pair.

"He will not be attending classes today," Yuki announced, after Haruhi and
Kanae had greeted her.

"Aw..." Kanae couldn't help but pout.

"Yeah, he warned me about that," Haruhi admitted with a sigh. "I was still
hoping, though.... Oh! Say, Yuki-chan, does that mean that you know where he
is?!"

"Today is a temporal transition; it covers a stable-time loop," Yuki replied
after a quiet moment of thought, the trio turning to march up the hill --
which Kanae had to fight the temptation to jump to the top of. She had to use
her powers responsibly, though; what would her sempai think if she didn't?
"Further information is classified."

Haruhi allowed an irritated growl to escape. "You _still_ won't tell me?" she
complained. "I just want to time travel once! Or maybe a few dozen times--
Come on, what's the worst thing that could happen?"

A few steps away, approaching the group, arm linked with Tsuruya, Mikuru
squeaked at that question.

"And," Haruhi continued with a frown, glancing at the time traveler, "if Kyon
is time-traveling, why is Mikuru-chan still here?"

"I...I'll have to come back here?" Mikuru wondered with a nervous glance
around at the others -- and more importantly, for any eavesdroppers. "Um ... I
was ordered to tell Tsuruya-chan that Kyon wouldn't need a ride to school
today, but that's all I know...."

"Hmm, I like that," Haruhi mused. "Kyon acts weird around you sometimes
because he knows future instances of you, huh?"

"W...well," Mikuru began, before blinking, her eyes widening. "Oh," she
breathed very quietly, her expression paling.

"Eh? You didn't think of that?" Haruhi asked in surprise.

Tsuruya, still with one arm linked through the time traveler's, patted the
stunned girl's hand. "Mikuru-chan?" she asked worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Mikuru answered suddenly, shaking her head, still looking mildly
dazed, but managing a weak smile. "I.... Um, there is a piece of information I
will need to get from someone who ... scares me a bit...."

Kanae cocked her head to one side. "Is there any way I can help?" she
wondered.

"I'm not sure." Shaking her head, some of Mikuru's color returned, though she
still looked horribly nervous. "I n...need to ask Sasaki-san a question."

"How did this come up?" Haruhi asked warily, narrowing her eyes as she turned
her gaze to Mikuru. Kanae winced sympathetically for the older girl.

"U...um ... I think she's seen my future self," Mikuru answered meekly,
flinching back into Tsuruya, who held her steady.

The brigade president nodded thoughtfully, one hand smoothing the ponytail
that hung to midway between her shoulder-blades. "Hmm.... I suppose we'll have
to talk to Kyon about that," she mused.

Pursing her lips, Mikuru hesitantly answered, "I think that ... Kyon-kun may
not be able to answer my questions."

"That's silly," Haruhi scoffed. "Kyon's supposed to be one of the best time
travelers around, right?"

Kanae nodded eager agreement; she'd heard the same thing on many occasions.

Mikuru smiled and gave a hesitant nod. "But ... he probably isn't supposed to
tell me," she said, shaking her head. "And he doesn't have something to keep
him from saying things he shouldn't on accident, like a classified
information...." She shrugged helplessly after she trailed off.

"Man, all of this hidden time travel information is seriously getting on my
nerves!" Haruhi groused. "Everything's gotta be so sneaky -- really, you guys
have _no_ idea how to make traveling through time fun!"

* * *

As confusing as everything was, Ryouko realized that the greatest bulk of her
time would be taken up with boredom. Since she had nothing better to do but
observe and follow her currently assigned tasks, she spent that time observing
her surroundings. For a substantial period of time in the night, that had been
the interior of a shoe box.

Significantly less interesting than the time she spent in her prey's greatcoat
pocket. Still silenced, she had tried to test the limits of her current
interface status, but her options were irritatingly brief, mostly left in a
series of blue boxes with white text, nested in various menus and sub-menus.

They didn't let her do much at the moment, anyway.

Where had Nagato come up with such a strange idea?

Some time after completing his morning rituals, Kyon finally plucked her from
the shoe box with obvious reluctance, tucking her into his greatcoat pocket
before heading out to school.

At least, Ryouko had guessed that was what he had planned given the data she
could read from his PDA. Which she recognized as a once favored piece of her
_own_ data, though Nagato had changed it quite a bit. Now it functioned as a
sort of limiter and governor for her abilities ... if she wanted to do
anything she wasn't directly ordered to, she had to do it through the auspices
of that data.

She'd familiarized herself with the data at least, and the PDA automatically
enforced his permissions -- so she couldn't divulge any information that he
didn't authorize. What actually happened, was that a figure that Ryouko did
not recognize appeared. She checked with the database on Kyon's PDA and
quickly identified the newcomer as matching the picture of Mikuru Asahina,
though this was obviously a time-divergent version.

"Er.... Hello, Asahina-san," Kyon greeted the woman, glancing around to see if
anyone was nearby. "I take it it's time for more time travel?" he asked,
managing a nervous, worried smile.

Mikuru nodded, gesturing him to follow her down the street a ways, then into a
small alley. Ryouko reflexively bookmarked the spacial and temporal
coordinates as the woman placed one hand on Kyon's shoulder and then invoked a
function to destroy local space-time, catapulting them somewhere else.

She had weathered stranger transitions before, such as being turned into a
smaller holographic version of herself, after all. Once they reached some form
of stability, she conferred with the data structures of the PDA. They had
moved a few kilometers in space, and back in time a single day.

Kyon surveyed the rooftop of the school building and gave a reluctant sigh. "I
should have figured," he groused. "So ... I just need to wait until Asakura
attacks, and then step in and save the day. Let's see ... I learned from Yuki
what kinds of things would slow Asakura down. Hmm, the only part I'm worried
about is arranging that exit from Asakura's data jurisdiction.... Oh-- Asakura
would know how to do that, wouldn't she?" He turned to look at his pocket
thoughtfully. "It's a pre-determined event, so in order to prevent a paradox,
you'll have to."

Ryouko grimaced. "I have to be responsible for assisting with my own capture?"
she asked for clarification.

Kyon nodded in response, surveying the surroundings. "Ah, after this, where
should I meet with you, Asahina-san?" he asked the woman.

"Our usual bench will be fine," she said with a wink. "Oh-- And Kyon-kun, one
thing before you go to wait for your mission?"

"Yeah?" he asked, turning to look at her curiously.

With his defenses lowered, Ryouko recorded all of the openings he left, and
how Mikuru exploited them. It was a minor inconvenience being squished between
the woman and the young man, but she was certainly learning Kyon's weak spots.

Mikuru broke the kiss with a giggle and then stepped into the stairwell. Kyon
seemed almost ready to follow before shaking his head, hopping atop the
stairwell and settling in to wait, adjusting his weapon ahead of time. It
didn't take long for him to become bored, though he at least seemed
indifferent to his discomfort.

Ryouko couldn't _speak_ unless spoken to ... but when Kyon started up a round
of chess, she was delighted for the chance to challenge him and try and learn
his true measure, through her link to the PDA.

Some hours later, when her best was a single stalemate, she wondered once
again what the entity had in mind when they assigned her on her mission. There
was no doubt in her mind now that the entity had intended her to fail. Knowing
that, she had resigned herself to disrupting her own past-self's environmental
control when the time came, allowing Kyon and Haruhi's previous iterations to
escape through the gap.

She _could_ have tried to warn her past self, but she doubted her ability to
withstand paradox without the entity's help. So, she watched as Kyon stunned
and captured her past self, then vanished, swiftly taking an interesting route
down the hill -- leaping from rooftop to rooftop while cloaked.

At one point, he even ran across the top of a power-line. An interesting mode
of movement, but inferior to teleportation. Then again, if he was limited in
that regard, it was efficient....

He hopped down from his height and landed, undamaged and unnoticed, near a
park bench. He studied some passers-by before targeting a nondescript man of
average appearance, meandering out of sight and capturing the image with his
PDA. Ryouko was irritated to be assigned the task, so imported the costume and
disguise, which Kyon activated shortly after that, seeming to the people
nearby to just step out from around a bend in the path before sinking to the
bench.

His PDA was out shortly, though this time he was flipping through notes from
his classes, not playing any games. After only a half hour or so, Mikuru's
future self trotted along the sidewalk, looking faintly pleased, but very
tired. She sat next to Kyon, nodding at him politely, then checking her
wristwatch and frowning.

Kyon straightened up, then remarked, "You know, you're very pretty to be here
alone."

Mikuru blinked at that, then smiled slowly, realization setting in. "I'm not
so pretty," she demurred, shaking her head. "But that's quite kind of you. Ah!
I wish you good luck; a man as handsome as you should have a date with a
younger girl than me, tonight!"

Ryouko had remembered that date well enough. Mikuru and Kyon both chuckled,
though Kyon was blushing fiercely beneath his disguise.

"Okay," Kyon said, shaking his head once they had settled down a bit. "This
was probably one of the easier loops to close ... is there anything I've left
undone too long?"

"Not _too_ long," Mikuru assured him. "Um ... according to my superior,
anyway...."

He blinked, wondering -- not for the first time -- if there was some still
older Mikuru watching over the woman at his side. "If it's good enough for
you, it should be good enough for me," he decided, nodding.

Mikuru smiled and reached a hand out. "I'm glad," she said, smiling. "Now, if
you're ready...? Unfortunately, I need to move you forward a bit to reduce
your temporal deviation."

He nodded thoughtfully at that, recalling the time he had taken 'the slow
path' back half a day. But then ... if his deviation hadn't been a problem
before.... He wondered if that suggested that at some point soon, the balance
would shift the other way.... Could he be traveling into the future at some
point?

* * *

Haruhi decided to wander to the clubroom to visit with Yuki during lunch,
since Kyon was elsewhere at the moment. Or else_when_, she supposed. Probably
in the past; he was too much of a stick-in-the-mud to go to the future, she
was sure. And if he _did_ he'd manage to clam up about it, somehow.

She sighed as she opened the clubroom door, giving Yuki a bright smile as the
bookworm looked up at her entrance. Haruhi hadn't really been thinking about
it, but the link that they had shared had calmed down recently ... probably
because even if she didn't say anything all the time, Yuki was frustrated at
Kyon not knowing the truth.

"How are you doing today, Yuki-chan?" she prompted.

"I am well," Yuki answered, closing her book and rising from her seat. She
moved it to the table and sat opposite Haruhi. "How are you?"

Haruhi couldn't help but smile at that. She was still a little awkward, but
she was slowly coming out of her shell. No doubt about it, spending time with
Kyon was good for her. "Ah, bored," she sighed. Yuki blinked at that, staring
at her without otherwise changing her expression.

Slumping, Haruhi acknowledged, "Okay, I'm a little jealous of Kyon and it
always bothers me when he's got to do something and none of us can be there.
Except, I guess, a future Mikuru.... You know, recently, I've been starting to
think that I should have more sympathy for her, considering how annoying and
difficult this all must be for her. If even she, of all people, is willing to
face Sasaki for answers...."

Yuki nodded, offering, "Asahina Mikuru's situation is difficult. I also am
sympathetic to her." She paused for a moment and looked thoughtful. "She may
need a hug."

Haruhi blinked at that, stifling a snicker, though she still felt warmed by
the sentiment. "That's probably true.... So, what are you reading, anyway?"

The bookworm wordlessly held up a worn but cared for hardcover book titled,
'Brave Detective Sasha and the Red Tape of Obfuscation' by Ryuguu Rena. Haruhi
frowned, squinting. "That's the same 'Ryuguu' kanji as the boy that Kyon got
expelled for picking on Kanae-chan, isn't it? I wonder if they're related?"

Yuki seemed uncertain, so before she could try and answer, Haruhi dismissed
the obvious coincidence.

"Well, anyway-- What's it about?" Haruhi pressed.

"This is the sixth volume," Yuki explained. "The premise is that a young
orphaned girl named Sasha is sent to a seven-year boarding school for
detectives by a mysterious benefactor, and must learn the art of deduction and
investigation to solve her problems. Each book covers one year of her
enrollment. Along the way, she wins several friends and makes some enemies.
While some portions of the story are a clearly defined formula, the
presentation is a deliberate softening of less palatable themes, carefully
dressed to be presentable to children."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. "So, what's the target audience age, anyway?" she
wondered.

"Ages twelve through twenty," Yuki answered.

"Hmm.... So, give me an example of one of these 'softened themes'," Haruhi
pressed, intrigued. "I'm curious, now!"

Yuki gave a tiny nod of acknowledgment. "In an early story, one of Sasha's
closest friends comes under the auspices of an unkind guardian. Sasha and her
remaining friends must prove the mistreatment of her friend. When this proves
to be difficult, Sasha's love interest -- Ichigo -- devises a plot to make the
guardian ill enough to be sent to a hospital, thus freeing their friend," she
explained.

Haruhi narrowed her eyes. "I can see how that would be readable to a kid while
someone who could read more into it.... Huh. Interesting."

"The stories have an emphasis on compromise and reliance on friends to
overcome problems, with a special focus on communication. The series is
unusual in the extremely downplayed role of violence in Brave Detective
Sasha's world. While the threat of mortality is made clear, severe injury and
death are exceedingly rare."

Nodding slowly, Haruhi managed to keep herself from smirking. "You're becoming
a total Sasha fan-girl, aren't you?"

Yuki blinked twice, then turned her attention back to the book, unable to keep
the mild flush from appearing on her cheeks.

Giving in to the forming smirk, Haruhi grabbed a laptop, quickly checking her
favorite website, and finding a wealth of information on the series. She
avoided the spoilers, deciding that she'd actually read it -- it was written
by Kyon's aunt, after all. From there, she found a character art gallery,
including promos for a suggested anime adaptation of the series.

A handful of images of 'Brave Detective Sasha' were available online, and
Haruhi liked the picture immediately. "Okay! I think Kanae-chan's favorite
will be Trope-tan, but for you, Yuki-chan, Mikuru's next project will be
this!"

She turned the laptop's screen to face Yuki, who looked up and blinked at the
image. Despite Rena's Japanese roots, the setting for Sasha's universe was
somewhat more Western, and set in the early nineteen hundreds. Sasha had brown
hair cut exactly the same way as Yuki's, and wore a dark plaid-patterned
newsboy hat, a neat vest, and a white blouse. Her skirt was patterned just
like the hat, going past her knees, but not quite a full-length dress. Other
than a pair of darker leggings and sturdy boots....

Yuki nodded, not _quite_ smiling, but Haruhi was positive that she was pleased
with the idea.

Her love interest would be trickier, but Kyon could just cheat, after all.
Plus, Haruhi knew he looked good in anything, so putting him in the dapper
outfit that Ichigo usually wore.... She took a picture of the character and
then saved it to her phone; Kyon's PDA could scan it later if it came down to
it. "Hmm, I don't know if Mikuru-chan can have this ready in time to surprise
Kyon's aunt tonight ... that would be especially nice...."

Yuki hesitated before finally slowly saying, "If Mikuru is interested in such
a project, I will offer my assistance."

She smirked at that, giving Yuki a nod of approval. "Outstanding!"

* * *

Koizumi had been wandering in a happy fog ever since he'd found out that he'd
be given a chance to meet his childhood idol. His classes had passed in a
pleasant blur, and it had been a real struggle to focus on his job. But the
world of Brave Detective Sasha had always been one of his favorites, and he'd
tried to model himself after her ideals of deduction and compromise.

He found it had actually helped serve him quite well in his assigned role in
the SOS brigade in the first year.

Still, since today was the day, and he was Kyon's assistant, he tried to
gather his wits. He needed to be at his best to meet Rena-sensei!

He entered the clubroom after Haruhi had time to determine who had the
responsibility of dressing up, and was mildly surprised to see Mikuru busily
sewing away at something, while Yuki sat next to her, measuring and cutting
cloth. Kanae watched the pair of them closely, while Haruhi and Tsuruya sat
opposite the busy duo. Haruhi was reading the first of the Brave Detective
Sasha books that he had loaned Yuki, and Tsuruya was slowly leafing through
Kanae's drawings.

"Where's Kyon-kun?" he wondered aloud, taking one of the free seats after
closing the door behind him.

"I'm not sure yet," Haruhi said, glancing up from the book, then setting it
aside. "He had something to do today that--"

The door opened at just that moment, and Kyon stepped in, looking unharmed.
Ryouko was in his greatcoat pocket, her arms dangling free as she peered
around, silent for the moment.

"Successful mission?" Haruhi asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at him
appraisingly.

"Yeah," he agreed, nodding, then stiffing a yawn, and taking his seat after
setting Ryouko on the table. "I have a lot more sympathy for snipers, now...."

"Exciting stuff?" Haruhi asked eagerly, leaning forward.

"Really boring, actually," he answered, shaking his head. "Seriously -- I had
to wait three hours in stealth without moving very far."

Haruhi was taken aback, frowning. "All of that, just for three shots?"

Ryouko corrected, "Four!"

Kyon shrugged, adding, "I don't think the capture field really qualified as a
sniper shot, though."

Yuki had finished cutting cloth, so offered a quiet nod. Mikuru was still
working on the last details, completely absorbed in her work.

"Um ... I think it's really good that Sempai can handle situations like that,
even if I wish ... um ... you didn't have to..." Kanae offered hesitantly.

"For what it's worth, with as many combat capable allies as we have, I suspect
that relatively few situations should require our vice commander to unleash
his full strength," Koizumi offered.

"Well, was the team pet any use to you?" Haruhi prompted.

"What's the team pet?" Ryouko asked, turning to look around the room
curiously.

Kyon winced slightly, looking at the chibified schoolgirl standing on the
table before him. After almost a minute, she blinked, scanning across the club
members, all of which were regarding her, except for Mikuru.

"Don't feel too bad about it," Koizumi encouraged her. "There was a time when
Kyon-kun was the lowest ranked in the brigade!"

"I had to pay a lot more penalties, back then," Kyon mused. "Of course, now I
have all these neat toys!"

"I'm not a pet!" Ryouko whined.

Yuki blinked and quietly ordered, "Sit."

Ryouko promptly sat down, pouting. "If I don't you'll take away my speaking
privileges," she complained.

"Cheer up!" Tsuruya encouraged, patting Ryouko's head. "I think of you as a
chibi, not a pet!"

Kanae giggled at that, shaking her head. "Though ... um, she does look a bit
dusty, doesn't she?"

"We were laying on the top of the roof for a while, and it was very gritty,"
Kyon offered. "But, anyway, she was helpful, actually. She disrupted her past-
self's barrier."

"It was pre-determined," Ryouko chirped, shrugging helplessly.

"Done!" Mikuru cheered, looking up from her work with a bright smile. She
started slightly. "Oh! Kyon-kun! I didn't even notice you coming in!"

"You didn't miss anything," he assured her, unable to meet her eyes.

Tsuruya smirked at that, then shook her head. "It's costume change time, isn't
it?" she prompted.

"Oh, right, let me get Kyon first," Haruhi agreed, turning to look at the boy
in expectancy, holding one hand out.

With a roll of his eyes, he handed the PDA over, and Haruhi scanned an image
from her phone before punching in the commands to activate his new disguise.
He looked down at himself, and Haruhi opened her mouth to tell him what his
costume was before he said, "Ichigo, from Brave Detective Sasha, eh?"

The brigade chief bit back her explanation with a pout, before grinning.
"Yeah, now get out," she ordered, pushing Kyon from the room, but giving him
time to collect his tea.

Once he was waiting in the hall with the other male member of the brigade, the
two both checked the hallway for eavesdroppers and began a whispered
conversation as Koizumi ventured, "All things considered, you're doing well?"

"I've been a lot worse," Kyon acknowledged. "How about you?"

Koizumi smiled and shrugged. "Naturally, I'm doing quite fine; I'm truly
looking forward to meeting Ryuguu Rena-sensei!"

Kyon scratched the back of his head and frowned, gazing out the window
opposite the clubroom doors. "I feel a bit slow, but I hadn't realized how
famous Auntie Rena was until just recently," he admitted.

The esper nodded sagely. "Ryuguu Rena-sensei is incredibly secretive about her
private life," he explained. "So, beyond her name, very little is known about
her beyond the fact that many of her books are dedicated to her daughter, and
'all of her cute little nephews and nieces'. She doesn't answer personal
questions at signings or readings, either." He couldn't help but chuckle at
Kyon's wince. "Dedicated fans have searched, but had long ago concluded that
it was actually an assumed name; the closest real person to that name anyone
ever found was someone who was officially listed as 'Ryuguu Reina'."

Kyon shivered for some reason at that, frowning thoughtfully. "Somehow ...
that sounds familiar," he mused quietly.

Koizumi raised an eyebrow at that, then shrugged, dismissing it. 'Ryuguu
Reina' probably didn't matter, considering that he had finally gotten the
chance to meet the genuine article. He glanced around to ensure that the area
was clear before proceeding to the next topic of discussion.

He'd practiced with Mori a little bit ... and was actually getting to the
point where he could pick out some thoughts when he focused on someone and
attempted to 'link' with them. Unnerving as it was practicing on a willing
subject, it wasn't _half_ as alarming as the thoughts that went through that
woman's head. Still, considering that Kyon had -- once again -- been on a
mission where Koizumi had been entirely uninvolved....

"I would like to be able to stand at your side when you confront your foes at
some point," Koizumi commented. "When we faced Wataru the first time, I did
not have the option to try and ... see what he might have known. If we
confront him again, that may change. I suspect I could be able to offer more,
even from the ostensibly passive role of observer," he continued, as Kyon
turned to give him a speculative look. "Once I practice using my skills a bit
more, at least."

"Have you tried Taniguchi?" Kyon asked with a smirk. "I'm sure his mind is
filthy, but it's probably pretty simple."

Koizumi chuckled politely. "I have not," he answered, shaking his head. "The
idea of using such a power vicariously.... It seems it would be a simple trap
to fall into, and harder to escape. I have so far restrained myself to willing
subjects."

Kyon nodded at that, not looking particularly surprised. "That's commendable.
Okay, I'll ask Yuki-chan if she can include you for a training session," he
decided. "Then you'd get a relative year to practice -- maybe less if it's
hard for her to figure out how your powers work."

The esper blinked, having forgotten that particular aspect and explanation for
Kyon's skills. "Is that so?" he wondered.

The boy dressed in the western outfit from the 1920s nodded, draining the last
of his tea. "Tsuruya wanted to try it once, and Yuki-chan figured out how to
give her a chance. If it's not too much trouble, she can probably do the same
for you."

The esper nodded thoughtfully at that, offering a smile to his friend. "I
would greatly appreciate that," he admitted.

Before Kyon could answer, the door was unceremoniously wrenched open by
Haruhi, cheering with a loud, "Ta-da!"

Both boys turned to look in simultaneously, both pausing when they spotted
Yuki. Her costume as Brave Detective Sasha, looked almost perfectly spot on,
except for the absence of Sasha's eternally luminescent spots of blushing
color and smile, and Yuki's hair being a lighter color.

Koizumi thought it was cute, anyway. "That's quite charming," he remarked.

In response, Kyon reached into his coat -- though, thanks to the disguise, it
appeared he reached into his vest -- and pulled out what looked like a
faithful reproduction of Ichigo's signature improbably over-sized wrench,
propping it over one shoulder. "Time to solve another mystery, Sasha-chan?" he
asked.

Yuki nodded, answering in her almost toneless way, "Of course, Ichigo-kun."
Kyon grinned, then reached up to tip back his illusionary hat, which
obligingly moved with his hand.

Even though the vice-commander was a bit too tall for the role, compared to
Yuki's Sasha, Koizumi couldn't help but clap his approval for the duo. "Very
nice!"

Yuki looked down at her vest and skirt, then straightened and agreed,
"Mikuru's effort is worthy of praise."

The time traveler blinked at that, blushing. "O...oh, well, it's nothing--"
she demurred, before Yuki surprised her into wide-eyed silence by suddenly
giving her a hug.

"Thank you," Yuki said again, though her voice was somewhat muffled by
Mikuru's chest.

"Ah, um," Mikuru temporized, reflexively hugging Yuki back as her face almost
instantly flushed crimson, her eyes tracking across the others beseechingly.

"Cute!" Kanae and Tsuruya cheered together, as the heiress and Haruhi
simultaneously reached for their cameras.

After that, Kyon and Yuki had to pose, and Koizumi wondered at the implied
romance of the cosplaying pair. Sasha and Ichigo were somewhat of romantic
interests, but the books were very subtle about that, limiting it (so far) to
hand-holding. Rumor had it that the seventh and final volume might contain a
_kiss_, but....

Well, Haruhi seemed to like it -- if not actively demand more, so he supposed
that made a certain degree of sense.

"We should probably be heading out soon, if we don't want to be late," Kyon
finally commented, glancing at the clock.

"Right," Haruhi agreed happily, leaving her camera on the clubroom table.
Ryouko was looking at Yuki with an expression that seemed to convey confusion.
"Hmm, you don't like the cosplay?"

"I've never seen Yuki-chama in other clothes," the chibi offered.

Haruhi nodded, remarking, "It did take some doing...."

* * *

Ryuguu Rena was not terribly worried about the success of her new book. She
did enjoy the time she got to spend with her fans, and she absolutely adored
creating the worlds and stories that her characters went through. Nishinomiya
wasn't the most notable place in the world for her to have a book signing, but
Keiichi was headed there on business anyway, and Rika couldn't leave on
account of the upcoming festival in Hinamizawa.

Satoko might have gone instead, but she tried bluffing on a pair of fives when
Rena had a full house.

Her publisher had agreed to find a venue after Keiichi talked to them, and so
she'd been looking forward to the chance to see Kyon and his girlfriend.
Girlfriends, she supposed -- but she really wanted to meet more than just
Haruhi. Oh, Haruhi was likable enough -- they were all agreed on that -- but
she was curious to meet the others.

Considering the fact that Keiichi was kept busy with his work, she'd been
somewhat bored, having little to do. There were still ideas for other books
that she hadn't quite jotted down, but so far nothing had really leaped out at
her the way the premise for her first series had. Especially, she didn't want
to start writing something while traveling, though. Something about that felt
strangely like a bad idea....

She'd tried calling Kyon's house and lucked out by getting Yuuto instead of
Keiichi's sister, but there hadn't been a good chance to arrange for a visit.

Yuuto was being polite, she knew, but his wife....

Gloomy thoughts like that haunted her until Keiichi came back to their hotel
room and dismissed her worries with that patented Keiichi magic. And once she
was confident she was ready for it, he commented that he'd briefly run into
Kyon at work -- though, the nephew in question had actually been on a date, to
appearances. And while Rena _wanted_ to be happy for Kyon and wish him luck,
well ... she hadn't gotten a chance to meet all of the girls he was involved
with.

That Suzumiya girl was adorable, but Satoko and Rika had gotten to meet an
Asahina Mikuru, as well -- and everyone _but_ her had gotten a chance to meet
with Tsuruya Haruka.

Really, Rena was confident that her winning hand was just the cosmic balance
of the universe making up for that lack and letting her visit Kyon. She'd
mentioned as much to Rika, who immediately adopted that amused, 'I know more
than you', look she wore from time to time.... But then, after wearing that
face, something pleasant almost always happened to one of them, so she wasn't
_worried_ precisely....

Just a bit anxious.

The bookstore for the venue was fairly sizable, and she waited in the back
room with the store manager, who was babbling something about sales she didn't
care about. Keiichi was nearby, speaking quietly on his cell-phone, his eyes
distant as he nodded, and Rena's publicist -- Kimiyoshi Natsuki -- was
flipping through some paperwork thoughtfully, occasionally glancing through
the door to where a swelling throng of fans waited for Rena to come out for
the signing.

"Great!" Keiichi said happily. "I'll find you based on that-- See you soon!"

"Good news?" she asked anxiously, clasping her hands together.

"Great news," he assured her with a grin. "Just wait here one minute,
alright?"

Natsuki beamed a smile at him as Keiichi walked out into the crowded bookstore
without hesitation. A few short minutes later, he came back, looking amused as
he led Kyon through the doorway -- Rena couldn't help herself and immediately
seized him in a hug. "Kyon~!" she cried in delight. He was even dressed up as
Ichigo!

"Now hold her," Keiichi ordered Kyon, who looked confused but did as
instructed, hugging Rena back.

"Eh?" she managed to noise, before she spotted the incredibly cute girl
dressed up as Sasha, right next to the girl she recognized as Haruhi. "I'm
taking you home!"

* * *

Koizumi's first meeting with the legendary figure of his beloved Ryuguu Rena-
sensei was not at all what he'd anticipated. He thought from the way she'd
written that she was a coolly collected person, not the excitable and ...
energetic figure that by appearances, Kyon only _just_ managed to physically
restrain from charging at Yuki to envelop her in a hug.

Of course, the second she got free from Kyon she managed to sweep Yuki up
_anyway_.

A few moments later, she'd calmed down enough to accept introductions, and
Koizumi was pleased to finally get a chance to meet her. She raised an eyebrow
at his name, and before he even got to reach for his membership card, she
laughed softly and said, "We've exchanged several letters, haven't we, Itsuki-
kun?"

"Y...you remembered?" he asked, surprised.

She nodded at him, and the woman that Koizumi gathered was an assistant or
aide motioned Rena out to the floor proper.

"Okay," Rena allowed, nodding at her assistant. "Thank you, Natsuki-chan. My
cute little Kyon and the even cuter little Yuki-chan can sit with me while I
sign, though~! You're dressed too perfectly not to!"

"I agree!" Haruhi encouraged, grinning.

Rena smiled and waved as she led Kyon and Yuki out to the main floor of the
bookstore.

Koizumi managed to restrain himself, even though he felt an urge to join the
crowd and wait in line.... Well, he'd get more of a chance to talk to her
later, he was confident.

Sure enough, once the signing had finished, Rena returned to the back room,
unwilling to release the Sasha cosplayer from her grasp. "Too cute!" she
declared.

"Hmm," Keiichi remarked, smirking. "Alright-- Natsuki-san, I'm going to take
my nephew and his friends out to eat, would you care to join us?"

"Thats alright," the woman declined with a shake of her head. "I've got some
more paperwork to catch up on." Turning to Rena, she added, "Thank you for
your hard work, Rena-san."

Rena finally released Yuki to giggle in embarrassment before nodding back at
Natsuki. The second the woman was gone, Haruhi remarked, "I think that Kyon's
aunt Rena is very pretty -- and that Mikuru-chan will grow up to look just
like her!"

For whatever reason, Kyon choked at that, shaking his head quickly once before
suddenly becoming utterly fascinated with a floor tile.

"R...really?" Mikuru squeaked out, eyes widening. "I might be ... _that_
pretty?"

Kyon continued his intense study of whatever it was that occupied his
attention.

"I don't think she'll look a thing like me," Rena demurred, taking Mikuru's
hands in her own. "She'll be much cuter! Ah! You must never wear anything with
a low neckline; you'll steal my cute little Kyon away for sure like that!"

Tsuruya's guffaw broke what might have otherwise been an uncomfortable
silence, and Keiichi joined in, if not as heartily. "Rena-chan," he chastised
her, still smiling.

Rena pouted, then distracted herself by hugging Kanae-chan. "But you!" she
exclaimed. "This cute little kohai for my cute little Kyon!"

Kanae giggled at that, her face suffused almost as crimson as Mikuru's.

Koizumi began to wonder if his idol were bi-polar, while Haruhi merely took
dozens of pictures. Kyon looked up suddenly, as Keiichi was checking something
on his cell phone, and asked, "Ah ... Haruhi ... where did we get so many SD
cards, anyway?"

"Spoils of war," she declared without hesitation.

He gave her a stern look. "Did you steal the evidence from our investigation?"

"I appropriated resources for Brigade use," she corrected with a sniff. "Aside
from which, I gave everything _incriminating_ to the police.

After a pause, she added, "Yuki-chan formatted these for me."

Kyon pursed his lips and nodded grudging acceptance, seeming to realize that
he wouldn't win this argument.

"Ah, I can't decide!" Rena protested, still clinging to Kanae. "You're all so
perfect for my cute little Kyon!"

"Well," Keiichi said, "why don't we move this discussion somewhere we can get
something to eat? Personally, I'm famished."

"I haven't eaten since breakfast," Kyon agreed.

"My treat," Tsuruya insisted suddenly, grinning. "We're a big party, so let me
cover it!"

"Oh, I can't possibly allow that," Rena insisted, shaking her head quickly.
"It's so cute that you'd offer, though~! Ah, no -- you came for my signing,
let me treat you!"

Tsuruya opened her mouth to protest, and Keiichi commented, "Really, whichever
of you accepts the responsibility is going to write it off as a business
expense on taxes later, right?"

Koizumi was mildly surprised to see both Rena and Tsuruya nod guiltily.

"Well, the same goes for me," he said with a grin, shrugging. "So, allow me,
instead."

Rena pouted, but Tsuruya acquiesced. "If you can get a free meal from your
lawyer, it's a good day," she acknowledged, eyes sparkling.

"Well," Kyon remarked, still in his 'Ichigo' costume, "you're almost family,
Tsuruya-kun, considering that we're engaged."

"Eh," Rena managed, blinking once as her smile hardened, seeming suddenly more
like a mask than the genuine article.

"Y...you're engaged?" Keiichi asked, his humor draining away, replaced with
surprise before his face fell, and he slapped a hand to his forehead. "Oh,
damn.... Imouto.... She thought she was doing you a favor, huh?"

Kyon nodded, his own smile fading. "Mom didn't.... Didn't even tell you?"

Rena very gently pushed Kanae toward Mikuru, giving her a soft pat on the head
before drawing herself to her full height and giving Keiichi a sharp look.
"Kei-chan, we need to speak with--"

"Ah-- No," he said, shaking his head and overriding her before she could
finish. "Rena-chan, I think that needs to wait until we're back in
Hinamizawa."

Rena's right hand began to curl, perhaps into a fist, and she seemed to stop
herself with an obvious display of will, grabbing the palm of her right hand
in the fingers of her left and rubbing at it. "Um ... writer's cramp," she
said apologetically, offering a much weaker smile.

"Ah, if that's something that's bothering you, it shouldn't," Haruhi said,
shaking her head. "We've already accounted for that interference."

"Pardon?" Koizumi couldn't help but wonder.

Kyon returned to studying his fascinating floor tile. Keiichi raised an
eyebrow, fighting harder and harder to resist snickering as he scanned across
the others in the room, who were all blushing, with the exception of Yuki and
Haruhi.

"Time for dinner, then," Keiichi determined, opening the rear exit and
gesturing the group through. "There's an udon place down the street that's
supposed to be really good!"

"Right!" Haruhi declared, grinning at Tsuruya. "So let's have fun!"

"Everyone should just have fun!" the heiress agreed.

* * *

After everyone had eaten, a few hours had been lost to pleasant chatter. Once
Rena had gotten over how 'cute' everyone was, she seemed to calm down a bit.
She had engaged Koizumi in discussion over the course of the evening, and had
proven surprisingly insightful, considering her initial, somewhat flighty
behavior.

Kanae was still puzzling out what to make of the woman, beyond a general good
impression for both facets of her behavior. Everyone had a good time, at least
-- just as the older girls had insisted.

In step with her, Mikuru held her free hand as they walked to her apartment.

"You're sure you won't be in any trouble?" the taller girl wondered. "Um, that
... no one will see?"

"I picked out a really good spot to the side of the house that no one ever
goes to," Kanae replied confidently. "So I'll just jump back from your place."

Mikuru nodded, offering a smile to the smaller girl. "I'm a bit envious," she
admitted. "I can't do that sort of thing without permission, but you can," she
trailed off with a giggle, then continued, "'jump' wherever you like. That
must be nice!"

Thinking of the only places she'd used her ability so far, she nodded eagerly.
"It's much better than the, erm, alternative. I really, really like this
world! I'm so lucky to have Sempai, and Suzumiya-sempai is so brave, and
Tsuruya-san and Mikuru-onee, too!" she agreed. "And especially Nagato-san....
She's kind of scary and amazing at the same time, you know?" she asked,
blushing in embarrassment.

"I understand exactly," Mikuru replied, giving the slider a warm smile. "Now,
Kyon-kun knew this before anyone else ... but Yuki-chan is a very sweet girl.
She just needs people to look a little beneath the surface!"

Kanae's face reddened as she considered her recently growing ... nearness ...
to Yuki in their sleeping arrangements. Hmm, she wondered what her sempai
would think if she suggested that Yuki-chan swap the slider for the time
traveler some night.... Though, it would be difficult to bring herself to
actually give up a night of that on her own. She resolved herself to at least
bring up the idea with the quiet but powerful girl; really, it did seem a
_little_ unfair not to share her time with her sempai with the other girls....

"Well, I promise to try and make it so that everyone benefits from what I can
do as much as possible," Kanae decided. Yes, she realized, this was a good
plan; Suzumiya-sempai would surely approve, and so would Tsuruya!

That thought in mind, Kanae saw the time traveler to her apartment, where she
was insistently ushered inside. "It's safer in here, with only myself to see
you leave like this," her self-proclaimed older sister warned her, smiling.

Kanae agreed and waved goodbye, but before she could leave, Mikuru gave her a
hug, and then a soft kiss on the forehead. "Take care, imouto-chan!" she
chirped.

The slider dazedly managed to nod, forgetting her plan to return home and
instead jumping straight to Yuki.

She felt the space between her and Yuki snap together -- pinched and contorted
a little, instead of tearing it open like she needed to in order to slide --
and shifted herself to the other side of the field. The second she did, her
control over the bridge collapsed, and instead of letting it fade neatly, it
snapped shut, catapulting her at an odd angle across the space she'd just
entered.

A cry of alarm began to escape her before she stopped as abruptly as she'd
been flung, suspended over the floor of Yuki's washroom mid-sprawl, her hands
a few centimeters from the tiles. The other girl, for her part, was sitting in
the bathtub with a book in one hand, her legs dangling over the side to
balance the heat of the water against the coolness of the air. From her angle,
Kanae's face was _just_ high enough to make out the form of Ryouko's tiny
self, wearing an absurdly cute swimming-ring and paddling around the side of
the bath that Yuki wasn't using.

Most importantly, Yuki was directing a palm toward the slider, evidently
responsible for preventing her collision with the floor.

"Um," Kanae managed, blinking, stuck for the moment in mid-air. "I-I-- I
really should have called in advance?" she squeaked out apologetically.

Ryouko splashed suddenly, only just then seeming to notice the slider's
presence. "Ah!" she gasped. "An intruder! I'll protect Yuki-cha--"

Yuki tossed her book to the floor near Kanae, and used her newly freed hand to
grab Ryouko and plunge her beneath the water, whereupon a suffusion of bubbles
began to well upward. "I felt it inadvisable to allow her to wash with him,"
the girl offered softly in explanation, not _quite_ meeting Kanae's eyes.
"Also, the space around this dwelling has several defensive modifications in
place; while you are welcome here, you are correct that you should call
first."

She paused, then Kanae's position righted itself and she found herself set
gently on the floor, standing upright. She hurriedly removed her shoes,
incidentally averting her eyes as Yuki rose from the water, simultaneously
allowing Ryouko to gasp, greedily sucking air in from her extended immersion.
"Yuki-chama..." Ryouko panted, her tiny eyes all swirly. "So ... cruel...."

By the time Kanae looked up, Yuki was already out of the tub, releasing the
plug to drain and then totally ignoring the tiny figure, which wailed and
paddled frantically to reach the tiny swimming ring as though it were a life-
preserver.

"Um...."

"It is fine," Yuki insisted.

A few minutes later, Yuki was redressed, sitting with Kanae in the front room.
Distantly, the slider was confident that she could hear the sound of
incredibly tiny hands scrabbling at the interior of the bathroom tub, trying
desperately to escape, but Yuki was pointedly ignoring it.

"Erm," Kanae managed, nervously playing with the cup of tea that Yuki had
given her, not tasting it yet, "I w...wanted to suggest that maybe we, er ...
you and I, that is ... should take turns and let the others spend time with,
um, Sempai, too?"

Yuki nodded slowly, her eyes still largely unreadable to the slider.
"Understood." She paused. "Asakura Ryouko does not have to be included in this
rotation."

Kanae blinked, not really certain what to make of that. Well.... "That's
probably fine by Sempai, too!"

"Good," Yuki decided, allowing the tiniest of smiles.

* * *

Even though everything seemed to have calmed down, Sasaki was still uneasy.
The idea of seeing Kyon in a few days wasn't nearly as reassuring as it should
be; she was almost confident her associates were planning some strange trap
for her friend. She may not be able to understand all the nuances of Kyon's
job as an organized criminal, and she was slightly embarrassed to realize that
as willing as she was to accept his assistance ... she didn't really _want_ to
know the details of what he did.

He seemed just and reliable, and she couldn't bear to imagine him being little
more than a thug.

Then again, considering how the people who wanted to call themselves her
_friends_ behaved....

Kuyou had been around much less lately, strangely seeming to fade into and out
of Sasaki's focus, though she had completely vanished for a few days on
Monday, not making another appearance until Thursday. It wasn't until she was
headed to her Saturday session of cram school that she appeared suddenly from
the crowd to walk at Sasaki's side.

"At the node of _____________, remain ______ his ambit," she announced
abruptly, staring forward and matching the other girl step-for-step, the
others on the street seeming oblivious to her presence and odd manner of
speech, as always.

"Ah.... Kuyou," Sasaki returned, frowning. "By 'his' you mean Kyon?" She
didn't really understand what Kuyou meant by 'ambit', though. Did Kyon control
a territory she should try and stay within? That would make a good deal of
sense. Or was it simpler, and she was just saying that Sasaki should try and
stay _near_ Kyon? That made sense, too....

Kuyou nodded before she turned to look at someone emerging from the crowd,
waving eagerly at the pair of them. "Ah, Kunikida-kun," Sasaki recalled,
nodding at the boy. Come to think of it, he was classmates with Kyon still,
wasn't he?

"H...hey, Sasaki-chan," he panted, catching his breath from his jog.

She gave him a small, polite smile, not appreciating the diminutive honorific
from him, but restraining herself from pointing it out. That much honesty
could be a bit painful for some people if she spoke it too easily.

He shook his head to dismiss something, looking sidelong at her. "Ah, we....
We have a practice test on Tuesday, and I've actually been trying to compete
with you; last time our scores were very close! Wouldn't it be something if we
were the two highest scores?"

It would be a statistic, she didn't reply. Instead, she answered, "I suppose
it might. Hmm, Kunikida-kun, you're still classmates with Kyon, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Kunikida answered with a sigh, slumping a little. "He's sure getting
popular...."

Sasaki giggled. "Jealous?" she teased, which actually made Kunikida flush
guiltily. "That's silly, though. Kyon's engaged, and while he might be on
occasion weak-willed, I couldn't see him cheating on someone. He couldn't hurt
someone he cared for like that."

Kunikida was so distracted by her comment that he actually walked face-first
into a utility pole, rebounding and sitting dazedly on the sidewalk in a heap,
grimacing. "K...Kyon's _engaged_? He and Suzumiya-- When did this happen?" he
burst out suddenly, drawing attention from everyone passing by, and pressing
one hand to his nose.

"I would have expected that too, but he's engaged to that older girl -- ah,
Tsuruya-san, was it?"

Kunikida's eyes widened even further, and Sasaki winced internally. If this
was something Kyon had avoided letting around at school, she might have just
ruined that.

"Ah-- Well, perhaps they were playing a prank when they told me," she quickly
said, forcing a smile. Where had Kuyou run off to, anyway? She bit back a
sigh. "At any rate, on the chance that it _was_ a joke, it would probably be
for the best not to mention it -- especially if he hasn't said anything about
it himself."

Kunikida nodded doubtfully and hesitated a moment, almost seemingly expectant
of something before he sighed and climbed to his feet again. "I can't really
keep up with what he does these days," he said. "But honestly ... he is
becoming quite popular, even if he seems not to realize it. For certain, if
the rumors are true, then he's got quite a following for saving the girls of
our school from major embarrassment.

"Well.... Even if it's an unorthodox method, his way of attracting weird girls
to him seems to have worked out in the end; people like us, though, will need
to pursue a real education to be successful."

She pursed her lips and offered a dubious nod. She wasn't really looking for
it, but as obvious as Kunikida was at this point.... Well, at least he hadn't
worked his way up to confessing, she supposed. In a sense, she realized that
he might think he was being clever; being Kyon's friend, if Kyon had talked to
_anyone_ after she'd accidentally hurt him, it probably would have been
Kunikida.

And Kunikida, he was fairly clever. Did he think that by playing smarter, he
could walk in Kyon's footsteps and figure out how to 'succeed' where Kyon
hadn't? Of course ... Kunikida didn't know how wrong she realized she was in
the first place.

No; she had to cut this off before it became problematic. Aside from which,
Kunikida could easily become a victim of the web that she herself was snared
in. Kyon, at least, was strong enough to be indifferent to it, but making
things difficult for him by needing him to protect yet another person....

"The way you say that ... Kyon seems remarkable enough to succeed without
education?" she wondered. "Somehow, I don't believe that his mother would
agree." Not from what she remembered of the woman, anyway.

She'd thought Kyon's mother liked her, commenting that she was a positive
influence on Kyon's study habits. Her own mother was convinced of that, at
least. It didn't help that her mother had a habit of constantly wondering
aloud what had happened to her old study partner.

"Well, I meant more to say that he's got enough people worried about him that
he should be fine," Kunikida mumbled, looking away.

"I have to admit, I'm one of those people," she sighed. "Ever since he was
injured for that thing you mentioned earlier...."

"M...maybe we could discuss more pleasant topics?" he suggested, managing a
hopeful smile.

She nodded graciously, glancing down the street, at the entrance to the cram
school building. "I remember when Kyon and I used to come this same route for
cram school," she sighed, pretending to be a little more wistful than she
actually was. Strange how easily that came to her. "I'd ride on the back of
his bicycle...." Only, now that she'd brought it up, she _did_ miss those
memories....

It was mostly scary at first, her hanging on, uncertain of her grip and
terrified of bouncing off to fall into the street. After a week or so, she'd
become adjusted to it, confident that she could hold on with one hand, and
close her eyes, trusting in Kyon to pedal the pair of them safely through the
dark. There was only one incident where something went wrong -- and it wasn't
so bad.

Either a rock or a curb -- she wasn't certain -- but something had caused the
wheel to turn almost exactly ninety degrees instantly. The bicycle flipped
over, throwing the pair of them into a pile on the lawn at the side of the
path. Kyon was grumbling about skinning an elbow and bruising himself, but
what Sasaki had noticed most was that while they were flung free, her trust
had been rewarded; somehow, he'd managed to twist around, making sure he
landed on his back, but cushioned the blow for her.

For a very brief moment, she'd thought he'd done it on purpose, some juvenile
attempt at getting a hug, or maybe even trying to feel her up-- Though, he
didn't do that at all, actually. Almost immediately, she dismissed that. She
and Kyon were _friends_; that was all. He'd proven that by trying to take care
of her....

And again more recently.

"Sasaki-chan?" Kunikida asked, waving a hand before her worriedly.

"Ah," she started, shaking her head, realizing she'd come to a stop before the
bicycle rack in front of the cram school. "S...sorry, my mind was
elsewhere...."

"Are you alright?" he asked, frowning even more deeply.

"Just old regrets ... nothing important," she assured him, trying to force her
smile again. Though.... It might be a little cruel -- both to Kunikida, and in
the long run, herself, but....

"Kunikida-kun ... could I ask you for a favor?" she wondered.

"Anything," he replied immediately, perking up slightly.

She pointedly pretended not to notice, asking, "Since you see Kyon so much,
could you ask him for a more recent picture? The only one I have of him is a
bit older." From before they'd actually become closer in cram school, as it so
happened. And while she probably _could_ ask Kyon directly, she didn't want to
give him the wrong idea; the whole thing was naturally just for Kunikida's
benefit, to save him a more painful rejection later.

That was all.

Risking a sidelong glance, she caught the shorter boy's pained flinch. "Ah....
Y...yeah. I can ask him for a more recent picture," he agreed with a sigh. "Um
... I'll see you after class, maybe?"

She nodded, warning him, "I'll be skipping cram school on Monday -- I'm
meeting with some friends." Admittedly, she wasn't sure which of her
associates were actually friends at the moment. Kuyou was probably on that
list, and Kyon absolutely was. Fujiwara she was still less certain about,
though at least he was genuinely trying.

There wasn't any question about Kyouko, who Sasaki had successfully avoided
for almost a week, now.

"Tuesday, then," he said, offering a wan smile.

"Tuesday," she agreed.