# Kyon: Big Damn Hero

## The Open Battle Arc V

### Chapter Forty Eight: Resonance Cascade (part two)

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 so is every part of this fic
that isn't the property of someone else. For example: Additional characters
are borrowed from Higurashi, which is the creation of Ryukishi07, and Half
Life 2, which is the property of Valve.

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

Also: Nonoko's theme song is Credens Justitiam for this chapter, as she is a
firm believer in justice! Wataru's battle theme is Fires of Hokkai.

* * *

"Second Chorus: Intensity"

"Intensity is a measure that can indicate when scale has slipped control and
the force being applied to the situation has exceeded or diminished beyond the
proper volumes. Misunderstanding this can have severe repercussions."

"Perspective" -- LP-MK:SK Memetic String (-working translation-)

* * *

Surrounded, and seeing no valid escape routes, Kyon grit his teeth at the
incoming projectiles, trying to shield Kuyou and the cat she cradled in her
arms with his own body. He heard something -- a shrill, _very_ familiar voice
rasping an excited, "Shining Seal -- Project!"

A flash of light blinded him even as the first flechette slammed into his
shoulder, not piercing his flesh thanks to the skinsuit but still delivering
all of its force. The impact numbed his entire arm almost instantly, only
allowing him to keep his balance thanks to the gravity manipulation devices in
his skinsuit. The glowing, two-pronged dart fell to his feet, exploding -- and
nearly knocking him off balance anew.

He improbably managed to keep his feet, staring in surprise at the incoming
flechettes -- which were freezing in place in the air before him, then
vanishing in bright flashes of nothing. He looked at the ground, almost
flinching away in recognition of the glowing circle there.

The interdiction field ... so if he touched that, he'd be frozen in place. He
scowled, turning to look at his savior--

He felt a shiver run through him, an instant of an incredibly unfamiliar
emotion filling him before he felt himself grow hot, and then intensely,
almost _overwhelmingly_ calm.

His sister had a manic, gleeful grin on her face as she waved around a rod
with a red gem at the tip. Her weapon was a gleaming sphere, surrounded by a
golden crescent, offset by the shining white and blue outfit she was wearing.
Her cheer wasn't even slightly diminished by the fact that she was being
carried by Haruhi.

He'd never seen Haruhi look so anxious or scared before, but then, he'd never
seen her with blood on her face, either. The older girl looked as though she'd
taken a blow to the face, her clothing disheveled and singed, her nose and
upper lip marked with still-drying red stains. A distant part of his mind
noticed that Haruhi was flying -- he'd have to ask her about that later.

The glowing balls of light were new, too, but watching them catch flechettes,
and then Haruhi fling them back, he thought he understood what they were for.
All around him, the robots exploded, many of them because Haruhi was flinging
them at one another as she finally landed to one side of the circle he was
stuck in.

Still at Haruhi's side, but giving him a cheerful wink despite her flushed
face, Nonoko gleefully cried, "Radiant Buster!" A blast of brilliant energy
shot out in a twisted braid, the strands seeming to come together as they
touched on a robot -- causing it to detonate in a familiar spray of sparks and
components.

The lanterns following Haruhi were a massive cloud, whirling around the three
of them, providing them all some measure of cover. "Nonoko!" Haruhi yelled,
concentrating, raising entire ten meter square sections of the earth straight
from the ground, then slamming them down on the robots swarming across the
field, "Let Kyon out! You need to give him his gear!"

"Yes!" Ryouko wailed, evoking a furiously hot spark of something that Kyon
rapidly shoved down. "You have to disable the interdiction field and give
Kyon-kun his equipment!"

"No!" the girl countered, shaking her head. "I can do this! This is a magical
girl's test of courage!"

"It's not!" Haruhi protested, raising another section of earth -- the field
was rapidly becoming a twisted jumble of overturned soil around them. The next
screen of incoming flechettes was absorbed by her barrier, and then she shoved
it back below the ground before they detonated. "This isn't a game, Imouto!
This is dangerous!"

"I know!" Nonoko gave a bright, confident smile. "That's okay! I understand! I
used to be afraid, and need Kyon-kun to be strong! But I'm not left out; I'm
not alone!

"So, I'm not afraid of _anything_ anymore!"

As if to underscore that remark, a stray flechette broke through their
combined defenses, narrowly missing the top of Nonoko's head, and in fact
catching a few stray hairs, leaving them to drift down to the girl's side in
an absurdly slow counterpoint. Kyon felt his hands tremble in response to
that, and forced himself to still and not squeeze Kuyou too tightly.

"See!?" Haruhi cried. "Just let Kyon take care of things, Imouto!"

"No! It's a test!" Nonoko countered, shooting Haruhi a scowl, ignoring the
narrow miss. "_You_ get to be a magical girl, so--"

"It is a test," Kyon agreed, before she could continue. Haruhi gave him a
stare of horrified confusion. Nonoko broke off from her argument and gave him
a look of surprise. Perhaps most strangely of all, even Ryouko looked aghast
at him--

He put her out of his mind. Oh, he'd be talking with Ryouko later.... They
would absolutely be having words, after this. But for that moment, his
attention was focused on his sister.

"Nonoko ... this is not a magical girl's test of _courage_."

"W...what?" she asked, confused.

Haruhi cursed and turned her attention to raising another rampart of soil
around them to repel the next wave of attacking robots.

"Imouto," Kyon said, his voice as gentle as he could manage, putting on the
bright, reassuring smile he hadn't shown her since she'd woken him up crying
about a nightmare, long ago. "This is a magical girl's test of _trust_."

He hoped that would work -- would convince her to let him out, so he could try
and keep her safe. He couldn't afford to be trapped, while she was out there
in so much danger!

She stared at him for a stunned, blank moment. "A test of trust?" she asked,
bewildered. "What.... But, I do trust you! It's you who don't trust _me_!" She
shook her head fiercely. "If you trust in me, everything's going to be okay!"

"No!" he cried out, shaking his head, his vision blurring. "Listen-- You're--
I made the same mistake you're making right now, Imouto!" He bit his tongue,
unsure of what else to say.

The girl stepped backward, half-stumbling. "W...what?" she asked, looking to
Haruhi for support.

"I...it's true!" she agreed, wincing. "Kyon ... and even me-- We've been too
sure we could do it alone, before, and not relied on others when we should
have. It's a test of trust -- that's right. But it's a test of trust that
other people really can handle things, Nonoko -- this is something Kyon has
done before!

"We have to work together, and trust one another to do that, right?"

"W...we do!" Nonoko agreed fiercely. "And I trust you, Haru-nee! And I trust
Kyon-kun--"

"Do you trust him enough to let him fight on his own?" Haruhi interrupted,
putting a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder. "He's not a magical girl, so he
needs his equipment back -- and right now, you've got a fever! Are you sure
you're doing the right thing?"

"I-- I feel fine!" Nonoko protested.

"Imouto..." Kyon tried more gently, having had a moment to think about it. "If
you want to earn my trust, then, please, don't try and force it like this.
You're right -- I haven't trusted you enough in the past. But this isn't the
right way to do it -- and you know that. Are you really earning my trust when
you don't listen to me?"

She stared at him in stunned amazement, her eyes slowly widening, filling with
tears as her confidence flagged and guttered out like a candle in a fierce
wind. "I.... I'm not trusting you because I'm not listening to what you say?"
she asked, clear drops spilling from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks.

"We all depend on our allies!" Haruhi agreed. "We work together -- trying to
get into a fight just because you haven't, to prove yourself.... Nonoko, you
have to trust Kyon handle this -- he's taken care of things like this before!"

"B...but," the girl sniffled, shaking her head. "I want to help!"

Kyon nodded, still giving her that reassuring smile. "We all want to help,
Imouto. I can only tell you this because I've learned from my mistakes. So,
why don't you try and learn from me, and not make your own mistake? For now
... you're not ready to handle this on your own. Leave it to your big brother
and sister, alright?"

Nonoko shifted her shoulders, her eyes watering. With obvious reluctance, she
gave a hesitant nod, her hands trembling. "O...okay," she agreed, sniffling
again before shakily pointing the wand at him. "Shining Seal -- Release!"

With that cry, the interdiction field vanished. Kuyou was levitated from his
hands almost instantly -- he presumed by Haruhi -- so wasted no time sweeping
his sister into his arms. "You can trust me, right?" he asked her.

She sniffled and gave him another nod, managing a smile as she handed over the
wand in her hands. "...and you'll you trust me, too?" she asked, her voice
cracking.

He felt like someone had driven something into his heart, but kept his smile
anyway, hugging her even more tightly. "I promise," he swore.

* * *

Haruhi was _not_ having fun. Kyon was okay, thanks to -- of all people _his
sister_ -- and he'd somehow talked the little girl out of attacking the slider
robots head-on. That didn't change the fact that her nose still hurt, her
clothing was ruined, and that they were surrounded by aggressive hunter-bots!

"Absolutely, Imouto; anything to keep you safe," he agreed. Haruhi shivered
again at his voice, and focused on keeping the defensive barriers in place,
gently levitating Kuyou to the ground. The girl stood steadily, still holding
Shamisen in her arms, her dark eyes fixed on Haruhi.

"Imouto," he said, as the girl's costume vanished in a scintillating pattern
of triangles, revealing his greatcoat. "This girl is Suou Kuyou. I want you to
help her and Shamisen out for now, okay?"

"Okay," she said, shrugging out of the coat, which he quickly slipped back on.
"Thank you ... Nii-san."

Haruhi felt her heart skip a beat, remembering the significance of that phrase
to Kyon. Hadn't he complained to her once that more than anything, he wanted
her to call him that again? As she watched, she was certain that some of the
anger Kyon wasn't showing had been dimmed by that. At least briefly, some
small part of his smile became more genuine, before he turned to her. "Haruhi,
I'm sorry to ask this; can you buy me some time?"

"Yeah," she answered immediately, practically tripping over herself to
reassure him.

Haruhi was watching for it, and had to wince at the way he didn't _quite_ look
at Ryouko, hovering anxiously between him and his sister. Taking a deep
breath, he flipped first one, and then the second of his slider weapons into
the air. While they were spinning upward, before they began to fall, he
declared, "Activating Gungnir."

Haruhi's eyes widened as the pair of cylinders, mid-tumble, lined up on their
long axis and suddenly snapped together, their joining edges opening up and
revealing a complicated swarm of tiny gears, glowing leads, and other strange
connections. They merged seamlessly, but before they even fell a centimeter
further, Kyon slammed the hilt of his beam-saber into it.

Even though she was still worrying about incoming fire, Haruhi had to admit
that the display was impressive. The hilt sank seamlessly into the mass as
Kyon released it, and then ... it transformed. Kyon didn't hesitate to snatch
the weapon once it had finished shifting, though Haruhi couldn't quite figure
out what it _was_.

The weapon was very like a spear, with a narrow shaft that was as long as Kyon
was tall -- but instead of the bladed tip of a spear, the malmetal had formed
into a largely triangular structure, struts, narrow guidance fins and ... were
those exhaust ports?

They _were_!

He thrust the pole-arm into the air, and the tip of it launched skyward,
vanishing into a silver streak and disappearing from sight, leaving only a
twinkle to suggest where it had gone, soaring away on a brief, almost
invisible jet of some heat-less force.

The shaft remained in his hand, collapsing into something much smaller --
something that to Haruhi looked like nothing so much as a pair of binoculars.
"What did you just do?" she wondered.

"Setting up," he answered, peering through his viewfinder. "Yuki and I
designed this function hoping I would never have to use it."

Rearranging the earthen walls around them to prevent any of the hunter robots
from climbing atop and having the perfect angle to fire down at them, Haruhi
shivered slightly. She didn't like hearing Kyon say such things! But ... if
there ever was a situation that called for it....

Trying to inject some levity into the situation, she asked, "So, you have a
spellcard, too? Divine Spear - 'Spear the Gungnir'!"

"That's right," he agreed absently, fiddling with the viewfinder in his hands,
occasionally raising it to his eyes and scanning around, even though they were
surrounded by high walls of packed soil.

"H...how does it work?" she wondered, pulling Nonoko close to her, while the
young girl watched attentively.

"Multiple lock-on confirmed!" Ryouko exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Targeting
queue is at one thousand, three hundred thirty seven locks of a possible sixty
five thousand, five hundred thirty five!"

"Fire," he ordered, as Haruhi stared upward in amazement, and Nonoko allowed
an awed gasp. From further away than they could see, whatever Kyon's weapons
had turned into glowed like a brilliant red sun, shedding out visible rays in
all directions. Even if they couldn't actually see it, the source of the
spearing light beams was obvious.

It took Haruhi a moment to realize that it was actually firing down in a very
narrow cone, with them in the middle, evidently a 'safe' zone. All around
them, the earth shook with impacts -- and the now familiar sounds of exploding
robots.

"Basically, it's just like a satellite that floats up high enough to pick a
charge off any of the ambient electrical forces that Yuki-chan told me were in
the atmosphere," he explained. "It can anchor itself against the magnetosphere
and stay there. Then, I tell it where to fire."

He shrugged, flipping the small device in his hand around until it became a
pole again, setting the base against the ground as the storm of descending
energy finally abated.

"If there was ever a situation that called for beam-spam, that was it!" Haruhi
exclaimed, lowering the walls she had raised cautiously, almost crying out in
joy to see that the entire army of robots had been reduced to rubble, not one
left standing within their sight. Then, too, the ground was steaming, marked
with craters and blast marks -- between her constantly shoving the soil
around, and Kyon's attack ... it looked like a ruined hellscape, not the track
of their school.

Suddenly, she could understand Kyon's reluctance to use power instead of
talking things out.

He grunted in response as there was a solid, metallic impact -- she whipped
her head around, but all she saw was that the firing component of Kyon's
weapon had returned -- now smoking strangely. Not smoking, she realized in
amazement; it was so cold it was causing vapor to steam off it!

"Altair and Vega are completely tapped out, now," he said sourly. "So, no
shields, and no real ranged attacks -- outside of throwing rocks." The weapon
flipped out of Kyon's hand, splitting apart the same way it had formed. He
snatched the sword hilt from the jumble, then grabbed each of the cylinders,
wincing when ice formed across his skinsuit gloves before he could stow them
in his pockets.

"You named them ... that?" Haruhi asked, her heart skipping a beat as she felt
twin spots of heat on her face.

He took a deep breath, then met her eyes, giving her a small smile and placing
one hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright, Haruhi? You've got blood on your
face."

She squeaked and shook her head furiously. "I-- I'm fine! I just smacked my
nose!" she insisted.

Oh, when the mood was better, she was going to ask him more about when he'd
named those weapons -- but before that, she had to keep him from being any
more worried about her or his sister.

"It's nothing!" She couldn't help raising a hand to rub at the dried blood
over her lip.

His smile widened slightly, still not reaching his eyes. "Of course," he
answered calmly. He turned his attention back to the school building -- or
what was left of it.

Haruhi realized with dismay that the dust had begun to settle, and now ...
there was nothing left of Kitago's main structure that resembled a proper
building. The bulk of it was smashed beneath the monumental ... thing that had
dropped through the portal whirling overhead, and what few parts of the school
that hadn't been crushed had collapsed anyway.

"Impressive!" Wataru shouted, from atop the nearest pile of rubble, as the
dust cleared. "Not bad for a monkey! That's the first time you've done
anything yourself, Kyon! I thought all you could do was hide behind girls!"

Haruhi gritted her teeth, scowling, and punched upward into the empty air
before her -- simultaneously jerking the large, flat piece of rubble he was
standing on away from the pile, launching it into the overhead structure.

The slider released a satisfying yelp of alarm as he fell off his perch,
slipping toward a jagged pile of debris. Before he struck it, he suddenly
slowed, his body briefly surrounded by the same green, protective field that
had shielded him from her earlier blast. The glow remained until he scrambled
to his feet, ignoring the concrete that powdered itself to rubble on the wall
of the structure behind him. Kyon stared at Wataru with an expression Haruhi
couldn't recognize -- except to know that she didn't like it.

"Impressive!" Wataru called again, shaking his head as he picked his way down
his rubble pile. "But nothing you -- or I -- do matters here! You can't save
your world, you know!"

Kyon huffed a short breath, then retorted, "Are you so sure that just because
you failed to save your world, I will too?"

Haruhi's eyes widened as Wataru's cocky grin was instantly replaced with a
hateful sneer. "I _saved_ my world!" the other boy screamed, whipping one of
his weapons from his holster, bringing up a cylinder that shifted into a sleek
black weapon, marked with red highlights. "I bargained to save my people!"

"How many of the people of your world are still around?" Kyon countered almost
instantly. "I get it -- I see it, now. You fight so hard for your sister
because after everything else they took away, she's the last piece you can
chase -- isn't she!"

"That's a _lie_!" Wataru roared, eyes blazing as he fired his weapon. Haruhi's
defensive orbs swarmed the incoming fire, soaking up the bursts more easily
than the hunters' flechettes, or the taller robot's massive beam. He paused
for a second, halting the rapid-fire spray, then pulled a different trigger.

Haruhi tried to keep herself ready for almost anything. When a solid,
pulsating sphere of golden energy -- smaller than her own, but radiating with
unstable power -- launched from the weapon, she was actually startled to
realize her first attempt at countering it worked. Telekinesis allowed her to
hold the thing in place effortlessly, instead of letting it fly toward her,
Kyon, and Nonoko. For a heartbeat, she was tempted to fling the trembling orb
of pulsating energy back at Wataru, as he stared in confusion ... but instead,
she stared straight at him as she launched it at the building behind him.

Even he turned to watch open-mouthed, the unstable orb launched into the giant
blue structure -- and rebounded with a strange noise, almost like a low squeak
of some sort, before it abruptly burst in midair, evidently harmlessly.

When her eyes turned back to Wataru, the boy was trembling, reaching for his
next weapon only to have his hand caught in Kuyou's-- No, the _other_ Kuyou,
Haruhi realized, frowning. This one had no ribbon in her hair. Her eyes fixed
on Wataru, and her discordant voice -- carrying across the distance even
though she didn't raise it -- announced, "Go ... home. No ... use ... here."

"So, you're just a pawn like everyone else," Kyon deduced, shaking his head.
"I don't believe those allies of yours are planning on helping you, Wataru.
Really ... if you want to save anyone, you should be joining us. Listen ...
you want to protect your sister, right?"

Wataru offered a stiff, angry nod in answer.

One of Kyon's hands went to Nonoko's shoulder. "I do understand when you have
to protect people close to you, Wataru. I just think you're going about it the
wrong way. Really ... we're not so different, you and I," he concluded.

Haruhi blinked, and Wataru's anger lessened, giving way to confusion before
his eyes went to Nonoko -- and comprehension dawned. Giving a bitter laugh, he
remarked, "Then ... you'll never give up. And you'll understand why I can't,
either."

With that, he let himself fall backward into a tear in space that opened
around him. The other Kuyou released his hand and let him vanish, turning her
attention back to her counterpart. Her dark eyes blinked languidly, betraying
no emotion.

"Synchronize," she demanded, one hand reaching toward her counterpart, not
taking a step across the meters separating them.

* * *

The strain against the Chorus had fluctuated around them, sometimes lessening,
sometimes increasing. After Kyon had rained precisely delivered bolts of
plasma on the surrounding attack synthetics, the pressure against Kuyou
lessened, allowing her to focus on the environment.

The Other had paused her assault for the moment, trying to observe her, but
unable to see into that precious core of 'memory.' Kuyou's own false
observations spun away, diffusing into the enormity of the resonation that the
Other maintained within her.

Kuyou's eyes blinked, that tiny part of her body slowly closing and re-
opening, forcing a re-trigger of her perceptions and double-checking. And then
again.

The Other represented something alien, and Kuyou felt an unpleasant resonation
within her to recognize some small parts of it anyway. That Other wanted to
force her to its will, and she had to resist, somehow. It was pre-determined
that she not merge ... not become synchronized.

Even so, she could tell that the Other was preparing a renewed assault.

The memetics that Kyon had delivered to the smaller entity that shared some
genetic and behavioral features with him were mutated, as the smaller entity
delivered back unexpectedly:

"Y...you're a fairy person, too, right? Just like her?" She pointed to the
other entity that Kuyou had focused most of her recent observations on. More
than just 'memory', there were the resonant memetics, there. "Don't you have
more power when you don't spend your strength to keep a larger form? You can
trust Nii-san and Achakura to take care of you, even when you're small!"

Kuyou turned her attention and focus away from the Other, instead orienting
her observations on Kyon's younger sister. She was no longer wrapped in the
same defensive structures she had been using earlier, and her force
manipulation tools had been returned to Kyon -- but her memetic imprint still
retained significant potential. It was the strand she had been looking for,
provided by him, changed by her, allowing her the escape she had sought.

As the Other chose that moment to resume the attack, she opened herself up to
it, allowing the other to try to synchronize with her, even as she
synchronized herself to Ryouko. A complex loop of memetics from the other
entity that Kyon's sister now clutched in her hands resonated as she aligned,
her perceptions and bounds shifting.

Blinking at her double, she offered a polite smile. "I will not allow you to
harm this human," she told the Other. "I am in love with him," she added,
feeling sudden, deeper understanding of what that concept entailed from
Ryouko's memetic library, and applying that meaning to herself more fully than
she had before.

Challenging the disruptive Other, she concluded, "Synchronize with that!
Activating 'chibi-mode'!"

The Other's extended string sank into places where Kuyou was not, any more.
Her perspective shifted yet again, smaller still -- down to a level she had
never experienced in such a way before. Bits of attempted synchronization
struck at her from the Other, rejected by the bond she shared with Ryouko --
now amplified enough to repel that foreign influence.

She was aware of the sudden void that her connection with Ryouko invoked in
the Other -- it destabilized, struggling, trying to force the synchronization
anyway. No longer retaining the symbols that were vulnerable to such an
attack, she watched, and shared her observations with the rest of the Chorus
-- wiping away the recent storm of false observations she had not allowed
outside of the shadow-song.

The Other, that thing which looked and behaved like, but was not, Kuyou, gave
a curious reaction then, instead of trying for new possibilities or adapting,
exerted itself further -- and shattered. For a single instant, the entirety of
the Other and the Noise it brought with them were silent.

Visibly, it was represented by the portals overhead -- and throughout the rest
of the shadow-song -- collapsing, all of their foreign energy abruptly
rejected from even her pale imitation of the entirety of the Chorus.
Distantly, at the edges of observation -- for the span of a single rotation --
she could observe myriad other worlds, a complicated, tangled mass of
asymmetric eleven-dimensional objects.

Somehow, through a haphazard and unnatural process, those other objects, those
not-Choruses, jarred and flowed in twisted mockery of the natural rightness of
the Chorus. Without the Other to shield them, Kuyou was astonished to observe
that, to _them_, the Song was as destructive as _Noise_ was to the Chorus!

No sooner had she realized this than the connection was closed, squeezed down
to a narrow window of potential that she could only barely perceive. Shielded
from her observations somehow, she realized ... linked to something in the
structure of exotic materials that had been dropped from the upper portal.
Even with the Other missing, that thing represented difficulties.

Yet ... every entity there had been arranged for part of some greater harmony.
She returned herself to the proper scale of time to better interact with the
others. Her newly shrunken form drifted slowly down on the influence of
reduced gravity, until she was plucked from the air by Suzumiya Haruhi. Her
attention fixed on the golden eyes of the larger girl, and she explained, "We
must destroy this dangerous structure!"

"It's maintaining a beacon that locks the sliders onto this dimension!" Ryouko
agreed anxiously. "There appears to be a dark fusion reactor inside there that
resonates with something in another dimension. It seems likely that this is
what they use as an emergency fall-back function!"

"What the hell just happened to the other Kuyou?" Kyon asked in bewilderment,
casting about with a dark expression. "She just seemed to kind of turn into
sparkles and drift away?"

"I provided an observation of myself that was empty, as my true self was
mirrored to memories!" Kuyou replied, pleased at the improved library from her
connection with Ryouko. Communication was rapidly gaining efficiency! "She
attempted to synchronize with it and successfully became nothing, because she
didn't understand what I was or how I changed!"

"See?" Nonoko said brightly. "I helped!"

"Yes!" Kuyou agreed.

Kyon shook his head. "Never mind," he said, turning to look at the large blue
structure -- squinting at the sight of a massive gate built into the side of
the thing hundreds of meters overhead lifting, revealing row after row of
crafts ready for launch. "So ... how do we take this out?"

Kuyou kept her attention focused on Haruhi. "Let me help you, Suzumiya
Haruhi!" she declared.

Haruhi's eyes widened in confusion for a moment, before she nodded. "Okay,"
she agreed. "I'm tired of this, so let's end it quickly! Kyon, you're on our
perimeter; now you have to buy _us_ some time!"

He nodded at that, frowning as he pulled his harmonic resonance tool from his
pocket, keeping it on standby to conserve power.

Drawing a breath, Haruhi set Kuyou on her shoulder, where she adjusted her
gravity functions to effortlessly stick there. Then the taller girl put one
hand on Nonoko's shoulder and pulled her close, between Haruhi and Kyon. Both
to remind him that she was safe, and in a small way, to deflect some of the
emotion he was holding in check. "Imouto, we work together, right? So, let me
show you something, too! This lesson is not difficult. First! Concentrate your
mind!"

"Okay!" Nonoko agreed.

Kuyou added her strength to it when Haruhi formed an orb of energy before her,
flaring it wide with ambient power -- her own influence crushed that energy
into a smaller shape, allowing Haruhi to force even more energy into it. The
flickering, pulsing ball of light stayed a steady size -- not much larger than
Kuyou's own current physical form.

"Whisper the incantation to your ally tenderly," she instructed, as the
crackling orb of power began to make a high-pitched, piercing buzz, and the
remaining attendant orbs Haruhi had began to get pulled in, joining the other
energies there.

Nonoko watched eagerly, her eyes wide, Ryouko hovering at her shoulder as she
hugged Shamisen tightly to her chest.

Faint tones of strain entered Haruhi's voice, resonating with the effort that
Kuyou herself was putting into maintaining the effect as the girl raised her
hand, directing the writhing power construct along with it. "Aim it at someone
you don't like!" she called.

Kyon shielded his eyes, unable to look at the light directly as he scanned for
any other attackers, and Haruhi's eyes were squinted as well. "What next?"
Nonoko asked excitedly.

Nearly at her limits, Kuyou was almost relieved when Haruhi concluded with a
shout, yelling, "Finally! Unleash your annihilation of love! _Master
Spa~ark_!" The last syllable stretched for a long moment, the girl drawing it
out as she unleashed the last of the energy she was adding to the attack.

The pulsating orb flickered briefly for a moment, and then was surrounded,
leashed in a pair of rotating bands of light, inscribed with formulas and
symbols that represented the functions of the Chorus that the effect emulated.
Kuyou appreciated that brief symmetry, even as their combined force blasted
toward the source of that unwanted resonation.

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Tsuruya forced a smile she didn't _quite_ feel. Though
she didn't know what was happening, she knew where Kyon had vanished, at
least. Koizumi was handling the administrative side of things with the school
as much as they could, within proper channels.

She trusted him for that, though, and had decided to wait for her friends to
come back, surveying the quiet, still shoe lockers. She was surprised to find
she didn't have to wait long, though -- shortly after she claimed her position
at the front doors, she saw a wavering distortion in space that vanished as
suddenly as it arrived, leaving her friends in its wake.

She was halfway across the distance between them when she took in the details.
Tsuruya had seen Kyon angry _once_, and his current expression showed that his
dissatisfaction went deeper than it had that one distant time. Her own smile
vanished, especially when she took in Haruhi, her clothing torn and singed, a
rime of dried blood beneath her nose. Worst of all, Kyon's little sister
wobbled unsteadily at Haruhi's side, for some reason carrying Kyon's cat in
her arms and wearing only her pajamas.

Ryouko had shifted to a form with crystalline fairy wings, hovering anxiously
over Nonoko's shoulder, while Kuyou had shrunk to the same size, floating
weightlessly by Haruhi and staring fixedly at Kyon.

Well, there might not be much to smile about -- especially if Kyon's little
sister was involved -- but she could at least make the best of a bad
situation! "Okies," she declared, moving to Haruhi's side and peering closely
at the girl. Was she hurt? Best to have Yuki or Mikuru check her out! More
importantly ... what was Nonoko even doing there? "Haru-nyan, let's get you
looked at!"

"I'm fine," she protested quickly, rubbing at her nose. "It's just a bump--
Oh! Yuki-chan, can you make sure Imouto's alright?"

"I'm fine!" the youngest girl protested, echoing Haruhi. Glancing behind her,
Tsuruya wasn't terribly surprised to see that Yuki, Kanae, and Mikuru were
there -- probably, the rest of the school would be soon, too.

"Let's get somewhere secure," Tsuruya began, before their surroundings shifted
in a strange blur, and the lot of them were abruptly in the clubroom in a
similar formation. Kyon shifted his shoulders and crossed his arms over his
chest, brooding near the tea station. At his side, Haruhi nervously avoided
his gaze.

"What happened?" Tsuruya wondered, frowning.

"A lot," Kyon answered sourly, shaking his head. "I don't even know where to
begin. Yuki-chan, is Imouto okay?"

The quiet girl had already moved to Nonoko's side, kneeling on the floor
before her and placing one palm flat against the girl's forehead. "Body
temperature is elevated as a result of fever," she said quietly.
"Neutralizing."

"Eh?" Nonoko squeaked, her eyes widening.

Yuki's eyes turned to the younger girl's, and she offered an incredibly tiny,
but still reassuring smile. "It is okay."

The girl's eyes fluttered shut and she slumped forward, caught immediately by
Yuki -- still conscious, but wobbling. "I feel dizzy...."

Holding Kyon's sister effortlessly, Yuki added, "Her condition has been
restored." The smaller girl blinked, not moving away from Yuki's side -- in
fact, after another wobble, Nonoko hugged herself against the stoic girl. "She
is no longer at any danger."

Kyon released a sigh that wasn't _quite_ explosive, nodding at that, obviously
relieved. "Good," he grit out, glancing at his sister, then visibly
restraining himself, turning a cold, impassive gaze on the entity hovering in
place over Nonoko's head.

"And ... you?" he asked carefully.

Ryouko allowed a quiet sniffle to escape, and then raised one small arm,
causing a diagram of an unfamiliar object to appear in the space between them.

Kyon blinked once, frowning at the display. "And ... this is?" he prompted,
one of his eyebrows ticking in anger.

Tsuruya felt her neutral expression shift into an unhappy frown. This ... was
bad. Even Haruhi and Yuki were frozen, unable to approach Kyon in such a
state. Kanae and Mikuru drew in almost matching worried gasps, huddling
together anxiously.

"In this formation, your harmonic device is capable of erasing me and
preventing further issues," Ryouko explained, tears trickling down her face.

"Is that ... so?" Kyon asked, his eyes sharpening as he studied the diagram
thoughtfully. Tsuruya and Haruhi both felt themselves wince at the intensity
of his focus. "So ... why are you showing this to me?"

"I cannot self-terminate! But if you erase me, then I won't have to feel this
way! I won't have to feel ... guilty! Negative emotions are terrible; I never
want to experience them again! It's fine to erase me to make that stop!" the
tiny being sobbed. "I don't want to feel bad!"

"You can't go away!" Nonoko protested, shaking her head furiously. "No, no!
You're a good fairy! Even if you didn't do things right for my brother, he'll
forgive anyone! There's no way to get on his bad side forever, because he
knows who to trust!"

The angry light in Kyon's eyes dimmed, very slightly as he suddenly looked
sharply away -- it was enough, though. "K...Kyon," Haruhi started uncertainly,
frowning, "s...she didn't.... I don't think she meant...." She couldn't
complete the sentence though.

But, then, that was what she loved about Kyon; he heard it anyway. He stood
up, one hand covering his eyes. "Yuki-chan ... is she telling the truth?" he
asked.

"Yes," she answered quietly. Still holding Nonoko, her voice soft, Yuki turned
her attention to Ryouko, explaining, "You are now experiencing a full range of
emotions, instead of only those which you have labeled as 'positive.' I will
now explain my behavior toward you since your conversion."

"This can't be related to that!" Ryouko protested. "Physical sensations and
emotional are entirely different!"

"What emotions do you experience when you consider the idea of Nonoko--"

"_Magical Radiant_ Nonoko!" Ryouko corrected Yuki angrily.

"Huh?" Nonoko noised, unable to follow the conversation. "I don't speak fairy
yet! I don't know what some of those words mean!"

The stoic interface blinked, then continued, "When you consider that she might
be in danger, what is your reaction?"

"I'm mad!" Ryouko yelled. "I want to protect Nonoko and hurt the people who
want to hurt her!"

Yuki nodded once, very slowly. "Then, that is how I feel when...." She paused,
turning a thoughtful glance to Nonoko, then a much more meaningful one toward
Ryouko. "...he is threatened."

"I want to help Nii-san fight, too!" Nonoko agreed excitedly, her face
lighting up as she nodded. "I don't want to think of Nii-san ever getting
hurt! That makes me sad -- that's why I want to help him!"

The heiress felt sudden, surprising sympathy for the anguish on Ryouko's face
as the tiny being trembled in place, still floating, tears flowing down her
cheeks uninterrupted, only to vanish into sparkles of light as they fell free.

"It's okay!" Nonoko cheered, managing to pull one hand free of Yuki's half-
embrace and grab Ryouko around one ankle, pulling the tiny figure down to her
chest and squeezing her tightly in a hug. "You don't have anything to be sad
about! Nii-san is okay, thanks to us, right?"

Tsuruya exchanged a glance with Haruhi, both girls seeing the opening at the
same time. Before Kyon could reply, Haruhi had taken Nonoko, and Tsuruya
grabbed Yuki's hand -- a second later, the pair of them hugged themselves
against a surprised but unresisting Kyon, incidentally pinning Yuki and Nonoko
between them.

"Ah!" Kanae yelped, belatedly joining the others with Mikuru.

"It's okay now, right?" Mikuru asked anxiously.

As if in answer, Kyon's phone began to ring, making Tsuruya wince slightly at
the horror theme she remembered Haruhi choosing for Kyon's mother.

He grabbed the device from his pocket with a minimum of wriggling, answering
as quickly as he could. "Hello? Mo--" He held the PDA away from his ear, his
slowly forming smile instantly replaced with a scowl as he listened.

Huffing out a breath and shaking his head, he said, "Okay-- Calm down, Mom--
Imouto's with me--"

This time, Tsuruya could hear the yell across the phone.

Irritated with the way things had been going, and that her attempts to calm
Kyon down were meeting with failure, she didn't bother to ask and just plucked
the phone from his fingers.

He -- and Haruhi -- stared at her with mild fascination and horror, but
neither moved to stop her as she flashed the pair a smile, carefully raising
Kyon's phone to her ear, ignoring the angry shouting and cheerfully calling,
"Hello, Mother~!"

The resulting silence was deafening.

"T...Tsuruya-chan?" Kyon's mother asked, sounding utterly bewildered. "What--"

"Imouto was almost kidnapped today," she offered, realizing a way to take care
of the problem. "But she's smart, and knows where Kyon-kun goes to school!
Plus, Kyon-kun's a _very_ good bodyguard, so when he found out, he rescued
her! We're taking her to the hospital right now to have her looked at, though
she insists that she's fine -- right, Nonoko?"

"She can't know what really happened!" Haruhi yelped suddenly, wincing. "Ah--"
She cut herself off, biting her lip.

In response, the small girl giggled, giving Haruhi a wink. "I'm fine!" Nonoko
chirped into the phone, when Tsuruya presented it. "There's nothing to worry
about, Mom!"

Tsuruya raised the phone to her ear again, continuing, "So! Kasai will be by
to pick you up in a bit and bring you to Nonoko, okies?"

Not waiting for an answer, she added, "See you at the hospital, but no phones
allowed from here!" before hanging up. Nodding, she handed the phone back to
Kyon.

"What..." he started, frowning.

Waving a hand dismissively, Tsuruya explained, "Ninkyo dantai business; you
mentioned that Takahashi needed to be framed for something by today? Well! Now
you don't need to worry about it! We'll make it clear that this is Takahashi's
fault, and not yours -- so she'll have nothing to blame you for!"

"That's right!" Nonoko agreed, nodding energetically. "Magical girls have to
hide their identities to protect their families and loved ones! If Mom knew we
were fighting dark generals, she'd panic!"

"I.... I'm not really sure that claiming that you were kidnapped -- or even
'almost' kidnapped -- is the best alternative to that," Kyon mumbled, shaking
his head.

"Well, it's the story we're sticking with nows," Tsuruya said apologetically.

Heaving a sigh, Kyon shook his head. "I-- I need to actually use the coat and
disguise function to make sure there's some evidence to implicate her," he
mumbled, frowning.

"Okies! Give Haru-nyan your coat!" she ordered.

"I'm not letting Haruhi go out like this when she's hurt!" Kyon protested.
"Really--"

"No, this is fine," Haruhi countered, shaking her head, giving him a grin.
"You're the main hero -- I'm.... I'm not hurt that badly! I'm okay with being
hero support and doing the little things like this for you, for now-- Aside
from which, if your sister taught me anything, it should be 'trust in your
allies and don't try it alone,' right? So, Tsu-chan, Yuki-chan, Ryouko, and I
can take care of this!"

Kyon's lips pressed into a flat line, and he started to shake his head before
Yuki stepped to Haruhi's side, giving him a look that Tsuruya thought looked
the _slightest_ bit admonishing.

"Okay, okay," he allowed reluctantly, frowning, unable to meet her eyes. "I'll
just ... watch over Imouto...."

"And make sure you know where Sasaki is," Haruhi added. "Really, she's a
liability, so if you're making sure she's somewhere she can't be used against
us, that'll be perfect -- you can call them, right, Kyon? Just to keep tabs on
her location?"

"Exactly right," Tsuruya agreed. "Okies -- Kyon-kun, Mori-san is waiting in
the parking lot in a car -- we'll send everyone else with you to the hospital.
You can coordinate with her." Admittedly, this was totally ignoring school ...
and trusting Koizumi to handle that -- but they had higher priorities! "Don't
forget to check in with Koizumi, too!"

Hmm, come to think of it, she really needed to see about making Koizumi's role
as Kyon's subordinate clear to the rest of the Tsuruya-gumi. Haruhi wouldn't
mind that, probably, would she? Well -- they could discuss that while
implicating Takahashi!

* * *

Before seeing the group off in the car that Tsuruya had called when Kyon first
disappeared, Yuki invoked one of her changes to clean Haruhi up -- and heal
her scrapes and bruises. Haruhi almost heaved a sigh of relief that he calmed
down, but her previous irritations were replaced with an almost equally
uncomfortable blush that he was so obvious about his concern.

Still, seeing her unmarked and undamaged was what it took to convince Kyon to
let her go off with Yuki and Tsuruya. Haruhi caught the way that Yuki moved
very carefully, always keeping her bandaged hand out of his line of sight, and
tried to ground herself against that reminder.

Even then, she wasn't _terribly_ surprised to find Kyon turning her own words
against her. She felt like blushing all over again when he swept his coat from
his shoulders and set it around hers -- for all of its weight, it became much
lighter once she was wearing it properly.

He gave he a long, studying look, then finally said, "Alright, Haruhi ... I'm
trusting you, here -- if you bring back my Yuki-chan or Tsuruya-hime with so
much as a single scratch on them--"

Despite the situation, Haruhi found the sentiment uplifting. "Then you'll be
in line behind me," she countered, giving him a scowl she thought he could
tell she didn't mean.

Judging by his approving nod, he could. "Don't try and touch Altair or Vega,"
he warned, turning his attention to his younger sister, comfortably asleep in
his arms. "You'll get frostbite."

That warning was much less playful than the last, so she merely nodded back as
he climbed into the car with Mikuru and Kanae, both of them fussing over his
little sister. Kyon hadn't even seemed to notice the way that Kuyou had stuck
to the top of his head and just remained there effortlessly in her smaller
form, but she was confident that they'd be okay.

"Okies," Tsuruya said, nodding decisively as the dark car with Kyon and the
others in it rolled away. "Mikuru-chan and Kanae-chan should help keep Kyon-
kun calm, but let's hurry up, alrighty? I want to try and hurry back before
'mother' arrives, eh?"

"Right," Haruhi agreed, glad that her friend was able to take charge when she
was so rattled. A glance to one side showed the dark limousine rolling off
school grounds, Kyon and the others inside. "Ah, we didn't coordinate with
Kyon, did we?" Then she shook her head and gave the green-haired heiress a
sharp look. "'Tsuruya-hime'?" When had _that_ happened?

Blushing, Tsuruya offered a guilty grin. "I guess for Kyon-kun, maybe my given
name is too close to yours?"

Haruhi thought it was more likely that Kyon was just too worried about
sounding disrespectful of his boss's daughter -- even if they _were_ engaged.
And in that vein of thought, even though she wished Kyon would give her some
positive attention, she said, "Well ... that's actually really cute." Then,
realizing it didn't do any good to keep it to herself, she mumbled, "I'm a
little jealous...."

"Then think of how long you've been 'Haruhi' to him, Haru-nyan," Tsuruya
replied confidently, smirking. Shaking her head, she brought the discussion
back on track: "No worries about coordination," Tsuruya said easily. "Mori-san
is with Kyon-kun, right? She'll tell us and Koizumi, but we have to get out of
here, and soon."

"We will not be stopped," Yuki assured the others, standing still at Haruhi's
side, though her attention was on the car Kyon was in as it vanished from
sight. Indeed, Haruhi almost jumped back when Okabe burst through the doors,
glaring around, but evidently looking right through them.

A step behind him was another teacher, and behind them, a horde of students
who had waited until the lunch chime and were now searching for some sign of
the battle they had heard Kyon get called out to. Haruhi took Yuki's and
Tsuruya's hands in her own. "Well ... what next then?" she asked Tsuruya
expectantly.

As far as she had gotten them, the heiress must have had a plan. Certainly,
she'd dealt with Kyon being upset with more calm than Haruhi could summon!

Tsuruya tilted her head to one side, her cheeks coloring slightly. "Not sure,"
she admitted with a grin. "Ah, I'll call my father and we'll work out the
details together! We'll just let him think it's Kyon-kun taking care of
things, instead of us!" She turned to look at the tiny, blue-haired fairy
figure hovering next to Yuki. "You have Kyon-kun's to-do list so we can help
him out, right?"

"Yes," the figure answered, not as cheerful as Haruhi was used to hearing her
sound. Though ... Ryouko expressing a wider array of emotions was new, and
probably good, it was also unsettling to see the almost eternally-cheerful
chibi so morose. Still ... it was nothing short of a miracle that Yuki or Kyon
hadn't been _harder_ on her, considering what could have happened to
Imouto....

Tsuruya pulled her phone from her pocket as Haruhi began to feel a bit awkward
remaining standing in the parking lot, evidently invisible and unobserved by
the other students. Come to think of it.... While Tsuruya quickly hashed out
the details of some plan with her father, Haruhi turned to Yuki and asked,
"Um, Yuki-chan ... considering how angry she made Kyon, why aren't you more
upset with Ryouko?"

Yuki blinked once, then lowered her gaze, frowning slightly. She didn't say
anything for a long minute, and Haruhi was about to repeat her question before
Yuki finally answered, "I cannot be upset with her about this situation. It is
the result of my own impatience. Asakura Ryouko's involvement has undone the
damage I would have unintentionally caused. Based on recorded data, if she
were not able to work with...." She trailed off and turned to regard Ryouko.
"...Magical Radiant Nonoko, then his equipment would not have reached him in
time."

"Y...you're saying this is the _good_ outcome?" Haruhi yelped, eyes widening.

Tsuruya cut off mid-word, giving Yuki a strange look, then giving Haruhi a
very insistent one, before turning away and speaking even more quickly.

Wait, what? Why did Haruhi have to deal with this? She was stressed and shaken
enough from getting involved in that battle -- which was _not in any way fun_
-- and now Tsuruya wanted her to.... But then, she realized what Tsuruya was
up to, and that it was the right thing to do. What would Kyon do here?

Yuki wasn't done, though. "Furthermore, without the context of Magical Radiant
Nonoko's influence on local memetics, Suou Kuyou would not have been able to
resist synchronization. Even if he were unharmed, Suou Kuyou would have been
forced to synchronize with the unknown alternate-dimensional iteration of
herself."

Compelled by morbid curiosity, Haruhi shifted her shoulders and uncertainly
asked, "What would that do?"

"It is not known," Yuki answered with a slight bit of hesitation.

Well, it was undoubtedly bad -- but thinking about this right now was not
helping. While she could understand why Yuki considered that she'd made a
mistake, Kyon would undoubtedly be supportive and tell Yuki she was being
silly. And ignore his own problems trying to make her feel better. Even if
what Yuki said was _true_....

"Okay, Brigade Chief's prerogative," Haruhi declared, shaking her head. "You
don't get to blame yourself for this."

Yuki blinked at that, looking the faintest bit confused. "Why?" she asked.

"Because I'm not blaming myself for getting into this fight," Haruhi
countered. "So ... you can try and say it's Kyon's fault for forgetting his
things," she started, wincing at the memory she had of chastising him for just
that. Very quickly, she continued, "Or you can try and say it's only because
his sister was sick. Still ... I don't want to say it's my fault for being too
eager to help Kyon, and neither should you."

"And ... you're saying it would have been even worse if she weren't involved?"
Tsuruya hazarded. "Not just for Kyon-kun, but for all of us?"

Haruhi was surprised at how reluctant Yuki's nod was in reply.

"Okies, so -- let's focus on our current task -- getting someone else in
trouble, and making sure Kyon-kun's not grounded for this," Tsuruya reminded
the others, smiling. "Yuki-chan, if you're feeling bad for not being here,
now's the chance to make it up! Okay, here's what we need to do...."

* * *

While he was used to receiving calls from his wife throughout the workday on
occasion, Yuuto was not a man who often found cause to worry about his family
at work.

Lately, though.... Lately....

He hadn't been worried about his son, precisely, as much as he was worried
about how his wife was going to handle things. He knew, for instance, that his
son had a much more complicated dating situation than his mother had
considered, but at the same time, Yuuto was proud that his son didn't hesitate
to accept the opportunity he knew he wanted. And that should have been a good
thing, but the way that Kyon was barely given a say in the matter reminded him
a bit too much of some of the circumstances of his own wedding....

That was a distant, background concern compared to the panic instilled in him
by his wife calling up and crying that -- of all things -- their sick daughter
had gone _missing_. Unable to focus on his work, Yuuto sat at his desk and
stared disconsolately at the numbers he couldn't bring himself to shuffle
around. When his phone began to ring with the tone he had set for his wife, he
answered it without hesitation.

"Yes?" he yelped, ignoring the way his voice might carry into the hall.
"Anything? Did she turn up?"

He turned away, pointedly not looking when he saw the rotund form of his
superior ambling in.

"Is Nonoko alright?" he asked anxiously.

"Y...yes," his wife answered shakily. "E...evidently.... Kyon-kun saved her?
U...um, Kasai-san, from Tsuruya-san's staff is coming by to take me to her? I
don't-- What has Nonoko gotten into? I don't understand!"

He didn't either. Pretending confidence he didn't feel, he said, "Everything's
going to be alright -- she's with Kyon now, isn't she?"

"Yes!" the woman agreed. "I-- Ah-- Kasai--" She hung up without any further
warning, and considering that she was running to Nonoko, he couldn't fault her
in the slightest. He snapped his phone shut with a sigh, turning to regard the
rounded figure that stood on the other side of his desk, one eyebrow raised.

"Suzumiya-san," Yuuto greeted the man, rising from his desk and bowing
solemnly. "I apologize for my performance today."

"No worries, Yuuto-kun," the wider man sighed, shaking his head and ambling
around to the window, staring outside. Yuuto wondered at how easily the man
slipped into a casual mode of address for his subordinates, but he was
easygoing enough that it was more surprising than unwanted. "Evidently there
was some sort of event at the school -- our children both go to Kitago, and my
daughter ran off in the excitement. I'm guessing from that call, something
similar happened with your son?"

"Y...yes," Yuuto agreed, offering a wan smile. The strange thought that his
son and his superior's daughter might know one-another crossed his mind
suddenly. Of course, Yuuto couldn't imagine Kyon being called by first name,
even by the daughter of such a man ... he would still be 'Kyon' at the end of
the day.

He heaved an unsteady sigh. "It ... seems that my daughter somehow ran off
while she had a fever," he began, shrugging.

"Goodness!" Suzumiya exclaimed, his face drooping from 'slightly tense' to
'deeply worried.' "Is she alright?"

"I.... I think--"

Both men cut off to bow deeply when the hulking figure of Tsuruya, attended by
Aida, strode through the doors. "Yuuto-kun," he said without hesitation, only
glancing at Suzumiya, "your son and daughter are at the hospital, and your
wife should be there soon -- come with me. We have much to discuss."

"Er," Suzumiya said, wincing. "We.... The Daitokuji account hasn't been
settled yet, so--"

"I'll handle it," Aida said, frowning intensely at his PDA.

"That.... We have to finish that by tonight," Suzumiya warned, though Yuuto
was already halfway down the hall behind his boss, not hesitating to join his
wife's rush to be with his family.

"Oh," Yuuto said belatedly, shaking his head when he realized that Tsuruya was
alone, "it'll be faster if we take my car."

Tsuruya Kenshiro grunted in response, nodding as he followed. Less than a
minute later, they were buckled in, and twenty three seconds after that, Yuuto
had immersed himself in his element, weaving effortlessly through traffic,
while the large figure in the passenger seat stared impassively. That was good
-- most people tended to have an annoying habit of screaming or trembling when
Yuuto drove efficiently.

Thankfully, his boss was not one of those people.

The drive from the Tsuruya Corporation headquarters to the hospital was thirty
minutes in light traffic.

Yuuto made it in fifteen.

As he vaulted out of the seat, he wondered if that might have been too much
for his boss; however, even as he ran toward the hospital doors, the larger
man passed him effortlessly, a cigar still clenched in his teeth. "You know,"
Tsuruya remarked, just as they passed through the doors, "if you ever wants a
more interesting career than finance, I could use a driver like you."

Not sure what that meant, Yuuto nodded, vaguely recognizing the woman in the
traditional kimono -- wasn't she a maid? She was at the omiai they had
arranged for their children, he recalled -- as she directed the pair of them
to the same room Kyon had stayed in twice before.

Yuuto charged through the doorway and skidded to a halt at the side of his
wife, putting an arm on her shoulder comfortingly as he scanned across his
children. Kyon was sitting in the chair to one side of the bed, looking
harried -- he'd only seen Kyon look like that after the pair of them had given
him a stern talking to about violence.

That wasn't good ... if Kyon were to argue with his mother....

Nonoko, on the other hand, looked in almost perfect health, despite sitting on
the hospital bed, her bright eyes tracking across everyone else in the room.

"Yuuto!" the woman snapped, turning to look at him. "Tell him! Tell Kyon--
Whatever he's doing that makes people try and kidnap Nonoko, he must stop it
at once!"

"Oh?" Tsuruya rumbled, stepping into the room, tucking his cigar away into his
pocket as he frowned.

Yuuto tried to process that part -- kidnapped? But ... she looked fine! What
was this?

"It is not Kyon-kun's fault that this has happened," the large man mused,
shaking his head. "Rather -- it is mine!"

Yuuto felt his heart lurch in his chest as he and his wife turned to stare at
his employer in shock.

He wasn't meeting their eyes, gazing out the window at some distant thought.
"Hmm," he sighed. His eyes regained focus, meeting Yuuto's before turning to
his wife's, unflinching. "So! Our son has done a substantial service to me and
my organization, though this service was not without some visibility.

"Indeed -- such a decisive and successful action on his part gained the
attention of many! I try to reward those who work for me, and in a moment of
foolishness -- you see, I do not have Aida with me -- I forgot that I must
ensure to reward his loyalty. Can I defend this? It is a failing on my part!
This is because your son is my daughter's bodyguard, and I had forgotten my
original promise to him."

"Y...yes, but.... But being a chaperone for your daughter--"

"Bodyguard," Tsuruya corrected her with a gentle smile, shaking his head. "Do
you not know what your boy does? You ... do know he is competent as a martial
artist?"

Yuuto felt his mouth drying out as he thought back to Kyon's casual knowledge
of how the ancient sword he had found was crafted and maintained. He had
thought, like his wife, that 'bodyguard' meant 'escort' more than anything
else -- that the Tsuruya family liked him because he was _polite_.

"B...but," she tried to protest, shaking her head.

"You met with Kasai while he was recovering," Tsuruya remarked, his smile
fading. "Those injuries were taken defending my daughter -- and our son, here,
stepped in when Kasai fell, preserving her safety! From that day, your son has
served my daughter -- and my organization -- faithfully, asking in exchange
only that I protect his family. And with this, I realize that this noble son
is greater than myself!

"Truly, an ideal match for my daughter! I've met no one else I consider
worthy, and more importantly, I've never heard of another young man so much as
catching her eye!" Tsuruya snorted, shaking his head. "To think my
carelessness could put the match of our children at risk? Truly -- you will
have better protection from this day forth."

"Y...your ... organization?" Yuuto's wife managed, shaking with barely
restrained emotions. "Kyon ... doesn't work ... with Yuuto."

"No," Kyon answered slowly, speaking for the first time since Yuuto had
arrived. "I work for Tsuruya-hime, and when she asks, I work for Tsuruya-
sama." He nodded to his superior. "Ah, Tsuruya-sama, I can't speak for my
family, but for me, I understand how this happened. Tsuruya-hime already told
me that she planned to see to watching over Imouto, Father and Mother."

Yuuto was a bit surprised at how Kyon slipped into the respectful titles for
his family -- but if there was ever a situation that called for it....

"Indeed," Tsuruya agreed, nodding. "Kyon's service to our organization has
been impressive! He has protected my daughter, brought the Sumiyoshi-rengo in
our town to heel, thwarted their operations when they sought to retaliate, and
perhaps most impressively.... With his help, my daughter even negotiated an
alliance with the Sonozaki-gumi!"

Yuuto grabbed his wife when she made a sputtering noise and her eyes rolled
up. He managed to catch her before she fell completely limp.

"Hmm," Tsuruya said, frowning. "I didn't get to the parts where he brought his
uncle in to bring those former Sumiyoshi-rengo into the Yamaguchi-gumi!"

Resisting the temptation to fall over and join his wife, Yuuto heaved a shaky
sigh. "T...this is ... rather a lot to process," he managed.

"Well, let's leave your children alone to rest a bit after the day," Tsuruya
said, shaking his head. "We have much to discuss."

"Y...yes," Yuuto agreed, realizing that whatever happened ... as crazy as
things were....

There was no way to deny the fact that Kyon seemed to know what he was doing
-- and more frighteningly, seemed entirely capable of handling it.

"Oh, Akane," Yuuto sighed to his wife. "You're really not going to like
this...."

* * *

Mikuru wasn't a coward, though she admitted to herself that she wasn't very
brave. Even so, while it was nice being with Kyon and his sister, that calm
was shattered like a sea struck with a comet when Kyon's mother arrived.

Oh, but that woman was ... energetic.

So, when Kanae started to flinch from the woman's anger at ... seemingly
everything, though it all was coming down on Kyon, Mikuru wasn't actually
running away from her. Rather ... she could tell that Kanae was about to try
arguing back against the woman, and that somehow seemed like it would be much,
much worse than anything else that had happened so far.

The pair quietly excused themselves to the cafeteria, and Mikuru led her
'younger sister' there on a slow, ambling course. "Sempai likes milk," Kanae
remarked belatedly, looking up to Mikuru for support.

"That's right!" she agreed, nodding. "Oh, we forgot to ask Nonoko what she
wanted, didn't we?"

"Why not get her milk, too?"

"Ah, but, Nonoko's pretending to still be recovering from her fever," Mikuru
countered, shaking her head as she met Kanae's startled look with a soothing
smile. "So she should avoid dairy products for tonight, at least."

"Um ... orange juice?" Kanae hazarded, as they walked through the double
doors.

"Oh, wonderful idea!" Mikuru encouraged her. "Let's do that!"

It didn't take the pair of them very long to pick up a small bottle of orange
juice, and two very cold containers of milk.

"Um," Kanae hazarded, when they turned around, walking toward the elevators.
"I...is Sempai going to be okay?"

"Of course he is," Mikuru replied without hesitation. "Why wouldn't he?"

"But.... Um...." Kanae shifted her shoulders and looked worried. "Sempai's
mother seems really angry," she said in a subdued tone, staring at the small
carton of milk she was carrying.

"E...even Kyon-kun was a bit angry today," Mikuru soothed the other girl. "Ah,
really.... With his sister in danger...." She suddenly had a moment of
inspiration, and remarked, "Kyon gets upset when he sees the people he cares
about in trouble!"

Kanae's face reddened, and she nodded slightly at that.

Mikuru smiled softly, realizing where the other girl's mind was. "Like when he
protected you at the beach," she reminded Kanae. "Even if she's angry ... I
think that Kyon-kun's mother will understand that Kyon-kun wants to protect
his friends. And we can trust Tsu-chan to fix this, like she said, too! I'm
sure everything will work out, even if it may be difficult for a brief while!"

Kanae beamed Mikuru a more confident smile, nodding. "Okay! I'll think that
too -- thanks, Mikuru-onee!"

Mikuru held the drinks she was carrying to one side, smiling down when Kanae
glomped onto her, fitting one arm about the smaller girl's shoulders. "That's
what I'm supposed to do for you, Kanae-chan," she agreed. "Now, let's see if
Kyon-kun and Nono-chan are ready for their drinks?"

"Yes!" the slider agreed enthusiastically.

"Everything will be okay if we work together!"

* * *

It was actually a comfort to return to school for Sasaki. As happy as she was
that Kyon had rescued her, she also greatly appreciated the reliability of a
normal routine without any of the frightening dangers of her last encounter.

It was a school that until recently had been for boys only, which left her one
of a surprisingly small number of girls on the campus. She supposed that
should have better prepared her for what was coming, but receiving a note in
her shoe locker had quickly disrupted her inner peace and made things
difficult.

After class was released, she read it carefully, seeing that it was exactly
what she had expected -- a written confession from an unfamiliar boy. It
probably would have been more flattering if she'd known him better -- or there
were more girls in the school. Somehow, it felt like more of an annoyance than
anything else.

Really, it was more the desire to move past it that prompted her to write the
reply that she did. She had apologized to the boy in the politest note she
could muster, warning him that her heart already belonged to someone else.

And that much was true, even if it was completely one-sided.

Irked by such thoughts, she went home and prepared for cram school, deftly
avoiding her mother by leaving a few minutes early.

Of course, she wasn't simply walking down the street.... Where she had
previously been shadowed by Kyouko's former allies, now she was shadowed by
Kyon's. Really, she should have felt a lot more nervous about being followed
by organized criminals who wore their pins of affiliation in broad
daylight....

Then again, Kyon wore the same pin, and even though she felt guilty to admit
it, Sasaki aspired to earn one of her own, to be able to work at his side
someday.

Kunikida's arrival, joining her for the walk to cram school, was a bit _too_
perfectly timed for him to just have been walking by. It wasn't just a
coincidence.... He ran up to her with a broad grin and a happy wave.

Had she been too subtle before? She nodded a greeting as he waved and called,
"Good evening, Sasaki-chan!"

She gave him the same polite smile she used the last time he'd called her
that. "And how are you doing tonight, Kunikida-kun?" she asked.

"Oh, fine, fine," he answered, grinning. He shook his head and turned to look
down the street. "How about you?"

"Things have been improving for me lately," she decided. Then she remembered
to ask, "Oh, if it's not too much trouble, do you have the picture I asked you
for?"

"Yes," he agreed, his expression hardening slightly, his smile slipping. "Ah
... though ... lately it seems that Kyon's been getting himself into trouble--
He left school in the middle of class! It sounded like someone had challenged
him to a fight!"

Sasaki froze in dismay for a moment before shaking her head. While she wasn't
pleased with the idea of him facing threats like that more often, she had to
admit a certain amount of relief to herself that she wasn't the _only_ source
of trouble like that in his life. Really, she had to talk to Kuyou at some
point, and better understand that girl's connection with Kyon.

"I hope he's alright, then," she allowed. Since she had paused her walk to the
cram school -- and they were early anyway, she turned to face him properly,
"Did you see him after?" Hopefully, Kunikida hadn't gotten close enough to be
endangered.

"No," Kunikida admitted, his neutral expression shifting to a frown. "He's....
He's probably fine, though! He beat up one of the ringleaders of that voyeur
photography ring a while back, so I'm sure this guy was nothing for him,
either!"

She pursed her lips, glancing around. She spotted a wiry man with dark shades
leaning against a nearby lamp post, reading the sports section on the latest
Hanshin Tigers game. Further up the street, a man who had been ambling toward
them suddenly stopped, crouching down to fumble at the non-existent laces of
his loafers to cover his pause. They had similar suits, but more importantly
-- both had the same pin that Kyon wore.

No one threatening was nearby, at least, and the sidewalk wasn't crowded. "I
should probably give him a call and let him know I was worried about him,
then," she said with a nod. "Thank you for letting me know about that,
Kunikida-kun."

A flash of irritation crossed his face before he pulled his phone from his
pocket. "I took this picture earlier this morning," he said, flipping his
phone over and rapidly punching keys. "I'll send it over...." Less than a
minute later, her own phone buzzed, and Sasaki checked the message.

Kunikida hadn't included any text, but the picture had come through just fine.
A picture of Kyon, sitting at his desk and leaning back to talk to Haruhi, who
was leaning forward companionably. Well ... really, they were actually a bit
close.

Sasaki suppressed that thought, forcing a smile, though really, she felt
sympathy for Haruhi. Sitting next to him every day like that.... She shook her
head a sudden surge of insight; Haruhi must be one of the other people Kyon
was looking out for.

Naturally, it would be less stressful for him if Sasaki were to spend more
time around his other allies, and if it looked like Haruhi herself could use a
friend to distract her from Kyon.... And being somewhat more honest, Sasaki
was starting to realize she wouldn't mind help in that direction, either.

Decided on her plan, she studied Haruhi in the image, her smile slowly
becoming more genuine. "Thank you again, Kunikida-kun," she finally said,
pocketing her phone. "I do appreciate this."

The boy's expression was frustrated, but he bit something back and stared
moodily at the sidewalk in silence. Of course ... if she was trying to be
subtle about things with him, maybe, really, she wasn't doing him any favors.
Honesty was the best policy, after all, wasn't it?

"Even though the one I am interested may be beyond my reach, that doesn't
suggest that I should immediately adjust my interests elsewhere," she said
abruptly. It was more blunt than she usually preferred, but.... "I consider
Kyon-kun a very dear friend, you know, and Kunikida, you're a friend as well.
Having wanted and lost the opportunity, I find myself even less inclined to
risk those things I have an assurance in. You understand, don't you?"

"Yeah," he muttered, shaking his head and turning away. "Yeah ... sorry." He
sighed and shifted his shoulders, then managed a wry smile. "Somehow ... I'm
really not that surprised, huh? Ah ... I think ... I'll skip cram school
tonight, but anyway -- take care!"

"Ah," she protested, restraining herself from calling out more loudly -- or
chasing after him -- when he abruptly turned and dashed away.

She heaved a small sigh and shook her head. That had been handled very poorly
after all ... she'd have to find some way to make it up to him. She hoped that
Kyon was having a better day at that point, at least.

* * *