# Kyon: Big Damn Hero

## Alliances and Enemies Arc I

### Chapter Sixty Three: Finding an Equilibrium

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!

* * *

"Chapter Six: Falling Down"

"As much as clever little idioms about 'screwing up and relying on your
friends to get through things' suck, they do kind of have a point. But there's
no real reason to wrap it up and treat it better than it deserves. It's
terrible, it sucks, and if you think you'll never have to deal with it, it'll
be that much harder for you to handle when you _do_. I guess what I'm trying
to say is: pride is its own punishment, ultimately."

"Methods of Victory" -- 'T.H.'

* * *

It was good to have so many dependable allies, in Tsuruya's mind. Admittedly,
the Brigade was a bit closer than just 'allies', but when she needed help,
they were there for her. And not just her, either.

For Haruhi, for Yuki, for Mikuru ... for any one of them that really needed
it. Kyon looked disconcerted at Sasaki slumping against him, her eyes
fluttering closed, but Mikuru didn't hesitate to examine the girl, assuring
them all it was really just a simple fainting spell. Kyon himself was the
antidote for that, just remaining a reassuring presence once the girl regained
consciousness.

To Sasaki's credit, she didn't ask if it were a dream, or try to deny it; if
anything, Tsuruya suspected that she had earnestly accepted what she'd been
told, and that was the reason for her severe reaction. Well, it was justified!

"Now," she said briskly, once Sasaki had reluctantly climbed up from Kyon's
lap, settling for sitting nearby and sipping at her most-likely cooled tea,
"Kyon-kun and I have that businesses with some a Sumiyoshi-rengo to arrange an
end to their kidnapping attempts later tonight. Are you still interested in
attending that meetings?"

"Arranging both that _and_ bringing Sasaki into the loop is cause for
celebration," Haruhi added quickly, crossing her arms over her chest and
nodding decisively.

"Oh, yes," Kyon remarked dryly, taking one last look at Sasaki to assure she
seemed stable before turning his attention to her. "It's been _days_ since we
last had a party, hasn't it?"

"_Exactly_," Haruhi agreed. "You can't have a birthday every day, after all.
Anyway -- Tsu-chan, what do you think about celebrating afterward?"

"Ah, that could be fun!" Mikuru supplied, brightening. "I like to cook for
everyone!"

"Oh, Mikuru-onee -- can I help?" Kanae asked eagerly.

"Of course!"

"Alright," Tsuruya agreed. "That seems to settle it! We can head over to my
place before the meeting, and everyone who's not going with us can stay there
to get ready!"

"Sounds good -- it's going to be me, Tsuruya-hime, Yuki-chan, and Sasaki for
the meeting, right?" Kyon asked.

"Would either myself or Kyouko-chan be good candidates to join?" Koizumi
interjected thoughtfully.

The female esper looked anxious and pale, smoothing her skirt down nervously,
but said nothing.

"Ah, yeah," Kyon said thoughtfully. "You're right; they were going after her,
too."

Kyouko bowed her head, blushing faintly.

"Alright," Kyon agreed, rising to his feet, adjusting his coat slightly. "I'd
say I'm a bit worried about making a more imposing show than we need to, but I
somehow suspect that's pretty much a given."

"You handle the business end of things," Haruhi agreed, putting a hand on
Kanae's shoulder and nodding decisively. "The rest of us will focus on your
welcome back after a successful mission -- Kyouko, Sasaki, you two shouldn't
have anything to worry about. Leave it to Kyon and Koizumi-kun!"

"I never thought I'd see the time you were more interested in playing a
supporting role than a leading role," Kyon mused, rubbing his chin and giving
Haruhi a speculative look.

The Brigade chief blushed and scowled at him sharply before she sniffed and
crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her chin. "A good leader leads! With
quality subordinates, I can entrust you to handle things! And even if you can
be lazy ... you've proven that you won't let the people you care about down
when it really matters."

It was Kyon's turn to blush at that, and Tsuruya grinned, nodding decisively.
"Okay!" she declared. "Let's get moving; it'll be a squeeze, but we can
probably all fit in one limo!"

"Kyouko-chan and I will sit up front," Koizumi volunteered with a smile.

"Oh," Sasaki said belatedly, frowning. "Um ... will we be dressed adequately
for the meeting?"

"Leave that to me!" Tsuruya assured with a grin.

Haruhi wasn't the only one who liked seeing her friends dressed up, after all!

* * *

In Yuki's perception, the meeting was merely a formality to conclude the
arrangement that she and Tsuruya had completed with the Sumiyoshi-rengo
officer earlier. She did recognize that the others enjoyed putting on new
clothing and showing it off, even if she hadn't greatly expanded on her own
sense of 'style' from what Mikuru had helped her establish earlier. However,
she could only define the sensation that she experienced when _he_ looked at
her in a new costume as 'pleasant', so raised no complaints when new outfits
were offered to her without any of the difficulties of needing to choose it
herself.

The current costume was another kimono; she and Tsuruya were wearing similar
patterns and colors, though Tsuruya's had a more elaborate sash and lining,
connoting her higher rank. Kyon wore a matching yukata, notably plainer than
either Tsuruya's or her own, but Yuki found herself appreciating it anyway.
Kyouko likewise seemed to appreciate Koizumi's slightly more formal yukata,
though he lacked the pin that Kyon had transfered to the outer hem.

As Sasaki and Kyouko weren't officially part of Tsuruya's organization, the
pair of them had more standard identical outfits of mini-skirt, blouse, and
vest-- Perfectly matching the outfit that Mori wore, Yuki noted, as they
entered the lobby of Tsuruya towers, and spotted her there, raising an eyebrow
at the group.

Her gaze especially lingered on the girls who were dressed like junior
versions of her, though Yuki determined that the costume choice was very
deliberate on Tsuruya's part. It would presumably cast those young women as
implied subordinates to Mori, who had started to develop a significant
reputation among the organizations.

"Tsuruya-chan," she greeted, bowing politely. "And Kyon-kun. What brings you
by, unannounced?"

"Would you believe that Tsuruya-hime thought it would be nice to visit
Tsuruya-sama?" Kyon posed.

Smiling wryly, Mori shook her head. "I'll accept that, of course. But
'believe'?" she added when the boy winced.

Kasai stepped out of the elevator to join Mori, pausing as his gaze took in
the younger members of the group, and his expression faded to a thoughtful
frown.

"Sorry, Kasai-sempai," Kyon sighed, bowing his head to the senior 'Kowa-
Keigo'.

"Well, I wouldn't have minded dressing to match, but that'd make it seem a bit
too deliberate," he mused. "Now, it was supposed to be a secret, so did you
_know_ that the kumichou was in town, or is this actually a coincidence?"

Sasaki and Kyouko shifted anxiously at that, looking to Kyon and Koizumi
nervously as Tsuruya and Kyon both startled at the revelation.

"Just as well," Mori sighed, reaching into her pocket and producing a small
jewelry case. "I hope that the lack of formality can be forgiven for the
moment, but this is for you, Koizumi-kun."

The esper accepted the box with mild surprise, understanding dawning in his
eyes as he opened it and produced a pin that matched the ones that Kasai,
Kyon, and Mori already wore. "There's one for you, too, Nagato-san," she
added, producing a second pin.

"We'll do the ceremony in private tonight," Tsuruya assured them, nodding
thoughtfully. "Hmm, did my fathers instruct you to find us and ensure that
these were in place before the kumichou called on us?"

"Precisely," Mori agreed with a nod. "We were also supposed to ask you visit
with him, but I'm guessing you had planned on that anyway. In that case, shall
we go upstairs?"

Sasaki and Kyouko both showed signs of poorly concealed anxiety at the thought
of meeting such a powerful figure. Yuki herself wasn't concerned; even if the
technical structure of her rank made the kumichou her superior, she held Kyon,
Tsuruya, and her other friends as more important.

"We should have a minutes or two," Tsuruya deferred, turning to the group
quickly. "Ah, okay, Kyon is my saiko-komon, officially, and Yuki-chan is sort
of a wakagashira -- technically of equal ranks ... though that's _not_
official yet."

Yuki didn't think she needed a ceremony to establish her role at Kyon's side,
but accepted that Tsuruya's organization wanted to see it anyway with a faint
nod. After all, she'd fought with him, and he'd already called her that
without hesitation on his own.

"Koizumi-kun, if you accepts the role, then you will be shingiin to Kyon-kun
-- his personal and legal advisor," the heiress concluded.

"Really," Koizumi mused with a wry smile, unknowingly echoing Yuki's
sentiments, "this is just formalizing the arrangement that Suzumiya-san
already approved of, isn't it?"

Tsuruya laughed, nodding. "That's right!" she said, despite Kasai's raised
eyebrows. "The code says family first, after all!"

"U...um, is there..." Sasaki managed hesitantly before trailing off with an
embarrassed blush once attention turned to her.

"If you likes," Tsuruya said gently, "then perhaps somedays you can become a
kaikei -- an accountant -- or another shingiin. But there's no real need; you
already have a places in the SOS Brigade, don't you? And that should be much
more important!"

"I wouldn't repeat that in front of Tsuruya-hime's father, or the kumichou,
but I completely agree," Kyon agreed, scratching the back of his head
nervously, before turning to help Koizumi properly place the pin on his
outfit. "You don't normally combine the pin with a yukata, but we're being a
bit unorthodox today anyway, so.... Here you go."

Yuki blinked, watching Kyon adjust the ornament before turning to regard her
own outfit, then holding the jewelry box that Mori had given her out to him
expectantly. He blinked in confusion before understanding lit in his eyes, and
he gave her that warm, reassuring smile that caused her heart rate to
fluctuate (though within safe parameters), and the capillaries in her own face
to expand.

"Alright, Yuki-chan," he said kindly, opening the box and tucking it into one
sleeve, out of sight before carefully placing the pin on her kimono, slightly
below her collar bone, and above her heart. "There."

"I could have done that!" Tsuruya protested with a pout.

Yuki blinked, then explained, "You helped put this outfit on me. It seemed
fair to allow him an opportunity. I could benefit from assistance removing
this outfit later. If you wish, you can place the pin, and he can help with
the latter portion."

Tsuruya laughed, while Kasai scanned to ensure no one outside of their group
was in hearing range, and Mori shook her head in mute disbelief.

"Er, yeah, when she puts it that way--" Kyon started.

"Well, in the spirit of teamwork, why not have Kyon-kun and I _both_ help you
later?" Tsuruya teased, grinning.

His mouth snapped shut as he blushed.

"I believe at this point it would be prudent to suggest a division between the
males and females when it comes time to change," Koizumi interjected smoothly,
while Kyouko and Sasaki stared with wide eyes at the discussion. "Your
thoughts, Kyon-kun?"

"Uh-- That seems smart; Haruhi, Kanae-chan, and Mikuru-chan will be annoyed if
they have to wait for us too long."

Yuki suspected that wouldn't be an issue if they were _also_ invited to help,
and it would even go much faster. Still, it would be a shame to pull Mikuru
away from the meal that she would undoubtedly have waiting by the time their
business concluded.

"Um," Mori said with a cough. "Incidentally, Kyon-kun, do you have sufficient
... protective gear left, considering your situation?"

For some reason, that caused Kyon to flush beet red and sputter incoherently.
Yuki idly wondered what it was, doubting it compared to the other defensive
measures they'd put into place, but she wasn't about to begrudge another layer
of protection, no matter how potentially flimsy it might be.

"Ah -- our guest has arrived!" Tsuruya remarked, glancing at the entrance to
the tower, where a good number of the Tsuruya family's men had gathered,
surrounding the Sumiyoshi-rengo representative.

The group sobered and prepared for the meeting as the man approached
cautiously, though Kyon's face remained red for some reason.

A curious reaction ... Yuki decided she would have to ask Haruhi and Tsuruya
to investigate it later.

* * *

Though she thought she was handy enough in the kitchen, Haruhi knew better
than to try and compare herself against Mikuru. The older girl had gotten
special training, and chosen to become expert at domestic tasks instead of
combat skills or refining her powers. Haruhi didn't begrudge that choice,
either; Mikuru wanted _something_ that she could share with others that would
make them happy and evidently had odd limits from her own superiors.

Kyon understood it better, but it didn't seem particularly _fun_. Then again,
since the time traveler already had Kanae as her apprentice in the kitchen --
and Kanae certainly benefited from that sort of inclusion into activities that
helped connect her to the rest of the group -- that left Haruhi with little to
do, while the kitchen goddess worked her magic.

Tsuruya's own staff stood back, the matronly chef that typically worked there
actually standing aside and just _taking notes_.

Despite that clear proof of Mikuru's relatively incontestable skill ... Haruhi
had to admit she was starting to feel a little left out. Her own abilities
might be more useful in a fight, but after going through one big fight, Haruhi
had learned that she really didn't _want_ to do that sort of thing, unless she
had no other choice.

So her part was just gently reinforcing Mikuru's instructions to Kanae, as the
adorable little slider did her best to be a capable kitchen assistant. Kanae's
skill was an excellent fit for that, though, since her ability to recall and
calculate spacial dimensions meant that chopped vegetables, sliced meats, and
anything else that needed to be carefully portioned were always precisely the
right size.

"Brilliant!" the chef declared, praising the young upstarts that had taken
over her kitchen, and folding her notebook closed. "Thank you for allowing me
to observe, Asahina-dono."

The time traveler blushed as Haruhi gathered up the trays -- since that was
something she _could_ do -- and started to ferry them to the kitchen, Kanae
following with another behind her.

"A-ah, it's nothing," Mikuru demurred with a blush, shaking her head to refute
the praise.

Haruhi bit back a snort; her modesty _was_ cute, though. It took only three
trips to carry everything out to the table, and by that time, the actual chef
was shooing Mikuru from the kitchen to handle the dishes herself, insisting
that Mikuru should enjoy eating with her friends.

Tsuruya peeked into the dining room, grinning at the laden table before waving
and announcing, "Hiyas~! We're just going to change and wash up before
eating!"

"Okay," Haruhi agreed, as Mikuru and Kanae stepped in from the kitchen
entrance, both smiling at hearing that.

The heiress vanished with a wink, announcing, "Okay, ladies; we can use my
room to change. Kyon-kun, Koizumi-kun, the changing room is just down the
hall...."

Haruhi pursed her lips and studied the table. "Where shall we sit?" she
wondered. She _wanted_ to sit next to Kyon, but realistically, so would
everyone else. That was going to be a pain.... Well, Mikuru probably deserved
a chance at it, didn't she? At least she had the slider.... "Kanae-chan, would
you like to sit next to me?"

"Okay, Suzumiya-sempai~!" Kanae agreed, blushing faintly as Mikuru giggled,
gently turning the smaller girl around to un-knot the apron she'd forgotten
she was wearing. "Ah-- Thank you, Mikuru-onee!"

"Oh, thank _you_, Kanae-imouto," Mikuru replied with a wink, folding the apron
up and setting it on the stand nearest to the kitchen. "And, you too, Haruhi-
chan!"

Haruhi nodded in satisfaction at that. Finally, she was at least 'Haruhi' to
the older girl instead of 'Suzumiya-san'. So, that was for progress. She'd let
it slide from Kanae due to the warm shiver she couldn't stop every time the
smaller girl uttered that adorable little '-sempai' ... which made it really,
_really_ hard to fault Kyon for enjoying it so much!

But as she thought that, Kyon stepped back into the room, followed immediately
by Koizumi. "My, that's quite impressive!" the esper remarked, eying the
sumptuous spread that Mikuru had arranged. Kyon nodded, his face slightly red
for some reason, his gaze slightly unfocused. Was he _swaying_?

"Isn't Mikuru-chan's cooking amazing?" Haruhi prompted, before the time
traveler could try and refute the praise. When she blushed, Haruhi pre-
emptively countered the next deflection, as well, adding, "Kanae-chan helped,
of course -- thanks to the two of them, this should be a spectacular meal!"

Kyon nodded, scratching the back of his head and managing to resist drooling.
"It looks fantastic!" he offered.

Koizumi nodded and chose a seat near the end of the table, just as the girls
trouped in, Kyouko beelining to sit at his side. "Alright," Haruhi decided,
grabbing Kyon's arm and leading him to the table, almost flinching at the
scent of alcohol. Well ... she had had quite enough of that sort of thing --
she supposed it couldn't be helped if it were part of his other obligations
... though, she didn't have to _like_ it. "You sit here," she instructed,
despite her misgivings, "next to Tsu-chan and ... Mikuru-chan."

Sasaki nodded thoughtfully, and Haruhi could recognize the mild regret in her
eyes. "Kanae-chan," Haruhi continued, taking the seat opposite Kyon and
patting the cushion at her side, "can sit next to me!"

"I'll join you," Sasaki supplied, sitting on Haruhi's other side, leaving the
space between her and Kyouko for Yuki.

It didn't take long for everyone to start digging in, and of course, the meal
was just as good as Haruhi had anticipated. "Delicious," Kyon supplied with a
smile.

Haruhi squinted at him. "Is drinking really common at official functions for,
uh, ninkyo dantai events?" she asked warily.

Tsuruya chuckled apologetically, scratching the back of her head and
explaining, "The kumichou really likes his Suntory whiskey, and insisted that
Kyon-kun should have some to celebrate, as well."

"That stuff is bitter," Kyon remarked, shaking his head. "Ugh, I don't think I
should go home like this. My mom would flip!"

Pursing her lips, Tsuruya tilted her head to one side. "In that case," she
said thoughtfully, "I will calls your mother and say you're staying over. We
should finish the formal inclusion of Koizumi-kun and Yuki-chan, as well."

Haruhi bit her tongue at that, raising her eyebrows. At least she'd get to see
it, she supposed.

"How formal?" Sasaki fretted, frowning faintly. "We did just change back to
our school uniforms...."

"Not _that_ formal," Tsuruya chuckled. "We can do it at the table, and won't
need any additional witnesses." She raised a hand and called to the kitchen
for a bottle of ceremonial sake. Haruhi wasn't entirely surprised to see
Shinobu appear a heartbeat later bearing a tray with the ceremonial dishes and
sake bottle.

Haruhi _was_ a bit surprised that the sake dishes had added fish scales and
salt in them, but vaguely recalled hearing about that previously. Kyon also
managed to look appropriately formal and imposing despite the unfading blush
that alcohol had bestowed on him. He and Tsuruya both ended up drinking a full
dish of sake for Yuki, and another for Koizumi -- who only had to finish one
each as the formula were delivered.

It _was_ nice that 'family' was the most important part of the oath, and
Kyon's unsubtle wink reassured her without words that to Kyon, that meant the
Brigade. On the other hand, even if the amount of sake were rather small, it
was evidently potent, especially following whatever he'd had at the earlier
meeting. It reduced his own input to semi-coherent mumbling as he generally
just nodded, or gave dazed, happy smiles to the girls immediately at his
sides.

Tsuruya seemed to hold out better, merely blushing faintly, but having the
presence of mind to gently grab Kyon's shoulder and pull him to her side when
he started to lean toward Mikuru. Well, the time traveler deserved Kyon's
attention when he was sober, after all; she didn't seem to mind, but Haruhi
suspected having him leaning against her while not at his best might make her
a bit uncomfortable, especially in the company of everyone else.

Though, _she_ wouldn't have minded letting Kyon rest against her.... Oh, well.
That just made it Mikuru's turn the next night, along with Yuki, if Haruhi's
memory served. Then again, the schedule wasn't hard-and-fast, and had
flexibility....

Shinobu collected the dishes and sake bottle, softly explaining that Kyon's
uncle was over and using his room that evening, and had called the house to
notify him in advance.

Kyon cheerfully thanked the woman for the message, giving her a bright smile
before his bleary vision seemed to focus on Mikuru -- or Tsuruya. Certainly,
he seemed to have trouble focusing further away than _that_, though he at
least had the presence of mind to praise Mikuru's cooking, which prompted the
older girl to blush happily.

He was too out of it to properly relate the story, though, so left that to
Sasaki and Koizumi. From _their_ explanations, the meeting had gone well
enough; the kumichou was actually a bit disappointed at the official cessation
of hostilities, though. From his point of view, the Yamaguchi-gumi had won
every altercation with the Sumiyoshi-rengo effortlessly, largely crushing
their opposition and looking perfectly innocent in the process almost the
entire time. Ultimately, it was pointing out that whoever had engineered the
Sumiyoshi-rengo's defeat could just as easily turn against the Yamaguchi-gumi
next that convinced him to accept the apology.

The kumichou himself had a formal meeting with some Sumiyoshi-rengo higher-ups
to conclude all of the hostilities and start looking for whoever had been
manipulating both factions behind the scenes, but if it was meddling aliens,
Haruhi didn't expect them to end up finding anything. That suited her fine,
though; even if she wasn't involved very heavily with the organized crime side
of things, she _could_ be involved in fighting aliens, so maybe she could do
_something_. Though ... hopefully it wasn't as scary as fighting sliders!

Not long after that, Kyon yawned and fell asleep against Tsuruya, nuzzling
into her shoulder contentedly before snoring softly. Koizumi helped haul the
boy to a guest bedroom, while Tsuruya giggled over the scene, and Haruhi shook
her head, turning her attention to Sasaki.

"Well, it seems that this should resolve most of that annoyance, and you
should be much safer, now," she remarked, trying not to think about Kyon's
behavior. He could have tried to hold out to give her a kiss before passing
out on Tsuruya, at least! Or done _something_ else....

"So it does," Sasaki agreed, nodding. "I do worry about what I can contribute
to the group, though."

"Well, we have to get you to get a handle on your powers," Haruhi said
frankly, shrugging, forcibly quashing the other thoughts and trying to focus
on Sasaki. "And I'm not quite sure where to begin, there."

Sasaki frowned, but nodded slowly. "I'm not familiar with ... 'powers' much in
general. Though at this point, I must accept that ... at least time travel not
only exists, but I've ... well, _done_ it!"

"So, I'm guessing that means we have to find out some sort of power you can
observe without actively interfering with it," Haruhi mused. "Part of the
problem is that we don't know the extent of your powers, and if you might
actually completely stamp out something if we try and show it to you."

The other girl winced at that, as Kanae's eyes widened almost comically in
alarm at the thought. Mikuru looked anxious as well, though Yuki and Kyouko
seemed unconcerned. "That ... does seem problematic," she agreed. "Though, I
accept Asahina-san's power, already, so wouldn't that be fine?"

"Ah, um, I can ... only do things with permissions from my superiors," Mikuru
explained apologetically, shaking her head. "I-- I mean, if Kyon-kun says it's
okay, then...."

"He might have an idea, then," Sasaki posed hopefully.

"I think we should try and handle this on our own," Haruhi countered. "Though,
if it's subconscious on your part, we need to figure out if there _is_ a way
to consciously control it. If you can suppress the powers of others, it would
be really handy to shut down the sliders if they attacked ... or that time
traveling jerk."

"Who-- You mean ... Fujiwara-san?" Sasaki asked, frowning. "I ... know he's
not always the most agreeable person, but I think he genuinely _means_ well."

Kyouko shivered at that, hugging her arms to herself as Koizumi returned from
helping Kyon get to a bed.

"Well, he's another mystery we should solve," Haruhi allowed. "But, one thing
at a time. Starting tomorrow, let's try and figure out what we can do to help
you out!"

"I would be happier being an asset than a liability!" Sasaki agreed with a
nervous smile. "Ah, goodness.... It's been days since I've been home, but from
my mother's perspective, I left for my first day of school just this morning.
I'll certainly have to say that I've had an interesting first day!"

"Ah, come to think of it ... we can get Kyon out of trouble with his mother,
but we'd probably better get you home soon," Haruhi mused, frowning.

"That's a very good idea," Sasaki said with mild regret. "As much as I do
enjoy spending time with you and the others, Haruhi."

"I sent Kasai to finally finish his date with Mori-san, so another driver will
take you home!" Tsuruya said brightly, nodding -- was some of that sake
finally kicking in for her?

Haruhi tried very hard not to think about the two of them alone with the
influence of alcohol and no other distractions. On the other hand, even if she
looked like she wouldn't have minded, Haruhi doubted it would be safe to leave
Mikuru behind in such a situation, either.

"Alright, let's get you home, then," Haruhi declared. "Mikuru-chan, Kanae-
chan, Yuki-chan -- are you ready? Oh, Koizumi-kun and Kyouko, too."

Yuki gave the tiniest shake of her head -- staying behind? Well, she could be
trusted, at least, and it might be a good idea, in case Kyon woke up with a
hangover. Even if she wasn't thrilled about the drinking, it _had_ been at the
insistence of the head of the Yamaguchi-gumi -- it wasn't the sort of thing
Kyon would voluntarily run out and choose to do.

The others all nodded, and bade farewell to the bubbly Tsuruya before making
their way to the car.

* * *

Even if she was going to be late getting home, Sasaki insisted that the others
could be dropped off first; she wanted a few minutes to speak with Haruhi.
Once dinner had started, Sasaki had thought it would be nice to sit next to
Kyon at the table. Of course, considering their ... arrangement ... that would
be selfish; she couldn't monopolize him, and she _had_ gotten rather a lot of
his attention lately. She could see the same frustration in Haruhi's eyes,
though.

After Mikuru was dropped off -- the last one before Haruhi and Sasaki -- she
turned to the Brigade chief and asked, "Is it ... always difficult being
patient and waiting a proper turn?"

Haruhi winced. "It can be," she admitted. "Ugh -- I'm ... being honest, not
really good at sharing at all." She heaved a sigh, grimacing. "It's really
hard ... but for me, I can enjoy time with Tsu-chan and Kanae-chan, as well.
While I like Mikuru-chan a lot, too, I don't think she's quite open to that,
yet. Yuki-chan, though ... well, I should pay more attention to her, too, come
to think of it."

Sasaki realized her mouth had fallen open in surprise at that. She hadn't
considered _that_ angle. It ... did make a degree of sense, though. It _would_
logically be a bit too much to try and weight everything on Kyon. Her cheeks
flushed as she closed her mouth, nodding slowly.

"I ... um, have only ever really had interest in ... one other girl myself,"
Sasaki confessed, surprised at how hard the admission was to make. "I admired
her throughout elementary school from afar, but never...." She trailed off
there with a shake of her head. Anything else would make it _too_ obvious, and
she wasn't ready to race down that path.

The whole idea of learning to use her 'power' was overwhelming enough, wasn't
it? If something like ... _that_ could happen, it would be best to strengthen
the friendship it was based on first, wouldn't it?

Haruhi blushed a bit. "Er, that kind of slipped out," she mumbled. "Um, but
it's true ... so it's hard not to be jealous, but it's not honest or fair to
say something like things between Kyon and I have to be the most important,
and I'm not good at being patient. So ... that works for me, and some of the
others. I don't know if it ever would work for Mikuru-chan, but we're still
good _friends_, right?"

"And I'm glad to be one of those friends as well," she replied, nodding. "And
that being said ... I'm sorry that I can't be a stand-in for Kanae-chan, or
even Tsuruya-san, but if you are feeling, um, lonely, and would like someone
to commiserate with ... well, I've always thought that in some senses we would
be allies and help one-another through being patient and not getting what we
want."

"Not getting what we want at a specific moment," Haruhi countered, smiling
weakly. "Um ... once you get your powers under control, there's this nice
little thing where we take turns sleeping with Kyon--"

"Ah, too fast!" Sasaki gasped, eyes widening. "Er-- I mean, if you are, then
I, um, clearly _should_, shouldn't I? Er, but that's--"

"I-in an innocent way!" Haruhi sputtered, her face reddening as a chuckle
escaped, before pressing both hands against her face. "If this were an anime,
we'd be having this discussion in a hot-spring, just to make the fanservice
rating go to one hundred percent. I mean, you know ... just cuddling. We need,
uh, a stronger foundation before we take things too far, I think, and ...
having someone else there keeps things under control. We ... well, at least
... _I_ want to make something that really, really lasts ... you know?"

"Oh!" Sasaki exclaimed, feeling her face overheat so much she needed to fan
herself. "T...that makes much more sense," she added softly. Taking a deep
breath, thinking of the time she'd enjoyed sitting in Kyon's lap....
_Cuddling_ was certainly pleasant, and while it would be a bit awkward sharing
Kyon with one other person (at least) for that.... "I might enjoy spending
time with you and Kyon like that," she admitted shyly.

"Whew, one thing at a time," Haruhi chuckled, shaking her head. "It, uh, has
to wait until we can be sure you won't interfere with the teleportation."

_That_, Sasaki thought, was excellent motivation to get a handle on that. She
resolved herself to try her best, after all. Before anything else could be
said, the limousine stopped before her house, and Sasaki sighed faintly. After
a moment of hesitation, she surprised Haruhi by leaning close enough to give
the other girl a warm hug.

Haruhi squeezed her back tightly, without hesitation, and Sasaki had to admit
that it was very different from hugging Kyon ... but it was by no means
unpleasant. Still, she needed time to still the turmoil her mind had fallen
into and calm down a bit. She released Haruhi as the driver opened the door,
discreetly looking away and allowing her to climb out with her school bag.

"Thank you, and I'll see you again tomorrow ... Haruhi-chan," she assured the
other girl.

"I'll see _you_ tomorrow, too, Sasaki-chan!" Haruhi returned brightly. "Take
care!"

Sasaki waved back until the driver closed the door, then steeled herself,
opening the gate and approaching the front door. Her mother had evidently been
waiting, opening the entrance before Sasaki reached it and eying the receding
vehicle with a raised eyebrow. "You're home late," she chided.

"Yes, I'm sorry," Sasaki said, ducking her head. "As I said when I called, our
study group decided to have a welcoming dinner for accepting our newest
members."

Her mother nodded doubtfully. "I'm glad you're keeping up on your studies,
then. Hmm, was Kyon there? He always seemed a nice boy -- not the kind who
would overstep. Your host wasn't another boy, was it?"

Sasaki resisted the urge to roll her eyes, shaking her head. "No, Tsuruya
Haruka was our host," she answered. Was that the reason her mother had
approved of Kyon? The fact that he seldom seemed to take the initiative? Come
to think of it ... as far as her mother had known of him, he'd been
practically subservient.

Of course, that made sense _now_. Kyon had wanted to make a good impression on
Sasaki and her mother, because even if he hadn't put it into words, he'd ...
well ... had a crush on her. Given her father's disappearing act, and her
mother's bitter response to that abandonment, she supposed she understood the
outlook, even if she didn't appreciate it.

On the other hand, while her mother wanted her to find some pliant, spineless
boy she could twist around her fingers -- even if just to keep him tied down,
to avoid the situation Sasaki's mother had ended up with -- Kyon really
_wasn't_ that type. It did take a bit to get him motivated, but clearly he'd
fight anything for the people he cared about. She'd just seen him talk to a
room full of organized criminals just to protect her ... and he'd planned on
doing that _before_ she'd been invited to join his romantic situation!

And thinking of that, she wondered if some small part of her were eager to get
... entangled in that just to spite her mother? She dismissed that thought;
while she didn't mind working against some of her mother's expectations, she
didn't believe that was the case.

"Kyon is doing well, incidentally," she said, realizing she'd fallen into a
contemplative silence, and her mother was regarding her speculatively. "I'm
glad for the opportunity to study with him and his other friends, as well!"

"Just be sure to keep a sharp eye out," her mother warned. "Especially if a
girl who can afford a car like that has her attention turned to him!"

Sasaki refused to wince at the unintentional insult that she didn't have a way
to compete against a wealthy heiress. For Haruhi's planned solution, she
didn't _have_ to compete. Her mother _meant_ well, after all, she just ...
never really got over the mess with Sasaki's father. Then again, she had been
young, and had been abandoned to become a single mother -- not an easy fate by
any measure. Realistically, the fact that she'd succeeded, even managing to
buy a home for the two of them was astounding.

She should probably be happy that her mother was fixated on the idea of Sasaki
ending up with someone who was subservient to -- or perhaps even dependent on
-- her, instead of trying to teach her to only be self-reliant. She'd been
working on becoming self-reliant _anyway_, but her mother had viewed the
trials of single parenthood and overcome them ... and didn't wish them upon
her daughter. That much, she could understand, and even if it was far too soon
to plan for it, Sasaki _did_ some day want children of her own.

Her mother would probably have a heart attack or break down into tears if she
knew the truth, and it was a confrontation Sasaki didn't want to have -- ever,
if possible. But she wasn't going to lie ... exactly. She _did_ want to
reassure the woman, so she said, "Our other friends don't seem to be
interested in interfering with Kyon and I resuming our old closeness. In fact,
I feel I'm becoming closer to them as well; they are all good, trustworthy
people."

Sasaki's mother's eyebrows rose. "Is that so?" she mused. "Well ... alright,
then. I'm glad for you. I wasn't sure about switching schools, but this does
give you a better chance of ensuring he gets into the same college as you."

Heaving a soft sigh, Sasaki smiled and shook her head. "Of course," she
agreed. Though, her mother's reasons for that were based on far less trust
than Sasaki herself had.... "Ah, it's been a very tiring day, and we finished
our assignments; I think I'll head to bed a bit early."

"Rest well, Sasaki-chan!"

"You as well, mother."

* * *

Morning came around without any hangover, which Kyon realized belatedly he
should be grateful for. As much as he wasn't a fan of drinking.... Well,
hopefully he wouldn't have to have too many more meetings with the kumichou;
if he did, he'd have to ask for something watered down, or figure out some
other way to avoid alcohol. Maybe he could just ask Yuki for her help and
cheat...?

Though, he realized, blinking, the way she was curled up at one side, and
Tsuruya on the other, she probably already _had_.

He really was becoming too complacent about things, wasn't he? He tried to
recall a policy against abusing various powers for personal benefit ... but
then ultimately forced himself to admit that Haruhi actually probably had the
right idea when she'd given herself telekinesis for fun. It had actually also
been very _useful_, and probably saved his sister's life, too, and that just
made the entire thing harder to begrudge.

So Yuki preventing him from having a headache (and perhaps if he were lucky,
too many brain cells in general from being killed) wasn't _that_ bad, all
considered.

Having her and Tsuruya on either side of him wasn't that bad, either. Probably
his mother would be at least a _little_ upset over him staying over with
Tsuruya on a school night, but that wouldn't be too bad; she'd approved of the
engagement (actually, she's encouraged it), and while she wasn't happy about
the ninkyo dantai aspect of things, hadn't actually made any moves toward
calling things off. The bigger issue would be his sister feeling neglected.
Well ... he could set some time aside to play with her.

On the _other_ hand, getting to wake up between two very cute girls without
the fear of his mother, younger sister, aunts, or any cousins walking in on
him raised some very interesting possibilities....

...which were dashed the moment Shinobu quietly slid the door open.

"Er, morning," he said weakly, as Tsuruya yawned and shifted her shoulders,
eyes drifting open. Yuki's eyes fluttered open without any other movement on
her part.

"Breakfast will be prepared shortly, if you wish to bathe first," she said
softly, before sliding the door back closed.

"Good mornings!" the heiress chirped brightly, before sitting up and clicking
her tongue. "You'll have to use the showers, Kyon-kun. I already promised
Haru-nyan no more baths with you without inviting her along."

Part of Kyon was tempted to suggest doing exactly that, but he nodded and sat
up, prompting Yuki to finally let go.

"There is no rule against showering together," Yuki observed quietly.

"Tempting, but let's not take too long," Tsuruya replied with a giggle,
climbing out of the bed and leading Yuki to her feet.

Kyon nodded, unable to keep from thinking that he was forgetting something
important. In his defense, there were a lot of remarkable distractions that
justified his lack of focus ... though sharing a bath _or_ a shower wouldn't
help with that. Following Shinobu's direction, he treated himself to a
torturous extra-cold shower to try and push himself to remember ... whatever
it was.

He reached the smaller dining room where he'd had breakfast with Tsuruya once
before -- the last time he'd stayed over. He got there before Tsuruya and
Yuki, but not before Kuyou, who was staring contemplatively at a cup of tea
Shinobu had evidently already served her. Ryouko's tiny form had been left in
the bedroom, but evidently the dark-haired girl had found her or otherwise
brought her along -- she sat cross-legged on the table on the other side of
the teacup, turning to regard him as he entered.

Strangely, he was starting to get _used_ to the chibi.

"Good morning, Kuyou, Ryouko," he greeted the pair, taking the seat opposite
them. He snapped his fingers, recalling suddenly as the other pair of girls
entered, hair still glistening. "Ah, I just remembered!"

Tsuruya looked at him inquisitively as she took the seat to his right, and
Yuki sat opposite her. "I meant to ask how it was that the sliders found us in
Hinamizawa," he explained, frowning. "We're also supposed to be able to get
more information every time they _do_ show up, right?"

Ryouko nodded quickly, but Yuki actually answered, "The enemy is capable of
tracking the presence of Michikyuu Kanae specifically from across the quantum
divide."

He nodded thoughtfully. "So ... I remember Kanae-chan mentioning when she was
first starting to teleport around, that she could lock onto people more easily
than anything else," he began, glancing up as Shinobu bustled in with a tray
and served everyone, not reacting to the topic at hand. "Um, thanks, Shinobu-
san," he added, briefly.

"Don't mind me," she demurred with bright smile and a shake of her head,
withdrawing unobtrusively.

Tsuruya took a bite of her omelet, raising an eyebrow to prompt him to
continue.

"So I know that she can pick coordinates, now, and teleport places she's never
been ... right?" he asked, looking to Yuki for confirmation.

After finishing her current mouthful, Yuki blinked and explained, "We have
since devised a system of engrams and spatial coordinates that can be
interpreted to correlate to any existing point within conventional space, with
a spacial buffer to describe non-conventional spacial coordinates, such as
'closed space.'"

"Shadow-song harmony," Kuyou offered somewhat cryptically, dangling a piece of
sausage over Ryouko's head with her chopsticks, prompting the doll-sized
interface to leap up and catch it in her teeth. Like a cartoon character --
which Kyon supposed she sort of _was_ at the moment -- she rapid-fire gnawed
her way _up_ the sausage until reaching the chopsticks, then just hanging
there until Kuyou released the morsel.

"The point being, now that we understand that, couldn't we just block that
signal?" Kyon asked.

"Bad idea," Kuyou answered unhesitatingly, setting her chopsticks down and
turning to regard Kyon flatly. "Harmony is necessary to maintain stable
configurations."

Around a mouthful of her breakfast (did she even _need_ to eat?) Ryouko
explained, "The signal reflects a pattern of information that describes what
someone or something _is_. Altering it would mean either changing her, or
sending her away -- though simulations suggest that if we were careful about
it, we _could_ banish her and then the Combine wouldn't be able to find us
anymore!"

"Uh, that's not really an option," Kyon answered with a frown. "Okay, so the
signal has to be there to protect Kanae. We can't change it without hurting
her, either. But ... could we maybe -- without hurting her -- make it look
like it came from somewhere else? Maybe ... inside the sun or something?"

"Echo..." Kuyou contributed thoughtfully.

Yuki hesitated, considering. "Range is a factor," she finally determined. "To
avoid unwanted effects, the range would need to be reduced to approximately
the orbit of the moon."

"So we could put it underneath the ocean, or inside a volcano, or something?"

Kuyou made a slight face, judging, "Not harmonious."

"The redirection must be anchored on a living person," Yuki clarified.

Kyon frowned, sampling more of the breakfast before nodding decisively.
"Alright," he said. "In that case, then can we aim it at me? I don't like the
idea of Kanae-chan not having any of us around when that happens, and it seems
to me that they're keeping enough spare transfer energy to drop in
unexpectedly."

"Hmm, good thinking," Tsuruya agreed.

"The change will require the assistance of--" Yuki began, before Kuyou
straightened up.

"I will help," she declared.

After a considering pause, Yuki nodded. Kyon felt a brief moment of vertigo,
as if gravity had briefly fallen away and then resumed subtly, but that seemed
to be the end of it. "Alright," he said, nodding. "Um ... I think we can keep
this quiet from Kanae-chan, since she worries about that kind of thing so
much; I'll mention it to Haruhi when we get to class."

Somehow, he _still_ felt like he was forgetting something ... but he'd
countered the worst part of a Slider invasion before breakfast, hadn't he?
Well, _during_ breakfast, but it was very close to the same thing! Surely
Haruhi would approve of that, wouldn't she?

* * *

While he was glad that Kyon had finally resolved the issue with Sasaki's
would-be kidnappers, Koizumi wasn't ultimately able to worry about it that
much. Given the protectors she had, even if she unconsciously countered the
special abilities of the Brigade, he doubted that Kyon or Haruhi would
_really_ let her be harmed. More importantly, the girl had somehow held up
with the stress of the repeated kidnapping attempts remarkably well.

Kyouko had clearly had a much rougher time of it, so Koizumi was glad for
Sasaki's sake, but even _more-so_ for the other esper's. Then again, her
entire family was taken hostage at one point, something Sasaki had managed to
avoid.

Well, he could admit that he was biased, but someone had to look out for
Kyouko, and he didn't mind filling that role in the least. As surprising that
it was that Kyouko had openly introduced herself as his girlfriend, he
couldn't complain about that, either. He'd never had time for dating, despite
being aware of attracting at least ... some attention on those lines before.

He'd gotten a text message from her the last night -- her first night back
home from the hospital, finally -- asking him if he'd like to have lunch with
her. He certainly didn't mind, even if it meant skipping the Brigade's lunch
meetings. Those were inconsistent, in any case, mostly happening as a result
of the brief period when Kyon had been grounded from attending.

Glancing into the classroom that the chief and her vice-commander shared with
his girlfriend, Koizumi gave the pair a smile and a wave before turning to
Kyouko, who happily popped to her feet on seeing him. A few of the other girls
shot her an envious stare as she hurriedly dashed to his side, even as Haruhi
gave a small smile and wave of her own.

"I suppose there's no lunch meeting today?" Kyouko asked, glancing over her
shoulder at the pair before falling into step at his side, her bento boxes
swinging in one hand.

"They're not every day," he assured her. "Hmm, does Sasaki-san know that?"

"I think Suzumiya-san mentioned texting her," Kyouko agreed, frowning. The
pair of them had enough space around them to speak candidly without anyone
hearing, as he led the way to the outdoor seats. In theory, he could invite
her into his own classroom during the lunch break, or vice versa, but Koizumi
didn't mind meeting in 'neutral' territory. "That's still so strange to
me...."

"The arrangement that Suzumiya-san seems to be striving toward?" Koizumi
asked, once the pair of them found an unoccupied table and she'd taken a seat.
He lowered himself to sit at the seat to her side, bowing his head gratefully
as she blushed and presented him with one of the wrapped bento boxes. "Thank
you, Kyouko-chan; it looks delightful."

"I...it's nothing compared to what Asahina-san can do," Kyouko demurred,
though she blushed at the praise, ducking her head. "Um ... but, yes. That.
That ... Sasaki is happy with it is almost as confusing as the thing itself."

"But she _is_ happy with it?" Koizumi mused, admiring the lunch that his
girlfriend had made for him. It _did_ look like she'd put a bit of effort into
it. The 'heart' motif drawn on the rice might have been cliche, and the
sausage cut into little smiling octopi were the tiniest bit lopsided ... but
he reasoned that Mikuru was basically cheating when she cooked. From Kyouko,
this was more earnest, and to him, the genuine effort she put into it made all
the difference.

Besides, when he actually tasted it, the seasonings were just fine.
"Delicious," he proclaimed, after uttering the ceremonial words to begin the
meal. She blushed happily again, as she was unwrapping her own bento.

"I'm glad," she said with a faintly nervous giggle. "And.... Somehow, Sasaki
really _is_ happy. I can't pretend to understand it; I'm, um, too selfish to
imagine ... doing something like that myself. But I know she's sincere about
it, as strange as it is." She blinked as she realized what she said, and
hastily corrected herself, "Er, I mean -- if you-- If you insist, then, uh,
I'd be willing to try, but--"

"I'm not," he assured her with a soft chuckle, barely resisting the urge to
blush himself. Who else would he pursue, anyway? The main problem of the girls
in the school -- almost all of them, excepting those who were already
interested in Kyon, anyway -- was that they were a bit shallow. Kyouko, on the
other hand, knew _exactly_ what it was like to be an esper; her sympathy
weren't feigned or just a best guess. She actually _understood_.

So, he knew what Sasaki's happiness felt like for her, too. Certainly, he was
interested in Haruhi at one point, but she was out of his league,
realistically. He wouldn't be able to actually challenge or contest her, and
his own connection blinded him to those needs, from her. Well, it _would_
have.

"To be honest, I doubt Kyon himself would have the initiative to pursue more
than one person. At one point, I wondered if he were torn between Suzumiya-san
and Asahina, and tried to push him more toward Suzumiya-san. It was really
Suzumiya-san herself who was behind the entire thing.... It's also difficult
for _her_, but I suspect if she didn't find some way to make it more
challenging, she'd become bored of it. I should say that it's very fortunate
for her that she's found others who are willing to share in that same
challenge."

Kyouko shook her head. "I can't imagine the kinds of difficulties they'll run
into later," she said wryly. "I suppose the 'marriage' issue is settled by
Kyon-kun being engaged to Tsuruya-san, but...." She trailed off with another
shake of her head.

He shrugged absentmindedly, picking another morsel of his lunch from the bento
she had prepared. "Well, aside from them, what about _your_ happiness, Kyouko-
chan?" he prompted.

She smiled and bowed her head again. "I'm ... luckier than Sasaki-san," she
said quietly. "I don't have to share, and I happened to find a really handsome
guy who truly _understands_ me. The fact that she's at least happy enough for
me to feel her happiness as well makes it a lot easier. Um ... I do think that
she'll be even happier once she figures out how to break our connection, since
she's not pleased about me sharing her feelings, even a little bit. But other
than being ... a little afraid of losing that, I'm very happy."

She shook her head and regarded him earnestly. "What.... What about you,
Koizumi-kun?"

"I have confidence that between Kyon-kun and Suzumiya-san, all obstacles will
be overcome -- even if I can't be certain how," he answered. "So, for myself,
I'm quite happy that things seem to be headed toward a situation where ...
well, _everyone_ seems to be happy. I've had a delightful meal, made that much
better by the exceptionally fair company I enjoyed it with, and all of our
friends are here, and healthy. What is not to like?"

She blushed beet red at his praise, and Koizumi suspected even without an
active connection between them, that she'd have jumped on him, if they weren't
at school. Though, that _did_ give him an idea. Having a nice dinner with the
Brigade to celebrate the Sumiyoshi-rengo ceasing hostilities was well and
good, but....

* * *

After meeting Sasaki in the hallway on the way to the clubroom, Haruhi
intentionally dawdled, wanting to enjoy the time with Kyon while Mikuru -- or
Kanae -- changed into costume. Haruhi was fairly sure that it would be Kanae,
even if the costume were a bit lacking in imagination, from her viewpoint.
Still, Kanae had really, _really_ wanted it, and Haruhi had to admit that the
idea was adorable....

"Can we expect excitement on the order of the last few days during this
meeting as well?" Sasaki asked, holding her bag before her and regarding
Haruhi curiously.

"I hope not," Kyon returned.

At the same time, Haruhi answered, "I hope so!"

He rolled his eyes as Haruhi frowned at him.

"What's with that attitude?" she chastised him. "We don't want things to be
_dangerous_, but excitement is what we're all about!"

"Yeah, well...." They came to a stop before the closed clubroom doors, and
Kyon shifted his feet before brightening. "Oh, that reminds me--" Dropping his
voice to a whisper, he explained, "We figured out that the enemy sliders are
targeting Kanae-chan specifically, so I had Kuyou and Yuki-chan redirect and
point them at me, so we don't need to worry about them going after her when
we're not around."

Haruhi blinked at that, raising her eyebrows. They hadn't needed her help for
that? Well ... she didn't like the sliders when they attacked, and it _did_
make sense. Certainly, Kanae being attacked when no one else was around would
have been a huge problem -- though she could easily have run to Kyon or Yuki
for help.

"That ... sounds like it's good," she said cautiously. "I suppose she doesn't
need to hear about it, since she always gets anxious about things like that."
Turning to Sasaki, she quickly explained, "Uh, since she's originally from
another world, every so often Kanae-chan gets very anxious and thinks about
running away. At least, it's happened once; we're trying to make sure she's
assured that we want her to stay, and we can handle the sliders that are
chasing her."

"I should consider myself fortunate to not have met them yet, then," Sasaki
said, eyes widening.

"You ... might be able to prevent them from showing up, with your power,
though," Haruhi added, thoughtfully. "Well, once you get a handle on that."

Sasaki brightened. "I really must learn how to do that, somehow," she agreed,
sounding a tiny bit doubtful. "As strange as it sounds ... certainly, I'm not
pleased about being a liability!"

That resonated with Haruhi deeply, and she nodded her agreement before the
door opened, revealing that both Kanae _and_ Mikuru had changed into costume.

Mikuru was dressed in the maid outfit, one of Kyon's favorites, and Kanae's
costume was a somewhat simplified version of it. She made up for that with a
headband sporting a pair of adorable cat ears, and a matching tabby-patterned
tail stuck out from beneath her skirt.

"Nya~n!" she cheered, waving her tabby-patterned gloves as Mikuru giggled.

Well, it was a bit more conservative than the 'oni' outfit that Tsuruya had
only gotten to wear once. Of course, Kanae had _really_ wanted 'cat-girl maid'
more than 'cat-girl'. Haruhi wasn't sure Kyon could handle that, though.

...not for the first time, she contemplated asking Mikuru to make her a maid
costume of her own -- a different style, of course, but....

She shook her head, leading the trio into the clubroom, gently grasping Kyon's
convenient tie to tug him in. "Come on, then," she prompted, as Koizumi and
Kyouko finally rounded the corner.

The espers must have planned to meet up somewhere before club, she realized
belatedly, given that Kyouko shared the classroom with them.

Tsuruya was already there, along with Yuki. Ryouko's form hopped out of Kyon's
pocket and onto the table, though Sasaki wouldn't be able to see her, yet. She
thought about that, closing the door and taking a seat. Koizumi was already
opposite Kyon, and Kanae had stolen a seat at one side of Kyon; Yuki had
managed to get the other.

Oh, well.

Haruhi settled for sitting next to Kanae and Kyouko, at the end of the table.
"Okay, so ... first order of business, we need to figure out how to show
Sasaki something more direct than time travel, and ensure she won't just
cancel it," Haruhi determined, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Already?" Sasaki asked brightly.

Tsuruya shrugged apologetically, offering, "I can't do anything nearly as
special as the others, so I'm useless for this one! I'll make tea for today,
instead."

"Ah, you don't have to--" Mikuru started anxiously, before the heiress shushed
her with a bright wink.

"You do enough for us already, Mikuru-chan!" she said brightly. "And you
taught me how to make tea when it's not for the ceremony, anyway, so let me
replay that favor."

"Ah ... w...well, okay," Mikuru hesitantly agreed. "Though ... I'm afraid I
don't have anything useful to demonstrate, since we already did time
travel...."

"Maybe we could show her augmented reality?" Kyon prompted.

"Ah, I've read about that," Sasaki said. "Um ... how does it work, if you've
got it? Special glasses?"

"The augmented reality constructs employed by our group are a function of
standing light wave-forms that resonate within a wavelength specifically
targeted against a genetic match to members of our group," Yuki explained
quietly.

Sasaki cocked her head to one side, her smile dimming. "How does light target
a genetic match specifically?" she asked.

"By exploiting the presence of cones and rods that occur only in specific
genetic targets, and emitting a wavelength that matches only them."

Haruhi frowned, nodding and crossing her arms over her chest. She'd never
really thought about it, but that made sense.

"So ... a camera, which would capture everything within a specific range,
could catch that light and render it in a wavelength visible to anyone?"

Yuki gave her terse, abbreviated nod. "Normally. In this instance, the image
is displayed directly against the surface of the eye, and is configured to
avoid reflection and monitoring by outside sources."

"So ... all of the benefits of, theoretically, a neural implant, without any
of the fuss?" Sasaki mused, frowning. "Only ... what actually _emits_ the
light?"

"The data structures themselves," Yuki explained. "They exist as higher-order
concepts -- information only -- which cause visible structures to form in the
eyes of only those so attuned."

"I don't really get the entire thing, but basically there are levels of
reality we aren't equipped to observe," Kyon explained. "So a data entity
exists on a higher level and can't physically interact with us normally --
except for the light thing."

"Well, it sounds fantastic," Sasaki allowed pausing to smile and duck her head
in thanks as Tsuruya began serving out the tea. "So ... what do you use it
for?"

"Ryouko exists only in that form, right now," Haruhi offered, looking at the
chibi figure, who nodded agreement for her position on the table. "Otherwise,
Kyon uses it for targeting information and stuff, I think."

"It's useful for seeing through smoke screens, debris, and walls, when
needed," Kyon agreed. "Like a real-life heads-up display."

Sasaki giggled, sipping her beverage. "So, that must make life quite a bit
like a video game when you use it!"

"A little less fun, but kind of," he allowed, nodding. "Ryouko also makes
strategy maps when I need to plan things. It's ... way more useful than I ever
thought it'd be."

"So ... I think we should try bringing Sasaki in and letting her see that,"
Haruhi prompted. "Otherwise, I'd show off my telekinesis; I'm _pretty_ sure
that if it gets suppressed, Yuki-chan can fix it later."

"Okay," Sasaki agreed hesitantly. "Um ... I'll just close my eyes to prepare
myself, then. Does it work when your eyes are closed?"

"No," Yuki answered, prompting Sasaki to close her eyes and take a deep
breath.

Between one blink and the next, Kuyou's smaller form appeared on the table,
dressed in a black leotard with a yellow bow. Haruhi belatedly recognized the
color and felt a tiny surge of pride; unless she missed her guess, that was
the ribbon that she'd originally stuck in Kuyou's hair to tell her apart from
her copy. As cute as that was, Kuyou hadn't stopped there, though, and was
also sporting her own cat-tail and ears -- along with cat's paw mittens and
booties. Where had she gotten _those_?

Judging by Mikuru's gasp of surprise, it wasn't her! Kanae cooed enviously,
and Kyon paused, hand halfway to the cup of tea Tsuruya was holding out to
him.

Sasaki cautiously cracked one eye open -- before the other flew wide open
along with it. "G-goodness!" she exclaimed. "Is that--" Before she could
complete the question, Kuyou raised both arms expectantly, peering up at
Sasaki and causing her tail to lash gently to one side, peeking out from her
fan of hair as her feline ears twitched.

Hands faintly trembling, Sasaki reached out, gently grasping the black-haired
figure about the waist and lifting her. "How ... does she have weight?" she
managed, unable to look away.

"Technically, she does not," Yuki offered. "Within select spaces, such as this
room, the configuration allows for minute transmissions of direct force. In
her case it is a specific manipulation gravity itself; in Asakura Ryouko's, it
is a minute emulation of Suzumiya Haruhi's own telekinesis ability. This
allows basic manipulation of small objects, and the simulation of physical
presence. This is also what allows both of them to simulate speech or other
sound effects by transmitting the effects directly to the surface of the
eardrum."

"It's.... It's just so..." Sasaki managed, still staring.

"Unbelievable?" Haruhi prompted.

"Amazing?" Tsuruya asked, grinning.

"Weird?" Kyouko tried, looking between Ryouko and Kuyou.

"Silly?" Kyon added.

Kanae shook her head, eyes shining. "_Cute_?" she asked.

"Yes!" Sasaki agreed, hugging Kuyou's small form to her tightly. "I can't say
I completely understand this, but clearly I accept it -- and I never would
have expected Kuyou-chan to be so _adorable_!"

Kyon slowly raised one hand to cover his face and bit back a small sigh.
Haruhi resisted the urge to follow suit. Of all the people she expected to put
_cuteness_ ahead of _logic_, Sasaki would be near the very bottom of the list.

"Er," Sasaki managed, making no move to release Kuyou. "I think, on some
level, I'm still processing this. But certainly ... this is an unusual thing I
can accept without reservation! How ... does this lead to me controlling my
powers, though?"

Haruhi was prepared to answer that one, but Yuki beat her to the punch:

"There are nightly training sessions in simulated spaces; these allow a
reasonable gain of proficiency in various skills. Suzumiya Haruhi has used
them to master control of her own abilities, as has Michikyuu Kanae."

"And _that's_ where you learned martial arts!" Sasaki realized, her gaze
finally tearing from Kuyou long enough to regard Kyon -- before her attention
seemed to almost forcibly be dragged to Ryouko. "Ah! Cute!"

"And anything else useful that Haruhi didn't force through even my thick skull
herself," Kyon agreed with a shrug.

That helped mollify Haruhi slightly, and she nodded. Still ... Sasaki had been
in the Brigade for a week and was already invited along to training sessions?
It had taken _weeks_ for Haruhi's own presence to be non-disruptive there!

"Anyway!" Haruhi declared. "While we're on that subject, Kyon, you still have
that scarf, right?"

"Of course," he agreed, pulling it from his coat pocket. Which, Haruhi
belatedly realized, was probably his greatcoat. Then again, she could hardly
fault him for wearing it _everywhere_. Haruhi shook her head and stared at the
brightly colored -- and probably needlessly long -- strip of cloth.

"Okay -- while we're on the subject, Yuki-chan, I'd like to make this more
useful for Kyon," Haruhi declared. "Um ... indestructible, and something that
would never get in the way. It can't be a choking hazard, or anything like
that!"

"Understood," Yuki agreed quietly, nodding.

"Er, it's supposed to always keep him warm, but I guess the coat already does
that," Haruhi added with a frown. Hmm.... Well, what if he wanted to loan it
out to someone else? "But add that function, too. I guess for now that'll be
good enough."

Kyon shrugged, and Yuki gave her terse nod of understanding, before belatedly
waving one hand. Haruhi resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the smaller
girl's lack of showmanship -- at least she added some green and blue sparkles
after the fact.

"Incidentally," Koizumi remarked, while Sasaki was letting things sink in, "I
was hoping to take Kyouko-chan on a date tonight."

The twin-tailed esper blushed and giggled at that, managing a dazed, happy
smile.

"If our services won't be required...?" he prompted, looking between Kyon and
Haruhi with a cautiously optimistic smile.

"Sounds fine to _me_," Kyon allowed, glancing at Haruhi. "I mean ... you're
dating, right?"

Haruhi bit back a wince. Too bad she couldn't get time with Kyon that easily.
Or ... could she? "Yeah, you two be sure and have fun," he agreed. "And if
something _does_ come up, don't hesitate to call Kyon in for backup! In the
meantime, going on a date sounds fun!"

Kyon nodded absently at that, and Kanae practically bounced out of her seat in
excitement. "O-okay!" she cheered, clapping her gloved cats' paws together.

Resisting the urge to wince, Haruhi nodded. She _did_ like Kanae, even if
she'd hoped for some time with Kyon.... Well, that night was her turn with him
-- and Mikuru, but that'd be okay. Well, she had enough saved up, didn't she?
Shaking her head, she decided to tease Kyon a little and added, "There's a
maid cafe I've wanted to check out for a while; if you've really got your
heart set on getting that costume, you can take some notes while we're there!"

"Ah, that seems fun!" Mikuru said with a giggle. "Oh, I know -- um ... Haruhi-
chan, do you think it would be alright if, um, 'Shutaro-kun' were to bring me
along?"

Haruhi considered that, while Sasaki looked up curiously. It _would_ be a way
to spend _some_ time with Kyon.... And while she was at it.... "Sure," she
decided, nodding. "And Kyon can cover the bill!"

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and started to shake his head before his
phone chirped a warning and he checked it with a frown. "Uh," he said with a
frown. "Evidently it would be my pleasure."

Probably a message from the future, if she had to guess. Something _else_ she
wasn't able to help with. She tried to console herself with publicly going on
a date with the slider; she at least could do her part to make the younger
girl too comfortable and happy to want to leave, right?

"Who is ... 'Shutaro-kun'?" Sasaki wondered curiously.

"Ah," Kyon said with a frown. "Uh, first of all, would you believe I had a
magical coat that let me disguise myself at will?" he hazarded.

"Er, no, not really," she answered with a soft chuckle and shake of her head.
"I'd believe it had a scientific and rational basis, and you just _called_ it
'magic', based on what Nagato-san's explained to me so far."

"Hey, it's true!" he protested. "It's also been a real magical girl's outfit
... and I probably should not have said that aloud if I wanted to remain
respectable."

"The only girl's costume I've seen Sempai wear is a Trope-tan costume!" Kanae
interjected helpfully.

Sasaki stared, eyes widening, as Kyon hung his head with a sigh. "R...really?"
she asked, trying to bite back a laugh.

"I have a picture!" Tsuruya assured, nodding proudly. "I'll show you later!"

Haruhi couldn't help but snort at that. "Well, it _is_ true, though," Haruhi
added. "Alright, we'll meet up at the train station at ... let's say six
thirty this evening?"

"Ah, you four have fun!" Tsuruya encouraged with a soft sigh. "Hmm, would you
like to visit with me, Sasaki-chan? You and Yuki-chan are both invited, of
course, since everyone else will be busy, but we can start working on putting
pictures into albums!"

"I really _should_ spend a bit more time with my mother," Sasaki returned
apologetically. "Perhaps a rain check?"

"I will join you," Yuki answered Tsuruya softly, nodding.

Haruhi nodded absently. Certainly, it seemed that they had managed to resolve
more problems than not ... but she still couldn't quite quash the wish that
Kyon would pay a little more attention to _her_ specifically. Hopefully
there'd be an opportunity during their 'double-date'; all it took was not
running into any of their classmates.

* * *