Author's Note:

This is my first fanfic. It occurs two months after the events of The Dissociation/Astonishment of Haruhi Suzumiya, and features characters introduced therein.

I do not own the Haruhi Suzumiya series or any related locations, characters, or other such concepts.

Enjoy!

*Update: I reworked part of the section in order to keep characters believable and in order following the suggestion of an anonymous reviewer.

Prologue

Why do people fight? I guess it's because people want the same thing, but there isn't enough for everyone to have some, or some people want more than they're given. It's an irrational way to go about things. Usually, a war to gain more money, land, or whatever you're going out to war for isn't even worth it. The body count almost always outweighs the value of whatever it is that you want. You have to pay off your soldiers and pay out more than you gain. Your nation's economy crashes and nobody wins. It's unnecessary, so why do we have it?

I wonder how she feels about war. Haruhi could end war forever, she has the power to do that without much difficulty, yet she doesn't. Is it because of her common sense? Considering that she summoned aliens and time travelers just by wanting them despite knowing that they can't exist, it's probably more complex. Maybe she's okay with war, because she wants, and is willing to fight for what she wants.

Anyone who knows Haruhi knows that she can be violent. However, she is calming down lately, and she wouldn't actually kill anyone. She's not that kind of person.

I was about to be proven wrong in that conviction.

I was having a conversation about such a topic with my old friend Sasaki. I had been on my way to the station to meet up with the Brigade for one of Haruhi's pointless citywide searches. You'd think she would've realized the futility of this action by now, but Haruhi is Haruhi, and I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. Still, I wish we didn't have to do this today. It's only June, but summer decided to hit hard early this year.

Anyway, I had felt like something had been brewing. I ran into Sasaki on my way up as had happened a few times before. The last couple of times this had happened it hadn't ended well, but I felt it had been worth the risk. After all, I'm assuming Koizumi 'disposed' of that b*****d Fujiwara back in April, and Kuyoh probably just faded into the background. There would be no meetings with the Anti-SOS Brigade.

I had felt like there had been some violence brewing on the horizon, and we had segued into a conversation about violence in general.

"I think it's just a matter of war being ingrained into society as a fact. War exists. Suzumiya-san knows both consciously and subconsciously that war exists, regardless of any desire to change it. It's not like aliens or espers; consciously, she thinks that they exist, and has a strong desire to meet them."

"You're probably right."

Otherwise, we also have a dilemma when we consider that you were supposedly in her position at one point in time.

Before I could mention that consideration, however, our conversation was interrupted by the voice of our beloved brigade leader.

"KYON, GET OVER HERE NOW! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LATE YOU ARE?"

I check the time on my phone. Typical Haruhi, calling me late when we don't even need to be at the station for another ten minutes.

"Cool it Haruhi. I'm not late yet."

"YOU DARE TALK TO YOUR BRIGADE LEADER LIKE THAT? PENALTY!"

That's strange. Haruhi seems a lot angrier than normal. I mean, she's used to the idea of me being late by now, so this is kind of ridiculous. I mean, I'm just talking to Sasaki…

The last time the two of them had met, Haruhi was rendered speechless. I mean, she shrugged it off after, but she could've just been burying it to protect her tough exterior. She could've been seriously upset by that.

That time with that Closed Space, she was recreating the world because she was jealous of Asahina-san…

What if...

What if Haruhi's jealous of Sasaki? That's got to be it! I mean, we're close friends, but it's not the kind of friendship to be jealous of. Then again, Haruhi's prone to blowing things out of proportion.

"Alright. I'll talk to you later, Kyon." Sasaki extends her hand as I turn to leave. We shake hands. It's a strange gesture, but not an overly surprising one coming from Sasaki.

"HURRY UP KYON! YOU'RE KEEPING US WAITING! PENALTY!"

Yup, Haruhi's definitely upset. I need to go talk to her. Now. The last time she was like this was that time I almost hit her while we were working on that movie. She must feel like I betrayed her or something. I need to go talk her down before things get bad. I start to jog over to do just that. However, a noise stops me dead in my tracks. I turn and see a truck barreling toward where I had just been talking to Sasaki at breakneck speed. My friend, however, was still there, staring at the truck like a deer caught in such a pair of headlights.

Time seems to slow down. I turned around and did what anyone would do in such a cliché situation: I ran back. I mean, Haruhi needs me too, but it's not like she'll destroy the world in five minutes, right?

It felt like I wasn't getting anywhere, and that by the time I reached the road it would be too late. Nevertheless, I just barely make it. As I'm pushing Sasaki out of the way and preparing to die a death straight out of some poorly contrived soap opera, I get a glimpse at the driver. He's not much older than I am. He dons a face of shock only as I dive into the way, and he tries to steer to the left, which would place his truck closer to Sasaki. Or at least, that's what it seemed like. I could've been seeing things.

The truck hits me, and only me. This feels so familiar. The pain doesn't feel much stronger than that time Asakura stab-tackled me, but it's a different kind of pain, and it's everywhere along that side of my body.

The last thing I remember is Haruhi's voice calling my name, and Sasaki collapsing out of my hand and out of harm's way. Wait, that's two things. Whatever. I let go, preferring to sleep rather than experience the worst pain I've ever experienced.

Author's Note

Well, there's the prologue. Chapter one shouldn't be far off, it just needs some editing. I could really use a beta reader if anyone's interested, as I'm still a bit shaky on some things.