So, you want to hear my story, eh? Well, I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't at least a little interesting. At a glance, your standards would dictate that I led a normal life; I was born, I lived, I loved, I died. I still had so much to live for, I didn't want to die when I did, but I don't regret one second of it. My name is Alistair Clarke. This is the story of how I died.
The entire school marched robotically into the studio hall, muttering and moaning about having to walk even further in the morning after climbing the hill up to school. The hall and stage were lit and the heating fans blew hard, doing nothing to stop the cool autumn air seeping in through every crack. The students trudged into the rows of metal chairs and took their seats as the headmaster marched onto the stage. He scanned the assembling crowds and his eyes kept on jittering to the side of the stage, the heavy red curtain gently waving. A few students noticed this, pointing it out to their friends.
"Come on!" Haruhi groaned, shuffling impatiently in her seat beside Kyon. "What the hell is going on?" Kyon decided that he couldn't spare the effort required for speech, instead focusing on if the weather was warm or cold and how he should complain appropriately. He had heard a few rumours that there was some kind of festival or announcement that involved the whole school, but he started to doubt them as he spotted the headmaster nervously glance to side of the stage and give a thumbs up.
"Alright, students, settle down!" he called, the room silencing at the odd spectacle. "Now, I have a special announcement for you all toady. We will be joined by three new students today, and they are very special. They are all on a foreign exchange programme here in Japan from Winchester Academy, a school for the gifted in England. I want you all on your best behaviour and to show our guests courtesy whilst they are here. So, could you please welcome Sanjit Ahmed, Rébecca Giles and Alistair Clarke." As the crowd applauded, three figures walked out from the curtain and lined up at the front of the stage.
The first boy who walked out was a chunky boy with dark skin with tight curls of blonde hair attached to a round face. His arms bulged slightly in his shirt, suggesting that he had some strength hidden behind his superior snarl that surveyed the crowd with an air of disgust. The girl that followed him attracted whistles from the boys, but they were quickly cut off by Sanjit's cold glare. She held her head in a slight bow, her cruel blue eyes staring down her tiny nose at the floor. Her thin arms were flecked with freckles and her waist was pencil-thin. Haruhi's interest peaked and her jaw hung in excitement as the applause faltered.
Finally, the sound of finely crafted leather boots clunked softly onto the stage after the two other students and the room went silent. Everything was so very, very silent. Sanjit was the first to break the quiet. He bid them good morning with a sharp voice made thick with years Hindi dialogue. Rébecca's greeting was nearly silent, her light French accent making her graces sound like music. Haruhi's eyes sparkled as the shorter Alistair stepped and swept his arm into a theatrical bow.
"Good morning." greeted a crooning voice that took many of the girls by surprise, "My name is Alistair Clarke. I'll be joining your school, I hope we can all be friends." Silence. Haruhi, shameless as ever, climbed up onto her chair and applauded loudly. Some of the students turned to her in shock before whispering to their neighbours in concern and joining in. Before long, the room had begun to thunder with applause, punctuated largely from screeches and whistles from the whole school. Kyon stared. Koizumi was applauding gently in the row in front of him. Either the esper was telepathic or he had the exact same feeling as Kyon. Koizumi turned to him with his polite smile and raised an eyebrow before being bombarded by Haruhi.
"Who do you think they are? Are they 00 agents? You think they're spies?" Her eyes were lit like a bonfire covered in diesel as the applause died down and the students descended the stage, escorted out of the room by an especially pompous-looking teacher. As the teens walked past his row, Kyon spotted a smile crawl onto Alistair's face and his teeth glowed slightly as he smiled down the lines. But Kyon's head wasn't spun by the almost flirtatious look the new kid was giving the girls through hair that was white as snow and shone like polished steel, it was beneath it. Literally.
For a single second, Kyon's eyes locked onto the kid's and his body was unable to move. The second seemed to stretch and he felt his mind go blank as he helplessly stared back, his muscles totally locked in place. The colour drained from all around him and all sound was dulled to an incomprehensible roar, but Kyon just couldn't escape those two orbs of melted amber. As quickly as it had appeared, the feeling was gone, the kid breaking eye contact as the teachers attempted to calm the students down whilst hustling the academy students out of the door. Kyon slumped in his chair, suddenly feeling drained and out of breath. His 'leader' didn't take notice of her injured subordinate and continued to crane her neck as the headmaster retook his podium.
"Now, Mr. Ahmed and Miss. Giles will be joining the senior year's Class C," A few of the seniors elbowed each other and whispered excitedly, "Whilst Mr. Clarke will be joining junior year's Class B." Kyon groaned as he predicted the very notes that Fate's strings played. Of course the one that just assaulted his head was going to be in his class. "Alright, that's all, you're dismissed." Filled with a fresh buzz of energy, the students filed out of the studio to the sound of the bell, chattering about that cute Eastern boy and that weird kid with the smooth voice.
But it seemed that not all of Kyon's day was ruined; Alistair Clarke wasn't in class that day and, from what the rumours were saying, neither were the other two Winchester students. Some speculated that they had all been taken orienteering around the school, which meant only trouble for Haruhi; she'd have to hunt them a little harder, but Kyon knew from the way she was applauding earlier she was aiming for one in particular.
Personally, I'd be happy with never seeing that Clarke kid again. He's definitely not normal, 'cause there's no way a normal person could make me feel so... exposed. But Haruhi is Haruhi, so she's gonna jump on the weirdest people she can find. And Clarke was the weirdest of the three.
As the final bell rang, Haruhi's chair was wobbling without an owner, a flash of brown hair disappearing out of the door. Kyon sighed heavily and said goodbye to Taniguchi and Kunikida, slowly packing his stuff after what felt like an unending day. He just couldn't get those eyes out of his head. As he finally heaved his backpack over his shoulder and slid the class door open, most of the school were already out of the door, allowing Kyon to hear another door sliding open. He looked up from his path and found Koizumi bowing out of a door.
"Oh, hello. I guess we better hurry if we don't want to make Miss. Suzumiya angry?" Kyon gave a non-committal grunt; giving a 'yeah' would've meant moving faster than a tired lope. Plus, he wouldn't have ever heard a sound that echoed down the empty hall. He stopped stock still and listened hard and felt the last of his energy leave him in a little sigh; it was those boots that looked like they were hand-carved from a black hole. There, at the far end of the hall, oblivious to their presence, the strange white-haired kid walked slowly. He was totally unaccompanied and Kyon felt a small tug as he left his sight. He groaned as he realised that Haruhi was starting to rub off on him.
"Hey, Koizumi, you go on ahead, I'll catch up with you. I'm just going to-"
"You're planning to pursue that new boy Alistair Clarke, aren't you?" Koizumi interrupted, second-guessing him with a knowing smile. Checking that Haruhi hadn't heard them by peering up the stairs cautiously, Koizumi grinned and stepped ahead of Kyon. "I've been having a few words with my superiors during my lunch break and have been told that I need to keep an eye on our new guests, so it's actually part of my job to go snooping. Shall we?" he added with a small laugh, leading the way silently after Clarke. They reached the end of the hall and peered after him, watching as his purposeful stroll took him around another corner. They stalked with stealth Kyon didn't know was at his disposal, ducking into shadows and doorways every time Clarke slowed and surveyed one of the display boards.
"Is he... meeting someone?" As they crouched awkwardly behind a water fountain after traversing a fair portion of the school, Clarke passed a partially hidden figure and stood in a three-way intersection. It was deserted apart from the shadowed second student and his two stalkers. After staring down both of the halls, he turned wordlessly to the figure, which pushed itself off of the wall and curtseyed low.
"Urgh, one of his fan girls, by the looks of it." Kyon said with distaste as the boy put his hand on the girl's shoulder, causing her to wring her hands nervously as she stood. They didn't seem to be talking, just staring at each other in the evening sunlight, but it was hard to tell from where they were standing. Then, Clarke did something that Koizumi and Kyon weren't expecting; he turned on his heel and offered his arm, which the girl took. Together, they walked further to the entrance of the school, the two boys still hot in pursuit.
"Wait a moment... Does that girl look familiar?" Koizumi had a slight height advantage, letting him see a little more of the girl, mainly her soft face as she turned to look at the boy who she accompanied. But that didn't matter, because her lime green hair was profound enough. They stopped outside of a double-door and turned to each other, again not talking. "Isn't... Isn't she the Computer Club's President's supposed girlfriend? You remember, the one that he never met?" Kyon focused hard and suddenly remembered; he had only seen her once before. It was in the club room, when she asked the SOS Brigade to solve her 'boyfriend's' mysterious disappearance.
"Wasn't it Kimidori? Emiri?" Koizumi smiled and snapped his fingers in triumph, accidentally attracting the attention of Clarke. The boy's head snapped to the side and he stared down the hall. As his head rotated and hair shifted slightly, Kyon made it a point not to look at him, avoiding his eyes like Medusa's glare. Maybe a mirror would work on him? Koizumi peered around the corner and gasped as he leaped back. Kyon, still kneeling, felt his face burn and heart stop as he found Kimidori's knees suddenly in his face.
"Oh, hello." she greeted with a soft confidence, "Weren't you two the boys that helped find my boyfriend with Miss. Suzumiya?" She smiled politely at Koizumi, who returned it,
"Yes, that's right." No sense in confronting her now; they still had to escape. "Um, if you don't mind my asking, but you and Mr. Clarke seem to be very close?" Emiri looked at him for a few seconds before jumping and turning on her heel. Kyon never heard a sound, so how the girl knew that Clarke was walking down the hall after her was a mystery. The strange boy walked with a straight back and with eyes forward, stopping in the centre of the intersection and staring ahead. Emiri started to talk, but his left arm suddenly snapped out and pointed over her shoulder, not taking his eyes off of the hall before him, a clear sign for 'go away.' Kyon looked back to Kimidori with interest, expecting some kind of domestic retort to her apparent boyfriend, but she just gave a shaky nod and hooked her small hands around Kyon's and Koizumi's arms.
"Come on, boys, Mr. Clarke has to have a meeting with our fellow students and we shouldn't interrupt." Watching with intrigued, cautious silence, Koizumi allowed himself to be led away a short distance before Kimidori stopped and looked back over her shoulder.
"So, Miss. Kimidori, do you know much about Mr. Clarke and his co-students?" Kyon could really appreciate Koizumi's smooth talking, which seemed to operate on the same wavelength as Kimidori.
"You're referring to his movements, I take it? Well, from what I've gathered from him, Mr. Clarke, Mr. Ahmed and Miss. Giles all come from a very prestigious and militaristic academy for the country's best. He tells me that he was going to have a meeting with them and doesn't appreciate anyone else being there." Kyon's skin crawled, was that guy always aware of their presence? Even from down the hall, Kyon spotted Clarke's back stiffen slightly as his chest swung outwards, as if ready to receive a hard punch. But nothing of the sort came. He gave his head a little jerk and bowed his head to his two upperclassmen as Ahmed and Giles stopped before him. Ahmed did the same and Giles curtseyed, allowing the younger boy to kiss her hand.
"Disciplined, proper." Koizumi noted to himself, along with the strange glare that the two boys were giving each other. Clarke turned slightly and presented his arm to the two, showing them down the hall and following them closely. A door was opened and closed, followed by an awkward silence.
"...on? Kyon?" a far-off voice called. Kyon's stomach dropped as the unmistakable voice of the Brigade Leader drifted from the stairs and met his ears.
"Um, Miss. Suzumiya? I don't think you should be shouting so loud?" Mikuru's timid, angelic voice pleaded with the girl, but to no avail.
"No way! If I don't shout, that bone-head won't be able to hear me. Honestly, Mikuru, if you stay like a klutz your whole life, you'll only appeal to a portion of the long-term fan base- There they are!" Haruhi landed with ease after leaping the last seven stairs of the staircase and rushed over to Kyon and Koizumi. "You're both late! Penalties! You guys were no help in the hunt!" Kyon took a moment to contemplate what she had said.
"Hunt? What hunt? Me and Koizumi were just-" Kyon turned and was shocked to find that Kimidori had disappeared from their side silently.
"I don't care what you idiots were doing, what's important is that you're here now." She craned her head around and smiled excitedly, "We're gonna go recruit some new members!" Mikuru and Nagato followed down the stairs in their unique fashions, but Nagato was looking a little off today. More alert, more confident in her movements, as if she were moving with a purpose that was beyond Haruhi's orders. Haruhi gestured to her with her head, "Yuki's been helping us track down those new academy kids! They're class and foreign varieties are bound to attract all sorts of attention to the Brigade!" She beamed widely as if what she just said made sense. Without a word, Yuki continued walking past Haruhi, who clapped excitedly and hopped up and down like a child, and followed the small girl closely.
"Hey, you shouldn't do that, Nagato's not a sniffer dog, you know." Kyon commented angrily, but not even Koizumi noticed; all eyes were locked with intrigue at the small sophomore girl that started an awkward jog as she reached the intersection and turned right, heading for the double doors.
"Miss. Nagato seems to be in a hurry." Koizumi commented with an air of amusement, his longer strides keeping up with the hustling crowd with ease. Ahead of them, Nagato opened the double door and entered slightly, pointing off to the edge of the class as the rest of the Brigade entered the dark room. Kyon was surprised that he'd skulked this far from the clubroom and hadn't noticed where he'd been travelling, for he suddenly found himself back in the studio hall with all of the lights off bar the stage lights. A little way in the darkness of the back of the hall, Kyon was sure he could see the small figure of Kimidori lurking, but there was no way to tell for sure.
This, however, was nothing in comparison to the odd spectacle that was on stage. The three Winchester students appeared to have been busy in the minute that Kyon wasn't watching, for the stage was full. The great grand piano was dominating one side of the stage, a seat and a microphone occupying the second half. The sound of a violin being tuned didn't look right coming from Ahmed's strong, scowling form. The sleek instrument in his arms looked so small and brittle, a polar opposite look that Clarke donned as he sat at the piano, running his fingers over the keys with a look of extreme concentration. Giles stood before the microphone with her eyes closed, her delicate lips moving as she breathed deeply. Haruhi grabbed Kyon's shoulder and opened her mouth, but jumped as she was suddenly silenced.
Clarke had started playing. His stern stare and manic smile had disappeared as he played a few notes and paused, rolling his head dreamily, his eyes closed as if he were savouring the taste of an age-old wine. He repeated this process again before finalising his solo piece by tossing his head into the air majestically and nodding to Rébecca.
"Mezamete ha kurikaesu, Nemui asa ha," The girl on stage softly burst into song, her French accent giving the fluently sung Japanese words a graceful ring as the small boy played on in his dream-like state. The music began to grow in pace and Ahmed stood and played with them, his violin singing with the vocals. For a while, the unlikely trio played in beautiful synchronicity, their talents doing the music glory.
"Sonna nichijou ni, fukinukeru kaze..." Rébecca smiled as she looked to the piano and let her voice become a reminder. Clarke seemed to know the song well as his eyes exploded open and his insane grin bloomed on his face. The pace raised and Clarke's fingers rushed to the higher notes, not missing a single one as Rébecca sang on. The Brigade was caught in stunned silence as they watched the three students play on, but none were impressive as the junior; Clarke was smiling and laughing in open joy, swinging his head and thrashing his body passionately to the notes as his lean fingers hammered the keys of the huge piano. As the song drew to its climax, sweat was flicking from his sweeping hair as his body became the music, his face was one of fanatical joy as he drummed his legs to the final notes. As the final line played, Clarke hunched over the piano before hurling his arms aside, a triumphant smile on his glistening face as the instrument rang before him, his chest heaving.
After his arms fell, he stood with a proud back and composed himself with a slight blush, as if he were embarrassed by his performance before the glaring Sanjit. He whipped a handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his shining brow before nodding seriously to the two seniors. They didn't say a word to each other as Ahmed packed his violin and strode off stage, slamming the fire escape open as if suddenly in a foul mood. Rébecca gave a little wave before following him out, leaving Clarke standing in the spotlight, unaware of people who observed him.
"Hey! Hey, you!" Haruhi suddenly exploded, charging through the darkness to the suddenly startled boy, "Wait up!" The Japanese language clearly wasn't Clarke's first language as 'wait up' was heard as 'run away,' because he barely considered the Brigade leader's request before stealing away, disappearing after the other two without a sound. Haruhi leaped onto the stage and ran after him, bursting out into the open air. She turned all around, but the three students had disappeared. She pouted and stormed back into the building, glaring off of the stage into the darkness where her Brigade waited expectantly.
"He got away." She sighed and marched off stage and headed for the far door, "Well, he's gonna have to be in class tomorrow. We'll get him then." From the bloodlust in her voice, Kyon wanted no part of the 'acquisition' of the poor guy. Plus, that meant not having to actually look into those demon eyes again. Later, Haruhi went into a kind of pensive state, no doubt pondering on how to corner the two seniors. After a solid hour of staring into space, she looked outside and jumped up.
"I'm leaving. Lock the door on your way out." she said with little emotion, signalling a jittery Koizumi and stand and pack the Othello board back into his bag.
"I think I'll be going now as well. I'll see everyone tomorrow!" No doubt off to report to his superiors, the esper rushed after the brigade leader, his shoes squeaking loudly in the silent school.
Haruhi strode out of the front door and looked all around her. The evening sun stained the sky a fiery orange, the silhouetted trees drawing the light from the sky and framing the horizon. She suddenly felt a sense of hope, like something big was coming. With a little flutter in her chest, Haruhi took a deep breath and set off down the hill that led to the school. The air suddenly smelled delicious and she felt so much lighter. Could it all be due to those three students?
Her mind began to wander as she crossed the train tracks and the sun seemed to have been weighted, as the moon was already rising and the sun had already disappeared. As Haruhi meandered on towards home, she couldn't help but notice the shadows wobble and move at the outskirts of each lamp light. She pulled her coat a little further around her and shrunk into her shoulders as a metal bin was hurled over and voices started to wheeze laughter in the shadows. As the sound of footsteps started to echo behind her and the crawl of traffic disappeared, Haruhi couldn't help but turn and stare into the darkness. The shapes were indistinct, but she could sense the electricity of an excited crowd creeping after her. She started to back away from the laughing crowd, but her back hit something solid that wasn't there before. She wheeled and her breath caught as the putrid smell of old tobacco and hard liquor poured onto her from the man's chest. She looked up into his face and found a nose that looked like it had been broken a dozen times shadowing a mouthful of gold-plated or totally missing teeth. His skull cap clung tightly to his shaven head, as did his beer-soaked vest to his huge barrel chest.
"Hey, little lady," he breathed into her face, flashing his shining teeth and flexing his thick arms whilst the men that tailed Haruhi laughed maniacally. The man took a deep swig of the potent drink that looked too small in his huge grasp, "What're you doin' in this side of town?" He started to lurch forward, forcing Haruhi to back away. She couldn't find her voice to scream as the situation's reality suddenly hit her hard. She backed right into the street light so the gang that followed her were forced into the light. Their hoods and skull caps kept their bowed heads hidden from whatever help might have been around, but Haruhi wasn't holding out much hope. The leader staggered back up to her and slammed his palm against the metal pole with such force that the light shook, making the shadows dance.
"Come on, little girl, come join the real party. Here," he pressed the bottle to her lips as she turned her head, the smell making her head spin. Suddenly, the leader spun as a symphony of curses rose and the sound of bodies being shunted out of the way sliced through the crowd.
"For me? Don't mind if I do!" A ghostly pale hand suddenly shot out and seized the bottle, the leader and Haruhi following the arm. The intruder twirled the glass in his hand and sized up the half-full bottle before placing it to his lips and up-ending the bottle. The leader's faint eyebrows rose as the shorter figure gulped down the liquor, bubbles flooding into the bottle as the fiery drink disappeared down the intruder's throat. As the last drops of vodka were gulped away, the intruder gave a short sigh and licked his lips, holding the empty bottle out to the leader.
"'Stoli Elit,' huh? Classy. Thanks for that, I needed it." Haruhi's jaw dropped and the leader began to snarl as none other than Alistair Clarke's clear golden eyes glowed just beneath his hair. He took Haruhi's hand firmly and began to lead her away, but the crowd suddenly swelled and blocked him. Haruhi was still in shock, barely comprehending the legion of darkened figures that crept closer into the light. She was more concentrated on the painfully skinny figure in the North High uniform. She had wished for a saviour and she got this skinny Brit?
"Is there anything else I can help you gentleman with?" The light above him began to buzz as the leader snarled and smashed the bottle against the pole and loosened a wire. Clarke smiled widely as the light flickered, making his insane smile blink and his sharp features emphasising further to make him look like a walking skeleton.
"Miss. Suzumiya, please stay behind me." he hummed quietly, letting go of Haruhi's hand and gently pushing her away, facing the street full of thugs without fear.
"You wanna dance, you uptight little bastard?" The leader hissed, flicking a switchblade the length of Clarke's forearm from his boot. The thugs laughed and spat at Clarke, who just cocked his head like a fascinated child. "Let's dance!" The thugs laughed and whooped like primeval beasts as the leader and Clarke bent their knees and began to circle, one with a knife and the other with his pale fists.
"Come on, Shank, cut 'im!" one of the thugs called, the leader faking a few jabs, but Clarke didn't flinch. As the light flickered and went out, the gang started to howl and the sound of a crunch and choking suddenly erupted from the fight. As the white light came back, the leader, Shank, was holding his knife at arm's length and clutching his throat, retching painfully whilst Clarke rocked back and forth on his heels, chuckling.
"Who did that?" he called accusingly to the crowd, laughing his lungs out as Shank stood and lunged. The crowd was going insane and Haruhi was frozen in the shadows, watching as the towering man sliced for the North High student, but Clarke seemed to have some tricks up his sleeve. With every swing, he just leaned and slid away, curving his slim body to impossible angles to dodge the blade by millimetres. With a barking laugh, Clarke rolled around a lunge, leaned into a crouch and slammed his palm across Shank's knee. The man's huge legs were partially covered by a pair of torn basketball shorts, allowing the entire gang to see his knee cap roll ninety degrees under the strike from the sixteen year old boy. Shank screamed a deep below and fell, silencing the gang as he groaned on the floor. Clarke did a little pirouette before bowing mockingly to the gang, his smile not faltering and his breathing still calm.
"You'll pay for that, you little shit!" another gang member screamed. Even in the semi-light, Clarke and Haruhi could clearly see the flashes of knives and chains unsheathing. Haruhi rushed forwards and grabbed Clarke's arm, shaking with fear.
"What're you going to-"
"Miss. Suzumiya," he said softly, making her take her eyes off the bristling gang and to his face. For the first time ever, Haruhi met Clarke's eyes and she suddenly felt calm. His skin shone like an angel in the clinically white light, but that couldn't compare to the beautiful, intelligent glow of his eyes. The world around Haruhi suddenly didn't matter. All sound, the lukewarm autumn wind and the glint of cold steel, it all disappeared. Clarke occupied the world, and that was all Haruhi knew. He turned to her and curled his hand around her head, his intoxicating scent and smooth voice the only thing that mattered, "Listen to me; I will let no harm come to you, understand?" He pulled her away and looked her in the eye stilling her heart, "Trust me." he crooned, letting go of her hand. She nodded without breath and drifted back into the shadow, not taking her eyes off of Clarke's smile as the gang rushed in.
Clarke didn't make a move as the men swarmed up behind him and seized his arms, locking them behind his back and presenting his chest for the rest of the gang. One man, a skinny little rat with huge buckteeth, skipped forwards and snatched Shank's knife from his grip, heading straight for the still Clarke. As he lunged, the light flickered again and didn't stop, casting a bright strobe on the entire scene. To Haruhi, the sound reached her ears at the right time, but the images were that of a stop-motion film. Clarke's legs suddenly flicked up, hitting the man hard in the chin. Displaying upper body strength that was surprising for someone of his stature, Clarke tensed up and rolled his entire body over his captor's shoulders, causing their heads to slam together and their grip to disappear.
Even as Clarke flexed his shoulders confidently, he could tell at a glance that the gang was swelling into the night. There was no way he could keep both himself and Haruhi safe without shedding some blood. Muttering to himself what appeared to be a sort of prayer, he flexed his fists and prepared for a fight-
The horn blared and cut through the night. The whoops and whistles stop and all heads turned in unison to the powerful growling engine that sat amidst the hulking metal figure. The high-beams bloomed into life and glared down the gang members, the engine roaring like a great lion as the wheels screeched like an eagle, suddenly gaining traction and rampaging at the gang. Clarke backed up and hugged Haruhi's head into his shoulder, shielding her eyes as the glaring lights scattered the crowd. Within seconds, the street had emptied as the confused and disorganized group dispersed, the huge car squealing to a stop beside the two students, the door popped open and Haruhi allowed Clarke to guide her inside.
As he slammed the door and the car bossed its way back onto the road, Haruhi got a chance to look around. Clarke was sitting across from her in a chair that faced the back of the car, a long pane of privacy glass separating the driver's cabin from the spacious back. As the white-haired boy popped his knuckles and took a few deep breaths, Haruhi's hand was taken and stroked soothingly by none other than Rébecca Giles, who smiled kindly to her as Sanjit, who sat beside Clarke, glared out of the window and watched the roads.
"Clarke, you smell like ethanol. Tum bevakuuf ho." he growled to the snowy-haired boy without looking at him, muttering insults under his breath in Hindi. Clarke laughed and rubbed his forehead as the car rolled around another corner,
"Well, I'm a talented idiot then, aren't I? I just downed half a bottle of what felt like lit oil and fought off armed thugs whilst you, Wisdom, sat here in the car." Sanjit turned and glared at his younger, clenching his fist as if daring the boy to a fight for using such a disrespectful tone and for mocking his name. Clarke only smiled slightly insanely back, tempting him to swing first. Rébecca cleared her throat and the two boys looked away from each other, the electricity in the air remaining. She turned her delicate face to Haruhi and smiled sympathetically,
"Well, it's a good thing that Alistair found you when he did. Are you alright, Miss. Suzumiya? Those awful men did not 'urt you, did they?" Haruhi looked down to her hands and found that they were shaking. What just happened?
"Say," she began slowly, feeling the warmth of the car and large leather seats calming her nerves, "How did you guys find me?" The car was silent. No one met her eye, not even Clarke. Rébecca sighed and took up the explanation,
"Alistair decided to walk home, but our house keeper does not like it if we are late, so Sanjit and I came out looking for him. It was a good thing we found you when we did or something terrible might have happened-"
"And come to think of it, why did you help me? And how come you all know my name-"
"Sebastian!" Clarke suddenly cut her off, rapping the privacy glass briskly, "We're here. Pull over." At his command, the car swerved and came to a smooth stop, Clarke hopping out of his seat and opened the door for Haruhi. They were astonishingly close to her home already, all the way across town from the school. "Please go straight home, Miss, you've had a rough experience today and I'd hate for you to get ill over it." He gave a well-honed bow and gave a curt nod with his smile, "Good evening, Miss. Suzumiya." Looking into those eyes, Haruhi knew that he was right. He knew what was best. With as strong a nod as she could muster, she turned and headed for home in a dreamy state, her feet leading her absent mind all the way to the door. Clarke just stood in the streetlight, watching her back as she meandered away. As she disappeared, he turned to see Sanjit glaring at him from the car before slamming the door in his face, the driver taking off before the youngest boy had a chance to say anything. Left in the cold dark, Clarke just sighed for the childishness of his elder and started home, unaware of the car that crawled after him.
Arakawa twitched his moustache as the target was left behind by the others, forcing him to walk. The old man shook his head,
"How ruthless. These are clearly a group that thinks very highly of themselves, Koizumi, and even the little one is capable in a fight. You'll want to keep your distance as much as possible." The brunette adjusted himself in the passenger seat as the head of white hair glowed in the street light,
"You know, it's at times like this that I wish that I was fighting the shinji instead of being on the front line with Miss. Suzumiya." Arakawa chuckled and clicked the car back into gear, tailing the boy through the late evening. It didn't take long for the boy to reach his destination, but it surprised Koizumi greatly when Clarke slipped into a towering, upper-class apartment building. The very same building that Nagato lived in. Arakawa brought the disguised Agency taxi into the car park, but found that the large luxury 4x4 that they had been following was not there.
"Looks like we'll be in for a long night." Arakawa moaned after three hours passed and Clarke still hadn't emerged, "Judging by the way they left him to walk, I get the feeling that Clarke isn't accepted amongst Ahmed and Giles?" Koizumi yawned and considered this,
"From what Miss. Kimidori told me, Winchester Academy is for the country's elite and follows militaristic tradition. Perhaps the two seniors see themselves as a higher rank or echelon and refuse to be seen with Mr. Clarke?" On they talked, theorising as a way to fight off sleep as the hours crawled by. Before Koizumi knew it, he was waking up to the early morning sun on his face and a very stiff neck. He groaned and stretched, remembering that he was still in the car and bumping his head on the roof. The noise made the old man jump and awaken from his snoring sleep. His eyes suddenly burst open and he stared at the entrance of the building desperately,
"Damnit! Who knows if he came back out during the night?" He ran his fingers through his iron grey hair and sighed, checking his watch, "Sorry Koizumi, but I'm afraid it's already time for school. Here," Arakawa reached into his pocket and tossed a few notes to Koizumi, "Go get yourself some breakfast and a coffee, try and wake up before school opens." Stepping out into the cool air, Koizumi adjusted his hair and straightened his jacket, dreading the day ahead.
Mr. Okabe struggled to draw the class' attention back onto him when the transfer student entered the class.
"Alright, alright, that's enough!" he bellowed over the din, finally calming the small class, "Now, I know you're all excited to have a new student, but remember to do your school proud. Now, where's there a spare space?" A big mistake. Clarke lifted his head and swept his eyes across the room with a sly smile, his gaze causing shunting all around, students trying to clear the place for the new guy.
"Mr Okabe, sir," Clarke referred to him with the same tone as a corporal addressing his field commander, "I believe there's a seat just there." He pointed his thin arm to the back of the class, to Asakura's old seat. The one right beside Kyon.
Called it. Clarke made his way to the back of the class and sat in silence, sitting with a perfectly straight back and his arms folded neatly. All through the day, he didn't take his eyes from the front of the class, answering each question by standing first, perfectly wording in fluent Japanese and ending every sentence with 'sir.' At lunch, he quickly rose and escaped the room before anyone could invite him to their table. As Kyon headed for the canteen, he saw the three exchange students in one of the corners eating in silence, all other chairs around them having mysteriously disappeared.
Kyon spotted Koizumi with his head on the table and Mikuru sitting across from him, looking out of place beside the esper. Not seeing either of his friends around, Kyon decided to go sit with them; he still needed to ask Koizumi about his... experience.
"What's up with him?" he asked as he sat, the esper barely stirring. Mikuru smiled softly,
"I think Koizumi was working with his... friends last night. I think they've been working him too hard." Someone knocked Koizumi's chair and he jumped back into reality, his hair plastered to the side of his face and drool sticking to his chin.
"Smooth." Kyon commented with his lip curling. Koizumi looked at him through squinted eyes before rubbing his face.
"I'm sorry, were you talking to me?" He stretched out his arms and made his back pop uncomfortably before falling back onto the desk and continuing his nap. Great, good to know I can count on you. Haruhi's mysteriously gone, Miss. Asahina can't really be counted on for help and Koizumi looks likes the walking dead. But as always, there's one I know I can count on. That petite little alien that sits in the Literary Clubroom and reads her books. Nagato will have the answers.
As the final thirty minutes of the school day poked its head around the door, the hum of after school plans began to circulate. Some of the guys and some of the girls broke off mid-sentence to check if Clarke was listening in, sometimes throwing his name into the mix to try and get his attention, but to no avail. He remained distant, disciplined, eyes forward and taking notes the whole time. When the bell rang, a few students had the tenacity to grab onto his arm and physically pull him into the conversation, but he just politely refused them and made his way with increasing urgency to the door. As he finally reached the door frame, he tried to dive outside, but another set of hands just held him back. His omnipresent energetic bordering on insane smile faltered as he checked his watch and tried to pull away from their grip, but they held on. He eventually tugged hard enough to pull his head around the door, crane his neck and yell,
"Emiri!" Suddenly, the girl with the green hair appeared beside him. Using a surprising amount of force, he grabbed the girl and pulled her close, whispered something to her and gave her a push down the hall. Even over the emptying class, Kyon could see the oddly coloured hair race past the frosted glass of the classroom with haste. Scooping up his bag, Kyon rushed to the mêlée and pushed his way through the crowd.
"Hey, Alistair, sorry for taking so long, let's go!" Taking his momentum and surprise to his advantage, he tugged Clarke out of the crowd's grasp and led him down the hall. Once they were on the stairs, Clarke pulled away from him and stared at him. His snarl twitched and perked at the corners until it grew it to a look of fascination. He was the same height as Kyon, making it a little awkward for him to not look him in the face.
"Oh, it's you!" Clarke started to laugh throatily, cocking his head and staring intently into Kyon's face. Kyon expected him to jump at him, to scream something suddenly, to threaten him with death or tell him that he was a wizard, anything to explain what happened yesterday, but his actual answer was far more surprising.
Summary, followed by IMPORTANT Author's Note!
Well, here we go again. In the months leading up to the New Year, a period of silence falls over the SOS Brigade. Their movie finished and the festivals out of the way, Haruhi falls into a state of boredom and anticipation. Could it be coincidence that three students suddenly transfer to North High? Introducing three new students, an Indian, a Frenchman and a Brit all march out onto the stage, each distinctly different from the last. First Is Sanjit Ahmed, a heavily built blonde senior with scowling eyes. The second is Rébecca Giles, another senior, a pencil-thin French girl with a timid face and cold ice blue eyes, she has instantly gained a lot of popularity with the boys from her looks. The third is a junior named Alistair Clarke, a British boy with hair white as snow and eyes of amber, accompanied by an almost insane smile. The headmaster informs the students that these three new pupils are from Winchester Academy, a school for the 'gifted.'
As they are taken for a tour around the school in the company of one of the teachers, the whole school is eager to get a closer look from their seats. Apart from, of course, our cynical narrator Kyon. But he's not going to get off that easily. As he glances up and follows the crowd's gaze, Clarke turns his head down the rows. As luck would have it, their eyes meet. For one second that seemed like many, Kyon's mind was locked in some kind of mental assault. The colour drained from around him, all noise was dulled and his body refused to move. Even time seemed to stretch as the eyes of Clarke glared at him. But then the eye contact was broken, the effect falling with it. Dazed and confused, Kyon spent the rest of the school day listening to Haruhi's ramblings whilst Clarke failed to show.
As the bell rang and the school emptied, Kyon met Koizumi emerging from his class. The two made their way to the clubroom, but Kyon caught the sound of expensive footwear a little way off. Slowing their pace, they found it to be Clarke, walking suspiciously alone, seemingly with a purpose. Claiming that the Agency had assigned him to investigate the new students, Koizumi and Kyon tail Clarke. After dodging in and out of shadow, Clarke seemed to have a rendezvous with the seldom seen Emiri Kimidori, who mysteriously appeared to supply the SOS Brigade with a loose-ended case.
Linking arms with the student whom no one has talked to yet, Kimidori accompanies Clarke to the entrance of the auditorium. Koizumi and Kyon are forced away as they stop and begin to backtrack, but are found by Kimidori. Subtly hinting that she was aware that she was being followed the entire time, a suddenly very serious looking Clarke appears beside her, glaring down the hall. Using a single gesture, Clarke orders Kimidori away, which she obediently follows, dragging Kyon and Koizumi with her.
Clarke straightens up to formally greet his two senior students, showing them to the auditorium. Meanwhile, Kimidori lets slip that Winchester Academy is actually not only for the mentally talented, but also follows a strict military code, accounting for the discipline and formality that a junior shared with the two seniors. Koizumi's investigation is cut short when Haruhi leaps down the stairs behind them and scorns them for not being present. During this time, Kimidori manages to slip away unnoticed. Informing the two rogue members that they'll be joining the hunt for new members, the rest of the SOS Brigade descends the stairs.
Haruhi tells Kyon that they have been searching for the Winchester students using Nagato's strange intuition, but as the alien girl walks on, Kyon notices that Nagato doesn't quite look right. As she reaches the end of the hallway, she begins to move at a faster pace, rushing ahead of the Brigade to reach the doors of the auditorium.
As the Brigade files into the large, empty room, they find that all of the lights are off bar the stage lights. On stage, the grand piano and microphone have already been set and the three Winchester students are taking their places. Clarke is seated at the piano, Giles is preparing her voice and the large Ahmed is tuning a violin. With a nod of confirmation from Giles, Clarke begins to play. Forgetting his intense smiles and strict greeting, Clarke relaxes into the music and begins to play in an almost dream-like state. Singing through her accent, Rébecca begins to sing My Soul, Your Beats. As the tempo increases, Ahmed skilfully adds the violin.
The Brigade are entranced as Clarke's passion for the song comes before them, swaying his entire body and thrashing passionately to the song, playing with ever-increasing gusto until his eyes glow and his feet tap to the rhythm. As the song ends, Clarke seems to come to his senses and tidies himself up, receiving Ahmed's omnipresent glare. The two seniors make their way out of the building via a fire exit, leaving Clarke alone on stage. Seeing her opportunity, Haruhi rushes through the dark and calls out to Clarke, who panics and takes after the other two. Pursuing him, Haruhi rushes out into the open air and takes a wide look around, but they have all disappeared.
Growing bored of the depression of her prey escaping, Haruhi packs and leaves the Brigade clubroom. She feels her spirits lift and is filled with hope, for the Brigade was soon to recruit three new members who were bound to attract trouble. Lost in thought, Haruhi heads home a little too slowly, wandering into town during the early dark of autumn. Suddenly very aware of the fact that she was alone, Haruhi realises that she is being followed by a small drunken mob. She runs head-long into Shank, the burly leader of the gang. She is forced into a back-pedal until she back into a lamp-post, Shank pressing a half-drunk bottle of premium vodka to her lips. Surrounded by the mob on the outskirt of the lamplight with the towering Shank before her, her situation is grim. That is, until, a pale hand seizes the vodka and downs the remainder of the bottle in one.
Thanking the huge man and handing him back his empty bottle, Clarke steps into the light and attempts to lead Haruhi away. He is blocked by a fuming Shank and gently pushes Haruhi against the wall, standing in the lamplight and bravely facing a force of unknown magnitude. Shank pulls a switchblade and Clarke can only raise his fists, but his smile portrays either a very brave or very stupid confidence. As Shank slashes for him, he displays incredible prowess in combat, despite his incredibly thin and bony body, dodging each swing perfectly. Getting bored of the fight, Clarke dodges one final time and slams his open palm across Shank's knee, forcing his patella to twist and dropping the huge man.
Amidst a shocked silence, Haruhi clings to Clarke's arm, allowing the Brit to lock his eyes onto her own. In a moment, Haruhi has much the same experience to Kyon's, albeit a far more desirable one. Her heart is calmed and she experiences an overwhelming feeling of safety as the total stranger holds her close and guarantees her safety. In a daze, Haruhi agrees and returns to her position in the shadows.
With their leader down, the gang pulls their weapons and attack, two men grabbing his arms and restraining them behind his back, but Clarke doesn't retaliate. Using the damaged lights to his advantage, he waits until he is charged with a knife and the lights go off. In a moment of strobing darkness, Clarke knocks out the three men with ease, but knows that he will have to cause the rest of the gang critical and even fatal injuries to protect himself and the total stranger that is Haruhi.
In the nick of time, a 4x4 containing Rébecca and Sanjit scares the disorganized mob away, picks up Clarke and Haruhi and speeds off. Whilst Haruhi catches up with herself, Rébecca consoles her and Clarke sinks into an uneasy silence, a glaring match with Sanjit setting a tense mood. Tactically dodging the fact that they had been referring to her by name without having met anyone within North High, Rébecca explains that Clarke had decided to take a different route home to the two seniors and that it was sheer good luck that he had found Haruhi when he did, and that Rébecca and Sanjit had only found them as they were searching for Clarke.
They drop Haruhi off near to her house, Clarke stepping out to watch her go. As Haruhi disappears from his view, Clarke turns just in time to see Sanjit slam the car's door in his face, the luxury vehicle driving away and leaving its comrade in the dark.
All the while, Arakawa and Koizumi had been tailing Clarke, keeping tabs on his movements. Opting not to follow the 4x4, they continue to follow the Brit, who meanders his way through the town until approaching the large apartment complex that looms over the town. The very same that Nagato lives in. The two espers notice that something is amiss when Clarke doesn't exit the structure and the luxury 4x4 doesn't reappear in the parking lot.
Hours later, Koizumi and Arakawa awaken to find that they had both fallen asleep on watch, leaving a huge gap of time that they have lost Clarke. Still barely awake and aching from sleeping so awkwardly, Koizumi makes his way to school. In Kyon's class, Haruhi has taken a day off to mysteriously recover and Clarke causes uproar by sweeping his eyes over the class, scanning for an open seat. He final takes his seat beside Kyon, the seat that had belonged to Ryoko before her deletion by Nagato. As he sits, he talks to no one and his manic smile disappears in place of a blank stare, as if he were lining up for drill. It isn't until the final bell rings that Kyon's day gets interesting.
Clarke immediately makes for the door, but is harassed by constant streams of students asking over his plans. He gets increasingly desperate as time draws on, eventually dragging himself to the doorway and calling for Emiri. Kimidori appears beside him and he roughly pulls her closer, whispering something to her before pushing her down the hallway. She takes off at a run and Kyon sees his chance to take on some questioning of his own. Storming through the groups, Kyon pulls Clarke to an empty staircase, at which point Clarke's smile blooms once more when he recognises Kyon.
Author's Note
The song that the Winchester Students were playing, 'My Soul, Your Beats,' is a piece by 'LiSA.' It's used as an opening to the anime 'Angel Beats.' I highly suggest you go onto YouTube and watch it right now for two reasons; 1. It rocks, both the anime and the song. 2. It shows the Japanese lyrics at the top of the screen. It sent shivers down my spine to write the passion that I could see Clarke playing with and the effect is only multiplied when you can actually hear the music and know the piano's tempo increasing. Watch the lyrics carefully and watch for when Rebecca's second line of dialogue is sung and you'll see what I mean.
Also, as a weird side note, notice that the girl from the anime who plays the piano on the opening has white hair and golden eyes. It took me a few times to realise it, but that girl is the female Clarke! I started Clarke's character long before I watched Angel Beats, so I was devastated to know that my original character's looks weren't original at all :( Here's the Youtube link for you;
/watch?v=xS-r_JzKTug
Sorry about it having some German subtitles, this is the only HQ one with the Japanese lyrics :3
As a final note, I'd like to directly address those who have already read 'Waited;'
You have the advantage of knowing that Clarke has a limited control over data, is some form of alien and referred to himself as a 'foreman' and saw himself as superior to the children of the Data Integration Thought Entity. We also know that he has some kind of connection to the D.I.T.E and is a highly capable and devious mind. Also, please consider that I never said that Alistair Clarke was a good guy, his actions in Waited were dictated by nothing but love.
So armed with that bit of revised knowledge, please leave me your theories on the 'foreman' and other students of Winchester Academy and their mysterious purpose in North High in the reviews! Until next time!