Good evening/afternoon/morning one and all. Thank you for setting aside your precious time to read my first ever Haruhi Suzumiya fanfiction. This also is the starting of what I call my 'Serious Projects Series'. If you want to know more about that, just head over to my profile page.
I'm also trying a new writing style, one where the main character, or where the POV will not be of the main character. Think of it like, second-person style.
A few notes you may want to know before reviewing:
1) I'm using the manga as a baseline for the history of events for this story. There may be some events of the anime used, but wherever there is a clash between the events of the manga and anime, I'll be sticking to the manga instead.
2) Please pardon any tiny bits of errors in my language, be it spelling or grammatical. English is my first language, but I'm a normal human being with no beta reader. Apologies.
3) This chapter is just an intro. The main bulk will be thrown in during the later times of the story.
4) Disclaimer: I do not own The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. It belongs to author Nagaru Tanigawa, Kadokawa Shoten (manga and light novel) and Kyoto animation (anime).
It was a normal day of school, the only thing bothering me being the weather. Damn winter, can't the months move a little slower?
As usual, hiking up the hill was a bother, but not as bothersome as the what I'd do when I'm at the destination. All I could do was hope and pray that the yellow hair-ribbons didn't come to school.
"KYON! You're late! Penalty!" Suzumiya screamed as I stepped into the classroom.
"Late?" I asked, annoyance ever-present in my voice, "class hasn't even started yet. And have you any idea how hard it is to ride a bike without slipping on the ice around?"
"No, I don't, and I don't care!" she continued screaming, humiliating me in front of the entire class, and I was fairly certain the classes around could hear her complaints too, "all I know is that you're late! And for that you're going to treat the entire brigade to drinks, today!"
I just placed my face into the palm of my hand, and shook my head as I accepted my the terrible punishment Suzumiya sentenced me to. Arguing with the woman would be completely pointless, as she was no lawyer, and never accepted loss even if she made no sense while I made all of it. No matter what you were arguing about, she'd always win. I really did envy how she looked at life like that. Maybe because she was a girl? My my, what I'd do to become someone like her.
That thought ended the second I thought about it. Get a hold of yourself, Kyon. There's absolutely no way I'd want to be like Haruhi Suzumiya-chan. No. Way. In. Hell.
"Remember! I want fresh apple juice during my lunch break! No later!"she yelled into my ears, possibly deafening me when I took my seat in front of hers. My gosh, what have I done in my life to deserve this? Then again, if I managed to survive one full semester with this mad lady, I guess it wouldn't matter, since the term's already ending. Hopefully I wouldn't be in the same class as her next year.
Though, since it was Suzumiya, I'd definitely be in her class next year. Sigh, one year with her and some others, and my normal life has ceased to exist already.
The boring lessons which I slept through most of passed by fast, and then it was time for lunch break, where my punishment came into effect. Since she was the only other brigade member besides me in class, I only had to treat her, no need for anyone else to mind. Suzumiya didn't seem to be too uptight about it as well; when I got her her drink, she was as delighted as a fangirl seeing Justin Bieber walk down the street. Meh, I wouldn't mind treating the others though. Asahina was a senpai, unbelievably, seeing how she gets abused by Suzumiya all the time. Koizumi, the smiling bastard, was in class 1-9, whereas for Nagato, I had no idea if she even attended class at all.
On the topic of the strange bookworm alien, I really had to wonder what kind of person she was. She did many things to save my life, and also helped us out in the club activities, which weren't much, but it helped to keep Suzumiya's mood in check. The most common thing you'd ever see her do was read. Read. And then find a new book, then repeat the process from step one. I used to wonder if she was reading to send data to that data entity crappy thing up there in space, or whether if she really was reading because she was interested, which I have seen before, thanks to Koizumi introducing chess to me.
All in all, this alien, who I still believe can be a real girl, was quite a wonder by herself. At least she has the courtesy to mind the business of others, not like some other female who sits behind me. Looking at the time, she must have had her lunch finished. What was quite bugging was the fact that she was so silent. She hadn't pulled my chair back, hit me in the head, or scream a really demanding command at me during the entire lunch break when she was eating. I guess it was time for me to investigate this strange phenomenon.
"Say, Haruhi," I turned back, and was given the shock of my life.
I must say, entering Closed Space was quite a scary experience. Having someone like Nagato attempting to cease my existence drove me mad. Seeing two Asahinas during the same time frame could indeed make some people traumatised for the rest of their lives. But nothing, absolutely nothing in the world or out of it, was enough to prepare me for the most horrific act I saw Haruhi doing.
Haruhi.
Was.
Reading.
That was it. The sign of the end of the world. The self-appointed president of the S.O.S. Brigade, who dedicated her entire life to finding the best ways to make life as fun as it could get without dying, was doing exactly what fun people never did.
Read.
She noticed my head turning back to face her, and then she out her book down.
"What's with that expression?" she questioned.
What's with my expression? You mean the one I'm wearing right now, where I'm looking at a reality-changer, actually reading, and possibly going to destroy the entire universe? What's with you reading that deadly piece of papers, that may possibly cause the leader of North Korea to send all of his missiles to decimate the entire damned world?
"Hello? You even there?" she waved her hand in front of my face a couple of times, but my gaze was fixed on the girl's face, my jaw wide open, "you know, with your eyes so wide, you look kinda funny, for a guy like you."
"What-what-that the hell are you doing?" I stammered, pushing myself away from the girl's murderous presence.
"What are you so uptight about?" she picked up the deadly piece of papers again, "what does it look like I'm doing? I'm reading."
"I can see that!" I snapped back, "I thought you hated reading!"
"Since when did I say that?" she put down her book, revealing an annoyed expression, "if I don't read, how would I become better than you?"
That was brutally blunt, "but-but, isn't reading boring to you?" I was sure I hit a spot there, she hated boredom.
"Yeah, it usually is," she replied, then turned back to her book, "but not this book. It's... interesting."
I took a look at the front cover. A very good look. It was titled Love Actually. I remembered that show, always was played on the English channel during Christmas season. It was quite fitting, with winter close by, a story about Christmas didn't seem out of place. What was out of place was the reader. If the entire school suddenly had people falling in love with each other, I wouldn't be surprised. But not me, I'm no man for love. At least, I don't believe I am.
Yet.
"Honestly, don't you read the papers?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer, "it says that reading and walking isn't safe at all!"
"Shush," she said, "I'm trying to read here."
Oh sure, you can't stand being ignored, and yet you're ignoring me? Unreasonable woman. The only reason I'm walking you to club is so that you don't accidentally run into a wall while walking. Can't even appreciate that much, huh? Typical of Haruhi Suzumiya-chan.
"Oh, good afternoon, Kyon-kun, Suzumiya-chan," we heard the ever-annoying voice of the ever-smiling pretty boy, Itsuki Koizumi, walking behind us, believably to be walking to the clubroom like us, "quite a coincidence for us to meet while walking for club, don't you think?"
Oh gosh, please, cut the crap. How on earth is this a coincidence if we're walking to the exact same place? Think logically. And stop smiling, damn you.
"Hey, Koizumi-kun," Haruhi bluntly returned the greeting, her eyes never leaving the book.
"Ah, picked up a new hobby, I see," the smiley face stated, noticing the obvious act that Haruhi was doing.
"It doesn't feel... correct..." I commented.
"Well, I believe people do change at times," he said, the smile not wavering, "before you know it, she'll be back to normal. I guess like what they say, all's well end's well."
It was never 'well' to begin with. At least not for me.
We reached the door of the Literacy Club Room, sorry, S. O. S. Brigade Room. Opening, we saw a girl in a maid uniform by the name of Asahina Mikuru, preparing a few cups of tea. While on the other side of the room, was the scary girl, and the one suitable for reading, Nagato Yuki.
"Hi there!" Asahina greeted us, "Kyon-kun, Koizumi-kun, Suzumiya-san!"
"Hmm," was all Haruhi said, her mouth barely opening.
Both Koizumi and I returned the greeting, but I managed to notice that Asahina was staring at the strange, murderous act that our self-acclaimed brigade leader was doing, the act that only Nagato would do, twenty four-seven.
"Umm, Suzumiya-san," Asahina questioned as she gave the brigade leader a cup of fresh, hot tea, "are you alright? You're not feeling sick, are you?"
Oh, so that's what it was. How could I not notice?
"No, nothing's wrong, I'm completely fine," she took a sip of the tea that was in front of her, her eyes never leaving the book, "thanks for the tea anyway."
Did she just thank Asahina? I guess I stand corrected. The world won't end in 2012, it ends today. Or tomorrow.
"Uh, um, sure, you're welcome," Asahina stammered, then proceeded to serve the rest of us tea.
"Umm, Kyon-kun, Koizumi-kun," the maid asked us, "is Suzumiya-san really alright? She isn't acting normal..."
"She's never normal," I stated, "but what she's doing today is the true definition of the world folding in and imploding itself..."
Perhaps I exaggerated. Asahina flinched the moment I finished the sentence.
"Well, don't worry," Koizumi assured the second-year girl, "I mean, look at Nagato-san over there. She seems to be doing very fine with just reading."
I pictured the scene of Haruhi with glasses, reading a book at the corner of the room. No, no. Just, no. The world's distorted enough. No need to further the damage... I'm going to need to check my brain after this day.
"Hey, how about another round of checkers?" Koizumi said as he pulled a box out from his bag of ever-ready board games.
"Heh. Why not, I'm tired of playing a game I keep on losing at," I accepted the offer, referring to the game Chess. Four games, four losses. Not fun at all, I can say.
The day ended without anything interesting happening, and I was fine with it. Eight games of checkers, four losses, four wins. Close enough, but there wasn't enough time for a tie-breaker. Haruhi spent the entire time reading her Japanese-translated-from-English book, while Nagato spent her day reading something else I didn't bother to find out. Asahina just sat around and watched our games go by, and before we knew it, the school day ended.
Looking around, I saw our dear little brigade leader still reading, even though she was prepared to walk back home.
"Hey, honestly, are you alright?" I asked an innocent question, "you look as obsessed as Nagato in a library, for crying out loud."
She pulled out her bookmark, then placed it at the page she stopped.
"Hey, Kyon," she asked me, completely ignoring my question, "do you believe in love?"
That was random. But, better keep my comments to myself and answer her before she throws a tantrum.
"Yeah, I guess so," I replied, not knowing what else to say, "if it weren't for love, neither of our parents would have been together and we wouldn't exist, right?"
"No, no, not that kind of love... not so deep. I mean the type where you fall in love with someone, you know."
And if our parents didn't fall in love, we still wouldn't be here. How is that different?
"And would you have any example...?" I asked, wondering exactly what was going through her mind.
"I don't know... like maybe, if Koizumi-kun just went up to Yuki-chan one day and confessed his love to her, or something like that."
Lady, that is way over the line. Koizumi's just eternally happy. No love in him at all, and the only thing that Nagato's going to love is the library and it's contents. No way in hell could they possibly just be together all of a sudden.
"Right, I see," I sarcastically commented, "I'm doubtful, but we never know, you know?"
"Meh," she kept her book inside her bag, "anyway, I'm getting tired. Don't be late tomorrow, else you'll really be treating everyone to a drink!"
And with that happy statement, she left for home.
Sigh, Haruhi Suzumiya. Please don't just wonder things like that, you may possibly make these things real. I'd tell you, but you won't believe me, and I doubt you'd care anyway. And for love, it exists, just not for such young people like you and me. And definitely not Koizumi and Nagato, picturing them together sends a shock up my spine.
But heck, it'd be a real fine picture. Love in the S. O. S. Brigade, that'd be a change.
Yeah, this story is a KoizumixNagato. I don't believe that Koizumi is 100% gay, neither do I believe that Nagato is forever alone.
Reviews and criticism are expected, constructive or not. I appreciate anything you throw at me, be it compliments or trolls.
And, as part of my 'Serious Projects', I will not focus on another story till this is finished. Though it may take a while, work has been extremely taxing on both mind and body.
