Author's note: In 2012, I wrote the first version of Variable as a one-shot. In was uploaded here at some point, but I soon decided to take it down in order to refine and polish it further; I had gotten the idea to write a continuation. In 2014, the first two chapters of this new Variable were posted here and were actually pretty well received (like three people read it and that made me very happy). Sadly, writer's block had broken the chain of writing somewhere during the writing of chapters 3 and 4. It's 2016, which means that I've spent four years with this idea of a story, unable to finish it. However, I've been feeling fairly optimistic about this story again, as I've found the spark of inspiration to continue writing. I've taken down the 2014 version of Variable for a new repolishing, and I am satisfied with the end result. What you see here is either Chapter One of a multi-chapter short story, or a one-shot that took four years to properly write - it's your choice. I'm publishing it here (and maybe on AO3, I haven't decided yet, I have no experience with that site), hoping that the fandom hadn't died by now; and if it hasn't, then the future of this story is in your hands. If you read this, please take the time to leave a review saying whether you think this has potential for something bigger or not. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Suzumiya Haruhi franchise or any of its characters here depicted, they are property of Tanigawa Nagaru and Kyoto Animation.

It was a rather cold winter day. Christmas had just gone by, and we were yet to go to Koizumi's Mystery Tour. Damn, it was cold. Anyway, school had past as normal, the always-confused Okabe-sensei had to spend a good fifteen minutes arguing, no, getting his ass verbally kicked by the girl that had complicated my life so much in the past year - Suzumiya Haruhi. She wanted to decorate our classroom for New Year, and that would not be a problem were it anyone else, but Haruhi wanted to paint murals or something as ludicrous as that. I think I heard something about "the true evil side of Santa" or something. Whatever it is, I don't think it would be anywhere near acceptable in a classroom - no, in a school absolutely anywhere in the world. I've seen the drafts for the wall paintings she had done in class. We had a surprise test in Physics and whilst I was struggling with the first problem, she already finished the damn thing. Pf, I see that the gods, if any exist, don't really care about just desserts. She's (un)surprisingly good at anything she does, be it physics, cooking or tossing ornate daggers, she excelled in it. As long as it was interesting in some and any way. Anyway, the draft looked like a horrifying hybrid between Santa Claus, a ninja and a stereotypical Russian soldier. I sincerely apologize to any actual Russian soldier she probably offended with such an image.

As I was making my way towards the clubroom, that idiot Taniguchi turned up out of nowhere.

"Hey, Kyon, y'know what?"

I still can't believe that nickname had spread so fast, like a wildfire hitting a briquette store.

"I got a date with another girl in Kouyoen!"

Do I look like I even remotely care? He probably picked up on the unnerved look on my face.

"You could be a little more supportive of your friends!"

Huh, isn't that what I have been doing all year? Supporting my friends? Nagato, and, ok, Haruhi, fine, to an extent even Koizumi, and of course the lovely Asashina-san!

"Kyon, dude, that Suzumiya virus is seriously getting to you. Get away from me, before I get infected too."

And with those words, the village idiot left me pretty much in front of the Literature Club's room, now completely overtaken by the SOS Brigade headquarters. It reminded me of History class - the Bosnian Annexation Crisis. Basically, the Austro-Ugric Monarchy just said 'You belong to us now. Nobody cares what you have to say about that'. I was pretty sure that Haruhi actually wanted to go to war with the Student Council. And, of course, I would be caught in the trenches.

Knocking lightly on the clubroom door, I heard the light voice that made my heart flutter, belonging to the SOS Brigade's maid and resident angel.

"Come in~"

As I walked into the clubroom, I was met with a familiar sight: Asahina-san brewing the heavenly elixir, locally known as 'tea', and Nagato reading some doorstop tome with maybe a few thousand pages, surprisingly, Koizumi and Haruhi haven't come yet, even though Taniguchi had intercepted my way towards the room.

"Kyon-kun, would you like some tea? I bought some new tea leaves today, I don't know what they're like, so..."

Oh, even lye would taste like heaven if it passed through the hands of the time-traveling belle. As expected, the tea was amazing. In time, neither Haruhi nor Koizumi showed up, so I started getting ready to leave, so Asahina-san could have some privacy changing.

"Would you like to come over?"

Erm, wait, what? Nagato?

"Would you like to come to my apartment?" The alien girl hadn't changed her facial expression nor her tone while uttering those two sentences. Hmm, the only reason Nagato would ask me to come to her apartment would be if there were a crisis in need of solving. Maybe the timequake fixing the previous events didn't go as planned? Was she worried about what her superiors might do to her?

Walking towards Nagato's apartment building was unsurprisingly silent. Snow started falling, very slowly, but in copious amounts. If this turns into a blizzard, I have no idea how will I get home. Eventually, we got to the finish line, Nagato's apartment. That empty place did give off a rather melancholic feel, but felt comforting now.

"Sit."

As she said it, I obeyed.

"I will prepare some food for us."

Oookay, she wants to eat with me? You know, after meeting the human Nagato, I had started to notice that our Nagato may have been developing real emotions. And, logically, I was afraid that her first emotion would be loneliness. She deserves better. So, that was it. She was getting lonely. Poor girl...

My thinking was interrupted by the interphone bell. Was she expecting someone else? Nagato's ghastly figure floated over to the interphone, slowly pressing the answer button. A buzzing voice came through; but from here, it was unidentifiable. I couldn't even tell what was the gender of the speaker.

"Hey, Yuki, I just got back from school, I just finished with my extra classes. Oh, and I got that book you were asking for, I'll be coming up now!"

Even if I could tell was that being even human, I could hear that it was rather energetic.

"Erm, Nagato, who was that?"

Maybe it was another ally of hers? The image of Ryoko Asakura went through my head. I couldn't stand another assassination attempt.

"..."

The silence was seriously visible. Okay.

A few moments later, the doorbell rang. Nagato's spectral frame pretty much levitated to the door, opening it with surprising intensity.

"Come in."

The being that walked in was a boy about our age. He wore blue jeans and a simple black shirt with a thick gray coat over. His hair was long, straight and black, about the size of Asahina-san's hair, but that was the only thing this person had in common with my angel. And he was a bit pale, almost sickly. He had very powerful blue-green eyes, albeit with bluish-purple bags under them, showing there wasn't much sleep. His was wasn't very masculine, however, so it would have been easy to mistake him for a girl from further away. His face reminded me of someone, I couldn't quite pinpoint who.

"I finally found that book you were looking for, I wasn't easy, might I tell yo- oh, hello, are you a friend of Yuki's?"

The boy seemed a bit confused with my presence here, almost as much as I am with his! This was a very strange situation! The last person I've had dinner with in this apartment stuck a hunting knife in my kidney! Red alert! Red alert!

"Yeah, I'm Ta-"

"Oh, wait, you're Kyon, right? She's mentioned you before."

Ugh, the nickname.

"I'm Hakusora Daichi, from class 1-9."

Koizumi's class? Wait, isn't that the same class that disappeared within those three days? I find this highly suspect.

"Hakusora-kun, do you happen to know-"

I was interrupted by a very cheerful laughter from this mysterious individual.

"Please, Kyon, my name is Daichi, I'd really prefer it if you'd call me that."

Don't play coy with me! You're just warming up to me to get my trust and stab me in the gut! Or maybe he has nothing to do with Asakura and I'm just overreacting. Who wouldn't, having gone through my predicaments?

"Okay, Daichi-kun, do you by any chance know a Koizumi Itsuki in your class?"

It would be strange not to know him, considering they're in the same class.

"Itsuki-kun? Um, yeah, I know him. We talk from time to time. They often pair us up in group activities in class, but that's about it. Why?"

Because if you do, you just might be an esper, or even a slider, we don't have that one yet.

"No reason, he's a friend."

I guess being stuck with me in Haruhi's antics classifies him as a friend.

"Oh, Yuki, I have some stuffed peppers for dinner, I have a lot, should I bring them here?"

"If you wish."

The black haired guy jumped up from the floor and ran out the door with a yell: "Be right back!"

And so, Nagato and I sat there, in the silence. Eventually, my curiosity got the best of me.

"Nagato, who is this guy?"

If he's a potential Asakura, I want to know.

"Or more widely, is he... an abnormal human being?"

If he's with any other faction, I want to know that.

"You would not classify him as completely normal. According to some, he can be considered a deviation from the social norm."

That is not exactly what I meant. Just because he has a strange personality doesn't make him an alien.

"But, Hakusora Daichi is mostly a normal human being, in terms of what you would call 'supernatural'."

Mostly? That's not a 'completely'.

"What is he, a slider?"

He haven't had those yet, though he's a bit late to the party, isn't he?

"He possesses no abilities of spatial plane alternation."

Hmm, then what?

"Does he have any special abilities? Any confusing events surrounding him?"

Anything? He's Nagato's friend, he has to be important for the plot in some manner! He even has a full name! He must be important!

"The Integrated Data Sentient Entity cannot predict his future actions."

Eh?

"Also, he is not connected to any other faction observing Suzumiya Haruhi that we know of. Therefore, the Integrated Data Sentient Entity finds no obvious reason for the data blockade."

Say what?

"Likewise, his actions cannot be accounted for prior to the incident that had occurred this December."

Wait, does that mean that when you messed up the world, you messed him up as well?

"We are unsure of his importance concerning the situation around Suzumiya Haruhi. More observation must be made, but as an objective secondary to Suzumiya Haruhi."

So, your job is to observe him as well?

"Yes. However, the Integrated Data Sentient Entity would not have noticed him if he had not interacted with me on his own accord."

He approached you?

"Yes. If we were to observe the universe as the result of a high-power functional polynomial equation, he would be one of the variables, unrelated to the variable that is Suzumiya Haruhi."

Don't remind me I'm close to failing my math class... So, what you're saying is that this guy wasn't created by Haruhi, but is still an unexplained... phenomenon?

"Yes."

Silence enveloped the room. After a few seconds, Nagato spoke. Was she deliberating whether to say this or not? That would be very un-Nagato-like...

"Hakusora Daichi and Suzumiya Haruhi are not variables of the same powers. Suzumiya Haruhi's influence of this world would qualify her as a variable of a very high power, whereas Hakusora Daichi's influence is no greater than that of a passive observer or what you would name an "ordinary individual". In an equation as complex as the one in this analogy, such variables are next to insignificant. If there were severe changes in their number or exponent, then the terminal result would be greatly different. However, introducing a single low-power variable such as him would carry insignificant impact to the end result of the equation. Would you agree?"

Huh? Well, I suppose... If the equation deals with numbers as large as millions and billions, then a +1 or -1 doesn't mean much, is that what you're getting at?

"Yes. Do you agree with this reasoning?"

"Hmmm, I guess? I think it makes sense."

"I see."

The room was once again sumberged in silence. Where was all this coming from? Variables, exponents, heavy-duty mathematica... Ugh, my head aches from trying to understand all this math mumbo-jumbo. While I was immersed in thought, a loud knock came onto the door.

"Yuki, I'm back!"

Daichi came into the room, holding an enormous metal container.

"I brought the peppers!"

And a lot, from what I see.

As we ate, conversation was mostly between Daichi and me, however, he was constantly trying to include Nagato as well. He seemed rather friendly towards her. I had time to observe him. I still couldn't quite figure out who he reminded me of. Hm, I suppose there is a little bit of Haruhi in him, though only a little bit. He was the loudest at the table, but I saw right through him. If I weren't here, he'd be much more timid. If he was eating alone, he'd be straight out depressed. He's putting up this mask to try and cheer Nagato up? Slowly, but steadily, our supper was putting itself to an end. When we finished, he gave Nagato the book; it was a typical Nagato doorstop. That thing could seriously be used as a projectile. Nagato accepted the book silently and placed in on the floor next to her foot.

"Well, I should probably get going, I need some shuteye after today. School was tough."

Hmm, imagine a tired Haruhi... yeah, no. I got up as well, preparing to leave, while Nagato was just staring at us.

After we said 'good night' and got out of the apartment, I waited for the elevator with Hakusora. I wanted to inquire further about him.

"So, how'd you meet Nagato? She's not exactly the type to approach people."

I could see a hint of discomfort with him.

"Hmm, it's a rather boring, long story."

I have time.

"Well, I don't. This is my floor. Bye, Kyon, hope to see you soon!"

With those words, he jumped out of the elevator. Is he hiding anything?

Tomorrow at school, I saw that Haruhi did paint her mural after all. I will leave that to your imagination, because I really have no intention to describe such absurdities. School itself was boring as usual. The situation in the clubroom was pretty much the same. Asahina-san was in her usual maid outfit, Koizumi was playing some random board game I've never seen before, Nagato was reading another doorstop, which was actually the book Hakusora gave her. Haruhi wasn't here yet, so I took the opportunity to inquire about Hakusora.

"So, Koizumi, what's up with that Hakusora guy in your class?"

"Hm? Hakusora Daichi? Why?"

Because he just might be a slider.

"I doubt that he is one. Wouldn't have Suzumiya-san brought him into the SOS Brigade at the start of the year like she had collected us?"

Hmm, he does have a point there.

"What's he like, is there anything special about him?"

"No, I don't think there's anything supernatural around him, if that's what you're asking. He is rather intelligent, but very quiet and timid in class. He doesn't have many friends. I think I'm the only one who actually talks to him. Poor guy, he's actually pretty nice once you get to know him."

Okay, glad to see you got yourself a boyfriend, but I don't care! What do you know about him? When did you start talking with him?

"Some time ago, I don't really remember now that I think about it, I-"

Suddenly, Koizumi went silent with a perplexed look on his face.

"What?"

I don't like that grin of Koizumi's, but I definitely don't like it when it vanishes so suddenly off his face.

"Hmm, I can't... seem to remember..."

Remember what?

"Him. I can't remember anything about him prior to this December. December 18th, specifically."

December 18th... So this world being messed up by Nagato has something to do with him.

"We all act like he's been here from day one, and he does possess knowledge of events that occurred in our class before December, but... I can't seem to remember him then and there. Maybe it's because I've been around Suzumiya-san too much?"

Hmm... I can't really think of a good reason here. Even Nagato said he can't be accounted for before all that ruckus. Maybe... Maybe he didn't exist at all before December 18th. That's when he was introduced into the equation, isn't it? I turned my head towards Nagato, trying to piece together all of this. Koizumi followed my gaze and gave voice to the question in my head.

"Nagato-san, do you know anything about Hakusora-kun's sudden appearance in this world?"

She silently looked up from the book, stared at me and just said three little that were so unusual when uttered by Nagato Yuki. Though I suppose they should've been expected from her eventually.

"I was lonely."

Author's note: Well, this is it, folks. It remains up to you (if there are any of you actually left) to make the call if this has potential to develop further. If you do read this, please leave a review, it would mean the world to me.

- Antares