The Choices of Haruhi Suzumiya

by TheThing12

It has been almost a year since Kyon was dragged into the unforgiving grasp that is Haruhi Suzumiya. A god-like being who has the ability to subconsciously alter reality as she sees fit. As things had finally started to calm down after the Winter Vacation, a new piece has come into play. How will Kyon deal with the problem this time?

2. Chapter 2

Takeshi had offered to walk me back to my house, but I declined.

Now that I think back on it, that was a really really bad decision.

Fact is, I zoned out while we were walking into the Forest. So I had no idea how to get out. I looked around around for a Path, but there was only a small dirt one that had all sorts of forks to get me even more confused.

I eventually ran into some Forest Ranger who was patrolling... or something like that. I'm not exactly familiar with what they do.

Anyways, he seemed to think I was some random teenager causing trouble and I had to suffer the mental pain of trying to come up with some believable excuse for why I was out here.

Needless to say, he didn't believe me. I ended up having to stay at some Ranger Station for a few hours while the Ranger called my Parents and I was picked up.

Wasn't exactly the greatest aftermath to a conversation about Dimensions.

I spent the rest of my weekend lounging around.

At least... That's what I wanted to say.

Haruhi called me up Sunday Morning, waking me up from my peaceful slumber.

And, as if she was some kind of Military Commander, demanded that I wake up and meet the SOS Brigade at the Train Station.

And so went my plans of doing nothing were put in my brain's recycling bin and soon emptied out.

I got dressed into some casual wear I found lying around and soon found myself peddling on my bike as I went to the Train Station.

I put my Bike on a random rail and walked up towards the station.

"Late! Penalty!" Haruhi's voice cried out like a Chinese Emperor who had decided it was time to build the Great Wall and was disciplining the workers.

I sighed as we went over to the local Cafe.

There goes another wallet full of yen.

We all enjoyed a nice brunch that, inevitably, came out of my allowance. Seriously, why can't someone else cut me some slack and come a bit later?

After we were done eating, Haruhi grabbed her paper cup and a handful of toothpicks as she marked the ends of three with black marker.

"Alright! There's six of us now, so we have to split 3-on-3!"

I kinda figured that.

"Takeshi, since you're new, you'll draw first!"

Haruhi shoved the paper cup into Takeshi's face, who simply stared with a slightly confused look on his face.

Nevertheless, he took a toothpick out. Marked.

"Hmm... Alright, Koizumi!" Haruhi said as Koizumi picked his out. Another marked.

"And now, Kyon!"

I was already starting to see where this was going. I reached into the cup and pulled out a toothpick.

Marked.

Totally called that.

"Ugh..." Haruhi said as she stared at the three unmarked toothpicks. "I... I guess that's fair! We can have a Guy Team and a Girl Team!"

Something told me that Haruhi wanted to be put on a team with Takeshi, probably because he was new or something. I decided to remain silent, though.

Or maybe she wanted to go with Me or Koizumi?

I guess that would be fair. She's only really went with me once before. As for Koizumi... Well, who wouldn't want to bring the Yes-Man?

As we exited the Cafe, we split into two teams.

The All-Boys Team consisting of, Newbie, Mr. Smiles, and Me, split off to the right.

Meanwhile, the All-Girls team, consisting of The SOS Brigade Angel, Bookworm, and Annoying, split off to the left.

It almost felt like Guys and Girls were in a War and we just came off from Peaceful ground.

Anyways, once Haruhi was out of sight, Koizumi looked over at me and offered a smile.

"So, Kyon, I guess you have questions, huh?"

"I do, but not towards you."

He simply chuckled at that comment.

"I just thought you'd like input from both sides. No doubt Takeshi has told you about his Slider abilities."

"I did."

Crap, do I have to go through another long and boring conversation involving Me and Haruhi? If so, is it too late to switch teams? At least running around with Haruhi doesn't get me stuck in complicated plots.

Well... That's not entirely true. But you know what I mean!

"I see..." Koizumi said, interrupting my important monologuing. "Well then, I guess we should start with this. The Slider Faction is... Rather complicated."

Koizumi's fake smile disappeared as he started taking a more serious tone.

"See, they were originally a sub-group in The Agency."

"Really? What happened?" I replied.

Takeshi decided to take that one.

"The Sliders and Espers couldn't agree on Haruhi's origins. While they think of her as an Omnipotent Deity, we simply see her as something of a Multiversal Link."

Right, Haruhi is the Master of all Wormholes. We went over this already.

"And because of that..." Koizumi stepped in. "The two Factions broke apart. The Sliders formed their own group and decided to keep communication with the other three factions to a minimum."

"So... Did the Sliders get their powers the same way as Espers?"

"That wouldn't be incorrect. Except... It's a bit more complicated than that. Takeshi?"

As if he was some sort of Actor who was being called onto stage to make his cue, Takeshi walked up next to me.

"A lot like Espers, we suddenly got all our knowledge of our powers. Haruhi had completely changed us... And we were no longer in our own world."
I imagined a group of people waking up in some haunted house with no idea as to why they were there or how they got in.

"We woke up in a sort of 'limbo' between dimensions. We could see the entire Multiverse. And for some reason, we knew exactly what it was. We knew how to manipulate these Dimensions. I'll be the first to admit, we were terrified. Once we managed to get the hang on 'sliding' between dimensions, we were able to return to the original one."

"At that point," Koizumi started speaking. "The Agency had learned about them. We made contact, and we both agreed it was in our best interest to stick together."

"But then you guys had a falling out." I put in my input.

"That's correct. Because of controversy, the Sliders had demanded that they split off into their own Faction and separate from the Agency."

"So, kind of like the United States split off from Great Britain?"

"Something like that. Just with less bloodshed. They made their "Declaration of Independence" very clear. The Agency agreed to let them split off. But, because of this, tensions between the two factions are high."

Great, now we just have to wait for their version of The War of 1812.

"So, what happened next?"

"We had got the other two Factions to agree to a meeting about the Sliders. With Nagato, Asahina, and I as representatives for our own Factions, we worked out how to go about where we would put the Sliders in all of this."

Well, I can't say I'm surprised... But, Asahina in a political position? As amazing as she is, I can't see that working out.

"So, why keep me out of this?"

Before I tell you Koizumi's answer, props to Takeshi for managing to stay silent for so long.

"Well, the original plan was to get a Slider into the SOS Brigade and inform you immediately. But, Asahina and I couldn't agree. We had suggested that you were going through enough stress as it was and we couldn't rush to things."

Ah... Asahina, you're ever so kind! Always considering how I may feel about things! ...Oh, and, thanks Koizumi... Yeah...

"Therefore, we had all agreed to keep the Sliders out of it for as long as possible."

You know, now I'm kind of curious, where are these meetings held anyways? I imagined Nagato, Asahina, and Koizumi dressed up in Suits and Ties as they sat in the United Nations HQ discussing how to solve every problem involving Haruhi.

"But..." Takeshi interrupted this time. "Things took an odd twist when you approached me."

You mean a couple days ago when you looked like Jack The Ripper roaming the School Hallways? Yep, I remember.

"I wasn't expecting the SOS Brigade to make any contact with us. Especially towards a lower rank member like myself."

Why is it that every member of the SOS Brigade –excluding myself and Haruhi of course– has had some sort of lesser status in their Factions? Does Haruhi just have a thing for underdogs or something?

"Ever since then, we've been in a state of slight panic. We didn't know how Haruhi dragging a Slider in would work out."

Can't blame them. If one of my subordinates was dragged off by a girl with mystical powers and then forced into her club, I'd be freaked out as well.

"That's why we have to take extra precautions." Koizumi stepped in. "Sorry about keeping you in the dark for all this time, but like I said befo-"

"I got it." I cut him off before he could start repeating himself.

The bastard simply smiled.

"I'm glad you understand."

Suddenly, my phone started ringing in my pocket... Gee, I wonder who that can be.

We weren't talking for that long, were we?

I slipped the cellphone out of my pocket and flipped it open... Huh?

The screen simply displayed the word "Devil" on it.

…

…What the hell?!

Koizumi and Takeshi both peered over my shoulder.

"What the-?!" Is all I got out of Takeshi.

Koizumi simply frowned.

Well, I'm not going to find out what this is about by letting it ring. Sometimes, we have to take risks.

And unfortunately, I'm the lightning rod.

I pressed on the "Answer" button and set the phone on "Speaker" mode.

"...Hello?"

"Suzumiya's days are numbered."

Right after that, the phone screen went as dark as a starless night.

Alright, I'll admit it. I'm having a slight freakout right now...

God knows what Koizumi or Takeshi saw on my face, but I have a feeling they didn't care.

"That's... Troublesome."

Listen, I don't like Koizumi, but when he says something is troublesome, he's probably right.

"Who do you think that was?" I asked.

"I don't know."

...That's even more creepy. Could this be one of those "Enemies of the SOS Brigade" that Koizumi talked about back at the Time-Disorted Mansion a couple weeks back? I decided to ask.

"Yes. Definitely. Someone out there wants Suzumiya gone. I'll need to talk to the Agency about this." He responded.

"I'll ask the rest of The Sliders. I think another meeting should be set up." Takeshi also replied.

My Phone started ringing again. I almost threw it like a baseball until I realized it just said "Haruhi" on the screen.

I let out a relieved sigh and hit "Answer".

And you know there's a problem when I'm relieved by one of Haruhi's calls.

"Hello?"

"KYON! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET BACK AT THE TRAIN STATION TEN MINUTES AGO! I THOUGHT KOIZUMI AND TAKESHI WOULD KEEP YOU IN CHECK! WHAT DID YOU DO? ARE YOU SLEEPING AGAIN?!"

Haruhi buzzed off questions so quickly The Flash would be jealous.

"GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" She said before she hung up.

I sighed.

"Well, looks like we're heading back."

Haruhi gave me a rapier sharp glare.

"Itsuki! What were you doing?!"

Oh, okay. Address Koizumi this time. That's cool.

Then again, why am I complaining? He's 10x better at coming up with lies than I am.

"Sorry Suzumiya. We were so intrigued by our searches we lost track of time!"

That seemed to satisfy Haruhi.

"Oh, alright. See, Kyon? All you have to do is tell the truth!"

I didn't say anything.

"Well, I guess that would conclude today's session."

Haruhi sighed. Guess she didn't find anything supernatural.

"I'll see you guys at School tomorrow, then."

"Wait."

I spoke up.

Haruhi looked towards me.

"What is it, Kyon?"

"Let me walk you home."

"...What?"

Alright, let me clear something up here. I just wanted to make sure nothing happened to Haruhi. Especially after that Phone Call. If she goes down, so does the World.

Koizumi and Takeshi seemed to get it, Nagato was probably already figuring it out, and Asahina gave me a confused look. I shot both her and Nagato a "I'll tell you later" look and turned towards Haruhi.

Meanwhile, Haruhi was more confused than a third grader looking at a College-level Algebra question.

"I can walk myself home."

You could be a bit more grateful, you know.

"I'm not supposed to come home for another two hours." I lied. "I need to do something to kill time for awhile."

"Well..."

Here it goes, I bet she saw right through that one. I bet I'm gonna get some type of stupid punishment for treason.

"Okay."

...What?

"If you're not supposed to go home, I can't just leave you out here! It wouldn't be right for a Brigade Leader to leave her subordinates!"

...She actually fell for that?

"Alright then, Everyone except Kyon is dismissed!"

"Did you find anything today?"

Me and Haruhi were walking down the street. I stressed for conversation to make things go by a bit faster.

"Nothing. You?"

"Well..."

Yes, actually. We got a phone call from some probably-supernatural creature going by the name "Devil". He's probably evil and it seems very likely he's going to kill you the first chance he gets. You should really watch your back more, Haruhi. Searching for phenomenons has finally come back at you.

I didn't say any of that, of course. But I wanted to.

"No, we didn't."

Haruhi simply grunted as she crossed her arms.

"That makes sense."

It does?

"You're not going to find Aliens, Time Travelers, Espers, or Sliders by looking around. They're shy!"

Where'd you get the idea that they were shy? It's more like you scare the living hell out of them.

"We need to work slowly on these things! If we keep going out like this, eventually one is bound to find us!"

"And then what?"

"Then we jump them and tie them up!"

…You're not gonna attract anything supernatural with that kind of attitude.

Then again... She did.

"You really plan on tying them up?"

"Well, maybe. Only if they try to run, though!"

If I were being approached by a strange girl and her group of weirdos as they asked me a bunch of strange questions, I'd run too.

Anyways, we continues walking down the sidewalk as Haruhi talked about the Supernatural. I learned a bit about what she thought about Werewolves and Vampires, and she specifically stated that she hated the way modern movies depict them.

Eventually, we managed to make it to Haruhi's house.

It was nothing fancy, just a regular sized Urban Home. I guess that's not surprising, but considering Alternate World Haruhi went to a Private School, I was expecting something a bit bigger.

"Alright, come in." Haruhi said as she opened the door.

We walked upstairs and into Haruhi's room. The only thing that stood out were the Calender, Digital Clock, and Window.

As I pondered about why she waa inviting me in, she spoke up.

"Don't worry about my Mom. She's working."

"Where is she working?"

"Doesn't matter."

I stayed silent as Haruhi just stared at me.

"You want something to eat?"

Well, that's very generous of you.

"Sure."

"Alright, give me a second."

I sat down on her bed and stared out the window.

After awhile, Haruhi came back in carrying two paper plates, each with galf a sandwich on it.

"Here."

Haruhi handed me a paper plate and sat down next to me as she casually munched down her sandwich.

I said thanks and joined her.

What really annoys me is that Haruhi is a great cook. She can make a simple sandwich taste pretty good.

I swear, she's a jack of all trades or something.

"Kyon."

"Hmm?"

"You didn't have to lie about not being allowed to go to your house for a couple hours. You guys found something supernatural, huh?"

She's smart, I'll give her that. I couldn't afford to let her know, though.
Time to feign ignorance.

"I don't know what you're talking about. My Parents and Sister are just setting something up is all."

"I don't believe you."

"But, if you're not going to tell me, I'm not going to force it out of you."

That's very un-Haruhi of you.

I had the sudden thought that Haruhi might actually know about the phone call... But I quickly dismissed it. There's no way she could know.

"Do you like the Sandwich?"

Haruhi quickly changed subjects. Again, very un-Haruhi of her. Maybe she's feeling a bit sick?

"It's alright."

"That's good."

Seriously, what was with her today? Then again... Haruhi has been extremely off lately.

Showing gratitude towards me? Letting me into her home and changing the subject?

That's not Haruhi. Not the Haruhi I know, at least.

"Hey, My Mom is coming home soon. You should probably go."

"Yeah, alright."

I got up off the bed and walked to the door.

"Well, I'll see you later, Haruhi."

As I grabbed the handle, she spoke out again.

"Kyon! Wait!"

I turned around.

"What's up?"

Haruhi was standing up, her hand reaching out. Something about her facial expression looked worried.

"It's... You can't..."

"Can't what?"

"...Nevermind. Just be careful, alright?"

Something is definitely up.

"Yeah, alright."

I almost didn't want to leave, if she's alone, that Devil guy can probably attack. Who knows what that can cause?

"I opened the door and began to walk out before Haruhi let out a scream.

"What the-?"

I turned around and saw Haruhi fall back on her bed, eyes closed.

I quickly ran to her side and started shaking her shoulder lightly.

"Haruhi? Haruhi?!"

This is bad. This is bad, this is bad, this is bad.

What the hell just happened?!

"Kyon..."

I heard a whisper come from her mouth.

Something is definitely wrong.

"Hang on... I'm calling an ambulance!"

I quickly pulled out my phone to dial the Emergency Services, but my phone said I was already in a call with "Devil".

"Hehe... Hehehe..."

I heard his deep voice coming from the speakers.

"I'd be watching my back if I were you. You just messed with the wrong Brigade!"

I hung up on him after saying that and quickly dialed the emergency services.

I felt like I pulled that line out of an action movie of some sort. I probably did. But I don't have time to think about that right now.

I immediately requested an ambulance and dialed up Koizumi's phone number right after.

"Kyon? A Closed Space just opened up! What's going on?!"

"No time to explain! Come to Haruhi's house immediately! Call the other Brigade Members!"

I hung up on him before he could respond.

Sirens wailed outside. A team of paramedics were in Haruhi's room and put her on a Stretcher as the carried her outside. I followed them as the rest of the SOS Brigade ran up.

That timing was almost too perfect.

"Kyon...? Haruhi...?" That was Asahina. She looked really scared. I wanted to admire how cute she looked when she was scared, but we didn't have the time.

"Kyon, what happened?" Takeshi walked up to me.

"I don't know."

I nodded my head to behind Haruhi's house. He nodded.

"Alright, I get it."

I told the other Brigade Members to stay put as me and Takeshi walked behind the house.

"Closed Spaces have opened up and an alternate dimension split off from this one. This is looking very bad."

No time for complementaries.

"Devil called me again."

"Oh."

We had a moment of silence like we were at a Funeral before Takeshi spoke up.

"I think it's time I showed you."

"Showed me what?"

"The Multiverse."

Wait...

"If you don't see what's happening now, I might not get the chance to show you again."

Takeshi's green eyes showed a hint of fear on them.

As much as I didn't want to see the Multiverse, I don't think I had much of a choice.

"Alright. Let's get this over with."

Takeshi nodded as he grabbed my wrist.

"Close you eyes."

So it's going to be one of those trips, huh?

I closed my eyes as a weird sensation pulled over me. I have no idea how to describe it. It was like everything around me was fading away as I was vanishing to another plane of existence.

"Open your eyes."

I obliged and looked around.

The entire area around me was filled with nothing but large nebulae-like clouds and stars. Most of the clouds gave out a blue hue as they seemed to spin.

It looked like they were some kind of celestial hurricanes without the eye.

"Those are dimensions. Each one holds a different plane of existence in them. New dimensions create themselves as others die. An endless cycle. But there's a pair of dimensions I want you to focus on..."

Takeshi pointed towards two dimensions that were right next to each other. They looked exactly the same, except for the fact that one had a green hue and the other had a red hue.

"The green one is your dimension. That's the dimension that completely goes against the cycle."

"And the red one?"

"The red one is the alternate one Haruhi made."

I looked closely at the red one, there were little dots flying around it at rapid speeds.

They weren't easy to see, it was like trying to look at a group of ants from a second story window.

"Those are my the other Sliders. Right now they're working to keep the two dimensions from crashing."

"Your dimension is different from most. Usually, when dimensions split apart one dies as the other one starts anew. That one is strange, though. It splits apart but runs perfectly fine afterwards."

"The other dimensions react oddly to yours, as well. They orbit around it like it's their Star."

"We think Haruhi is the cause of this. For some reason, she's the link between all of them."

"I see."

I'm trying to make sense of what Takeshi is saying, I really am. If any of you actually understand him, please contact me and give me a simplified version.

"The alternate dimensions don't orbit around yours."

"They just split up and slowly collide back in. It's like looking into a mirror but your reflection slowly fades away."

"And this is bad?"

"As long as it's contained, no. But the more tough decisions that come into Suzumiya's life in each of these dimensions, the more that are created. If too many are made, it could end up disrupting the Gravitational Pull between Dimensions."

"Once the copies get into the hundreds, it gets very hard to maintain them. And other dimensions start orbiting around these copies, it can mess everything up. So we have to make sure Suzumiya resolves her options quickly."

"What was the choice she regretted this time?"

"Wanna see?"

...Am I allowed to do that? I mean, I guess I expected it. I've been inside Closed Spaces, back in time, and I've seen two Data Overmind Interfaces fight to the death in some type of Data-made battlefield.

But, I can't say I'm not curious.

I nodded and Takeshi looked me straight in the eye.

"Hold your breath."

"Why?"

"Currently, you're not breathing at all. I don't know if you noticed that yet or not."

Come to think of it... I'm really not. Wait... If I wasn't breathing, then how am I alive right now?

"Your body has been in a sort of ghostly state. You don't require oxygen up here. But, your body will need a second to get used to it again, so I ask that you please hold your breath while we do this."

I obliged and took a deep breath.

It's sort of weird breathing in something that's not there. It's like you're drinking water that's just a hallucination. You feel like something is going down, but there's nothing really there.

"Close your eyes and count to five. Then feel free to start breathing again."

I closed my eyes.

1...

2...

3...

4...

5...

I exhaled and opened my eyes. I was once again back in Haruhi's room, right at the point where I was about to exit. My hand was on the doorknob and I was about to open it.

"Kyon, wait!"

I turned around as I was overwhelmed with a mixed sensation of Deja Vu and Nostolgia.

"What's up?"

"...Nevermind. Just be careful, okay?"

Oh, hell no. That is not happening again.

"Haruhi, if you have something to say. Just say it."

"Well... You're gonna think I'm crazy."

Believe me, I already do.

"Just tell me."

"Alright... Kyon, I feel like I'm being watched. It's really scaring me."

There we go.

"What do you think is watching you?"

"I don't know... It's like some kind of evil force... Like..."

"A Demon?" I cut in.

"Yeah, like that. When Me, Mikuru, and Yuki were searching, I suddenly felt like it was there. Like it was after you guys."

"Me, Koizumi, and Takeshi?"

"Yeah." Haruhi solemly nodded her head. I could almost hear a type of melancholy in her voice.

"So that's why you called?"

"Mhm. I wanted to make sure you guys were okay."

That... Explains quite a bit, actually.

"Kyon..." Haruhi looked up at me, her large eyes resembled that of a puppy who wanted some scraps off the Dinner Table.

"What is it?"

"Don't let it get me."

Suddenly, everything around me turned bright as a loud explosion rang in my ear.

Everything went white... And then black...

I opened my eyes quickly and fell down onto the ground, barely managing to catch myself with my arms.

My heart was beating really fast, and I could feel myself exhaling more than I probably should.

"Kyon!"

I looked up, Takeshi was standing in front of me. I then proceeded to check my surroundings. We were once again at the back on Haruhi's home. I could hear an Ambulence in the background.

"What... What the hell just happened?" I managed to find myself saying.

"Oh man... I didn't think putting you in a copy dimension would take that much of an effect on your body! I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine."

I slowly managed to get up.

"Did the other Dimension close?"

"It melded together with the main one, yes."

So, Haruhi had told me what she wanted to tell me in the first place.

"Kyon, what did Suzumiya say?"

"She said... She said she was afraid. Like she was being watched. And she told me not to let it get her."

"What is 'it'?" Takeshi asked himself.

I'm pretty sure that was rhetorical. Because he soon frowned.

"Devil." He finally said. I could see a level of fear in his eyes. Almost like he was the main protagonist from a Murder Anime.

"Do you know who he is?" I asked.

"Not yet. But we're gonna find out. Come on. Let's get back to the others."

We both walked to the front yard. The Paramedics had finally gotten Haurhi into the Ambulence.

"Where are you taking Suzumiya?" Asahina asked one of them.

"We're taking her to the local hospital. Don't worry, she'll make it. She's just in shock."

I'm not surprised. Haruhi was definitely in shock.

And, if he was smart, the person behind it was probably waiting at the Hospital.