Exception (n)

1. a person or thing excluded from a statement

2. an objection to a rule

Yuki Nagato keeps to herself. This has created an image the organic life forms describe as "stoic" or "introverted."

This is fine. It is not necessary to interact with anyone other than her fellow observers and the subject.

Also, the human male.

She does not bother to establish relationships with anyone else. It is unneeded and unwise.

She had been sent with her back-up to monitor Haruhi Suzumiya. They were to report any disturbances or fluctuations in her immediate data flow. They were also ordered to be as inconspicuous as possible. This would minimize potential suspicions from the surrounding life forms.

Those were their orders. They both understood. Ryoko Asakura hid herself in the midst of the humans. Yuki Nagato watched from afar.

Rapidly and proficiently, both adapted to the new environment. Each gathered information on human behavior and judgment, and applied it to her own personal settings. By the time both had finished uploading data, they would appear to be perfectly normal girls to any bystander.

She had thought so.

She genuinely believed that her mimicry of an adolescent human female was near flawless. The reduction of redundant speech and movement better streamlined behavioral patterns. She always carried out appointed tasks with the utmost precision and accuracy. She comprehended all assignments and her diction was perfect.

And she would've carried on, if Kyon hadn't said anything.

[YUKI.N (command): memory_log(10021) /c;]

It was abnormally quiet. Both the time traveler and the subject were gone from the strongest location of data manifestation ("the clubroom," was the reference title the humans used). They had left to distribute fliers for an upcoming event. The ESPer had not come to school.

"Nagato," Kyon said suddenly.

She lifted her head.

57.3% of cataloged conversations had shown that the human prefaced questions with her given name. Sure enough, he pushed his chair back from the primitive data processor and asked, "Why are you so apathetic?"

Her facial muscles did not contort, sag, or move at all. She stared. He stared back.

[YUKI.N (query): define /q;]

"Apathetic." she repeated.

[YUKI.N: without interest or emotion .]

He nodded, gesturing vaguely. "Yeah, like that. No reaction. Someone else could've accused me of slander and started a fight."

She redirected her visual feed back to the book lying open on her lap. The print in front of her unfocused.

An unassuming human might've thought that she'd been upset by Kyon's speech. Instead, she was playing his soundbite in a steady loop, running analyses on his body language and tone inflection, and choosing the words to her response.

She finished 10.32 seconds later. Kyon was watching her with interest.

"You wish to fight me?" she clarified. The blood flow to his face stopped abruptly.

"N-no!" He waved a hand vigorously. 1.6 calories expended. "I just meant that... humans are willful. It's unusual if they don't react. In comparison... you're apathetic. Forget about fights."

She had only recently registered a new sentiment template in her personal database. The organic life forms called it "confusion." They were particularly good at evoking it.

"I believed that I had incorporated enough data into my personal systems to pass as a 'normal' human in this setting," she said. "Is 'apathetic' still a verifiable description?"

"...Yeah," Kyon answered. Her cerebral programs recognized his countenance pattern as amused. "You hardly speak to anyone, laugh, or interact."

[YUKI.N (command): upgrade_behavioraldefn(3154) /c;]

She was silent for a moment. "I do not engage in interaction with you?"

This made him frown. "...You do," he admitted. "But you should probably talk to other people, too. You barely speak to Asahina-san or Koizumi. Technically, they're your colleagues, right? I can understand why you wouldn't want to talk to Haruhi... Anyway, you could benefit from making some friends. People could think you're emotionless."

[YUKI.N: without interest or emotion .]

"I have no need for emotions," she said plainly. "Emotions lead to attachment. Attachment to anything could be a potential distraction from my mission. My mission is the priority. If I had become attached to my back-up, Ryoko Asakura, I might not have been able to terminate her as efficiently when she attempted to eliminate you. You could have been terminated instead."

He gulped, tugging at his collar. An indication of unease. "Well, I guess that makes sense... But you don't have to be completely silent all the time."

[YUKI.N: quiet, soundless .]

"Silent."

"Yeah. It's not a very convincing trait if you're trying to pass as 'normal.'" He studied her thoughtfully. "How many people would you say you've spoken to in homeroom?"

Her eyes unfocused once more. "Synchronization of visual and personal memory logs indicate that I have conversed with the teacher and four students."

"Really?" he asked.

Her auditory sensors caught the surprise in his tone. His overall interest in the subject matter had already led her to tag their conversation as "unusual." For future reference.

"Yes," she replied. "It is not considered 'normal' in human social conduct to remain silent when a teacher or student initiates conversation. Belated responses have also been known to provoke anger or annoyance. These are ultimately unnecessary deterrents."

"You must have at least one person you talk to more than others."

She was statistically unbiased. She did not have to reevaluate her data to confirm this.

"I do not."

"You talk to me."

She blinked.

In that moment, his gaze seemed almost tangible. As though it were something heavy pressing against her, holding her in place.

Waiting for an explanation.

Silently, he turned away, toward the window.

He didn't ask for a response and she didn't give one.

[YUKI.N (command): tag_exception(002) /c;]

For future reference.