Edit: Curse my sleepiness! Forgot to proof read, and only did it AFTER the chapter got published. Fixed some minor mistakes which I identified, but there may be more, so I'm sorry.

Everyone, I am terribly sorry for the murderously late update. Please enjoy reading the second chapter, finally finished. Updates should be faster after next week, where I'll be quitting my job, and waiting for school to restart.

And a big thank you to goldenmoo. Don't worry about bashing my story, a writer has to go through many criticisms in order to be deemed good. You have let me realised many mistakes that I have made, and I have done my best to correct them. Though there still may be errors which may have passed my dearly dying eyes, I do hope that you, meaning all the readers, can forgive me for them, and write a simple (or complex, your choice) review to point out my errors.

"Two days?" I questioned, not believing the feat Haruhi accomplished, "you finished a full novel in just two days?"

"It wasn't that hard," Haruhi replied my question, "just stay in the room for a full night and you're done."

Alright, the girl was really starting to impress me. First, she says she doesn't like doing boring things. Then she reads a book (a boring thing), and finishes it in less than two days. Strange girl.

"Anyway, today we're having a meeting! So no excuses if you're late!" Haruhi said, back to her ever energetic form.

Sigh. Can't argue now. Or ever, anyway.

"Alright, class!" the teacher said to us, "back to your seats and settle down! The bell has rung, so let's begin class!"

Sitting back down to my seat, I took another glance at the self acclaimed brigade leader. Even during lesson, she had this big grin on her face. Dammit, I am not confident that her 'meeting' was going to be safe anymore...

Class went by really slowly. For both myself and Haruhi. She kept complaining (not too loudly, of course) about how slowly class went, whereas for me, class was boring to the point where I could find myself lying my head on my arms, ready to knock myself out anytime anything happened. If not for the constant complaining of the noisy girl behind me, I'd have hit the hay long ago.

"Alright, I'm ready to go-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-" the second I finished packing my books and writing instruments, I felt a tug on the tie around my neck. Next thing I knew I was being pulled faster than the speed of light, going to who-knows-where.

'Who', referring to the insane girl, Haruhi Suzumiya. Thank goodness I had my hand on my bag, or else I'd have to walk all the way back just to get it back.

Stop. Slam. Bang. Were the next few words, or definitions, I heard. Haruhi stopped, where inertia forced me to slam into the clubroom's table. Then Haruhi closed the door and locked it, confirming my suspicions of today not going to be a good day.

"My gosh, Haruhi," I straightened upright, rubbing my back to see if I had any broken bones that I was not aware of, "what exactly do you have in mind for today's meeting?"

"A mystery!" she proudly exclaimed, pointing her finger in my face.

Right. Really specific.

"Anyway, why the locked door?" I took a seat, "Koizumi, Nagato and Asahina-san aren't here yet."

"Well, that's because they aren't supposed to hear our secret plan to find out the mystery!"

My hand instinctively went up to my face, "and exactly what kind of plan would that be, Haruhi-sama?"

"The plan to solve the mystery of love!" the girl said it with a massive smile on her beautiful face.

"Love?"

"Yes! Love is a mystery, right? So since it is one, and no one solved it yet, we'll be the first ones to!"

Alright. I'm starting to wonder whether this girl had any form of common sense in her hyperactive mind.

"Haruhi," I sighed, "love being a mystery is a metaphor. You understand?"

"No," her reply was instantaneous, which made me wonder why I even bothered asking the question in the first place, "all I care about is that it's a mystery just waiting to be solved! This is the opportunity of a lifetime for the S.O.S. Brigade, right?"

If you expect me to reply 'right', then you, my fair lady, are wrong.

"Very well, very well," I gave up, waving my hands in the air, "and may I have the honour of hearing the plan?"

"First, we need a victim!" the girl sounded like she was ready to kidnap someone. Terribly sorry, Asahina-san, I doubt I can save you today.

"And then...?" I pressed on.

"Then the rest is up to you."

"What?" I violently replied, "I didn't ask to be involved in this!"

"Too bad!" she stuck her tongue out to me, "I already went to all the trouble of doing the first parts of the plan, so you're going to do the next parts!"

"What first parts?"

"I had to bring you all the way from class to the brigade room! That's the first part! And be thankful, else you would be too slow!"

Sigh. Calm down Kyon, there's absolutely no way reasoning would do any good with this girl.

"Uh, umm," a feminine voice was heard from outside the door, "h-h-hello? I-is anyone in there? Could you please open the door?"

Oh no. Asahina-san. Your timing could not be any more worse.

"Mikuru-chan!" Haruhi energetically exclaimed as she unlocked the door for her senpai, "your timing couldn't be any better! Come in and change first, then we'll tell you about our awesome plan!"

Uh oh. Time to bounce. And, for the record, Haruhi, we don't have any 'awesome plan', so please try not to come up with something that isn't existent yet.

I hurriedly walked myself out of the room and closed it behind me, doing my best not to look behind. Honestly, already a full year in the club, and she never argued against wearing that maid uniform during club timings. Not that I'm complaining, since she does look quite cute in it, but still, just abiding to what Haruhi says all the time isn't very good for your social image.

"K-Kyon-kun!" Asahina-san said in her high-pitched voice, "you can come in now, I'm done!"

Scratching my head and checking if Haruhi accidentally locked the door, I went back into the room to see Asahina-san in her cute maid uniform. Haruhi, on the other hand, was thinking hard, while maintaining a smile so large it would make Koizumi look like a sad person.

"Kyon, you're back! Good!" the brigade leader said as soon as she saw me, standing from her seat. Honestly, I see nothing 'good' out of me going back into the room, "anyway, back to thinking of the plan! Now that Mikuru-chan is here, you have more help too!"

"Uh, what plan?" Asahina-san timidly asked.

"The plan to solve the mystery of love, of course!" Haruhi energetically replied. How much am I going to regret this?

"Oh, okay, but," Asahina-san said, and I believed she had no clue as to what was going on at all, "where's Koizumi-kun? And Nagato-san? She's usually the first one here, but she isn't here today..."

That's true. Whenever we went to the clubroom, Nagato would always be sitting at the corner of the room, reading a book. But today, she wasn't present when Haruhi threw me into the room. Strange, this wasn't what was usually done. Then again, 'usual' is a word that doesn't exist in the S. O. S. Brigade.

"I know why she isn't here!" Haruhi exclaimed, interrupting my chain of thought, "it's because she and Koizumi-kun are out on a secret date!"

"What?" Asahina-san and I both said, at the same time. Honestly, Haruhi, there is absolutely no way that Koizumi and Nagato can be together in a relationship. If that did happen, it would be the starting of a new world already.

"Is that really true?" Asahina-san innocently asked Haruhi, not having any clue to what was going on.

"Of course it is!"

Not.

"What other explanation would there be? They never skipped brigade meetings before, so they must obviously be out on a date in secret, so that no one will find out!"

"Okay, honestly Haruhi," I tried to get the girl back into reality, "Koizumi's just a happy guy, no way would he feel love, and for Nagato, she has enough romance in her life reading love nov-"

"Terribly sorry for my lateness, everyone," a smooth gentleman's voice could be heard as the door opened. Asahina-san, Haruhi and I turned to see Koizumi and Nagato entering the clubroom. The gentleman had his trademark smile on his face, while Nagato was wearing a seemingly expressionless look, the one she wore most, if not all, of the time.

Wait... why were they together? Nagato would usually be the first in the clubroom, where no-one would actually see her entering as she's that early, whereas for Koizumi, he was in class 1-9, I'm sure his classes ended the same time as Haruhi's and mine.

"Umm, why are you two together?" Asahina-san asked the two newcomers.

"Yes, why are you two together?" Haruhi repeated the question, only her tone a lot less girly, and a whole lot more sinister. Her face had this massive smile on it, that hid so much malicious intent, I didn't know if this girl was supposed to be a god or a devil.

"We had important and urgent matters to attend to," Nagato bluntly answered, her voice not having even a trace of emotion.

"In other words, the teacher just called us back for a few more minutes to help clean the classroom," Koizumi explained with his smooth tone.

"Oh, I see-, wait," I was about to just go with the statement until I figured something strange was going on, "Nagato's in the same class as you are?"

"There had been a change of students between classes," the steadfast girl said, reaching her hand to pull one of the books in the clubroom's bookshelf. Actually, they belonged to the previous literary club, thus Nagato could indulge herself in book world all she wanted.

"Right," I commented, "and you didn't tell us... why?" I glared at Koizumi. The gentleman just smiled his usual smile and shrugged his shoulders.

"It was not of importance," Nagato replied the question, opening a book about folk tales, the one about Momotaro if I wasn't mistaken.

"Hmph, lousy alibi..." Haruhi grunted and folded her arms, turning in the other direction from us. I'd like to say she gave up, but knowing the girl for a full year, 'giving up' was never a suitable option for her.

"Anyway, Suzumiya-san," Koizumi asked, "what about the meeting that you mentioned we were going to have today?"

"Hmm? What meeting?" she turned back to us, acting oblivious.

"You did mention we would have a meeting, no?" Koizumi asked yet again.

"W-what? Who told you about that?"

"Why, it would be Kyon over here, of course."

Next thing I knew, all eyes, except for Nagato's, were on me. Oh, that bugger. He did not just push the blame on me. Sure, I may have told him, but I didn't tell him to just make me the centre of attention, right?

"Well, h-he must have been joking!" she said back, her voice level being raised a bit. Then she glared at me with eyes that could kill someone on the spot. Thankfully my stature kept me alive, but I did get paralysed for a second there.

"Oh, he was?" Koizumi went with the flow, "oh ho, silly me. You pulled a good one on me, Kyon! Really got me there!"

He let out a laugh, but as for me, I had no idea exactly what was going on. And I don't see how that could be funny in any way.

After the short intermission, Koizumi, Haruhi, Asahina-san and I were engaged a short game of poker, where thankfully we didn't place bets, else I'd have to starve my way for the rest of the school week. While Koizumi was at the top, I did have to say I was amused at Haruhi's reaction everytime she lost a round, where she'd be extremely frustrated and demanded another round, only to lose again.

It was after a while that Koizumi had a sudden urge to answer nature's call. Me, determined to try and win Koizumi for the third time, continued the game, deciding to wait for the gentleman. Drawing my cards, I felt a little tug on my shirt. Realising it was from none other than our self appointed brigade leader, I sighed.

"What is it?" I asked, annoyance crystal clear in my voice.

"Ssh!" she replied rudely in a whisper, "not so loud! Anyway, after club today, meet me outside school! No running away!"

Goodness. There goes my free time at home. Well, sorry for my little sister then. She can't annoy me anymore, but I've got someone worse.

She then turned to Asahina-san and whispered something to her, which I bet could have been what she told me. I expected her to go to Nagato as well, so as to leave Koizumi as some victim for her malicious intent, but Nagato was left alone. But she was so interested in her book I hardly doubted that she cared for Haruhi's schemes.

Taking her seat again the minute Koizumi came back from the bathroom, Haruhi picked up her cards and continued playing. Throughout the game, she had her eyes on me the entire time, as if suspecting me of an evil deed that I didn't commit, or that I was about to commit. That did stop me from committing the act of running away, so, sigh, I guess I had no other choice but to meet her after school.

When club activities ended, I helped Koizumi pack his cards and then left the school building. But, at the gate though, I stood and waited.

"Waiting for someone in particular, Kyon?" Koizumi noticed my waiting as he too left for home.

"Unfortunately, yeah," I answered, my mind preparing a good enough excuse, "Haruhi insisted that I had to walk her home today, so yeah. To prevent Closed Spaces and all that."

"Hmm, glad you are caring for the world like that, by caring for her. Good luck, Kyon."

"Thanks. I'll need it," I replied.

"As a matter of fact, I too, am waiting for someone," Koizumi stated, which surprised me.

"Oh, that's new. Who would that be? Someone from your class?"

"Correct. Oh, and here she comes," Koizumi said, waving to someone who was still in school compound.

Turning back, I was astonished to see a certain girl walking to us, a bag slung around her shoulder, a book in hand. Who was she? None other than Nagato Yuki.

"Well, now that she's here, I'm afraid I'll have to leave you alone for now, Kyon. I too, am escorting someone back to her home. Have some fun with Suzumiya-san, alright? Goodbye!" and with that, he put his arm around Nagato's shoulders, and they walked down the hill together. After a good distance, if I didn't observe wrongly, I saw Nagato's head tilt towards Koizumi's form, leaning her head on his arm. What was going on here?

"A-ah! K-Kyon-kun!" Asahina-san's voice cried out. Turning my back, I saw the girl, reluctantly getting pushed by Haruhi. This couldn't really be considered very bad compared to the other types of things Haruhi did to her.

"Alright, now that all of us are here, let's discuss the situation!"

"What situation? There isn't any situation," I sarcastically muttered.

"Of course there is! Yuki-chan and Koizumi-kun!" she replied in her energetic voice.

"Umm, what's the situation between them?" Asahina-san asked.

"Exactly! What is the situation between them? Kyon! You answer this question!" Haruhi shot me with her statement, making me flinch.

"Uh... if you didn't know, there isn't anything wrong with the two of them..." I replied.

"No, there is a situation between them! It's called love!" Haruhi pointed her finger at my face. All I did was sigh.

"Th-they're in love?" the poor senior asked, not having any clue to what Haruhi was planning.

"Of course there is! And through them, we can solve the mystery of love!"

"Alright, Haruhi," I said, "do you have any proof at all of the two being in love?"

"No, but you do!"

"No I don't!"

"Oh really now?" she moved right in front of me till I could feel her breathing on my body. I dislike such close body contact.

"Wasn't Koizumi-kun waiting for Yuki-chan, where they walked with each other home?"

"N-no, they didn't," I lied, trying to keep it from the mad brigade leader, "they went home by themselves."

"What?" she was not amused, "you were the one who could see the entire thing, but you didn't see them?"

"No..."

"You're lying!"

"N-no I'm not!"

"Stop pretending!"

"I am not pretending here!" I was getting quite annoyed, but tried to keep myself at a safe level of anger, "look, Haruhi, you're the brigade leader. Why would I keep something from you?"

"Hmm..." she grumbled angrily, "I thought there'd be something romance-y between them, but... why? Why are they not together yet?"

"Maybe they're hiding it from us?" Asahina-san came up.

"No, why would they-" I was about to dismiss the comment, until Haruhi interrupted me.

"Of course! Why didn't I think of it sooner? They're shy about their relationship!" Haruhi exclaimed, indirectly praising Asahina-san, "now, all we need is a way to find them being together..."

"I don't think it's good to-" I wanted to continue, but Asahina-san wanted to say something. So, as a man, I let her speak first. I regretted it the minute I allowed it.

"Why don't we... follow them?"

"Mikuru-chan, you're a genius!" Haruhi exclaimed in a voice louder than usual, "now, all we need is someone to stalk them..."

Both Haruhi and Asahina-san turned to face me. Oh crap, I could see what was coming...

"H-hey, I don't think I can-" I defended myself, but Haruhi's unreasonable-ness kicked in faster than me.

"Of course you can! Mikuru-chan had done a good job in thinking of such a wonderful idea, but you haven't done anything to benefit this plan!" Haruhi said to me, her voice not having a trace of sympathy for my freedom.

"What? Neither have you!" was all I could come up with as a comeback.

"Well, I'm the leader of this movement, so I choose who to do what! Mikuru has done a good job, so its your turn to make me proud!"

"Sigh, fine," I gave up, planting my face into my hand, shaking my head.

"Good luck, Kyon-kun!" Asahina-san cheered me on. Really encouraging, lady. Really encouraging.

And thus, as the three of us walked down the hill, I wondered how much I would have to go through just to spy on two of my closest friends.

Sorry, Nagato. You too, Koizumi.