Eternal Blue

That bastard Mercury doesn't know when to shut the hell up! He's so odd. My head went dead quiet shortly after the break of dawn. I went through my day only hearing him a couple of times, whispering in the back of my mind. He wasn't even talking to me. He was probably scheming with the so-called Boss.

However, as soon as the sun went back down, he lit up with energy. He'd been talking about all sorts of things since then. Nothing was really relevant to me but that didn't stop him from ranting about whatever he wanted.

It was such a long day too. I wanted to go home and go right to bed, but Mercury was having none of that. We had things to do, apparently. I had no clue what Mercury wanted. All he told me was to leave the house and head out into the cold night just like when we first met.

This time, we were supposedly running an errand for the Boss. Of course, nobody bothered to tell me what this errand is or why the Boss wanted us to do it after nightfall, but I do what I must. You'd better thank me in the future, Nagato. I'm freezing my ass off out here for you!

I finally had my fill of all this aimless wandering. The whole night could be summed up by Mercury spouting directions and me mindlessly following them. Naturally, the moment I stopped going forward, Mercury voiced his displeasure with me.

"Yo, Kyon! Why'd ya stop?"

Now, why the hell is he using that name? He's in my head. He's probably learned more about me than I'll ever know and yet he still can't acknowledge my real name!?

"Where are we going," I finally asked. Wait. Why didn't I just ask from the get-go?

"I already told you," Mercury stated with an annoyed sigh. As if he's the one with the right to be annoyed right now.

"We've got orders from the Boss. That's all the reason we need. Now get your ass back in motion."

"Just answer the damn question already!"

Thankfully, it didn't take much to convince Mercury to spill the beans. Perhaps he realized my right to know these things since we were supposed to be working together. That's what I'd like to think, though. In reality, he probably just wanted to shut me up.

"The Boss wants us to get a few things out of the way before we bring down the big bad guy in outer space. For starters, he wants us to tie up any loose ends that might cause us trouble in the future. That's what we're doing tonight. We need to find out who sent you that weird message last night, track them down, and deal with them."

What the hell was he talking about? We had no leads about that creepy message from yesterday. To be honest, I had totally forgotten about it. I guess it was only natural that I would prioritize to alien cyborgs invading my brain as opposed to some stranger leaving me a possibly poisoned treat and a confusing message.

At any rate, why are we going down this particular road? Hell, why were we going anywhere? Does the Boss know something that I don't? Why is he always talking through Mercury? He's in my head too so why doesn't he say anything? They can hear my thoughts right now so why can't I hear theirs?

I decided to stop asking myself questions that I could never find the answers to on my own. Of course, Mercury didn't bother chiming in to answer them. He only ever bothered when I had easy questions. Oddly enough, every time I had a question that involved information which wasn't totally useless, Mercury went silent.

Knowing that he was probably ignoring my thoughts, I decided to address him directly. "So, where are we headed? Does the Boss already have a lead or what?"

"Don't know yet," Mercury flatly replied. "Haven't heard anything yet. He said to investigate some weird streams of data down this way. We don't know if it's relevant at all, but we'll only find out after we see it for ourselves, right?"

Great. More alien jargon. Well, as long as we're not wasting time then I guess it would be wise to make sure nobody is on our trail. If the DITE catches wind of what we're doing, I'm not sure how it would react.

There's probably no risk involved for me personally. Killing me would be counterproductive, but if we make a slip up at some point down the road and Mercury and the Boss somehow end up getting the ax then its all over. Nagato will surely die.

"Interesting."

That voice caused me to freeze in place. It was a woman's voice and it was coming from somewhere behind us. Mercury was the first to say anything.

"Who was that? Who's following us? Kyon, you should have been keeping your eyes open!"

What? Why is he blaming me!? Nobody told me to make sure we weren't being followed. How was I supposed to know this would happen?

Of course, there was no time to argue aloud with Mercury. I quickly turned around to see who was there. I quickly regretted doing that as soon as I did.

All too soon, I found myself paralyzed in fear. Suddenly, my sister's description of the woman who left that note from last night made sense to me.

While I was panicking, Mercury was trying to stay calm. I heard him barking out orders from within the depths of my mind and for once I couldn't agree more with what he was saying.

"Boss! Are you seeing this!? We need your help..."

My eyes locked with hers. Two exquisite pools of blue staring me down while the snow fell down around us. Why was she here!? Does she have nine lives or something? Why can't she just stay in the goddamn dirt!?

"Huh," I shouted aloud as this villain smiled at me as if all were right with the world. "Why can't you stay six feet under where you belong!?"

She didn't answer my question. Then again, that seemed to be a reoccurring theme lately. Instead, she decided to respond with a question of her own. Her long blue hair swayed in the direction of an icy breeze as she spoke. Her voice was soft and joyful but this persona would not be enough to fool me.

"Talking to yourself?"

Not really but you wouldn't understand that even if I gave you an honest answer, would you, Asakura?

She tilted her head at me like a curious bird. Her smile wavered at my silence. "Why do you look so upset," she asked as if the answer wasn't obvious enough. "Did you not get the cookie I left you yesterday? Your sister said she'd give it to you."

Asakura paused for a moment, probably analyzing me. I kept quiet, waiting for the Boss to intervene. I didn't really know what he could do while he was inside my head. Perhaps it was my job to protect him and Mercury.

Anticipating the worst, I brushed aside my confusion and focused on the fact that despite all odds, Asakura Asakura was standing right in front of me. I paid close attention to her every move as well as my environment. I counted several escape routes which helped my confidence during this grim confrontation.

"So that message was from you after all," I finally responded. I figured Mercury and the Boss were hatching some scheme right about now. So, all I had to do was keep her talking until one of them let me know how to get out of this situation alive.

Asakura nodded her head. Her smile returned. She almost looked a bit excited for whatever reason. "That's right! Did you like the cookie? I have more back at my place! Perhaps you and I can talk more about a truce there? I think it's probably best we get off the streets. There's a lot I want to discuss with you, and personally, I'd rather go someplace warm to talk."

Right. Take me someplace nice, quiet, and with no potential witnesses. Does she really think I'm so stupid?

She frowned again, probably growing impatient with my silence. "So, what do you say," she asked again.

"That won't be happening," I informed her. "That will never happen. You've tried to kill me twice already! Do you think I'd ever make a truce with the likes of you!?

Asakura giggled at my distress. Her reaction made me even angrier. "Are you still holding a grudge for one little time when I..." She suddenly fell quiet for a moment and stared at me with a puzzled look on her face. "Wait. You said I tried to kill you twice? When did I try to kill you a second time? This is the first time I've seen you since our confrontation in the classroom."

Oh, that's right. She wouldn't remember the second time since it happened after I went back in time to stop Nagato from altering the world. Since it happened right after Nagato finished her meddling with the universe, I guess that was a different Asakura.

That fact only proved one thing to me. No matter what happened or where we are in the universe, Asakura and I will always be enemies.

Suddenly, I heard something. A voice from the back of my mind. It did not belong to Mercury. That much I knew right off the bat.

"Listen carefully because there are two ways to approach this issue. Normally, I would be the one to make the decision, but at least this one time, I want to see how you handle yourself."

The voice was slightly deeper than Mercury's and far more serious in tone. Could it be the Boss? It's not like it could be anyone else. Naturally, I did exactly as I was told all the while keeping my eyes locked on Asakura.

"I'm not sure what that interface is up too but I do not like it," the Boss told me. "I'd rather not make a scene right now so let's try to make a clean escape. When I say run, I want you to bolt towards the alley nearest to you on the left. Keep going straight until I say otherwise. Understand?"

Don't have to tell me twice. The only thing I'm lost in is how are there two options when the first one is so rock-solid?

"I do not like it when questions go unanswered," the Boss elaborated further. "If we are to succeed then we must leave no loose ends. So take up her offer and learn as much as you can. If need be, I or Mercury will intervene. Either way, this loyalist scum will not get in our way."

Wait, he's actually considering that second option? I mean, I understand his logic but this is Ryoko Asakura we're dealing with! Why is he leaving the decision up to me anyway? Mercury and I don't call you the Boss for no reason, you know?

Then I started thinking about it a bit more. If we run, she'd just chase us. We'd have to deal with her at some point in the near future. Hell, running could be the death of me because it would mean she gets the chance to come back later on.

On top of that, I still wanted to know why she was here. Was she brought back by the DITE to stop Mercury and the Boss? If so then why hasn't she attacked me yet, unless she doesn't even realize that they're right here in my head. Maybe it's for a different reason entirely.

In the end, I don't know why I made the choice that I made. Now, whether or not I'd come to regret it, I'm sure time would let me know.


Has the world gone mad or was it just me? I followed this psychotic woman to a presumably secluded area under the orders of the Boss, who just so happened to be a disembodied voice from beyond the stars.

I stayed a good distance behind Asakura since walking in front of her was probably a death sentence. She skipped down the road as happy as she could be.

Both of the voices in my head stopped talking at the most inconvenient time. They could at least let me know if I was making the right choice or not. Surely I wasn't if I was following Asakura around. I should have bolted when I had the chance.

Her voice pierced the silence, causing me to stop in my tracks and jolt my head upright. I stared at her as she spoke to me, anticipating the moment when she would lunge at me with a glimmering blade.

"Noticed anything unusual about Miss Suzumiya lately," she inquired. A question that came out of seemingly nowhere. What did Haruhi have to do with any of this? I had almost forgotten she even existed up until now.

My silence was probably what encouraged her to turn around. Her smile was as unreadable as ever. She tilted her head cutely, clearly trying to manipulate me in some way.

"I'm here to stop the bad guys, Kyon," Asakura told me. "I was given new life by my superiors. They informed me that a rebellion was brewing down here and the enemy was held up quite literally inside of Haruhi Suzumiya's mind. A perfect hostage if I do say so myself. So, if you cooperate and help me locate them then the sooner we can go our separate ways. I know you don't really like me, so cooperation can only benefit you."

The DITE sent her to fight Mercury and the Boss!? What really interested me was the fact that she didn't seem to have a clue about what was going on. The Entity actually thinks they took up residence in Haruhi's head? I guess that would make sense, but from everything they told me, I assumed their location was already known by the enemy, hence the reason why they needed to use me as a hostage.

Was she lying to me? I couldn't think of a good reason not to put it past her. Surely if this was her mission and she knew where her targets were hiding then she would have killed me by now. She showed no restraint in the past so why would she hesitate now? On top of that, I couldn't get my mind off of that note she left me. All of these things combined were just adding to the confusion that was already clouding my thoughts.

Thankfully, Mercury finally decided to say something. I hated how quiet he got in the most crucial of moments. If this was to be a reoccurring them then we'd definitely have some problems in the future.

"This is interesting," the voice interrupted. "So, she's been sent here to drive us out of hiding."

Don't know why you had to repeat that, Mercury. Why don't you just tell me what the hell I need to do?

On the bright side, at least I didn't run. That would have been beyond suspicious. Then again, after someone stabs you, your first instinct is either to beat them to death or run away. I'm a wimp so I'd naturally choose the second option.

"Keep her talking, Kyon! I think the Boss is coming up with a plan."

Feel free to take your time, Mercury. It's not like our lives are on the line or something like that.

"Still keeping quiet, are you," Ryoko asked. For a moment, I had forgotten that she was standing right in front of me.

She looked at me with a quizzical expression. I probably wasn't doing the best job of hiding my fear. None the less, I met her eyes with an angered glare.

"I've got nothing to say to you," I informed, forcing myself to speak up just to make myself look a little less suspicious. "I haven't noticed anything off about Haruhi lately. I barely spoke to her today, but I was up all night, kind of like I am now so I pretty much ignored everybody."

Asakura smirked at me as if I had said something funny. She never failed to irritate me with that cutesy smile of hers.

Mercury suddenly chimed in when I least expected it. I had anticipated being left to deal with this situation on my own. Naturally, when I heard his voice, I nearly jumped out of my skin. So much for not looking suspicious at all.

"Okay, listen up, Kyon. We got a new order from the Boss. Don't follow her home. If we step inside her residence, she might be able to detect us. Instead, take her somewhere else. Your place or a restaurant for example. Anywhere but her apartment. Also, make sure you are the one to choose the location."

That's all the information he gave me before he quieted down. I wanted to go home, but not with Asakura around.

It made sense why they wouldn't want her to choose a place to sit down and relax. Who knows what she might have planned. For all I know, she could be suspicious of me and is only using Haruhi as an excuse to interrogate me.

That definitely seemed like something she would set up. Honestly, I missed the days when she was more open about her intentions. Sure, I had to dodge a knife every now and again, but the unknown was so much more stressful than that.

"On second thought," I blurted out. "Why don't we go somewhere else. I'd rather not have to deal with going all the way to your apartment."

Asakura approached me with a curious smile. She leaned in way too close, forcing me to stumble backward.

She stared at me for the longest time. Hell, it could have just been a second or two but it really didn't matter to me. Suddenly, she spoke out in her usual cheerful tone.

"Okey-dokey! Lead the way!"

I was expecting more resistance when I said this. She must be pretty desperate for information.

That was what I thought at the time, at least. Looking back, I was totally wrong.