Hello again, everyone. Here is the next chapter for this story. I've decided to do the same thing as last time: write one chapter ahead of the updates. I sort of don't like it though, so it may change at some point through the story.

More notes at the bottom of the chapter.

I do not own Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu

Onward!

Chapter One

Asking someone how long they've believed in Santa Claus has to be the most retarded question ever. I think I can confidently say that those who did believe in him are idiots. Me? I never believed in a fat ass in a red suit riding in some ugly sleigh in the first place. When I first saw him as a kid, I almost puked on that guy because he was so damn ugly. And thank god I didn't have to see him kissing my mom. That would be disgusting.

I'm walking with Taniguchi up the slope of the road to get to our new high school. It's close to the location of the school I originally went to before I warped into this dimension, but we take a right somewhere along this road. We're dressed in black uniforms. Or so we normally would be. Since it's only early September, we're in our summer outfits. The boys don't wear the top. Instead, we just wear a white button up shirt with a collar and the school crest on the sleeves, which go just up to the elbow. Pants are more or less the same though. Pants are pants, anyway. They're not going to change anytime soon if you ask me.

As the both of us walk to the school, I can feel the stares of the other students on the both of us. We're recent transfers, so we have to arrive earlier. We stick out among the group because no one has ever seen the two of us before.

Not to mention that Taniguchi has left his uniform unbuttoned. He's wearing a white t-shirt underneath it, but even then the other students can't help but stare.

"Sempai, if you don't button up your shirt, everyone is going to think that you're a delinquent."

"Me? Be grouped with them? They don't even know the meaning of delinquent. If anything, we'd show them what it means to be one." Of course, he waves it off. He's got a penchant for wearing his feelings on his sleeve. Still, he begins to button up his top.

"I'd rather not get into a fight on the first day of the term. Besides, don't forget that-"

"Yeah, yeah, I remember."

I remember killing this fool. Accidental and out of my control, but sometimes I wish it happened in this world. Even though I thought to myself that Taniguchi was obviously alive, it was still a surprise when I first saw him. He looks exactly the same, but his personality is a bit different. I'm thinking that everyone that I knew in the old world is different here, although maybe not too different. The city I'm in is almost exactly the same as the old one except for a few details.

We finally arrive at the school. I ask for some directions and eventually we're lead to the principal's office. He does his usual speech about integrity, morality, and how this high school is the epitome of it all. Then two class representatives escort us to our respective classes.

"Sorry Kyon, but it looks like you've got the guy." He's already planning to try and make some moves on the girl that's leading him to class. Not that I care though.

"It's only the first day. Don't get slapped too hard." Or too many times, for that matter. He's always had a thing for trying to pick up girls. His success has, from what I recall, been various. But I do know that he's beat me in terms of losing his membership.

"Man, Kyon, you've got to man up one day. You have to start looking for girls now because you're not getting any prettier. I mean, you look nice. With a little more effort, you could be a lady killer yourself one day. But every time you don't act on it, you're running out of chances."

This isn't the first time he's told me about this.

"Look, do me a favor and try to at least get a girlfriend this term, okay? We'll talk about more about it later."

But in reality, it's not that I'm too lazy or that I don't want to. It's just that I already have my goal set.

I plan to eventually become Suzumiya Haruhi's boyfriend. I've done it once, I'm sure I can do it again. This time, however, I'll be starting from scratch. As for finding her, that's easy, as I've already done some research and found out that she attends this school.

That's part of the reason why Taniguchi and I transferred here. The other part is that-

"Well, this is our classroom." The boy turns around and opens the door for me. Class is about to start, and the teacher is already at the front of the room.

"Ah, welcome." He's got wrinkles and is beginning to lose a bit of his hair. "You must be the new transfer."

Better suck it up. "It's an honor to be here."

"It's uncommon for second years to be transferred to a new high school, especially so late in the school year. Still, I believe you will do well." He smiles a bit. "There's a seat by the window in the back. You can use that spot for now until we have an official seat change later today."

I thank the man and head over to sit down. After that, he began his lecture. It wasn't that much different than any other high school. I find that my mind begins to wander.

The me before I took over was almost a completely different person. Even I find it a bit hard to believe myself. I was quiet and didn't talk very much. In fact, the only one that I was really open with was Taniguchi. I had to convince my 'father' into thinking that I wanted to try to be more outgoing when I started to speak up more often.

Speaking of family, the situation is different as well. My father in the old world is still my father here. I still have a younger half sister. However, instead of her not having my father's lineage, she is born from a different mother. At some point in time, my mother died and my father remarried.

Also, no one else in my family is a vampire. It's only me. I feel relieved in that I don't have anyone to hold me to any values, but at the same time I don't have anyone to really guide me. Still, I feel like I'll like this world much better than the old one.

Lecture ends. I didn't exactly know when it happened, but I stopped paying attention in lecture. I suppose I'm too busy wondering just how Haruhi and I will meet up in this world. Will she even recognize me? And if the way she entered this world is similar to how I entered it, will she have broken free of the chains her mind has bound her with? Although I believe that she is held down by weights much more different than mine.

"Hey!" a light pat to my shoulders rouses me from my thoughts. It's Taniguchi again. "It's not like you to be staring off into the distance. Did you see a girl you like?"

"If I happen to hit it off with a girl, I'm sure I'd do my best to keep it a secret from you." I rise from my seat. "After all, I would like to keep her for myself. I would prefer to avoid letting you… borrow her without my permission."

"Come on," he laughs, "I may be a lady's man, but I've got decency. I'm not one to go around stealing another guy's girl, especially yours. I think the term was 'crows before toes'."

"It's 'bros before hos', sempai." And you say that English like a second language to you.

"It's the thought that counts. Now come on, let's get something to eat."

I notice that his top has become unbuttoned again, revealing his white shirt beneath it. "You've unbuttoned your shirt again, sempai."

"It's too hot. I don't understand how all the other guys can handle it." We travel through the hall and down some stairs until we're on the bottom floor. Before we can leave the building to go to the cafeteria, however, someone calls out to us.

"Hey, transfer student."

It's someone I know, but it's not the person I am looking for. I turn around to see the one person I hoped to never see again.

Asakura Ryoko. Of course, it makes sense that she would exist, as a human. After all, Taniguchi is alive in this world despite the fact that I killed him in the old one. However, is she still an alien? I would imagine that the Data Thought Entity would still try to pursue Haruhi. Even then, though, didn't Nagato herself say that they exist as one in all planes of existence?

Wouldn't that mean that since Asakura Ryoko died, she should not exist here? But then who is the one who is talking to me now?

I ignore her, pretending to not have heard her call me. I turn away from her to leave, but Taniguchi grabs me by the arm.

"Come on now, Kyon. It's impolite to refuse such a beautiful girl's invitation." Women will be the death of you, Taniguchi. I follow him, but I can't help but be suspicious of what's happening. As we approach, however, her hand flies up to her mouth and she begins to blush.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I only meant to call out to my classmate." Classmate? She must be talking about Taniguchi, as if she were in my class I'm sure I would have realized it in the first place. Her exuberant blue hair is a dead giveaway, similar to how Nagato's light purple hair lets me know that an alien is about. Or was.

"Sorry, Kyon," he offers me his condolences before heading over to her. "I meant to talk more with you about what I said earlier, but it'll have to wait."

Don't get too caught up in yourself. "Don't worry about me. Just have fun. There will be another time to talk later."

I begin to walk towards the cafeteria and constantly scanning the crowd. I might see someone I recognize. But even then, I can't just bring myself to go up and say hello to them. I know who they are, but they won't know who I am. Not to mention that they would not have repressed memories of where I come from. The only person who does is Haruhi.

Come to think of it, would I recognize her? What if her scent has changed? Then what will I do? My best chance is to awaken her repressed memories. As I purchase my meal, various thoughts fly about my head on how to do so. I doubt that it would be like a fairy tale, where I can simply kiss her and she will remember. Also, it could take a long time for her memories to return.

Classes will be starting soon. I don't know whether Taniguchi had something to eat or not, so I purchase some baked goods for him and begin to search for him. I take a deep breath and easily pick up his scent. I begin to head up the stairs, but as I arrive on the next floor, I run into Asakura again.

"Oh, it's the other transfer student," she speaks with a harried smile. "Funny that we would meet each other again."

Funny my ass. "I'm looking for my friend, Taniguchi. I was going to bring him some food as I don't think he's had the opportunity to eat something yet."

"Him? Well, last I saw him, he…" her voice drops a bit, "some other students jumped him."

It is only the first day. "What? And you didn't tell anyone?"

"W-Well, it just happened though!" she stamps her foot.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't report it."

"But classes are about to start! Besides, I was trying to be nice earlier, but he almost couldn't keep himself off of me. I'm…" her voice falls a bit, "I'm kind of glad that he got jumped."

"Where did it happen?" I suppose I should bail him out. I don't think she wants to tell the teachers about the situation either.

"It was near the first floor staircase on the west side. Be quick. Even if I don't really like him that much, I would still feel bad if something were to happen to him."

"Right. I'll see you around, then." I begin to head up the stairs again.

"Wait!" I turn around to see her smiling at me again, this time a more natural one. "I'm Asakura Ryoko. It's nice to meet you."

Act like you don't hate the lying bitch. "Call me Kyon. I'd say that it's nice to meet you to, but I have to hurry and try to help my friend." She waves a small goodbye and heads in the other direction.

So, stairs huh? I start to pick up Taniguchi's scent again. At the very least she was right about some stairs. He was not at the first floor's west staircase, though. In fact, his scent leads me to the third floor's main staircase. However, why would Taniguchi be on the third floor? While he may not be afraid to go wherever he wants, society dictates it to be very unusual for a second year to be on the third year's floor. Given the situation and how he unbuttoned his shirt, he could have been targeted by some rambunctious upperclassmen.

I have the feeling that Asakura had a hand in this little trick.

His scent leads to the roof. If he did get jumped, then he probably would have been taken up to the roof to try and keep it away from the teachers' eyes.

Well, it's not like they'll kill him. Scaring him is probably closer to their goal. He'll be fine.

Besides, I'm trying to keep a low profile. If I found him too easily, I would fall under suspicion. Sorry, Taniguchi, but you'll just have to hang in there.

I begin to make my way back down the stairs. I'll just have to hold on to the food I bought and give it to him later. Besides, class will be starting soon. I'd rather not be late.

We're on the school roof, sitting against the railing. Class has ended and most of the students have gone home. Turns out I was right to guess that Taniguchi was up here somewhere. However, I was unable to get here until now. To say that Taniguchi was starving could be an understatement.

"Oi, Kyon, you got a light?"

I reach into my pants pocket and pull out my lighter. I spin it around my fingers a few times before taking a hold of it at an arm's length. I turn the spark wheel and a small orange flicker of flame stands on top. "You really should stop smoking, sempai. And why do you always ask me if I have a light?"

Taniguchi moves the cigarette butt over the flame before taking puff. "I like how you spin it a few times before you actually turn it on. It looks cool. I can only spin a pencil." He's got a few cuts and bruises on his face and he might have a few more underneath his clothes. There is also one particularly long gash running along his cheek. Beyond that though, he looks to be in okay condition.

"So, back to the real issue. What happened up here?"

"Well," he takes another breath from his cigarette, "I got jumped somewhere next to the third floor staircase. Then I was dragged up here."

"So they beat you up or something? Is that it?"

"Beat me up? Hardly." He spits towards his side away from me. "The boys don't even know what a fight is. They're just swinging fists, nothing more. It would be a shame for me to lose to such amateurs."

"So then how did you end up like this?"

"Tch, there was this bitch with ribbons in her hair."

Ribbons?

"She's fast and her punches are like a train. She might have even had a ring on, because she gave me this cut here." He points to the long line of dried blood across his left cheek. "She kind of just came out of nowhere. That or it's because she was a girl that I was caught unaware."

"That's going to leave a scar, wont it?"

"A scar? Hmph, come on, Kyon. You can't be a respected Yakuza leader without one. I would have gotten one sooner or later."

Ah, right. Yakuza. It surprised me that there could be such great differences between the same people in separate dimensions. Taniguchi, who is still my friend in this world, is the son a fairly influential Yakuza boss. He's older than me by only a few months, but I must still show respect to him. As for me, my family isn't made up of vampires, for the matter, but my father is the boss' close friend and second-in-command.

As a result, it could be said that my friendship with Taniguchi in this world was potentially superficial. I don't know what the other me was planning before, but now I have control over the situation. I would be lying if I said that I was disappointed at my new life. I have a powerful link to the Underworld, where I can operate under a veil should it be necessary. However, a part of me hoped that I would have a more peaceful life, maybe try to do what my old father did.

Another part of me is anxious to see what this new world holds for me. "What happened after that?"

"Essentially, they held me down and beat me up a bit. Nothing that I'm not used to. School kids don't know what it really means to terrorize anyway."

Even though I've only been in this world for a few months, I've already seen countless things that only a Yakuza member should see. At the very least, it could be said that there will be no shortage of blood for me to drink.

"Man, that girl was hot though."

"The one that met us in the hallway?"

"Well, her too, but I'm talking about the ribbons bitch." He takes another drag. "If she didn't punch me, I'm sure I would have tried to pick her up, too."

This could be dangerous. "What do you propose to do then?"

"Well, maybe give her a taste of her own medicine. It might not look good to hit girls, but I have to show my thanks for the scar in some way, right?" He sighs. "Still, it will be a shame to cut up that face of hers."

"That may be going too far. It would be best to avoid life-changing consequences."

"True…"

"And how do you expect to find her anyway? You don't even know her name."

"Criminals have a penchant to return to the scene of the crime, Kyon. I suspect that sooner or later she'll come back up here. We'll just have to find out when." He stands up and stretches. "Well, we should be heading back. I have to think of a suitable way to repay the girl."

"Sempai, you're not even going to find out what her connections are?" I stand up as well.

"It will become clear soon enough. I'll do some digging if I have to, though." He tosses the cigarette onto the ground and stamps it out. "And I keep telling you, you don't have to call me sempai."

"It feels weird to not say it, though." I would love to stop calling you sempai. Still, it's better to lie through my teeth.

"Then don't do it when others are around then. Like you said before, we have to keep a low profile. Someone who's barely younger than me referring to me as sempai is a bit unusual, no?"

I stand up and follow him back down the stairs. Taniguchi didn't mention her, but I'm sure that Asakura has some sort of hand in all of this. He may be too smitten with her to realize this, but I'm not about to lie down and let her walk over me. She's tried to kill me before and it was only thanks to Nagato that I survived.

Speaking of Nagato, I'm reminded of a good excuse to leave. "Taniguchi, I'm going to check out some of the clubs around here. Maybe there's something we can pick up from there."

He gives a nod and lets me leave for now. "We'll talk later then." Once he's out of sight, I turn around and head back up to the roof.

Ever since he mentioned the name 'bitch with ribbons', I've wanted to search the rooftop. When I was there earlier, I could see spots of dried blood. Most of it was not Taniguchi's, most of it belonged to others. But if he's right, if Haruhi really was on the rooftop, then that would mean I'm one step closer to finding her.

I almost ram the door open and stumble onto the open roof. It's empty, devoid of life. I calm myself and take a deep breath and close my eyes.

The first thing I notice is that there are almost no scents left. Most of it has died off, having been scattered by the wind. It's not enough to make a solid guess that she was up here.

I start to examine the scene. I'm not looking for something that she may have dropped. That's too hopeful, although it's not something I would rule out. Instead, I'm looking for signs of wear in the area, signs that a person or a group of people frequent the area. I take a look around the structure that holds the entrance back down into the school. Not only would it tell me that someone comes here often, but the scent left behind is potentially stronger.

To my chagrin, however, it looks like the roof was repainted during the summer. The coat on the wall and railings has a sheen that's unlike old buildings. Any evidence of someone frequenting a particular spot on the rooftop has been erased.

What about on top of the entrance? Making sure that no one is around, I crouch down before pushing against the floor. For a moment, I'm weightless before I start to move down, landing on the ledge surrounding the top. My eyes begin to search the area, and it's not long before I find something.

Cigarette butts, lots of them, the first clue. However, I find it highly unusual that the entire roof would be repainted save this part. Regardless, this leads to several conclusions: someone smokes them and tosses the bits up here, someone actually smokes on the top of this place, or multiple people are doing either one. There is also a damp spot in the center of the area, meaning that the drains in this part are not very good.

It also means that water could easily have stained what's left behind. Thankfully, there are a few recently used ones. Judging by the amount, it would have to have been a group of people smoking in the area. That means that multiple people must have known that this girl with ribbons was here. How to find them, however, is the difficult part. There isn't much of a scent to pick up around here and remember.

I hate to admit it, but this is getting nowhere. I climb down from the ledge and begin to head for the exit. The only real information I have right now is that there are multiple people involved and Asakura Ryoko is one of them. Taniguchi's information about getting jumped and fighting multiple students checks out with the amount of cigarette butts. Also, Asakura is put under suspicion because of her lie. I can't help but feel that there is some sort of underlying connection between the two of them. After that though, there isn't anything else for now.

It looks like, despite the prestige of the school, it has a few problems of its own. Given the mission Taniguchi and I were tasked with perhaps there is a way for us to turn it to our advantage. Still, I would prefer to find Haruhi first.

But even then, it looks like she's not necessarily on the same side as me this time, if one could even call it a side in the first place. Being dragged into the SOS Brigade was definitely not what I originally hoped to be involved with in my first year. If I were given a choice in the beginning, I would have done everything I could to avoid the group entirely. Maybe that's the reason why she was so adamant to have me 'help her'. She knew that I would put up a fight until the very end and instead roped me into providing a helping hand in its creation.

As I finally leave the school, I'm sure that there are a few people watching my actions. The fact that I'm friends with their first 'target' puts me under their prying eyes as well. In fact, with Taniguchi's idea of extracting revenge, I would not be surprised that if word of it got out, the both of us would run out of the school. Or not. God knows that won't work.

Considering what we were sent out to do, failure isn't an option we are willing to tolerate. Unless, of course, we are able to manipulate this failure to achieve our goal. Either way works. It's the end result that matters.

My thoughts go back to Haruhi.

Dear god, I hope she doesn't smoke. Most men won't care, but I find it to be a huge turn off.

Oh boy, where to begin? You know, the entirely new world Kyon is thrust into is sort of a mix between a bunch of 'what if's, thinking big, and a written assignment for one of my classes. At first, I wanted to make new world very, very different. I initially had plans for post-apocalyptic humans versus vampires setting with time traveling somewhere in it, but while I put in a lot of thought, outcome felt lacking. The next idea I worked with was radically changing the character backgrounds. It was easier to do in that I didn't have to plan out the entire setting.

And then I realized that I have never really written a story about criminals before. The idea was enticing, as I wanted to write an actual novel revolving around a detective. But I couldn't just do a gang, so I thought about putting them in the Yakuza. And then that written assignment came along. We were to write about an institution and how it relates to what we were discussing in class. We were allowed to write about whatever topic we wanted as long as it was an institution and I saw it as an opportunity to do research on the Yakuza as a criminal organization.

And that is why Kyon is a Yakuza member.

There is also the fact that he is in a secondary role compared to Taniguchi within the Yakuza. This felt almost natural, as it would emulate how Haruhi put him in a secondary position. Putting him as the top dog felt out of place, as well as cliche.

As for his morality, I do admit that I may have made it bigger than I may have wanted to in hindsight, but it's something addressed in the upcoming chapter. He'll still be a bit evil, though, or I would like to try to portray him as such. That is something I do not want to toss out.