Hey guys, I'm a bit slower than last time, but it's here! College will be taking it's toll once again, but hopefully it won't get in the way of too much.
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SgtHydra: Maybe it isn't continuing in the right way, but there's no way to tell right now. Also, about Kyon still going to school and trying to act normal, I feel that it is perfectly fine that way. Think about his family. They have no fabled magic powers and they want to stay hidden from the rest of the world. They've been keeping up the charade for a long time now. By doing their best to appear normal, they don't attract attention to themselves. That was the reasoning behind my choice.
kinda?: I put it in there because it was a jarring and sudden change from Kyon's normal life. Considering how the prologue focuses on the shock factor, I felt that it was appropriate. As for Haruhi being OOC there isn't much evidence that points to that, at least evidence that I haven't found. We have never seen, to my knowledge, a moment in time when Haruhi is sad and heartbroken. Also, we do see her rely on her anger as a tactic to get him to come soon. In fact, it's the first thing she does. If you wish to discuss more, feel free to IM me so I can answer you quickly. I feel terrible that I can only answer your questions after each update when they are never at a fixed interval.
BloodSoakedEnigma: Of course it's grammaRically incorrect. But on more serious terms, I double-check and often triple-check my work before it's uploaded, in addition to sending it to a self-proclaimed grammar nazi. There should be no issues with grammar.
Hikaru1223: I'm sorry, but I do not intend to do a double update. I did not explicitly say that I intended to. In fact, the only time when I did do a double update, I do not remember announcing it at all. What most likely confused you was how I'm currently writing this story. When I put the prologue up, it was not when I first finished it. I put it up when I finished chapter one. When I put chapter one up, chapter two was already complete. Since I'm putting up chapter two, this means that I've already written chapter three. Again, I'm sorry if I misled you.
Arty Esbee d'Arc: Ha, shortly after I put up chapter one, I looked into my favorite authors section and there you were. I felt like an idiot. I don't remember which story I read from you, however, but I'm pretty sure it was a SHnY one. As for Kyon not being very worried, I feel like we never see him panic for extended periods of time. He panics once (which took place in the prologue), and then doesn't really seem worry too hard afterward. He'll panic at certain instances (we see this at the island portion in season one) and then find a way to work it out. In the end, he just seems to take it easy. He does worry, however, which I try to portray in addition to his daily activities.
I do not own Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu.
Onward!
Chapter 2
Whenever someone wants to give or receive something from Suzumiya Haruhi, they always come to me. It is as if they consider me the only middle man available to do the job. Perhaps it is because no one else wants to deal with her. Perhaps it is because they know that I am the only one she will take seriously.
The president asked that I deliver today's notes and handouts to Haruhi after class. I have done this before on days that she's been sick or absent for other reasons. I am familiar with the path to her house.
I also asked why she, as the class president, could not do it herself. Her reason was that she had class representative responsibilities that day.
In short, it was her way of saying that she didn't want to do it.
That is why I am now on my way to where she lives. It could be said that by accepting the president's request, or perhaps order, I have put myself on the warpath with Haruhi. I have thought about whether it was the best choice of action or not. Even if it is the poorer choice, it is the best option available to me. Putting this off will only make the situation worse, not just for me but for the SOS Brigade in general. I know that my father told me to go home immediately, but I cannot shirk my duties.
Speaking of the brigade, the reason why I am not at the club room is because I have to deliver the papers. I do not know if the other three are there out of habit. Koizumi is most likely away on a break or fighting more ethereal giants. Asahina-san might know that both the leader and I will not show up today but will still attend out of respect, meaning that she will be serving tea, in her maid outfit no less, only to Nagato. And Nagato is Nagato; she is probably reading a long novel.
Speaking of Nagato, I need to talk to her soon. She is, among the brigade members, perhaps the most sensible person to talk to who also makes the most sense. Maybe she knows something that would help make clear up the situation. Maybe there is even a way to reverse it. The only problem is that I don't exactly know when I will be able to talk to her. All I know that if she has something very important to tell me, she almost always takes the initiative to meet up with me.
Before I can think of anything else, I realize that I'm outside of Haruhi's house now. It's got two windows on top and a vertical iron gate between two walls.
It looks like a skull. Under normal conditions, I doubt that I would realize this. In fact, this is the first time I have ever thought of it in such a manner. It is strange too, as this look is fairly common among the neighboring houses. Perhaps it is the manifestation of my fear and apprehensiveness of the situation in an attempt to make myself retreat from it, a survival tactic of sorts.
I see the intercom button and shakily raise my hand. For a moment, I can't bring myself to press it. My brain maddens its effort to keep me from pressing it.
But I know that I must push on. And push on, I will. In a burst of will my hand shoots forward, pressing it down.
I hear a faint snap. Pulling my hand back, I notice a tiny seam of a crack in the middle of where I pressed it and I wince.
I forget that I am now slightly stronger than people of my particular build. Earlier on the way here, I kicked a rock and-
"This is the Suzumiya residence."
It's Haruhi's voice. And it's calm. Two things which I feel do not go together. It is as wrong as one plus one equating to a window.
"Hello?"
"It's me."
"…What?"
I remove my mask. "It's me."
"Oh." I hear the intercom shut off.
She should be coming for the door. She'll be out in any moment now and then we'll have the argument of our life.
…
Any moment…
…
I press the button again.
"This is the Suzumiya residence."
"Haruhi, I want to-"
It shuts off again.
I know that if I try again, she simply won't respond. But I have to talk to her.
I look back at the wall surrounding the front of her house. It's about a foot taller than me. I could probably climb over it…
…
Technically that would be breaking and entering.
…
But I'm desperate. I back off to the other side of the street and lean against a wall similar to the one surrounding Haruhi's place. I cross my arms and put the sole of one foot against the wall behind me, giving the impression that I'm waiting for her to come out.
I make sure that it is absolutely devoid of people. With a running start, I dash across the street and leap.
I leap too high, or maybe not high enough. The area above my knee comes in contact with the top o the wall, causing me to flip. I try to stop myself by pushing against the wall, but because more than half my body cleared the wall it does nothing. The flip continues and I fall towards the hard concrete. Luckily I land on my back, but my body hurts all over.
I let out a low groan as I get up. I had the wind knocked out of me, so I lower my mask again to breathe a bit easier. Once it returns to normal, I put it back on. I feel the back of my head, the point where it hit the floor. It feels dry, so that means I'm not bleeding.
Can I even bleed anymore?
I make my way to the front door and knock. I do not hesitate because I am past the point of hesitation. Having leapt over the wall, I find that there is no way for me to back out now.
It opens to almost halfway. I see Haruhi looking at me with her golden eyes from the side of the door. It's a mix of pain and sadness.
I don't really know how to start this conversation. "…Hey."
She says nothing. A moment later, she begins to close the door.
"Haruhi, wait!" I quickly stick my foot in the door opening. The door closes against it, but it doesn't hurt. "I want to talk about Saturday."
"… If it's just excuses, I don't want to hear it."
"Look," I'm losing her. I have to say something. "What happened on Saturday was beyond my control."
"And you couldn't call me beforehand? Or pick up your damn phone?" She's getting a bit angry, which I guess is good in the long run.
"I caught an unusually bad sickness that day. Guuricoccus."
"… I've never heard of it before."
"Neither have I until Saturday." Hopefully I can embellish it in a believable manner. "I was out for the entire day. I vaguely remember getting out of bed when my little sister came in, but that's all. She said that I just got up, wobbled around a bit, and then collapsed. The doctor who came over identified it but also wondered why it was so severe." I don't know if she believes any of this, but I keep going. "They say that severe cases are very rare, but if treated quickly then the situation stabilizes. I woke up last night, but I was still a bit delirious so my father put me back to sleep. I got up again early this morning and convinced my dad to let me go to school. That's why I have this mask. But right when I was about to leave, I discovered that it was actually Monday. I haven't been able to talk to you until now."
"…"
"…" Please believe me.
"…"
"…"
"… That must be one of the most bold-faced lies I've ever heard."
"But-" she moves away from the door. My foot is free, but she's out of sight. I quickly enter and remove my shoes before following her up the stairs. "Wait!"
"All you have are excuses! And they're all lies!" she shouts back at me before continuing up. I get the feeling that she wants to lock herself away in her room. If she makes it, my job is going to be infinitely harder.
"Then what do you want me to say?" I'm taking two steps at a time up, but she's almost at the top.
"Why would it matter? You don't even care about this relationship!"
She's almost outside her door. I dash up and hook my biceps beneath her shoulders and lift her off the ground. I notice that she is wearing her pajamas while it is already late in the afternoon and that her hair is in a bit of a mess. I hope that she's been eating or doing something during these past two days.
"Let go of me!" she begins to flail and kick. She hits me at times, but they don't hurt that much. At least, they don't hurt enough to make me drop her. "You don't even say that you're sorry! I waited… I waited hours for you out there!"
I can hear her voice beginning to crack a bit. Perhaps I'm making some headway here.
"You're absolutely worthless! I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to go out on a date with you!" She begins to act up even more. "I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"
Each repetition stings, but I remain steadfast. I keep holding onto her.
"You're a terrible failure of a boyfriend!" her voice keeps trembling and soon she starts to snivel. "You can't even make the first date!"
She's not flailing as much now, but she's beginning to cry. She repeatedly insults me, calls me names. I hear words that I never thought I would hear her say. But as she continues, she begins to tire out. It's not long before she's just sobbing, having run out of things to say.
This would be the second time that I have made Suzumiya Haruhi cry. I don't like it when she cries.
I set her back down on her feet. She doesn't try to move away from me. I move in front of her and hold her hands with mine, bringing them up in between us.
"Haruhi."
She looks at me. I don't see anger anymore. Just pain and tears.
"I know that what I said before is hard to believe. In fact, I didn't expect you to believe me. If you think I'm lying, if you think that I'm covering up for something else, then I'm genuinely sorry. But whether you believe me or not, there is one thing that I want to make clear between us. This relationship means a lot to me. I missed the first date because of something that is beyond my control and it bothers me. When I heard your third message, it was terrible because I knew I hurt you, something I never wanted to do."
I make sure that I'm looking into her eyes and squeeze her hands.
"Don't ever catch yourself saying, or even thinking, that I don't care about this relationship."
She remains silent. Slowly, she begins to snivel and I can see tears going down her face again. I let go of her hands and hug her close to me. She begins to cry again, but this time into my shirt. We say nothing to each other. I just hold onto her as she continues to cry until there she can't cry anymore.
When it's all over, I speak. "Do you feel better now?"
She only nods.
"Come on, let's wash your face now." I guide her to the bathroom and turn on the warm water. When it gets hot, I soak a hot towel in it and gently wash her face with it. If I don't do this now, Haruhi's eyes will be puffy later.
I then softly dry her face. "How are you feeling?"
"… Tired."
"Let's put you to bed then." I hold her hand and lead her back to her room. She climbs into her bed and I tuck her in.
There's nothing left to do now.
"Well, I guess I'll head back home now." I put the handouts on her desk. "These are today's notes and papers from class. Go through them when you wake up, okay?" I begin to turn around, but I feel her tug at the back of my uniform.
"Stay… Stay with me until I fall asleep… okay?" she has a small blush on her. I don't know if it's from the crying or embarrassment or something else.
I'm really pushing it now. "…Only if you promise to come to class tomorrow."
She nods. Pulling up her desk chair, I sit down on it and hold her hand. We stare at each other, as if expecting the other to say something.
Eventually, she breaks the silence. "What you said back there, about how you view this relationship," she asks softly.
"What about it?" I gently squeeze her hand. It's soft…
"Do you… do you really mean it?"
I smile a bit. I don't know if she can recognize it by the way my mask or face muscles move. "I asked you out first, didn't I?" I stroke her hand a bit. "Don't worry over it so much. I know that, from time to time, you will doubt me. But… just try to believe me during those times, okay?"
"… Alright then."
I feel myself smile wider. "I suppose now would have been the time to kiss you. But considering the facts, I'll save it for another time."
Her cheeks turn to a deeper red. She closes her eyes and smiles. "Have it ready by tomorrow."
We say nothing more after that. I sit and admire how beautiful she looks until I am sure that she is asleep. Gently letting go, I quietly rise from the seat and put it back before leaving the room. Closing the door behind me, I head down stairs and put on my shoes before leaving.
I wish there was some way to lock the door, but it's impossible for me. Looking out, I see the gate. I don't know how to operate it, however, so I will have to opt for the wall again. This time, instead of going for a running jump, I grab hold of the top before jumping and lifting myself over.
It looks like today has been productive. While I still have the issue of money to deal with, it's better to put it off for another day.
I better get back home.
As I begin to walk, I go over the event. I would like to say that I have succeeded not only in preserving the relationship but also in restoring a bit of balance to the world. I do not know if it was the best or only way for it to turn out, but I am generally pleased by it.
I was also very close to her neck throughout the entire situation. I could see every little change, from the beat of her heart to the small changes brought by her speech. A part of me wanted to feel her neck, to caress it and love it, but I know that it was better to not act on the particular instinct. But still…
Well, it matters not anyway, I have dreamed of it many times before, and I believe I will dream of it again. I suppose I still-
A sudden yank pulls me behind a concrete wall. For a moment, I'm disoriented and a bit scared until I hear a voice.
"Trespassing, are we? That's a quite a hefty fine you'll have to pay, as well as some time you'll have to serve."
I sigh and smile at the same time. "Taniguchi, you're probably the last person I expected to see."
"I'm just watching over one of my best friend's first real encounter with the dangers of women." He smiles back at me.
Dangers of women? He doesn't even know the half of it. "Dangers? I was just delivering today's notes and handouts to her. No such danger at all." I start back on my path with Taniguchi walking at my side. "She wasn't answering her intercom, so I had to do some… breaking and entering to get her to open the door."
"Yeah, some breaking and entering – into her heart."
I can't help but smirk.
"So, how'd it go?"
It's going to be tough coming up with all the lies I'm about to tell him. He knows they're all lies also, which is why he finds it fun to ask me these questions all the time. It is probably also why I'm so good at conjuring up quick excuses.
It feels like a heavy weight has been lifted from me.
---
In the end, we ended up going by Taniguchi's house before returning to mine.
In terms of its shape from each other on a map, it looks a bit like a kite. My house is the blunter end and directly across from the school. Taniguchi and Haruhi's house are opposite of each other and are closer to me than they are to the school.
In short, I took the long way back home. And my dad is not too happy about it.
There is a glass with some clear blood in it. Before my father started grilling me on why I was late, he gave it to me.
That weight from before comes crashing back down. While I may have saved my relationship, it does not remove the issue about my transformation and need of blood. I know that any blood, as long as the amount is sufficient, will satisfy me. But that could mean that certain types of blood may have a higher quality than others, meaning that I will need more of it to fulfill me.
Taking the glass, I down it in one gulp. It's delicious. But I still feel sick and twisted that I have come to rely on this for sustenance.
"So let me get this straight. This Haruhi girl didn't show up to class today. The class president wasn't able to find anyone else to do it, so he or she asks you to do the job."
"Yes." Please don't refer to her as 'This Haruhi girl'.
"And then after you deliver the papers, you ran into your friend Taniguchi and ended up walking to his place before finally returning?"
"Yes." I found that it's wise not to lie to my parents. They almost always seem to know when I'm lying, as if I've got some sort of tell going about on my face.
"And somehow, with all this stuff going on, you didn't find the time to tell your girlfriend that you need to spend less money?"
"… In all honesty, we were supposed to have our first date on Saturday. Considering how I missed it and could not respond to her at all during the time afterward, I was hardly in a position to talk about money. I had to convince her that I caught a incapacitating disease, which I also recovered very quickly from. I still don't think she believes me entirely."
"Hmph. I suppose that's a good enough reason. But you better take care of it soon."
At the very least, my father is reasonable – at times. I still don't quite forgive him for giving me alcohol before school.
"Regardless, it's time you started learning how to retract your fangs."
Good, that way I don't have to wear this damned mask.
"Because we've been a generation of vampires, the ability to do so has been ingrained in your mind. It could be said that you just don't know that you can do it." He pulls out a chopping board and puts it down in front of me.
I notice that it has another set of bite marks on it. I think it's my sister's.
"You're going to bite down until you feel it pull begin to pull back. Afterward, it should be easy to replicate the movement. After all, it's something that's been genetically handed down."
Is it really something so easy? I pick up the board. It's wooden, perhaps to make it a bit easier. I still can't believe that I'm really about to do this.
I'm going to be the equivalent of a beaver until I can get my teeth to retract. Great.
It can't be that hard, can it?
Taking the board, I bite onto the corner, expecting me to retract my fangs.
"You have to bite harder than that," my father says.
"… How much harder?"
"Enough to push your teeth in. Look at the other marks on it, specifically how deep they are. Your sister had to bite that hard just so she can start retracting her teeth."
The indents are about a centimeter deep.
"You may have to go harder. She was younger at the time, so her teeth were different."
My teeth are going to be sore after this. Very, very sore.
"Try to be quick. You still need to learn how to focus your eyesight. Otherwise, it will only occur when you need blood."
I never knew being a vampire would take so much work.
Yup, it will probably get closer to horror later. We'll just have to wait and see.
