Catching my breath, I slowed my pace to meet her own, "Hey Nagato!"

"Is there a problem?" she spoke without giving me the slightest glance.

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

"It is unusual for you to be here, at this time, with me. Is there a problem?" she turned her head and looked at me with soft, penetrating eyes; for a split second, I felt the sensation of being unable to breathe.

"…" You see, a few days ago, I made a bet with my little sister that she couldn't get an perfect score on her spelling test, and if she did get a perfect score, I promised I'd buy her a beta fish. (She has an affinity for them for some reason…don't ask.) I know it's a lot of responsibility for a little girl, but I was fairly certain that she was going to lose. One time she spelled the word milk 'P-L-N-K'. No way she could get a perfect mark, right?

Wrong. The next day she came home waving an aced test in my face. Were you bluffing this whole time, sis?

So, that story leads into current events; bare with me a bit longer? Thanks. Anyways after hanging around with Haruhi and the others in the club room for a while, the commotion started to die down and we each started going home one by one, until I was all that was left. Realizing I was alone, I headed to my locker and grabbed some papers I needed for an assignment. Because I didn't want go up and down the hill a second time today; it was sweltering outside. I decided to go grab the beta fish for my sister after school. It was in the opposite direction towards home, and the walk really wasn't too bad. So, as it turned out, the direction I was heading in was towards Nagato's condo-I saw her walking a ways ahead of me and decided to run up and say hello.

And resume.

"No, nothing's wrong. I have to go this way to get something for my sister, so you don't need to worry about anything being up."

Nagato started nodding. "Nothing is up," she repeated after me. I wondered if she understood the phrase. Probably.

"That's right," I crossed my hands behind my head and looked up. I grimaced; nothing makes you feel sluggish like the big round sun beating down on you.

Big surprise, she stopped talking. Or really doing anything at all besides walking. You couldn't even notice her breathing! If she sat still long enough you'd think she was dead.

"So, Nagato, what do you think of the weather?" It felt like déjà vu. Trying to make small talk with Nagato again. How big of a mistake was this? I'd soon find out.

"I think that it is 30.555555555555557 degrees Celsius."

Does she do this on purpose? If that's the case Nagato, it's not cute every time. "…Impressive, but I meant more along the lines of, do you like it or dislike it?"

"I do not mind the status of the climate, but I believe there are more desirable weather scenarios than this one. Uncomfortable," she looked up and held her hand out in front of her face, fingers flared.

"Trying to block out the sun, huh?"

"I am not."

"Then…what are you doing?"

"Examining," she didn't go into further detail. I guess she just assumed that I would know what she's talking about. I didn't, and I was not going to ask.

"O…kay," I decided to prattle on myself. "My favorite kind of weather is when it's not too hot and not too cold, like the beginning of May for example. When the sun is shining warm but there's still that cool, gentle breeze brushing against you. You know what I'm saying?" You know what I'm saying...? Who am I, Taniguchi? I need to stop letting people rub off on me so much...My social barriers just don't work as well as they used to, I guess.

"I know what you are saying."

"So what kind of weather do you like best, Nagato?" I looked at her and smiled. I suppose that I was half-expecting, or rather, hoping, that she would look at me too. She never does. I need to stop this compulsive need to have her look at me while we're talking. It's never going to happen, and I just have to except the fact that normal conversations do not and never will happen with Yuki Nagato.

"Rain." Woah! Did she just give me a straight answer right away! I must be dreaming!

"Rain huh? Don't you get cold and...well, wet?"

"I do."

"Then...why do you like it?" I winced at the blinding sun. I remember thinking about how much I didn't want to get sunburned. It's pretty hard to keep my mind from wandering off just a little bit, even in conversation. It wasn't my fault though. If you were there, you'd be thinking about how angry the heat was making you too! I started to take my blazer off...

"It feels nice on my skin." Nagato, you are the queen of blunt answers. She was touching her skirt-fidgeting. So her hands get restless too, eh? For being a, you know, alien, she's...just like any normal human being. Just with...a few quirks. Okay, many quirks. Though I'm sure my thought process is pretty complicated too. So if what I'm saying confuses you at any point, don't feel bad. I've just been horribly influenced by the likes of aliens, time travelers, and espers. ...And Haruhi.

"Oh yeah...I guess it doesn't rain where you're from, does it?"

"I am not from." I mentally kicked myself for saying that to her. I forgot that she didn't just come here, she was created for this, and this is the first thing she's ever done. Idiot. Thankfully that probably wouldn't hurt her feelings but...I still felt guilty about it.

"Right...sorry," I had to apologize to her, whether she knew I did something wrong or not.

"You are not sorry,"

"Yeah, I'm not so-" wait, what! "Err..." Did she just command me not to be sorry? Wait, is it working? Is...is this some sort of alien mind-trick...?

She shook her head at me. I couldn't bring myself to say anything else. I could only watch her, completely unable to understand her. This girl...So complex...

"Goodbye," she turned away from me and walked towards her condo that I hadn't noticed were already at. Watching her leave sorta made me feel sick. I want to be your friend, I feel like I'm your friend but you're so...

I sighed and walked the rest of the way to the aquatics store in silence. I didn't know how I should talk to her or what I should talk to her about. Small talk didn't work, nothing worked unless I was in danger or something. 'Maybe I should just give up on this.'

Do you ever get the urge to just...look behind you? Because that's what happened to me all of a sudden. I needed to turn around, and so I did. Just as I did, something moved out of my field of vision. Someone. I could swear I saw a glimpse of lavender hair and a blue sailor outfit. But why would she be...?

'...Maybe not.'

Serious chapter is serious. x3 Hopefully things will get a little more upbeat after this, eh? Oh Kyon, you're such a complicated man, you.

Thanks for reading!