Disclaimer: I do not own the 'Haruhi Suzumiya' series, and this fan-fiction is non-profit. All credit goes to Nagaru Tanigawa, Kadokawa Shoten, and Kyoto Animation. Please support the original source material.

Doppel-kun and Clone-chan

Act 1: For Want of a Nail

Part 3

My living room is a standard affair. There is a flat-screen T.V. hooked to the wall. Adjacent to it is a four seater couch. Between the T.V. and couch is a dark, oaken coffee table with a mancala board on it. Rather than entertainment, the board is more for decoration, the colourful beads used for accentuating the table's dark colour, or so my mother claims.

There's this one time I played with the board by myself when I was really bored. I organized the beads according to colour, arranged them into shapes, stuff like that. My mother watched me play and gave me a look laced with pity. She gave me a substantial amount of yen and told me to go find a nice girl like Sasaki instead of playing around with beads all day. That was the last time I played with that board.

Koizumi and I let the girls sit on the sofa. I am sitting cross-legged, leaning on the coffee table while Koizumi paces about in contemplation, hand corralling his chin.

It was quite easy to get rid of Imouto and Miyokichi. I gave them some money to go out and play in the arcade. Imouto gladly took the offer since her beloved Haru-nee wasn't around. Miyokichi understood my intentions and promised to take care of Imouto, with the latter dragging her around by the collar as they make a noisy exit.

My tactics were dirty, but necessary. Hey, we're dealing with some heavy subjects here, unless you don't count cross-dimensional travelling as a heavy subject. But if that is the case, and nothing fazes you, then perhaps you'd like to switch places with me? You're clearly more suited to this craziness than I am. If you're up to the job then call me up. I live in Nishinomiya, Hyogo and my address is—

"I see, if we follow these 'starting points' then we should come up with some clues in the near future. You've put a lot of thought into this."

My recruitment attempt is foiled by Koizumi.

"Yeah," I say. "I'd like us to focus all of our efforts into finding a way for Kyonko to go home. The sooner we resolve this, the better. And for that I had to call all of you on such short notice. Sorry about that, by the way."

"Ah, no it is quite fine. I cannot speak for the others but I don't mind the sudden call for a meeting. In fact, I am pleasantly surprised by your initiative. Normally you are not the type to instigate."

"I don't like those insinuations, Koizumi, but I get what you mean."

"Ah, I'm not insinuating anything. I mean what I said by the most literal sense." He gives a smile, but the corners of his lips twitches and his eyebrows creases ever-so-slightly. It's been getting easier to read Koizumi these days. The logic is that if I can read Nagato then Koizumi is a cinch.

As I ponder over Koizumi, Asahina-san is making a fuss over Kyonko, petting her hair and poking her cheeks. She is treating her like a doll more than a person.

"Oh my you have such fair skin. You must tell me what skin care products you use."

"Ah? Skin care—well, I don't really use those kind of things. And Asahina-san, will you please not touch me like—ahn?!"

"Oops, I-I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were sensitive there."

There? I can't tell you exactly where 'there' is because I am not so depraved as to observe their possibly salacious interactions. So use your imagination.

Kyonko scoots away from her attacker. "Ah, this version of Asahina-san is, well, how do I say this—"

"Oh, I hope I didn't intimidate you. This is rare for me to act like so. Please forgive me." Asahina-san smiles but the smile doesn't reach her eyes, which still had a predatory glow.

"Well, I guess 'intimidating' is the right word," Clone-chan says, her gaze on Asahina-san's chest. "Intimidating indeed."

"Umu, please forgive me already. What's so scary about me, Kyonko-chan? Oh, am I allowed to call you that?" Her lips quiver. "Oh my, forgive me, but I can't control myself." She assaults Clone-chan once more.

"Ah, Asahina-san, please stop!"

As for how I feel about seeing Asahina-san cuddle with me—albeit, an alternate version of me—well, let's not talk about that right now.

While this is going on, Nagato is watching the two girls with a focused gaze normally reserved for when she's reading. She's watching while nodding slightly. "Interesting," she mutters. What's so interesting, Nagato?

Asahina-san relents in her attacks, freeing Clone-chan from her arms. "Ah, what have I done," she says, finally coming down from her moe-induced mania.

While the assaulter is filled with remorse, the victim is sitting there with a yawn escaping her lips, as if being fondled is a daily occurrence for her. And going by what we discussed before, it probably is.

Koizumi coughs to get my attention. "Well, it seems our meeting has entered a standstill. We discussed much, and said what needed to be said. I say we deserve a break, no?

It pains me to agree with Koizumi, but yeah sure, I can use a break right about now.

"Let's eat then," I say. "We can try out Clone—I mean, Kyonko's curry."

"Ah. Well, it's just curry so don't expect too much, you guys," Clone-chan says.

Koizumi and I set up the utensils and plates. Once that's done, we haul Clone-chan's pot of curry together and place it on the table.

I call the girls over and Kyonko comes with Asahina-san in tow. Nagato tails them a step away. She looks at the curry with something like approval.

We have our meal, and the mood is pleasant throughout, but there is something missing. The bad taste in my mouth returns.

It's not the same without her, after all.

I had two bathrooms in my house, one downstairs reserved for guests, and one upstairs for my family's personal use. The guest bathroom is properly maintained from a combined effort of my mother and yours truly, while our personal one is, well, neglected, for lack of a better word. Which is why I spent some time scrubbing the floors, and making sure everything is presentable before the Brigade came over.

The family bathroom itself is modestly sized so we had to cram in together to fit inside. I didn't understand why we all had to be inside, but here we are, packed like sardines, looking at an empty space where the mirror/portal-to-the-multiverse used to be.

"Well, here it is," I say.

"So it seems. Now, did you throw away the mirror shards?" Koizumi asks. "We could have Nagato-san take a look at them."

I open a compartment right under the sink. Stored in that space are extra toiletries, a plunger, rolls of toilet paper, and a garbage bag I used to store the broken mirror pieces. I had the foresight to preserve them for Nagato to examine, and hopefully find some kind of clue.

Nagato reaches for the bag and I offer it to her like a Shinto-priest offering his prayers to kami. If anyone can shed some light in this mystery, it's our resident alien. I have faith in you, Nagato!

She grips the bag with one hand and peers into it, her eyes shifting colour from golden brown to a steely blue. "Initializing scan for traces of foreign data." A few seconds pass before she lowers the bag and her eyes return to their original colour. "Scan completed. Foreign data analyzed. Acquisition of data signature."

"Ah, if we have the data signature then that means we'll know if Suzumiya-san is responsible or not," Asahina-san says.

Oh? I'm surprised Asahina-san had knowledge concerning this stuff.

"Geez, it's not like I'm completely worthless. You have such a bad impression of me, Kyon-kun."

"I didn't mean to imply that, Asahina-san."

"Yet, that's exactly what you did." She pouts.

Ah, an angry Asahina-san is not too bad.

"If we can leave the flirtations aside," Koizumi says, "I believe we should let Nagato-san finish her explanation here."

"Yeah, sorry. Please go on, Nagato."

Nagato nods. "What Asahina Mikuru stated about Suzumiya Haruhi's data signature is correct. Further explanation will be provided in a moment's time. Right now I feel it is necessary to discuss Suzumiya Haruhi's ability at a further duration than previous accounts."

She looks at me as if seeking permission, even though she didn't need it.

"As previously discussed, Suzumiya Haruhi possesses the capability to 'create data out of nothing', a power which the Data Integrated Thought Entity wishes to observe in order to emulate the process for our own Auto-Evolution. This power, while containing infinite potential, is still simplistic in terms of data manipulation." She places the bag on the sink and raises her hands up to her chest, palms open. "Observe." She mutters a series of commands too fast for the human mind to process. A white orb of light hovers on top of her palms. It spreads wide and forms into projections of complex equations, one of which I recognized as the equation for thermal transfer. The projections collapse on each other and interlock, compressing into an object no bigger than a yen coin. And in fact, it is a yen coin. It hovers for a few seconds. Nagato snatches it and flips it up into the air. I notice that its trajectory is not falling towards her as it should, but towards me. I fumble to catch it. Its momentum completely halts when it lands square into my palm. I somehow expected it to be hot because of the flashy display, but that's not the case. It feels cold.

"This interface's data manipulation comprises of taking useable external data in the immediate environment, or from the reserves cached in this interface's internal storage. The interface shapes this data into another form. The functionality, appearance, and nature of this form varies upon the alterations of the wielder. Examples of such forms are, the 'homing' mode demonstrated this interface demonstrated in the human past-time activity called 'baseball', as well as the force fields erected during the conflict in the extra-dimensional field manifested by data lifeform subspecies," Nagato opens her mouth and shows her teeth, "and the Nano-bytes transferred orally by this interface—these are all variations of data manipulation."

"Ah, so you mean all those miracles you pulled off before," I say.

She nods. "Visible or invisible, tangible or intangible, data is shaped using commands which must adhere to laws of the current reality. Attention must be paid to conform to these rules when instigating a—," another pause, "—a 'miracle'."

She stops, but continues when no one speaks up.

"However, Suzumiya Haruhi utilizes a primitive, yet unique methodology when manipulating—incorrect statement—'creating' data. Junk data exudes from Suzumiya Haruhi, circulating in her Personal Reality Distortion Field. This created data is translated and perfected as 'reality' in the physical dimension."

I feel the need to interrupt. "I don't understand any of this, Nagato."

"Basically, Suzumiya-san is releasing extraneous data or in other words, her subconscious desires, to the world. And these wishes of hers come true in reality. Or more like, she turns her will into reality without having to follow the same rules as Data Interfaces like Nagato-san do when manipulating data. Is that right, Nagato-san?"

"This explanation is adequate as further divulgence of knowledge concerning the Personal Reality Distortion Field is unnecessary at this time."

Again, all this technical talk is beyond my pay grade. Wait, I'm not even being paid for all this. Actually, why am I doing this again?

And then I'm reminded why as Clone-chan intervenes for the first time during this whole conversation. She looks just as confused as me. "Wow, this world's Nagato is just as confusing as the one in mine."

It wasn't necessary for her to interrupt Nagato just to make that comment.

"Well, I have to get a word in edgewise or it looks like I haven't contributed at all. Even Asahina-san said something intelligent."

"P-Please don't underestimate me! Even if I'm like this, I am still a cadet trained in Classified Information in order to deal with Classified Information. Ah, I can't talk about it…"

That built in censoring must be really troublesome. She can't even brag about her accomplishments as a time-traveller.

"I-I'm not bragging!"

"Anyways," Clone-chan says, holding up a hand, "while the insight to Haruhiko's—er, I mean Haruhi's abilities are certainly interesting, I think we pretty much have an idea of it after all this time, at least I do based from what I heard from my Nagato. By the way, it's kind of weird to see this Nagato. I mean, she's so small, smaller than me. My Nagato was so tall." She blushed. "And kind of handsome, actually, especially if he's not wearing—"

I coughed into my hand. "You're digressing."

"Ah, well, all I'm saying is that, what's the point of talking about Haruhi's powers and all? I'm sorry for sounding so desperate, but that's what I am. I want to go home. And I know I'm being impatient but I'd like to hear some good news." She goes up to Nagato and takes the smaller girl's hands. "Please tell me that you found something good, something that'll let me go back."

It seems I underestimated Clone-chan's desire to go back home. I'm reminded of how desperate I was to return to my old world during the events of that December. Ever since then, I've developed a sort of immunity when put in unfamiliar situations. If I went to another universe right now, I think I won't be as panicked as I was back then. I even made countermeasures for such an event. I assumed that this would be the case regarding Clone-chan, but obviously it isn't. And then there was that thing I said earlier, about her feeling at home here, and whatnot. How careless of me. I was just trying to cheer her up but it seems like it had the opposite effect.

Nagato looked at Clone-chan, and then at me. As always, Nagato is looking for my confirmation before doing anything. She really needs to learn how to be independent, and confident in her own decisions.

But because of the urgency of the situation, I simply give her a nod, expressing my consent. I can't keep Clone-chan waiting, and there's a look in her eyes that worries me, something like manic hope, like what Nagato is about to say will either make or break her.

Nagato releases Clone-chan's hands and retrieves the bag. She opens it up and reaches into it. I'm about to tell her to be careful not to cut herself, but she simply makes a gesture with her hand, raising it up. With another series of incomprehensible commands, an invisible force pulls the shards into the air, as if they're being pulled along by a string. The shards encircle around Nagato before some pieces collect above her open palm, similar to how the coin was earlier. The shards then mesh together into a cluster, taking the form of a thin, pocket mirror. At first the pieces were still cracked and separated, but Nagato mutters another series of words. A pulse of electricity surges through the pieced together shards, and almost as if they are magnetically charged, the pieces stick together until they seamlessly connect, not even giving a hint that they were broken only seconds before. With the other shards still orbiting around her, Nagato presents us with the pocket mirror. Hey eyes are half-closed, and her breathing is faster than normal. "Repair of the physical functions and connection to the broken link in the opening in space-time is still possible. However, an undetermined amount of time and energy is required to—"

Clone-chan interrupts her with a hug, her arms wrapping around the smaller girl, even lifting her up. She tries to spin her around, but there's no space.

"Ah, even in this universe you're so reliable, Nagato, no, great goddess Nagato!"

Another follower has emerged!

"It is nothing much. Rather, further explanation is still necessary."

Nagato resumes her explanation after Clone-chan managed to calm down.

"This repairing process will take a shorter amount of time if I emulate at least 30% of Suzumiya Haruhi's data signature. While this method is not—recommended, we can utilize it in an emergency situation as such."

Ah, I see what she means. Even Nagato has reservations with taking Haruhi's powers, no matter the amount or extent, considering the last time she did such a thing.

"However, this option to utilize Suzumiya Haruhi's data signature will not serve us at this conjecture. The signature embedded in this para-dimensional gateway is attributed to another."

"I see," Koizumi says, "so we are dealing with an outsider here. To be honest, I am glad Suzumiya-san is not involved this time. But if it is not our Brigade Chief, then who is it, I wonder?"

Nagato looks at us with eyes like quicksilver.

"Not who, but what."

So another entity? Could it be Nagato's boss, or maybe the Sky Canopy Dominion?

"Neither."

"Then what is it?" Koizumi asks. "What are we up against?"

Nagato hesitates, or at least, my Nagato senses interpret her pause as such.

"That information is not necessary right now."

Is not telling us a wise decision, I wonder? After all, know thy enemy better than thyself.

The shards revolving around Nagato come to a halt and pour into the bag, one by one, making sounds like hail hitting your umbrella as they scrape against plastic.

"In this instance, it is better not to know."

Our meeting met its natural end once Miyokichi and Imouto arrived. Imouto was her usual self until she crashed from her sugar rush, and fell like a log in the middle of the living room. I recruited Koizumi's help carrying her upstairs.

Koizumi carried her by the legs, while I support her head and torso. She's quite heavy for such a pipsqueak. Must be all the Candy.

"She reminds me of a certain someone," Koizumi had said.

Please don't remind me.

Now we are parting ways. Koizumi and Nagato are heading off in the same direction, at least for the first half of their journey. Asahina-san and Miyokichi live in the same general direction so I volunteer to walk them home. Once the arrangements are made, we go outside and say our goodbyes.

"Koizumi, Nagato," I nod to them.

"Until next we meet," Koizumi says, with unnecessary dramatics.

Nagato meets my eyes for a second. She nods her head slightly, turns, and starts walking.

"Ah, Nagato-san, please wait." Koizumi gives a small bow and follows Nagato.

I turn to Miyokichi and Asahina-san. "Well, let's start heading out as well."

"Okay. Thanks for walking me home," Miyokichi says, while blushing. How cute.

She's eleven, though.

"Let's go, Kyon-kun," Asahina-san says. She didn't bring a jacket or anything, only the thin, blue cardigan she wore earlier. So naturally I lent her something warm to wear, being the gentleman I am. Also, the sight of Asahina-san wearing my clothes is—

"Hey, Doppel-kun, you're supposed to be protecting them from perverts, but you're the biggest threat to their safety right now."

And then Clone-chan brings my thoughts to a halt.

"I'll be back in an hour or so," I tell her.

"Yeah, I'll stay up and wait."

"You don't have to."

She shrugs. "I can't possibly sleep now, you know."

She still seems excited after Nagato promised to fix the portal for her. Nagato now has the shards in her possession. The plan is that she'd reconstruct the portal in her own apartment, with us coming by to give her a hand if need be. Yet again, I am depending on Nagato.

"I don't mind," she had said, but I know I can't rely on her all the time.

Asahina-san and Miyokichi say their goodbyes to Clone-chan, with Asahina-san's goodbye taking longer than the other.

"I'll see you soon, Kyonko-chan. I'll make you some tea, you said you missed it, right? I'll make sure that it's as tasty as your world's Mikuru!"

"Y-Yeah, I'll be looking forward to that."

If Asahina-san really wanted Clone-chan to taste her tea, she could have made some earlier as I had some bags at home. The verdict: she just wanted an excuse to come by and visit Clone-chan again.

After a few more parting remarks, we make our leave.

The conversation is strained at first, but flows naturally once Asahina-san and Miyokichi find a common topic of interest. At first, Miyokichi remarks about Asahina-san's tea making prowess, something I told the younger girl about many times before. Thankfully, Miyokichi had enough tact not to mention that part.

Now they are exchanging recipes and techniques. One thing lead to another and Asahina-san agreed to take Miyokichi as a disciple of sorts. Of tea-making, that is.

We reach Miyokichi's house in no time. I make sure not to drop her off right in front of her house. I learned my lesson from last time, when her father mistook me as some no good kid going after his daughter. He came running out with a baseball bat in hand, yelling threats and curses. So now I make sure to see Miyokichi off from a safe distance.

"Thanks for today." She gives us a small bow. How polite. Hopefully Imouto will follow her example.

When she reaches the front door and knocks, her father immediately comes out as if he had been waiting there for an ambush. He has the same baseball bat in hand as he greets his daughter and lets her in. Before closing the door, he looks around, checking the vicinity for any male stragglers, before following his daughter inside. He's certainly vigilant. Well, I would too, if my daughter had a body like that despite her age.

"She's a nice girl," Asahina-san remarks. She looks at her phone where she now had Miyokichi's number. I am able to peek at her contacts and see, that aside from the Brigade, she only had Tsuruya's number, and now Miyokichi's. Seven contacts in all. Completely unexpected from someone like her. Even I had more names in my contacts.

I remember Asahina-san (big)'s words.

"Asahina Mikuru's existence in this era is like a drawing on a flip book. As easily as she can be drawn, she can just as easily be erased."

This is Asahina-san's senior year.

I turn to her. "Let's go?"

She nods. "Sure!"

The streets are empty save for a few stray cars. The street lamps are lit, but anything outside of the side walk seems like another universe altogether. In this place, with me and Asahina-san walking side by side under the streets lights, we are in our own world.

"Although I acted like I did earlier, it still surprises me, you know?"

She starts the conversation of with a strange remark like that.

I ask her to elaborate.

"I mean about Kyonko-chan. I was honestly surprised when I saw her. I even panicked a little. See, I wasn't informed by my superiors about an otherworldly individual traversing to our side, at least in this Classified Information it shouldn't be Classified Information." She narrows her eyes. "Ah, I'm sorry. I know how annoying that is for you, the censoring."

"It's not like you can help it," I say.

"Yes, unfortunately."

Another car passes by and the headlights illuminate her features. Eyes downcast, her lips pressed together. I consider saying something but the words never materialize. I settle for listening to the engine's noise trailing by as the car gains distance, the Doppler Effect in action as the noise dislocates.

Silence falls until Asahina-san initiates the conversation again.

"I rather like Kyonko-chan, you know."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, she's like you, but she's easier to talk to. Ah, but no offence. Hehe."

They are both girls so it's only natural. I can't say I feel offended, but jealous, rather.

"It's a strange concept though, to encounter another version of yourself," she says. "And I'm reminded that there are so many other universes out there," she waves a hand to the night sky, "as plentiful as the stars. It's quite humbling, really."

"It really is," I say. I look to the stars.

Light pollution from the artificial ambience of street lights reduces visibility of the stars. The astral lights are distorted, as if there's a great, big mosaic in the atmosphere pixelating the night sky.

"Yeah. To think that for every impossibility that can exist in our world, those things would be common sense in another," she says. "And there could also be a universe where everything is the same. It's all so strange."

"Hm."

"In another world, in another place, do you think there will be copies of us walking and talking like we are now?"

"It's very much possible."

"In another universe—do you suppose there's one of me who manages to—"

"Yes?" I prompt her to continue.

She points to the skies, and jumps on the spot, her heeled shoes clattering against the pavement after every landing. "Ah, look at that star, isn't it brighter than the others?"

"Wow. It really is, Asahina-san."

Bangs fall over her eyes as she lowers her head. "It's really bright, huh?"

"Yeah."

We continue the walk in silence. I don't bother continuing the conversation since we aren't too far from her home. Asahina-san quickens her pace but I maintain a sedated one. There is a distance of two meters between us. For some reason, my mind goes into this tangent, and now I'm deliberating the distance between the very spot I am standing, and the stars. How far is that? More than two metres, that much is certain.

I look at Asahina-san. She gained a considerable distance while I was occupied with my interstellar calculations. With every step she is getting farther. If I stop walking for a second, I bet she'd leave my vision entirely, and she'd keep walking and walking.

In this sidewalk illuminated by streetlight, I feel like I'm alone in my own world.

She thanks me for the safe travel when we arrive at her home.

"Don't mention it," I say.

"Goodnight, Kyon-kun."

"Goodnight, Asahina-san."

I watch her go inside, call it paranoia if you will, but I believe in seeing a job to the end so as to avoid any last minute screw ups. This is something I learned after all my misadventures in the Brigade. Prudence is a quality beaten into me, a product of my acquiescence.

As I walk away from Asahina-san's house, I try tracking the same star she admired.

I find it.

It's not bright at all.

Right now, I am kind of hungry.

I remember passing a convenience store on the way to Asahina-san's home. I was tempted to make a stop earlier, for a midnight snack, but not wanting to derail Asahina-san, I dismissed that temptation.

But now I'm on my own again. There's nothing stopping me for making a detour.

I now regret this decision.

Synthetic lighting illustrates her features. Eyes fluid like the inside of lava lamps, auburn hair which now reaches the top of her back after several months of letting it grow, golden ribbons tying holding it all in place—it is undoubtedly her.

In a convenient store of all places, in the middle of the night, I find Haruhi.

She's loitering outside the premises of the store like some delinquent—which isn't too far from the truth. There is a can in her hand. As I draw closer I see that it's a can of black coffee.

I look to the road ahead of me, only a few more blocks 'till I'm home. And then I look back at Haruhi, standing there in solitude.

"Yo," I call out to her.

Her eyes widen when she spots me.

"Kyon."

"Haruhi."

"Fancy meeting you here."

"Uh-huh."

She nods towards the store. It only takes me a full second to interpret the action. Aside from Nagato senses, it seems I developed some Haruhi senses as well.

"Yeah, I just gotta buy something real quick," I say.

"Knock yourself out, but I don't think they sell porn mags here."

"Hah, funny. But I'm here for my sister."

"Help, there's a pervert buying porn mags for his sister."

Okay, I walked straight into that one.

She brings the can to her lips and gulps it down in one shot. After she's satisfied, she chucks the can at a recycling bin two metres away. It goes up and down, mirroring a parabolic arch, left-over coffee spilling out in its descent. The can rolls around the rim of the bin before falling in. There is a 'clink' as the can collides with another hollow object.

"Buy me another one," she says.

"It's rather late for coffee, isn't it?"

"I don't feel like sleeping. It's the weekend anyways, and there's no meeting tomorrow."

That's good news to me. I'll be having Sunday all to myself.

"Now get going. Buy black."

"You don't usually have black," I say. In fact, that's my preference.

She shrugs her shoulders. "Are you going to buy it or not? Consider this an early payment for the future punishment you'll inevitably end up having."

Punishing me for something I didn't do yet—this is a whole different level of cruelty.

I head into the store, automatic doors ushering me in. I nod to the clerk when he greets me.

I initially came by for a midnight snack, but I went and ran my mouth off to Haruhi about being on an errand for my sister. Goes to show that deceiving Haruhi will only be a detriment to yourself than anything else. So I begrudgingly buy a set of girly looking mini-cupcakes for my Imouto fib, along with two packs of onigiri. One for myself, and one for Haruhi since she'll end up demanding some of mine anyway. I head over to the refrigerated goods area and take a bottle of orange juice for myself, and the black coffee Haruhi is suddenly craving.

I head over to the cashier and proceed with the usual procedure, that is until he says this, "Sorry, but do you know that girl outside?"

"Er, yes," I say, hesitantly. "Look, if she did anything, I'm sorry—"

"What? No, nothing like that. It's just, well, you might want to make sure she's alright. She's been outside for a couple hours now, occasionally going back to buy a can of black coffee every so often, but otherwise she just stands there and gazes out at who knows what."

"How many did she buy now, the coffee, I mean?"

"Three."

I thank the cashier and give him a small tip for his trouble, the same 50 yen coin Nagato constructed. I exchange Haruhi's coffee with a packet of strawberry milk.

I go outside and hand Haruhi the drink, bracing myself for the inevitable tirade.

"Hm. So you care about my health. How sweet." She pierces the straw in. "Although that cashier should really mind his own business." She sips, pink juice streaming up the translucent straw, some of the juice dripping to her bottom lip.

"How'd you know?"

"I can read lips," she says.

Speaking of lips, I hand her a napkin.

"Thanks," she says, roughly wiping around her mouth, staining the formerly all-white cloth pink. She crumples it into a ball and hands it back to me.

"Just keep it."

She considers the offer for a few seconds, before stuffing it in her pockets.

"Got anything to eat?"

I give her the onigiri and she accepts it without a word, devouring it in three seconds. I give her the other one, the one I planned on eating. This time she takes less than three seconds, practically inhaling it.

She sticks out a hand towards me, wriggling her fingers.

"I'm out. Unless you want Imouto's cupcakes."

She waves her hand dismissively, and continues sipping juice.

There is a silence between us that is neither awkward nor peaceful.

And then she drops this bombshell.

"I saw you with Mikuru-chan. You guys walked this way."

"Oh. Really?"

She chuckles. "Why so tense?"

"I'm not."

"I can tell, you know?"

"I'm not," I repeat.

"Are you still worried about that ban?"

"Hm?"

"You know, 'I forbid dating amongst the Brigade members'. I said that a long time ago."

"Oh yeah. How nostalgic," I say.

"So you're still worried about that? I won't really care if you break it, you know. I'll only give you a couple demerits."

"I never took that ban seriously. And besides, I have too many demerit points to care about a couple more."

She grins. "Yeah, you're at negative 936 now."

I wonder what's more amazing, how deep I am in demerits, or that she actually keeps track. Although I do remember getting demerits in the millions. I must have done something really good to negate those. Can't imagine what, though.

"So if you never cared about that ban, then what's with the hesitation?" she says. "You—You like her, don't you?"

"It's not a matter of liking or not liking," I say. "We met each other on the way and—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen, it doesn't bother me if you're going out with Mikuru-chan. Why should it?"

I open up my bottle of orange juice. It's tangy and sour, tasting more like metal than fruit concentrate. "I guess this is your way of paying me back, huh?"

"Paying you back? For what?"

"For all those times I acted ignorant and dense."

"E-Eh?"

"I think you have an idea what I'm talking about. In fact, we've been pretty dishonest with each other, haven't we?"

I recall that feeling I had during dinner with the brigade, that bad taste in my mouth.

Her head tilts down, hair curtaining her eyes. She squeezes the carton, juice spilling, and chucks it at the bin. She misses her aim and it ricochets off the rim, falling to the ground. She makes no move to pick it up. I sigh and walk over to clean up after her garbage.

When I turn back, I see that she's already walking away.

"Haruhi," I call out. "I'll walk you home."

She looks back and smiles, although it isn't a very Haruhi smile at all.

"I'll see you at club, Kyon."

She walks on the side walk, street lights playing with her shadows. She turns back around and gives me a look before walking away. She disappears into the darkness.

I stand there for a while, listening to the sound of stray winds, before going back into the convenience store. I refund the cupcakes. Imouto doesn't need any more sugar, and I don't need any more headaches.

"Listen," I tell the cashier. "I'll give you 150 yen for that 50 yen coin I tipped you, make sure it's the exact same coin."

At times like this, it can't hurt to have a lucky item or two on your person. And what's luckier than a coin made by Nagato? I shake it in my closed palm. It feels cold.

True to her word, Clone-chan stayed up to wait for me. What a reliable girl.

"Unlike you," she says. "You said that you'd be back in an hour at most. What took you so long?"

I tell her about my detour with Haruhi. I don't mention how I took my sweet time walking and talking with Asahina-san, and even before that, Miyokichi.

"You're a real idiot, aren't you?" Clone-chan says. "Why'd you have to spout so many cryptic lines like that? If you kept up the act like you usually do—"

"Well I'm tired of that." And I really am. That's the sort of stuff I hated about Koizumi when I first met him. "Haruhi deserves—"

"What's more important, what you think Haruhi deserves, or, I don't know, a little something I call the structure of reality itself as we know it. Huh? Geez, I'm an outsider and it seems like I'm more concerned about this world than you are. And besides, he—I mean, she, is nothing but trouble. We just need to make sure they're pacified and happy, and somehow everything will turn out okay. That's what we've been doing all this time, right? If it ain't broke—well, you know the rest."

The way she's talking, it's the same as me from last year. Keep Haruhi happy. Don't let her know. Back then, I somehow managed to convince myself that pulling the wool over Haruhi's eyes would solve everything, that the Brigade and I could keep the charade up forever if we needed to. Somewhere along the way, that way of thinking changed. The me then and the me now—and Clone-chan here who holds my old epicureanism-esque ways of life—which one of us is right?

This is too much thinking for an ungodly hour like this. I need to sleep.

She yawns. "Yeah, okay. Sounds good."

She drops the subject so easily.

"So," she says, "what's, um, what are our sleeping arrangements like?"

I already considered this. "You can sleep in my room."

"A-And yourself?"

"I'll sleep my, I mean, our parents' bedroom."

She'd be more comfortable in a place she's familiar with, and I already cleaned my room beforehand, while my parents' room is still a mess from all the packing they did for their business trip.

Clone-chan draws in on herself, her feet shuffling against the carpet. Her socks are mismatched, I notice. One of them is feminine, pink with flowery patterns, her own. While the other, plain black, is mine.

"Listen, you don't have to leave your room, you know?"

I shrug. "I don't really mind. And I can tell you want to sleep there."

"Yeah," she admits. "It's familiar and all"

"See? So it's no problem, just sleep there and—"

"No, that's not really necessary, I mean, well, you know."

I frown. "What're you getting at?"

All that business with Asahina-san and Haruhi, those things fade from my mind after this outrageous proclamation.

"Wouldn't it be okay for us…to sleep together?"