It's strange for me to think about this now, but now that I look back on life, I was a cruel being. But, by that logic, my death was well deserved. I recall that a holy preacher once said to man, "Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword." Live by the sword? I certainly did. But I didn't want to. I suppose you could say that I was a conscript with a blade forced into my hand and marched to war without the will to fight it. But I like to think that at least the sword the ended my life was one that I turned on myself, one of retribution, a little way of atonement for my sins.
When Clarke entered the class the next day, he was greeted by a chorus of questions, all quickly silenced by an angry Okabe. Kyon could tell from the teacher's expression that he was starting to become suspicious of Clarke. Or just angry at him for exciting the class so much, one of the two. Kyon could clearly hear the squeak of a chair and the groan of a desk as Haruhi leaned over Kyon's shoulder.
"This is it, Kyon, don't mess this up or they'll be a punishment worse than you can imagine." she whispered dangerously. Kyon was torn between two choices; who did he get angry? The guy who nearly beheaded his fellow student with an improvised weapon or the girl who was supposed to be able to destroy the universe and recreate it again if she didn't like something? Upon further inspection of the Brit who sunk into his disciplined stare, Kyon realised with a strange thump of his heart that his slashed and cut pale hands didn't have a mark on them.
What the hell? Those strings cut right into his hands, how are they healed already? Kyon looked up and jumped a little when he found the entire class looking at him expectantly and Okabe looking irritated.
"Sir, if I might take this question?" Clarke spoke up, smiling a little. Okabe raised his eyebrows and looked as if he was about to scorn Clarke for interrupting what was obviously Kyon's question, but his eyes suddenly glazed and he sighed a little.
"Sure, Mr. Clarke, if that's what you want." he said as if suddenly very calm, smiling dumbly as the Brit stood. Clare answered the equation on the board that made no sense to Kyon and sat back down, catching Kyon's eye as Okabe went on and giving him a sly smile and a wink. Did he... Did he just save Kyon from Okabe? Suddenly, Kyon felt very exposed. Possibly due to the unnerving calmness of the psycho beside him, but also maybe because he could feel Haruhi's breath on his neck.
"Doesn't his accent sound awesome? I can practically see the aura of mystery around him! This guy's gonna be a valuable member of the brigade, Kyon, and he just saved you, so you better be nice to him!" Kyon wasn't so much concerned that he wouldn't be nice to Clarke but rather Clarke would try and slice him apart or wreck his brains with that look. Kyon started to get worried as lunch break neared; Clarke ate with the other Winchester kids, but after yesterday, would they start another fight in front of everybody? As the bell finally clanged, Kyon jumped as Haruhi's arm bolted out and caught Clarke's shoulder firmly, asserting her dominance before the rest of the class could drag the Brit to their lunch table.
"Hey, Clarke! You wanna come eat lunch with us today?" she asked hopefully, full of life. Kyon was expecting her to be brushed off with a quiet apology like the rest of the students, but to his amazement, Clarke turned and smiled.
"Oh, hello, Miss. Suzumiya. I'd love to join you." He stood and turned his chair, folding his leg across his lap and looking quietly proud of himself. "How's your health, Miss. Suzumiya? Have you had trouble sleeping?" Haruhi faltered slightly when Kyon looked at her, but she seemed inclined to answer.
"Oh, I'm fine, really! Um, thanks again for your help, by the way." Clarke chuckled and waved his hand dismissively,
"No need to thank me, Miss., I was simply doing what was right." He turned his head to Kyon, who still wasn't moving for his bag and seemed to be trying to put as much distance between himself and Clarke. "Something wrong?" Kyon said nothing and stared suspiciously at the almost excited smile. A burn stung his am as Haruhi nipped him, forcing him to jump and stop glaring. With an almost awkward look, Clarke turned from him and looked back to Haruhi, who instantly cut his sentence off,
"Hey, do you like aliens and stuff like that?" Clarke's partially open mouth slowly closed into an almost bemused smile,
"Curious how you should ask that, Miss. Suzumiya, as I was about to ask you if there were any vacancies in your famous SOS Brigade?"
No. No. I refuse to believe that random chance has caused this. Either Tyche has cursed me very unfairly with bad luck beyond belief or Haruhi has really wished for his guy!
Haruhi's eyes lit up like two suns in a dark sky.
"Of course there are!" She looked to Kyon as if this was a good thing, "You can join today! Now, when class ends, the Brigade meets in the clubroom in the old part of the school. Once we're there, I can intro-" Clarke cleared his throat and smiled sheepishly,
"I'm afraid that I won't be able to immediately report to the clubroom, Miss. Suzumiya. I have a... meeting with Ahmed and Miss. Giles and I can't miss it. But it won't take long, I just... need to watch them." he ended as if not quite knowing how to word his thoughts, giving a hopeful grin. Amazingly, that seemed to appease Haruhi.
"Okay, if you gotta do it, I guess its fine! But you gotta come straight to clubroom, 'kay?" Clarke nodded as the bell rang. The rest of the day was thoroughly uneventful, apart from what sounded like Haruhi scribbling down endless notes and plans inside the back of her books, probably organising another alien hunt to occupy their weekend.
But Nagato said this whole crew were the bad guys! Haruhi, please, if you're ever going to listen to me, hear me now; get rid of this snowy-haired demon and his weird buddies before something goes wrong!
As the final bell rang, Clarke stood gracefully and bowed his head to Haruhi, disappearing out of the room with startling speed to accompany his proud stride. Haruhi predictably raced out of the room, probably to head Mikuru off and torment her a little before Kyon could stop her. Kyon was just stepping out of the door after her when a firm grip clasped his arm.
"There mustn't be any following today." It was Koizumi, leading him after their leader, "Orders from high in the Agency. I let them know of what these people are capable of and they made it very clear that we, especially you and Miss. Suzumiya, are to keep as much distance between us and those students as we can." Kyon stopped suddenly and grimaced, wincing at the words.
"Yeah... That's gonna be a problem." He didn't have to say a word more as Koizumi's smile faltered and he looked a little too hot in the glow of autumn sun that floated through the windows of the hallway. The esper was silenced, seeming to be grasping at ideas and plans and, for once, failing and staying silent. This couldn't go well.
Haruhi stumbled into the clubroom mid-sentence, babbling to Mikuru about the new boy who Mikuru had to wait on as she slammed her bag on the desk and started to rifle through it, unpacking the endless notes she had compiled. The time traveller, already admirably wearing her maid outfit, shrieked and nearly threw the teapot across the room with fright.
"And he's pretty cute too! Oh, and you should see his eyes, they're gorgeous! Maybe you could get a gothic maid outfit and we can do a photo shoot with you and him-" She stopped as she looked up and realised that she was addressing a room with only one person. She had to blink and lean around Mikuru's outfit to get a better look at the seat by the window, but to her surprise, Nagato wasn't there.
"Hey Mikuru, where's Yuki?" Mikuru's face started to tinge pink and she glanced at the chair with worry.
"Um, I think Miss. Nagato went for a... walk?" If Haruhi wasn't so baffled at the fact that the omnipresent Nagato wasn't present, she may have been able to see through the terribly bad lie.
"Huh, weird. Anyway Mikuru, doll yourself up, you're new photo shoot partner will be here so you need to look even cuter, girl!" Mikuru began to nod before her face fell and she started to look a little worried.
"Wait... Wha-" Too late, Haruhi had already taken off out of the door, leaving to Mikuru to fret over her new 'photo shoot partner' and possible threat to her life simultaneously. As Haruhi walked, she started to ponder where the slightly younger girl could have possibly gone to. As she padded down the steps, she remembered the gusto that Yuki had when she actually trotted on ahead and seemed determined to reach the hall's doors. Maybe that's where she was? Sweeping her head up and down every corridor on her way, Haruhi made her way across the school and to the auditorium.
As she approached the doors, she could hear a far-off voice and what sounded like a piano; Perfect, that meant Alistair and his other friends would be there. At least that was something. As quietly as she could manage, Haruhi pushed the door open and slipped inside. She scanned the stage for the angelic singer and the huge violinist, but they were nowhere to be seen, but the piano still played softly with a voice accompanying it. Haruhi instantly caught the glow of Clarke's snowy hair and pale skin reflecting the bright stage lights, making him look like a fallen angel as his voice sang with effortless elegance. But there was another figure beside him. A girl, her slim legs and arms almost white as she sat beside the pianist, entranced as he sang. When Haruhi spotted the hair, she had to clamp her hand over her mouth to stop herself from exclaiming at the adorable scene on the stage.
"...don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this, the fourth the fifth,
The minor fall and the major lift!
The baffled king composing, Hallelujah!" Clarke's smile was full and genuine as he finished the verse, his fingers still gently gliding over the keys as he sang.
"Baby, I've been here before,
I know this room, I've walked this floor,
I used to live alone before I knew you." He turned to the shorter Yuki Nagato with a smile as if to check if she were enjoying herself as she listened to him play.
"I've seen your flag on the marble arch,
Love is not a victory march,
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah!" Haruhi's eyes lit and she felt a tear prick her eye as Nagato swayed and gently lay her head on Clarke's arm as he played, who sang softly with a look of pride. For the rest of the song, Clarke played with the girl on his arm, smiling in his dreamy bliss. If only Haruhi could see her face! She would look so cute! Clarke's soothing voice crooned the last few words and the final note hummed within the depths of the instrument, Yuki still leaning against him. Haruhi crept up to the stage until she could lean against it, watching the bizarre couple sit in silence. After a few minutes silence, Clarke looked down to Yuki with a bemused smile and looked like he was about to laugh. He covered his mouth to hide his smile and turned and looked Haruhi in the eye, beckoning her over. Did he know that she was there from the start?
Haruhi silently climbed onto the stage a crept to the piano, Nagato still not moving an inch. With a slight jerk of his head, Clarke indicated to Yuki and for Haruhi to come closer. She walked around the piano until she could see the alien girl's face and noticed that her breathing hadn't changed for a while and she was staying almost totally still.
"Miss. Nagato?" Clarke asked tentatively, smiling down into the lavender hair. She didn't say a word, which was Haruhi realised that the stoic, silent Nagato was asleep. "Miss. Nagato," Clarke said again, a sly smile creeping onto his face, "Miss. Suzumiya is here." Like a dog hearing a whistle, Nagato's eyes burst open and she sat bolt upright, scanning her eyes quickly and stopping to look Haruhi in the eye. There, on Yuki's cheek... Was that the beginning of a blush? Clarke chuckled,
"Well, Miss. Suzumiya, my meeting hasn't gone quite to plan and my... compatriots haven't shown, but Miss. Nagato has been keeping me company. I guess there is no use for us to stay here? Shall we go on?" Clarke stood and Nagato with him, smiling at their leader expectantly.
"Okay, let's go! Now, you're going to need to know a little about who we've got. You already seem to know Yuki, she's our silent girl. Isn't she just adorable?"As she led the way, Haruhi talked on and on with the two utterly strange people in tow. She was at the peak of joy; not only had she earned a multi-purpose new member to fill the 'mysterious' side of her brigade's line-up, but there was some chemistry between him and Yuki! This was awesome!
"Attention SOS Brigade member! This is your chief speaking!" Haruhi cried with her arm in the air, announcing herself to the startled room when she kicked the clubroom door open, "May I present to you the newest member of the SOS Brigade, Alistair Clarke!" There was no applause. Haruhi gave a little scowl and pulled Clarke into the room, dropping him into a seat beside Mikuru, across from Koizumi and Kyon. "Now, Itsuki there's the deputy chief, so he'll be in charge of you when I'm away. Say!" Not stopping her train of lightning-fast speech, she slammed her hands onto the desk and was breathing into Clarke's smile, "I know! You can be the club's PR! It'll be your job to go out with Mikuru and talk to the public! Maybe you could even be our on-the-scene investigator! But then you'd need a phone to get in contact with me. Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!" Haruhi bounced around the room some more before blurting about signing some paperwork for the student council and zooming out of the door.
Oh no. Haruhi, why? You brought him in and you left us alone, now I'm fearing for my life. Do you really not realise that there's something wrong with this guy? Damnit, Koizumi, do something!
"Um, would you like some tea?" Mikuru had her face hidden behind the serving tray as she asked, Haruhi's orders of playing maid still in her mind. Clarke chuckled and didn't look up,
"Hm, Japanese tea... Can't say that this flavoured water can compare to the Queen's brew I had back home, so I'll have to turn you down," he looked up with his sinister smile, "Miss. Asahina." The girl jumped and turned away, Clarke reclining back and closing his eyes. Koizumi smile slipped into a stern stare a he leaned over the table,
"So where is it you come from, Mr. Clarke?" Clarke flashed his teeth as he grinned,
"Winchester, born and raised. I thought that you-"
"And you say that you were schooled at Winchester Academy?"
"That's right." Clarke cocked his head and looked Koizumi in the eye, "Why do you ask?" Koizumi's fist curled ever so slightly,
"Because I did a little research and Winchester Academy does not exist." The room went silent, but Clarke was looking amused. He looked so smug, head reclined and looking down his nose with his golden eyes, arms folded across his chest. He was challenging Koizumi, taunting him, daring him to continue. "You also have almost inhuman combat abilities, you do not react to pain, no matter how much is inflicted on you, you show no emotion other than this... this insane, taunting demeanour. Now, prove to me that you are a human, because to me, no human is capable of that. In fact, I think you, Mr Clarke, are an alien." Clarke said nothing, still smiling as Koizumi worked himself up and started to sound angry. Kyon looked around at the stress; Mikuru was in a corner, hiding behind the serving tray and trembling slightly, Nagato had stopped reading and was watching the scene intently and the ever calm, even headed and resourceful Koizumi, the esper who was no doubt the brains of the Brigade, was getting angry and defensive. It was Kyon's turn to speak up.
"Alright, stop playing games!" He stood from his chair and pointed right at Clarke, whose eyes widened in amusement, "Look, we've worked out that there's no way you're human. You're story doesn't add up and you didn't think twice about killing someone! There's just no way that any person would be capable of that, which narrows the results down that you're evil. Even Nagato has said that you're a hostile! You're an inhuman monster-!"
The sudden blast of sound that then interrupted me was very confusing at the time, but allow me to slow the scene down for you; As I called Clarke an inhuman monster, Miss. Nagato suddenly rose from her seat, causing the chair to scrape extremely loudly. She moved forward with incredible speed directly for me. Now, for a fraction of a second, I thought that she was moving to protect me from Clarke, who was no doubt going to attack me after that comment. Sadly, this was instantly dismissed by Clarke himself.
"Hold!" Clarke suddenly bellowed, his voice far louder than it should have been. All other movement and noise stopped at his command, allowing Kyon to survey what had unfurled. He looked into Yuki's eyes and felt terror knock the wind from his lungs; Clarke was holding the small girl's arm, preventing her inclined body from moving closer to Kyon, but her eyes were not the constant emotionless neutral; they were very faintly scowling.
"Stand down." Clarke said calmly, his arm quivering slightly as Kyon backed away from Yuki, who pulled against his grasp. What the hell was going on? "Stand down, I said." Clarke repeated, sterner, louder than before, Nagato jolting in his grasp as he attempted to loosen his grip. "Nagato! Stand down! That's an order!" he yelled angrily at the girl in his grasp as the Brigade stared in shock. Nagato slowly loosened her stance and stood at Clarke's side, her brow relaxing and returning to her usual blank stare, her eyes low and even a little guilty. Clarke let go of her sleeve and sighed, calming himself after the outburst, "Calm yourself. I can handle this."
Mikuru had long since sat in the corner of the room and was cowering away from the constant sound and aggressive movements and Koizumi was bewildered, no help at all to Kyon, who had backed away from the table in shock. Nagato had moved to attack him. She had listened to what was being said and she made the effort to get up and try and hurt Kyon. She even looked angry. But Clarke had stopped her, controlled her just by holding her incredible strength back and telling her what to do. And did he call it an 'order?' Clarke turned from Yuki and started to slowly walk around the table to Kyon.
"Monster, am I? Why, because I hurt people? Did you ever stop to think, did a single cell in your brain ever fire and think, 'maybe he has a good reason for that?'" Clarke spoke calmly and without humour, his eye twitching with frustration as he slowly approached Kyon.
"Correct, I am not human. I, like Nagato, am a data interface. Care to take a snipe at that?" He smiled mockingly, looking like he was just holding back the urge to snap and start shouting. "So, I'm evil? Inhuman? You pathetic little creature, you know nothing of what I have seen. What I have done. I am not the evil one here, you and your whole disgusting, corruptible and inexcusable race is." Koizumi saw Clarke's hand shaking and start to curl. Whatever the cost, he could not allow any harm to come to Kyon; what Suzumiya would do was a terrifying thought. Koizumi took a deep breath and stood between the two boys, looking down at Clarke,
"So you admit to not being human? Very well. But that does not make you a humane creature. There is nothing that you can do to prove that you have any higher function than your aggression-" He stopped suddenly as Clarke grabbed his collar and dragged him down until they were eye to glaring eye.
"You think that, because I'm not human, I can't feel?" he screamed, the veins of his eyes starting to creep into view like jungle tendrils, "You think that, because I only smile, I can't feel sorrow? That I don't fear? You, human, may have done battle against the beings you call 'shinji' but you know nothing, NOTHING, of true terror!" He took a breath and pointed to Nagato, who still hadn't taken her eyes off of him. "Look at Nagato. She defended me a moment ago and I had to stop her. Know why? Because I didn't tell her to. Because her emotions told her to." Koizumi didn't retort, he only looked to Kyon with shock. This seemed to anger Clarke, "What, just because Nagato didn't make a song and dance of it, you never thought that she was sad? Or lonely?" The door swung open and no one moved from their positions. Koizumi and Clarke were still eye to eye and Kyon was still behind the esper, so only Mikuru noticed who it was.
"Please, sir, sit down. Miss. Suzumiya shall be returning soon." Emiri Kimidori asked quietly from the door. Just like Kyon and Koizumi had observed the first time the two had met, the girl looped her arm through Clarke's and gently pulled him away, guiding him to the chair across from Kyon and the esper. "Boys, please, take a seat. There should be no violence when in such close proximity to Miss. Suzumiya, lest she do something rash." Slowly, the room lowered themselves into their chairs and the tension grew. Clarke was sitting with his eyes closed and hands entwined, concentrating deeply as Emiri smiled absently beside him in polite silence. Nagato, too, had taken a seat beside Clarke, the two girls flanking him.
"Sir, permission?" Emiri asked, receiving a silent nod from Clarke. She looked to Kyon and Koizumi and began, "As you may have guessed, I too am not a human. We three are all servants," Clarke's nails splintered the wood and made the table grind as he slowly ran his fingers along the surface, giving his sideward glance to Emiri. The girl nodded apologetically, "As I was saying, we three are the... workforce of the Data Integration Thought Entity, though only a fraction. Miss. Nagato, as she has already told you, is here to observe Miss. Suzumiya and transmit any and all data signals that she gives off to the Entity in hopes of our superiors finding a way to force the self-evolution required for its survival. Mr. Clarke here is a little different. He is our foreman, our leader. He is the one who organises and controls all interfaces in the Sol star system. He is not only tasked with correctly deploying interfaces, he also watches over us and protects us from any harm that might come to us." She stopped for a moment, allowing Kyon to take in the information.
"Whoa, hold on here." Kyon pointed to Clarke, whose eyes were still closed, "When Nagato was watching him, she said that he was a hostile!" Emiri opened her mouth to reply, but Clarke beat her to it,
"Bear in mind, human, that I was not the only one in that room." he said quietly. He raised head and looked to Kyon with a strangely blank look, "You want proof that I can feel? See the world through my eyes." Kyon realised all too late what he was doing, for the bright amber had been focused on him without effect until now. Just as it had happened in the auditorium, time suddenly slowed and the colour from all around him drained and left him in a room of grey. The sound was incomprehensible, but what bothered Kyon more than anything was the fact that Clarke's colour remained, the only thing in Kyon's vision that stood out. Like water on wet paint, Clarke's blue blazer started to darken until it settled into the table and chair. The glowing white of Clarke's hair seemed to gather and drip from the tips of each strand, the only thing left that had not been corrupted by the melancholy grey being the two golden moons.
Kyon started to panic in the strange grey limbo as what felt like a drill started to hit the back of his mind, stinging at his brain, urging him to react. What was going on? What did Clarke want him to-
"Close your eyes." came the voice of the Brit from within Kyon's head. He didn't want to, but the pain intensified to a painful hammer that threatened to damage his brain. With the sinister glow of amber the last thing he saw, Kyon closed his eyes and felt his mind being grabbed and pulled from his body.
I can't quite explain what happened next, it was so weird. It was like nothing existed, but I could think. I couldn't feel anything, I'm not even sure that I had a body, but at some point, I became aware of my hands. I could feel them moving, so I searched for my legs. Present. Then my stomach. Accounted for. Suddenly, I realised that I had eyes, so I opened them up to see the world. Whiteness, stretching on forever. The ground and sky was just blank as far as the eye could see, blending seamlessly. I didn't panic, for once, and just sat down and felt the floor. As I reached my arm out, I noticed that I was still wearing my uniform. As my fingers hit the floor, I tried to work out what it felt like, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't think; it wasn't hard or soft, nor was it rough or even smooth. Simply something to be on, to exist on.
I jumped a little and turned when I heard a groan from behind me. Oh, Koizumi's here. Huh. The esper patted himself down like I had done and looked at me like a confused animal. Then Miss. Asahina popped up beside me, but I didn't have time to talk to either of them, because Clarke was now glaring at us.
"You are now in a portion of an original programme, created by myself, called the 'failsafe.' This is a high-tier level of data manipulation that has allowed me to take your mind from your body and do with it what I shall. The body that you now inhabit does not exist in the physical world; it is merely a vessel for your mind to latch onto whilst in the failsafe. It is here, in this empty space, that I can show you what I have seen." He snapped his fingers and what appeared to be a huge painting suddenly appeared behind him without introduction. It was a picture of a pair of hands placed on what looked like a piano, one hand blurred from the movement.
"The colour you see behind me is the memory file I have chosen for you to view. Once you make contact with the file, the persona you now inhabit will be destroyed and your conscience will transfer and combine with my memory. You will think what I think and feel what I feel, but you will also maintain independent thought simultaneously. Come, esper, time traveller and human, and see for yourself if I can feel beyond my smile." Like dumbfounded cattle, the three members of the SOS Brigade huddled together in the white silence and slowly made their way to Clarke, who stood before the memory-screen. Koizumi was the first to reach it, stretching out his fingers and brushing the first-person painting of a piano. One moment, Kyon could feel the warmth from Koizumi's jacket, the next, he could not. There was no noise and movement to explain what had happened. He was there, he touched the screen, he was gone.
"You shouldn't keep your friend waiting." Clarke reminded Kyon and Mikuru, giving them a neutral stare and a little shunt. Suddenly, Kyon felt happy. He realised the piano before him and felt his hands rush to the keys, tapping them to make the purest sound he could to match Rébecca's sweet voice. He could feel the eyes watching him from the doorway, but his singing was more important. Kyon felt his voice, no, Clarke's voice rise to meet Rébecca's. But even their entwined voices and the booming piano could not stop him hearing the words of his subordinate from the doorway mutter the word 'hostiles.' Strange. The emotional data was growing more erratic as it had been doing for six months. But Nagato never acted with emotion, she was always a blank card. Poor thing, she's confused, getting a little mixed up between orders and emotion. Kyon would have to sort that later, maybe remind her to keep her cool on the mission.
He tried to go back to concentrating on his singing, but could feel a sudden burst of data from the door. New priority, emergency-tier; Interface Yuki Nagato is being attacked. Kyon thought quickly of a way to keep his cool and save Nagato from further damage and thought of his music. Tweaking the data of the sound waves the emanated from the strings of the piano, Kyon slammed the lowest notes and tried not to react to the pain of his ear drums vibrating. Giles fled from the piano and Kyon could feel the life forms drop from the pain, but he mustn't let his own pain show; he couldn't look weak, he had to be strong. Summoning the best calm-angry face he could, Kyon turned into the dark and stared.
"Ahmed," he said, trying to sound angry "Can you tell me why Miss. Giles and I were interrupted so loudly a few moments ago?" Ahmed insulted him and squared up to him, trying to scare Kyon and make him back down. It was working. As Kyon looked up into his face, he was terrified; Ahmed was so strong, so vicious. If he was given permission, he could crush Kyon. But he was flawed, for he did not know the extent of Kyon's power. So Kyon just ran his threat programme and smiled like a psycho, thankfully feeling that Ahmed was losing a little of his confidence.
Ahmed hissed into his face and Kyon replied as best he could, secretly signalling for Kimidori to get to his position and to prepare to destroy Ahmed if Kyon was to fail. That was it, she was on her way. The only thing Kyon could do was strike first and strike fast. Kyon grabbed Ahmed's shirt, gave a leap into the air and hit him as hard as he could muster. This was it. He had started the fight, he had to finish it. Like an ant biting a hound. Suddenly, as Ahmed recoiled, everything stopped and Kyon found himself questioning what was going on, remembering that he still had his own thoughts. The hair that brushed the top of his vision, the feel of his tensed muscles, none of these things were his. And they were stretching, too. From the Indian's frozen face, all of reality was being sucked into, just like how a black hole pulls even light to its gravity.
Like pulling his head from a lake full of freezing water, Kyon took a deep breath as his body, his own body, was thrown backwards and he landed hard in the strange realm of white beside Koizumi and Mikuru. They lay on their backs and blinked heavily, flexing their muscles and getting used to the feeling of having their own body. Koizumi gasped as he was hauled to his feet and stared at neutrally by Clarke.
"No emotions, eh? Nothing behind that smile? You all just simultaneously experienced the events of yesterday for yourself. I hope it was informative." Koizumi looked confused and shook his head, looking all around,
"I don't understand. Does that mean Ahmed is an interface too?" Clarke slowly nodded. "Then, if you have the power to create a programme of this complexity, why not just attack and use all of this data against him?" Clarke cocked his head and looked a little confused,
"Did you listen to what we thought? Ahmed's power goes beyond my own, but he is on a tight leash. If I had attacked with data, his restrictions would have been released and he would have been able to attack in kind. As long as I kept the battle physical, I had a chance of winning. If I had killed him when I had the chance... We would be in a lot of trouble indeed." A voice echoed from far away, causing Clarke to look into the blank sky with disinterest. "It seems that our leader has returned. We should be getting back."
"I'm back!" Haruhi bellowed. Kyon jumped so hard that his head launched from the desk into the air and his knees slammed into the table. He was back in the clubroom. Haruhi started rambling about how surprised the council was upon her entrance, but Kyon couldn't concentration that; he was looking around in wonder as Mikuru and Koizumi did the same, looking as if they had awoken from a long sleep into a world that was not their own. The three shared a look as if to confirm what they had just seen was real. Kyon turned to Clarke, who was already occupied in speech with Haruhi with his usual energy-charged grin. Kimidori was gone and Nagato was back to reading as if nothing had happened.
But what had Clarke said? Ahmed was stronger? Could it be that his appearance here in North High was not caused by Haruhi? And if Ahmed was stronger, just what was he?
Summary!
On the third day of Clarke's arrival, it seems that he thinks along the same frequency as Haruhi, as they both bring up the topic of the brigade, of which Clarke asks to join. Claiming that he has a meeting to get to with Ahmed and Giles, Clarke informs Haruhi that he will not immediately be able to go to the clubroom. As the day ends, Koizumi drags Kyon to the clubroom; he has received orders from his superiors to stay away from the lethal entity 'Alistair Clarke.' Sadly, Haruhi had already taken off to the clubroom, found Nagato absent and took off to search for her.
Finding the sound of music coming from the auditorium, Haruhi investigates to find Clarke singing 'Hallelujah' to Yuki, who sits next to him calmly and even rests her head on his shoulder. Clarke silently beckons Haruhi over and shows her that Yuki is asleep. It is only when Clarke mentions Haruhi's name does Yuki react, startled with a hint of a blush on her cheeks.
Haruhi leads the two back to the clubroom and leaves to add Clarke's name to the SOS Brigade's roster, leaving them alone with Clarke. Starting his questioning again, Koizumi points out the flaw in his alibi that the academy that Ahmed, Giles and Clarke supposedly came from does not exist. Clarke does not respond, keeping his cocky silence as the mood grows more hostile and tense. But it is when Kyon calls Clarke an 'evil, inhuman monster' that things get complicated fast.
Yuki Nagato, the girl who endured 200 years of the same fortnight, who gave Kyon the choice between her own paradise and her hell, attempts to harm Kyon. Clarke has to order her to stand down three times with increasing sternness for her to finally relax and stop trying to lunge for Kyon. After she has calmed down, Yuki steps aside to allow Clarke, who is clearly brewing with anger, to slowly approach Kyon.
Clarke, full of condescending fury, asks if Kyon had ever considered that Clarke's 'evil' acts were for a good cause. He proclaims that he is an interface like Nagato and dares Kyon to insult him more. He also claims that he is not the evil one, it is the human race that is evil. Koizumi, sensing that the vital Kyon could be hurt, steps between the two boys and points out that Clarke has done nothing thus far to prove that he is a being capable of anything other than anger and violence when Clarke goes on the offensive.
Clarke starts shouting about how he, despite smiling constantly, can too feel sorrow like a human and has known fear that the esper has not. He then, very casually, points out that he did not command Nagato to attack Kyon for insulting him, that she attacked out of her own emotions, further proving Clarke's point that he and Yuki are not so inhuman. Emiri Kimidori makes an entrance and calms the situation, sitting herself and the two aliens across from Kyon and Koizumi, Mikuru cowering in a corner and Haruhi still with the student council.
Asking first for permission from Clarke, Emiri explains that the three of them are all interfaces of the D.I.T.E. As she first called them 'servants,' Clarke reacted and accidentally gouged claw marks into the table, clearly not enjoying the term. Emiri apologises and alters her words accordingly. She claims that Clarke is the foreman of the entire Sol star system, and, as such, it is his duty to deploy and maintain the safety of all of the interfaces of the area.
Kyon notices a hole in the story and points out that, when Nagato watched Clarke and Rébecca, she called them hostiles. This point is put down after Clarke also points out that he was not the only one in the room, a foreboding omen. Tiring of the conversation, Clarke decides to do his explaining through action. Locking eyes with Kyon, the world drains of colour and time slows to a near stop, the only colour being Clarke's two staring eyes. A strange drilling pain in the back of Kyon's head and an order from Clarke from within Kyon's mind force him to close his eyes.
As Kyon closes his eyes, his mind is pulled from his body and his conscience is taken by Clarke's strange programme. In a staging area that Clarke names the 'failsafe,' a non-physical body is created for Kyon's mind to occupy, a 'persona.' Now able to walk and talk within the programme's failsafe, Koizumi and Mikuru appear, also a result of Clarke's stare. Clarke explains where they are and materialises what looks like a large painting behind him, but it appears to be from a first-person perspective of piano keys. Explaining that they will enter the memory and experience all of Clarke's emotions and senses, Clarke also mentions they will maintain independent thought.
Introducing them to the strange experience of another's memory, Clarke allows them to destroy their personas, via contact with the memory, and shows their minds into a sort of shotgun seat of Clarke's head. They see, hear and think exactly as Clarke had on that day, almost as if it were their own actions. Once in the memory, Kyon realises that he is experiencing the day past as Clarke sing with Rébecca. Clarke was always aware that he was being watched and makes a mental note that Yuki's emotions have been becoming more and more prominent in the last six months, the space of time that she has been with the SOS Brigade. He seems to want to discuss the matter with her rather than delete her emotions outright.
He instantly knows when Nagato is attacks and feels worried, using a little bit of data alteration to make the sound waves from the piano far louder, almost blowing his own eardrums as a show that he is not afraid of the approaching Ahmed. But Kyon starts to realise how outmatched he is and feels terrified when Ahmed steps up to him, but forces his smile to stay. In doing this, he masks his weakness and unnerves Ahmed. The memory stops as Clarke head butts Ahmed, the three members of the SOS Brigade being ejected from the memory and back into the failsafe.
Koizumi asks why Clarke did not attack Ahmed with full force, reasoning that he should win if he is so powerful that he can remove someone from their own body and actually force them into his memories. Worryingly, Clarke reminds Koizumi of his acceptance that Ahmed is stronger, but thankfully is on a leash from his superiors and overestimates the extent of Clarke's power. He also counters Koizumi that, if he were to use data as an attack, Ahmed's restrictions would be released and he would respond in kind, so as long as Clarke used earthly means to disable Ahmed, there would be no problem. He also cryptically comments that he would 'be in a lot of trouble' if he had actually killed Ahmed.
As Haruhi enters, Clarke releases them from the failsafe, allowing their minds to return to their respective bodies and awakening them, as it appeared that their physical bodies had fallen asleep whilst their minds wandered. Emiri has already gone and Nagato is back to reading and Clarke continues as if nothing has happened.
Author's Note
I've decided to split this chapter into two so it's not such a drag to read. So, class, what have we learned today? It seems that the sinister, hyper-lethal weirdo Alistair Clarke is indeed powerful. He is also a child of the DITE, but resents being called its 'servant.' Clarke, much unlike Kimidori and especially Yuki, fully experiences emotions and is extremely proud of that fact, quick to defend and prove that he is not a mundane interface but a person unto his own.
We have also learned that through his hypnotic gaze, he can show people what he has experienced. But even with all of this power, he knows that he cannot defeat Sanjit Ahmed, another mysterious interface. But this is where Clarke's strange appearance comes into play. So far, he has had only a few expressions; his 'normal,' energy-filled smile that teeters on menacing, his fully insane smile to disguise his fear and shake Ahmed's confidence as they fought, and finally his blank, disciplined face that he wears for class.
So, dear reader, I leave you with another challenge, albeit an easier one than the last; We now know that Clarke is strong enough to manage an entire system of stars, but he also is weaker than Ahmed to the point of fearing him. He uses his unsettling smile to dishearten the enemy and create a feeling of immense tension and fear amongst those who he is not fighting.
The power to affect someone's heart is a formidable weapon, so the challenge is this; Just what happened to the mighty foreman to force him to wield this weapon with such confidence and startling readiness?
P.S. I would like to clarify the time period of the events that include Alistair Clarke for you. If I'm going to make this OC part of the canon story, I might as well go this far:
In the anime series, in chronological order, the Day of Sagittarius III is episode 27/28. It takes place sometime in autumn.
Someday in the Rain is episode 28/28 and takes place in late November.
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya spans from December 16th to the 24th.
This leaves very convenient gaps of time between episodes 27 and 28, the autumn-winter weeks, and 28 and the movie, giving a solid couple of weeks between the ending of the anime and the beginning of the movie. So, in chronological order, here is Alistair Clarke;
The Day of Sagittarius
The Boy Who Played
Someday in the Rain
The Boy Who Waited
The Disappearance f Haruhi Suzumiya
Until next time!
